In-depth guides, local insights, and practical tips from our team on the ground in Japan.
In this article: What a Torii Gate Actually Marks A torii is a threshold. When you walk under one, you are crossing...
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In this article: What Shin-Okubo Is and How It Got Here Shin-Okubo is Tokyo’s Korea Town: a few hundred metres of streets...
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In this article: How Japan’s Consumption Tax and Tax-Free System Work Japan charges a consumption tax on almost everything you buy, and...
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In this article: What a Tatami Mat Actually Is A tatami mat is a thick, firm floor mat made from natural materials,...
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In this article: What Nishiki Market Is Nishiki Market is a covered shopping street in central Kyoto, five blocks long and barely...
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In this article: What Pachinko Actually Is Pachinko is a Japanese game that sits somewhere between a vertical pinball machine and a...
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In this article: How the Seto Inland Sea Became an Art Destination Naoshima: Museums and Outdoor Art Naoshima’s Villages and Art Houses...
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In this article: Geography and Deep History Japan is older and stranger than its neon image suggests. Before you get to the...
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In this article: Introduction Tokyo is one of the world’s great photography cities — not because it has the most dramatic natural...
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