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April 28, 2024
 

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J.J. O'Donoghue
For J.J. O'Donoghue's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 25, 2014
Sobakiri Karani: The noodle shop you wouldn't suspect
The only clue that this is a soba shop is from the inscription on the noren curtain, but even that I didn't notice until leaving. That's not to say while passing by you don't slow down and look inside in wonder. I had pegged it as a hipster joint; there was an expensive fixed-wheel bicycle chained up outside. The big shop windows reveal a collection of Japanese art and crafts, a few huge bereft tables. It looks like it might be a gallery, but is undecided. It's a curious sight, but not particularly inviting. Don't be put off. Go in. This is a place to write home about.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Feb 11, 2014
Okudohan: Fresh ingredients would be on the menu if there was one
In the hierarchy of Kyo ryōri, or Kyoto cuisine, obansai is at the bottom. Essentially it is home cooking that has wound its way from the homestead to the restaurant. At Okudohan it remains uncomplicated and comforting — as it should be.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 11, 2014
Greenhouse CoLLabo: A peaceful retreat in Umekoji Park
Umekoji Park, near Kyoto Station, has in recent years been through more makeovers than a beauty queen. The park is already home to the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum and Kyoto Aquarium, and now the builders are working on an enormous playground. Occupying a quiet corner of the park, Greenhouse CoLLabo offers an escape from the crowds and creative disruption.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Jan 21, 2014
Curry the Irish way (it's full of Guinness)
Almost 20 years ago there appeared on The New York Times best-seller list a book titled 'How the Irish Saved Civilization.' To most Irish people this benign feat was not news.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Jan 21, 2014
At Ikkaku, it's fine to ask a chicken its age
Ikkaku is located in a 12-story building with more bars and restaurants than I imagine there are in most towns in West Texas or West Cork. And the building is in Shinsaibashi, which probably has more places to eat and drink than all of Wyoming. This is, after all, Osaka, the city that celebrates over-indulgence with the maxim kuidaore, literally to collapse from overeating.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jan 7, 2014
Harimaya: Remember this one, baby
For lunch at Harimaya I was joined by my son, who was celebrating a birthday, of sorts. Six months. He's a good kid, but let's face it, he's a baby — so a six-course lunch could have been more a pain than a pleasure.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jan 7, 2014
Hagi: Real-deal burgers from 1970
There can be no doubting that Snow White's beauty derived in part from the Seven Dwarfs' lack of it. But what they lacked in looks, they made up for in charm. This is how you should approach Hagi, a cafe of considerable charm and irretrievable beauty. Located beside a storm drain in a drab neighborhood west of Kyoto Station, there is nothing about this oddball cafe to tie it to its neighborhood or even this era. Architecturally it would look more at home in Bavaria; temporally it is dated to circa 1970.
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.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
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.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
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.
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.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the 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.

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

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo
Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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