The United States and Japan share a turbulent history and cultures that are starkly different, with unique customs and fads.
Once the capital, and considered a centre of the arts, it also, for me, epitomized the dichotomy of a Japanese culture that was at once both sublime and, at times, extremely weird. The weird?
The phenomena began in 1920s Japan as a culture for eating out in department store dining halls emerged. High-quality replicas were utilised as a marketing tool for window-front displays at casual ...