Tokyo Rent Crisis: Life in a 9m² Loft
Tokyo rents are soaring — so why are young workers happily moving into 9m² loft rooms?▼ About This EpisodeAt a blood donation drive in Tokyo, Professor Haru notices Sakura scrolling an apartment app b...
31 Aug 5min
Why Japan Waited 42 Years to Fix Lunch
Japan froze lunch money in 1984 — it took 42 years and an inflation crisis to fix it.▼ About This EpisodeIn an empty government committee room after hours, a projector still glows with public comments...
24 Aug 5min
Fewer Cavities, More Bankruptcies
Japan beat cavities so well its dentists are now going bankrupt in record numbers.▼ About This EpisodeAt a public health center just before closing time, Haru and Sakura trace a story hidden inside a ...
17 Aug 6min
How Weather Forecasts Move Japan's Money
This Japanese amusement park goes free every time the forecast says 35°C — here's why.▼ About This EpisodeAt closing time in a half-lit home improvement store, Haru is shopping for hail nets — in Augu...
10 Aug 5min
Ramen Boom vs Record Bankruptcies
Ramen sales near $6B — yet bankruptcies just hit a record. Why?▼ About This EpisodeOn a silent catwalk above a car assembly line — where battery packs now sit in place of engines — Haru and Sakura unp...
4 Aug 5min
Purikura at 30: Japan's Photo Booth Wars
Japan's cutest machines just became critical infrastructure — purikura at 30.▼ About This EpisodePurikura — Japan's photo-sticker booths — turned thirty, and everyone expected smartphones to kill them...
28 Jul 5min
Your Wasabi Is Fake — Here's Why
Most "wasabi" isn't real wasabi — and the real thing is quietly vanishing.▼ About This EpisodeMidnight, in a shuttered call center. A single phone light still blinks — a voicemail no one ever played —...
20 Jul 5min
The $580 Costume: Japan's Cosplay Economy
One suitcase on the last train home carries Japan's newest economy — cosplay.▼ About This EpisodeOn a silent midnight train, Haru and Sakura spot a suitcase with costume fabric caught in the zipper — ...
16 Jul 5min
