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July 15, 2026
 

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LIFE

Travel
Digital
Food & Drink
Style & Design
Language
Lifestyle
It's not unheard of for summer temperatures in Kumagaya to reached over 40 degrees Celsius, but the Uchiwa Festival goes on regardless.
LIFE / Travel
Surviving the Uchiwa Festival, Japan¡¯s hottest ¡®matsuri¡¯
By Jessica Kozuka
Temperatures in Kumagaya, home of the raucous Uchiwa Festival, often top 40 degrees Celsius.
Tea practitioner Fukutaro Nakayama moved through the space of KAIT Plaza preparing tea for each guest next to them.
LIFE / Style & Design
A sensory encounter at rare architectural gem KAIT Plaza
By Erik Augustin Palm
KAIT Plaza, usually a student hangout, became a one-day tea ceremony and sound experience.
A rise in tourists on the hunt for on-the-ground deals as well as foreign-facing resellers seeking to turn a profit has Japan's secondhand fashion industry facing a crunch.
LIFE / Style & Design
Global demand is reshaping secondhand fashion in Japan
By Gabrielle Doman
Shop owners in Japan are seeing a deluge of overseas customers, and buyers outside Japan say the costs to stock their stores have doubled or even tripled.

Travel

It's not unheard of for summer temperatures in Kumagaya to reached over 40 degrees Celsius, but the Uchiwa Festival goes on regardless.
Travel
Surviving the Uchiwa Festival, Japan¡¯s hottest ¡®matsuri¡¯
By Jessica Kozuka
Temperatures in Kumagaya, home of the raucous Uchiwa Festival, often top 40 degrees Celsius.
Travel
Beyond crabs and dinos: Japan¡¯s least-touristed region rethinks its appeal
By Louise George Kittaka
Travel
Tokyo¡¯s best Four Seasons may not be its biggest
By Gendel Gento
Travel
Osaka Itami Airport named Asia¡¯s best in new travel rankings
By Weiwen Lin
Travel
How Kojima made a destination out of denim
By Erik Augustin Palm
Travel
At 1 Hotel Tokyo, luxury is a zero-waste journey
By Gendel Gento
Travel / Greater Shinagawa Area
Five things to look out for while getting lost in Takanawa Gateway City
By Mark Thompson

Digital

From January 2028, PlayStation games will release only as digital downloads, calling into question protections about ownership over software and the long-term playability of older titles released on discs.
Digital
Sony to end video game disc production in January 2028
By Owen Ziegler
The gaming giant says the move toward digital-only games aligns the company with consumer trends toward online marketplaces.
Digital
On Dragon Quest¡¯s 40th anniversary, ¡®it¡¯s impossible to ignore its influence¡¯
By Gendel Gento
Digital
A salaryman, a ghost and a water spirit walk into a coffee bar
By Owen Ziegler
Digital
Forza Horizon 6 is all gas, no brakes in series¡¯ first Japan pit stop
By Gendel Gento
Digital / Longform
How Japanese influencers in China are bridging a growing divide
By Mike Fu
Digital
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Japan¡¯s convenience stores
By Gendel Gento
Digital
¡®Nuisance streamer¡¯ Johnny Somali sentenced to six months in prison
By Patrick St. Michel

Food & Drink

For a refreshing kick on a hot summer day, wrap your tempura chicken in "shiso" (perilla leaf).
Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
In Japan, ¡®tastes like medicine¡¯ can be a compliment
By Makiko Itoh
The culinary term ¡°yakumi¡± includes more ingredients than a Western chef might ever group together, but it¡¯s a foundational element of Japanese cuisine.
Food & Drink
Is ramen soup? An inquiry.
By Thu-Huong Ha
Food & Drink
Stripped of Michelin stars, Sezanne embraces a changing of the guard
By Phoebe Amoroso
Food & Drink
La & Le brings a slice of Paris cafe culture to Tokyo
By Weiwen Lin
Food & Drink
Japan¡¯s first standalone ramen shop reopens in Asakusa
By Weiwen Lin
Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
In Kyushu¡¯s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
By Robbie Swinnerton
Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Smash tacos with bear-approved veggies
By Simon Daly

