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Starbucks Japan unveils new Frappuccino showcasing “mottainai” culture

Bringing Japanese culture to the table in a delicious and heartwarming way. Japan has a wide variety of cultural values that underpin society in ways that are often unseen, and that includes the concept of mottainai. Literally translating as “wasteful“, this mindset holds a deep sense of regret when the potential value of something isn’t fully realised, and it encourages people to reuse, recycle and avoid unnecessary waste whenever possible, especially when food with gods is be

What’s it like to join Tokyo’s walking-and-talking-with-strangers club for a day?

We strap on our shoes and head into downtown Tokyo for a philosophical conversation prompt and a walk with a whole bunch of people we’ve never met before.Japan is right in a special sweet spot right now weather-wise, where the chill of winter and allergy-triggering pollen of spring are gone, but the sweltering heat of summer hasn’t arrived just yet. That makes the conditions ideal for a nice walk with friends…or, as we experienced in downtown Tokyo, a nice walk with complete strangers.This

Art exhibition coming to Tokyo this month brings the cute, scary, and weird to ukiyo-e

Animals & Monsters: Cute, Scary, and a Little Weird is the perfect exhibition for anyone who delights in art that doesn’t take itself too seriously.This summer, once you’re done shopping in the trendy streets of Tokyo’s Harajuku district, you won’t have to go far to enjoy a little taste of high culture. In fact, there’s some conveniently located right in front of Tokyo Metro Meiji-Jingumae Station and just around the corner from JR Harajuku Station at the Ota Me

The best yakiniku restaurant menu items to order if you’re surrounded by lovey-dovey couples

With the couples on either side of him as hot as the flames on his grill, our solo-dining yakiniku fan finds a mental escape.Dining at a yakiniku restaurant in Japan quickly becomes a series of choices to make. Yakiniku menus consist primarily of a wide variety of different types and cuts of meat that you grill yourself, but per-plate portions tend to be small, so you’ll need to make multiple orders to get enough food to fill yourself up.If you’re ordering a la carte, different kinds of meat hav

Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha

Bleach, Yu-Gi-Oh, Spy x Family, and more come to Uniqlo’s continuing celebration of a century of manga/anime hits.Uniqlo is no stranger to the T-shirt collaboration game, having previously partnered with such major franchises as Pokémon and Tamagotchi. Their current partnership, though, gives them possibly their biggest pool of inspiration ever to pull from, thanks to the involvement of Shueisha.As the publisher of Weekly Shonen Jump and numerous other manga anthology magazines, Shueisha is one

Study shows that regularly watching sports reduces risk of depression among the elderly

Unless you live in Buffalo.Who doesn’t want to be taken out to the ball game, and be bought so many peanuts and Cracker Jacks they may never want to go back? Not only is it a great way to get some fresh air, buy a 20-dollar hotdog, and learn some creative obscenities, but a recent study also suggests that watching sports either live or on TV can significantly reduce your risk of depression in your later years.Researchers at the University of Tsukuba found a roughly 30-percent lower risk of depre

Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo to remain closed for the summer following stabbing incident

Ikebukuro Pokémon superstore and Pikachu dessert cafe won’t be reopening until nearly half a year after murder.In late March, the Pokémon Center superstore in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro neighborhood, also known as the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo, became the scene of a tragedy as a 21-year-old worker was stabbed and murdered. The store, as well as the Pikachu Sweets cafe located a short distance away within the same shopping center, were immediately closed down for an indefinite period of time, and a number

And now, a crazy-looking way to stay cool this summer, from Japan’s crazy gadget company

Summer in Japan can be brutally hot, but thankfully, Thanko is here to help.We’ve still got some time until the full force of the summer heat hits, but with the weather in Japan expected to get so hot that the government had to start deciding on new words to officially describe it, it’s already time to start thinking about countermeasures. And sure, those Studio Ghibli uchiwa paper fans are beautiful, but for those looking for heavier-duty heat relief, Japanese gadget maker Thanko has, as it so

Extra-cute Sea Animal crepes come to Japan’s cafe chain born from a sweet fashion brand

Gelato Pique’s spinoff cafes pique our interest with adorable ice cream and mochi treats.From its name, you might assume that Gelato Pique is an ice cream brand, but it’s actually a Japanese apparel company that specializes in cute and cozy roomwear (including Pokémon designs). The company describes its aesthetic as being “inspired by sweet indulgences,” hence the “Gelato” part of its name.However, there’s a lot of crossover between fans of comfy pajamas and relaxing cafes, so while it wasn’t Ge

Beautiful Ghibli anime uchiwa fans are like little posters you can use to keep yourself cool

Totoro and friends want to keep you cool and smiling this summer with these traditional non-folding fans.Summer presents a bit of a conundrum in Japan. On the one hand, it’s not a matter of if the weather will be hot and humid, but whether it’ll be extremely or just very hot and humid. At the same time, summer is full of festivals, fireworks shows, pop culture events, and even beautifully blossoming flowers, so there’s tons of fun to be had if you can find a way to cope with the heat.And if you

