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Feb 13, 2025 | 
metropolisjapan.com | Patrick Balfe |Takahiro Kanazawa
It’s February, and while winter still lingers, the first hints of spring are in the air. Fuji stands tall in its icy crown, and the season’s chill is met with fresh sounds from across Japan. Some Metropolis favorites like HOME and Sakoto Shibata make an appearance this month and new favorites PAS TASTA to keep the energy high as we edge closer to warmer days. Check out our new playlist and read up on some of our top picks below.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
japan.stripes.com | Patrick Balfe |Takahiro Kanazawa
It’s February, and while winter still lingers, the first hints of spring are in the air. Fuji stands tall in its icy crown, and the season’s chill is met with fresh sounds from across Japan. Some Metropolis favorites like HOME and Sakoto Shibata make an appearance this month and new favorites PAS TASTA to keep the energy high as we edge closer to warmer days. Check out our new playlist and read up on some of our top picks below.
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Jan 12, 2025 | 
japan.stripes.com | Laura Montigiani |Takahiro Kanazawa
Higashi Chaya, Kanazawa (Photo by Metropolis Magazine) While cities like Kyoto and Nara often steal the Edo spotlight, Kanazawa has quietly preserved the charm of the era, all without the tourist crowds. Historic tea houses, narrow winding streets and one of Japan’s most beautiful landscape gardens, all in a city that blends the feel of a small town with the perks of modern conveniences.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
metropolisjapan.com | Takahiro Kanazawa |Laura Montigiani
While cities like Kyoto and Nara often steal the Edo spotlight, Kanazawa has quietly preserved the charm of the era, all without the tourist crowds. Historic tea houses, narrow winding streets and one of Japan’s most beautiful landscape gardens, all in a city that blends the feel of a small town with the perks of modern conveniences. Located along the Sea of Japan in Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanazawa makes an ideal trip for anyone eager to taste Japan’s past without the hustle.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
metropolisjapan.com | Takahiro Kanazawa
When toe announced their first album in nine years, , I assumed there was a deep story behind the band’s return. After all, nine years is a long time, and fans are always eager for a comeback. I expected a tale of reunion, much like the anticipation for Oasis’ rumored return. But when I sat down with Hirokazu Yamazaki, guitarist and vocalist of the Tokyo-based indie band toe, I quickly realized my assumptions were misplaced.
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Aug 15, 2024 | 
metropolisjapan.com | Patrick Balfe |Takahiro Kanazawa
We’re kicking off the latter half of 2024 with a new playlist of Japanese artists to wrap your ears around this month. Our August playlist sees new beginnings from up-and-comer Salasa as well as the end of a chapter for math rock icons toe. On top of that, some exciting collabs from Nene, Young Coco, Creepy Nuts and Dua Lipa will see you right into Autumn. Check out our full playlist here and read up on some of our artists to keep an eye on for the remainder of the summer.
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Apr 24, 2024 | 
metropolisjapan.com | Takahiro Kanazawa
No more gatekeeping! Rather than wandering around Harajuku and Shimokitazawa looking for your next vintage picks, our readers bring you the fruits of their vintage-hunting labor with this curated store list. I’m a sucker for vintage music t-shirts, and I don’t mean the masses of Joy Division and Nirvana prints. I mean legit band t-shirts from the past tours. It’s like buying a piece of history, and I’ve found no better store in Tokyo for this than LOST BOY.
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Apr 7, 2024 | 
pubs.rsc.org | Takahiro Kanazawa |Akira Furukawa
Microrheology of Active Suspensions
We study the microrheology of active suspensions through direct hydrodynamic simulations using model pusher-like microswimmers. We demonstrate that the friction coefficient of a probe particle is notably reduced by hydrodynamic interactions (HIs) among a moving probe and the swimmers.
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Feb 28, 2024 | 
metropolisjapan.com | Takahiro Kanazawa
Image credits: Takayuki UchinoIn August 1909, a year prior to Japan’s first folklore publication of “The Legends of Tono,” folklorist Kunio Yanagita made his first visit to Tono in Iwate through Hanamaki. This locale, the birthplace of the captivating folktales that inspired him to independently publish the aforementioned book, is a rural town approximately 500 km north of Tokyo. This distance coincidentally mirrors the span to the Kansai region, Yanagita’s birthplace.
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Jan 11, 2024 | 
metropolisjapan.com | Takahiro Kanazawa
When never young beach released its debut album YASHINOKI HOUSE in the spring of 2015, Spotify was not yet on phones across the world. The band prominently featured in a sizable booth at Shinjuku’s Tower Records, earning the moniker “the next generation of Japan’s indie band.” During the group’s early days, the band projected an image of an “edgy, promising band” tailored for early adopters.
