Month: August 2025

From the now-defunct Longaberger basket company’s iconic Ohio headquarters to the distinctive Casa de Penedo — Portuguese for “boulder house” — the world has no shortage of quirky, fanciful, and…

We get classy and cute on a trip to Tohoku to try Kuromi’s take on afternoon tea. No Sanrio character is clearer about their goals than Kuromi, who regularly references…

The face of Japanese society is rapidly changing.  The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications just announced the results of its annual demographic survey in Japan, and its key findings…

Using the wood of silk trees, ebony, and embedded copper details, Donald Wasswa conjures bold forms evocative of imagined living beings. Based in Kampala, Uganda, Wasswa explores the relationships between—and…

Luffy’s latest adventure is a (sonic) blast from the past. Fans of One Piece will tell you that protagonist Luffy’s greatest strengths are his indomitable optimism and charismatic draw that…

As the World’s Fair loomed on Chicago’s horizon, architects Willoughby J. Edbrooke and Franklin Pierce Burnham built a 98-unit hotel to house visitors. After the exposition was finished, the Romanesque…

The Tkachuk brothers, along with their father, Keith, are gracing an early release cover version of this year's EA Sports NHL 26 video game.

We try to recreate an unlikely favorite popsicle treat of years past by turning corn soup into an icy dessert. Our Japanese-language foodie reporter Natsuno Futon was recently reminiscing about Garigari-kun’s…

Dashimaki Futomaki is rare to find, but a must-try in Japan. You never know what you might find when strolling through a depachika (“department store basement”) in Japan. These underground…

Prevent heatstroke and beat the heat with a product that’s been around for centuries.  Every summer in Japan seems to be hotter than the last, and at this time of…