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Body of missing American college student found in Kyoto mountains
20-year-old on family trip to Japan had been missing since May 29.On May 25, 20-year-old James “Weston” Higginbotham arrived in Japan with his parents and younger brother on a family vacation to celebrate the younger sibling’s high school graduation. During the trip, the environmentally minded James argued with his mother over her use of AI, and the ecological impact of such systems, and on May 29, when the family was in Kyoto, James decided to break off from the group and spend time alone. Befo
Japan’s cheap beef bowl chain Matsuya opens gourmet Premium Matsuya with Kobe beef…inside Matsuya
A tale of four Matsuyas, and a whole lot of gourmet wagyu beef.As one of the country’s big-three gyudon/beef bowl chains, Matsuya is among the top choices for those looking for a cheap but hearty meal in Japan. But maybe it doesn’t always need to be quite so cheap, and so Matsuya has made the decision to open a new, more expensive, and more gourmet, branch inside Matsuya.Actually, we should back up a bit, because there are no fewer than four different Matsuyas we’re going to be talking about her
Colour Hunting: The hot new street photography trend changing how we see Japan
Some might say you haven’t truly seen Japan if you haven’t colour hunted. Recently, an activity called “colour hunting” has been gaining popularity in Japan. Simply put, it involves choosing a colour theme and then, while walking around town, taking photos of things that match that colour, before compiling them into a single image.The results are remarkably mesmerising, but what’s even more interesting is the way it encourages you to notice details you wouldn’
Japanese rice cooker recipe gives us a tasty new way to enjoy vegetables and wieners
Quick and easy, this is a meal that’ll have you going back for seconds.One of our favourite hacks when it comes to making Japanese-style meals is to whip out our rice cooker and stuff it with all sorts of unconventional ingredients. These so-called “rice cooker recipes” almost always result in surprisingly delicious meals, and our latest culinary experiment turned out to be so tasty and easy to make that we wanted to share it so you can enjoy it too.The recipe itself is adapted
Japan Railways partners with Overwatch, heroes hit the Shinkansen for bullet train collaboration
And yes, there is a reason Mercy is dressed that way.With Japan being home to many of the world’s most passionate gamers, Japan Railways Group periodically partners with popular video game franchises to add a little extra fun to fans’ train travel in Japan, like we’ve seen in previous tie-ups with the Final Fantasy and Pokémon series. For its next video game collaboration, though, JR Central (a.k.a. JR Tokai) is teaming up with a series that hails from the U.S.This summer, characters from the ca
Ghibli’s No Face continues to demonstrate his generous character growth by dispensing soy sauce
Can you please pass the soy sauce, No Face?Explicit exposition has never really been Studio Ghibli’s thing, but even by their standards, No Face’s character arc is an impressive case. Without saying a single word of dialogue, we watch the Spirited Away scene-stealer go from covetous to considerate over the course of the film, learning that there’s more to life than a cycle of gorging and coercing people with regurgitated pricy baubles.By the time the movie ends, No Face has become a sympathetic,
With hot sweaty Shibuya summer on the way, free sodium tablets to be given out in downtown Tokyo
Stay salty, everybody.Shibuya is one of Tokyo’s most exciting neighborhoods. Between world-famous tourism landmarks like the statue of faithful dog Hachiko and the scramble intersection, plus shopping options from iconic stores like fashion mecca 109 and Nintendo Tokyo, there’s a lot to see and do in this part of downtown, and if you’re visiting this summer you might want to stop by the Shibuya Ward Office too and grab a little something to eat.No, this isn’t another semi-secret ward office cafe
A Japanese toast sandwich remix: The toasted rice rice ball[SoraKitchen]
Mr. Sato steps into the SoraKitchen with a bold idea.Food, as a broad topic, is pretty much always on our mind here at SoraNews24, but recently our ace reporter Mr. Sato found himself thinking about toast sandwiches in particular. Like many people who grew up outside the U.K., Mr. Sato initially found the concept of a sandwich where the inside and outside are made of the same thing to be kind of bizarre. And yet, the toast sandwich has been part of British cuisine for more than 150 years, so it
Japan Post’s mail carriers are getting some cool upgrades, but packages might be a little late
Intense summer heat means new safety rules and ice-cold drinks.Summer in Japan is popular for many things, from festivals and fireworks to delicious and refreshing treats, but there is also another undeniable aspect to the season: it gets pretty hot. In fact, in recent times with consistently high temperatures, the Japan Meteorological Agency officially introduced a new term to refer to days that reach over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), meaning that working outside this summer is
Japanese high school closes its cafeteria, replaces it with a 7-Eleven convenience store
