Family Mart, one of Japan’s largest conbini operators with over 15,000 stores across the country, has aggressive goals to reduce food waste. And an unexpected strategy were a series of adorable, teary-eyed stickers that the company launched in March 2025.
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On New Year’s Day 2024, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula. The death toll reached 245 and 76,144 housing units were damaged. Many residents were displaced amid the harsh winter cold, with approximately 15,000 seeking refuge.
Architect Shigeru Ban (previously) responded with a plan for 9 buildings that would house 166 households. They were constructed without the use of nails or any adhesives, and the first batch of 30 households were delivered in just under 3 months.
Recognized for their quality, speed and sustainability, the project was recently awarded the Good Design Grand Award — the highest honour of the Good Design Award 2025, presented by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.
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“This Sucks” by Poshichi | all images used with permission
Poshichi is a Japanese artist creating nihonga-style images of daily life. The digitally-rendered, anachronistic artworks often feature the artist’s cat in playful, humorous settings that are, at times, quiet and reflective while other times whimsical and even surreal. We spoke with the artist about their background, art style and, importantly, their cat.
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If you wandered the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion at Expo 2025 and felt like you’d stepped into a retro sci-fi spa, you weren’t imagining things. One of the talk-of-the-fair exhibits is a futuristic bathing pod — billed as a “Future Human Washing Machine” — that promises to wash and dry a person in roughly 15 minutes using ultra-fine bubbles, sensors and AI to adjust temperature, pressure and even the visuals you see while inside. The project is presented by Science Co., Ltd. and has been promoted as a modern reimagining of a very similar idea first seen at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka.
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straw sculptures on display at the 2025 Wara Art Festival
Autumn is officially upon us. It’s the season of shorter days, brighter moons and bountiful harvests. Niigata prefecture, in Northern Japan, is known for its rice paddies and rice production. Around this time of year the rice harvest becomes a big deal, as well as the tons of rice straw, or wara, that is leftover. It can be plowed down as soil improver, fed to livestock, or even woven into decorative ornaments.
But before any of that, for the past 11 years Uwasekigata Park has hosted a Wara Art Festival by teaming up with art students to create creatures, both real and mythical, from rice straw.
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芸術の秋 (geijutsu no aki) — “autumn, the season for art.” In Japan, fall symbolizes freshness and new endeavors. And with the country’s record-breaking summer heat finally losing steam, we’ve found ourselves with a renewed enthusiasm to pick up our bags and encounter artistic inspiration. If you’re like us and want to travel Japan but not sure where to go, let art guide you. Here are 5 art exhibitions (and destinations) worth travelling for.
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From site-specific installations and architectural retrospectives to woodblock prints, New York is buzzing with Japanese art. There’s a whole lot to see so here are our top picks for the Fall 2025 season. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments!
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all photos by Kenichi Sukegawa
Imagine a picture frame—not hanging on the wall, but breathing with life. Fish swim lazily while plants grow lushly below, all connected in a circulating system of water, nutrients, and light. That’s Gaku-poni (額ポニ), a prototype developed by Japanese architect Keisuke Hatakenaka.
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the new Toilet Culture Museum that opened in April 2025
Let’s be honest – for most of us, Japanese toilets are a marvel of modern life. They’re not just toilets; they’re an experience. With heated seats that save us from Japan’s bone-chilling winters, lids that open and close like magic, and dual-flush systems that make water conservation effortless, these porcelain masterpieces elevate the art of comfort in ways few could have imagined. And let’s not forget those discreet sound effects that save us from social embarrassment – a feature that speaks volumes about the philosophy of thoughtful design.
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You can now own a piece of the Den-en Toshi train line. Akasaki & Vanhuyse, a Japanese-French design studio, have created a limited-edition table lamp born from the upcycling of resin train straps from Japan’s Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line 8500 series, which was withdrawn from service in January 2023.
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Kirie Artist Carves Playful Narratives Into Tree Leaves
Japan’s Jimi “Mundane” Halloween Contest of 2019
This Housing Project for Noto Earthquake Refugees, Constructed Without Any Nails or Adhesives, Just Won Japan’s Most-Prestigious Design Award
Family Mart Designed Teary-Eyed Stickers to Combat Food Loss. They Worked So Well Now They’re Giving Them Out for Free
Student Artists Awaken Mythical Beasts of the Echigo Region Using Straw
