A car bomb exploded outside a mosque Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding another 141 in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi — the third mass-casualty attack on the minority sect in the country this year. ...
Sleeping in. Breakfast in bed. Sunny brunches. Strolls in the park. Laid-back afternoon tea. Cocktails at sunset. Decadent late nights. Saturday — the word brings to mind a flurry of images associated with the first day of the weekend and the chances are, they ...
According to most business media, now is the time to act if you are thinking about buying a home. Though the Liberal Democratic Party has yet to confirm that it will go ahead with the consumption tax increases the Democratic Party of Japan passed ...
SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...
Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...
Is Tokyo becoming the Naples of Asia? It’s starting to feel that way, and not just because there’s a volcano lurking on the horizon. There must be as many artisan pizzerias here as in all of Campania, ranging in quality from worthy to excellent. ...
On one side of the battered shōji screen with its panels of flimsy washi paper, the sleet and biting wind. On the other, a small old-fashioned hibachi brazier, its coals glowing softly. There’s no contest: At Botan, the charcoal wins every time. But that ...
The narrow pocket of Kanda comprising Sudacho and Awajicho boasts half a dozen restaurants that are among the most venerable in Tokyo. Like Botan (see main article), the buildings date from the late 1920s, boast superb wooden architecture and have improbably survived the bombs ...
Given the considerable media buzz that accompanied the opening of Yoyogi Village — and the involvement of Il Ghiottone’s chef Yasuhiro Sasajima — tables are still at a premium at code kurkku. But even if you can’t snare a reservation, don’t fancy a full ...
Long before you sit down to dine at code kurkku, before you even glimpse its splendid glass-fronted facade, you know already you’re going to love it. How could you not? It has everything going for it. First of all, it’s the central focus of ...
The holidays are behind us now, but it’s still the season for celebrating the New Year. From mochi rice dumplings to mikan mandarins, there are so many festive foods in Japan. Few are more auspicious, or supremely delicious, than madai, known in English variously ...
Nothing is more important in Japanese cooking than dashi, the fundamental cooking stock that underpins every aspect of the cuisine. There are many ingredients that can deliver a boost of umami savor, both natural (konbu seaweed or shiitake mushrooms) and artificial (various powders out ...
Another year comes to an end, with the usual round of Christmas and bōnenkai “drink the old year to oblivion” parties. Except, of course, it was not just another year. And though we will all be glad to put it behind us, 2011 will ...
As the Yule season approaches, thoughts turn inevitably to cakes and sweetmeats. Homemade is always best, but sometimes expensive cravings arise for the kind of elegant confections that can only be furnished by bespoke chocolatiers and dessert chefs. Here are five of the desserts ...
A mound of oysters on the half shell, with a pint of intense hop-driven IPA on the side. It’s a combination that could well get to be a habit this coming winter, if we can only get over to Otsuka more often, to the ...
The bubbly season is upon us. The illuminations and Christmas music have been with us for weeks already, but now we’re into December, it’s high time to think about where to uncork a quiet commemorative bottle or two. Somewhere special and secluded, with plush ...
For the longest time, one of our most vociferous complaints about Tokyo was that there weren’t enough wine bars worthy of the name. These days, thankfully, we are spoiled for choice in every price range. One of the best of the new crop we’ve ...
