Enka is a genre of Japanese music. Enka has characteristic melody lines and is sung with a distinctive vocal tremolo expression/vibrato called kobushi.  One enka singer, Hiroshi Miyama, has…

  Have you ever had the experience of staying in a Japanese style “washitsu” room? It’s super comfortable to lay on the cool “tatami” mattress on a hot summer day!…

  Today, I would like to share a video that Audi Japan created in honor of acquiring 200,000 fans on their Facebook page. Japanese public bathhouses, called sento, traditionally feature gigantic…

Summer is coming to the end and we are feeling autumn is on its way. We may have to wait for sun bathing and outdoor swimming till next year, but…

  OMG! Is Totoro really “my neighbor”!? Actually this is what someone created just for personal enjoyment.  A 59 year old man, HIDEBOCHI-san, who runs an udon restaurant in Mie…

  Our lives are lately full of digital sounds such as alarms, beeping home appliances and phone ring tones. The product I would like to share with you today might…

I guess it’s safe to say that everybody loves festival. Among all festivals, summer ones were always my favourite when I was kids because we can enjoy festival dance in…

  In Nishi Tama, only about one and a half hour driving time from Central Tokyo, sits the Tenko-ji temple. Tenko-ji offers deep mind-body training, not only to priests, but also…

  Savory aromas wafting out of restaurants often make a passerby feel hungry. For Japanese people, the smell of “yakiniku” (=grilled meat) is special, stimulating empty stomachs and arousing appetites….

  Japan is a beautiful country. However, we Japanese might become so used to our lovely surroundings that, over time, we fail to notice and appreciate them. Australian artist David…

  Have you ever heard of “senko-hanabi”, the traditional Japanese fireworks? These are a type of handheld sparkler. Fireworks, especially sparklers, might conjure up images of lively and fun situations…