Kanazawa City has recently become easily accessible thanks to the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen (bullet train) ride. This has brought many visitors to the city where you can still enjoy a beautiful, traditional Japanese townscape and culture. The CEOs and general managers of eight metropoli… Read More
When you look at a room full of young people, it's easy to group certain types of people into stereotypical archetypes. The jocks, the geeks, the glamorous, the hippies etc. There's a similar practice in the Japanese culture as well, where they express each archetype by actually using the word 'ty… Read More
Ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the boutique (From the left) Masato Takaoka - The Consul-General of Japan Hirohito Umemoto COO of Seiko Watch COO Toru Koizumi Managing Director of Seiko Australia On the 1st of March 2016, Seiko’s very first Australian boutique opened its doors at the Que… Read More
For most visitors, a day at Universal Studios Japan begins at Osaka station hopping aboard a train on the JR Sakurajima (also known as Yumesaki) line. Even at 10am on a weekday, you can expect the carriages to be packed to the roof with excited families, school kids, groups of young women and men, … Read More
In the traditional Japanese calendar, there are four separate days that mark the beginning of each season. The first of the year, the first day of spring - known as ‘Risshun’ - falls around the 4th or 5th of February each year. This day marks the arrival of a new season and with it, a new year. … Read More
Walking along the streets to the side of any CBD or central city area in Japan, you're more than likely to come across signage with glam photos of men and women. These are called 'host club' and 'kyabakura' which is short for 'cabaret club'. The capital district of these clubs is Kabuki-cho in Shi… Read More
Every second Monday of the year is Coming of Age Day in Japan. This day celebrates young adults, who have just become of legal age at 20 years old. It’s a national public holiday and the streets are filled with formally dressed young men and women, celebrating their youth with peers from the local … Read More
There are many interesting public holidays which come with traditional practices in the Japanese calendar, there's the Children's Day on May 5th, where families with boys fly a koi-shaped flags at their homes or there's Labor Thanksgiving Day on November 23rd. However there is no Boxing Day and if … Read More
Just a hop and a skip away from Shinjuku station, in the glitzy town of Kabuki-chō - one of Tokyo’s most famous entertainment districts - is Robot Restaurant. The walk over to the restaurant from Shinjuku station, as well as the entrance to Kabuki-chō is filled with bright signage and borderline-il… Read More
By now it is well-known around the world that Japan is the home to some interesting, sometimes borderline peculiar subcultures. The Japanese youth has a lot of commitment and passion for their subcultures - they live and breathe it. Without the maniacal commitment of these youths, some of these sub… Read More
Japan as a whole is one of the biggest food capitals in the world not just because of the washoku (Japanese food) but for the caliber of restaurants there are in all types of cuisines and all budgets. When visiting Japan you can expect to find exquisite washoku (Japanese food), which includes thing… Read More
If you google the word ‘otaku’, google describes it as ‘(in Japan) a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills.’ For the most part otakus are a lot like the geeks of the western world, however, the level of obsession… Read More
