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CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jan 19, 2010

8-bit sound goes above ground

For some, 'retro' is the clang and twang of electric guitars; for others, it's the primitive chirp of a computer chip: that crazy 8-bit sound.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 17, 2010

Seeking exactitude can sometimes exact a high cultural price

I freely admit a prejudice. It is against the concept of "national character," or kokuminsei in Japanese. Is there really such a thing or is it merely a jumble of stereotypes, whichever is the country or culture in question?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 17, 2010

Okinawa on a plate

"Everywhere in this house and its stone walls you can find the wisdom of our ancestors and how they lived," says Masako Kinjo, as she gazes around Makabe Chinaa, a 110-year-old traditional wooden home in Itoman City in the south of Okinawa Island.
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2010

Not in the mood for fiction spreads

The Jan. 10 edition of The Japan Times asks readers if they are "Feeling like fiction?" Personally, no. More than a full page of fiction subtracts from space that could have been devoted to news, features or photos of Japan — the reason I subscribe to the paper version of the paper. One assumes the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 8, 2010

' Bandage'

Shunji Iwai was once Japan's hottest young director following the smash success of "Love Letter," a 1995 film about a woman who writes a letter to her dead lover — and gets a reply.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 8, 2010

Japan's festivals all at once

While winter is an off-season for traditional Japanese festivals, Tokyo Dome will be alive with matsuri madness from Jan. 8-11.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 8, 2010

Aosando market set to cater to shoppers, features German electronic-music band

Hidden in between Aoyama Street and Omotesando, there is a back alley called Aosando that connects the Aoyama and Omotesando districts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2010

Aesthetics of paring down to the outline

In the distant past, the ratio of manufactured goods to people was extremely low, so the tendency was for such products to be highly decorated and embellished. Since then the ratio has altered considerably in favor of the material objects. Now, most of us are inundated with a multitude of gadgets, gizmos,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 8, 2010

Matsubara-an makes soba a fresh tradition

From the very first sip of aromatic otoso sake and steaming-hot ozoni soup, we always love the time-honored ritual and ceremony of New Year's in Japan. But even more than that, we like it when the hallowed traditions are brought up to date and placed in a contemporary context. That's the way they do...
JAPAN / Media
Jan 3, 2010

'Avatar'mastermind Cameron reveals opinions on alien species

LOS ANGELES — James Cameron offers what may be the most exotic planet full of aliens ever put on film in his sci-fi epic "Avatar."
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 30, 2009

Need to know those buzzwords to follow Japan's big hit products

Of all the jobs I've held in Japan, by far the most challenging was the four years I spent during the baburu keizai (バブル経済, bubble economy) as a trend watcher for a market-research company.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 27, 2009

Hatoyama and sex changes? Time for our media awards

Media person of the year: Noriko Sakai
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Dec 27, 2009

Fun and funky Fukagawa

After so many yearend parties and as the weather grows wintry in Tokyo, it might seem like madness to go for a walk, but a stroll east of the Sumida River, in Fukagawa, is an ideal way to clear the head. The area offers expansive parks of lingering colored leaves, magnificent art shows and, in some back...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 25, 2009

A New Year's gift from Nikko Tokyo

Hotel Nikko Tokyo's six restaurants are offering special-price "Otoshidama Lunch" courses from Jan. 6 until Jan. 31.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2009

Cuts fear clouds a year of diversity and innovation in Japan theater

Following the landmark change of government in August, meetings of its Budget Screening Committee have for the first time been opened to the public. Sadly, though, when that committee got round to arts financing in November, many members harshly criticized the amount awarded to the public theater sector....
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 25, 2009

New Year's concerts held across Japan

If nightclubs aren't your thing, but you still want to hear live music over the New Year's holidays, classical music concerts might be just the ticket.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 25, 2009

'Old Partner'

"Old Partner" (Released in Japan as "Ushino Suzuoto") is one extraordinary film, breaking several laws of gravity, logic and marketing while being entirely unselfconscious about it. A South Korean documentary that features the three principles of an old, old man, an old, old ox and the old man's slightly...
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 25, 2009

A New Year's gift from Nikko Tokyo

Hotel Nikko Tokyo's six restaurants are offering special-price "Otoshidama Lunch" courses from Jan. 6 until Jan. 31.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 23, 2009

Audio-Technica helps block sound; Panasonic watches the door

Quiet please: Audio-Technica has come out with a pair of lightweight, folding headphones featuring noise-canceling technology. The company claims its newly released ATH-ANC1 QuietPoint can cut out background noise by 85 percent when its noise-canceling abilities are enacted. The extraneous-noise killer...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Dec 16, 2009

New kanji are mighty compound-word builders

Joyo (general-use) kanji, which currently number 1,945, are the characters officially approved by the Japanese government for use in newspapers and government publications. Japanese schoolchildren study these during their nine years of compulsory education, and non-Japanese speakers must do battle with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Dec 16, 2009

Hot on grandma's trail in Hokkaido

If you're looking for your grandmother in the farming suburb of Iwamizawa, an hour northeast of Sapporo, your best bet may be to phone the municipal call center.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 13, 2009

The colorful lure of carp in Japan

Two milestones were achieved at this year's All-Japan Show for Nishikigoi, or ornamental carp, which was held last month in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 11, 2009

And the best Japanese films of 2009 were . . .

1. "Fish Story":
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 11, 2009

Countdown with salsa, champagne

The Hilton Tokyo will host two countdown parties on New Year's Eve to welcome in 2010: the Salsa Countdown Party and the Champagne Countdown Party.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 8, 2009

Ichihashi trial key test of legal reforms

In March 2007, the Japanese police came under intense scrutiny at home and abroad after Tatsuya Ichihashi escaped barefoot from under the noses of a group of officers at his apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. The body of British Nova teacher Lindsay Hawker was found shortly after partially buried...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 8, 2009

Ichihashi trial key test of legal reforms

In March 2007, the Japanese police came under intense scrutiny at home and abroad after Tatsuya Ichihashi escaped barefoot from under the noses of a group of officers at his apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. The body of British Nova teacher Lindsay Hawker was found shortly after partially buried...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 6, 2009

Painting Tokyo red and gold

In times past, some Native Americans believed the autumn colors were made when the Great Hunter finally shot the Bear, whose blood spilled across the landscape in the form of red leaves.

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