This month sees the opening of an exhibition and gift shop in Tokyo dedicated to tiny animals and tiny animals only, the Marutto Beastie Exhibition. One of the contributors to this exhibition is Shota Tsukamoto, a salary man through the week, but at the weekend he plays personal photographer to his hedgehog. Not just relying on pure cuteness, he uses interesting themes, props and dynamic compositions in his work, to elevate his already photogenic model to something almost ethereal. ✨🐷👼🐷✨ * #ぼんあむ帽子 のハロウィン天使ちゃんが待ちきれないので天使ごっこするブタさんたち😂 * カレンダーをお待ちの皆様！ すみません、来年のカレンダーはダーシーのアメリカ版しか作っていません💦そして手元の在庫は先日のダーシーとマシュー展にて完売してしまいました🙇 * しかし！昨日カレンダー売り場へ行ったら全然ハリネズミさんがいなくて可哀想だったので、大急ぎで作ることにしました🏃💨 現在ダーシー&マシューの卓上サイズで進行しています。 月めくりですので例年と比べ薄っぺらいですが、デザインはめちゃ可愛く仕上げますので、楽しみにしててください😊🙏🏻✨ @bon_amu さんの帽子と @milcah_flower さんのお花 Shota Tsukamotoさん(@matthewthehedgehog)がシェアした投稿 – 2017 9月 1 6:26午前 PDT His first star model Darcy amassed over 327,000…

If you’ve traveled enough around Japan, you’ve likely spotted the ceramic figures of the maneki neko (beckoning cat), a Japanese good luck charm that is said to bring good fortune and prosperity to its owner. Shop owners often display one at the front of their business, as the upraised paw moving in a beckoning motion is believed to summon good fortune. What you probably haven’t seen, however, is a maneki neko summoning good luck to your crotch. The “Good Fortune Maneki Neko Pants” are being mad available from Izavell, and are said to use the powers of a very peculiarly placed maneki neko and the good luck color of red…

The traditional Japanese art of papercutting, or kirie, can truly be a beautiful sight to behold. 25-year veteran Masayo Fukuda, however, may have produced one of the most intricately gorgeous cutting yet. She recently took to Twitter to post what she is calling her masterpiece of 2018 in the form of a stunning kirie octopus! Source: Masayo Fukudaa Source: Masayo Fukuda The super detailed octopus is actually cut from a single sheet of paper, and it took Masayo two months to painstakingly craft and brilliantly make use of negative space. Source: Masayo Fukuda Source: Masayo Fukuda While it may appear as a finely drawn illustration, videos below prove that it’s…

We’ve seen cat cafes with cosplaying kitty staff, a cat who teaches about Japanese food and culture through cosplay, and even a cat with a creepily perfect Demogorgon costume. However, an unfortunate reality is that sometimes comfort (and more often, cooperation) concerns keep many owners from having their pets dress up. Fortunately, Bandai and Japanese pet goods maker Petio have teamed up for a lineup of comfortable costumes and pet beds that let your cats and dogs become Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z characters. Super Saiyan Shiba Source: Bandai Namco Sailor Moon Kitty Source: Bandai Namco The series, called Chara-petty, includes five different Sailor Moon outfits (Moon, Mars, Mercury,…

At this time of year, the parks of Nara host an unusual event called “Shikayose” — the “calling of the deer.” This takes place every morning from December 1 to 14, excluding December 9. Be prepared for an unusual scene. As a man plays the French horn to the tune of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, known as the “Pastoral Symphony,” approximately 100 deer congregate as if being called by the classical music. Now, admit that those are concepts you didn’t think you would find all in one sentence! As the deer slowly move their hooves towards the musician, excited onlookers exclaim, “How cute!” to this curious occurrence. Written by Japan…

You can’t stop us from gushing about Kyoto in autumn. As pointed out in a previous article, ‘Why Autumn is the Most Magical Time to Visit Kyoto’, different areas of Japan are at their best at different seasons. Kyoto, while lovely all year round, is particularly magical during autumn, thanks to surrounding mountains and leafiness which explode into a range of fiery hues. Photographer, Yako, spent 20 hours shooting in the height of Kyoto’s fall, and also visited neighbouring prefecture Nara, known for the deer which roam freely around the town and surrounding national parks. Source: yako_FLPR3 Source: yako_FLPR3 The almost otherworldly results show a bit of everything which makes…

Japan’s native sika deer have become a massive tourist draw in Nara and Miyajima where they are revered as messengers for deities, free to roam around the town. These regions are willing to put up with the trouble a massive, roaming deer population causes in return for the increase in tourism, but these aren’t the only places that are overrun. Source: Fast&Slow / PIXTA(ピクスタ) The deer populations of Japan’s forests and national parks have been exploding causing damage to Japan’s ecosystem, agriculture and forestry. Now in many regions, the scenic forestry is being ravaged by deers, their grazing affecting plant growth and diversity. They strip bark off trees and eat…

