Tim Hornyak - The Japan Times

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Tim Hornyak

For Tim Hornyak's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

In some cases, it's up to individual foreign residents to understand the unique tax implications of their home countries and Japan in order to avoid a penny-pinching retirement.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / Age Wise

Nov 5, 2023

Retiring in Japan? Be prepared to foot your own bills.

“In an ideal world, everyone should have retirement planning on their radar as soon as possible when working life begins.”

Pictured in his Kyoto kitchen, Alain Ducasse has the largest collection of Michelin stars of any chef alive — not that he puts much stock in such accolades.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Sep 3, 2023

Alain Ducasse: ‘The Kyoto customer wants refinement’

The world’s most Michelin-starred chef sees those stars as a “reward” instead of an “objective.”

Japan Times

JAPAN / History / Longform

Jun 19, 2023

Resurrecting a prince's home with a dark wartime past

Tekigaiso hosted meetings that helped set Japan's course during World War II. But with an extensive renovation taking place, how much of its story is set to be told?

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 22, 2022

A controversy forces Tokyo to define 'public park'

A plan to redevelop the capital's Meiji Jingu Gaien park and its sporting venues has drawn ire from people who want the area's trees to be spared.

Japan Times

BUSINESS / Tech / Longform

Dec 5, 2022

Armed with anime avatars, Japan bids to conquer the metaverse

The nation's penchant for online anonymity and well-established love of virtual idols could boost adoption, but early attempts offer cautionary tales.

Japan Times

JAPAN / History / Longform

Oct 10, 2022

Empire of steel: Where Japan’s railways stand after 150 years of evolution

Much has changed since the country's first railway line between Tokyo and Yokohama laid the foundation for a world-renowned network of trains to be created.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Aug 18, 2022

No backpedaling for Suginami Ward’s bicycling mayor

Satoko Kishimoto is a breath of fresh air in local politics. But can she bring about change?

Japan Times

BUSINESS / Longform

Apr 4, 2022

Reimagining Japan’s growing glut of empty homes

Entrepreneurs see an opportunity in Japan's abandoned properties as businesses try to change them from liabilities into assets.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books

Jul 4, 2021

‘The War on Wheels’: Head-butts, broken bones and big bets

Justin McCurry gets readers up to speed on the gritty sport of keirin, Japan's premier cycling competition.

Japan Times

OLYMPICS

Dec 31, 2020

Tokyo Olympics face threat that no vaccine can tame: the weather

Even though the weather conditions during the original games schedule were not as bad as they could have been, experts caution that it's a dangerous time of year for outdoor sports.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT

May 11, 2019

Reading the air: Tokyo still has work to do on air pollution

There are days when Makiko Ishikawa can barely breathe. Indeed, the 62-year-old Tokyoite has been short of breath for decades. In the early 1970s, she began feeling the effects of the miasma of vehicle exhaust along Shin-Ome Road, which ran by her home in the city of Musashimurayama in western Tokyo. In 1976, she developed bronchial asthma at age 20. Although she was repeatedly hospitalized with coughing fits, doctors prescribed medication for allergies. Her symptoms only grew worse.

Japan Times

JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era

Dec 22, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: When communication in Japan went mobile

The launch of a pager known as the Pocket Bell marked the birth of texting and mobile communications in Japan.

Japan Times

LIFE / Style & Design

Oct 14, 2018

Good Design Awards go beyond industrial design

There's no shortage of transformative ideas in Japan, particularly in the field of design. This year's Good Design Awards showcased many surprising examples of innovation from Japan and abroad.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books

Oct 13, 2018

Mountain High: Junko Tabei's adventures at the top of the world

Junko Tabei was a pioneering alpinist who dramatically changed the landscape of mountaineering around the world. Previously available only in Japanese, excerpts of her writing have been translated and compiled into 'Honouring High Places,' a beautifully illustrated retrospective.

Japan Times

LIFE / Lifestyle

Sep 15, 2018

Ensuring Tokyo Bay is fit for swimming ahead of the 2020 Olympics

If you squint your eyes, it almost looks like Club Med: an expanse of blue sea, a stretch of beach, white tents and umbrellas on the sand, and plenty of staff ready to help out. However, this isn't a tropical paradise, it's Tokyo Bay and Odaiba Plage is an attempt to turn it into a swimming spot.

Japan Times

LIFE / Lifestyle

Mar 31, 2018

Will Japan ever join the great Easter egg hunt?

A year ago, J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu released a song with lyrics and a promotional video that were as saccharine as a chocolate bunny. The song was titled "Easta" — a play on Easter and "a good start" in Japanese — and the video had dancing eggs, capybaras and fried-egg UFOs shooting laser beams.

Japan Times

JAPAN / History

Dec 16, 2017

Heart of gold: The Ginza Line celebrates its 90th birthday

Born of disasters, war and massive infrastructure projects, 21st-century Tokyo has plenty of ghosts buried underground. If you ride the subway these days, you can catch a fleeting glimpse of two of them but, if you blink, you'll miss them. The Ginza Line is marking 90 years since its opening with the illumination of two "ghost stations" abandoned long ago. Manseibashi and Jingumae stations have been brought back from the dead as part of a tribute to the Ginza Line, which was the first subway line built in Japan and East Asia.

Japan Times

LIFE / Lifestyle

Aug 19, 2017

Gachapon: Tracing the evolution of Japan's colorful toy capsules

Where else but Japan could you buy a miniature version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" figure crouching over a squat toilet, horror-struck? It's one of thousands of ingeniously designed trinkets you can buy for a pittance from toy machines across the nation. They're subversive, beautifully crafted and often hilarious. They are gachapon.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT

Jun 10, 2017

Plastic fantastic: How does Tokyo recycle its waste?

The next time you trek out to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, situated on the fringes of Shinagawa along Tokyo Bay, look around and you'll see a giant smokestack by the Konan Ohashi Bridge. The visa-dispensing center, essential for foreign nationals who want to live in Tokyo, stands right by a garbage factory. However, the Minato Incineration Plant plays a key role in efforts to promote sustainable living in the capital: It houses a state-of-the-art recycling plant.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Apr 2, 2017

Leiji Matsumoto surfs the floating world

The work of manga artist Leiji Matsumoto mixes historical periods, themes and technologies, often in a science-fiction setting: His signature comics involve steam locomotives and reborn World War II battleships sailing among the stars. These grand flights of fancy, which have found fans around the world, become even more magical when transposed into a traditional Japanese art form, such as ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" from Japan's Edo Period (1603-1868).

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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