I love business cards, because I’ll admit it, I am not good with names. First names, last names, if you tell me, I will probably forget it. (Kirakira names are usually easier to remember though!) The good thing about living in Japan, however, is that despite there being over 100,000 different surnames, a really high percentage of people use only a few really common names.
To make it even easier for me, different areas of Japan often have higher densities of certain names. For instance, there are about 4,700 people in Japan with surname Maru (丸), but more than 50 percent of them live in southern Chiba. So, if you forget someone’s name in southern Chiba, Maru might be a safe guess.
A website and smartphone application called Myoji-Yurai Net allows you to find out the prevalence, origin and other fun information about the top 3,000 surnames in Japan. It’s actually quite fun!
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Anime girl English teacher Ellen-sensei becomes VTuber/VVTUber and NFT
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Historical figures get manga makeovers from artists of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia and more
Japan’s massive matcha parfait weighs 6 kilos, contains hidden surprises for anyone who eats it
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Anime girl English teacher Ellen-sensei becomes VTuber/VVTUber and NFT
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Historical figures get manga makeovers from artists of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia and more
Japan’s massive matcha parfait weighs 6 kilos, contains hidden surprises for anyone who eats it
Haku is…Chihiro’s dead brother? Studio Ghibli fans blown away by Spirited Away theory
Secret Kitchen bento serves Japanese flowers, birds, wind and moon in a box, but is it worth it?
Standing sleeping pods coming to Tokyo cafe, promise to relieve fatigue and stress【Pics】
Hello Kitty isn’t a cat!? We called Sanrio to find out!
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
How should you respond when a Japanese person gives you a compliment?
Gamer bandits steal Taiko No Tatsujin drum from Aichi arcade
Cosplayers brave the cold in skimpy outfits at Winter Comiket in Japan