As we near the end of 2025, we like to reflect on the stories that most captivated our readers’ attention, and as always, certain themes tend to emerge. 2025 marked the 80-year anniversary of the end of WWII. It was also a milestone year for Japan in terms of global attention. Tourism hit a record high while anime and soft power continued to see major expansion overseas.
For 18 years in a row, we continued to bring our readers stories from Japan as seen through our lens of art & design. 2025 was a year of loss, but also new beginnings. Artists continued to push old traditions and techniques into the future. From travel destinations and language-learning to reviving craftsmanship and discouraging food loss, these were the stories that mattered most to our readers.
10. The Stylish Rakuragu Hotel
The 9-story Rakuragu hotel (10-stories would have been poetic, but oh well) rises from an ultra-narrow site in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. It opened in 2024, but out coverage of it earlier this year came in at number 10. 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.
9. An Embroidered Japanese Syllabary
Earlier this year, illustrator and embroidery artist Tomoko Kubo embarked on an epic linguistic journey of embroidering all 46 characters in the hiragana lettering system. Each piece was carefully designed so that within each character were individually embroidered images that depict foods, animals and activities that begin with that character. Not only were they visually beautiful but also a fun way for beginners of the Japanese language to identify and learn words.
8. Designer New Years Cards
A Spoon & Tamago tradition, at the beginning of each year we collect all of our favorite New Years cards that have been artfully designed by illustrators and graphic artists. If you enjoyed these snake-inspired cards, you can look forward to our 2026 round-up of horse-inspired cards that we’ll do in just a few weeks!
7. Family Mart’s Teary-Eyed Stickers
This year, conbini operator Family Mart launched an unexpected strategy to combat food loss. They designed a series of adorable, teary-eyed stickers to be placed on foods with an approaching expiration date. With a messages that reads “help us” and a small discount, the stickers resonated not only with shoppers but with our readers as well.
6. Ayako Miyawaki’s Appliqué
2025 represented the 80-year anniversary of the end of WWII. And 80 years ago, from the ashes of war, Ayako Miyawaki would begin an expansive artistic career and would go on to produce hundreds of works made from rags and other textiles stitched together.
5. RIP Kimiko Nishimoto
2025 was also a year of loss: we had to say goodbye to Japan’s most-creative obachan. Kimiko Nishimoto’s creative journey began, unexpectedly, at the age of 72 when she decided to take a photography class. She immediately fell in love with the medium and began taking humorous, comical and sometimes surreal self-portraits. Our tribute and remembrance of her was our 5th most-popular post.
4. Urushi Snowboard
Early in the year, artist Sumire Morino graduated from art school. And her senior thesis made quite a statement: dressed in a kimono, Mirono slid down a mountain on a urushi lacquered snowboard she had crafted herself. However, the artwork was much more than just a personal statement. It was a spotlight shined on the existential crisis of urushi lacquerware—and all traditional craft, for that matter.
3. Nihonga Hamsters
Coming in third is the Japanese artist Otama-shimai and her Nihonga-style images almost exclusively of hamsters. We spoke to the artist early in the year about her artwork and he hamsters.
2. The Arimaston Building
For the past 15 years architect Keisuke Oka has been constructing a tower of concrete entirely by hand. And after years of doing everything from gathering materials to mixing concrete, the scaffolding came down over the fall, revealing the face of the intricate, organic structure. The Arimaston Building (蟻鱒鳶ル) is set to be completed in early 2026.
1. Bread Wrapping Paper
Our most-popular post of 2025, just in time for Christmas, was this wrapping paper that turns all your presents into bread. Conceived by Japanese graphic designer Ippei Tsujio, the ultra-realistic wrapping paper creates a visual illusion with each sheet—baguette, ciabatta or classic sandwich loaf—that brings the warm aesthetic of a bakery shelf right to your hands.
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