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Bacha Coffee opens in Japan…but is it worth the hype?

We line up to try one of the most unusual, and expensive, coffee experiences in Tokyo. Back in December, a new flagship store opened in Tokyo’s posh Ginza district, and it’s been drawing huge crowds ever since. Called Bacha Coffee, this new arrival is the first flagship store in Japan for one of the world’s largest specialty coffee brands, boasting a 115-year history that can be traced back to Marrakech, Morocco.Our reporter and self-proclaimed coffee lover, Mr Sato, decided to

Denny’s new Japanese parfait looks totally different depending on what angle you look at it from

Pictured: A towering, sensibly sized dessert.Tragically, “There’s always room for dessert” is more an idealistic philosophy than an actual measurement of stomach capacity. As such, there may be times when your taste buds and heart are longing for you to treat yourself to a giant parfait, but you know you won’t be able to eat the whole thing.Now you could, of course, order a small parfait…but do you really want to do that? Half the fun of ordering a parfait is the excitement of seeing that

Spirited Away adds a dash of Ghibli beauty to hanafuda flower cards【Photos】

Characters and creatures from the anime masterpiece step into the world of Japan’s traditional card game.Hanafuda, once you break it down into its linguistic parts, is a fairly straightforward term. Hana is Japanese for “flower,” and fuda means “cards,” so hanafuda are playing cards with pictures of flowers on them.There are a total of 48 cards in the deck, divided up into 12 groups of four, each representing a month of the year and bearing illustrations of flowers or other plant life associated

A spotlight on Japanese singles figure skating: Sliding onto the World Stage【Pt. I】

In this two-part series just in time for the 2026 Winter Olympics, we’re taking a look at Japanese skaters who have shaped the sport past and present.With Milano Cortina 2026(February 6-22) rapidly approaching, we thought we’d take a moment to spotlight the indelible mark that Japanese figure skaters have left on the oldest winter Olympic sport, which dates back to the 1908 London Olympics. In this two-part series, we’ll briefly explore key figures in recent Japanese skating hi

Anime isn’t like reality: Japanese police arrest man holding three knives, one in his mouth

Leave the three-blade techniques to One Piece’s Zoro.What’s the appropriate number of knives to be holding? It’s a question for which the answer really depends on the circumstances. If, for instance, you’re in the process of shampooing your hair or playing basketball, you probably don’t want to be holding any knives. However, there are a lot of activities for which having one knife is perfectly appropriate, such as if you’re cooking a meal or whittling woodwork. Two knives? Things are getting qu

Escape from downtown Tokyo! How far from the city center can you get by rental bike in 8 hours?

We get on rental bikes in the heart of Japan’s biggest city and ride until we run out of daylight.Japan’s Hello Cycling bicycle rental network offers a handy service. Using the Hello Cycling app, you can search for available bikes near you, get an unlock code, and be pedaling on your way in mere seconds, with payment made through your credit card or other cashless means such as the PayPay app.Something that really makes Hello Cycling handy is that after renting a bike, you can return it at any o

Chinese government tells citizens to not travel to Japan during Chinese New Year

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Japan has too many criminals and earthquakes to be safe for Chinese people.In Japan, the Year of the Horse has been underway since January 1, since the country doesn’t observe the lunar calendar. Even still, many people in Japan are aware that on this year Chinese New Year falls on February 17, because as one of China’s longest vacation periods, it brings with it some of the largest crowds of Chinese tourists to Japan.At least, that’s what usually happens

Have the berry best vacay at one of these five strawberry-picking experiences in Japan

If you’re in a jam about what to do this winter, you may want to pick something sweet.While I tend to associate strawberry picking with the early summer in my corner of the world, strawberries in Japan are often associated with the winter months, thanks to the abundance of climate-controlled greenhouses and the use of the fruit on desserts like the ubiquitous strawberry shortcake Christmas cakes. Japanese-developed cultivars are also steadily gaining international recognition, with the pre

Japan has a new bar just for people thinking about quitting their jobs, and the drinks are free

Tenshoku Sodan Bar seeks to fill a need that’s not served by the traditional job-hunting process.Go for a walk around most major train stations in Japan, and you’ll see a lot of bars. There are izakaya, pubs with a wide assortment of small side dishes to munch on as you drink. There are wine bars, whiskey bars, and sake bars, and if you venture farther into the back alleys, hostess bars too.But if you’re thirsty and strolling around Yokohama Station, you’ll find an especially unique watering hol

Studio Ghibli turns My Neighbour Totoro characters into bag charms for everyday adventures

Totoro and the Catbus add warm and fuzzy anime charm to winter in Japan.There are plenty of ways to show your love for Studio Ghibli films and characters. You could, for instance, take a walk in Totoro’s real-world forest in Japan, or send cute envelopes between friends. Or, you could strap your love onto a bag and sling it over your shoulder, with a couple of bag charms from My Neighbour Totoro.These charms have an indelible charm, thanks to a mix of Sagara, chain, and machine stitch embr

