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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Oct 24, 2006

Kumiko Taguchi

Kumiko Taguchi, 59, is deputy manager of Junkudo book shop in Ikebukuro in Tokyo, which boasts the largest floor space (nine-stories) of any bookstore in Japan. Before moving to Junkudo in 1997, she worked at another bookselling giant, Libro, located opposite Junkudo. After a long career in the industry...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 11, 2006

Cravin' more of that summer wine

Summers in Japan are associated with boisterous matsuri filled with men in fundoshi sweating under the great weight of omikoshi portable shrines, and colorful yukata-clad girls clip-clopping in their geta en route to see fireworks-filled skies.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2006

Convenience stores go gimmicky to hold appeal

Major convenience store chains, which have seen sluggish sales amid severe competition in a highly saturated market, are trying to diversify in a bid to mine more promising market segments.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2005

Shopping for the little bookworms

It's bedtime and you're keen for the little ones to get off to sleep so you can return to that DVD you left on pause. For their story, you try winging it again with a Japanese picture book, but the version you concoct this time is different to what you told them before. Pointing out that you've got the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Bento pioneers stay the course of time

As the hub of the Gokaido, the five roads radiating from old Edo to major centers around the country, the Nihonbashi district of the capital was long one of its most bustling areas.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2003

Shops go against the grain to sell U.S. rice

U.S. rice farmers have found an unlikely ally in their endeavor to penetrate Japan's heavily protected rice market -- owners of mom-and-pop rice shops who themselves are bearing the brunt of the nation's market-opening reforms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 14, 2003

Take your lover to Hevin and back

What is it about Japan and chocolate and Feb. 14? For the past two weeks and climaxing today, the entire nation -- or at least the female half of it -- has been engulfed in the annual chocomania. And, if anything, this year the Valentine's Day frenzy has reached new heights.
Japan Times
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Feb 8, 2003

Yamaguchi outpost touts relaxed alternative to madding crowd

The fresh air of Yamaguchi Prefecture may be far removed from Tokyo, but stepping inside Oidemase Yamaguchi Kan (Welcome-to-Yamaguchi Building), its outpost in the Nihonbashi business district, can make a visitor feel half-way there.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2002

Food makers find an escape route

Not long ago, instant ramen from a prestigious noodle shop would have been an odd combination.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2001

Discount chains thrive amid Ginza's chic boutiques

With the end of the year just around the corner, Christmas shoppers visiting Tokyo's posh Ginza commercial district may find a new aspect to the area this winter.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 8, 2001

Misako Fedorowicz

SHREWSBURY, England -- This country town of Shropshire in the British Midlands is characterized by its crowding, crooked, black-and-white 16th century houses, clustered within a horseshoe loop of the River Severn. Narrow passages known as shuts link winding streets that keep distinctive names acquired...
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2001

Police officer killed in scuffle with armed man

A police officer attacked by a knife-wielding man Sunday in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward shot and killed his assailant before dying of his wounds.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 19, 2001

Top foreign fashion brands take direct approach

As consumer spending woes continue to weigh on Japan's sluggish economy, foreign apparel makers have expanded their business by taking a more direct approach.
COMMUNITY
Jul 1, 2000

Homage to the morning glory

If asked to name one flower that best symbolizes Tokyo's shitamachi, I would say asagao (morning glory). The energetic vine that shoots up fast, roof high, with simple flowers that fade before noon has always been favored by Edokko, the children of Edo. Looking just right as it cools their modest houses,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2000

Breaking down the doors of Japan's discriminatory press clubs

In May 1993, David Butts, then Tokyo bureau chief of Bloomberg Business News, was fed up. After years of unsuccessful efforts to penetrate Japan's press clubs through polite negotiation, the tall Texan chose a more direct approach. On the day annual company reports were released, Butts, with other foreign...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 1998

Enterprise Spirit: Secondhand-book vendor prices to sell

19th in a series of occasional articles on venture businesses
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Longform
May 15, 2023

Rebuilding a community: Hiroshima after the bomb

In the decades since World War II ended, the city has undergone significant material and demographic changes — yet some still remember the old streets.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 7, 2022

Taiwan’s bomb shelters: ‘A space for life. And a space for death.’

Preparing for war over hundreds of years has left a mark on the island, with its hundreds of bomb shelters. Some are being turned into cultural oases.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 6, 2022

A vibrant refuge in Seoul goes quiet after deadly crowd crush

Makeshift altars pay homage to the victims while the government investigates one of the worst peacetime disasters in the country's history.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 26, 2022

Ojizo Coffee is brewing up a plan to give back to the community

One couple sees ethical cafe culture as being a part of the rehabilitation of those who are afflicted by societal ills.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Jul 31, 2022

Sublime scoops from Tokyo’s top gelato shops

Five gelateria that are guaranteed to leave you thinking about seconds as soon as you finish off your scoop.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2022

Weak currency may be existential threat to iconic ¥100 shops

A weaker yen pushing up the cost of imported goods, spiking energy prices and climbing raw material costs are making it harder for operators to do business.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 11, 2022

Can unlikely friendships kickstart fashion’s lackluster recovery?

Breaking down brand barriers may be the only way forward for Tokyo's couturiers
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 31, 2021

Japanese-style coffee is rooted in the local kissaten, but its reach is global

Brew methods and tools connected with Japan's local coffee shops have held an outsize influence on specialty coffee, permeating third-wave coffee shops and home setups around the world.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 21, 2021

In the new Hong Kong, booksellers walk a fine line

Amid a widening crackdown, many independent bookstores have strengthened their resolve to connect with their readers and crystallized their roles as vibrant community hubs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Jun 7, 2021

Change of direction: Opting for a midlife career change

The pandemic's impact on people's lives has caused many to rethink not only work goals and priorities, but also how work affects their quality of life.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2021

With its economy in free fall, Myanmar braces for the worst

Small businesses are on the front lines of an economy now facing crisis after a group of generals seized power on Feb. 1.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 27, 2021

Top 5: The best vegan dessert spots in Tokyo

These five vegan sweet sensations are sure to satisfy your sugar cravings (and perhaps win over a skeptic or two).

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell