Lifestyle

Incense workshops can be a sweet-smelling way to teach kids about a traditional craft of Japan

Myriad spiritual and high-tech options are available to help owners find their missing animals, but human trackers are still the best bet.

Hideki Nakahara, 66, is a retired Japan Airlines employee with years of experience in human resources. He graduated from Kyoto University with a degree in educational sociology. He is a great listener who can offer advice on everything from life and relationships to careers. He is married ...

Ding Dong and Fun Fun, a pair of 12-year-old Yorkshire terriers, know how to enjoy the high life — literally. The pampered pets and their owner, Zoe Man, 43, flew on a private plane from Hong Kong to Japan for a five-day holiday. The terriers ...

A year ago, J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu released a song with lyrics and a promotional video that were as saccharine as a chocolate bunny. The song was titled "Easta" — a play on Easter and "a good start" in Japanese — and the ...

At last, winter's grip is loosening and spring in Japan is on its way. Soon cherry blossoms will explode across the archipelago, and parks around the country will be full of smiles and picnic tarps. That's right: it's hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) season again — ...

When Ryo Yamazaki picked up a chunk of one of his cat's shed fur and fashioned it on top of his Scottish fold's head in a Trump-esque quiff, he did it for a laugh. Little did he know that the photo he took and posted ...

Nurturing respect for cultural traditions is a daunting challenge these days, when kids are glued to cellphones and game apps. So what does a country with centuries of carefully polished artistry do to preserve its heritage? Drop a curtain on the whole show? Not ...

"Mummy, where does paper come from?" This was a question recently asked by my young daughter that was easier to answer than her usual string of whats and whys ("Do insects cry?" and "Why were we born?" among them). On this occasion, I was not ...

Nagaya have been disappearing from downtown Tokyo for many decades, with row upon row of these "long houses" torn down to make way for more comfortable — and profitable — residential complexes and office blocks. However, it's still possible to find examples of nagaya from ...

A group of surly guards inspect a line of inmates on death row standing in front of a prison. One by one, the inmates are led inside and locked inside their cells as they await their execution. "You better not try to escape," the warden growls ...

The Meteorological Agency issued its first heavy snow advisory in four years for all 23 wards of Tokyo on Jan. 22, sending social media sites into overdrive. Japan Times columnist @jakeadelstein was among many Twitter users warning people to exercise caution as the snow started ...