Totoro blends tradition with modern design so you can make the best rice you’ve ever tasted.
nabe
Sample some of the best regional variations of nabe and sake in a Showa-retro space at this event perfect for the middle of winter.
Move over, fall foliage forecast, and make room for this year’s predictions about the opening of hotpot season.
If you don’t have a team of sumo wrestlers to cook chanko nabe for you, will a rice cooker do the job for a one-person hot pot meal?
Menchanko-tei combines noodles with traditional sumo food for a meal that’s become popular in Japan and the United States.
The dish is unique in that all parts of the seri plant are consumed–leaves, stems, and roots included.
Is the popular milky soft drink too sweet for cooking, or the perfect addition? We find out!
Want to try Japan’s most famous hot pot, but don’t want to drop big bucks for it? Yoshinoya, plus one other amazing budget-friendly restaurant, are here to help.
“Comfort food” is traditional cooking that tends to have a nostalgic or sentimental connection, often one related to family or childhood: the grilled cheese sandwiches your mother used to make; the thought of your grandmother’s bread pudding makes your mouth water; the way the whole house would be filled with the intoxicating aroma of roasted turkey or ham at Christmas? Because of such memories, these foods comfort us, especially when we’re longing for home or feeling especially vulnerable.
Not surprisingly, the sentimental Japanese have their own comfort foods. While you might think they’d be waxing over the octopus tentacles of home, very few of the dishes we’re about to talk about have much to do with seafood. Many Japanese comfort foods have a rice connection and may even center around the unique relationship between mothers or wives and their role in family food preparation. And in Japan, make no mistake about it–her kitchen rules!
Here in Japan, we love hot pots, or nabe, especially during the cold winter months. Nabe can be cooked using a wide range of ingredients, from delicate seafood like pufferfish (fugu) to succulent wagyu beef, and they’re often served with plenty of vegetables too, so the dishes are filling and relatively healthy as well.
Now, these hot pots are usually all about savoring the various ingredients, but a reporter from our sister site Pouch found some nabe pots that are so adorable that just looking at them is bound to put a smile on your face. Yes, our favorite friends from Disney have turned themselves into pots for our dining and viewing pleasure! Even if you’re not a die-hard Disney fan, these pots are guaranteed to add some extra fun to your meal.
Cats are always sticking their noses…and heads and butts and, well, their whole bodies where they just don’t belong. Working on an important business report? Cat on the keyboard! Trying to cook? Cat face in your mixing bowl! Strange noises in your closet freaking you out at night? Cat doing…something in there. We still have no idea what.
While we all love a cute kitty, it’s impossible to avoid the fact that they simply have an innate desire to get in the way or into just about everything. One Japanese Twitter user learned this the funny way when his cat just…disappeared!



















Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Totoro cream puffs and Catbus cookies are finally available in downtown Tokyo
Japan’s foreign tourist numbers projected to fall for first time in years in 2026
McDonald’s Japan releases a Mushroom Mountain and Bamboo Shoot Village McFlurry
Japan’s Poképark Kanto Pokémon theme park area shows first attraction photos
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
Nicolas Cage meets Gachapin and a world record is broken at Osaka Comic Con 2025
Japan has seven lucky taxis in Tokyo, and we just boarded one of them
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take “radio calisthenics” to an interesting new level
Japanese department store rooftop is a secret oasis where you can escape the crowds in Tokyo
10 times to avoid traveling in Japan in 2026
Our 52-year-old pole dancing reporter shares his tips for achieving your New Year’s exercise goal
Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino and latte for Valentine’s Day
Ramen restaurant’s English menu prices are nearly double its Japanese ones, denies discriminating
Princess Mononoke magnets return just in time to treat yourself to awesome anime decorations
Umamusume anime girl plushie recalled for having parts she absolutely should not have【Pics】
Giant hotel rooms in Osaka reflect the new non-niche face of travel in Japan.
Japanese women showing rebounding interest in giving Valentine’s Day chocolate【Survey】
We ate sushi made from Japan’s most expensive tuna ever【Taste test】
Starbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
Nicolas Cage meets Gachapin and a world record is broken at Osaka Comic Con 2025
Japan has seven lucky taxis in Tokyo, and we just boarded one of them
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take “radio calisthenics” to an interesting new level
Japanese department store rooftop is a secret oasis where you can escape the crowds in Tokyo
The Purple Lucky Bag from Village Vanguard is an extra-large waste of money
Yakuza-themed love hotel rooms! Great for couples, friends, and business meetings, owners say
We followed Tokyo’s mystery walking map and ended up creating our own bar-hopping adventure
Cherry blossoms blooming on new sakura Air Jordans from Nike【Photos】
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Giant hotel rooms in Osaka reflect the new non-niche face of travel in Japan.
Aliens attend baseball game, thrown out, never heard from again
Private booths are coming to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains even sooner than we’d thought【Video】