At first glance, these wrapped objects seem like freshly baked loaves straight from the bakery. With toasty brown hues, signature flour dusting, and even hand-scored patterns mimicking artisanal baguettes, this genius wrapping paper turns all your gifts into bread.
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Kodansha, one of Japan’s leading manga publishers, has launched an innovative campaign titled “MANGA MANNERS” to educate visitors about Japanese etiquette through beloved manga characters. Following the success of a similar initiative at Narita Airport in 2024, this new campaign is prominently featured at major Tokaido Shinkansen stations, including Tokyo, Shinagawa, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Shin-Osaka, from April 24 to June 30, 2025.
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Goldwin, the Japanese outdoor apparel company, has unveiled plans for an ambitious new project: the Play Earth Park Naturing Forest. Set to open in the summer of 2027, this expansive nature-themed facility will be located in Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, the birthplace of Goldwin. Spanning approximately 100 acres, the park aims to offer immersive experiences that connect visitors with nature, aligning with Goldwin’s “PLAY EARTH 2030” vision.
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all photos by Kenta Hasegawa courtesy Tamada & Wakimoto Architects
Set against the soft backdrop of Tochigi’s rural landscapes, ROOF HOUSE by Tamada & Wakimoto Architects reimagines how a home can engage with its environment. Rather than enclosing life within walls, this project opens it outward.
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This 9-story Rakuragu hotel rises from an ultra-narrow site in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. If it’s nightlife you’re in search of, this hotel may not be right for you but if you’re looking for understated stylishness and rare outdoor space, this is a gem of a hotel. With just 14 rooms, its design prioritizes outdoor space through the arrangement of balconies that face different directions, capitalizing on the gaps between the neighboring buildings.
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Illustrator and embroidery artist Tomoko Kubo has embarked on an epic linguistic journey of embroidering all 46 characters in the hiragana lettering system. Each piece is carefully designed so that within each character are individually embroidered images that depict foods, animals and activities that begin with that character. Not only are they visually beautiful but are also fun ways for beginners of the Japanese language to identify and learn words!
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The Osaka Expo 2025 kicks off on April 13th. And while we’re excited about some pretty niche things like Hello Kitty algae and attendant uniforms, one of Japan’s signature pavilions, Earth Mart, is shaping up to be delightfully delicious. Located within the expo’s Green World zone, Earth Mart will make you rethink and reevaluate the current state of food by exploring new ways of eating through interactive exhibitions and installations. One iconic installation is a chandelier made from 28,000 eggs, a figure that represents the average number of eggs every Japanese person consumes in their lifetime.
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Kei Endo is an accomplished architect and draughtswoman who got her start by merging her hobbies of travelling and art: she began sharing her detailed, architectural survey drawings of the hotel rooms she stayed at. This wonderful side-hustle eventually blossomed into a career. And Endo’s repertoire expanded from hotel rooms to hotel amenities, meals, desserts and all the small delights around her. Now, for the first time, she’s staging an exhibition of old a new works.
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Hailing from rural Aomori in northern Japan, Sumire Morino grew up skiing and snowboarding. She is currently in art school studying traditional Japanese crafts. And so when Morino turned twenty, 2 years ago, she celebrated coming-of-age-day the only way she knew how: hitting the slopes in a traditional furisode kimono.
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all images by Otama-shimai | used with permission
The Japanese artist who goes by the name Otama-shimai creates Nihonga-style images almost exclusively of hamsters. Nihonga is a Japanese style of painting coined in the mid-1800s to differentiate it from its Western counterpart. Typically made from organic pigments and depicting animals or landscapes, nihonga can be difficult to place, time-period wise. But every now and then the artist will playfully incorporate a contemporary item from everyday life like high-heels or store bought yarn, removing any ambiguity.
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