Desperate times… The declining population issue in Japan has long been discussed with several eventual doomsday scenarios brought up, from an entire country of people named “Sato” to a more recent study suggesting that upwards of 40 percent of local governments are at risk of going extinct in the next few decades. And yet, we’ve seen very little in the form of tangible solutions to boost the birthrate, namely alleviating the crippling economic and social factors that make having a kid far less attractive than just traveling or hanging out and playing PlayStation in what little free time peopl ..read more

Masahiro Sakurai’s snack time draws comparison to 19th century painting. “Likes video games” seems like a pretty standard trait for people who work in the industry, but even by that metric, Masahiro Sakurai is known for his purehearted love for the medium. As director and designer of the Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting series, Sakurai has had ample opportunities to showcase his admiration for a huge number of video game franchises, but it’s clear that he has an especially soft spot for cuddly character Kirby. Kirby was actually created by Sakurai, who gave him a starring role in the stor ..read more

New Mario Transformation Set has got everyone drinking. On 22 April, Suntory launched a new campaign in collaboration with Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise in Japan, offering local residents the chance to win a variety of original goods that’s got everyone talking…and drinking. There are two different sets that people can win, with the first being a “Mario Transformation Set”, which contains a Mario hat and a moustache that clips onto the top of a Suntory drink bottle, instantly turning you into the franchise’s titular star. The other set up for grabs aligns with the “Let’s play together! L ..read more

Heartwarming designs capture the love between mother and child in a beautiful way. Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and here to help us out with gift ideas is Starbucks. They’ve come out with a new range of goods in Japan featuring cute designs based around an elephant and carnation design theme, and there are six items to choose from. ▼ The Elephant Carnation Mug is priced at 2,400 yen (US$15.50). With a design featuring carnations on the back and a baby elephant riding on the back of its mother on the front, this is a very sweet gift for Mother’s Day. ▼ Elephant Carnation Colour-changing ..read more

Newly released design shows how the former station building will blend into a more modern landscape. It was a sad day back in March 2020 when Harajuku Station’s iconic building was dismantled and taken away, replaced with a larger and more modern complex that may have been more amenable to the growing crowds that led to its dismantlement but has far less charm than the original 1924 building, which was the oldest wooden station building in Tokyo. ▼ The old structure had beautiful design features, including half-timbered construction, a spire, and a wooden signboard that read “原宿駅” (“Harajuku ..read more

But don’t worry, these Kaeruyaki are a sweet treat that’s less intimidating than they sound. In March, Ghibli Park, the Nagoya-area theme park dedicated to the anime films of Studio Ghibli, opened its final area, called Valley of Witches and with attractions inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Earwig and the Witch. Except, with the involvement of a group as imaginative as Ghibli, the creative process is never really over, and there’ll always be new things to make a visit to the park special. The latest of those? “Grilled Frogs ..read more

Walking a bunch of papers down the street on a windy day. What could go wrong? The Aichi prefectural government has issued an official apology for improper handling of the personal data of 121 resident households. The incident took place on April 19 and involved data pertaining to residents of government assisted housing at four buildings under the jurisdiction of the Prefectural Public Housing Division. However, the data was neither leaked by an unscrupulous worker nor stolen by hackers. Instead it was taken by the wind. As part of the regular administration of the government housing program ..read more

Such an odd encounter that we’re hoping it was a YouTube prank.  Visiting a foreign country can be an unsettling experience, especially when you’re in a place like Japan, where a lot of the signage is written in kanji characters and most of the locals only speak Japanese. Our reporter Seiji Nakazawa, who’s travelled the world on his own, is acutely aware of the difficulties people can encounter on a trip abroad, and so whenever he sees a foreign visitor in Japan who looks a little lost, he’s always quick to step in and offer as much help as possible. The troubles he’s usually assisted wi ..read more

We try to set the night on FI-RE-AH! Chinese online retail site Temu has been taking the world by storm with its rock-bottom prices. But our Japanese reporter Masanuki Sunakoma, who shops almost exclusively at the rock bottom, has frequented it for quite some time in search of the ultimate deal. Just the other day, he found a sweet deal on a light for just 2 yen (US$0.01). However, Temu has a minimum purchase limit of 2,100 yen so he needed to fill up his cart with some other random items. Among them was a birthday candle for 345 yen. This item caught Masanuki’s eye becaus ..read more

One surprise is the topping, which isn’t cream but an enormous green tea daifuku sweet. If you love green tea, you really ought to add a visit to Shizuoka Prefecture to your itinerary. Located just an hour away from Tokyo by the Hikari Shinkansen, this region has an ideal climate for growing green tea, making it one of the top producing areas, and you’ll be able to try it in a variety of ways wherever you go throughout the prefecture. ▼ Shizuoka is famous for two things — green tea and being home to one half of Mt Fuji, with Yamanashi claiming the other side of the mountain. While green tea ..read more