LIVING

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Prefectures call for onsen culture to be recognized as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Prefectures call for onsen culture to be recognized as ...

Japan’s prefectural governors are intensifying their campaign for onsen culture ...

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Iran hesitates to clamp down on defiance of headscarf rules as war and economic pressures mount

Iran hesitates to clamp down on defiance of headscarf r...

Women sit at outdoor cafes without headscarves and wearing crop tops. Men in sho...

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10 things to consider before getting a pet in Japan

10 things to consider before getting a pet in Japan

Bringing a pet into your life is a big commitment, and it comes with extra consi...

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How to get a free/used bicycle in Japan

How to get a free/used bicycle in Japan

Bicycles are a staple of Japanese life. Despite being a nation with some of the ...

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How a 5 a.m. Shibuya cleanup became an international community

How a 5 a.m. Shibuya cleanup became an international co...

I had been following the Shibuya cleanup project on social media for several mon...

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Virtual zoo lifts spirits of children in hospitals

Virtual zoo lifts spirits of children in hospitals

Children facing long hospital stays in Japan are getting a chance to venture bey...

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Brazil is in fashion, as Brazilians like to say. Here’s why

Brazil is in fashion, as Brazilians like to say. Here’s...

Brazil is having a moment. Celebrities and record numbers of tourists donning gr...

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Japanese mayors challenge each other to nighttime ninja battle, now recruiting participants

Japanese mayors challenge each other to nighttime ninja...

In 1581, the ninth year of the Tensho era, the Iga ninja clan found itself in pe...

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'Divorce-tok' fills social media as creators find audiences — and support — by sharing heartbreak

'Divorce-tok' fills social media as creators find audie...

On Instagram feeds that are often teeming with curated, contrived content, a rec...

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Have a beard in Japan: Work rules, culture and care tips

Have a beard in Japan: Work rules, culture and care tips

In modern Japan, beards haven’t been as widely embraced as a fashion statement i...

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Go to hell! …at a limited time historical art exhibit coming to Osaka

Go to hell! …at a limited time historical art exhibit c...

The concept of hell has existed in Japan for a long time, but it’s a much more n...

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'The ber months': Christmas arrives early in the Philippines

'The ber months': Christmas arrives early in the Philip...

At a city block-sized market in the Philippine capital, a platoon of plastic San...

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Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time: OECD

Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge ...

Teenagers more accustomed to smartphones than Shakespeare are reading at the wor...

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Ode to the remote control, that tiny box that lets you channel your desires without ever getting up

Ode to the remote control, that tiny box that lets you ...

If the TV remote hadn’t been invented, channel surfers and couch potatoes would ...

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Kobe junior high schools begin abolishing extracurricular activities, shift to community programs

Kobe junior high schools begin abolishing extracurricul...

Extracurricular activities are a big deal at schools in Japan, widely considered...

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In a scorching Spain, the traditional folding hand fan is having a moment

In a scorching Spain, the traditional folding hand fan ...

In crowded subway cars and sun-drenched plazas, an old-fashioned accessory in Sp...