Kim | Japan-based freelance travel/culture writer
@kimjakahan.bsky.social
Bylines inc. NatGeo, Lonely Planet, Japan Times, Mixmag, Tokyo Weekender
sometimes translating jp>eng
sometimes copywriting
proudly raised working (c)lass
sometimes translating jp>eng
sometimes copywriting
proudly raised working (c)lass
Pinned
Kim Kahan
Tokyo Based Freelance Writer
www.kimjakahan.xyz
Popping this up here for now and hoping some commissions magically fly into my inbox (do we even have inboxes on here?)
Writer w bylines in Lonely Planet, The Japan Times, Huck Magazine, Mixmag & loads more!
Mainly upon Japan, sometimes further afield.
Website/portfolio: www.kimjakahan.xyz
Writer w bylines in Lonely Planet, The Japan Times, Huck Magazine, Mixmag & loads more!
Mainly upon Japan, sometimes further afield.
Website/portfolio: www.kimjakahan.xyz
Feeling very motivated and cannot believe how much the pitch ideas are flowing through my head today! watch out editors
September 3, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Feeling very motivated and cannot believe how much the pitch ideas are flowing through my head today! watch out editors
Wrote about and took some pics of zines for this Japan Times piece. It's a fascinating scene that has a life of its own!
Why is everyone either making or buying a zine? The small, often handmade, self-published books are nothing new, but the zeal with which they've been embraced is stronger than ever.
A buzzing zine scene across Japan packs passion in multiple formats
In a world now dominated by digital media, small handmade books are a return to analog media and offline connection.
www.japantimes.co.jp
July 1, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Wrote about and took some pics of zines for this Japan Times piece. It's a fascinating scene that has a life of its own!
Visited Tokyo's avatar cafe and had a wonderful, real-life conversation for Intrepid:
www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/t...
www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/t...
Forget AI: This Tokyo robot cafe is all about human connection
In a world where it can seem that AI is taking place of real-life connections, this robot cafe flips the script.
www.intrepidtravel.com
June 25, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Visited Tokyo's avatar cafe and had a wonderful, real-life conversation for Intrepid:
www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/t...
www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/t...
Not my usual "beat."
I met Magoro Yoshihira during a food drive around Sumida River, when we prepared bento boxes and delivered them directly to rough sleepers: a new type of Uber Eats.
Yoshihira is working to change Sanya's old reputation. She's also recruiting!
I met Magoro Yoshihira during a food drive around Sumida River, when we prepared bento boxes and delivered them directly to rough sleepers: a new type of Uber Eats.
Yoshihira is working to change Sanya's old reputation. She's also recruiting!
Once known as Tokyo’s secret slum, the working-class neighborhood of Sanya is making a comeback thanks to the efforts of a nonprofit.
Reclaiming Sanya, one meal at a time
Since 2018, Sanya Cafe has been building community in one of Tokyo’s most colorful — and infamous — neighborhoods.
www.japantimes.co.jp
April 28, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Not my usual "beat."
I met Magoro Yoshihira during a food drive around Sumida River, when we prepared bento boxes and delivered them directly to rough sleepers: a new type of Uber Eats.
Yoshihira is working to change Sanya's old reputation. She's also recruiting!
I met Magoro Yoshihira during a food drive around Sumida River, when we prepared bento boxes and delivered them directly to rough sleepers: a new type of Uber Eats.
Yoshihira is working to change Sanya's old reputation. She's also recruiting!
My story on Takuro Takayama was originally supposed to be a short article about his exhibition, but it got bumped up to a feature and a front page mention!
We had such a great interview I overwrote, and messaged my editor apologising, indicating all the bits that she could cut. It all stayed :)
We had such a great interview I overwrote, and messaged my editor apologising, indicating all the bits that she could cut. It all stayed :)
In tomorrow's edition of The Japan Times Weekend: Takuro Tamayama gives ordinary objects a new shine
April 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
My story on Takuro Takayama was originally supposed to be a short article about his exhibition, but it got bumped up to a feature and a front page mention!
We had such a great interview I overwrote, and messaged my editor apologising, indicating all the bits that she could cut. It all stayed :)
We had such a great interview I overwrote, and messaged my editor apologising, indicating all the bits that she could cut. It all stayed :)
(minor) throwback to my interview with Yuri Horie, a Japanese photographer who doesn't do half-measures. I think she's one of the best photographers capturing "gyaru" and similar all-or-nothing subcultures in Tokyo right now.
www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_cult...
www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_cult...
Yuri Horie: The Glittering, Maximalist Vision of a Star Photographer
How Yuri Horie went from casually snapping street style photos of her friends to releasing her own book and photographing Megan Thee Stallion
www.tokyoweekender.com
April 24, 2025 at 4:03 AM
(minor) throwback to my interview with Yuri Horie, a Japanese photographer who doesn't do half-measures. I think she's one of the best photographers capturing "gyaru" and similar all-or-nothing subcultures in Tokyo right now.
www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_cult...
www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_cult...
Interviewed AMKK three years on For JT. When we first spoke back in 2022, Azuma mentioned his excitement at X-raying flowers. Buzzing that the team achieved this!
The punk florists' latest exhibition immerses visitors in darkness, bathed only in the glow of X-rays and CT scans of plants and flowers.
Avant-garde botanists AMKK illuminate the inner worlds of flowers
www.japantimes.co.jp
March 24, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Interviewed AMKK three years on For JT. When we first spoke back in 2022, Azuma mentioned his excitement at X-raying flowers. Buzzing that the team achieved this!
In the in a different way this time! (far right)
Has been so wonderful to teach writing and ethics with this gorgeous group of people and Megumi is really a super conscientious, fabulous colleague and friend
Has been so wonderful to teach writing and ethics with this gorgeous group of people and Megumi is really a super conscientious, fabulous colleague and friend
Through conversations with an international writing workshop, a writer of mixed heritage finds steadier footing and a sense of self.
A community of stories: Making space for reflection and dialogue in Tokyo and beyond
www.japantimes.co.jp
March 24, 2025 at 11:32 AM
In the in a different way this time! (far right)
Has been so wonderful to teach writing and ethics with this gorgeous group of people and Megumi is really a super conscientious, fabulous colleague and friend
Has been so wonderful to teach writing and ethics with this gorgeous group of people and Megumi is really a super conscientious, fabulous colleague and friend
Have been on both sides of this
Copyeditor: You use "fairy tale" "fairy-tale" and "fairytale" in different places in this book, for consistency, which do you want?
Me: Surely it is apparent that I don't have a preference here?
Me: Surely it is apparent that I don't have a preference here?
March 17, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Have been on both sides of this
Wrote about DIG Shibuya for Japan Time. Felt nostalgic revisiting my old XR/AV (audio visual) stomping ground.
I co-ran an AV event series back in the UK and dipped my toes in 3D visuals myself. Joelle Snaith was a previous guest, so it was nice to see her name pop up performing here too
I co-ran an AV event series back in the UK and dipped my toes in 3D visuals myself. Joelle Snaith was a previous guest, so it was nice to see her name pop up performing here too
From a giant pink man-baby on a rooftop overlooking Shibuya Crossing to a cyber Buddhist collective taking over Shibuya Welfare Center, Dig Shibuya 2025 is about art and tech, but also fun.
Shibuya becomes the canvas for tech-infused art during Dig 2025
Now in its sophomore year, the Dig Shibuya digital art festival runs from Feb. 8 to 11, with activities and exhibitions popping up across Tokyo’s trendiest neighborhood.
buff.ly
February 24, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Wrote about DIG Shibuya for Japan Time. Felt nostalgic revisiting my old XR/AV (audio visual) stomping ground.
I co-ran an AV event series back in the UK and dipped my toes in 3D visuals myself. Joelle Snaith was a previous guest, so it was nice to see her name pop up performing here too
I co-ran an AV event series back in the UK and dipped my toes in 3D visuals myself. Joelle Snaith was a previous guest, so it was nice to see her name pop up performing here too
Sharing my piece for Grammy (yes, as in The Grammys), about Japanese rap. Spoke to big names like Awich and Koshy, Japanese hiphop professor Ega; Mamy, the designer from Canteen and even Yuki Chiba's manager:
www.grammy.com/news/japanes...
www.grammy.com/news/japanes...
How Japanese Rap Went Global In 2024: Behind The Rise Of Awich, Yuki Chiba & Others | GRAMMY.com
From features with Megan Thee Stallion and production by RZA to performances on the Coachella stage, J-rap has had a moment in 2024. This past year's successes are anything but a fluke — Japanese rap ...
www.grammy.com
January 9, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Sharing my piece for Grammy (yes, as in The Grammys), about Japanese rap. Spoke to big names like Awich and Koshy, Japanese hiphop professor Ega; Mamy, the designer from Canteen and even Yuki Chiba's manager:
www.grammy.com/news/japanes...
www.grammy.com/news/japanes...
My heart goes out the the people of Noto. They were so lovely when I met them
A group of experts commissioned by the government warned that more strong earthquakes accompanied by tsunamis may hit the Noto Peninsula area, where a magnitude 7.6 quake struck on Jan. 1 this year.
Experts warn of more strong Noto Peninsula earthquakes
'It's impossible to say when the series of seismic activities will end,' said the chairperson of the Earthquake Research Committee.
www.japantimes.co.jp
December 12, 2024 at 6:16 AM
My heart goes out the the people of Noto. They were so lovely when I met them
Popping this up here for now and hoping some commissions magically fly into my inbox (do we even have inboxes on here?)
Writer w bylines in Lonely Planet, The Japan Times, Huck Magazine, Mixmag & loads more!
Mainly upon Japan, sometimes further afield.
Website/portfolio: www.kimjakahan.xyz
Writer w bylines in Lonely Planet, The Japan Times, Huck Magazine, Mixmag & loads more!
Mainly upon Japan, sometimes further afield.
Website/portfolio: www.kimjakahan.xyz
Kim Kahan
Tokyo Based Freelance Writer
www.kimjakahan.xyz
December 12, 2024 at 4:53 AM
Popping this up here for now and hoping some commissions magically fly into my inbox (do we even have inboxes on here?)
Writer w bylines in Lonely Planet, The Japan Times, Huck Magazine, Mixmag & loads more!
Mainly upon Japan, sometimes further afield.
Website/portfolio: www.kimjakahan.xyz
Writer w bylines in Lonely Planet, The Japan Times, Huck Magazine, Mixmag & loads more!
Mainly upon Japan, sometimes further afield.
Website/portfolio: www.kimjakahan.xyz