Japan: The Cookbook

Japan: The Cookbook includes 400 recipes from one of the world’s most respected food cultures—written and collected by food writer Nancy Singleton Hachisu. At almost 500 pages, the book is expansive and sprawls from first to last course by region. Ultimately, the collection forms a comprehensive guide to the nation’s brilliant culinary history.

Japan’s Elevator From Earth to Low Orbit Space

“For over a century scientists and sci-fi writers alike have dreamed of creating a space elevator to ferry astronauts and payloads between the Earth and low orbit,” Jason Daley of Smithsonian Magazine writes. Now, Japanese scientists will make a step toward such a futuristic development. Two satellites—roughly four cubic inches—will test elevator motion in space, as they launch with a 33-foot steel cable binding them, …

Word of Mouth: Tokyo Design and Architecture

We explore some of the Japanese capital's most exciting and alluring structures

Shrines and temples hidden in lush gardens can be found right next to futuristic glass skyscrapers in Tokyo. The dense, exciting city can verge on visual overload for many, with countless colors, shapes, textures and breathtaking views filling the landscape. Of course, architecture continues to be valued at an extremely high level in a country that excels in artistic and creative disciplines. From Yoshio Taniguchi’s sublime …