Starbucks Japan releases a new Valentine’s Day Frappuccino…with a special dipping waffle cookie

Billed as “the ultimate Valentine’s Day treat”, this new release is more than a drink – it’s an exclusive experience.Valentine’s season is in full swing at Starbucks in Japan, where we’ve been feeling the love through exclusive drinkware and the limited-edition, red-tinged Cacao & Strawberry Mousse Frappuccino. Now, we’re being seduced with a delicious new romantic suitor, the Cacao Espresso Affogato Frappuccino, which is said to be “the ultima

If you haven’t tried an antenna shop in Japan, you’re missing out

We found one antenna that gets a ten, uh…A unique kind of shopping experience in Japan can be found at its “antenna shops.” These are stores run by governments in other prefectures, as a way to show off particularly good products that can be found there, especially when it comes to food, and give local producers a chance to get footholds in other markets.When in Tokyo, you can find an antenna shop for nearly every prefecture in Japan within a one-kilometer radius of Tokyo Station. Our writer Tas

Japan’s Naruto theme park now offering real-world version of Minato’s kunai ninja weapon

The Fourth Hokage’s Flying Thunder God Kunai could be yours.Though it partners with some of Japan’s most popular entertainment franchises, Nijigen no Mori is a little different from your run-of-the-mill theme park. Located on the island of Awajishima in Hyogo Prefecture, Nijigen no Mori is less interested in character meet-and-greets or parades and more focused on letting you take an active role within the fantasy worlds it recreates, such as going on a mission for its Godzilla research center o

Man arrested in rural Japan on charges of leaving obscene DVDs in stores as gifts for “healthy men”

Commitment to physical media apparently stronger than concern for consent for the women shown in videos.Generally, generosity is considered a virtue. An active willingness to give something of value to others, without any expectation of compensation or reward in return, is, all else equal, the sort of mentality that would make our world a better place if more people had it.However, all else has not been equal in the town of Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture. At around 3 a.m. on December 9, a la

Studio Ghibli releases Spirited Away bags in Japan, based on a mysterious festival

Anime characters come together for an ethereal celebration. Have you ever wondered what it might look like if a festival was held in the mysterious town seen in Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away? That was the impetus for a special pattern adorning a series of pouches released in 2021 to mark the movie’s 20th anniversary, and now the popular series is making its return, looking more enigmatic than ever.The pattern is filled with images from the film, laid out in a playful style that adds

Japan is in the grip of sticker fever and no one is safe, including us

If loving stickers is wrong, then Japan doesn’t want to be right.Suddenly and without warning, both kids and adults in Japan have been going crazy for sticker collecting. Just check out any trendy shop at a mall, and you’ll see shelves lined with sticker displays and books of various sizes to keep them in. Or just go hang around any park, and you can watch kids huddled together, trading stickers in their books to diversify their own collections…Actually, don’t do that last thing, or you might be

Ghibli anime Uno and karuta card games a great way to have fun and maybe learn some Japanese【Pics】

The worldwide hit and classical Japanese poetry game get a dose of Ghibli anime appeal.The game of karuta is a fascinating, elegant, and fun part of traditional Japanese culture. It’s a card game in which each card has written on it a line from a classical Japanese poem. The cards are spread out between the players, and a non-competitor begins reading a randomly selected poem out loud. The goal is to quickly figure out which poem is being read and snatch up the corresponding card before your opp

Convenience store onigiri rice balls become even more expensive…but are they worth it?

Join us as we explore the more expensive side of Japan’s rice ball spectrum. There was a time, just a few years ago, when convenience store onigiri rice balls were priced around the 100-yen (US$0.63) mark. With rising prices these days, that time is now, sadly, a distant memory, with even a regular tuna mayonnaise rice ball costing nearly 200 yen. Rather than being an affordable cheap snack, onigiri are now becoming a luxury food item, and it’s not uncommon to find ones that cost ove

Japanese young women reveal their top dealbreakers in a man【Survey】

If you don’t pass this one simple check, you won’t even get past the starting line.Sitting lost in your own world, as the train trundles on, you find your gaze drifting to a person seated opposite. At first they’re just a blur in your traveling eyes, but then the details register: slovenly clothes, food stains on a white shirt, and long, greasy hair that hasn’t seen a brush in years. They might be the sweetest, kindest person on the planet, but unfortunately first impressions a

Ikea Japan closing two downtown Tokyo flagship stores — Why couldn’t they make it in the big city?

It’s not a total withdraw, but the chain’s downtown Tokyo footprint is going to get a lot smaller.In June of 2020, Ikea opened a new branch in the fashion-focused Harajuku neighborhood of downtown Tokyo. Launching a new venture at this time was a gamble, since the COVID pandemic was in full force and the economy’s status was murky, but on the other hand, the pivot to remote work and stay-at-home leisure activities also had a lot of people looking to make their living spaces more comfortable and