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LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 19, 2010

Visit Nara again, stay for half-price

Nara Prefecture is attracting many visitors this year, as a range of events celebrate the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of Heijo-kyo as Japan's ancient capital.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2010

Rethinking traditional urushi lacquerware

London, it appears, is a good place to learn about both past and present Japan. Last year, as Britain celebrated 150 years of cultural exchange with Japan, it hosted a number of major shows, including a large-scale matsuri (festival) in Spitalfields Market, a comprehensive exhibition of Utagawa Kuniyoshi...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2010

Van Gogh: Sanity behind madness

In recent years there has been a sea change in the official cult surrounding the Post-Impressionist Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). For the masses he is still the archetypal "crazy artist": razor blade in one hand, severed ear in the other, and a lovely picture of sunflowers on the easel...
Japan Times
JAPAN / LIVING IN LUXURY
Nov 19, 2010

Kiun-kaku, a touch of elegance in Atami

About 40 minutes from Tokyo by bullet train, the city of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, has long been a popular hot spa spot, attracting some 3 million visitors a year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 19, 2010

Kankyo Shuten: Crab with wine in Ningbo style

This is the golden season, the time for feasting and thanksgiving. Here in Japan, we celebrate the rice harvest, persimmons and pumpkins, mikan mandarins and matsutake mushrooms. Over in Shanghai, though, the autumn delicacy par excellence is freshwater crab.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 17, 2010

Possibilities are endless as Japan's manga fans turn cell phones into libraries

In a development indicative of the growth of Japan's digital publishing industry, key player Celsys Inc. was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's second section on Nov. 4. This is in addition to being listed on startup market Centrex.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 13, 2010

Aichi barber finally cuts his way to the top

Toshihiko Katagiri, 31, a hairdresser at Basic Hair Katagiri in Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture, won the "classical cut and fashion" category at the national hairdressing championship in October, earning a Prime Minister's Award.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 12, 2010

Tokyo hotels serve turkey buffets

The two Royal Park hotels in Tokyo are each running an American Turkey Fair through Dec. 17 in collaboration with the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council and the United Soybean Board.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 12, 2010

Parity keeps things interesting early in the season

A few trends have emerged in the season's opening month.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2010

Indie breakout, 'kimchibilly' rockers bring Seoul to Japan

While K-pop continues to gain greater recognition worldwide, South Korea's prolific, small underground-music scene is still struggling to find audiences outside of Seoul.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2010

Preaching to the converted

Nicky Wire is reminiscing. For the self-professed "nerdy historian" of Manic Street Preachers, the wistfulness is not misplaced. New album "Postcards From a Young Man" is Manic Street Preachers' 10th: a landmark under any criterion, but Wire is keen to accentuate what a milestone it is for a group of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2010

Kojoe and Raye 6

In a city filled to the brim with music festivals of various shapes and sizes all year round, there's nevertheless something uniquely intriguing about Yume Fest, which takes place this Saturday in Tokyo's Harajuku district. The festival is keen to stress its grassroots origins, reflected in its refreshingly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
Nov 11, 2010

New inroads for Louboutin, Rag & Bone, Nike-Undercover, K-Swiss

Louboutin digs his signature heels into flagship Ginza space Christian Louboutin, arguably the most famous shoe designer in the world, was in Tokyo early this month to christen the opening of his very first free-standing boutique in Tokyo and Japan. The space is a three-story building that fits snugly...
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2010

Hotels find profit in catering to families

One autumn afternoon in Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, a group of children and their parents were driving to a field to pick fresh vegetables for pizzas they planned to make there.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 7, 2010

A Kyushu tale of two cities in one

Fukuoka, the biggest city in Kyushu and a key gateway linking Japan to the rest of Asia, has the air of a modern metropolis. But the city is also rich in traditional culture and its residents' long-standing hospitality toward visitors is well known.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 6, 2010

Town growing, serving up cactus

The city of Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan's largest producer of cactus grown from seed, is promoting a full-fledged campaign to get people to eat prickly pear.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 5, 2010

Blackwell making smooth transition to management

Ryan Blackwell has successfully guided the Osaka Evessa during his first month as the team's new head coach.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 5, 2010

'Genpin'/'Umareru (To Be Born)'

The pain of childbirth, Genesis says, is God's punishment for the original sin of womankind — if only Eve hadn't given Adam that apple! But in Japan, traditionalists contend, it's to be embraced, not lamented, since the deeper the agony, the deeper the motherly love. So hold the epidurals, please,...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 5, 2010

Canadian director examines 'home' from an expat view

Though best known as a director of Quebec-based circus Cirque du Soleil, 52-year-old Robert Lepage is also one of Canada's most distinguished dramatists.
BUSINESS
Nov 5, 2010

Softbank lets 3-D steal iPhone show

Softbank Corp. unveiled a winter-spring handset collection Thursday featuring a wider lineup of non-Apple smart phones, including models that allow three-dimensional images to be viewed without special glasses.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 3, 2010

Video games burst through borders with collaborations between companies

At a press conference last month, Fukuoka-based game studio Level-5 dropped an unexpected bombshell. Its upcoming "Professor Layton" puzzle game would have a very different feature from its previous games: the appearance of Capcom's lawyer sleuth, Phoenix Wright. Fans of the series were reeling.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 2, 2010

Toilets: Japan power behind throne

Japan, the state-of-the-art high-tech powerhouse that gave the world manga and sushi, has also achieved prowess in a more fundamental feature of daily life: the toilet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Oct 30, 2010

Flour millers cooking up 'kishimen' revival

A flour miller association in the Chubu region is promoting a plan to market overseas "kishimen," a flat noodle that is a specialty of Nagoya.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 29, 2010

'All God's Children Can Dance'

Someone I knew in college said that the success of Haruki Murakami's fiction lay in the fact that everyone in his stories got laid. Someone else said the only Japanese to have love and sex on a regular basis were Murakami's characters. As for my friend Greg, he came to Japan after reading his fill of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 29, 2010

Real Estate and Woods

Real Estate and Woods are two of the most exciting prospects to come out of the United States recently, and if tapes were sold on indie-cred alone they would no doubt be permanent fixtures on the top-sellers lists. Both bands have been awarded the "Best New Music" seal of approval by indie tastemakers...
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2010

Asia needs to make wiser use of its water

SINGAPORE — Photographed from satellites in space, Asia and the other great continents are a spectacular sight. One of the most unique features of the panoramic view is water, in both liquid and frozen forms, which covers about 75 percent of Earth's surface.

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40