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May 03, 2024
 

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Kit Nagamura
For Kit Nagamura's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Apr 23, 2016
You don't know what you've got (till it's gone) in Tokyo's nagaya
After hearing rumors that one of my favorite hideaways in Tokyo, the Sanuki Club, is slated for demolition, I stand outside the hotel's front gates with apprehension. Aside from offering some of the cheapest lodgings available in Minato Ward, the property's beer and barbecue terrace — tucked under mature trees and backed by Japanese garden landscaping — as well as its historical wooden buildings, mini bamboo grove, and a stylishly unconventional modern lobby, have long delighted its intellectual and artistic clientele. I'll be crushed if it has closed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 27, 2016
Sewing stitches of creativity in the streets of Kuramae
I'm knocking about Taito Ward's Kuramae area one chilly February morning, visiting an artisan friend, when he mentions a brand new chocolate shop has opened nearby. My ears perk up. Any good? "People are lining up," he says. I dash off to check it out, because it sounds like news. Never mind that I'm not a news reporter; that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Dec 26, 2015
Catching the last of the season’s leaves at Shiba Daimon
When I exit the Oedo Subway Line's Daimon Station, I find myself inside an ebullient throng of Chinese tourists headed in the direction of the prominent Jodo-shu (Pure Land Sect) Buddhist Zojoji Temple. The temple's oldest structure, the elegant 1622 red-lacquered Sangedatsumon gate, is a National Important Cultural Property. Its beauty, plus the intriguing dichotomy between temple buildings and Tokyo Tower in the background attracts shutterbugs and tourists from around the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 28, 2015
The big-ticket gifts of Kumano-dori
As November grows chilly, I warm up with an urban hike to hunt out seasonal gifts for friends and family. Tokyo is a bastion of creativity and craftsmanship, and shopping the backstreets is like touring a gallery of desires you never knew you had. I exit the Ginza Line's Gaienmae Station, and trot off toward Harajuku.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Oct 24, 2015
Grave company at Zoshigaya Cemetery
When persimmon leaves and the tips of maples take on color, and chilly air rattles windows, composer Yoshinao Nakada's haunting song "Chiisai Aki Mitsuketa" ("A Bit of Autumn Found") floats through my mind. Having just learned that the song's lyricist, talented poet Hachiro Sato (1903-74), rests in Zoshigaya Reien (cemetery), it seems the perfect season to pay respects, and explore the grounds of one of Tokyo's largest boneyards.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Sep 26, 2015
Circumnavigating joys in Kaminoge
Decades ago, I strolled around the quiet neighborhood of Kaminoge in Setagaya Ward with professor Shuichi Kato, the scholar who convinced me to come study in Tokyo. I vividly recollect, on my first day in Japan, encountering the fragrance of tiny orange kinmokusei (fragrant olive) blossoms as Kato spoke passionately of Japanese art on our walk to the Gotoh Museum. Even then, I knew I'd recall the day with joy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 25, 2015
The 'other' Jizo-dori: culture set in stone
Mention Jizo-dori in Tokyo and everyone will think you mean the street in Sugamo, Toshima Ward, where the silver set combines bargain hunting with visits to the famous stone jizō (bodhisattva statue) there. Walking near Edogawabashi Station on the Yurakucho Line, I pass a less well-known Jizo-dori, in Bunkyo Ward. A sweet-faced carved stone kosodate ojizōsama (bodhisattva who protects children) housed in a shrine at street's entrance draws me in.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 27, 2015
The custodians of culture in Koishikawa
Exiting the Nanboku subway's Korakuen Station near Tokyo Dome, I gaze up at clouds resembling bunches of purple hydrangeas. Directly overhead, a roller coaster car swooshes by, its passengers shrieking, which is a good sign, because, despite its aquatic name, the Thunder Dolphin coaster doesn't run in rainy weather. Optimistic, I head west along Metropolitan Road 434, into the Koishikawa neighborhood.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 30, 2015
Flora, fauna and fellows on the river
With summer's heat punching in early this year, I'm already angling for riverside relief. I trundle down to Ota Ward's Rokugodote, the southernmost train station in Tokyo's 23 wards, and a stone's throw from the Tamagawa (Tama River). The 138-km-long Tamagawa, which in this location divides Tokyo from Kawasaki, is bound to have some chill spots, I think.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Mar 28, 2015
Finding your sea legs on Tokyo Bay
