Your Name (Kimi no Na wa / 君の名は) is honestly one of the best Japanese movies I’ve seen – ever. It is engaging, funny, clever, interesting and brilliantly animated – just about everything you could want from a film. It’s no wonder writer and director Makoto Shinkai (新海 誠) has been dubbed the new Miyazaki … Continue reading
Based on a popular manga comic, Japanese director Naoko Yamada’s (K-On) affecting drama about the tempestuous relationship between a boy who hears and a girl who doesn’t; this is a beautiful Japanese animation which has themes around living as a deaf person at its core. When Shoko, a young deaf student, transfers to a new elementary … Continue reading
“If you must blink, do it now…” What an opening line! I was captivated from the moment the film started, and Kubo & The Two Strings is without a doubt the best animated film I’ve seen this year, and in a long time. Kubo & The Two Strings is not a Japanese film, it’s an … Continue reading
I don’t have much time this week to post, so here’s just a quick heads up for those of you in the UK or with access to UK TV. This week a new three-part series about Japan started, featuring Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley. I haven’t watched it yet, but the images I’ve seen from … Continue reading
Miso Tasty, my favourite supplier of miso (みそ) in the UK, created by chef and food blogger extraordinaire Bonnie Chung, has just published a fantastic new cookbook! Not only is this a lovely book to have on your shelf (it feels nice and fabricy and is beautifully designed with delicious photos throughout), it’s also packed … Continue reading
A few weeks ago Bristol saw another fantastic Upfest street art festival take place. Upfest is Europe’s largest free street art and graffiti festival, and the event sees artists travelling from all over the world to take part. There was lots of great artwork there, but today I’d like to highlight a few Japan-inspired pieces … Continue reading
The Bullet Train Murder is the latest in Fran Pickering‘s ‘Josie Clark in Japan’ mystery series: When a body’s found on Japan’s famous bullet train it’s got nothing to do with Josie Clark. Or has it? Tokyo-based expat Londoner Josie Clark hopes her transfer to Osaka will give her career a boost, even though it means commuting weekly … Continue reading
Whilst I was in London recently I popped in to see my old colleagues at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and was invited in to see the latest exhibition: Unexpected Stories by Umi Kumano (熊野海). Umi Kumano is a Japanese artist from Fukui, who currently lives in Berlin as a guest student at the Berlin University of … Continue reading
This weekend I went to the UK’s biggest J-culture event HYPER JAPAN at Olympia in London. I was working there, enthusing to the masses about travelling to Japan and what a cool destination it is, and after my shift finished yesterday I hung around for a little while to take in some of the craziness. … Continue reading
The UK’s number one Tsugaru shamisen player Hibiki Ichikawa is back with a sensational new album, aptly called ‘Shami-sensational’. This fantastic album contains 8 new tracks, featuring the shamisen player himself, as well as guest vocals from Akari Mochizuki and instruments from a number of other contributors. Check out some samples from the album in … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 