All About Japan

Lars Painter

Lars Painter

All About Lars Painter
I like to call myself a “word artist” because I like to “paint” pictures with words. And sometimes I get lazy and actually use pictures. Though I’ve always had this inexplicable impulse to write about things, this is the first time I’m actually doing something about it—finally.
What I like about Japan
What I like about Japan, at least where I’m living, is its wonderful farmland and rich, green, succulent foliage. Besides this, the Japanese people are terrific, because they don’t discriminate against camels who wear hats… and this is something I value very much.
7 Tips for a Japanese Halloween Party at Home

7 Tips for a Japanese Halloween Party at Home

Halloween has been gaining popularity in Japan, and many people here celebrate this Western tradition by going to clubs to show off their costumes. But how many people hold their own Halloween parties at home?

Fukuoka's 4 Best Fall Color Spots

Fukuoka's 4 Best Fall Color Spots

Fall colors tend to come late to Kyushu, giving visitors more time to take in some of the best views of the year.

5 Tips for Enjoying Kagura

5 Tips for Enjoying Kagura

This thousand-year-old Shinto dance is both graceful and opulent. But watching outdoors can be cold!

The 4 Best Burgers in Kyushu

The 4 Best Burgers in Kyushu

Japan has been contributing to burger lore since the 1950s—and it started in Kyushu.

5 Reasons to Go Off-Season Camping in Japan

5 Reasons to Go Off-Season Camping in Japan

With more than 3,000 campsites in Japan, there's every reason to get out of the city and find your new happy place. Even—or especially—if it's out of the official camping season.

How About a Dome House?

How About a Dome House?

While Japanese builders have had more than a millennium of practice in designing earthquake-resistant structures, the dome house presents a new option—using an unlikely building material.

3 Earthy Things to Do in Kumamoto

3 Earthy Things to Do in Kumamoto

Here are three great options in the Kumamoto area if you're looking to reconnect with creatures past and present, as well as the earth below!

4 Signature Snacks from Kumamoto

4 Signature Snacks from Kumamoto

Sweet treats can be found around the world. In addition to being good gifts and satisfying certain cravings, many Japanese sweets boast long tradition and history as well!

3 Historic Snacks from Oita

3 Historic Snacks from Oita

Visiting Oita Prefecture? Then check out these three mouth-watering sweets that are also full of history!

5 Kyushu Shrines You Can't Miss

5 Kyushu Shrines You Can't Miss

Shinto shrines can be found just about everywhere in Japan. But shrines in Kyushu are special, because Kyushu is, according to legend, home to the first places where the Shinto gods descended to Earth.

How Do You Work Study into a Random Schedule?

How Do You Work Study into a Random Schedule?

My wife and I were living in the house she grew up in, along with her brother’s very large family. My extreme lack of fluency placed me in an isolated, dependent, and helpless position.

28 Businesses & Regions Receive Toilet Awards

28 Businesses & Regions Receive Toilet Awards

Despite the already remarkably high quality of public toilets in Japan, members of Japan’s national government are spearheading a nationwide campaign to upgrade Japan’s public toilets to an even higher level.

Luxury for Your Lower Parts

Luxury for Your Lower Parts

You can become the proud owner of Toto's top-end Neorest at prices starting at ¥352,000.

5 Real Homemade Cafés Around Miyazaki & Saito

5 Real Homemade Cafés Around Miyazaki & Saito

Miyazaki City and its northern sister Saito City offer plenty of prime cafés catering to tourists flocking to this beach-bounded, history-heavy area.

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