Natto: the Most Popular Fermented Food in Japan
Produced 12 million packages a day in Japan Perhaps every country has some kind of fermented food, whether it is popular in that country or not. There is Vegemite in Australia and Marmite in the UK and New Zealand, as well as surströmming in Sweden, which is rarely found in other countries but nonetheless famous […]
Haruki Murakami: Resonating Under
“Resonating Under”: Haruki Murakami Speaks in Public After 18-year Hiatus By Ryoji Shimada, staff writer “I rarely put myself in the public eye,” Haruki Murakami explained. “I don’t show myself on TV or radio. Nor do I give lectures. But for I have appeared at this event, to commemorate my mentor.” So saying, world-renowned novelist […]
What Is Shakuhachi?: The Blue-eyed Shakuhachi Player Who Continues to Create New Musical Instruments
Shakuhachi player and maker John Kaizan Neptune In a house surrounded by bamboo forest in Kamogawa City, which is located in the southeast corner of the Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture, lives a foreigner who unduly suits an outfit of samue robes paired with a tenugui towel. John Kaizan Neptune, who came to Japan 40 years […]
Japan’s Eco Busines: Saving the Earth and Saving Money
From Solar Panels to Spaghetti Noodles, the Color of Japanese Business Is GREEN By Tom Baker When you get behind the wheel of your car, turn up the air conditioner at home, or pop open a cold drink, are you destroying the environment? Many people worry about the impact of such activities, but most of […]
What is the Most Popular Sports in Japan?
DO HOUSE conducted a survey of 1,198 people above age 20 at the end of February, in which it asked people which sport they wanted their children to engage in. The three most popular responses were 1) swimming (replied by both sexes); 2) soccer replied by males and martial arts (such as karate, judo, kendo […]
If you could be born again, would you still want be married to your present partner?
When the Hakuhodo ad agency asked this question at the end of last year, 50.1% of husbands and 38.5% of wives replied yes, exposing a significant difference in replies between males and females. Interestingly, however, the percentage of responses by childless couples (52%) was nearly 10 points higher than from couples with children (42.9%). The […]
Ozasa: 70 Years in Business Selling Only 2 Items at 3.3m2-SHOP in Size With $3.3 Million in Sales
Long-standing Small Shop Business in Japan Kichijoji, the number one spot in the “place in Tokyo I’d like to live” rankings. Three minutes’ or so walk from Kichijoji Sation, the focal point of the area, is “Ozasa,” a tiny Japanese sweet shop, founded over 60 years ago. For over 40 years, a line of people […]
Who is Eiichi Shibusawa?
The 1,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 10,000 yen bills (Bank of Japan notes) will be renewed by the first half of 2024. The 1,000-yen and 5,000-yen bills will be the first new banknotes in 20 years, and the 10,000-yen bill will be the first in 40 years since Prince Shotoku was replaced by Yukichi Fukuzawa […]
House Renovation in Japan: Giving a New Shine to Mokuchin Apartments
How to renovate a room cheaply By Ryoji Shimada, staff writer According to last year's survey, the number of vacant houses in Japan is about 8.46 million (compared to about 8.2 million in the previous survey), and the ratio of vacant houses to all houses (vacant house rate) is 13.55%. Vacant houses are one of […]