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 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
- culture/ Feb 1, 2026
Beans and Demons
Every February, adults throw roasted soybeans at invisible demons and eat sushi rolls in silence facing southeast
- culture/ Dec 31, 2025
Stacked Wishes
Osechi-ryori and the edible symbolism of Japanese New Year - why we eat black beans for diligence and herring roe for fertility
