Savory, salty, and just generally delicious, takoyaki is an incredibly popular Japanese street food. Tako means octopus and yaki indicates the cooking method, in this case, pan-frying. Sometimes called “octopus...

If you are a fan of Japanese movies, anime, or manga, you’ve probably come across a scene of students fighting for the few precious yakisoba pan in the school cafeteria,...

Japanese sweets are extremely popular, both within the country and around the globe. What’s more, iconic Japanese treats can be found in a plethora of anime and movies—so you’ve probably...

In Japan, there are festivals held throughout the year celebrating seasons, traditions, and historical events. One of the most important elements of these festivals is food. After all, what brings...

Goldfish scooping, or kingyo sukui is a quintessential festival activity in Japan. Among the stalls of food and souvenirs, there will almost always be at least one stall where you...

Have you heard of “Inari” Shrines? Even if you haven’t, chances are you’ve seen photos of their iconic gateways. Thousands of Buddhist and Shinto Inari shrines can be found across...

Samurai are icons of Japanese culture—inspiring movies, manga, and myths—but who were they really? Dating back to the feudal era, samurai first began as armed imperial guards, but would later...

These are yearly events of August in Japan. Although unfortunately the public events will not be taking place this year, we still wanted to share them with you for your...

Matsuri means festival in Japanese, and there are a plethora of matsuri held in the city of Kyoto throughout the year. Kyoto was Japan’s imperial capital until it changed to...

Japan has a rich history of castles, and the classic Japanese castles that we know today date back to as early as the Sengoku period (1467-1603). Japanese castles were originally...

When the average person thinks of Japanese cuisine, foods like mochi, ramen and sushi probably come to mind. However, the truth is, Japanese cuisine isn’t as standard as many people...

One of my favorite things to do in Japan is visit lots of bakeries. Not only will you see jiggly Japanese souffle cheesecake and shortcake topped with sweet Japanese fruits...