Subculture & Vibe– category –

Chances are, you’ve heard it. You were probably deep in a YouTube spiral late one night when the algorithm, in its infinite and mysterious wisdom, served it up. A still image of a woman’s face, serene and slightly smiling, caught in a so...

You’ve seen the pictures of Harajuku. Crowds flooding Takeshita Street, a pastel-colored tsunami of crepe shops, rainbow candy floss, and stores blasting J-pop. It’s a sensory overload, a caricature of “quirky Japan” that’s become a mand...

Imagine this. You’re in Akihabara, Tokyo's electric town, a neighborhood that feels like the internet decided to build a city. Towers of manga, arcades beeping and chiming on every floor, and everywhere you look, the bright, doe-eyed fac...

You’ve seen it a thousand times in a video game. Your plucky hero, armed with a basic sword and questionable fashion sense, defeats a low-level slime. A cheerful little jingle plays, a bar at the bottom of the screen fills up, and the wo...

Step out of the blinding fluorescence of a Tokyo convenience store, turn a corner away from the main thoroughfare, and you might see it: a modest entrance, perhaps with a faded plastic food model of a lurid green ice cream float in the w...

If you spend enough time in Japan, you'll eventually hear the term. It might be whispered by a friend planning a weekend trip, or featured in a glossy magazine spread with maps and star ratings. The term is pawā supotto, or "Power Spot."...

It almost always starts the same way. You’re somewhere deep down a YouTube rabbit hole, hours after you meant to go to bed. The algorithm, in its infinite and inscrutable wisdom, serves up a new recommendation. The thumbnail is a simple,...

It happens like a dream. You’re deep into a late-night YouTube session, letting the algorithm guide you through a gentle river of 70s soul, lo-fi beats, or obscure funk. Then, a new video loads. The thumbnail is a grainy, candid-looking ...

You see them everywhere in Japan, once you know what to look for. Tucked away in a corner of a train station, laid out on a table at a roadside rest stop, or promoted on a flyer at a local museum. It’s the sutanpu rarī—the stamp rally. T...

You've probably seen him. Maybe on a game cover or in an anime. He has impossibly spiky hair, armor that looks more like a high-fashion runway piece than something you'd wear into battle, and he's wielding a sword that’s on fire, or crac...

You've seen the pictures. A narrow, lantern-lit alley, steam billowing from a food stall, the low murmur of conversations spilling out from behind a sliding door. It’s the quintessential image of nightlife in Japan, a world away from the...

When you picture a Japanese idol, your mind probably conjures a specific image. Thousands of screaming fans in a colossal arena like the Tokyo Dome. A perfectly synchronized dance troupe of twenty or more girls, their smiles manufactured...