The drink is the color of water, only thicker – fragrant, and intoxicating. The cool alcohol is smooth, yet slightly spicy, and warm in your mouth; the bouquet is lightly fruity and complex. A good sake bears about as much resemblance to the paint-thinner export varieties as a traditional kimono does to a nylon dressing…

Though not yet a household name in Japan, with her stunningly exotic looks and feminine physique it’s easy to draw comparisons to former tennis “It Girl” Anna Kournikova or current tennis beauty queen Maria Sharapova. The fact that she is registered with famed Japanese talent agency Horipro, and models on the side, only reinforces these…

With their massive dark wooden beams, whitewashed exteriors and grass-thatched roofs held together without the support of a single nail, bolt or piece of metal, it’s easy to see why architects from around the world marvel at the craftsmanship of traditional Japanese minka farmhouses. Unlike modern Japanese houses, which typically are around for only 20…

You breathe in steam, the smell of soap. The water around you is so hot that it feels like it is melting through your skin, dissolving the knots in your calves and the tension in your shoulders. When you step out of the water, skin steaming, you are clean and utterly refreshed. This is the…

How many Japanese people does it take to operate a doll? If the doll happens to be one of the intricate dolls used traditional Japanese Bunraku, also called “Joruri Puppet Theater” or “ningyo joruri” in Japanese, the answer is three. These dolls that can weigh up to 15 kilograms (33 pounds) and are about one-half…

The street spills out from the station, a narrow and unassuming road. You probably know it well, in the mornings on the way to the train you may have noticed the rolled down garage-style doors at the front of the buildings, the sprays of bright plastic cherry blossoms bobbing with the wind, the small signs…

It’s easy enough to forget that Mount Takao is technically part of Tokyo. The higher up you go, ascending into the trees and the distinctly fresher air, the more the tension of big city life becomes an afterthought. From certain vantage points you can distinguish Shinjuku or even Yokohama in the smoggy distance. Of course,…

If food is music, then this is the bass line. It underpins everything, holding the meal together as much as the seasonal theme of ingredients does. It runs through dishes and over your taste buds just on the edge of conscious thought. It makes your mouth water, but odds are that you seldom notice it….

The Japanese kimono, which translates literally as “clothing” is one of the most recognizable articles of traditional national dress in the world. With the popularity of Japanese art, especially woodblock prints as Japan opened up following the Meiji Restoration the image of a woman in a kimono became one of the classic representations of Japan….

If you’re looking for an interesting day trip to get away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, you might want to consider visiting Kawagoe in Saitama prefecture. Kawagoe is known as “Little Edo,” and there are many places of interest to visit in the city and surrounding area. Kawagoe is only about a 40-minute…