Last year Saikai Toki, and Nagasaki-based ceramics company that specializes in hasami ware, decided to renovate their main shop and showroom. And in doing so, they’ve turned the entire structure into…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

With major exhibitions opening in Japan and North America this year, 87-year-old Kusama Yayoi, known for her “obsessive” repetition of polka dots and reticulated patterns, is one of the most widely a…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

For $2,500, you could score a deal on a round-trip business class ticket to Europe...or eat 12 ounces of beef.

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

In December, the Tokyo High Court upheld the Tokyo Immigration Bureau’s decision to deport 17-year-old Utinan Won from Japan, the country he was born and raised in his entire life.

Despite the court’…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

Originally from Portugal but having studied and worked in London and Amsterdam, Cristovao describes her experience as a foreigner and a woman in Japanese advertising. Much of that experience has been…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

Today, The Pokémon Company announced a new smartphone game would be out this spring in Japan. It appears to star the weakest Pokémon around.

The Japanese title is Hanero! Koiking (Splash! Magikarp), …

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 2 comments

Sleep deprivation is doing more harm in Japan than just making people grumpy and unhealthy. It is also holding back the world’s third-largest economy.

The problem has been getting worse in recent yea…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

With Japan's track record of natural disasters, the country is understandably always on the lookout for ways to better prepare itself.

Japan is now looking to the skies, working to develop drones to …

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

Having bad neighbors can be a nightmare. Having bad neighbors in Japan, with its bureaucratic mountain to climb, a language barrier to overcome and not wanting to upset the wa (harmony) between every…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 1 comment

If a severe earthquake or flood were to occur in Tokyo, how easy would it be to evacuate the city? Answer: Not very.

A government panel is currently conducting a study on what would be involved in ev…

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 2 months ago | 3 comments