Culture
When Plushies Take a Seat: Japan’s “Nuikatsu” Boom Collides With Restaurant Manners
A couple of viral incidents online highlight how some restaurants are struggling to handle customers bringing their stuffed +1s.
Articles by K. Lou
71 articles · Page 7
Culture
History
Suzuki Masa: The Samurai’s Daughter Who Helped Found Modern Japanese Nursing
NHK's 2026 morning drama Kaze, Kaoru modeled one of its heroines on a woman most people in Japan have never heard of:…
Society
Is Japan REALLY Trying to Ban Saying “Itadakimasu” at Schools?
Japan's "War on Christmas" is a viral online claim framed as an attack on Japanese culture. Just one problem: it isn't true.
Society
Why Some Big Japan Brands Are Quitting Baby Products
The two companies say the decisions have nothing to do with population decline. Indeed, there are signs the baby business in Japan…
Entertainment
20% of Japan’s Manga Artists and Illustrators Say AI Has Cut Their Income
A new Nikkei survey finds that roughly one in five Japanese manga artists and illustrators say generative AI has already cut into…
Travel
The World’s First Pokémon Airport Aims to Boost Japan’s Noto Region Post-Quake
Ishikawa Prefecture is renaming Noto Satoyama Airport as 'Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport' from July 7, 2026, making it the world's…
Travel
Hanabi Taikai: A Traveler’s Guide to Japan’s Summer Fireworks Festivals
Japanese summer is impossible to imagine without hanabi taikai, the riverbank fireworks displays that pack millions onto seawalls every July and August.…
Travel
Bon Odori: Inside Japan’s Soulful Summer Dance Tradition
Every summer, neighborhoods and remote mountain villages across Japan ring with taiko, flute, and shuffling feet. Bon Odori is Japan's quietly extraordinary…