Experience
What do you think of when you hear the words virtual reality? Does it conjure up images of a futuristic world full of robots and flying cars, or do you just picture a 40-year-old dude with too much spare time and not enough mountain dew? Whatever you associate VR with, it’s almost undeniable that it…
Traveling
Wait. There are two teamLab digital art museums? Can I do both teamLab Borderless and teamLab Planets on the same day? What else did I not know about Odaiba? How much can I accomplish in a single day of sightseeing without collapsing from exhaustion? The challenge had already started, even before I started following the…
Eating & Drinking
“You were an accident, albeit a happy one,” said my mother in a statement that has somewhat set the tone of my life so far. I am accident-prone. An accident waiting to happen. And, frequently, I am accidentally inappropriate. Which is why I thought the entirely inappropriate behaviour of crashing end of year parties sounded…
Living
“Time to start! You will drum for 40 minutes non-stop.” I was shivering in an abandoned elementary school that had been converted into the base for one of Japan’s most renowned taiko drumming group – Ondekoza, literally “Demon Drum Group”. On 4 hours of sleep and with a hacking cough, I wondered mildly if I…
Experience
Shinjuku is home to one of the world’s busiest stations with over 3.5 million people passing through every day. With 200 exits from the station and countless winding streets through this dense commercial district, it is as much a place to lose someone as it is to meet someone. The entire area exudes potential for…
Experience
Superstitions…. A few months after my colleagues and I had settled into our new office, a fashionable residence to the north of Shibuya, I stretched back in my chair and sighed contentedly. “I love the feel of this place!” I said absent-mindedly. Two colleagues – both Japanese – froze and looked at each other. “Really?”…
Traveling
Japan is the pinnacle of convenience and there’s no better symbol of this than the venerable Japanese vending machine. From the mundane to the magnificent, Japan offers something for nearly everyone with just a couple coins and the push of a button. If you’re looking for a truly Japanese experience, we’ve got 13 vending machines…
Shopping
I never knew I wanted a tiny sniper guy pointing at me sneakily from inside a candy wrapper. But when I saw it pop out of the gacha capsule, I swear Akihabara echoed with my laughter! See, I caught toy fever in Tokyo, thanks to Tokyo Survival Channel who challenged me to buy a 100…
Traveling
By now I’m sure you’re well acquainted with the vast number of Area 51 memes that have flooded every corner of the internet. What started as a jesting call to arms by one guy rallying a bunch of neckbeards to storm area 51 has grown into a massive cultural phenomenon, albeit for a blip in…
Shopping
Spending the day in cosplay at ACOSTA in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district can be fun and exciting, but also expensive. Follow us as we show you how to cosplay on the cheap in Tokyo! The Do’s and Don’ts of Cosplaying in Tokyo Cosplaying in Japan has its own set of rules and etiquette. Not following these…
Experience
Tokyo is well-known for being one of the world’s safest cities – if not the safest. Violent crime and thefts are exceptionally low. People leave their brand new MacBooks on the tables in Starbucks to reserve their seats. An efficient transport system, clean facilities and a genuine willingness among locals to help out with directions…
Traveling
You’ve always wanted to visit Japan, but hemmed and hawed over booking your trip after hearing stories of how expensive it can be — well, whoa whoa whoa, pump the brakes on that line of thinking. Long gone are the bubble days of the ’90s where the yen reigned supreme. Japan is more accessible than…
Traveling
One of the first things I have learned while living in Tokyo was to get around public transportation. Japan has one of the most amazing but complex public transportation in the world but it takes a little bit of time to get used to. Coming from a little town in Canada here are my tips…