It's wretched weather for putting out to sea: gusty winds, cloud banks brooding with rain and water spouts, temperatures a micro-notch above freezing and the waters of Tokyo Bay like wet elephant hide. Nonetheless, at the generous invitation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Port and Harbor, I've come to the Takeshiba Terminal to enjoy a free "minicruise" of the Port of Tokyo on board a 31-meter vessel, the Shin Tokyo Maru. As I slip over the ship's gangplank, I can't help but hum the theme song to "Gilligan's Island," the iconic TV sitcom that all began with the fateful trip of the tiny ship S.S. Minnow.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 21, 2015
Finding thrills on plum blossom hill
February is a tricky month for venturing out in Tokyo. Daylight hours lengthen and the light softens slightly, but the weather itself seems controlled by a sadist at the thermostat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 24, 2015
Monkeying around in Sarugakucho
Sarugakucho — which loosely translates as "monkey fun town" — is a hot spot near Daikanyama Station in Shibuya, Tokyo. As a place to hang out, this area sets the bar pretty high: Its backstreets are a zoo of uber-cute boutiques offering exclusive jeans, aromatic drip coffee made with gourmet beans, wee French restaurants and a smattering of traditional goods such as indigo-dyed clothing and souvenir tenugui (cotton towels). It's all great fun, but please note: the area has been so over-blogged (without permission, or precision, apparently) that many shop owners have posted "No photos" notices in their windows — so ask before you shoot, and don't make a monkey of yourself.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 29, 2014
Appeasing autumn appetites in Nishi-Azabu
All the walking in the world does not, alas, burn off the binge-fests of food and drink that occur at year-end holidays. Anticipating this, I agree to a free trial lesson at a friend's gym, which she claims offers a workout that's fast, effective and comes served on a plate. How bad can that be? I decide to check it out.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Oct 25, 2014
Dead reckoning in the haunts of Honancho
Halloween in Tokyo rarely gets scarier than the price of imported pumpkins, but I've heard that Honancho — a terminal station on the Marunouchi subway line — hosts an uber-spooky obakeyashiki (ghost house). Navigating the station's dank, barely-lit stairwell at Exit 2, I'm already apprehensive.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Sep 27, 2014
Yumenoshima: Tokyo's past trash packed into pleasure
Yumenoshima (literally, "Dream Island") in Tokyo's Koto Ward is aptly named because as in real dreams, the island's narrative encompasses both bucolic and nightmarish elements.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 26, 2014
Much about nothing in Akabane Iwabuchi
The nexus between Tokyo's rainy season and the heat of summer brings beastly humidity. I choose to explore Akabane Iwabuchi, an area in Tokyo's Kita Ward, for the possibility of cool breezes coming off the nearby Arakawa River. But that idea is toast the second I exit the subway; sunlight pulses off the concrete intersection of Kanpachi and Kita Hon Avenues, and leaden air churns in the wake of rattling trucks and cars. Effluent from a corner ramen shop turns gamey before it reaches the sewer and boxy utilitarian low-rise buildings, in every nuance of beige, work like oven walls. I'm instantly wilted.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 28, 2014
Not ducking tradition in Higashi-Ueno
With its lotus-laden Shinobazu pond, park grounds, and national museums, the Ueno area in Tokyo draws millions of visitors a year. Nearby Higashi-Ueno (Eastern Ueno), however, seems to be another world altogether. When I exit Shin-Okachimachi station, under skies portending summer heat, this low-lying area seems half asleep.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 24, 2014
What's blowing in the wind around Ushigome-yanagicho
Wind gusts airborne detritus down toward Ichigaya-yanagicho, an intersection in central Tokyo infamous for having the highest density of carbon monoxide in Tokyo during the 1970s. Researchers at the time linked this poisonous gas to the area's high incidence of lung cancer, and the outcry from citizens helped stimulate stricter automobile emission standards in Japan. Today, thanks to wind, as well as the winds of change, the air seems pretty clear.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Apr 26, 2014
Spring greening in Koganei
It’s time to bask in sunshine, birdsong, and blossom-filled breezes. Koganei Park, situated at the center of the Tokyo metropolis, looks like the ideal spot for such a “spring-gasm.” The JR Chuo express train whisks me from Yotsuya to Musashi-Koganei in less than 30 minutes, and I alight with glee.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 22, 2014
Arisugawa-no-Miya's no mere people's park
Tokyo's weather in February is unpredictable, so when the day I have set aside for exploring features a record-breaking blizzard, I'm not surprised. So, bundled up like Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, I exit Hiroo Station in Minato Ward to find the air feathered with swirling flakes and the streets already hushed by drifts. I might as well be on the moon.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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