Whew, boy, Tokyo is in the grip of a punishing heatwave and it's only June! The average high for this time of year is only 24°C (75°F), but the news is predicting temps close to 40°C (104°F) for the next couple of days. Luckily, Japan has lots of little gadgets, gizmos, and doohickies to help people survive these sticky conditions. Grab a glass of water, pull up a seat by the air con, and let us tell you about our favorite items for beating the summer heat.

...The rainy season continues as we enter July! We have 2 topics to cover for this article--   On the 7th of July is one of the Gosekku (五節句 / 5 annual ceremonies) ... "TANABATA MATSURI!" (七夕祭り)   :-) Also known as Star Festival. We will let you look up its meaning and origins,...

(header photo by Patrick Vierthaler) June and TSUYU With the passing of May’s blue skies and refreshing weather, June is finally here. While Japan may only have four official seasons, this time of the year marks the beginning of another special period- Japan’s rainy season. Called ‘tsuyu’ in...

Sekku Part 2: Golden Week and Boy’s Day (retrospective report, updated mid-May) Once cherry blossom season is finished in Tokyo, attention immediately shifts to Golden Week. Golden Week takes place at the end of April to the beginning of May, and is a series of consecutive holidays...

Don't hesitate to experience this great cultural custom in Japan   In Tokyo, cherry blossoms are usually in full bloom from the end of March to the beginning of April. As you may know, among all seasonal Japanese traditions, Hanami is by far one of the most...

Food and the Seasons With the passage of Hinamatsuri, spring is finally upon us in Tokyo (article posted in mid-March). If you look up at trees in the city, plum blossoms should now be gone with the buds of the Sakura trees getting bigger and bigger. It...

The Four Seasons in Tokyo   Spring is on its way! The flowers of the plum tree are the harbingers of spring in Japan – giving Tokyoites a reminder that winter is finally coming to an end. The plum blossoms begin in February, followed by the peach blossoms in March. And of course,...

Japanese market stuffs?! It's no secret that the Japanese live long lives. Their life expectancy is one of the tops in the world. It could be that most Japanese are incredibly active, some even traveling internationally well into their 80's. Or it could just be that...

Maybe you're planning to move to Japan,  or maybe you've lived here for awhile and are looking for somewhere that's not as hectic as Tokyo, yet still offers all the vibes and conveniences that a big city offers. -Somewhere you can get a little more...