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Japanese culture

Studio Ghibli mini towels add anime flair to a Japanese cultural tradition

• Oona McGee
  Jul 1, 2026
• Tweet

Beloved Ghibli characters want to hold your hand and welcome you into the Japanese world of mini towels.

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• Japan
• (anime • cool • culture • cute • Donguri Kyowakoku • Ghibli • Hayao Miyazaki • Japanese culture • Jiji • Kiki's Delivery Service • merchandise • My Neighbor Totoro • My Neighbour Totoro • Studio Ghibli • summer • Totoro • towels)

Purification salt for gamers who can’t handle horror games released in Japan

• Master Blaster
  Apr 6, 2025

A pyramid of salt a day keeps the Pyramid Head away.

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• Japan
• (Dai 4 Kyokai • horror games • Japanese culture • Kyofu Kokufuku Morishio • morishio • salt • Shizuoka Mokko • superstitions • video games)

DJ Police called in to help prevent bear attacks in northern Japan

• Master Blaster
  Dec 7, 2024

Last night a DJ saved my life… from a bear.

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• Japan
• (Akita • bears • crowd control • DJ Police • Japanese culture • police)

Japan is ranked the worst country in the world for helping strangers

• Oona McGee
  May 31, 2024

Japanese kindness leaves a lot to be desired in World Giving Index, but there may be a reason for it.

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• Japan
• (CAF World Giving Index • CAF World Giving Index 2024 • COK • culture • Japanese culture • Japanese society • kindness • ranking • society • stranger • world ranking)

Yokohama finally releases details on futuristic theme park set to open in 2031

• Shannon
  Sep 26, 2023

Yokohama sure knows how to plan big.

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• Japan
• (fun • Japanese culture • Kamiseya Park • technology • theme park • Yokohama)

Will you really catch a cold if you sleep under a Japanese kotatsu table?

• Shannon
  Dec 27, 2022

A Japanese medical expert answers the age-old question for us.

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• Japan
• (COK • folk wisdom • health • Japanese culture • kotatsu • mythbusting)

Mist descends upon Japan’s “Killing Stone” after ceremony to appease nine-tailed fox spirit

• Oona McGee
  Mar 28, 2022

Does this mean the priest’s purification ritual has placated the beast? Or is it an omen of something else to come?

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• Japan
• (culture • folklore • history • Japanese culture • Japanese folklore • Killing Stone • landscape • myths • Nasu • nine-tailed fox • purification rituals • rocks • Sesshoseki • shinto • shrines • stones • Tamamo-no-Mae • Tochigi • tourist sites • travel)

Japan’s “killing stone” splits in two, possibly unleashing evil nine-tailed fox spirit

• Oona McGee
  Mar 8, 2022

Ominous event has people fearing this is a harbinger of doom.

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• Japan
• (culture • folklore • history • Japanese culture • Japanese folklore • Killing Stone • landscape • myths • Nasu • nine-tailed fox • rocks • Sesshoseki • stones • Tamamo-no-Mae • Tochigi • tourist sites • travel)

We joined the 10,000 otaku who recently congregated in Madrid for Japan Weekend

• Krista Rogers
  Oct 4, 2021

Our visiting Japanese reporter shares her thoughts on the Spanish capital’s tribute to Japanese culture in its various forms.

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• Europe, Japan
• (anime • COK • convention • cosplay • Japan Weekend • Japanese culture • Madrid • manga • otaku • SNJO • Spain)

Preserve a piece of Japanese culture during Corona with your own mini shrine hand-washing ladle

• Dale Roll
  Sep 23, 2021

Take your own hishaku ladle with you to purify yourself before entering a Shinto shrine. 

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• Japan
• (COK • COVID-19 • culture • hishaku • Japanese culture • purification • shinto • shrine • shrines)

Do you really need to wear toilet slippers when using the bathroom at home? Japan’s netizens vote

• Dale Roll
  Aug 11, 2021

And a housecleaning expert weighs in!

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• Japan
• (home • Japanese culture • Japanese etiquette • Japanese toilets • manners • slippers • survey • toilet)

Valentino sparks outrage with insincere apology for disrespecting Japanese culture in photo shoot

• Oona McGee
  Apr 1, 2021

Model daughter of former SMAP member gets caught up in controversy involving shoes and kimono. 

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• Italy, Japan
• (beautiful women • celebrities • controversial • culture • fashion • Japanese culture • Japanese etiquette • Japanese models • Japanese women • kimono • kimutaku • Koki • Mitsuki Kimura • models • news • obi • photo shoot • Takuya Kimura • Valentino)

Goodbye katanuki? Japanese festival game may go extinct thanks to the pandemic

• Dale Roll
  Feb 10, 2021

The only makers of katanuki pieces may have to close their doors forever if the pandemic continues much longer.

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• Japan
• (business • coronavirus • COVID-19 • culture • festival games • festivals • food • Japanese culture • katanuki • Matsuri • pandemic • tradition)

Was Spirited Away based on a real-life tale?

