Best Articles & Videos about Japan on the web

Japan

Read the best japan articles from around the internet, or watch the most insightful videos about japan from platforms like Youtube, Vimeo or leading publishers like The New York Times, The Atlantic, LA Times, Bloomberg, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal and many more.
Things Are Changing At The World’s Oldest Hotel

Things Are Changing At The World’s Oldest Hotel

Videos World

Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan is not just the world’s oldest hotel, but the world’s oldest still-operating business. Or at least, that’s one way of looking at it. But things are changing here, just like they always have.

New York vs. Tokyo’s Subway: How Japan Got So Far Ahead

New York vs. Tokyo’s Subway: How Japan Got So Far Ahead

Explainers Videos World

Japan’s train system is ranked the most efficient in the world, according to Statista. The United States is tied with Azerbaijan for 11th best. Part of this is because Japan’s railway system has more points of connection allowing for easier commutes. Why does the MTA operate at a loss while Tokyo Metro is profitable?

Osaka’s Gate Tower: Highway Through A Building

Osaka’s Gate Tower: Highway Through A Building

Architecture Videos

The property was owned by a business since the early Meiji era but when business declined, so did the buildings in the 1970s. The property holder refused to give up the land, even though new building permits had been refused to him. The highway corporation and the property owner negotiated for 5 years and what you see today is their compromise.

Moonless Moonlit Nights

Moonless Moonlit Nights

Photos

Commuters are generally too tired to notice the quickly passing scenery or the complicated reflections layered up on the short, fast train ride home from Tokyo to Yokohama. But photographer Yasunori Murayama pays attention. He captures multiple stories in single exposures.

The Rise Of Nintendo

The Rise Of Nintendo

Business Tech Videos

Nintendo hasn’t always made video games. It was founded over a century ago and at one point sold ramen noodles and operated a taxi service. Today, Nintendo is part of a crowded video game market, up against companies like Sony, Microsoft, Apple and Google. When Nintendo first got into the home console business in the 80s, it dominated.

The Bomb Didn’t Beat Japan… Stalin Did

The Bomb Didn’t Beat Japan… Stalin Did

History Long Reads

The US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when the Japanese finally succumbed to the threat of further nuclear bombardment and surrendered. The support for this narrative runs deep. But there are three major problems with it, and, taken together, they significantly undermine the traditional interpretation of the Japanese surrender.

Water-Resistant And Biodegradable Plant-Based Plastic

Water-Resistant And Biodegradable Plant-Based Plastic

Innovation Science

A group of researchers at Japan’s Osaka University has developed an alternative type of plastic which is not only biodegradable in seawater but is also water-resistant under normal use. The plastic is made from cellulose nanofibers and starch, both of which were extracted from plants.

Aogashima, Tokyo’s Secret Island Paradise

Aogashima, Tokyo’s Secret Island Paradise

Videos World

Aogashima Island is famous for having a volcano inside a volcano surrounded by dense jungle. It’s also considered the smallest town in Japan and the hardest place in Japan to get to. There is no direct transportation to Aogashima.

Virginia Mori

Inspiration
Virginia Mori
The Fukushima Surf Revival

The Fukushima Surf Revival

Long Reads World

“If Fukushima was a book, the cover would be about radiation. But the contents would be totally different. Of course, people never read the contents.” How surfing was revived alongside a community in the wake of a tsunami and nuclear disaster.

How Adorable R360 Coupe Shaped Mazda’s Design DNA

How Adorable R360 Coupe Shaped Mazda’s Design DNA

Design History

The Japanese brand might be celebrating their 100 year anniversary in 2020 but it was 60 years ago that one model, in particular, set the benchmark for Mazda and microcars at large. priced at just 300,000 ¥ (around $830 USD), the small, adorable Mazda R360 coupe was more than a city car.

In Japan, Repairing Buildings Without A Single Nail

In Japan, Repairing Buildings Without A Single Nail

Videos

In the past, making and developing metal was too costly for carpenters in Japan. So instead of using nails, carpenters called “miyadaiku” developed unique methods for interlocking pieces of wood together, similar to a giant 3D puzzle.

Repopulating A Japanese town

Repopulating A Japanese town

Cities Videos World

As the Japanese populace shrinks and ages, and young people leave the suburbs and rural areas for cities, more and more communities are becoming ghost towns. The municipality of Okutama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, has come up with a novel solution: Give away houses to young families for free.

How Japan Could Reinvent The Hotel

How Japan Could Reinvent The Hotel

Architecture Design Innovation

Smart use of space and a centuries-old hospitality industry have made Japan’s hotels pop. A new crop of lodging luring millennials might help define Japan’s post-Olympics, Airbnb era. Boutique, offbeat lifestyle hotels might just be the key to attracting a new kind of traveller – and retaining a competitive edge.

Why Every Japanese Criminal Is Guilty

Why Every Japanese Criminal Is Guilty

Crime Videos

Every system of justice is inevitably found to be unjust. The question is in which direction, and how far. This is a fairly basic outline of Japan’s idiosyncratic nature.

