Japan Town

Marriage in Japan I went out for lunch with my partner at a cafe the other day that stood across the train station in a Japanese desolate rural town where I live. To call it a cafe is a bit too fancy. It’s not the likes of Starbucks but rather a small old mom-and-pop diner that was built well over 30 years ago and remained as it was, which perfectly matched this old town itself. We sat at the table and overheard a conversation from the table next to us. Three old women in their eighties sat around the table by the window. “She has passed away, too.” “This could be the last time we ...

📚 KAKURE: JAPAN'S HIDDEN GEMS GUIDE 🗾 By Yoshida Yuki - Your Secret-Keeper in Japan! 🤫 Think You've Seen Japan? Ha! Not Even Close! 😲 While tourists battle selfie sticks at Tokyo Tower, you could be watching fireflies illuminate a 12th-century temple known by only seven locals and now YOU! Kakure unveils Japan's ✨secret universe✨ where vending machines don't exist but magic does!Japan's Best-Kept Secrets Revealed! 🔥 1. Coastal & Mountain Wonderlands 🏝️⛰️ Midnight Beach Festivals: Fishermen light lanterns that float to sea as offerings. Tissues for the FEELS! ...

The Beginning of A Winter TripThe mountainous region where I live is in the depth of winter and it snows day after day. Now that the snow covering the ground has accumulated over my own height, I was having a sense of claustrophobia. That’s a cue for my annual three-day trip to the Tokyo metropolitan area that doesn’t have much snow.I set about arranging this year’s trip online. I successfully booked the room in a hotel of the Japanese luxury chain at a greatly economical rate by making the best use of coupons and their off-season promotion. The stay would come with preferential ...

"With this book, you feel you can stop time and savor the rituals of life." --Maira Kalman An immersive journey through the culture and cuisine of one Japanese town, its forest, and its watershed--where ducks are hunted by net, saké is brewed from the purest mountain water, and charcoal is...

*COMING IN FEBRUARY 2026! The second book the series: The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen* “Wonderful . . . A cozy, emotional gem . . . Each chapter is a quiet, healing moment, filled with food, memory and the comfort of cats.” —The Seattle Times Your table awaits at the Chibineko...

Marriage in Japan I went out for lunch with my partner at a cafe the other day that stood across the train station in a Japanese desolate rural town where I live. To call it a cafe is a bit too fancy. It’s not the likes of Starbucks but rather a small old mom-and-pop diner that was built well over 30 years ago and remained as it was, which perfectly matched this old town itself. We sat at the table and overheard a conversation from the table next to us. Three old women in their eighties sat around the table by the window. “She has passed away, too.” “This could be the last time we ...

This historical narrative reveals the life of Linda, a young woman struggling to come to grips with her rudderless existence, of her stumbling back to her hometown after a failed marriage, and having to face the judgments of a stoic Japanese mother. Chieko’s life is in stark contrast, having survived the most horrific last days of World War II, and having come of age in occupied Japan where she made a living working in a hostess club serving drinks and dancing with servicemen. Linda wants to write her mother’s story, and Chieko always says no.

Ren Ishida is nearly finished with graduate school when he receives news of his sister Keiko's sudden death. She was viciously stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister's affairs, still failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate town years ago. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren struggles to find solace in the void his sister has left behind.

When I woke up in the morning, it had stopped snowing for the first time in several days and it was a clear day with the blue sky. I decided to go to a city a little far from the town. But it had started snowing heavily again by the time I left. I scurried to the station in the snow and heard the delay of the train announced there. That meant I would miss my connection of the train to the city. Because only a few trains run in this line, having another connection is hard. I gave up going there and had lunch at a local restaurant. This town is situated in the mountains and the weather is ...

Loneliness Is My Norm The nearest grocery store from my home is a 25-minute walk away. That small local store carried a sale on eggs at one dollar for ten. I walked there with my partner to get them. Since my town is so small and rural, there are usually almost no pedestrians on the streets. Except that cars are passing by sparsely, I hardly see anybody. But on our way back home from the grocery store, I saw a woman standing by a field and watching wild flowers. It was rare to see someone on the street. As I was getting closer, I perceived her looking at me with her face filled with a big ...

Most tourists treat Nagoya as a bullet train stopover between Tokyo and Osaka. That is their loss, and your secret weapon. Welcome to the Detroit of Japan, a city where food is deep-fried, cars are exorcised at Shinto shrines, and the cafe scene is so competitive that they serve free breakfast. My name is Cindy Liu. I am a travel writer who prefers grit to glitz. I wrote this guide because Nagoya is the most criminally underrated city in Asia, and you need a friend to show you the back alleys, not the tourist traps. Inside, we are going to skip the fluff and get to the good stuff: The "...

2008 körde den 25-årige Tomohiro Kato in i en folkmassa i ett av Tokyos shoppingområden. Efteråt hoppade han ur bilen med en kniv i handen och rusade mot alla människor medan han skrek och skrek. Totalt miste sju personer livet i den fruktansvärda massakern. MORD I ELECTRIC TOWN är första delen i true crime-serien MORD I JAPAN, där du får de sanna berättelserna om några av de mest sensationella morden i den uppgående solens land.

A Woman with An Iron Heart! The nearest train station from my home that I usually use has no station attendants on site. All it has are a ticket vending machine and an emergency phone. There’s no ticket gate either. A passenger gets a ticket from the machine and goes directly onto the platform. Upon arrival, they put the used tickets into a box on the wall. There are several no-attendant stations like that along this local line. That means it’s possible to ride free if you get on and off the train both at those stations. It’s kind of an honorable system that whether you pay for the ...