Sixty per cent of Japanese homes have a TOTO Washlet loo that can wash your bottom and even blow-dry it. The makers claim that after using one three times, nothing else will do. Having experienced their warm seats and piped…
This issue we’ve cleared the culture pages for summer to report on media companies who are doing things on their own terms, usually against the grain, and making a success of it.
Music festivals have become big business in Japan, whether you want kodo drummers at The Earth Celebration or J-pop at A-Nation. But the one that started the boom is still the biggest and the best: Fuji Rock. We headed to…
When Qantas successfully wedded its brand to an Australian anthem, it was an ad man’s dream come true. After nearly 20 years, the welcoming campaign is still going strong thanks to the children’s choirs that bring the…
As venues for audiophiles take off in global cities, with a heavy nod to the jazz-kissa of Tokyo, we explore three places where vinyl collections are played on some of the world’s best analogue equipment – with strong…
The family that inspired ‘The Sound of Music’ moved to the US to open a hotel. As Tomos Lewis discovers, even away from Austria the hills are still alive.
With the stunning architecture of its Frank Gehry-designed performing arts centre and a star-studded roster of visiting talent, Bard College in Upstate New York is less like an academic institution, more like this summer’s…