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Nihon Tips — Life in Japan — Page 8

  • daily-life/ Feb 14, 2026

    How Japan Votes

    Pencils, not pens. Names, not boxes. A systems guide to Japanese democracy from someone who cannot participate

    An empty school gymnasium arranged with long folding tables and ballot boxes for voting, a few people present.
  • culture/ Feb 1, 2026

    Beans and Demons

    Every February, adults throw roasted soybeans at invisible demons and eat sushi rolls in silence facing southeast

    Roasted soybeans scattered across a dark wooden floor with a red demon mask resting in the corner.
  • food/ Jan 24, 2026

    The Sticky Subject

    Japan's most divisive breakfast — the smell, the strings, and why three packs cost less than a coffee

    Chopsticks lift sticky natto beans, trailing fine threads, from a bowl beside white rice on a wooden tray.
  • food/ Jan 15, 2026

    The Marbled Truth

    What makes Kobe beef Kobe beef, how the grading system works, and where to eat it without overpaying - or overcooking

    Three thick marbled beef steaks sear with rosemary and garlic on a hot teppan grill, beside a bowl of rice.
  • food/ Jan 12, 2026

    Grilled As You Like It

    Osaka mixes everything together, Hiroshima stacks it in layers - the regional rivalry behind Japan's favourite savoury pancake

    A cook flips a savoury okonomiyaki pancake with a spatula on a steaming griddle in a busy restaurant.