Japanese Language
Japan Discovers Changing Your “Kira-Kira” Name is Cheap (But Not Easy)
A viral post brings to light that changing a name in Japan is much cheaper than you might think... but that doesn't…
The latest Japan travel and culture news
Japanese Language
Japanese Language
Why Do Japanese People Say That Chinese Sounds “Scary”?
A recent social media discussion that could have turned dicey instead became a referendum on a single Chinese particle.
Sex & Nightlife
Coffee Shop Cool: Inside the Kabukicho Kissaten That (Almost) Never Sleeps
How a coffee shop with rock-bottom prices became a home away from home for the diverse denizens of Kabukicho.
Book Reviews
Review – Pink Auteur, Red Outlaw: Adachi Masao and Japan’s Cinema of Revolution
William Andrews’ new book explores Adachi Masao's radical cinema, the Japanese New Left, and decades of involvement with the infamous Japanese Red…
Entertainment
Dōjinshi Market Squeezed as Major Printers Fueling Comiket Close Shop
The printers who make fan manga possible are closing at an alarming rate. The Middle East ink crisis is only one cause.
Sex & Nightlife
How Japan’s Nightlife Tourist Traps Pad Their Reviews
Japan's tourist traps know how to look trustworthy online, creating paid reviews, inflated ratings, and search rankings to mislead travelers.
Entertainment
Universal Studios Japan’s First Adults-Only Attraction is Such a Scream, It Requires a Waiver
Exactly what is it about this year's Halloween event that requires a waiver and an R-18 rating? Psychological horror and legal liability.
Insider
A Tokyo Hotel Asked for Her Japanese Name. She Sued Instead
A Zainichi Korean woman is suing a hotel in Tokyo after they refused to let her check in under her Korean name.