Thirty dedicated volunteer “Toy Doctors” in our town, Miyazaki, run an organization called The Toy Hospital (omocha-no-biyouin in Japanese.) As you have might have guessed, they mend br … read more

Here in Miyazaki, there is a city-wide effort to reduce waste under a program called 5-R. Refuse: Avoid accepting items that will become unnecessary trash. Reduce: Generate less trash. Re … read more

Where there is clutter, even valuable things lose their value. Where there is too much, nothing stands out. The essence of Japanese aesthetic is a concept called 'MA' (pronounced "maah") — the … read more

Toky Story ( tokyo monogatari) is an unpretentious, profoundly personal and visually stunning movie directed in 1953 by the celebrated Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Tokyo Story is a tale of cont … read more

  They are a curious mix of animal, human, and the supernatural. They are called dogū (土偶, clay figure) and perhaps the most remarkable representation of Japan's Jōmon cu … read more