Fully Bilingual English & French
If Japan’s cities are where we chase nightlife and neon dreams, it’s the countryside that truly steals our hearts. Just scroll through your feed: misty mountain rice fields, pastel-toned photos of elderly farmers harvesting daikon, young couples walking their Shibas through quiet villages… It’s easy to fall for the dream.
But what lies beyond the picture-perfect image? Is it time to quit your job and hunt for an akiya, one of those vacant rural homes you can buy for next to nothing? Can these new-wave neo-rural youth really save the countryside? And how long can this idyllic vision last in the face of depopulation?
196 pages to explore these questions — and much more.
Inside Issue #21:
🫖 Mashiko, the Beating Heart of Japanese Ceramics.
Our reporters visit the artisans breathing new life into mingei, the folk art movement.
🤳 Is Rural Japan Really as Picturesque as Social Media Suggests?
We look behind the filters—at depopulation, community resilience, and quiet battles to keep villages alive.
🐐 Hori Itaru, the Goat Cheese Evangelist.
A one-of-a-kind farmer on a mission to convert Japan to chèvre.
🎞️ Photographer Hiroshi Takai returns to his hometown of Ichijima, capturing the delicate balance of rural life and its fragile environment.
🍙 What if Japan Runs Out of Rice?
Soaring prices and shortages spark a grassroots movement among farmers.
And also...
📸 Ishiuchi Miyako, legendary photographer, opens up in a rare interview about her obsession with time and memory.
📝 A Year After the Quake.
We return to the Noto Peninsula to meet those rebuilding their shattered town.
🪡 In a quiet workshop in Ivry-sur-Seine, a French artisan pushes the boundaries of aizome, Japan’s natural indigo dyeing tradition.
🍱 Our travel diary heads to Fukui, exploring the culinary wisdom of Buddhist monks.
🪑 In Marseille, a designer duo creates unexpected connections with traditional Japanese objects.
🛰️ Tokyo Vice author Jake Adelstein investigates the twisted legacy of the Aum cult—from drugs to doomsday.
🔪 In the Kitchen with Antonin Girard.
The chef shares his journey, where local produce meets Japanese inspiration.
👟 Tokyo Street Looks.
We hits the streets of Tokyo to spot the latest homegrown trends.
...And plenty more surprises!