Sailor revised prices on February 1, 2026, centering on gold-bearing products; the Profit Standard went from 22,000 to 44,000 yen. Gold's annual average price in Japan nearly tripled in five years, and all three major Japanese makers have now raised prices.
Global demand for matcha has doubled Japan's green tea exports to 72.1 billion yen in 2025 and driven domestic leaf prices sharply higher. What is happening to growers, confectioners and everyday tea drinkers, and how the 2026 crop opened.
A Japanese toy company's "Infinite Moai Maker" has gone viral on social media, allowing anyone to create endless Easter Island-style statues from snow. With sales quadrupling and stock selling out instantly, this quirky winter toy has captured Japan's imagination. Discover how a simple idea turned snowy backyards into mysterious stone statue gardens.
Takashimaya's Sakai store closed on January 7, 2026 after 61 years. What actually decided it, four straight years of operating losses and an expiring lease, the structural forces behind it, and what replaces it: HiViE Sakaihigashi, opening in spring 2027.
A midnight dish thrown together when the fridge is empty, Peperoncino is a humble Neapolitan classic Italians know as "poor man's pasta" or a midnight spaghettata. So how did Japan turn it into a restaurant favorite and a test of a cook's skill? A look at its deceptive simplicity, Japan's inventive variations, and the local obsession with emulsification.
Louis Vuitton revives its first-ever wristwatch, the 1988 "LV I" and "LV II," in a 188-piece limited edition called the Louis Vuitton Montre. It keeps Gae Aulenti's pebble-shaped design while adding a white grand feu enamel dial and an in-house automatic movement. A look at the reissue and its specifications.
As Japan sees record numbers of "grave closings" due to aging demographics, more Japanese are creating family trees to discover their roots. With Meiji-era family registers facing destruction deadlines, the race to trace ancestry has become urgent.
Omikuji are the paper fortunes drawn at Japanese shrines and temples. Here is why drawing again after a bad one is frowned upon, what Shinto scholars say about it, what "kyo" (bad fortune) actually means, the etiquette around drawing and tying them, and which shrines are said to leave bad fortunes out altogether.
Meiji University spinout Pormedtec is preparing Japan's first pig-to-human organ transplant trial, now targeted for 2028 at Hokkaido University Hospital and Shonan Kamakura General Hospital. Only about 4% of Japan's 16,000 registered transplant candidates receive an organ each year. In the US, a gene-edited pig kidney has functioned in a patient for more than seven months.
A guide to the Japanese tradition of Hatsumode (first shrine visit of the New Year) and Osaisen (monetary offerings). Learn why 5-yen coins symbolize "good fortune," which amounts bring luck, and master the proper prayer etiquette including the "two bows, two claps, one bow" ritual.
UNIQLO's Pokemon 30th anniversary UT collection went on sale March 23, 2026, using the original watercolour artwork from the 1996 games untouched. Ten designs in all, five men's and five kids', covering the starters (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle), Pikachu, Snorlax, Gengar, Eevee and more. ¥1,990 men's, ¥990 kids', with matching prints across both lines.