In searching the internet for Japanese photography, you’ll find no shortage of beautiful work that celebrates the country’s rich culture and scenery. While many of these certainly accurately portray the gorgeous sights Japan has to offer, some rely on extensive set up and conditions for the perfect shot. Kamakura and Tokyo-based award winning street photographer Shin Noguchi welcomes the opposite approach, aiming to capture what he calls the extraordinary moments of excitement, humanism and beauty among the flow of everyday life. While his technique and skill are recognized on a worldwide level, he forgoes elaborate staging for an approach that he hopes can subtly and naturally show the nuances of…

Japan loves a good pun, in fact there are a plethora of unofficial national days based around date puns. There are so many different ways to pronounce numbers, that when it comes to dates, people have tons of ammo for pun-creation. For example, 11th November (1/11) can be read out using the English pronunciation ‘one, one, one’, which sounds like ‘wan, wan, wan’ in Japanese, the sound a dog makes. For that reason, 11th November became known as ‘Dog Day’. 29 can be read as ‘ni ku’, the same as the Japanese word for meat ‘niku’. The 29th of every month is jokingly referred to as ‘Meat Day’ in Japan,…

A Japanese couple lived the meme dream when they enlisted their adorable pet dog to be the ring bearer at their wedding. 昨日はパパとママの結婚式だったの！柚子ねリング運んだんだよー！頑張ったのー！#柴犬 #黒柴 #結婚式 #リングドッグ pic.twitter.com/vpoysA6igh — 黒柴 柚子 (@kuroshiba_yuzu) 25 November 2018 The dog, a black shiba inu called Yuzu, caused a stir when she was let loose down the aisle by the staff, but she did the job well, and successfully delivered the rings to her owners. According to the owners, Yuzu repeatedly messed up during rehearsals for the ceremony and failed to bring the rings to the right place. But luckily, she pulled it together for the real thing. If you want to see more of…

Since its inception, Shiba Inu and Akita run the canine corner of social media in Japan, with thousands of daily posts of adorable antics and hilarious mishaps to wade through. Sometimes it gets difficult to keep track of all the good boys and girls running around Japan, so we’ve put together a list of the goodest of good doggos to help you out whenever you need to take the edge off whatever stress you’ve been feeling in life. Here are the dogs from Japan that have been earning their treats and belly rubs the most from Japan. Miku, the quickest food-snatching Shiba in the East! 黒柴みく💓さん(@9648miku)がシェアした投稿 – 2016 9月 23…

Japan is known for their animal cafes housing various different species. From cats to owls, to hedgehogs and beyond. You can sit down and have a cup of tea while experiencing the healing and de-stressing powers of cute critters. If you’re from a country that doesn’t have pet cafes, it’s definitely something cool to try out while visiting Japan. For tourists, it could be the perfect chill out time during a hectic sightseeing schedule, and there’s one very Japanese animal everyone is desperate to play with. View this post on Instagram PECOいぬ部さん(@pecodogs)がシェアした投稿 – 2018年11月月20日午後7時08分PST Shiba inu have only become more and more popular in this age of the internet, since…

With its traditional culture of hot springs, Japan has a love affair with baths and many Japanese enjoy a nice soak in the bathtub as part of their daily routine. As a result, the Japanese market for bath products continues to thrive. When it comes to bath salts, we have seen some unusual varieties before. Everything from miso soup and curried rice to Kentucky Fried Chicken has been featured in bath salts here in Japan. Dreaming Bath Time Series: “Dog Image Bath Powder” Therefore, it may come as no surprise for Japan-watchers that doggy-themed bath salts should also appear on the market. Dreams Inc. has created three varieties, Shiba Inu,…

Instagram pet celebrities aren’t exactly thin on the ground in Japan, and shiba inu, arguably the country’s favourite national breed, are among the most popular. Some are known for their stubborn habit of lying on the ground mid-walk and others gained fans for perfecting sexy poses. One famous twosome is Nana and Rin, a white shiba inu mum and daughter duo. View this post on Instagram 白柴凛と奈々（華）さん(@hanarin54)がシェアした投稿 – 2018年10月月21日午前12時00分PDT Generally the followers of the Instagram account enjoy photos of the fluffy antics just for calming and healing purposes after a stressful day, but one photo convinced Japanese Instagram that Nana is actually the cutest English teacher they’ve ever had. View…

Cat owners the world over grapple with the same problem. Spending a ton of money on elaborate cat toys, beds, towers and other trinkets that you were sure your pet would just love. Only for them to completely ignore it. Or just play with the box it came in instead. But this cat video has gone viral because it shows this, the rarest of victories for cat lovers. After buying an adorable cat-sized bed, the kitty is actually sleeping in it. View this post on Instagram 茶太郎💓きなこ💕短足兄妹🐾さん(@amaccho5160)がシェアした投稿 – 2017年12月月4日午前12時39分PST What makes it even cuter is that the bed is in the style of a traditional Japanese futon set. Munchkin cats…