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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
Sep 19, 2008
Daimyos and deluge around the Kanda River
Most major stretches of greenery in Tokyo are tax-trimmed remainders of massive estates once owned by Edo Period (1603-1867) feudal lords, or daimyo. So, in the wake of this summer's torrential rain and dodging some early autumn typhoons, I set out to find a daimyo domain or two.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Aug 15, 2008
Good cool hunting in Edogawa
In Tokyo, when the going gets hot, the cool go to Hawaii, or flee to mountain resorts. Others plunk down their yen for a dip in a hotel or amusement-park pool. The rest of us steam in the stupefying humidity and hope our flip-flops don't fuse to the tarmac. Surely there's some inexpensive, convenient, and not-ridiculously-crowded relief available?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 18, 2008
I ain't afraid of those ghosts
There are lots of yureizaka (phantom slopes) in Tokyo, and at least seven of them have been spooking lily-livered pedestrians since the Edo Period (1603-1867). The slope I head for, in broad daylight, slants through the somnolent graveyards of old temples from the early 1600s. It's a beastly summer day, so I'm hoping for some chills.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 20, 2008
Sake and sculptures in an Aoyama backstreet
Tokyo's backstreets can be dank or swank, but on the whole, they're safe. The biggest risk lies in the lure of diversion. Wander off the beaten path on your way to buy eggs or mail a letter, and you'll get sucked in by bizarre Lilliputian entrepreneurships, copper-clad fronts of prewar wooden shacks, or a huge ball of cedar twigs. The eggs? What eggs?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Feb 1, 2008
Harboring dreams
Second of two parts
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Jan 4, 2008
Where ambitions have long soared
First of two parts
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Dec 7, 2007
Winging it in Ota Ward
Ota Ward is totally fly. For starters, it hosts Haneda, the only airport actually situated in Tokyo's 23 wards. Although a plane would come in handy in navigating this southernmost and largest of the city's wards, you'd miss out on roasting wieners at Ota's weekend barbecue hot spot, Jonanjima Seaside Park.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Nov 2, 2007
Well-heeled in Chuo Ward
From the opulence of world-renown Ginza emporiums, to the glittering scales on the fish auctioned from slick palettes in Tsukiji market, Chuo Ward wheels and deals precious commodities.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Oct 5, 2007
All at sea in Shinagawa
In Edo Period Shinagawa, popular footwear included geta (traditional wooden sandals) perched on meter-high, box-frame stilts weighted down with large stones. A fashionista freakout? Not exactly. Turns out these uberplatforms, a pair of which are on display at the Shinagawa Historical Museum, were designed to keep feet high and dry while collecting nori (seaweed).
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Sep 7, 2007
Booking uphill in Bunkyo
Walkers in Bunkyo Ward won't get far before their legs let them know the place has hills — lots of them. A Bunkyo Civic Center official concurs: "We've named 113 slopes, but there are even more."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Aug 3, 2007
Home to the outsider
Western Taito Ward is a paradise for nonconformists who stray off the beaten track. Throughout the incense-scented alleys of Yanaka, and across the parklands of Ueno, it's hard to miss the area's preponderance of "strays"; tourists, artists and the homeless who, with a surprising number of cats, all wander this quintessentially shitamachi (downtown) neighborhood.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Jul 6, 2007
A very red-light district
You won't find many red lights larger than the enormous paper lantern at Taito Ward's Sensoji, or Asakusa Kannon Temple.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Jun 1, 2007
To infinity and beyond
At the southern end of Edogawa Ward, Kasai Rinkai Koen Seaside Park dips its toes in the Pacific Ocean. From there, it's possible to see Tokyo Disney Resort across the water in Urayasu.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
May 4, 2007
The sun shines in spiritland
Toshima Ward is rife with zombies and familiar spirits. In the wee hours near the stationopolis of Ikebukuro, pale-faced university students, partied-out salarymen and a host of others wander the streets until the first trains arrive. These are Toshima's innocuous shades; there are others more spine tingling.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Apr 6, 2007
Where mod confronts odd
Several decades ago, commuters riding the Mekama Line into Meguro Station were tagged country bumpkins. Today, developers pack the ward with suburban homes as fast as they can pour cement. Old dwellings with gardens give way to duplexes with flowerpots, and chic furniture stores now clog Meguro Avenue to satiate design-hungry homemakers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Mar 2, 2007
Shinjuku's split personality
In Shinjuku, the first challenge is getting out of the station. Said to be the world's busiest; traversed by approximately 3 million commuters a day, Shinjuku has been a Japan Railways stop since 1885. The Chuo, Keio and Odakyu train lines as well as subway stops joined later, and the depot morphed into a dizzying, multileveled warren of platforms, shops and restaurants.
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Feb 2, 2007
Cabbages and kings
Those who live and work in Itabashi are hesitant when it comes to tallying up the highlights of this northwestern Tokyo ward. "There's really nothing remarkable here," says ballerina and homemaker Chieko Muraoka, 37. "It's quiet and small-scale, but we like it that way."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Jan 5, 2007
Chiyoda's good circulation
Many consider Chiyoda the heart of Tokyo, and no wonder. The ward pumps lifeblood in and out with circadian regularity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Dec 1, 2006
Katsushika a cut above all your expectations
Many of Tokyo's award-winning swordsmiths choose to live in Ka-tsushika. Why? "Land has always been cheap here," said Shoji Yoshihara, 61, designated an Important Living Cultural Property of the ward and deputy head of All Japan Swordsmiths Association. "The process of making swords is noisy and smoky, so you need as much space as you can afford," he added.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Nov 3, 2006
A wave to Setagaya
Home to approximately one tenth of the total citizenry of all of Tokyo's 23 wards, Setagaya houses 800,000 people, the same figure as the population for the entire island of Oahu, Hawaii. At both places, people seem to have come in waves.
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.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

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