Articles tagged as Japan | Smithsonian Magazine

A pilot program seeks to save drunken passengers from the dangers of busy train tracks

August 21, 2015

Cool Finds

Bats and Balloon Bombs: The Weird Weapons That Could Have Won WWII

World War II’s lesser-known weapons were ingenious, indeed

August 10, 2015

What really happened on the mission to drop the second atomic bomb

August 7, 2015

Trending Today

There’s Now Wifi on Mount Fuji

Hiking boots. Water bottle. Laptop?

July 15, 2015

Shabani’s sexy looks are responsible for a spike in zoo attendance

June 29, 2015

Cool Finds

Japanese Elevators May Soon Have Toilets

Earthquake-trapped travelers could have access to running water in elevators

June 4, 2015

Tech Watch

Forget Credit Cards, Now You Can Pay With Your Eyes

A new Japanese phone with an iris scanner may mark a new era of password-free mobile payments

June 1, 2015

This magnetic levitation bullet train is capable of speeds of 366 miles per hour—and possibly more

April 17, 2015

The flight deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier Hornet, some 800 miles off Tokyo Japan, where it shows some of 16 Billy Mitchell (B-25) Bombers, under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle, just before they were guided off flight deck for historic raid on Tokyo, April of 1942.

The Untold Story of the Vengeful Japanese Attack After the Doolittle Raid

When the U.S. responded to Pearl Harbor with a surprise bombing of Tokyo, the Imperial Army took out its fury on the Chinese people

April 15, 2015

Destroyed sea walls in Otsuchi, Japan, in March 2011

But the expensive, extensive wall might not be high enough

March 27, 2015

Cool Finds

The Children’s Book That Caused Japan’s Raccoon Problem

When the story of one man’s childhood pet raccoon became a hit in 1970s Japan, it heralded a biological invasion still troubling the country today

March 16, 2015

Paul Allen used his superyacht Octopus to locate a Japanese battleship near the Philippines.

Cool Finds

Microsoft Billionaire Finds Enormous Sunken Japanese Battleship

Paul Allen used his megayacht to locate the long-lost ship, which has been missing since World War II

March 4, 2015

Tuna are a hot commodity in Japan at this time of year — so hot that a sushi chef paid $37,500 for a single fish. Here, dogtooth tuna swim in the Indian Ocean.

This year, he bought it for $37,500—which he considered cheap

January 6, 2015

New Research

Typhoons Saved 13th Century Japan From Invasion

Geologic evidence supports historic accounts of the great “Kamikaze” of 1274 and 1281

December 10, 2014

"The Traveler's Eye: Scenes from Asia," at the Sackler Gallery through May 2015, features more than 100 mementos from travels around the Asian continent. This postcard is from early-20th-century China.

Before Instagram, Memorializing Asia’s Most Traveled Roads

From Moroccan postcards to Japanese scrolls, the Sackler Gallery explores five centuries of travel around the Asian continent

November 21, 2014

When it comes to whisky, Japan, the US and even England now reign supreme

November 4, 2014

Eyewitness images shot by a hiker trapped on the top of Mout Ontake. The hiker was able to descend after a few hours through deep ash.

36 hikers are feared dead; because of toxic gas, rescue operations have been suspended

September 29, 2014

Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota tied red yarn to hundreds of unpaired shoes for "Perspectives," opening August 30 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

What’s In a Shoe? Japanese Artist Chiharu Shiota Investigates

An artist takes on the soul in the sole of your shoes in an exhibition at the Sackler Gallery of Art

August 28, 2014

Survival tools and various equipment are displayed at the headquarters building of the Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park recently developed on the waterfront on Sunday, January 20, 2013

Cool Finds

Tokyo Has Built Disaster Preparedness Into the Fabric of the City

Refuge parks stocked with food and water are ready for the next disaster

August 15, 2014

No wonder unagi is so popular - this picture looks good enough to eat!

How Will Japan Celebrate Summer Without Unagi

The freshwater eel is now endangered, but who is to blame and what are the best substitutes?

July 28, 2014