THE TORA-SAN PHENOMENON The seventies marked the beginning of a series of films called Otoko wa tsurai yo (“It’s tough being a man”), which holds the Guinness record for the longest film series in history, with 48 feature films. The first episode in the series was released in 1969 and the last one in 1995. The hero in all of them is Torasan, a busi

shakuhachi music, ikebana flower arrangement with its asymmetric

the Meiji Period (1868–1912),

One of the most accepted interpretations is that the main point when designing a dry garden is not the stones but the space between the stone. Zen emphasizes void, nothingness. “What makes dry gardens so special? The space between the rocks.” —Alan Booth

Japanese companies are famous for doing things well but slowly.

What is expressed orally by the individual is tatemae, and what he really thinks is honne.

The Studio Alta screen has become one of the most famous rendezvous points in Tokyo. You see it as soon as you set foot outside the East Exit of Shinjuku (JR). If you get there by the subway, it’s Exit 13B.

SUPER POTATO (3 ON THE MAP) Second-hand retro games store.

Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum Aoyama.