author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 12, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Owen Ziegler
Owen Ziegler is an editor at The Japan Times in charge of Lifestyle and Food. For pitches, contact him at [email protected].
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2023
10 in Japan — and 7 in Tokyo — named among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
This year is a slight step backward for Japan's culinary scene, but how long will that dip last?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 25, 2023
High-tech 'sassen' duels are an active otaku's dream
In a world of endless options for virtual entertainment, could this be the perfect marriage of tech and athletics?
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Mar 4, 2023
We hardly played ye: A bittersweet eulogy to E3
Once the Super Bowl of the gaming world, it’s time to remember E3 for what it once was instead of what it now unfortunately has come to be.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 26, 2023
Lamp Bar: Majestic cocktails befitting Japan’s ancient capital
Many visits to Kyoto include a day in Nara, and every trip to Nara should include a stop at Michito Kaneko’s exceptional cocktail bar.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 4, 2023
Hogwarts versus transgender rights, Blizzard versus Beijing
Can you truly separate the art from the artist? For many gamers, Hogwarts Legacy is their first such test.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 29, 2023
Drinking with purpose at Bar Nayuta, a covert Osaka speakeasy
No sign, no menu and a trick room for an entrance — if you can find this bar, you’ve earned every sip.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Dec 31, 2022
Elden Ring's artful cruelty set the bar for gaming in 2022
FromSoftware's ambitious, brutal high fantasy RPG was by far the best game to come out of Japan in the last five years.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 22, 2022
Your guide to watching the World Cup from Tokyo
Tuning into games from Qatar looking more complex than a Messi dribble? Here's how to make sense of all of Tokyo's World Cup watch parties, streaming options and more.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 18, 2022
Michelin awards 200 Tokyo restaurants a total 263 stars for 2023
Between Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, nearly 400 restaurants in Japan proved worthy of at least one illustrious Michelin star.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 13, 2022
The Americans going where no miso has gone before
Eleana Hsu and Kevin Gondo don't just break the rules with their homemade miso and shoyu — they create their own.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 23, 2022
With Hokuriku’s fermented foods, tasting is believing
From sake starter and soy sauce ice cream to fish fermented in a uniquely regional way, these prefectures hold plenty of culinary secrets just begging to be discovered — and devoured.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 15, 2022
‘Undesirable consequences’ may await Japan’s well-meaning tourists
The return to full-scale tourism may be much more of a slog than previously thought — for tourists and Japan alike.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 9, 2022
Just one bar in Japan named to World’s 50 Best Bar list
This year's rankings represent a bit of a decline for Japan's elite cocktail scene.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Oct 1, 2022
Grand Theft Auto suffers a stunning blow as Netflix plots an unlikely rise
Rockstar deals with a massive theft of its own while the streaming giant announces plans for its own internal game studio.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 17, 2022
Here to stay, livestreams can’t help but steal thunder from in-show events
Gaming expos were once premier, marquee events. Now, even game makers themselves seem ready to give up on the idea of breaking news for attendees only.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 15, 2022
Elden Ring takes top honors at the Japan Game Awards
Hidetaka Miyazaki, Elden Ring director and FromSoftware president, took away three prizes by the time the final honoree was named.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 14, 2022
Zelda gets a release date and Yakuza returns to Edo in Nintendo and Sony’s pre-TGS streams
Breath of the Wild 2 is dead. Long live Tears of the Kingdom.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 10, 2022
Is the age-old tea ceremony ready for a cardboard future?
Tradition in sadu014d (Japanese tea ceremony) is a fluid concept, but that doesn't necessarily mean an open-door policy for every innovation like the Chashitsu Zero.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 19, 2022
Four in Japan named to World's 50 Best Restaurants List
Tokyo and Osaka remain Japan's culinary hubs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 2, 2022
Six bars in Japan named to Asia’s Best 50 List
Cheap pints of Super Dry and quick-and-easy highballs not quenching your thirst? These stellar bars will mix you something special.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER