Selena Hoy

Mt. Oyama, a peak to the southwest of Tokyo, has long been the goal of pilgrims eager to pay their respects to the gods. Today, visitors can follow in their footsteps on a short, fun trip out of the city.
What do tattoos, tofu, and a millennium-old temple have in common? They’re all part of the Oyama Pilgrimage, a religious and social journey to Mt. Oyama that was wildly popular during the Edo Period (1603 – 1868).
A few hundred years ago, the capital city of Tokyo, then called Edo, was boomi...

After a year filled with ups and downs, Joan Bailey isn’t quite where she wants to be for the holidays.
“I had hoped that my partner or I could return home to see our families, but it all feels precarious and unpredictable. … A big part of my heart and head is at home or wants to be at home to celebrate,” says Bailey, a university instructor and writer (and occasional contributor to The Japan Times).
“The unpredictability of (it) all has been hard,” she continues. “If we go, can we get back? ...

These yokai make a scary good brew.
“In August, this area is packed with people visiting their ancestors’ graves,” notes our taxi driver as we pass through the temple district in Hirosaki on the way to the castle grounds. There are more than 50 temples between the adjacent neighborhoods of Shinteramachi and Zenringai, where 33 Zen temples dating from the 1600s stand shoulder to shoulder. It’s also a city full of specters, at least according to a popular local souvenir, “Tsugaru Haunted Coffee...

Inakadate, Aomori Pref. – The free foot spa in the village of Inakadate, Aomori Prefecture, tempts visitors to dangle their toes in the natural onsen hot springs. Sulfuric steam rises over the bucolic scene, with rice paddies in the near distance and the prefecture’s tallest peak, Mount Iwaki, on the horizon.
But the geothermal heat is more than just a balm to the weary body: It also adds a touch of sweetness to life in the bitterly cold north in the form of plump, year-round strawberries.
St...

Once a fishing village called Edo, Tokyo has become one of the biggest cities in the world since it took the mantle of official Japanese capital from Kyoto in 1869. Today, central Tokyo is home to almost 14 million souls, with more than 37 million people living in the greater Tokyo area. It’s everything you expect—high-speed trains, blinking neon, blaring karaoke rooms, and crowds whirling through packed streets at a dizzying pace. But it’s also full of surprises: the call of a nightingale ac...

Stalks of green, yellow, creamy white, pale red, and deep purple bend gently in the breeze. I’m standing in a lush, midsummer rice paddy, but the intelligent design of these colorful crops becomes apparent only when I ascend the nearby observation tower.
Back in the spring, hundreds of volunteers meticulously planted these shoots to create, over a period of several months, a huge living canvas on which a painting materializes. This year, it’s a scene from Itomichi, a locally made film about a...

Swedish meatballs, or köttbullar, are a staple on every Swedish table, and not just during the holidays, though they are an essential part of a holiday smörgåsbord such as the julbord (Christmas spread). “It’s traditionally what we call husmanskost, which means home cooking. It’s a dish that’s served in every Swedish family,” says Swedish chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author Anna Bonde-Mosesson. “It’s a dish that’s ultimately Swedish completely and utterly.” Meatballs are so integral to Sw...

Get off the tourist track and delve a little deeper into Japan.
Japan is a relatively compact country with an excellent transportation system and a little of everything: mountains and oceans, sun and sand, snow and ice, and forests and cities, all within a short flight or a few hours on the Shinkansen train. Japanese holidays are also short, so most people choose to travel domestically, cramming in as much pleasure as possible in a few days. Japan's big travel periods fall over the new year, ...

The number of Japanese language learners is at a record high of almost 4 million, according to a 2018 survey from the Japan Foundation.
Whether you're a complete beginner or want to brush up on what you know, learning Japanese is a great way to spend any spare time in quarantine.
Below are 14 online resources to learn Japanese, from platforms like Rosetta Stone and Duoling...

From the biggest names in beauty products to smaller, more niche labels, Japanese cosmetic brands are tackling sustainability goals in a variety of innovative ways.
When you think of beauty, you might conjure an untrammeled forest, a pristine beach, a mountain path, or a clear running brook. But when it comes to the cosmetics industry, many products that help us to feel presentable and beautiful also have a hand in wrecking that natural landscape. Whether through the litter of too much packag...

Tokyo shopping guide for Nov 2020 issue of Sunday Times Travel Magazine

Wigmaker, hairstylist and head prop maker Tomihiro Kono is a master of disguise. His ethereal headwear has long been key to the visual identity of Comme des Garçons’ runway and has appeared on the covers of W, T Magazine and several global editions of Vogue. For all the razzle-dazzle of his astral creations, the artist himself is a reserved perfectionist. He spoke to Selena Takigawa Hoy about how a childhood on an orange farm made way for a career behind

Every August, I break wooden chopsticks into sections and insert them into an eggplant and a cucumber, four each. I fold bright strips of paper into zigzags and attach them to twisted rice straw rope, arranged alongside young bamboo fronds. We place nashi pears on the altar and light incense, then ring a bronze bell.
The cucumber is a horse, to convey my ancestors safely and swiftly here from the other world. And the eggplant is a cow, to carry them back slowly after their visit is over, beca...