Daily Life

In most of the world, you sign your name to confirm something. In Japan, you press a small cylindrical stamp […]

There was a time when the sento was simply part of daily life in Japan. Before homes had bathrooms, the

Foreigners experiencing Japanese delivery services for the first time tend to say the same thing: the accuracy is unreal. If

Calling a Japanese convenience store a “convenience store” is technically accurate and deeply inadequate. In Japan, konbini are infrastructure —

Before eating in Japan, you say itadakimasu. After finishing, you say gochisousama deshita. These rituals are so deeply embedded in

Travelers to Japan almost universally notice the same thing: vending machines are everywhere. Down narrow backstreets, along mountain roads, at

There is one place that almost every foreigner visiting Japan ends up going. The 100-yen shop. They walk in skeptical

Foreigners visiting a Japanese hospital for the first time are often left with the same questions. Why is the wait