Located on the northeastern edge of Japan’s Kyushu Island, Oita Prefecture — or the onsen mecca, as it’s sometimes known — has many features that draws in visitors from all over the world. Characterized by its hot, balmy summers yet mild, chilly winters, the area is chock full of sightseeing and tourist hotspots. One of…

“BANKSY~GENIUS OR VANDAL?”, the exhibition that has caught the attention of over 300 million people in Moscow, Madrid, Hong Jong, New York and L.A. since 2018, is finally landing in Japan. Banksy Exhibition: Genius or Vandal will be held from December 12, 2021 (Sun) to March 8, 2022 (Tue) at WITH HARAJUKU, located in front…

With the current situation, we all feel like a change and trying something new. For those of you who are currently living in Japan and were not able to go home in over a year or even two, J SELECT has thought about you. You have been living in Japan for a little while now…

During the Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333), learning about sake and how to properly enjoy it was known as Shu Dō (酒道). Shu Dō became popular and spread across Japan in much the same way as Kadō (華道) ikebana flower arrangement and Sadō (茶道) tea ceremony. However, toward the end of the Meiji Era in…

First make your way on down the stone steps, past the trickling pond and small garden hemmed in by cut logs. The tatami room is just beyond the wooden entry gate up ahead. Watch your head as you pass beneath. Now move inside and have a seat on the mat. Turn off that mobile phone and,…

The spirit of hospitality at the heart of Motenas Japan is to deliver a traditional cultural experience that goes beyond the usual. Motenas Japan offers overseas visitors the opportunity to experience the very best of Japan, leveraging the country’s tangible and intangible assets, which provide an unparalleled level of security, safety, cleanliness, courtesy, and taste…

            Tucked into the back alleys of old-style Kagurazaka, YouLuck shines bright as a beacon of art and culture in the Tokyo suburbs. Even among pottery shops YouLuck is unique in that it offers an amazingly wide variety of pottery styles such as Bizen, Shigaraki, Oribe and Karatsu, with pieces shipped in from all corners…

Knowing a place is a journey one can begin but never end. How land, climate and culture shape what we use, appreciate and eat varies with a diversity impossible for our minds to fully comprehend. And there lies the joy of it. If you are willing to look, there is always something new to discover….

Rob Gilhooly spurns the renowned comforts of a ryokan in a bid to get a taste of Japan’s great outdoors. While idling away some dead time on a station platform several years ago, my wife and I played one of those write-and-tell games centering on the theme of an ideal holiday. While her list included…

On the day Kaori Yamada was born, a centuries-old ume bonsai in her father’s garden flowered for the first time in over a century. It has blossomed every spring since then. “It seems a little strange, but it came alive when I did, so I guess this tree and I are soul mates,” she said…