The term “Harajuku Girls” has been used by English-language media to describe teenagers dressed in any fashion style who are in the area of Harajuku. This fashion infuses multiple looks and styles to create a unique form of dress. The cyber-punk look takes its influence from gothic fashion and incorporates neon and metallic colors

In Japan, where 127 million people live cramped in an area smaller than the state of California, I discover gardens everywhere: in restaurants, on terraces, temples and courtyards. Wherever there is a patch of outdoor spaces, there is a tiny, secret garden.

Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal “sumo training stables” known in Japanese as heya where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.

The bluefin tuna caught off northeastern Japan fetched a record $736,000 in the first auction of the year at the fish market. The tuna was caught off Oma in Aomori prefecture and just north of the coast that was battered by the March 11 tsunami.

In Japan, cherry blossoms symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhistic influence, and which is embodied in the concept of mono no aware.