Tokyo, unfiltered.
Insider guides, cultural deep-dives, and current-affairs reporting on Tokyo and Japan. Written by people who live here and actually go to the places they write about.
Start here
The six pieces below are the most-read, most-referenced articles on the site. Pick whichever one matches what you’re curious about.
Tokyu Kabukicho Tower: 1956 to Now
The 225m tower that replaced the Koma Theater, Milano-za cinemas, and seventy years of Shinjuku entertainment history. What’s inside, what to skip.
Hatsumode: Tokyo’s New Year Shrine Rush
Three million people walk to Meiji Jingu in 72 hours. Which shrines to pick, how to behave, and what the omamori actually mean.
Visit Japan Web: The 10-Minute Form
Ten minutes of form-filling before your flight saves 45 minutes at the airport. Step-by-step, plus the mistakes that put you in the paper lane.
Japan’s Konbini Culture
Why 55,000 convenience stores outperform most Tokyo restaurants. Onigiri packaging engineering, the ¥180 sandwich that beats home cooking.
Japan’s New Anti-Tourism Politics
The July 2025 Sanseito surge, explained. What the party wants, how the mainstream is responding, and what it means for visitors.
Yamaguchi-gumi: The Yakuza Then and Now
From post-war street gangs to a corporate holding with 4,500 members. How Japan’s most famous criminal organisation actually works today.
Browse by topic
Culture & History
Yakuza. Irezumi. Martial arts. Sumo. Ganguro fashion. The Kabukicho nightlife industry, told without the usual cliches.
Neighborhoods
Akihabara, Ueno, Kabukicho, Asakusa. Where to go, what to skip, and why each neighborhood feels the way it does.
Current Affairs
Dual pricing, weak yen, Fuji overtourism. The politics reshaping Japanese travel right now.
Or browse all published articles.