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CLOUDY
Tokyo Skytree will celebrate its first anniversary Wednesday but has not yet completed its prime mission of reliably broadcasting to households in the capital and its suburbs. Since December, the world’s tallest free-standing tower, at 634 meters high, has been making test broadcasts to ...
If you work in an office, you probably spend a fair part of your time sitting at a desk, which, of course, isn’t very healthy. To combat that the Pomodoro technique recommends that you work in intervals with regular breaks — for example, 25 ...
“I was stopped by two men in a government-registered vehicle, blindfolded and dragged off the street. They took me away to a house in a place I did not know. I was forced into a room with blood all over the walls and floor, ...
"Outsider art" is relatively new in Japan and, as a genre, works made by self-taught Japanese artists are still not very well known on the category-delineating, label-loving international art scene.
After all these years, Rafael Nadal still knows how to dominate Roger Federer. In the 30th meeting between the two tennis greats, Nadal controlled the final from start to finish to win 6-1, 6-3 Sunday for his seventh Italian Open title. “Rafa was just ...
Ah, Spain . . . land of bullfights, football and flamenco. The current trend to celebrate all things Spanish means that we can be bound a little by stereotypes: Not all Spanish are hot-blooded, football mad, paella eaters. When it comes to wine too, ...
A certain amount of hubris might be expected from the representatives of some of Napa Valley’s most famous wineries. Surely the Californians, who flew into Japan last month to show off their wares at Tokyo’s American Club, would not miss the opportunity to brag ...
It’s a breathtaking sight: Between the rigid rows of bare vines, constellations of seeding dandelions glisten silver in the morning light. While the barely budding vines may seem dull in comparison, the golden Rieslings made from last year’s grape harvest are glittering with promise ...
For artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s, New York was definitely where it was at and Japanese band the Plastics were among those who found themselves right at the heart of that heady scene. Instrumental in shaping the distinctive New Wave sound ...
Spring has officially sprung us from our winter cages out into parks and gardens that are blooming with life. After having had our senses cooped up in the sterile indoors, we can now enjoy the subtle and stimulating scents of blossom and cut grass ...
“We’re really inspired by Stanley Kubrick and we want to create a sound that reflects Kubrick’s visual image,” says guitarist Yuzuru Takeda of Molice. The band is due to release a new album titled “Catalystrock” later this month, and we’re here in a small ...
A few years ago, I enjoyed a chilled glass of wine while sitting on a cobbled street in the medieval French city of Chinon in the heart of Loire Valley; the wine was from the surrounding vineyards of Samur and tasted absolutely divine. When ...
Many bands dream of combining various musical styles to create a completely new sound, only to discover that it’s a bit like trying to make bechamel sauce; if you’re not careful the creamy concoction you dreamed of will curdle into an evil-looking slop. Chicken ...
According to the philosopher Isaiah Berlin, great thinkers can be separated into two broad categories: hedgehogs and foxes. While hedgehogs view the world through one single defining idea, foxes embrace the multitude of contradictory experiences that life throws up. It’s no stretch to place ...
The Aprils have sold their innocent indie souls to the god of electro pop with their latest album seeing the entire outfit digitized. Even Miho Iguchi’s vocals have morphed from sweet and silly to a more sleek synthesized sound. Though part of me was ...
“In Italy I already had a job and family. If I had come to Japan and everything finished, I could have easily gone back to Italy because I had a place there. Coming here was a bit like a game and it still is ...
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s the season to be jolly. If you aren’t yet decking the halls with sprigs of holly here’s just the thing to get you in the spirit: a Christmas wine guide, which will take you from pre-Christmas party to ...