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July 07, 2025
 

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Owen Ziegler
Owen Ziegler is an editor at The Japan Times in charge of Lifestyle and Food. For pitches, contact him at [email protected].
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The long-awaited gaming console hits shelves Thursday, with booming orders and tariffs making for a complicated debut.
Elden Ring Nightreign sees a developer following up its greatest commercial and critical outing with a game that struggles to find its stride.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 2, 2025
In Elden Ring Nightreign, the FromSoftware formula goes awry
Released on May 31, the studio’s first purely multiplayer effort struggles to grasp what makes its newly chosen genre great.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't your typical Japanese role-playing game, but that hasn't stopped it from being one of the best to come from the genre in years.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 24, 2025
Uh-oh, is the rest of the world making JRPGs better than Japan?
Developed by a French studio, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has pushed the genre forward more than any Japanese-developed title in the past 10 years.
Excitement for Nintendo's next console is high, but a vocal contingent of fans are voicing criticism over the company's pricing strategy.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 5, 2025
‘Drop the price’: Behind the pushback on Nintendo’s Switch 2
Nintendo games have never been cheap, but the company seems to be nickel-and-diming more than ever with its new console.
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 14, 2025
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
From April, the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel will offer guided treks of areas previously inaccessible to the public.
Japan's ancient capital is now home to 16 two-Michelin-starred restaurants, while nearby Osaka claims 11.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2025
Michelin awards stars to 172 restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka
Ten restaurants join the two-starred rank, while Milpa earns Japan’s first-ever star for Mexican cuisine.
Releasing on March 20, Assassin's Creed Shadows excels in atmosphere and open-world gameplay but falls short of narrative expectations.
LIFE / Digital
Mar 19, 2025
Assassin’s Creed Shadows puts samurai style over substance
Ubisoft’s latest game is a gorgeous jaunt through feudal Japan entirely unworthy of the controversy surrounding it.
The bestselling Switch has a confirmed successor, but what little we know about the Switch 2 console so far raises some concerns about its longterm viability in a crowded gaming market.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 6, 2025
Making sense of Nintendo’s tight-lipped Switch 2 reveal
Nintendo will remain mum on details until April, but questions on how its new console fits into the modern gaming landscape abound.
While FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a strong contender for game of the year, Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game made by a Chinese developer, offers some stiff competition.
LIFE / Digital / 2024 in Review
Dec 6, 2024
It’s Japan versus China for 2024’s game of the year
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Black Myth: Wukong both have a claim to the best game of 2024, a year marked by cultural scandals and lawsuits.
Best known as the home of Kuon Temple, Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a charming day trip from Tokyo with the potential for cultural verisimilitude.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2024
In rugged Yamanashi, a wild-goose chase for ‘real Japan’
Japan’s countryside certainly offers a different experience than its cities, but whether that makes it categorically superior is up for debate.
El Lequio is a unique watering hole on Naha's main Kokusai-dori street — which works both to its benefit and detriment.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 10, 2024
Is Okinawa ready for a bar like El Lequio?
The bar describes its vibe as “Nikkei Latino” (the name comes from the moniker given to Okinawa by Age of Exploration sailors from Spain), and it’s pleasantly disarming.
Ryoma Takeuchi (right) is perfectly cast as Kazuma Kiryu, a Jack Reacher-esque character of impermeable physicality in Amazon Prime’s new series “Like a Dragon: Yakuza.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Oct 25, 2024
Amazon’s ‘Like a Dragon: Yakuza’ pulls its biggest punch
Amazon’s new series based on the long-running Ryu Ga Gotoku games flattens the quirkiest elements of the Kamurocho red-light district for a run-of-the-mill crime drama.
Black Myth: Wukong has sold over 10 million copies in less than a week — by far the best launch of a Chinese-developed single-player game in history.
LIFE / Digital
Aug 27, 2024
With Black Myth: Wukong, China is now a force to reckon with in AAA games
Can China’s first AAA gaming hit bear the weight of the cultural baggage it’s being burdened with?
Located in Yokohama's chic Minato Mirai neighborhood, the Kahala Hotel & Resort opened in 2020 but still has the feeling of a newly launched accommodation.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 13, 2024
The paradox of a five-star Hawaiian-themed hotel in Yokohama
What manner of overseas tourist would come all the way to Japan just to stay at a Hawaiian-themed hotel?
Ryoma Takeuchi (right) will star as the protagonist in an upcoming adaptation of the Like a Dragon game franchise directed by Masaharu Take (left).
LIFE / Digital
Jun 6, 2024
When will a Japan-made game have a breakout TV adaptation?
There are far too many gems in the Japanese gaming world for there not to be even one capable of translating to success as a TV series.
Yasuke, a historical Black samurai, will star in the newly announced Assassin's Creed Shadows — a choice that has riled some critics online.
LIFE / Digital
May 25, 2024
Gaming's latest culture war targets Yasuke, Japan's Black samurai
For a vocal minority of gamers, a Black protagonist of a game set in feudal Japan was a call to war.
Mikuni Minato is not a town that has recently fallen on hard times — it's been that way for a century.
LIFE / Travel
May 7, 2024
48 hours in Mikuni Minato, Japan’s port town that time forgot
A trip to Mikuni Minato may not appeal to the average tourist, but well-traveled residents will find it fascinating.
The Iconic Suite's bedroom features recessed lighting and corner windows with sweeping views of the Nagoya metropolis.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 2, 2024
Nagoya’s newest luxury hotel is full of hits and one big miss
The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Nagoya feels ready to deliver top-quality stays — but only if your budget can handle it.
In the quest for immortality, some researchers believe mind uploading will be our ticket to an eternal existence.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2024
Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld
As scientists and technologists attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality.
Has runaway hit Palworld gotten itself into hot water with The Pokemon Company?
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2024
The Pokemon Company to Palworld: ‘We intend to investigate’
“We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokemon intellectual property or assets in that game,” The Pokemon Company said in a statement.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
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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