Matt Rota

Inspiration
Matt Rota
How A Shipwrecked Crew Survived 10 Days Lost At Sea

How A Shipwrecked Crew Survived 10 Days Lost At Sea

Nature

On November 25, 2019, Chris Carney and his two-man crew, Pete Brown and Jun Sumiyama, set off from Japan on their way to Hawaii in a 42-foot sailboat. This is the story of how three crewmen lived more than a week in the middle of the Pacific in a wrecked sailboat with almost nothing.

Japan’s Lost-and-Found System Is Insanely Good

Japan’s Lost-and-Found System Is Insanely Good

Cities Politics

The scheme for reuniting unlucky people with their wayward valuables relies on a complex mix of infrastructure, carrot-and-stick legal encouragement, and cultural norms. Taken together, they form a shockingly efficient system that has long been a source of wonder for Western observers.

World’s Busiest Station: Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

World’s Busiest Station: Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

Cities Videos World

Five separate train lines, almost three thousand passengers per minute and trains arriving every second. How can the people behind the scenes of the world’s busiest station overcome a traffic load like this every day? A look behind the scenes of the world’s busiest station: Shinjuku Station in Tokyo.

Nao Tatsumi Paints From Google Street View For Its Neutral Gaze

Nao Tatsumi Paints From Google Street View For Its Neutral Gaze

Art Tech

Looking at Nao Tatsumi’s tranquil paintings, it’s evident that the Japanese artist has a background in architecture. The Tokyo-based illustrator and artist turns to the web rather than the outdoors for inspiration, fascinated by the impartial gaze that Google’s location tool offers.

The Rise And Fall Of Sega

The Rise And Fall Of Sega

Tech Videos

With an aggressive marketing campaign and a new star in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega solidified itself as a top contender in the industry and a force to be reckoned with. However, its reign at the top was short-lived, as it eventually caused its own downfall with a series of tragic mistakes.

Joseph Ford

Inspiration
Joseph Ford
Ferry Tales In Japan

Ferry Tales In Japan

Photos World

Far removed from the ultra-fast Shinkansens and myriad of metro lines that dominate Japan’s major cities, photographer Arnaud Montagard focuses his lens on a much more leisurely commute – Japan’s ferries.

Gallery: Teemu Jarvinen’s Sapporo

Gallery: Teemu Jarvinen’s Sapporo

Photos World

Finnish street photographer Teemu Jarvinen draws inspiration from the traditions of cyberpunk and film noir, so when he took his camera to Sapporo, Japan earlier this year, he inserted those influences into his images of the city’s snowy streetscapes.

Four Japanese Rules To Live Past 100

Four Japanese Rules To Live Past 100

Life Videos

Okinawa, long known as the island of the immortals, is home to the highest concentration of centenarians in Japan. The village of Kitanakagusuku ranks first in Japanese women’s longevity. What is it about this island that makes its inhabitants live a longer and happier life?

Ripples Of Time Sand Clock By Studio Ayaskan

Ripples Of Time Sand Clock By Studio Ayaskan

Art Design Innovation Videos

The Ripples of Time Sand Clock allows natural materials to be shaped by time, reminding us of its presence. The installation consists of two complementary clocks; Sand and Water. Sand, inspired by Zen Gardens, is the gradual formation and flattening of a ripple pattern over a period of twelve-hour cycles.

The Ancient Tombs Kept Under Lock And Key

The Ancient Tombs Kept Under Lock And Key

History Videos World

A sense of mystery surrounds the keyhole-shaped kofun tombs in Japan. Although the iconic Mozu Tombs in Sakai city, Osaka have recently been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, surprisingly little is actually known about these intriguing monuments, kept under lock and key by the Japanese government.

The Lie That Helped Build Nintendo

The Lie That Helped Build Nintendo

Business History Tech Videos

In 1981, a young Swede called Owe Bergsten strolled through Singapore to pass the time before his flight home. Passing a camera shop, he spotted a two-button LCD game called ‘Fire RC-04’ in the window. The story of a man, a lie, a video game handheld, and a business empire.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Art Posters Revealed

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Art Posters Revealed

Art Design

Since the early 20th century, posters have been created by Organising Committees of the Olympic Games to promote and advertise this major sporting and cultural event. Tokyo 2020’s official posters have been created by internationally renowned artists and designers

Japan’s Yakuza: Inside The Syndicate

Japan’s Yakuza: Inside The Syndicate

Crime Politics Videos

With at least 50,000 members, Japan’s Yakuza gangs form one of the world’s largest criminal networks. Anton Kusters, a Belgian photographer, was allowed a rare glimpse inside a Yakuza family in early 2009. He documented the family for two years.

The Threat To Freedom Of Expression In Japan

The Threat To Freedom Of Expression In Japan

Art Politics

The closure of part of the 2019 Aichi Triennale reflects a broader climate of aggression, censorship and nationalist revisionism. Art is the frontline in debates around free speech precisely because it creates space for questioning values and challenging historical assumptions in public.

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