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japanese culture

Page 3

Food & Drink

Bowled over

Kagawa is a prefecture so enamoured with Sanuki udon noodles that the delicacy is both tourist attraction and TV star. We tuck in.

  • Issue #129
  • 10 min read
Four staff members smile outside a traditional Japanese udon restaurant with wooden signage and noren curtains.
Soft Power

Follow the bear

Fluffy, furry mascots are everywhere in Japan but Kumamon has captured the nation’s imagination like no other. We explore his ‘very’ soft-power potential.

  • Issue #129
  • 10 min read
Kumamon, the black bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, stands in a fluorescent-lit office corridor lined with shelves.
Design

On the move

We visit the Japanese diasporas that are leaving a distinct mark on the world stage.

  • Issue #129
  • 7 min read
Four Japanese people in winter clothing standing outside the Arabia factory building in Helsinki
Culture

National treasures

What do you think about when you think about Japan? Beyond the postcards are the people; a nation of unusual ingenuity, fire and skill. Behold our living wonders of the Japanese world!

  • Issue #129
  • 10 min read
Black and white photo of a young woman in a white gi and black belt performing a karate kata in a dojo.
Culture

The opener

We report from an idiosyncratic nation that has won us over with its quirky kerbside totems, drinks-filled vending machines, mascots and of course, shower toilets.

  • Issue #129
  • 7 min read
Two traditional Japanese tanuki (raccoon dog) ceramic figurines wearing straw hats displayed outside a building.
Food & Drink

Open house

A Tokyo community centre with food at its heart is helping to nourish the whole neighbourhood.

  • Issue #125
  • 7 min read
Open house
Affairs

Fired up

Meet the team with a burning desire to protect Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera temple.

  • Issue #125
  • 3 min read
Fired up
Business

Going with the flow

Roland's engineers hiked mountain trails recording streams to solve Japan's most intimate public anxiety: the sound of strangers urinating. Meet the Sound Decorator, bathroom privacy's unlikely high-tech saviour.

  • Issue #124
  • 3 min read
Going with the flow
Affairs

Eastern promise

In our new feature we’re heading to one nation per month to look at the ideas, practices and customs that are worth exporting. First up, Japan – policymakers take note.

  • Issue #123
  • 8 min read
Eastern promise

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