tokyo Archives - Unseen Japan

kom-pal bathhouse tall chimney lettered 金春湯, rising against a blue sky with Osaki office towers behind

How an Ex-Engineer Revived A Public Bath in Tokyo

Japan's neighborhood bathhouses are disappearing, but some are bucking the trend. See how one ex-engineer keeps his family's sento alive.

Woman on a hotel bed looking out a wide window at a coastal sea view, beside a wooden table and two orange chairs

TRAVEL

Tokyo Overhauls Lodging Tax as Accommodation Fees Spread Across Japan

Most inbound tourists won't notice it, but the increase will enable Tokyo to better accommodate the rising wave of travelers.

Illuminated Lupin bar sign above a dark wooden door with brick trim in a dim Ginza alley at night

CULTURE

Bar Lupin: Drink Where Japan’s Modern Literary Masters Hung Out

In a Ginza basement, Bar Lupin has poured drinks since 1928 for Dazai Osamu, Ango, and other Japanese literary greats.

Woman looking thoughtful in front of Japanese yen banknotes and coins

TRAVEL

Shibuya’s Littering Fine Targets Both Tourists and Trashy Locals

Who's making Shibuya a worse place to live? The ward rolls out a new fine targeting not just tourists, but messy locals.

Oversized tamagoyaki nigiri wrapped in nori, held up in front of the JR Shinjuku Station sign

FOOD

I Ate Edo-style Sushi for Less than $10 at a Japanese Train Station

Want to eat sushi like they ate it during the time of the shogun? A shop in Shinjuku Station is offering this…

Utamaro ukiyo-e of kimono-clad women gathered in a two-story Fukagawa teahouse with snow falling outside

HISTORY

Kikuya: The Cast-Out Dancer Who Invented the Geisha

The Tatsumi Geisha were the first female geisha of Japan. And they owe their existence to a woman driven out of her…

People walking on a bridge over a pond at Kiyosumi Park

TRAVEL

Kiyosumi-Shirakawa: Tokyo’s Quiet Neighborhood of Coffee, Art, and Edo History

Kiyosumi-Shirakawa is one of Tokyo's quietest neighborhoods, where Edo history, a Mitsubishi-built stroll garden, contemporary art, and Japan's third-wave coffee scene sit…

Japanese happening bar where patrons gather and socialize

SEX &AMP; NIGHTLIFE

Happening Bars: A Guide to Japan’s Hidden Sex Hotspots

What are happening bars? What actually "happens" in one? And the bigger question as a foreigner in Japan: Will they even allow…