• Oona McGee
  Dec 15, 2020

Studio Ghibli film has eerie parallels with the story of a child who mysteriously went missing for seven days. 

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• Japan
• (anime • cool • Ghibli • Hayao Miyazaki • Japanese culture • kamikakushi • movies • myths • spirited away • Studio Ghibli)

Gotta stamp them all! Collect your shrine stamps with this gorgeous new range of stationery

• Katie Pask
  May 28, 2020

Preserve your shrine memories in style with these stamp books!

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• Japan
• (beautiful • culture • cute • goshuin • goshuincho • Japanese culture • Japanese religion • notebook • shrine • stationary • temple • Village Vanguard)

Japanese festival float slams full-speed into power pole at Danjiri Matsuri in Osaka 【Videos】

• Oona McGee
  Oct 23, 2019

Festival-goers sustain injuries, suffer broken bones at one of the most dangerous festivals in Japan.

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• Japan
• (culture • Danjiri • Danjiri Matsuri • festivals • history • Japanese culture • Japanese festival • news • Osaka • tradition)

Niigata brings back mysterious cat mask festival for the first time in almost 90 years

• Oona McGee
  Oct 9, 2019

Geisha once cosplayed as white cats to revive a devastated Japanese town. 

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• Japan
• (animals • cats • culture • festivals • history • Japanese culture • Japanese festival • Niigata • tradition)

Why this American can’t stand Japanese bookstores

• Oona McGee
  Sep 29, 2019

There’s something about local bookshops that irks even Japanese people. 

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• Japan, USA
• (America • Atsugiri Jason • books • bookstores • COK • Japanese books • Japanese culture • publishers • SNJO)

American-Japanese model Kiko divides people in Japan with controversial photo shoot

• SoraNews24
  Sep 18, 2019

Seductive poses criticised for being disrespectful to Japanese culture. 

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• Japan, USA
• (beautiful women • celebrities • controversial • culture • Japanese culture • Japanese etiquette • Japanese models • Japanese women • Kiko • Kiko Mizuhara • models • Netflix • news • photo shoot • Queer Eye • Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)

Tatami etiquette: Why you should never step on the threshold of a washitsu Japanese room

• Dale Roll
  Sep 4, 2019

It’s a peculiar rule that even Japanese people don’t always understand.

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• Japan
• (bad manners • Japanese culture • japanese manners • manners • ninjas • rude behavior • tatami • washitsu)

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• Recent Posts

  • Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
  • End of a manga era as Weekly Shonen Jump’s circulation drops under one million
  • Studio Ghibli unveils new finger puppets featuring anime characters from My Neighbour Totoro
  • Anime fan in Japan arrested for ordering and cancelling over 4.3 billion yen in anime merch
  • 7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store drinks with new Grilled Corn Chilled Soup Smoothie

• MOST POPULAR

  • Today
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Yearly

  Today

  1. Anime fan in Japan arrested for ordering and cancelling over 4.3 billion yen in anime merch
  2. Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
  3. Beautiful Totoro bonsai figure needs no watering, makes soothing rain showers whenever you want
  4. Studio Ghibli unveils new finger puppets featuring anime characters from My Neighbour Totoro
  5. End of a manga era as Weekly Shonen Jump’s circulation drops under one million
  6. Kochia calling: Right now is a great off-season season to visit this beautiful Japanese park
  7. Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
  8. 7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store drinks with new Grilled Corn Chilled Soup Smoothie
  9. Japanese convenience store Lawson now has stir-fried noodle-cooking robot chefs
  10. Over 400 titles of free translated manga from publisher Shueisha available for a limited time

  Weekly

  1. Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
  2. Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
  3. Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
  4. Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
  5. 7-Eleven Japan adds new chocolate fruit gummies to its sweets range, but are they worth the hype?
  6. Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
  7. Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near Tokyo
  8. Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
  9. Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
  10. Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters

  Monthly

  1. Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
  2. Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
  3. Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
  4. Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
  5. New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
  6. Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
  7. Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
  8. Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
  9. Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
  10. Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer

  Yearly

  1. Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
  2. Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
  3. Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
  4. Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
  5. Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
  6. Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
  7. Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
  8. Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
  9. Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
  10. Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】

• RECOMMENDED STORIES

  • Kochia calling: Right now is a great off-season season to visit this beautiful Japanese park
  • Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
  • 7-Eleven Japan rethinks convenience store drinks with new Grilled Corn Chilled Soup Smoothie
  • Japanese convenience store Lawson now has stir-fried noodle-cooking robot chefs
  • Over 400 titles of free translated manga from publisher Shueisha available for a limited time
  • Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
  • Resident Evil’s terrifying Licker becomes a bag in Japan that wants to feed you
  • Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
  • Japan’s largest online flea market reminds users that selling used school swimsuits is prohibited
  • Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
  • Weekly Shonen Jump cancels manga after creator admits to schoolgirl groping
  • Starbucks Japan to open Shinkansen platform stores at Kyoto and Nagoya stations
  • Nendroid Face Maker lets you custom design faces for Japan’s most popular anime figure line
  • Akita Kanto Festival, one of Japan’s most spectacular summer festivals, gets an anime twist this year

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• • Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
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