There’s a quiet garden in Tokyo filled with tiny statues that are tributes to children who died before their time. It is touching, sweet, and heartwarming, yet heartbreaking.

I was struck recently by an odd sight (at least for an American) when I was riding the subway in Tokyo. We were on the escalator, going up from a station to the street level. Ahead of us was a small boy…

There's one feature of Japanese culture that most tourists don't rave about but should. Japan has the best toilets in the world. Bar none.

You’ve seen them everywhere, especially in Asian restaurants: small statues, which portray a cat sitting up and beckoning with its front paw.