Seoul is a wonderfully unusual city. It’s one of the world’s most popular capital cities; a place of colourful music, a lively bar scene, fantastic spicy foods, and passionate people. Yet, despite its popularity, it’s easy to get around. Seoul isn’t big, not compared to neighbouring cities like Tokyo and Shanghai. You can see the …
Willow Heath
Translated by the Swedish by Saskia Vogel Body swap stories are a dime a dozen, from Freaky Friday to Your Name. But how about a story of three girls who discover the power to turn into boys for a short time? Girls Lost is the tale of three teenagers, exhausted and confused by the system …
That We May Live is bold, strange, and exciting. It takes risks, as most Chinese fiction does, and that risk pays off. Being a writer in China is risky business. Certain topics are off limits, writers like Ma Jian live in exile overseas, and journalists can write whatever they please about you, whether or not …
The world of Japanese manga, just like any big form of entertainment, can be a dizzying place to dive into. The same is true for anime and western comics: where to start. So, let’s talk about where to start reading manga. Browse a bookstore in the US and the UK and the sheer number of …
Translated from the Spanish by Carolina Orloff & Fionn Petch Fate is a novel populated by people who would not want our sympathy if they knew we were watching, and yet we are compelled to offer it. That is the wisdom and ferocity of Jorge Consiglio’s writing. That said, despite us being so eager to …
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter takes up a lot of space in Universal Studios LA. A colossal recreation of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle, complete with iconic shops lifted straight out of Diagon Alley, make up the very best part of Universal Studios. In fact, this California Hogwarts can be seen from almost anywhere else …
Spark has been such an enormous success in Japan – selling more than three million copies – that it has now been adapted into a Netflix series. But what is it? Spark is a short novel about comedy and the lives of the people who create it. Written by Naoki Matayoshi, a successful comedian in …
Los Angeles is a lot of things to a lot of people. The entertainment capital of the entire world is also a place of artists, comedians, writers and, of course, some of the world’s finest tattoo artists. And here are twelve of the very best tattoo artists in LA. Now, we’re happy to admit up …
Venice Beach is a small area, as LA goes, and you only need a single day of Venice Beach shopping, and a single evening admiring the Venice Beach sunset, to get the most out of this most iconic area of Los Angeles. In just a single day, you can stay at a romantic and serene …
The beloved and deeply historical world of Japanese tattoo is in perpetual danger today, as Japanese tattoo artists fight for their right to live and work in Japan. And yet, Tokyo tattoo artists continue to survive against adversity. The Japanese government unfortunately turns a wary eye on tattooing, with its deep associations with the yakuza …