These Backpacks From Japan Look Like Giant Sushi
These sushi backpacks are from Japan and they’re made by a company called Turn Over. They come in three delicious varieties (tamagoyaki, salmon, and shrimp) and they all feature photo-printed fabrics that make the sushi look super realistic. Continue reading »
Even The Mailboxes In Japan Are Strangely Beautiful
Mailboxes aren’t what you’d typically consider as artworks, but in Japan they kinda are. Japanese mailboxes have been made more colourful with images of mascots, animals, and references to local culture. Continue reading »
Magical Photos Of Early Spring In Japan Captured By Hidenobu Suzuki
“My profession is beautician. My photographs are like Japanese paintings. I think that realism is more Western style. Japanese like to express emotions and spiritual feelings through the landscape photography”, says Hidenobu Suzuki. Continue reading »
Boxes Into Beds: Brilliant Idea Helps Earthquake Victims In Japan
On April 14 2016, Japan’s Kyushu Island in Kumamoto Prefecture was rocked by a magnitude 7 earthquake. The earthquake killed nine people and caused widespread damage to the region. Many people lost everything in the disaster, but thanks to these clever ‘Box Beds’, at least the victims have somewhere comfortable to sleep. Continue reading »
Samurai Armor Hoodies From Japan
Always wanted to be a Samurai but didn’t fancy the whole “dedicating your entire life to it” thing? Well, thanks to clothing company Tokyo Otaku Mode, there might just be an easier way to become a Samurai. Or at least look like one anyway. Continue reading »
Japan’s High-Tech Cemetery Uses Electronic ID Cards To Identify The Dead
Space is rare in Japan, making city planners come up with innovative ways to cram as much as possible into small spaces. This is even true with graveyard plots, which cost as much as $100,000 apiece, so architect Kiyoshi Takeyama created a neat solution for storing the dead. Continue reading »
100-Year-Old Hand-Colored Postcards Offer A Fascinating Glimpse Of Pre-War Japan
Cherry blossom at Mukojima, Tokyo
Postcards can offer a fascinating glimpse into eras that have long since passed. The Digital Collections of the New York Public Library (NYPL) has released a selection of postcards from Japan in the early 20th century. Comprising hand-colored photographs, these landscape snapshots represent the country—specifically the Tokyo and Yokohama regions—and the culture at a time when it was on the cusp of modernity. Many of the photographs are dated from the years 1907 through 1922. Continue reading »
Japan’s Terrifying Road Is Enough To Give The Most Confident Driver Nightmares
It is a hill start to give even the most confident learner driver nightmares. The Eshima Ohashi bridge in Japan – the third largest of its kind in the world – rises sharply so ships can pass underneath. The concrete road bridge spans a mile across Lake Nakaumi, linking the cities of Matsue and Sakaiminato. Continue reading »
The Catshmallows – Japan’s Felissimo Are Selling Marshmallows That Look Like Cats
If you love cats so much, you wish everything you ate looked like them, you’re in luck (and also, maybe calm down a bit?). Continue reading »
McDonald’s Offering Massive 48-McNuggets Bucket in Japan, But True Idol Fans Need to Eat 1,200
On this, a federally-mandated day set aside for unadulterated gluttony, we think that McDonald’s finally may have gone too far. Continue reading »
17-Year-Old Cat Suffering From Kidney Failure Is Japan’s Cutest & Laziest Feline
Ura has lived a long and happy life. And at 17 years, the adorable white Scottish Fold cat has found internet fame. Continue reading »
Haunting Photos Of A Deserted Island In Japan
These stunning photos reveal the forgotten and decaying beauty of a once-thriving island town in Japan. The town is called Gunkjima and sits about 15 kilometers south of Nagaski. The spot is well known as a forbidden treasure trove of dilapidated urban development. Continue reading »
What Do You Think of this Dessert Themed Public Toilet in Japan?
