culture/ Mar 18, 2026
Under the Forecast
Cherry blossom season is a week of blue tarps, warm beer, and rearranged calendars — and the compulsion never fades
- food/ Mar 14, 2026
The Return Gift
The confectionery industry invented a holiday, set a 2-3x return rule, and built a ¥50 billion market out of obligation
- culture/ Mar 8, 2026
The Ninth Inning Nation
Organised cheering sections, beer vendors with kegs on their backs, and why losing to Venezuela at 2am still hurts
- culture/ Mar 1, 2026
A Thousand Tiny Courts
Hundred-year-old dolls on red-draped tiers, the superstition about putting them away on time, and what Girls Day reveals about tradition
- travel/ Feb 22, 2026
Gates and Bells
Torii or sanmon, clap or bow — a Kyoto native on telling shrines from temples and why the line keeps blurring
