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April 26, 2024
 

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Matthew Holmes
For Matthew Holmes's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 8, 2012
Moving and shaking on Sakurajima
It looked like the kind of comfortably oily rag that makes a mechanic's job easier — the sort you find scrunched up in the corner of a garage soaked with tales of its long career, how it protected all manner of tools from rust, greased jamming gears ... and helped fix Mrs. Jones' "unfixable" carburettor back in '83.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 12, 2012
The "G" is silent, but the night won't be
Let's get one thing out of the way: The first "G" in Gbenga Adelekan's name is silent. Great. The Nigerian-born musician is getting ready to show Japanese fans two sides of his musical persona when he storms Tokyo next week.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 27, 2011
Time to change the way we live
Reeling off our names and nationalities between East Halls 1 and 2 of convention center Tokyo Big Sight, our group introduces itself: "I'm from Thailand," "Vietnam, hi," "We're Taiwanese", "Singapore", "Korea".
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 23, 2011
"Two Hundred Selected Masterpieces from the Palace Museum, Beijing"
The Tokyo National Museum is marking the 40th anniversary of the normalization of relations between Japan and China with a selection of pieces that "define" their permanent home — the Palace Museum, in Beijing.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 23, 2011
Aquarium, park offer festivies
Scuba-diving Santas, parading penguins, luminous balloons and a maze made of lights — the people of Osaka celebrate the festive season with more than the occasional Christmas tree.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 16, 2011
Handsome men to host tea ceremony in the spirit of cultural exchange
That most traditional of Japanese activities is given a new spin this weekend in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 9, 2011
"A Road Traveled by Feudal Lords and Pet Dogs: Hiroshige's Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Primarily from the Hoeido and Reisho Editions"
A popular subject of literature and art during the Edo Period (1603-1867) was the journey along the Tokaido highway between Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto, the most famous depictions of which come from ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). Hiroshige produced more than 20 editions of these works, one of which is known as the Hoeido — 55 oban (26.5×39 cm) full-color prints depicting all 53 stations along the highway.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 9, 2011
Karate, judo tournaments open to public
Ask people what images come to mind when they think of Japanese sports, and they may say martial arts such as karate or judo. Ask them if they've ever been to a championship, and many will say they haven't. There are two great chances to change that this weekend in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2011
Active Child, How To Dress Well find their voices
"It will leave you feeling inspired and loved."
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 2, 2011
Chichibu festival among top three for floats
Japan loves top threes. Since the Edo Period (1603-1867), when it's said Confucian scholar Hayashi Shunsai traveled and wrote his great work "Nihon Sankei" ("Three Views of Japan"), magazines, tourist associations and local governments have captured the public imagination with their own interpretations of gold, silver and bronze.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 1, 2011
The New Mastersounds hone a jazz-funk style at gigs
The New Mastersounds have many old friends in Japan. The British four-piece was first noticed on these shores by fans of Scottish Northern Soul and funk DJ Keb Darge's "Deep Funk" series of compilations in the early 2000s, and an impressive live resume has followed.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 25, 2011
Self-Defense Forces to put on air show in Gifu
Japan's Air Self-Defence Forces are inviting crowds to Gifu for a Sunday stroll to peek inside jet engines and admire their aircraft as they take to the skies for formation flybys and acrobatic displays — earplugs are not included.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 25, 2011
"Noh Masks and Costumes from the Mitsui Collection"
Showing approximately 100 noh masks and costumes drawn from the Mitsui Memorial Museum's collections, this exhibition was curated to present the "profound and subtle beauty" of a uniquely Japanese art form.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 25, 2011
Balloons over Biwa make for beautiful pics
Sleep in and you'll miss it. Pilots are briefed at 6 a.m., and 30 minutes later, propane burners will blast and fabric will unfurl as hot-air-balloon teams soar above Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture this weekend.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 18, 2011
Folksy gig is family friendly
There's a folk-flavored feast for the ears happening this Sunday afternoon, with you — and your kids — invited. Husband-and-wife duo Nature Airliner (comprising Canadian musician Laurier Tiernan and Japanese vocalist Eiko Hosaka) will hold the latest in their "Presents" series at Crawfish, Akasaka, and they hope that a "different kind of live experience" is what you're in to.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 18, 2011
Fukuoka's got talent
A cappella group ALT48 have far fewer members than the teen-idol group from Tokyo, but they do have something extra.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 11, 2011
"Emerging Master 1: Makoto Aida "Be it Art or not Art"
Tokyo Wonder Site begins its "Emerging Master" series with Makoto Aida — the artist who famously goaded Disney lawyers with crazed and sexualized depictions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and who has garnered controversy as much as acclaim. But with his anti-establishment career and a number of challenges to art culture since the 1980s, he certainly fits into the "Master" set.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 10, 2011
Casiokids won't waste a second while in Japan
With saucepans, a bowl, a wine-glass high-hat and some chopsticks to playfully clink them with, a cover version was born. Thinking it "too tricky to work out the chords to a Shiina Ringo song," it was with a cover of Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki" that Norwegian synth-pop four-piece Casiokids introduced themselves ahead of their Japan tour.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 4, 2011
Strengthening ties with Brazil via film
Brazilian films enchant in a way Hollywood or other Asian movies cannot, according to the organizers of this year's Festival Cinema Brazil.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 27, 2011
Artists who'll go bump in the night
If you catch sight of The Invisible Salaryman, or rather his bandages, dark glasses and business suit, as he loops Tokyo by rail on the Yamanote Line this coming Sunday, you may want to follow him to the "abandoned" hospital hosting the latest ArtGig Tokyo.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
'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.
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
For amateur sumo, a fresh start offers hope against time-wasting and gamesmanship
Wrestlers prepare for the start of a bout at the 2023 Sumo World Championships in Tokyo. Starting this month, placing one hand on the clay first is no longer allowed.
LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.

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

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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