JAPAN KNOWLEDGE ATLAS
A Guide to Japan Culture, Life, and Cities
Understand real Japan through culture, daily life, food, cities, study, and work.
Data index
149 articles6 content categories8 cities
Guides
Summer Travel in Japan: Extreme Heat, Sun, Medical Care, and Obon
Record heat in 2026, how to read the two heat alerts, drugstore sun protection, what uninsured medical care costs, and the August travel crunch.
SERIES
Series
Japan Summer Travel
Heat, sun, heatstroke, medical care, transport, and routes rebuilt around temperature.
13 articles →
Disasters and Typhoons
Alerts, when to evacuate, preparing your home for typhoons, insurance, and calling for help.
5 articles →
Japanese History
From the eras overview to single events, each tied to places you can still visit.
8 articles →
Traditional Japanese Culture
Belief, performing arts, crafts, and the Ainu and Ryukyuan cultures, each with where to see them today.
11 articles →
Japanese Lives
From the faces on banknotes to figures tied to China: their stories, and where to find them today.
2 articles →CULTURE INDEX
Japan Culture Atlas
A structured entry into Japanese history, belief, festivals, craft, and modern design.
Culture
Contemporary Japanese culture: anime, oshi-katsu, publishing, and street districts
Read today's Japanese culture through the ¥3.84 trillion anime market, manga publishing, oshi-katsu spending, Comiket, Shimokitazawa, Koenji, and design retail.
Culture
Japanese traditional architecture: wood, roofs, machiya, gardens, and castles
Understand Horyu-ji, joinery, tiled and thatched roofs, temples, shrines, machiya, dry gardens, strolling gardens, and the 12 original castle keeps.
Culture
Washi: kozo, mitsumata, gampi, UNESCO, and modern use
Read washi through its 3 plant fibers, hand-sheet process, UNESCO-listed production areas including the 2025 Echizen Torinoko extension, conservation use, architecture, and tourist workshops.
Culture
Japan annual events: a 12-month festival calendar
Follow New Year, Setsubun, hanami, Golden Week, Tanabata, Obon, autumn leaves, Shichi-Go-San, and year-end customs by month.
Culture
Sakamoto Ryoma: The Runaway Samurai Who Wrote of Giving Japan a Good Wash, and the Hero a Novel Made Bigger
Born the second son of a low-ranking Tosa samurai family, he deserted his domain at 26 (28 by the traditional count), became Katsu Kaishu's disciple, set up the Kameyama Shachu trading company in Nagasaki, helped bring Satsuma and Choshu into alliance, and was assassinated in Kyoto on his birthday by the old calendar, aged 33 by the traditional count. His letters to his sister Otome are now Important Cultural Properties. A late-Meiji magazine reader poll of heroes from around the world reportedly put him only 58th; he became a household hero after Shiba Ryotaro's 1962 novel. This covers his life, which stories hold up, and what to see in Kochi, Nagasaki, and Kyoto.
LIFE MANUAL
Japan Life Manual
Practical systems for housing, healthcare, banking, mobile, insurance, and disaster readiness.
Life
Driving in Japan: License Conversion, Driving Schools, Shaken, Traffic Law
Converting a foreign license to a Japanese one, the ¥300–400K driving school route, *shaken* and insurance, parking and violation points.
Life
Childcare and Family Life Procedures in Japan
A practical guide to birth, insurance, child allowance, daycare, school, and family documents: rules, counters, documents, timing, costs, and follow-up updates.
Life
National Pension and Employees Pension in Japan
A practical guide to pension, contributions, exemption, employment changes, and departure from Japan: rules, counters, documents, timing, costs, and follow-up updates.
Life
Pension and resident tax: two deductions that change take-home pay
Employee pension, resident tax, first-year tax shock, resignation timing, pension exemptions, and furusato nozei all affect monthly cash flow.
Life
Electricity, gas, water, and internet: setup steps and monthly costs
For moving in Japan, arrange electricity, city gas or propane, water, fiber internet, home routers, and payment methods before moving day.
CITY DESK
Japan City Desk
Read Japanese cities through neighborhoods, transit, commerce, culture spaces, and daily routines.
Cities
Inside the Yamanote Line: Marunouchi / Hongo / Ueno / Akasaka: Where to Live
The Yamanote loop covers 11 km × 7 km, but rent and life inside it splits 4 ways: Marunouchi/Otemachi (finance/govt) ¥200,000+, Hongo/Yotsuya (universities/hospitals) ¥130,000-180,000, Ueno/Asakusabashi (shitamachi) ¥110,000-150,000, Akasaka/Roppongi (embassies/IT) ¥180,000-280,000.
