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July 07, 2025
 

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Hiroko Kimura
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 29, 2017
Tokyo's hotel bars a cut above when it comes to lunch
Some bars, it turns out, have split personalities. In the evening they are a place to relax with a drink and chat with friends. But a few transform in the day, taking on new atmospheres and giving entirely different impressions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 27, 2017
The British tradition of afternoon tea is alive and evolving in Japan
Although afternoon tea is a British tradition, Japan, too, offers an opportunity to enjoy tea time with all the luxurious trimmings.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 25, 2017
Hakone: a paradise for the 'onsen' aficionado
Those seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of Japan's big cities will find what they are looking for in a hot-spring paradise hidden deep in a forest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 7, 2017
Tokyo hotels luring guests with traditional approach
When Tokyo first hosted the summer Olympic Games in 1964, many Western-style hotels opened one after another to accommodate the increasing number of foreign visitors. Now that the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo is in sight, hoteliers have started to offer Japanese-style accommodation and hospitality for those...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 23, 2016
Tokyo hotels invite guests to live in the lap of luxury
Two domestic hotel operators are shaking up competition in Tokyo's luxury accommodation market by attempting to make their new properties more inviting for inbound visitors.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 25, 2016
Indulging Hawaiian culture, cuisine in Japan
Boasting beautiful beaches and endless sunsets, Hawaii has long been a popular holiday destination for tourists from Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 25, 2016
Tokyo hotels turn pink for 'hanami' season
The cherry trees are beginning to bloom across Japan, and it is time to prepare for hanami (cherry-blossom viewing), which has been an annual custom since the Heian Period (794-1185).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 6, 2014
The sakura front sweeps across Japan
Spring — the season of sakura (桜, cherry blossoms) — has finally arrived and the entire country has been transformed into a fairyland tinted pale pink.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 18, 2005
Hakone museum displays the true genius of Lalique's glasswork
An inspirational new attraction is coming to Hakone, the highland resort in Kanagawa Prefecture renowned as a stomping ground for the rich and famous. In addition to its luxury hotels and ryokan, the curative powers of its spa water and astoundingly beautiful scenery, Hakone will soon offer another attraction...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 18, 2005
Pristine paradise an hour from Tokyo
Thanks to the newly opened Noto International Airport, Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture is now just a one-hour flight from Tokyo, making one of the Hokuriku region's most popular tourist spots -- famed for its hot springs, local festivals, beaches and mountain scenery -- far more accessible.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 5, 2004
Hitting the spectacular views and open-air baths Hakone
Autumn is probably the best season for travel, with the weather turning cooler but not too cold, and leaves imbuing the landscape with a rich kaleidoscope of color. Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture is one of the best places to admire the autumn hues. And there is still time to enjoy the late autumn colors...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 15, 2004
Here's to the mother of all matsuri
Although Japan has a wealth of interesting festivals celebrated up and down the archipelago, taking in only a few requires considerable planning, effort and money.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 20, 2004
On the path of poets
Utter silence, Piercing the stone walls, The cicada's cry
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 30, 2004
How green is my Happy Valley
While Tokyo is unbearably hot and humid in the heat of the summer, in Karuizawa verdant grass and moss carpet the floors of forests and the mountain air is perfumed with the scent of larch leaves and wild flowers. The area is a little over a one-hour train ride from Tokyo, enabling visitors to quickly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 2, 2004
Getting to the top in Japan
There is a Japanese proverb that says only a fool has never climbed Mount Fuji -- or has climbed it twice.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 19, 2004
Blossom, blossom, briefly everywhere
Yes, the sakura has for ages been the favorite of our people and the emblem of our character. . . . But, its nativity is not its sole claim to our affection. The refinement and grace of its beauty appeal to our aesthetic sense as no other flower can. Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933), from "Bushido" (1900) ...
Japan Times
Features
Feb 29, 2004
Creature comforts fuel business boom
The growing popularity in Japan of dogs as pets has turned its pet industry into a lucrative market in which suppliers and sellers are eagerly competing to offer products and services from the pet's cradle to its grave.
Japan Times
Features
Feb 29, 2004
Pooch paradise
A dog's life in Japan can be about as close to canine heaven on earth as it gets.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 9, 2004
The great treasure hunt
A few months ago there was a news story about a painting bought at a flea market in France for around 200,000 yen that turned out to be by Vincent van Gogh and worth upward of 300 million yen.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 9, 2003
Topping off your tipple
As wine has become more popular in Japan, an increasing number of related goods have appeared on the shelves of the nation's shops.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Elon Musk says he has created a new U.S. political party
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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

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