Here is an example of ex-Combini shop transformed into a fitness gym. I hear it is a trend now, but I haven't seen any of them personally? If it is happening, why?

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 1 comment

In Japan, you get a postcard in early spring from Kokuzeicho (Japan’s I.R.S.) that says how much you earned last year, how much tax you owed and how much was withheld. If you disagree, you go into th…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 1 comment

“Trees are like people,” says Kawabe Takeo. “They have their individual personalities just like us. They are living things imbued with a natural life force and vitality that goes beyond anything we c…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 0 comments

What are things that foreign tourists should avoid doing, so that both locals and tourists can avoid problems?

There have been a few cases of very srtupid tourists, like those who vandalised Meiji Sh…

posted by  Yubi | 9 years, 4 months ago | 0 comments

Planning a trip to Tokyo and overwhelmed by all the places to visit in the otaku capital of Akihabara? We sat down with some experts at sightseeing - Japanese language students currently attending th…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 1 comment

To perfect their attacks, some of Japan’s top volleyball players are training against a robot that can mimic the tactics of opposing teams.

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 1 comment

In 1996, a subsidiary of Bandai Namco changed the world of gaming with the release of the Tamagotchi. In the years since, the small handheld digital pet has gone on to gain cult status among toy afic…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 1 comment

By day, Sumiko Iwamuro (pic) runs a Chinese restaurant, where she has worked for six decades making "gyoza" dumplings, while by night, she spins records at Tokyo clubs under the moniker DJ Sumirock.

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 0 comments

Japan joined the artificial intelligence race late. It was not until the mid-1980s, three decades later than countries like the United States, that researchers began pondering the idea of thinking ma…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 9 years, 4 months ago | 0 comments

A company based in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, is aiming to open a theme park in the prefecture around 2022 featuring exhibitions of famous cities around the world using miniature models.

The attractio…

posted by  Yubi | 9 years, 4 months ago | 1 comment