Cities
Karuizawa and Kamikochi: Two Escapes at 940 m and 1,500 m
Karuizawa averages 20.5C in August, about an hour from Tokyo for around ¥6,020. Kamikochi bans private cars year-round, with a 2026 season of 17 April to 15 November and a ¥2,300 return shuttle.
Cities
Osaka in Summer: Three Underground Malls and No Surface Walking
August normals of 33.7C, and 1,041 heatstroke ambulance calls in one July week, the highest of any prefecture. How Whity Umeda, Namba Walk, and Crysta Nagahori connect, plus Kaiyukan and a valley 24 minutes from Umeda.
Cities
Fukuoka food: ramen, yatai stalls, and Kyushu ingredients
Fukuoka food is more than tonkotsu ramen. Read yatai stalls, mizutaki, motsunabe, mentaiko, and Genkai Sea fish through price, area, and timing.
Cities
Ohori and Momochi: parks, waterfront, and Fukuoka's slower side
Walking from Ohori Park to Momochihama shows Fukuoka's water, public space, museums, residential areas, beach, tower, and dome in one route.
FOOD ARCHIVE
Japanese Food Archive
A food index organized by region, ingredient, restaurant type, and dining etiquette.
Food
Ramen regions: Sapporo miso, Hakata tonkotsu, and Kitakata shoyu
Compare 3 ramen styles by broth, noodles, toppings, ordering rules, and local shop rhythm.
Food
Japanese Convenience-Store Food Guide
How Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson differ, what onigiri and bento cost, when shelves refill, and which services matter for daily life.
Food
Yakitori Specialty Shops: Tiers, 14 Cuts, Ordering, Salt vs Sauce
Four price tiers from chain to ¥15,000 course, the 14 standard cuts, ordering rhythm in groups of 3–5, *shio* vs *tare*, reservation channels, and pitfalls.
Food
Fine Dining Culture: Counter Etiquette, Issei Start, and Rating Systems
How to read Tabelog scores, choose OMAKASE or Pocket Concierge, arrive for counter courses, handle photography, payment, allergies, and service charges.
Food
Izakaya Guide: Seating Fees, Ordering Rhythm, and Dining Etiquette
Izakaya types, otoshi seating fees, drink-first ordering, two-hour all-you-can-drink math, private rooms, smoking rules, and payment phrases.
STUDY WORK
Study and Work in Japan
Guides for school choice, visa steps, job hunting, workplace culture, and long-term paths.
Study Work
Japan Study Application Timeline
Work back 12 months through language school, research student, undergraduate, and graduate routes, including JLPT, EJU, COE, visa timing, tuition, and scholarship checks.
Study Work
Employment Contract and Onboarding Documents in Japan
A practical guide to contract terms, wages, working hours, social insurance, and visa consistency: rules, counters, documents, timing, costs, and follow-up updates.
Study Work
Leaving or Changing Jobs in Japan
A practical guide to resignation, job change, insurance, pension, resident tax, and immigration notifications: rules, counters, documents, timing, costs, and follow-up updates.
Study Work
Study and Work in Japan: School, Status, Job Hunting, Onboarding, Timeline
An entry-point index for school records, status of residence, part-time work, job hunting, onboarding, and the records that hold the timeline together.
Study Work
Permanent Residence Application: Eligibility, Documents, Review, Denial
The 10-year rule and Highly Skilled fast-track, the four PR requirements, document set, 4–6 month standard processing period, typical denial reasons, and the path after a denial.
PRACTICAL GUIDE
Practical Guides
Cross-channel checklists for common problems, written as steps you can act on.
Guides
Heatstroke in Japan: Alert Levels, Symptoms, and First Aid
How to read WBGT bands, the four severity grades, the three cooling points, what to drink, and what a drugstore sells for the heat.
Guides
Buying Sun Protection at a Japanese Drugstore
SPF and PA caps, chemical versus mineral filters, which format to buy, how much to apply, and how the November 2026 tax-free refund works.
Guides
Obon, 7-16 August: Fully Reserved Nozomi and How to Get a Seat
Every Nozomi runs reserved-only for ten days, tickets go on sale one month ahead, and peak days are fixed. What to do when the first round has already sold out.
Guides
Falling Ill on a Short Trip to Japan
Clinic or hospital, what uninsured care actually costs, cashless versus reimbursement insurance, the visit flow, and the 2026 rule on buying cold medicine.
Guides
Final Tax Return: Who Files, When, e-Tax / Refund / Tax Manager
Employees with year-end adjustment usually don't file. Over ¥20 million in salary or over ¥200,000 of other income means you must file; ¥100,000+ medical expenses, 6+ Furusato Nozei donations, or a mid-year resignation are reasons to file for a refund. New e-Tax users need a My Number card, paper postmark = filing day, refund typically arrives 3-6 weeks.