21
RAIN
Farmers in the city of Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, have begun planting rice in a district once designated a no-go zone because of radioactive fallout ejected by the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, 早根早起 （Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity.
Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...
Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune “Only Teardrops,” despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Juries and television viewers across Europe awarded the barefoot, ...
One team’s quest for a first title has ended. The other team’s fight will continue next season. The Yokohama B-Corsairs outplayed the Rizing Fukuoka in Sunday’s bj-league championship game, controlling the tempo for larger stretches and making enough timely baskets to fill an instructional ...
Tonkatsu is comfort food, gourmand grub — not a gourmet delicacy. So what are those hearty, unpretentious deep-fried breaded pork cutlets doing in an elegant little bar-style restaurant above one of Ginza’s temples to high-end consumption? Katsuzen has come a long way from its humble origins. Until 2005, it called ...
It’s terrace season, and the thought of a drawn-out weekend brunch — sunglasses on, cocktail in hand — is likely ...
For those new to sake, learning to distinguish the subtle nuances in the flavor of various brews can feel like ...
Thanks to Japan's comprehensive network of bullet trains and regional airports, it's easy for the culinary adventurer to sample local specialties at their point of origin.
Onward and upward: Tokyo’s ever-changing skyline sprouts new high-rise buildings like bamboo shoots in spring.
How long does it take a business to achieve cult status in Tokyo? Years or decades in most cases. For Omotesando Koffee it was barely a matter of weeks. First there’s the setting. Where else in the city can you find a contemporary espresso ...
The party was just getting started at a plush club in this teeming Nigerian city, hip-hop blaring, the bar bathed in blue light — and Champagne bottles on ice already adorning tables. “Too much oil money,” said a 40-year-old man at Rhapsody’s in the ...
Sweets mean different things to different people. Some say such treats are their perfect stress release, while others say they bring back childhood memories.
In the world of sushi and sashimi, maguro (tuna, especially bluefin tuna) currently reigns supreme. It's so popular that large specimens of the fish fetch ridiculous, headline-grabbing prices at the Tsukiji wholesale market in Tokyo, and the species is in danger of extinction due ...
You never know quite what you’re going to find in the busy back alleys of Shimokitazawa. It has music bars and shisha pipe dens, old-school yakitori, the latest in craft beer, tofu doughnuts and bohemian barista coffee. So why not artisan tortillas and mole ...
Authentic British food is hard to come by in Japan, and the food at the theme-pub chains isn’t often great. However, there are a handful of expat-run places that get it right — and should hit the spot for homesick Brits. Having heard encouraging ...
Restaurants open and close all the time in Japan's ever-changing dining landscape. Here's a selection of a few noteworthy new places in Kyoto and Osaka.
Dressed in a crisp white jacket, white shirt and black tie, bartender Gen Yamamoto looks as though he has just emerged from a casino in a James Bond film.
Worried by declining standards in France’s famed restaurants, world-famous chefs launched a new label April 10 that will only be awarded to eateries that meet strict criteria. The “quality restaurant” designation will be granted to establishments in any price range that meet standards set ...
A pair of ornamental cherry trees stand like attendants by a sturdy wooden gateway. A narrow flagstone path lined with bamboo and maples curves out of sight in the mid-distance.