Hello everyone. Have you ever heard of Obon? It's a series of summer events in Japan based on Buddhist and ancestral worship that...

Have you watched Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, or at least heard of it? It's a Japanese anime (cartoon) which is based on a manga...

Additive-free products are literally the products that the companies / brands announce that they don't use additives for. However,...

Every culture has its own take on mysterious happenings. Especially in pre-modern times when many of the subtler workings of the world...

Here’s a scenario: you’ve got your recipe picked out and all of your ingredients in order. Except one-- miso paste. So you head into the...

Here at Maido, we have sets of toys you may have seen. Small boxes no bigger than the palm of your hand feature brightly decorated...

According to legend, incense first made its way to Japan by sea, though not in the way you might think. The Nihon Shoki, a book of...

Did you know, in Japan, the coming of spring is celebrated with a national holiday? Shunbun no Hi, or Vernal Equinox Day is a public...

Picture this: a small house with a low door surrounded by a tranquil garden. The inside of the house is sparsely decorated. The walls are...

New Year’s festivities in Japan are fairly intense and involved compared to their American counterparts. Traditionally, New Year’s is...

The holidays are approaching and that means gift giving season is upon us! Our gift shop has everything you need to surprise the...

Long before the arrival of Christmas in Japan, there was another winter-gift giving tradition-- Oseibo. Paired with a summer counterpart,...

Every year in November, at the Temple of Tori (Juzaisan Chokoku-Ji) in Asakusa, Tokyo is a magnificent, open-air market. This fair,...

Candy, costumes, and purple and orange decorations are the hallmarks of Halloween in Japan. Halloween is a fairly recent addition to the...

Decorating the front windows of restaurants in Japan are glistening, beautiful samples of what you’ll find served inside. Plates full of...

Tsukimi, which translates literally to “moon viewing” is a Japanese harvest festival that takes place on the full moon nearest to the...

Much like the cherry blossoms in the spring, the turning color of fall leaves has a special place in Japanese culture. For hundreds of...

As with many crafts in Japan, knife making has been refined through the generations to make Japanese some of the best in the world....

Each year, on August 16 as the culmination of Obon, five massive burning characters appear on the mountains surrounding Kyoto once the...

Right around mid-August people gather together in Japan for a holiday. They return to their hometowns, visit cemeteries to leave...