Travel to Japan
Fares by Season, Departure City and Booking Window
West Coast nonstops run hundreds below East Coast ones, and late March costs the most of any month. The fare pattern by month and when to buy.
Japan Know How archive
Author: Dylan Carver
Anime & Manga
Why the Studio Rarely Owns the Show
A publisher, a TV station, a label and a toy maker each buy a share of an anime. The studio that draws it usually holds none, and that decides sequels.
Travel to Japan
Two Tokyo Airports, Two Very Different Rides
Haneda sits nine miles from central Tokyo and Narita thirty-seven. What each ride costs, how late the trains run, and when a cheap fare stops being cheap.
Anime & Manga
The Money Behind a Single Episode
One episode passes through a committee, a studio and a dozen subcontractors before it streams. Who funds it, who owns it, and why schedules slip.
Japanese Culture
What Happens in Japan, Month by Month
Sixteen national holidays, three weeks when the country stops, and a festival nearly every month. What each one is, when prices jump, and what closes.
Travel to Japan
Flights, Airports and the First Two Hours
Nonstops leave from a dozen US cities, fares swing by hundreds between months, and Tokyo's two airports are not interchangeable. What to book first.
Your Name in Japanese
Ateji: How Foreign Names Get Written in Kanji
The tradition is real and it is a sound game first. Meaning is a filter, not a starting point - and the tattoo failure mode is structural rather than linguistic.
Anime & Manga
Manga Reading Order: Direction, Formats and Where to Start
Right to left at every scale, why English publishers stopped mirroring the art in 2002, the five publication formats, and whether to read the manga or watch the anime first.
Anime & Manga
What Gets Lost in the Dub
A dub is not a translation with a deadline. It is a rewrite constrained by mouth movements drawn to a Japanese script - and subtitles lose things too.
Japanese Food
Japanese Convenience Store Food: What to Buy
Three deliveries a day and a shelf life measured in hours. What to buy, how to open an onigiri without destroying it, and the six things a konbini does besides sell food.