The first time a 7-Eleven has opened inside a high school in Japan.7-Eleven opened a new branch in Japan on 1 June, at a site so unusual it made nationwide news. This new store can be found inside Kochi Chuo High School in Kochi Prefecture, taking over the site of the school’s former cafeteria.▼ Kochi Chuo High SchoolThis is the first time a 7-Eleven store has been opened inside a high school in Japan, and it carries around 1,200 products inside its 100 square-metre (1,080 square foot) sho
Cup Noodle hamster wheel is the new adorable pet toy animal lovers in Japan want[Video]
Instant ramen maker shows that even hamsters will fall in love with Cup Noodle, if given the chance.Pretty much everyone loves Cup Noodle, from hungry kids to busy college students to adults who don’t want to go through the hassle of cooking after a long day at the office. As a matter of fact, it turns out that the instant ramen brand’s appeal transcends humanity, as a new video shows the massive untapped potential of a new Cup Noodle fanbase: hamsters!Now, we should be clear that the Cup Noodle
American college student missing in Kyoto, last seen by family one week ago
20-year-old outdoors enthusiast last seen approaching hiking trail east of downtown after sunset.The Japanese police and volunteers are searching for an American college student who went missing in Kyoto and hasn’t been seen in a week.20-year-old James “Weston” Higginbotham and his family arrived in Japan from the U.S. on May 25, spending time in Tokyo and elsewhere before reaching Kyoto. Having argued with his mother during their trip, Weston declined to go with his parents and 18-year-old youn
Japanese convenience store challenge is only for those with extreme tastes
Super Happy! Challenge gives us two unforgettable products that deserve a place in convenience store history.If you’re hungry and in the mood to try convenience store food, Lawson is the place to go right now as the chain is currently upsizing some of its most popular products for free.▼ Popular items in the “Super Happy! Challenge” lineup include oversized versions of onigiri, sandwiches, and the Premium Roll Cake.In amongst the offerings are two surprises we weren’t exp
Dragon Quest Slimes appear on Baskin-Robbins ice cream cakes in Japan, Critical Hit flavor debuts
Critical Hit-flavor ice cream and Mimic containers among the sweet adventures waiting at Baskin-Robbins.Generally speaking, customers wouldn’t be happy to see slimes at the restaurants and sweets shops they visit. But just like your kindergarten teacher told you, capitalization is important, and so the appearance of Slimes at Baskin-Robbins Japan is a cause for joy across the nation.Yes, the mascot monsters of the Dragon Quest video game franchise have drawn near to Thirty-One, as Baskin-Robbins
Trump heads to Asia and high-stakes meeting with Xi
WASHINGTON, United States — US President Donald Trump embarks on a major trip to Asia this week with all eyes on a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that has huge implications for the global ...
Lawson opens a new mini supermarket, and the lucky bags can essentially stock your kitchen
You can haul back thousands of yen worth of ramen, rice, and snacks for a fraction of the price.Expanding its reach with additional sub-brands, one of Japan’s big-three convenience stores, Lawson, opened the doors to L Minimart, its first “mini supermarket”, on May 28 in Kodaira, Tokyo. Excited to learn more about what this new brand will entail, our Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato joined the crowd of the roughly 200 people who wanted to be among the first to step through the store’s doors o
Studio Ghibli adds new range of neckties to its anime merchandise store in Japan
Bring Totoro and the gang to work with cleverly concealed character details. One of the things we love about Studio Ghibli is the way its movies appeal to people of all ages. Even My Neighbour Totoro, which might seem like a children’s movie, with its child protagonist and fantastical characters, has wider themes of familial love and rural ideals that strike a chord across generations, garnering fans that range from toddlers through to businessmen.In fact, toddlers who first watched the fi
Japan’s sticker wars are reaching a breaking point, even for enthusiasts
Our resident sticker-collecting writer shares why she’s saying “enough is enough” and is extricating herself from a sticky situation.Sticker collecting and trading as a hobby has been sweeping Japan among kids and adults alike for a while now, to the point that puffy stickers were sold out last year and people were shelling out ridiculous amounts of money to get their hands on them. Our Japanese-language reporter Haruka Takagi also got all in on the fun herself, even making new
APEC ministers' meeting seeks broadest common ground on economic, trade cooperation: MOC
The 2026 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting that concluded Saturday in China's Suzhou has actively sought the broadest common ground for all parties to participate in economic and trade ...
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan
With the rainy season here, this umbrella companion is a Daiso-premium bargain.Having flipped the calendar to June, we’re clearly not in spring anymore, but many Japanese people would argue that we haven’t really made it to summer just yet. That’s because we’re at the start of tsuyu, or “the rainy season,” a roughly month-long stretch of wet weather that precedes the idyllic fun-in-the-sun section of summer.As a matter of fact, Tokyo is getting drenched with heavy rains at the time of this writi