If you go to Asakusa, the stores lined up behind Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate, often carry imitation swords you can buy as souveniers for friends or yourself. If you are more interested in acquiring an actual Katana, you will need to look up Katana makers online and expect to pay a few thousand dollars. Actual Katanas take months to make and so they cost a lot.
KurtisW
United States
Radishes are abundant; and one that especially comes to mind is the Daikon radish, also quite popular abroad. Daikon is a major staple of many Japanese dishes, the most prominent use being in soups, …
If you exit Shinjuku station out the south exit, or better yet the "new" south exit, you arrive in a promenade with Krispy Kreme donuts, Starbucks, Tokyu Hands, and other shops.This whole area is…
Last winter I went to a place called Kagura ski resort, located on Mt. Naeba. This area is in Niigata which is on the northern part of the main island in Japan; about a 3 hour drive from Tokyo. You c…
You've seen the "crane games" the UFO catchers before I'm sure. As I remember when I was young at amusement parks and arcades and such, I would see stuffed animals and candy and try tirelessly to get…
Giant monsters attacking cities is a pretty common science fiction or horror scenario in Japanese media. The reason being possibly that since people live pretty close together, the idea of a giant mo…
You will only get one chance a year at this, but if you happen to be in Japan during the new year, you can see literally the first sunrise on earth. Many people will either stay up all night or wake …
Attending a Japanese funeral can be stressful, even shocking, if you don't know what to do. The more you know beforehand the better, as you'll be able to comfort and support mutual friends and their …
Former Deep Japan Writer
In Japan, the color white is attributed to happiness and good times. Death is a time of mourning and so people must dress in the color of depression, black. Men usually wear a black suit with a black…
GenS
Ghosts and spirits hold a place in the folklore of many cultures around the world. In the western world, Halloween, observed on October 31st, is a time for scary, spooky tales, while Latin America w…
jdlawrence
Enjoy taking bath with Babu(Bub), a popular Japanese bath tablet to Relax after Exploring Japan on Foot.All travelers know how sight seeing can be exhausting. Especially walking around on foot, t…
mimichan
To people new to Japan, the Tokyo subway system, stylishly called "Tokyo Metro" is a confusing labyrinth of lines going every which way. Orderly thought and planning, it would appear, seem to be the…
jdlawrence
If you wondered why Japanese people refer to Mt. Fuji as Mr. Fuji, you are not alone.When I first came to Japan, and actually until about two years ago, well okay, actually it still happens a lot…
