Pavlov would be thrilled. In the 1890s he trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell in St. Petersburg. Now, in the 21st century, Japan has trained its womenfolk not to urinate unless they hear the sound of a waterfall. Hold on, you say. Does this mean the lot of them have to…

I never thought I’d see a happy marriage between two of my most disparate interests: electronic music and animal husbandry. But if anyone was to do it, it’s Matthew Herbert, a man who has made entire albums out of the sound of crumpling coke cans, stomach rumblings and torn newspapers. According to his manifesto, he rejects…

Time Out Tokyo recently ran a feature about the lack of a proper Gay Pride parade in Tokyo. The event began in the 1990s, but has withered away in the last decade. When it does happen- rather erratically- it is rather subdued and many of the participants wear masks to cover their faces, or hover…

My most recent article for the Asahi is a review of photographer Tsuneo Enari’s exhibition, “Japan and its Forgotten War,” at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu, Tokyo. You can read it here. I was struck by the exhibition largely because I know very little about Japan’s role in World War II. I’m…

From above, Tokyo sprawls out like a Sim City designer’s wet dream: slick, efficient, multi-layered, seemingly chaotic and yet tightly ordered. A nervous system of train lines pulse from dawn to dusk; cars clatter over elevated highways while a jumble of pedestrians and cyclists await red lights patiently below. Settlements organize themselves around the nodes…

I had a mortifying experience a little while ago. I was walking down the street in Ginza on my lunchbreak when a middle-aged man called out, “Excuse me! Excuse me!” in English behind me. I spun around. Very politely, and still in English, he said: “I’m sorry but you might want to check your dress.…