President Barack Obama, now facing the consequences of automatic spending cuts and the complications they raise for his broader domestic agenda, is taking the most specific steps of his administration in an attempt to ensure the election of a Democratic-controlled Congress in two years. ...
It’s a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chugoku no gunkan (中国の軍艦, Chinese warships) in the Higashi Shina Kai (東シナ海, East China Sea) challenged Japan’s Kaijo Jieitai (海上自衛隊, Maritime Self Defense Forces, MSDF) patrols in a manner deemed kyōiteki (脅威的, threatening). And on Feb. ...
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
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, ...
Highlighting the top nine finishers from the J. League last season in the second part of this two-day preview.
On early maps of Edo, as Tokyo was known prior to 1868, Okachimachi is rendered as a town (machi) densely packed with the tiny dwellings of okachi — low-ranked, poorly paid samurai infantry.
The Hotel Century Southern Tower near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is now serving the premium bourbon whiskey Eagle Rare 10 Year-Old at its 20th-floor lounge and bar, South Court, through Feb. 28.
Singapore vouchers Singapore Airlines is holding a special promotional campaign for double the amount of vouchers that the airline offers through its transit program. The program started in October and offers passengers flying Singapore Airlines or SilkAir Changi Dollar Vouchers, each worth 20 Singapore ...
I seem to have the whole mountain to myself. The vast majesty of Fukushima Prefecture spreads out below me, all around. Up here, skiing on powdery snow, zigzagging through challenging moguls, it’s easy to forget about the nuclear reactors 120 km away. Say what ...
Special winter spa offer in Kobe The ANA Crowne Plaza Kobe is holding a special winter promotion called Healing with Classic at the hotel’s Angsana Spa, through Feb. 28. Angsana Spa is a sister brand of the award-winning Banyan Tree Spa in Phuket, Thailand. ...
It seemed to me on a recent winter’s visit to Sapporo that everyone was a performer: from the flamboyant gestures and bullhorn announcements of the tour guides, to the showy dismembering of crabs by vendors, to the owners of the cubbyhole restaurants in Ramen ...
Half-price party plan in Yokohama As January is the month that people hold New Year’s parties, the InterContinental Yokohama Grand is offering a special party plan called Thanks Night at its Italian restaurant, La Vela, on the hotel’s second floor, every Wednesday and Thursday ...
Summer to me has always meant the beach, and now in the depths of winter it’s to sun-kissed strands and sparkling blue seas that my thoughts are prone to wander. In my childhood days, from kindergarten through high school, I was lucky enough to ...
Some, though not all, of our travels change our lives; they cultivate sensibilities, shape values and alter our outlook on things. One such trip I experienced was a sixth-grade school excursion to Hiroshima when, at the Peace Memorial Museum, I saw photographs of people ...
“Premium’ New Year’s buffet in Osaka The Hotel Hankyu International in Osaka will offer a “Premium” New Year’s buffet on Jan. 1 and 2 at the hotel’s biggest banquet hall, Shion, on the fourth floor. Not only is the venue premium but dishes served ...
A report published this year by a national association of ryōkan (traditional inn) owners notes that one of the most common problems facing its several thousand members is a dearth of suitable successors — meaning there will be no one in line to run ...
Travel is an addiction for which there seems no cure. Once under its sway, it is best just to ride out the alternating fevers and chills and see where they take you. Around nontravelers or infrequent travelers, I find that my tales of far-flung ...
