There’s a moment, usually in a train station bathroom in Osaka or a public restroom tucked into a Kyoto park,…

There is a small, steady choreography to life in Japan that you don’t notice until you try to shout over…

In Japan, time does not simply pass.It changes outfits. Every three months—sometimes more often, depending on the weather’s mood—the country…

There is a particular moment that happens to almost every visitor in Japan. You’re walking through Tokyo at rush hour.…

The first thing many visitors notice in Japan is not what is there — but what isn’t. No neon outfits…

The elevator in my childhood apartment building spoke more than my neighbors. Every morning, as its doors slid open with…

At 5 a.m., Tokyo is doing something very un-Japanese. It’s quiet. Not the curated quiet of a luxury ryokan or…

At 2:17 a.m., under the polite hum of fluorescent lights, I am standing in a convenience store debating two onigiri.…

There are entire novels hidden in a lunchbox. Open a Japanese bento and you’ll find composition, choreography, and a tiny…

If you’ve ever walked the streets of Tokyo at 2 a.m. and found a steaming can of coffee glowing like…