Kathleen Drew-Baker died never having set foot in Japan, and never knowing what an impact her research would make. Plus, how to build a lazy bed, how to cook Irish blancmange, and other surprising seaweed stories.
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Posted inFood, Highlight, Quotes, Travel
The Life-Changing Magic of Getting In Line at 5AM
Japan is committed to waiting: its language includes the phrase gyouretsu no dekiru mise: “restaurants that have very long lines.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Culture, Essays & Criticism, Highlight, Quotes
On the Origins of the Word ハーフ, or Hafu (Half): Belonging and Not Belonging at Once
Nina Coomes unpacks the origins and legacies of the Japanese word hafu, or half.
Posted inUncategorized
This Month In Books: The Book Is an Escape Tool
Sometimes telling a story is the only way to escape it.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Dying Alone in Japan: The Industry Devoted to What’s Left Behind
Companies that deal with the belongings left behind after you die are in demand in Japan, “where each year more people die with no one to mourn them.”
Posted inNonfiction
What Does It Mean To Be Moved?
We can all remember a time when the wind touched us when we needed touching, pushed us along when we were unsure.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Highlight, Story
In Absentia
A meditation on the nature of grief, at a time when the whole world seems to be grieving.
Posted inNonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes, Travel
Where Your Stuff Goes When You Lose It in Tokyo
If you lost your umbrella in Tokyo, don’t worry. It’s probably among the thousands stored inside the Metropolitan Police Department’s six-story lost and found center.
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2019: Food Writing
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in food writing.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Science & Nature
Little Sunfish: The Robot That Could
How the best robot, “Little Sunfish,” helped Japanese scientists understand the scope of the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
