lifestyle
Have you ever wanted to travel to Tokyo without actually traveling to Tokyo? These Japanese web shows will offer you a free tour of the city! Although seeing Tokyo in person is an unforgettable experience, web series today capture the city’s essence well. Through the lens of the characters, you will not only get a virtual tour of Tokyo but will also get to see a raw and unfiltered side to it. From comedies to dramas and thrillers, this list of Japanese web shows set in Tokyo has a little something for everyone. Tokyo GirlJapanese actress, Asami Mizukawa, plays the role of Aya in Tokyo Girl. In...
Savvy Tokyo
Find your bliss with this guide to female sex toys for every taste and budget. Even in an increasingly sex-positive world, the topic of female masturbation remains something of a taboo. This is especially true in Japan where, as one Japanese dual-national I spoke with noted, there is an extra layer of stigma around discussing female self-pleasure and masturbatory toys as well as porn for women. Nevertheless, Japan is the home of a dizzying array of female sex toys, and they’re becoming increasingly mainstream. For their 10th anniversary last year, luxury Japanese fem-care brand Iroha announced...
Savvy Tokyo
Trying to be sustainable with your book purchases? Read on for the best recommendations on how to find English books in Tokyo while still living that eco-friendly lifestyle. On a recent excursion to the Shinjuku Kinokuniya, a spot known for its wide selection of English and other foreign language books, I observed a new friend taking photos of covers that caught her interest. She saw me watching and simply replied, “I don’t buy new books anymore.” The sentiment struck me, I had been trying my best to adhere to a sustainable lifestyle, but I hadn’t really thought about my reading habits. After ...
Savvy Tokyo
Whether you like the flowers, the pickled fruit or the liqueur, Japanese plums are one of the most charming early signs of spring—and soon they’ll be in full bloom across the city. Despite the snow that seems to be falling more regularly even in Tokyo lately, starting in early February, most regions in Japan become decorated in beautiful shades of pale to fuchsia pink. No, these are not early sakura blossoms (which, of course, also exist)—these are ume (梅), or the beautiful, often underappreciated early symbols of the Japanese spring: plum blossoms. From February to the end of March, you’ll fi...
Savvy Tokyo
Fried chicken and strawberry shortcake after working all day—welcome to a typical Christmas Eve date in Japan! The actual meaning of Christmas in Japan is rather hard to explain. Being a non-Christian nation, Christmas is not celebrated as a religious or even family-based event here and it’s not even a holiday. Most companies and some schools will stay open until the last possible moment of the year, an oft-lamented fact that non-Japanese (myself included) find impossible to accept. But if it’s not a holiday and it’s not a family or child-focused event, then what is it? Well, for many of the y...
Savvy Tokyo
Savvy Tokyo
I don’t look Japanese enough. I don’t speak enough Japanese. So, does that mean I’m not Japanese? First things first. I hate to start off by putting out a disclaimer, but these are my own personal opinions and thoughts about being a “hafu” (half-Japanese) and my experience will/may differ from others. I do not expect everyone to agree with me. Please take what I say with a pinch of salt. Disclaimer over! Now a little bit about me… I was born in Tokyo to a British father and a Japanese mother. I attended an International School in Yokohama for eight years before moving to the UK. After completi...
Savvy Tokyo
Living your life with purpose—finding your ikigai. The most popular genre of nonfiction, self-help books have been informal guides on everything for decades—but did you know the earliest extant forms dated back to Ancient Egypt? Or that the term “self-help” itself was taken from a book touting mid-Victorian era liberalism entitled Self Help by Samuel Smiles published in 1859? Japan too has a long and robust self-help industry, with some historical examples being Hagakure by Tsunetomo Yamamoto or The Book of Five Rings by Musashi Miyamoto. Just from looking around my local bookshops, I noticed ...
Savvy Tokyo
Anxiety levels are on the rise as people consider a maskless future in Tokyo. Before the sweltering summer heat kicked in, the Japanese government relaxed its guidelines for wearing masks, advising people to remove them where possible to avoid heat-related incidents. For some people, this was music to their ears. No more sweaty chins or running back home when you were halfway to the station and you realized you could feel the breeze against your face. For others, this news incited a whole new level of hidden anxiety. In Japan, the social pressure of wearing a mask may just be the reason why ma...
Savvy Tokyo
Whether your idea of taking time for yourself involves a home spa, journaling with some new stationery, or indulging in a snacking ritual, these products will maximize your self-care day (or hour as the case may be!). A few years into this pandemic, there has been a rejuvenated focus on maintaining our physical and mental health. And honestly, after reading the news, who doesn’t feel like they need a little extra self-care? Luckily, Japan’s got us covered for products that can make the time we carve out for ourselves that much more comfortable. Indeed, the vast consumer landscape offers many i...
Savvy Tokyo
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