A stray calico named Tama once saved a doomed rural rail line. Now Japan's Wakayama Electric Railway plans to turn the whole route into 'Nyanderland', a cat nation with passports, visas, and a queen.
Tokyo's life-size Unicorn Gundam in Odaiba is being redressed with new decals by original designer Hajime Katoki before its end-of-August removal. Here is what the Ver. TWC FINAL makeover involves, the final nightly light-up lineup, the free headband campaign, and how to see it before it's gone.
Studio Ghibli specialty chain Donguri Republic opens its first U.S. store as a pop-up near Los Angeles. Dates, hours, perks, and why the chain isn't actually new to overseas markets.
A hard drive on a concrete pillar in a Tokyo canal, rumored to hold trillions of yen in Bitcoin, was finally identified as an enterprise HGST drive. Then, a day after going viral, someone took it. The math, the law, and the vanishing act.
Steps from Nikko's World Heritage shrines stands a vending machine selling antique kimono jackets for a flat 1,000 yen, with the catch that you never know which one you'll get. Here's the story behind Japan's kimono gacha and the small theater that created it.
On June 1, Shibuya became the first of Tokyo's 23 wards to fine street littering on the spot, 2,000 yen a pop, with 10 penalties on day one. But this is a country that spent decades removing its public bins. Inside Japan's awkward don't-litter-but-good-luck-finding-a-bin paradox.
Niseko, Japan's premier ski resort, is moving beyond its winter-only image. We break down 'Niseko by Nature', the new brand from the Niseko Promotion Board (NPB), what a tourism DMO actually does, and how to enjoy Niseko's green season.
Kagawa, Japan's self-styled udon prefecture, throws away thousands of tons of noodles a year. Two teams found wildly different uses for the waste: a small factory that turns it into electricity, and a professor who turns it into surprisingly tough paper grown by microbes, now made at a welfare facility for Marugame's traditional fans.
Tourists are buying Japanese knives in record numbers, and makers are posting all-time-high profits. But there's a tier money can't fast-track—where top chefs wait years. Meet three masters: Sakashita, Nenohi, and Yu Kurosaki.
Printer and sewing-machine maker Brother opened BROTHER JOYFACTORY TOKYO in Kyobashi on June 30, 2026. Become a samurai, record a song, or do calligraphy, then walk out with a printed T-shirt or record. Prices, access, booking and what this maker-led tourism experiment means.
Mitsui Fudosan, Canada's Moment Factory, and The Pokémon Company International unveil a touring immersive experience that casts visitors as real Pokémon Trainers, debuting in Europe in spring 2027. Here's how it differs from Pokémon Centers and PokéPark, why it starts in Europe, and what fans hope for.