2025-12

Kappa: Japan’s Most Famous Mythical Creature

If someone asked you, “Do you know what a goblin is?”you would probably answer “Of course” without a moment’s hesitation.Ask a Japanese person the same question about a kappa, and almost everyone will reply just as quickly: “Naturally.”

The Sento – Shadows of a Fading Culture

Walk through an older neighborhood in any Japanese city, and you may notice a tall, aging chimney rising from the back of a narrow alley.That is a sento — a communal bathhouse.In the era before private bathrooms were common, people came here every day, sharing the same warm air and drifting steam.