Comedian and plus-size model Naomi Watanabe is huge in Japan. With 8.8 million Instagram followers, she’s a distant first. And she’s used her unconventional size to further the cause of body positivity, especially for women in Japan, more than anyone in recent memory. And now she’s back with her partner-in-crime, the art director Yuni Yoshida, for another groundbreaking advertisement for Shu Uemura.
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Oita in Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, is often hailed as the “onsen prefecture” of the country. Its mountainous terrain and underground discharges makes it home to many mineral-rich, natural hot springs. Just last month, a new hot spring park called Kur Park Nagayu opened. With hot springs, lodging and a restaurant, they combine soaking eating and sleeping (our three favorite activities) all in one.
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Lacquer has been used traditionally in Japan as a varnish coating for thousands of years. It’s adorned everything from Buddhist artifacts to tableware. But Kyoto-based artist Genta Ishizuka has been exploring the sculptural qualities of lacquer, known as urushi in Japan, proving that old traditions of making can still surprise us as being radical and contemporary.
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Between the years 1987 and 1993, the fashion designer Kenzo Takada built a 1,300- square-meter (14,000 sq ft) residence on the border of the Bastille and the Marais neighborhoods. Kenzo lived in the home for a little under 20 years before deciding to put it on the market in 2007. At the time, the asking price was €12 million, or $17.7 million.
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In November of 1969, Japanese stationery company Tombow released what would go on to become one of the country’s most iconic stationery items: the MONO eraser. Designed by the company’s in-house designers, the simple striped design, reminiscent of a flag, has remain unchanged for the last 50 years. And to celebrate the half-century mark, the company is running several fun promotions this year.
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Travelers looking to stay in traditional Japanese ryokan, or inns, usually have to venture out of major cities and into less-populated areas. And while that’s definitely part of the allure, the newly established Yuen brings the tranquility of an urban oasis to one of Japan’s most densely populated areas: Shinjuku.
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Eighteen years after the release of Spirited Away in Japan, China is getting an official theatrical release next week. And just as he did with the release of My Neighbor Totoro late last year, Chinese designer Huang Hai has worked his magic once again, creating a series of absolutely breathtaking posters that make us want to watch the film all over.
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Blowing the white fluffy seeds off a dandelion is a universal childhood experience. Who hasn’t delighted in watching a gentle breeze carry the bristles off into the distance. But for this Tokyo-based artist who goes by the name “(euglena)“, the fluff serves a different, artistic purpose. She harvests them to create impossibly delicate sculptures that beg to be observed up close. Just don’t sneeze.
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We’ve never wanted to peel off the lid of a building as much as this one: Nissin’s new Cup Noodle Factory in Shiga Prefecture of Japan’s Kansai region. This is the company’s first new factory in 22 years and at 100,000㎡ (approximately 24.6 acres) it stands as one of Japan’s largest food factories.
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After purchasing a tiny plot of land in Tokyo, architect Takeshi Hosaka (previously) began creating the blueprints for a home for his wife and himself. Originally intending to build up, the architect pivoted after he and his wife were inspired by a book about Edo-period families who lived in a single floor, in a single space. Hosaka then redrafted his plans, which included only the raw ingredients for happiness.
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Japanese Aquarium Drops 2026 Version of Flowchart Illustrating Their Penguin Relationships. This Year There’s an English Version.
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