Shuetsu Sato began working as a security guard at Shinjuku Station in 2002. With constant construction and infrastructure upgrades, it was Sato’s job to redirect crowds using a megaphone. However, he found it to be an ineffective tool that was ignored by most. So with a few rolls of duct tape and a craft knife he took it upon himself to create some eye-catching signage.
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all photos courtesy Onomichi Museum of Art
Sadly, Japan has bid farewell to a beloved cat. Ken-chan, the local feline whose epic battle with a security guard at the Onomichi Museum of Art in Hiroshima became a fixture, passed away in September.
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photos by Masashi Mizowaki and Takaharu Yagi
Spending the night in jail is usually not a good thing. Unless of course you’re staying in Japan’s Nara Prison, a historic red-brick structure built in 1908 with western archways and onion domes that lend an air of castle more than incarceration. The prison shut down in 2017 but is being preserved for its architectural and historic significance. The renovated structure will reopen in 2026 as a hotel.
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Japan takes Christmas very seriously, but in a commercial sense rather than a religious sense. Which is perhaps why, each year, we find some very interesting, unorthodox Christmas trees. So each year we make a point of cataloguing our favorite trees. This year we expanded our scope to include not just Tokyo but Osaka as well. From hand-knitted trees and hinoki wooden trees to trees made from 1000 prisms, here are the ones the wowed us the most.
And a reminder that these are all up until December 25, 2025 but after that they’ll be gone.
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this year’s fall foliage creation featured Crayon Shinchan | all images courtesy hamacream
Over a decade ago a high school art teacher in Nara asked himself the question, what are some free activities that would inspire students to take an interest in art? The answer lay at his feet: the vibrant colors of the fall foliage that had fallen to the ground. So he picked up a broomstick and got to work.
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Straphangers are mourning today after JR East announced that their beloved mascot, the Suica penguin, will retire after 25 years of serving as the iconic face of IC cards. The penguin was designed by picture book author and illustrator Chiharu Sakazaki and was modeled after the Adelie penguin, which lives in Antarctica.
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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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Tokyo is Gearing Up for an Art-Filled Fall. And the Entire City is Here for It
Winners of Japan’s 2027 Packaging Design Awards
OrySnack: The Bar Where Bartenders Work From Home
Japanese Aquarium Drops 2026 Version of Flowchart Illustrating Their Penguin Relationships. This Year There’s an English Version.
Kawaii Buildings, as Seen Through the Lens of Urban Photographer Ken Ohyama
