Showa era

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.

INSIDER

The Museum of Roadside Art: Inside The Tokyo Museum Where Sex and Kitsch Collide

Inside Tokyo's Museum of Roadside Art, a Japanese photojournalist's mission to save erotic art others consider too "lowbrow" to preserve.

SEX & NIGHTLIFE

Hihōkan: Japan’s Vanishing Roadside Sex Museums, and the Tokyo Bar Keeping Them Alive

Learn more about the hihōkan, the erotic museums where drunken salarymen used to while away their time before dinner.

INSIDER

Urine Nation: Japan’s 150-Years-Long War Against Peeing in Public

During Japan's Edo Era, peeing in the street wasn't a crime, but a contribution to the economy. Here's how Meiji Japan, anxious…

JAPANESE LANGUAGE

The “Dead” Slang Words a Japanese Dictionary Officially Killed

In English, words are rarely deleted from dictionaries. So why in 2021 did a Japanese dictionary publisher give 1,100 words the boot?

TRAVEL

Kissaten: Are Japan’s Old-School Coffee Shops Fading?

Japan’s kissaten are fading fast, but their retro charm is drawing new fans. Explore what's keeping these old-school coffee shops alive.

TRAVEL

Edo-Tokyo Museum Finally Set to Reopen in March 2026

One of Tokyo's most beloved and culturally significant museums is finally set to reopen to the public on March 31st.

HISTORY

Shinjuku’s Moulin Rouge: The Theater That Danced Through War and Censorship

Japanese imperial authorities frequently raided it and censored its scripts. Despite this, the women at the Shinjuku Moulin Rouge danced on.