Social media often spotlights Japan as a prime tourist destination in recent years, but the hype and excitement that comes along with it can also be a detriment to the locals that live in specific areas. Online photos and videos can give a good showcase of Japan’s many features, but we shouldn’t forget the role magazines have played in highlighting the country’s cultural aspects. Having a physical print book with vibrant pictures to flip through is a unique experience worth holding on to.
Last October, Japanese publisher Magazine House published two special English versions of its men’s lifestyle magazines, Popeye and Brutus, which are centered around Japanese cuisine, tourism, and fashion. The English editions of the magazines were released to commemorate Magazine House’s 80th anniversary. Although printed material is harder to come by these days, there is a unique, antiquated charm to the glossy pages of a specialist magazine. I was able to get the digital copies of both magazines, so here’s some of my quick thoughts on them.
Popeye
Magazine House released the first issue of Popeye in July 1976. It is a monthly magazine with a particular focus on introducing American men to Japanese culture and modern fashion trends. To this date, over 900 issues have been published in Japan so far.
The English version is titled Hello, Tokyo! and spotlights a variety of key destinations around Tokyo. My first impression of this English edition is that it’s very heavy on photos and visuals of models, buildings in Tokyo, and both gourmet and simple food. The pictures of certain areas that were photographed really stand out and as a largely visual learner, I got a good sense of the experiences I’d get if I were a first-time visitor to Tokyo.
The magazine also has a neat little section detailing the art, fashion, and cultural scene from the 1960s to 1990s. There are also a lot of short blurbs explaining where to get the best food, listen to good music, and buy apparel and accessory items. However, I think they were hard to read sometimes and I feel they made some pages and photos too crowded. It was very much like reading tiny footnotes on the bottom of a page. I also wish the magazine had more structure to it as it feels more like something you’d find lying on a coffee table and mindlessly flip through (which I guess is its purpose).
The English version of Popeye is a good starter magazine for anyone interested in going to Tokyo. It's designed with many eye-catching photos and visuals and gives you everything you need to know when you first land in Japan.
Brutus
Brutus is a magazine that was first published in Japan in May 1980. It primarily highlights Japanese culture, lifestyle, food, art, and fashion and has released over 1000 issues as of 2026.
The magazine’s English edition, New Perspective Tokyo, adopts a more narrative approach than Popeye and is designed more like a proper guide with easy-to-read written content. It seems to be more human-oriented as it features local writers, entertainers, actors, fashion designers, and more talking about their favorite places to relax, walk around, or eat food in. It also has a proper table of content page that showed the information I was interested in like restaurants and places to walk around.
What surprised me about Brutus were the dedicated pages on foreign cuisine you can find in Tokyo. For example, tabla musician U-zhaan wrote about four South Indian restaurants in the area that served dosas, curries, naan bread, and more. Additionally, Tokyo taco expert Koichiro Yoshikawa listed several places you can get tacos in the area, and even provided the thickness and diameter of the taco themselves.
Besides food, Brutus’ English magazine also lists some good places to watch a movie, work out, observe art, and hotels that are worth reserving a stay for. Every section has a local’s thoughts and impressions on specific places and I appreciate having their recommendations, along with clear photos of what they’re talking about.
It’s safe to say that I’m a slightly bigger fan of Brutus than Popeye, but each publication has its unique strengths and can appeal to different people. While you can use an app, website, or blog to discover what to do in Tokyo as a tourist, I think magazines like Brutus and Popeye are an essential resource to have if you want to have a more direct and personal connection with its local scene.