Krispy Kreme releases a new Doughwich… at only one store in Japan

An exclusive doughnut you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Krispy Kreme Japan loves to cater to the local market with sweet exclusives, and it zooms in even further by catering to a micro market, with special doughnuts limited to regional stores.Known as the “Krispy Kreme Premium” series, these regional exclusives were previously limited to select stores in Nagoya, Hokkaido, and Tokyo, with each region having its own lineup, but now there’s a new region getting its

New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more

Newest volume in Ghibli cookbook series is packed with easy-to-make recipes for fans of the anime film.The delicious-looking depictions of food in Ghiblianime have become as much a calling card of the studio as scenes of magical flight and whimsically emotional storytelling. So if fans are going to have their stomachs growling after watching a Ghibli film, it’s only fair that someone tell us how to make the meals for ourselves here in the real world too, right?That’s the idea behind the Ghibli’s

What’s up with the Ghibli Park photo and video ban?

Theme park prohibition strangely opens the door to a new kind of creative freedom. When you visit Ghibli Park in Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, you’ll find a vast array of attractions, including life-sized buildings that look like they’ve jumped straight out of a Studio Ghibli film. However, if you research the park beforehand to see what the rooms inside these buildings look like, you’ll notice something else: there isn’t a wide variety of interior photos on social med

Osaka is hosting a “hentai” event, but it’s probably not what you think

No tentacles here, folks! Only beautifully strange plants.If you’ve spent any time online, the word “hentai” probably conjures up some very specific imagery that you may not feel comfortable talking about with your family. However, Osaka is playing host to an event called the Hentai Shokubutsu Club (or “Hentai Plant Club”), where you can say without shame, “Hey, Mom! Let’s go see some hentai plants.”To be perfectly clear, this event will involve substantially less tentacle-like appendages than y

Japan’s cafe that won’t let you go home until you solve a puzzle is opening in Osaka’s canal district

Hatena Coffee continues to make customers smile as they scratch their heads.The line that separates cafes from regular restaurants can be a hazy one, but most people would say that cafes generally have a more relaxed vibe that encourages you to linger over your drink or meal. And it’s definitely true that Hatena Coffee, which just arrived in Osaka’s Namba neighborhood, isn’t going to pressure you to hurry up and leave. As a matter of fact, Hatena Coffee has a policy in which they won’t even let

Starbucks Japan has a problem with its sell-out breakfast that might annoy solo diners

A flaw in the system makes this Starbucks breakfast less than stellar. They say the third time’s the charm, and that’s what happened to us when we attempted to try the super-popular sell-out breakfast at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo in Meguro Ward recently.▼ The Reserve Roastery TokyoThe premium breakfast set is so popular that despite visiting twice to try it we were unable to order it as it had already sold out, and on one occasion, it had sold out by 8 in the morning, just

Studio Ghibli still doesn’t allow its anime to be streamed online in Japan, and here’s why

Famed anime house isn’t worried about losing relevancy by limiting access to its films.Studio Ghibli has a reputation for preferring to do things the old-fashioned way, and so fans weren’t really shocked when the famed anime production house was initially reluctant to licensing its works for online streaming. The studio eventually softened its stance, striking deals with HBO Max in 2019 and Netflix the following year, and while the Netflix agreement has since expired, HBO Max still offers the Gh

Gigantic gacha machine appears in Tokyo department store for capsule toy celebration

Monster Capsule is a gacha behemoth.“Monster Capsule” might sound like the name of some cheap Pokémon knockoff, but the capsule being referred to isn’t one meant for carrying creatures around in. No, Monster Capsule is supposed to bring up thoughts of capsule toy/gachapon machines, and the Monster part of the name isn’t because the prizes are beastly in nature, but because the machine itself is gigantic.Just how big are Monster Capsule machines? Manufacturer Gleeglobe builds them in three differ

Starbucks Japan releases a new limited-edition Frappuccino inspired by espresso affogato

Find out if this exclusive drink has what it takes to combat a Japanese summer.Some might say the best time to enjoy a Frappuccino is in the heat of summer, especially in Japan when the high humidity drains all your energy and has you searching for a much-needed boost. This summer, the chain is catering to that need with the Banana Affogato Frappuccino, which combines the pick-me-up powers of banana, with its natural sugars and healthy carbs, with the caffeine kick of espresso, for a refreshing

Pikachu cakes and other adorable Pokémon 30th anniversary food coming to Tokyo luxury hotel

Special sweets designed to satisfy your sweet tooth and cool you off in the summer heat.This year is Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, and the franchise is celebrating in style at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, with the hotel offering amazing Pokémon-themed rooms including one with 30 Pikachu plushies to keep guests company during their stay. But what if you’ve already got a place to sleep in Tokyo? Does that mean you have to miss out on the collaboration’s fun?Not at all, because the Grand Hyatt Tokyo’s rest