Style & Design

Tea practitioner Fukutaro Nakayama moved through the space of KAIT Plaza preparing tea for each guest next to them.
Style & Design
A sensory encounter at rare architectural gem KAIT Plaza
By Erik Augustin Palm
KAIT Plaza, usually a student hangout, became a one-day tea ceremony and sound experience.
Style & Design
Global demand is reshaping secondhand fashion in Japan
By Gabrielle Doman
Style & Design
Japanese nail salons are tourists¡¯ new obsession
By Gabrielle Doman
Style & Design
¡®The colors speak for themselves¡¯: How Japan¡¯s chroma bible went global
By Aarohi Narain
Style & Design
Ohi Chozaemon XI: ¡®We cannot make tradition the absolute rule¡¯
By Jessica Kozuka
Style & Design
¡®Sashiko¡¯ needlework artisan says craft is about ¡®the stories behind the stitching¡¯
By Jessica Kozuka
Style & Design
What happens when Japan curates its aesthetic for the world?
By Erik Augustin Palm

Language

Students take part in a tournament leading up to last year's Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Competitive Karuta All-Japan High School Championship.
Language / BILINGUAL
Japan¡¯s top high school ¡®karuta¡¯ players head to their own Koshien
By Yuko Tamura
Classical poetry meets lightning-fast reflexes in one of Japan¡¯s most unique competitions for teenagers.
Language / BILINGUAL
Summer in Japan: The language and flavors of staying cool
By Eric Margolis
Language / BILINGUAL
Predicting the future, one Japanese grammar point at a time
By Yaeko Kabe
Language / BILINGUAL
The fighting words fueling support for Japan¡¯s World Cup team
By Yuko Tamura
Language / Vocabulary Boost
Japanese sports terms you may hear on TV
By Yuko Tamura
Language / BILINGUAL
In Japanese, saying what you want can be complicated
By Peter Backhaus
Language / BILINGUAL
How Japanese grammar captures the gap between legal outcomes and public judgment
By Yaeko Kabe

Lifestyle

Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa hopes to be just another musically inclined entry to the neighborhood's web of live houses.
Food & Drink
Fender opens a second, more unplugged Shimokitazawa cafe
By Aden Max Juarez
Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa seeks to sit alongside the neighborhood¡¯s reputation as a hotbed of Japan¡¯s indie music scene.
Lifestyle
Bilingual speech club offers freedom to be yourself
By Aviraj Gokool
Lifestyle
In Japan, a bull market for bear deterrents
By Alex K.T. Martin
Lifestyle / Longform
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin
Lifestyle
Where Tokyo goes to sweat and soak
By Erik Augustin Palm
Lifestyle
With the end of 3G, Japan¡¯s beloved flip phones go dark
By Thu-Huong Ha
Lifestyle
Working overtime: ¡®Silver Jinzai¡¯ centers keep Japan¡¯s seniors employed
By Bhavesh Gulrajani
Read more LIFE stories
America¡¯s new India doctrine: Never repeat the China mistake
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi take part in a joint news conference at the White House in February 2025.
Global demand is reshaping secondhand fashion in Japan
A rise in tourists on the hunt for on-the-ground deals as well as foreign-facing resellers seeking to turn a profit has Japan's secondhand fashion industry facing a crunch.
Extreme heat grips Japan with potential double storm brewing
As heat grips Japan, authorities are urging residents to use air conditioning, avoid unnecessary outdoor activity and drink fluids before feeling thirsty.
Japan is building a new intelligence agency with help from the West
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who serves concurrently as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, delivers a speech during the party's convention in Tokyo in April.
How Putin turned Japan into a den of spies
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 6.
Japan¡¯s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi¡¯s ¡°Elevator Girl House¡± series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Is ramen soup? An inquiry.
Ramen is one of Japan's national dishes. But what exactly is it?
Global demand is reshaping secondhand fashion in Japan
A rise in tourists on the hunt for on-the-ground deals as well as foreign-facing resellers seeking to turn a profit has Japan's secondhand fashion industry facing a crunch.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
¡®Princess Mononoke¡¯ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The ¡°Princess Mononoke¡± adaptation was created under Shochiku¡¯s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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