On the train, before bed, in between. A pocket-sized journal of things you didn't know about the world.
Japan has roughly 77,000 Buddhist temples and 81,000 Shinto shrines — together about three times the number of convenience stores. Japan's temples alone outnumber McDonald's restaurants worldwide. Faith here survives as spatial density, not weekly attendance.
Original narezushi was a preservation technique: fish fermented with rice for months or years — and the rice was thrown away. Edo-era cooks discovered vinegar could fake the sour taste instantly, inventing modern sushi. The true ancestor of sushi was fermentation, not freshness.
Japan's imperial line is the world's oldest continuous monarchy — traced back to 660 BC, with the current emperor as the 126th in succession. By comparison, the British monarchy runs about 1,000 years; the Danish, about 1,100. Japan's lasted more than twice as long.