Lifestyle
Weightlifting is Japanese salarymen’s newest hobby, report says
The stereotypical life of a middle-aged salaryman is supposed to go something like this: Wake up and go to work. After work, go drinking with your boss and coworkers at an izakaya pub, then go for a second session of drinks at some hole-in-the-wall bar, grab a bowl of late-night ramen somewhere,… Read
To Whom it May Concern? Advice on addressing holiday cards
It's that holiday-card time of year again. But before you open up the address book or spreadsheet, read up on some modern etiquette for addressing those to whom you're sending your jolly good tidings. Holiday cards, particularly Christmas cards, are big business. Leading greeting-card maker Hallmark estimates 1.3 billion Christmas… Read
Cutting food waste and staffing costs with RFID
Each year, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted worldwide, says the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. And 6.43 million tons of it originates in Japan, according to the Japanese government in 2016—the most recent data available. Recognizing the importance of reducing such waste—not only because it matters on a global scale… Read
Model home provides model wife and model daughter so you can feel the joy of family life
Japanese studio apartments may seem tiny by Western standards, but the truth is you really don’t need all that much space as a single person. You can fit places to sleep, hang your clothes, shower, and cook for-one-size meals into a surprisingly compact floor plan, and so really most Japanese… Read
What does LIVING mean to you? We ask New York-based interior designer Tony Chi
When you hear the word “living”, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? A living room is a place to live in, a place to rest and relax, or a place to contemplate ideas... “Living” can be life itself. For this issue, we ask the world renowned New… Read
More young Japanese men romantically involved with older female coworkers than younger ones: survey
In Japan, there’s not really any significant stigma attached to inter-office romances. Whether it’s a result of professional pride and responsibility being seen as extremely attractive traits by Japanese society, the country’s expected after-hours socializing with coworkers making it hard to meet people outside the job, or some combination of such factors,… Read
Made in America: U.S. brands that became Japanese
The place is Ohio. The year is 1939. James “J.J.” Lawson has just opened a store at his dairy plant in the town of Cuyahoga Falls—a move that would one day transform the customer experience in Japan. But, at the time, there was no way Lawson could have imagined such a transfer of business culture… Read
8 types of men you’ll meet on Japanese dating sites
If you're just getting into the dating scene in Japan, you have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to meeting men — only if you can set your filter high. So it may have been a while since your last date in Japan and you’re looking for… Read
What to do if you think you’ve been wrongfully dismissed in Japan
Life in Japan is good. You live in a relatively new, well-maintained apartment (flatteringly, if disingenuously, called a “mansion” in Japanese) conveniently located close to the train that shuttles you to work in the city each weekday. When you first moved here to take on a new role with a… Read
Marie Kondo's doing what she can to make your kids tidy
Not even Marie Kondo can follow all her rules for tidying all the time. "Of course, when things get very busy, I need to let go of some of my standards and methods, and I think that's a completely natural thing," the decluttering guru, Netflix reality star and mother of… Read
