Event Topics

Eight seasons from Slovakia

Jan 4, 2013

Eight seasons from Slovakia

by Chiho Iuchi

Opening 2013 on a cultured note, the Slovak Chamber Orchestra (SCO) tours Japan from Jan. 5 through Jan. 18. Founded by violinist and then Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster Bohdan Warchal (1930-2000) in 1960, SCO has developed into one of the most popular groups in ...

Dec 28, 2012

Tokyo to be packed with nontraditional parties

by Eriko Arita

Not interested in a traditional Japanese New Year’s Eve? I’ve often spent my countdowns in the salsa-music dance clubs of the Roppongi district in Tokyo. Latin-music fans gather at clubs such as Salsa Caribe in Roppongi (www.salsacaribe.jp) and Las Risas in Ginza (www.lasrisas.com) — ...

Dec 28, 2012

Instead of visiting one shrine, visit seven

by Tomoko Otake

A fun thing I like to do at New Year’s is to go on a walking tour of seven shrines and temples in Tokyo. The hike is called the shichifukujin meguri (pilgrimage to Seven Lucky Gods), and there are a number of such pilgrimage ...

Products fair touts new ways to go green

Dec 14, 2012

Products fair touts new ways to go green

by Tomoko Otake

A dizzying variety of ideas and solutions for a greener society are to converge this weekend at the Eco-Products 2012 exhibition in Tokyo. The annual show, now in its 13th year, is arguably the biggest environmental expo in Japan, drawing around 180,000 attendees every ...

View waves from a new vantage

Dec 14, 2012

View waves from a new vantage

by Eriko Arita

American photographer Clark Little gives nonsurfers a chance to see what they’re missing in a series of pictures he is showing at the “Clark Little Photo Exhibition” in Tokyo. The photographs of waves in Hawaii, breaking close to the North Shore area of Oahu ...

Geisha to perform yearly dance

Dec 7, 2012

Geisha to perform yearly dance

by Eriko Arita

It may be a bit touristy to hunt for geisha in Kyoto, but head to Fukuoka and they’re there for all to see. The 22nd Hakata Odori will be held in Hakata Ward in Fukuoka on Dec. 7 and 8. In the annual show, ...

Classical music concert raises cash for charity

Dec 7, 2012

Classical music concert raises cash for charity

by Edan Corkill

Got a spare ¥4,000? With that small sum you could not only enjoy a live rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” or George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” but at the same time you could provide four Sudanese refugee families each with a set of ...

Classic tale gets multicultural

Nov 23, 2012

Classic tale gets multicultural

by Nobuko Tanaka

After first appearing at the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) 13 years ago, Swiss-Colombian director/actor Omar Porras is on his way back there this weekend with a time-honored classic in tow. Porras’ Geneva-based Teatro Melandro company will stage William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” along ...

Nov 23, 2012

Student jazz event shows importance of culture

by Edan Corkill

Tokyo’s Aoyama district will ratchet up its hip quotient this weekend when it hosts the Aoyama Jazz Initiative, a student-run celebration of jazz. Hosted by Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU), the event is now in its third year. As always, it will feature student bands ...