January 12, 2023 • 28m
In centuries past, cooking in a Japanese kitchen involved moving between a dirt floor and a raised area with wooden floorboards. M...Read more
February 9, 2023 • 28m
Sweet potatoes are widely grown and enjoyed in Japan. They're baked, fried, served in stews and used to make desserts. Throughout ...Read more
March 2, 2023 • 28m
Japan, once thought to have no dinosaur fossils, is now a hotspot for dinosaur discovery. Kamuysaurus japonicus, found in Hokkaido...Read more
March 23, 2023 • 28m
In the mountains of Okayama Prefecture, Kamimomi is a community whose features include beautiful terraced rice fields. But with fe...Read more
April 13, 2023 • 28m
In Japan, interest in camping is booming. Popular choices these days include women-only camping and solo camping. Some prefer glam...Read more
April 27, 2023 • 28m
In Japan, economic conditions may be challenging, but male cosmetics are selling increasingly well. Social media and the normaliza...Read more
May 11, 2023 • 28m
Konnyaku is an important element of Japanese cuisine. It has long been known as a high-fiber, diet-friendly food, and in recent ye...Read more
May 25, 2023 • 28m
The Japanophile series looks at Japan through the eyes of long-term residents who were born in another part of the world. This tim...Read more
June 8, 2023 • 28m
Ueno, in Tokyo, is visited by 25 million tourists each year. It is home to world-class museums and educational facilities, bustlin...Read more
June 22, 2023 • 28m
In Japan, businesses are linking meteorological data and sales figures in order to predict consumer demand. This is helping to red...Read more
July 6, 2023 • 28m
We explore Amami Oshima, a subtropical paradise, through the stunning art of Tanaka Isson. Sometimes referred to as "the Japanese ...Read more
July 13, 2023 • 28m
Life in Amami Oshima was once so tough that the islanders devised a way to make a poisonous plant edible. Harsh circumstances nurt...Read more
August 3, 2023 • 28m
An Italian psychiatrist who uses an original "anime therapy" approach is the guest in this episode of Japanophiles, an occasional ...Read more
August 17, 2023 • 28m
In Japan, one in every seven homes is empty. These 8.5 million vacant properties may increase the risk of fire and burglary, or ne...Read more
August 31, 2023 • 28m
Sometimes described as "solo opera," Rokyoku was once Japan's most popular form of entertainment, with top performers among the ri...Read more
September 14, 2023 • 28m
Japanese honeybees are wild, difficult to farm, and produce less honey than the Western honeybees used for most commercial honey p...Read more
September 28, 2023 • 28m
In ningyo joruri, three people work together to make beautifully crafted puppets seem amazingly lifelike. US puppeteer Martin Holm...Read more
October 12, 2023 • 28m
Luna lionfish and black rabbitfish ... these are examples of "unused fish" that tend to be discarded. Why? They're unfamiliar to c...Read more
October 26, 2023 • 28m
Japan was arguably one of the cleanest places in the world in centuries past. But today, garbage is a major issue. In other countr...Read more
November 9, 2023 • 28m
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and residential fires are posing new challenges. Japan is responding to this evolving reality...Read more
November 23, 2023 • 28m
Fermented foods are a longstanding staple of Noto cuisine. This region in Ishikawa Prefecture has a local specialty: ishiri, a fer...Read more
December 7, 2023 • 28m
Each year, Japan's deities are said to gather in Izumo in western Japan. We visit Izumo Taisha, a shrine with a millennium of hist...Read more
December 14, 2023 • 28m
In the late 19th century, writer Lafcadio Hearn (Japanese name: Koizumi Yakumo) helped introduce Japan to the wider world. We visi...Read more