The concept of Steampunk is only beginning to gain recognition in Japan, even though there have been multiple works that incorporate the brass-Victorian aesthetic, such as anime film Steamboy. Tokyo-based friends Kenny Creation and Luke Chaos have been passionate about this subculture for some time, and last year, they founded...

If you're a nerd at heart with a yen for Japanese pop culture, then you should spend time in Nakano, Tokyo.

I love visiting this eccentric district with friends. We spend hours rummaging for Super Mario and Sailor Moon goods, followed by cocktails at a Godzilla bar. Watch me explore...

At underground parties, it's not unusual to see people in novelty contact lenses, which can re-create the golden glare of a tiger or the blue-in-blue of a Dune Fremen. Some body-modders, however, wish to have their eyes permanently colored -- and are experimenting with a technique that makes this possible....

Every January, Art Deco Weekend turns South Beach into a sea of fringe and pincurls. Over 300,000 people gather in Miami's historic district to celebrate the Jazz Age.

In this travel video, host La Carmina explores Ocean Drive's pastel hotels, a retro runway...

Printmaking has come a long way since Hokusai's "Great Wave." At Mesa Arts Center (MAC) in Arizona, I rolled acid paint onto stencils and cranked out anime-pop prints.

"I wanted to be an artist since I was a child," says my workshop instructor, David Manje. He...

"Let me show you something," says Steve Haworth. Grinning like a kid, he places a small magnetic ball on the tip of his right ring finger. He lets go and rotates his wrist. The ball sticks.

The force is with Steve, thanks to a neodymium magnet in...

If you go to Hong Kong and eat nothing but Chinese food, you are passing up a big bite of the scene.

There is much more to the local cuisine than Peking duck and dim sum. Hong Kong's international restaurants are innovative, particularly in Central and Causeway Bay, and...

What would you pack if you were on The Amazing Race?

I'm a fan of the CBS show and followed multiple seasons, including the current one that's nearing the finish line.

In the reality TV competition, contestants race around the world while tackling challenges. For one...

My film team and I jumped at the chance to interview Maui's chefs and designers. But what awaited us? I had daunting visions of eating a roast pig while wearing a coconut bra.

Maui, it turns, out, has open-air restaurants influenced by Asian plantation culture, and a surprisingly forward...

"Oh my sweet, buttery bagels." Everyone's talking about Japanese bagel heads, or saline in the forehead. And most of these claims are grossly inflated.

Let's set the record straight.

In September, National Geographic's Taboo featured this extreme body modification, created by a saline drip into the forehead. My...

The first Goths weren't the members of Joy Division, but the Visigoths and Ostrogoths -- Germanic tribes that invaded and ultimately toppled the Roman Empire. Berlin is still a Gothic center today, at least in the corsets and fishnets sense.

I have a number of spooky friends in the German...

Hitting the road can stress your tresses. A bad hair day is especially a nuisance if you're traveling for work or a special occasion such as a wedding.

In this Travel SOS episode, Isolde Semple of Vancouver's Avant Garde Hair tackles three of the most...

It's a common complaint among travelers planning a trip to NYC. "I can't find a comfortable, well-located hotel in Manhattan for under $150 a night. What shall I do?"

My answer: get off the island.

There's a trend of Brooklyn boutiques, such as NU Hotel (85 Smith Street,...

Prague is known as one of the world's spookiest places, a city of haunted tales and piercing architecture, but the city is actually stranger than its strange reputation. In this town of dark shadows and mid-day drunks, I explore the unexpected and fabulous.

Neo-Victorian fashion

Dracula Clothing's original...

Every spring, 20,000 Steampunkers, Fairies, Lolitas and deathrockers meet in Leipzig for the world's largest Goth festival: Wave Gotik Treffen.

In this video, I share highlights from the three-day event, including an absinthe picnic and New Romantic ball.

Dark activities

Agra is the best spot for...

What will travel look like in fifty years? Will heavy suitcases and lineups be annoyances of the past? It is hard to know, but we can speculate.

In this new "Travel SOS" video, Mat Devine of alternative rock band Kill Hannah helps me paint a picture...

"The Japanese government's lack of response regarding helping animals and people after March 11th has been is a disgrace," says Elizabeth Oliver, founder of Animal Rescue Kansai (ARK).

Days after the disaster, Fukushima's animals were starving. Rescue groups rushed to Tohoku to care for abandoned pets. Their...

Every year, Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead to honor those who have passed and what sounds like a morbid holiday is quite the opposite. All of the imagery, from the skeleton facepaint to orange marigolds, conveys that "the dead can dance."

I had the pleasure of celebrating Halloween...

Whenever I went on family trips as a child, we stayed in chain hotels. My relatives chose big-name accommodations because the standard was reliable. Unfortunately, the "safe choice" tends to be the boring one. I remember these rooms as a single beige blur.

Nowadays, I rest my head in...

The Amazing Race spooky kids, Kent Kaliber and Vyxsin Fiala, know all about packing light. On two seasons of the hit show, they raced around the world with their belongings in a single backpack without leaving behind the black eyeliner and glitter polish.

The reality TV...