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Seasonal Products in Japan: From Tradition to Trend
Japanese society, it could be said, really immerses itself in the changing seasons. From Shintoism and Buddhism, the main religions in Japan, being deeply involved with nature to strong contemporary...
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The Rise of the J.League
Four games, three defeats, one draw and no goals: Japan didn’t exactly make much of an impression at the 1988 Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar. In fairness, it was the first time they’d qualified for the...
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A Time and a Place: 7 Artists Who Plotted a Course Through the Japanese 20th...
Over the years, one of the least wasteful ways I have found to waste my time, has been to head off to an (almost) randomly chosen area of Tokyo and immerse myself in whichever I find of the city’s...
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My Japan: A Window into Ordinary Lives
Welcome to the first installment of Voyapon’s new series “My Japan” where Voyapon contributors from all over the country write about a normal week in their lives. Paul McInnes, Voyapon’s editor in...
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Universal Shapes: A Public Art Odyssey in Tokyo
The curvaceous and holey Henry Moores that dotted the landscape of my pre-Banksy UK youth, were to me, the face (and monolithic body) of British public art. Moore’s magnificent-but-ubiquitous...
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My Japan: A Sample of my Freelancer Life in Tokyo
This is the second article of our new series, “My Japan,” where contributors from all over the country write about a typical week in their lives. After reading about Paul’s week in Japan, it’s my...
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Explore the Rural Side of Tokyo on a Day Trip to Akiruno
Living in Tokyo is an amazing and thrilling experience, with numerous activities to do each week. Sometimes, however, we also need to take a break from the city and relax in nature. Luckily, Tokyo is...
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The Imposing and Contentious Architecture of Kyoto Tower
The charms of Kyoto, curated over centuries, are in such abundance that it can seem like an enchanted city. There are lifetimes of shrines and tranquil gardens, generations of craftspeople plying...
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A Love Letter to Atami, Shizuoka’s Legendary Onsen Town
At the zenith of Atami’s heyday, it was the golden prize of your average corporate employee. A spa town so highly regarded since ancient times that the Tokugawa shogunate had servants tasked with...
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Suigian: Where Traditional Japanese Dance and Music Meet Elegant Cocktails
Two women kneel to one side of the stage in front of what appears to be an ancient painting of a pine tree. A third enters from the opposite side, dressed in a beautiful kimono and makeup similar to...
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Atami Shopping: Another Way to Experience this Famed Onsen Town
Experiencing Atami is incomplete without a stroll through its notalgic shotengai or traditional shopping streets. These old-school shopping arcades that we can still find in Japanese cities and towns...
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The Life, Work, and Kyoto Home of Celebrated Ceramicist Kanjiro Kawai
Just a short walk from the Gojo Bridge, site of the warrior-monk Benkei’s fateful 1,000th duel, there is a typically unassuming Kyoto side street that runs quietly between rows of two-story machiya...
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Ekiben: The Legendary Bullet Train Bento in Japan
You are taking a Shinkansen 新幹線 or bullet train, as it’s known overseas, in Japan and spending time inside the train station. You see many stores crowded with people selling a variety of colorful...
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My Japan: The Ordinary and Extraordinary of My Travel Writing Life
When I was asked if I’d like to contribute to the Voyapon My Japan series, I faced a dilemma. The idea of the series is to give an insight into everyday lives in Japan, but as a freelance writer, each...
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How to Spend a Day in Fukuoka
Fukuoka 福岡 is one of Japan’s beautiful southern prefectures, with a different culture and lifestyle all of its own. It’s the birthplace of the famous Hakata ramen 博多ラーメン, and has a mix of traditional...
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Michail Gkinis Aoyama: A Fashion Brand Going Above and Beyond for Inbound...
I’ve known Michail Gkinis for not far off 20 years now. A maverick of design, he’s a graduate of the prestigious London College of Fashion and was one of the first ever foreign-born interns at the...
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Tokyo Daibutsu: The Hidden Giant Born from War and Earthquakes
If you ask the average Tokyoite about Tokyo Daibutsu 東京大仏 or Tokyo’s Giant Buddha, do not be surprised by the puzzled looks. You would think that being in the capital city and all, a sacred figure of...
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An Inky-Fingered Pilgrimage: Visiting Three of Tokyo’s Top Art Supplies and...
As a boy in the early 1980s, I would spend many happy hours in the art supplies and stationery section of our local department store, standing in dazed and awed contemplation of the creative...
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Von Jour Caux: The Architect of Otherworldly Dreams
“Ah, Barcelona! Olympic Games, Sagrada Familia.” An almost unanimous chant uttered by many older Japanese people (old enough to remember the impact of Barcelona 1992) while making small talk, whenever...
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Joining the Dance: A Magical Bon Odori at Tsukiji’s Hongwanji Temple
Across many parts of the western world, the bitter gray tedium of winter is made just about bearable by the timely arrival of jolly old Christmas with its tinsel-draped rituals and sense of communal...
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