Search - special

 
 
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 20, 2014

All aboard Chiba Prefecture's Lab Train

The easternmost point of the Kanto region in Chiba Prefecture offers panoramic views of the coastline with rugged towering cliffs that resemble those of Dover — one of England's most recognizable landmarks. It's a place that many visit to watch Japan's first winter sunrise.
LIFE / Japan Showcase / AOMORI PREFECTURE
Mar 12, 2014

Freshly grilled squid on a winter train: Taking a ride on the Tsugaru Railroad

A continuous bluster rips snow from the white ground all around us and keeps sending it flying into our faces, as we stand on the platform of Kanagi Station in Goshogawara. It is frigid weather and I am relieved when I finally spot our train emerge out of the bleached hazy distance. Two identical orange...
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2014

The Ukraine balancing act

The crisis in Ukraine appears to be receding and morphing into a balancing act between the interests of Russia and the West, with Crimea set to vote on its future in a referendum.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 8, 2014

Disaster survival tactics and a 3/11 baby; CM of the Week: Daiwa House

This week marks the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. On a practical level, TBS's two-hour special, "Shinsai chokugo: Seishi wo wakeru 72-jikan ni subeki koto" ("Right After the Disaster: 72 Hours Means the Difference Between Life and Death"; Mon., 9 p.m.), offers advice on how to...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2014

Osaka challenges Tokyo with tallest skyscraper

Japan's tallest building will open Friday in Osaka, as Asia's third-biggest metropolitan economy aims to lure tourists and stem businesses from moving to Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO BAR ADVENTURE
Mar 4, 2014

Sober is the new drunk at juice-cocktail bar

In an izakaya or pub in Tokyo, a glass of orange juice can look out of place among a sea of beer mugs. For a nonalcoholic drinker who chooses to avoid pints for whatever reason, going out in Japan can be hard. While beer or wine lovers have a wide variety to choose from, those who can't drink are stuck...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 3, 2014

In Japan, you can leave it all up to the moving company

It's often described as one of the most stressful events of human life — but in Japan moving house is virtually a breeze.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 1, 2014

Women doctors profiled and advances in medical tech revealed; CM of the week: Nissan

It's a big week for physicians on television. First there's the two-hour special "Uman Dokuta, Mitchaku" ("Close Coverage of Women Doctors"; TV Tokyo, Mon., 7:54 p.m.), which reports on the activities of various female doctors working throughout the country. Japan has 300,000 doctors, 20 percent of which...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2014

Smaug the dragon to get fans fired up for 'Hobbit' sequel

The middle film in a trilogy can be a risky venture. The first film? Audiences are introduced to new characters and exciting possibilities. The final film? Hollywood pulls out all the stops to send those characters off with a bang. The middle? Well, directors often save their best tricks for the finale....
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2014

Okinawa assembly probes why Nakaima reversed base stance

A special investigative committee of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly met last week and early this week to determine why Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima reversed his campaign pledge to get U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma moved outside Okinawa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 22, 2014

Arisugawa-no-Miya's no mere people's park

Tokyo's weather in February is unpredictable, so when the day I have set aside for exploring features a record-breaking blizzard, I'm not surprised. So, bundled up like Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, I exit Hiroo Station in Minato Ward to find the air feathered with swirling flakes and the streets...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 22, 2014

Japan takes baby steps toward a proper debate about animal rights

On Jan. 10, convenience store chain Family Mart started selling a new bentō (boxed lunch) with a heavy-duty name to complement its hefty ¥600 price: Famima Premium Koroge Wagyu-iri Hamburger Bento, which "contains" high-quality Japanese ground beef. For an added touch of extravagance, it also came...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Feb 20, 2014

Spa retreat in Hakone, The Oak Door wine cellar, Osaka Restaurants Week

Spa retreat in Hakone From March 1, the Odakyu Hotel de Yama in the resort area of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, will offer an accommodation package featuring a spa treatment to help rejuvenate bodies worn down by the cold weather.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2014

Young K-Ballet School dancers get set for the big time

The splendid news about two Japanese high school students' outstanding achievement swept around the world this month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2014

Vegan metalheads go to the Extreme

A little-known part of the music scene will be celebrated next week at Tokyo's Asakusa Kurawood venue, far from the candy-pop quirk of Harajuku. Obscene Extreme Festival (OEF) promises to be confrontational and dark and — yes, the capital letters are insisted upon — "UNLEASH HELL."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2014

Fukushima kids compose for Philharmonic

The Sony Music Foundation took the opportunity of the New York Philharmonic's current Asia tour to organize a special event on Feb. 11. The concert aimed to provide Japanese youth — some of whom were from Fukushima Prefecture — with first-class live performances by a top-rate orchestra.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2014

Westin feels it's perfectly positioned to pamper, keep ahead of rivals

The Westin Tokyo is currently enjoying brisk sales and expects business to continue to thrive as consumers presently have a propensity to spend money on luxurious food and accommodations, the hotel's general manager said recently.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 17, 2014

Filipino academic community in Japan unites to aid typhoon-hit homeland

Reggy Figer saw the news. A rapidly intensifying typhoon was heading towards his family in Tacloban. Concerned and nearly 3,000 km away in Nagoya, Figer sent a text message to his sister, Aileen Rose Figer-Peru, asking her to go to his parents' home.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Feb 17, 2014

Coastal shipping

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 15, 2014

Culture and nature vie over ancient hinoki

If you're looking for a fine piece of wood, you'd be hard put to improve on a slab of hinoki (Hinoki cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa) from the Kiso Valley straddling Nagano and Gifu prefectures.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2014

Iran's religious war on minority Arab poets

It is a sad time for the world when Iran, birthplace of humanity's more revered writers and intellectuals, decides instead to kill its poets, the latest being the Ahwazi Arab poet Hashem Shaabani on Jan. 27.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 15, 2014

Samuragochi scandal shows that tin-eared classical music fans can be suckers for stories

What makes Mamoru Samuragochi's story interesting is not that he got away with his subterfuge for so long, but that the media, the public and even professional musicians accepted the story as being proof of his value as an artist.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Feb 13, 2014

Japan gets in the mood for love this Valentine's Day

Love is all around at this time of year, but on Valentine's Day in Japan it isn't so evenly distributed. The festival of romance has long suffered from a gender imbalance here: Feb. 14 is traditionally a day for women to give presents to men — not just their partners, but also often fellow students,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 9, 2014

Getting the colors clear when filing taxes in Japan

Filing a tax return isn't easy at the best of times, but doing it in another country can be particularly challenging. Fortunately, if you work for a company and that's your sole source of income in Japan, they will take care of everything for you. However, those who are self-employed or have multiple...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 5, 2014

Tokyo Ballet turns 50 in romantic style

This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Tokyo Ballet, and the company plans to celebrate every step of the way.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 2, 2014

It's never too early to start juken

It's that time of year again, when hundreds of thousands of soon-to-be high school graduates are busy taking university entrance exams for the coming academic year. This activity is commonly known as juken (受験), and usually translated into English as "taking an examination." The translation is somewhat...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 31, 2014

Rampant City set to expose Mourinho's hypocrisy

We are in for a masterclass of offensive football on Monday when Chelsea travel to the Etihad stadium to attack Manchester City. No sitting back or parking the bus, no defensive strategy in the hope of being the first team to win a Premier League point at Fortress Etihad this season. Ambitious Chelsea...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 29, 2014

Once admired from afar, now enjoyed up close

Billed as an exhibition of masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), 'Admired from Afar' is the latest in a number of exhibitions of Japanese art from American collections.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan