About this site

The buying guides I wish existed.

Hi, I'm Kei. I live in Japan, and I write the kind of buying guides I wish existed when I was researching things myself: specific, sourced, and honest about what's not worth your money.

Living here gives me a front-row seat to things the English-speaking internet often gets wrong — what real ceremonial matcha costs at the source, which Japanese learning apps people here actually recommend, how bathing and sauna culture really works. I also read the Japanese-language sources — maker catalogues, price sites, government statistics — that almost nobody writing in English opens.

How this site makes money

This site is supported by affiliate commissions — when you buy through some links here, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That never changes what I recommend. Details in the affiliate disclosure.

How I review

  • Prices and specs are checked against official sources at publish time, and rechecked on major updates.
  • Every guide states plainly whether it is based on hands-on use or on published specifications. I don't claim to have tested things I haven't.
  • Every comparison includes who a product is not for.
  • I regularly recommend options that pay me nothing.