All About Japan

A Kansai Home Designed Around Circular Margins

Designer Fumi Aso was named best young architect by the Architectural Institute of Japan’s Kansai chapter.

Beautiful Film Shot Through a Drop of Water

A drop of water inside the hole of a ¥5 coin delivers a surreal and haunting iPhone film.

Adorable Onsen Litter Box

It comes complete with a cute spa-style noren curtain to provide some much-needed privacy.

Surreal Funassyi Mashes Viruses with a Hammer

Funassyi goes extra-weird for an antiviral spray commercial.

Mamoru Oshii Reveals His Top Miyazaki Film

The Ghost in the Shell director makes an unexpected pick for a characteristic reason.

Japan Votes for its 100 Best World-class Songs

10,000 people were asked what they thought were Japan’s most world-class songs. The final list left many netizens scratching their heads.

Vegeta vs. Instant Ramen

In May 2015, Dragonball’s resident attitude with a widow’s peak epically endorsed Nissin Cup Noodle’s new vegetable-packed variety of instant ramen.

Inside Osaka's Attack on Titan Bathrooms

Awkward images of Levi, Armin, and other Survey Corps members watch visitors pee.

Mechanical Marvels: Japanese Tin Toys

Would you pay $50,000 for a tin can of California tomatoes?

An Ad for Eating Hair & Smashing Cakes

Seki City in Gifu Prefecture finds a weirdly endearing way to highlight its local specialty.

Japan's 3 Weirdest Onsen

Where you go when you've dipped in them all?

Synchronized Bathing Bids Travelers to Oita

To show off a number of its best onsen, Oita recruited the help of a professional synchronized swim team.

Evangelion's 7 Strangest Product Tie-ins

Remember Schick's creepy, clean-shaven Gendo Ikari? How about the time a box of Kagome vegetable juice used the Spear of Longinus to defeat a giant tomato? No? It's time for a refresher!

A J-Punk/Metal Ode to Noodles

CANTOY penned the track Tenkaippin to describe the life-affirming qualities of the band's favorite noodle chain.

The Real Spirited Away Onsen

Remember the red bridge and layered, rising walls of Yubaba’s hot spring hotel in Spirited Away?

Otsuka Ai Gives You 3 Minutes for Ramen

Otsuka Ai is best known for her 2003 bubblegum-pop track "Sakuranbo," which spent a staggering 103 weeks on the Top 200 Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.

14 Wacky Wilderness Onsen

Onsen critic Isamu Gunji risks his naked life to bring us 14 unforgettable outdoor hot springs that are barely on the map.

Stand Your Phone in a Ramen Bowl

Want to really confuse your neighbor at the local ramen shop? Set one of these bowls up on the counter while you slurp and watch the double-takes ensue.

Are You Ready for Yarn Ramen?!

Ramen is easy enough to make with a package of cup noodles, but knitting a bowl of hot soup takes a lot more skill.

Adorable Capybara Hot Springs

Snow monkeys aren’t the only ones getting in the water in the winter.

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