You might have heard that although salt is very common, growing crystals with it is hard.

Yes, and no. Growing big, transparent salt crystals is indeed very difficult, but anyone can easily grow a beautiful cluster at home.

The Sweden Solar System (SSS) is the world’s largest model of our planetary system. The Sun is represented by the Globe in Stockholm, the largest spherical building in the world, and the planets are lined up in direction north from here.

Distances and sizes are scaled according to 1:20 million, and the inner planets are all in the Stockholm area. The outer planets follow in the same direction with for instance Neptune in Söderhamn and the dwarf planet Pluto in Delsbo, 300 km from the Globe. A number of minor planets and comets also populate SSS, which now extends from the very south to the very north of Sweden. There is a host institution for each model. SSS is a pedagogical instrument and conveys a direct feeling of the enormous distances in space, and how small the planets are compared to the Sun. Art, mythology and science merge in this project, and SSS connects to different places and activities in Sweden.

Not so long ago, we found out that Tokyo’s Akihabara Station has a bank of vending machines stocked with a huge array of delicious milk-based drinks, with all sorts of fruit, tea, and coffee flavorings to tempt you. But while those are great for quenching your thirst or satisfying your sweet tooth, what about when you’re feeling hungry?

With a rich network of sound-obsessed cafés, bars and small clubs, Aaron Coultate explains why Tokyo might be the best place in the world to listen to music.

Japan has long been famed for its unique capsule hotel accommodation, but generally speaking these tiny rooms have been for practical purposes only (read: you wouldn’t really have wanted to stay in them while on vacation, other than for novelty reasons). But over the last few years, Tokyo has dramatically upped its tiny hotel game, and new hip – sometimes even “luxurious” – capsule hotels are popping up all over the city. Here are four of our favorites…

“Edge the Harukas,” located on the roof of the 60-story, 300-meter-high Abeno Harukas building, provides a sky-high view for those brave enough to traverse the 20-meter-long ledge while tethered to the building.

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The attraction costs ¥1,000 ($9.30) per person in addition to the observatory’s ¥1,500 admission fee per adult.

The 19.7-meter, 49-ton statue of a mobile robot from the popular Gundam series has been standing in the Diver City Tokyo commercial plaza since Sept. 24.

It replaced a previous model as part of the Tokyo Gundam Project 2017, in which the statue represents the future of Tokyo and helps invigorate the bay area. The statue undergoes its one-minute transformation at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. At night, a special short movie runs every 30 minutes from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Taking the stage at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Sendagaya are stars like pop princess Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Yasutaka Nakata's Capsule and slick choreography kings World Order, while fashion shows and the like will also take place. A wide assortment of promotional booths will be set up, allowing you to participate in a variety of fun workshops. Furthermore, the area around the venue will feature DJ performances, a temporary food court serving juicy meat and festival grub like yakisoba and takoyaki, and opportunities for trying traditional matsuri activities like cork gun shooting and wanage (quoits).

Just like last year, all non-Japanese citizens can get in for free: register on the festival's official website, bring your ticket along with a passport or residence card, and display these at the gate.

Vi listar 13 ölställen i huvudstaden som varje öldiggare bör besöka minst en gång – både för smakerna och för atmosfären.

On check in you have the options of speaking to either a humanoid robot or a dinosaur wearing a bow tie! The humanoid robot has been designed to mimic a human being as well as possible. This receptionist blinks, appears to breath and can even make eye contact. Sadly, however, these robots cannot hold a conversation and so to check in you can use the touchscreens to the side of the front desk. Your bags are then taken by a robot too and for left luggage a large robot arm will pick it up and place it in a locker for you.