Photo by Yasunori Takeuchi, courtesy Toilennale
What looks like a giant cake, or possibly an ice cream sunday, stands in the street, connected to a park. This is a piece of art. But it’s also a public toilet. It’s both. As part of the 2015 Oita Toilennale, perhaps the world’s first art festival dedicated to toilets, artist Minako Nishiyama conceived of the project. And with the help of artists Mika Kasahara and Yuma Haruna, the 3 female artists brought “Melting Dream” to life. Continue reading »
Japan’s First Female Photojournalist Is Still Shooting At The Age Of 101
At 101 years old, renowned Japanese photographer Tsuneko Sasamoto continues to express her artistic voice and capture stunning images. Considered to be her country’s first photojournalist at the age of 25, Sasamoto has been documenting history for over 70 years, including pre- and post-war Japan. Her photographs highlighted the country’s dramatic shift from a totalitarian regime to an economic superpower, and the social implications that arose from it. Continue reading »
Giant Dinosaur Sculptures Made of Recycled Rice Straw Pop Up in Japan
Image credits: satoshi700203
September in rural Japan means two things: farmers are harvesting their rice and the leftover straw is being used to make extraordinary works of art. Specifically, the resulting material is serving as a tool for an artist Amy Goda (previously), who’s creating some pretty terrifying dinosaur sculptures. The talented unconventional sculptor also has a knack for fashioning other giant beasts, including an intimidating praying mantis, an antagonistic crab, and an angry king cobra. Continue reading »
Muslim Lolita Fashion Is A New Trend Inspired By Japan
In an awesome fashion mash-up that nobody could’ve foreseen, Muslim fans of the Japanese lolita fashion trend have begun pairing these sweet-as-candy outfits with their hijabs, creating a unique new style that Japanese lolita fans are falling in love with. Continue reading »
Astonishing Straw Sculptures in Japan
At the end of rice harvesting season, the folks of the Kagawa and Niigata Prefectures in Japan hold a straw festival to celebrate the abundance of the harvest. Dried straws cover wooden frames to form larger-than-life sculptures from animals like sharks and gorillas to vessels such as ships and tanks. The family-friendly event invites visitors of all ages to engage, interact, and play on the enormous structures.
Continue reading »
Beautiful And Tasty “Sushi Cakes” Are Now Very Popular In Japan
Have you ever seen Japanese “Sushi Cakes” (originally they were called “Oshi-sushi”.)? They are very popular in Japan right now. They look great and people enjoy both making and eating them.
Continue reading »
Japan’s Rural School
Students in Aone’s elementary school during break in between the class on April 9, 2015. The school has only six students, two of whom are from the same family. Similarly small schools can be found throughout Japan. (Photo by Ko Sasaki/The Washington Post)
Continue reading »
Japan’s Bombastic Street Style Puts New York Fashion Week To Shame
New York-based photographer Thomas C. Card spent months in the depths of Japan’s hyper-fashionable nether regions, documenting the eye-opening variety of styles found on the streets of Tokyo in 2012. From neon wigs to reappropriated Victorian garb to gas masks as accessories, he found a plethora of fashion identities that flourished in the year after the country’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. Continue reading »
Cherry Blossoms in Japan
A couple walks together at Sankeien Park in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, to have their wedding pictures taken as cherry blossoms are in full bloom Sunday, March 29, 2015. (Photo by Shuji Kajiyama/AP Photo)
Continue reading »
An Otter House In Japan Now Has A Roundabout – No More Underwater Traffic Jams
Japan is always up for building something crazy – like, for example, an otter roundabout – which is exactly what Keikyu Aburatsubo Marine Park in Miura City did! Continue reading »
The Real Land-Walker Robot From Japan
Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
Masaaki Nagumo controls the Land Walker robot at Sakakibara Kikai Co., Ltd Headquarters on May 12, 2005 in Maebashi, Japan. The two legged robot stands at 3.4 metres high and weighs 1000kg. The Land Walker is available to buy for 36,000,000 yen (approximately US $340,000). Masaaki Nagumo developed Land Walker on the basis of the dream he has had in his childhood that enables a person to go on. Continue reading »
Street Photographer Lukasz Kazimierz Palka Perfectly Shoots Japan
Lukasz Kazimierz Palka, or Lukas, is a prolific street photographer from Chicago, Illinois. He’s been living and working in Tokyo, Japan for the past years. His photos range from revealing the hidden beauty in the mundane, to exposing the delicate pulse of life in a chaotic and over crowded city. Continue reading »
MINI Japan by Alexa Meade
Creators of Mini Cooper continue on with their innovative way of promoting their product. First, it was the huge cardboard boxes, which looked like packaging for full sized Mini Coopers, left all over Amsterdam. Now they’ve hired a famous artist Alexa Meade, who is known for making 3-D objects look as if they are 2-D paintings. For this project, Alexa had to fly to Japan, where she turned a whole Mini Cooper into a “drawing”. Even if you know that what you’re seeing on the picture are 3-D objects, your brain refuses to accept this, making you think that Alexa is standing near a sloppy picture of a Mini Cooper Continue reading »
