Selena Hoy

Now that Japan is open to tourism after more than two years, visiting skiers and snowboarders will find updated ski resorts and brand-new properties. Japan local Selena gives you the scoop on what’s new and shares her picks for the best places to ski in Japan.
Living in Tokyo, I’m never too far from a snow-laden mountain. Options abound for powder hounds in the archipelago, ranging from day trips from the capital to more remote areas that have enough to explore over a long weekend or more.
Ja...

Walking into the Reversible Destiny Lofts in suburban Mitaka, Tokyo, is a disorienting experience. Next door to a McDonald’s and some uniform beige apartment buildings, the complex appears as a sudden burst of colors and shapes, improbably stacked three stories high. It looks like a pile of children’s blocks writ large. Inside each loft, where you must proceed sock-footed, the floor is pitched, bumpy and undulating. A sunken kitchen stands at the center of the circular space, a hammock hanging

The first home that Kazunori Hamana bought is perched on the hillside above the Pacific Ocean, on the Boso Peninsula of Japan. The water is just a few dozen meters below, close enough that you could scramble through the brush and jump in.
Hamana often does just that. “I quit being a professional fisherman, so I just cast my net and eat what I’ve caught on the spot, ” he says. He’s friendly and suntanned, with a frank manner and few airs. He’s also a ceramicist whose elegant, hand-built pots g...

You’ll almost never see them today, but Japanese apples (waringo, 和林檎, わりんご, ワリンゴ) were cataloged in the Japanese dictionary Wamyō Ruijushō (和名類聚抄, わみょうるいじゅしょう) more than a thousand years ago.
Four to five centimeters in diameter and yellow or red skinned, they were grown, eaten, and used for altar offerings through the Edo period (mid 1800s) but went out of fashion with the introduction of their bigger, sweeter cousins, the Western apple, or seiyō ringo (西洋林檎, せいようりんご, セイヨウリンゴ), introduced t...

Soak up a private couples session in the onsen baths at The Ritz-Carlton Nikko.
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When planning a honeymoon in Japan, you can add an indulgent and sensual element to your romantic escape by booking a hotel with a top-notch spa. Whether you’re dissipating the high energy of an action-packed city break, unwinding after immersing y...

A profile of unique Tokyo bookstore Morioka Shoten.

Kengo Kuma is in constant communication with his staff. “My daily schedule is small meeting to small meeting, basically five to 10 minutes each, and there are many, many small meetings,” says Kengo. In the morning, a line snakes to his tiny corner alcove for “Kuma check,” where he looks at the work of his associates and gives them comments and direction. “I have to get in close communication with my colleagues. And communication is very important for design.”
Kengo’s desk is in a tiny alcove ...

With tens of thousands of restaurants, the food scene in Tokyo is hard to pin down. It’s constantly changing and ever-evolving, and has a plate for every palate — you could dine at a new place three times a day for the rest of your life and not get through them all.
That many options may feel daunting, but you can rest assured that the use of high-quality, fresh ingredients, as well as an eye for presentation, are near universal. Whether you like cheap and cheerful chow or fine dining, sippin...

Some trains are simply a means to get from point A to B. On others, like the East Japan Railway Company's Shu*Kura, it's all about the journey.
This train operates along a few routes in northwestern Japan's Niigata Prefecture, a place known for its rice, water, and snow. Nicknamed "snow country" for the deep drifts that blanket the towns and cap the majestic mountains during winter, the prefecture is verdant come spring and summer, with bright green foothills and rice paddies carpeting the co...

Profile of Snow Peak president Lisa Yamai.

Profile of Kyle's Good Finds bakery in Tokyo, Japan.

By Selena Hoy
Illustrations Misaka Hata
Paper strips with calligraphed kanji characters hang from the walls, chefs shout “irrashai!” as customers come through the door and servers place flasks of sake next to bowls of bright green edamame. Next door, a line curls around the corner as people step up to a ticket machine and feed coins in to choose their favorite bowl of ramen. Down the street, a family peers into a glass case; inside, perfectly rendered tempura shrimp stands next to glistening ...

An expert gives insight into the bride's attire, gifts that are given, and more.
A serene shrine, elegant kimonos, and a solemn priest: you might think of images like this when imagining a Japanese wedding. Although many modern couples do get married in the Shinto tradition, Japan's native polytheistic religion, couples often choose a mix of elements from both Japanese and Western traditions that suit them best. According to recent trend surveys on Japanese wedding sites, Western or Christian...

For Japanese domestic travelers, tourism and food tourism is synonymous. Every region has its meibutsu—famous or signature local products—and sampling them is a quintessential part of any local trip. On an island nation built on a chain of volcanoes, it’s easy to always have “something from the ocean and something from the hills” in every meal, alongside the country’s favorite grain: rice. Here are 15 Japanese dishes—well-known for their fresh, high-quality ingredients and visually pleasing p...