Category Lifestyle

Visual Kei: Japan’s Punk Band Fashion Subculture

Teru, Kamijo and Hizaki from Versailles Philharmonic Quintet in Santiago Chile with their signature visual kei style.

Visual kei (AKA VK), is a uniquely Japanese music and fashion subculture that emerged in the late 1980s. It stands as one of Japan’s most distinctive music and fashion movements combining theatrical performances dramatic makeup and elaborate costumes. This unique…

Mamachari: The Working (Wo)Man’s Bike

A Cat sleeping on the seats of two Mamachari bikes on a sidewalk.

Japan’s a country known for its cutting-edge tech and innovation but if you’ve ever visited, you’d know that innovation and adoption are two different things. Despite coming up with some of the most bleeding-edge stuff, the average Japanese person lives…

Monaka Ice Cream: Crispy, Chewy, Delicious

A monaka chocolate ice cream bar cut in half and placed on a table next to a ruler for size reference.

Heya ice cream lovers! Today, we’ll talk about Japan’s version of the ice cream sandwich: Monaka ice cream. Never heard of it? Good, I’m here to give you the scoop (pun totally intended 😉). What is monaka even? First things…

What is Japanese Mayo and why is it so Popular?

A bottle of Kewpie Japanese mayo

Is Japanese mayo just popular because it’s Japanese? No, but I understand your skepticism. If I were to ask you “Which country loves mayo the most?” you’d probably say America, Germany or some Slavic country, right? I feel you’d be…