A tasty doubles partner arrives for summer. As the seasons change in Japan, so too do the flavours at Starbucks, and as we head into summer, the taste of the season is strawberry. The trend for berries during the warmer months is one that Starbucks customers in Japan have come to expect in recent years, but its origins can be traced back to 2003, when a Starbucks barista in England developed the Strawberry Cream Frappuccino in honour of Wimbledon. Strawberries and cream have long been enjoyed by spectators during the famous tennis tournament, so this drink was created as an homage to that tra ..read more

Spending the night at Capsule Inn Osaka. You can find capsule hotels in every major city in Japan, but the very first to have one was Osaka. February 2, 1979 was the opening date of Capsule Inn Osaka, Japan’s, and by extension the world’s, very first capsule hotel. Of course, with how quickly downtown city landscapes change in Japan, Capsule Inn Osaka probably went out of business and was replaced with something else many years ago, right? Nope! It’s still open and accepting guests, so on our most recent trip to Osaka, we spent the night there. Capsule Inn Osaka, or New Japan Umeda Capsule I ..read more

The Ichirandon is causing a stir amongst fans, but it’s a secret dish that isn’t listed on the menu. Whenever you go to a ramen restaurant you’ll likely be craving noodles, but for every bowl of ramen ordered, there are loads of other dishes on the menu that tend to get overlooked. That’s why our reporter Seiji Nakazawa has started a new investigative series called “rameshi” (“ra” for “ramen” and “meshi” meaning “meals“), which we’ve also sometime referred to as “Non-ramen Ramen Restaurant Stars,” shining a spotlight on the non-noodle meals you can find at ramen restaurants, and his latest se ..read more

A new product on the market contains concentrate to make two of Japan’s most popular popsicles at home. As the hot, humid days of summer in Japan get closer and closer, we can thankfully stay cool this year in a new way by making plenty of Suika [Watermelon] and Melon Bars, some of  one of Japan’s favorite icy popsicle treats, at home. On April 24, the Suika Bar Base and Melon Bar Base went on sale initially at 100-yen chain store Daiso for 110 yen (US$0.69) each. One can has enough concentrate to make four of the standard, wedge-shaped bars that you can find individually packaged in con ..read more

Anime mecha poses with towns most delicious claim to fame. March 31 was a bittersweet day for anime mecha fans, as it marked the final day of Gundam Factory Yokohama, the facility that was home to the moving life-size statue of the titular star of Mobile Suit Gundam. With Gundam being such a powerful presence in Japanese pop culture though, it was only a matter of time until the next cool art installation featuring the heroic mobile suit, and the next recipient will be the town of Minamiuonuma in Niigata Prefecture. Fans visiting Minamiuonuma won’t have to crane their necks back to see t ..read more

Addition by subtraction. Keeping up with fashion is expensive… or not. Truth is, we don’t really know all that much about it to begin with. Long-time readers of this website have probably noticed that most of our writers’ idea of fashion is finding a neat T-shirt and wearing it four days a week. There are some exceptions though, such as our founder, Yoshio. He can occasionally be seen browsing through clothing websites to see what’s hot for the season and just the other day was on the online store for the popular brand Beams when he saw something special. ▼ Yoshio: “Aren’t these just the cool ..read more

Whether you’re a fan of My Neighbor Totoro or My Neighbors the Yamadas, there’s a memo pad for you. Since its founding, Studio Ghibli has chosen to focus its creative energies on theatrical anime, generally producing just one film every few years. Even with this quality-over-quantity philosophy, tough, the tremendous talent of its artists has resulted in a huge quantity of high-quality films from the studio. There’s really only one drawback to this, which is that when a line of Ghibli merchandise gets released, there’s usually only room for a handful of films to be represented, leaving out a ..read more

Traditional Japanese hospitality, with a dash of mystical matcha, appears at the Pokémon Cafe. It’s a good time to be a matcha-loving Pokémon fan in Japan right now, because in addition to a massive new collection of green tea goods dedicated to Poltchageist and Sinistcha, we’re now being treated to a limited-time menu starring the two tea-themed pocket monsters at the Pokémon Cafe. Like the goods collection, the menu is called “Kissa Chadeath” (“Poltchageist Teahouse“), and is based around the theme of an old-school retro teahouse, known in Japan as kissaten, or “kissa”. ▼ “喫茶チャデス” (“Kissa C ..read more

10 years of creative energy turn into something magical. When Sailor Moon fans decide to cosplay as the magical girl anime/manga heroine, they’ve got a few different iconic outfits to choose from. Obviously, there’s the sailor suit-inspired outfit that Sailor Moon wears when fighting evil by moonlight, but the school uniform she wears as ordinary schoolgirl Usagi Tsukino is also an option, as is the elegant gown of Princess Serenity from the Silver Millenium. But cosplayer and Japanese Twitter user @princessusako recently passed up all three of those designs and crafted a Sailor Moon cosplay ..read more

It turns out that Pikachu’s cuteness suits any price range. One thing that never seems to get old is Pikachu-related merchandise, whether it’s a Pikachu-shaped model car or instant cup noodles. Now Bonpoint, a French premium kid’s and baby clothing brand, has created a Pikachu-centered capsule fashion collection in collaboration with Monpoké, the Pokémon franchise’s fashion label for young fans. Sizes range from newborn to 14 years, so your child can grow up with Pikachu always by their side. The collection includes tops, jackets, accessories, pajamas, and even a few non-clothing items ..read more