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BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2020

Good time for a 'workation' but is Japan Inc. ready?

Are the nation's employers ready to let workers telecommute from hotels, resorts and other destinations where they can escape the mundane reality of life?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 10, 2015

Surviving flamboyantly in a super-aged society

The older you get, the more you need to live in the city. Simone de Beauvoir once said that to her biographer, and it's probably true. As an iconic presence on the streets of Paris until her death in 1986, de Beauvoir showed that city living was one of the secrets to aging well and living life to the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 20, 2004

Designs for life

Whether you regard Sir Terence Conran as an ambitious visionary or a restless control freak, the fact is that this 73-year-old English designer and "lifestyle guru" stays forever busy. He designs chairs, sofas and vases; restaurants, bars and cafes; apartment rooms and hotels. He consults, he lectures...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 18, 2023

Meet the YouTubers and streamers revamping Japan’s online culinary scene

A new crop of post-pandemic channels and streams are being helmed by innovative creators hoping to offer a fresh take on the country’s culinary content.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 5, 2021

'First Person Singular' marks Haruki Murakami's welcome return to his signature style

The writer's new collection of eight short stories is a return to form, with first-person narratives full of cheek and playfulness.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 3, 2011

Japan's 'La Gaijine'

On Francoise Morechand's living room table there sits a book once owned by a samurai in the Edo Period (1603-1867) that she says she has been studying.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / THE WRITERS' SPIN
Jan 23, 2002

Consultant wary of 'U.S.-style' info, mutual funds

Hajime Yamazaki must be an enemy of mutual fund companies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2002

Of life's mystery and joy

He lived through the best and worst of times. His life spanned a century of tremendous change, as Japan's focus shifted from rural to industrial, from East to West, from peace to war. He experienced poverty and success, respect and recrimination. He was Taikan Yokoyama (1868-1958), one of Japan's most...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2018

A prologue to work-style reforms

Japan needs to overhaul its labor market to make the most of its shrinking workforce.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 4, 2015

Female chefs give sushi a new lease on life

A chef dressed in white stands behind the immaculate counter of a sushi restaurant with a vast array of raw seafood spread out in front of her. It sounds like a typical scene you might find at any sushi restaurant in Japan ... except in this case the chef is female.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 20, 2012

Tokyo Girls' Style to perform first solo gig at legendary Budokan, but first — homework

The members of Tokyo Girls' Style have a lot to juggle in the next couple of months. This Saturday, the five-member pop group will perform a solo show at Japan's storied Budokan arena — a huge milestone for any musical outfit here. About a month later, their third album "Yakusoku" ("Promise") will...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 6, 2011

Tadao Sato: 'Japan's single finest film critic'

Tadao Sato laughed an embarrassed laugh as he recalled that three years ago, in London, he had been referred to as a "legend." Though adding to his discomfort, I had to admit that in my university days I had thought of him in the same way. And I still do.
As they enter the workforce, the young employees who grew up texting one another have their own rules for communicating.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 2, 2024

Fear of a full stop? Young Japanese say drop the period in your texts.

In addition to "maruhara," or "period harassment," younger employees want to cut down on the unnecessary emails that are a part of work culture.
The "style architect" for Jay-Z since 1994, June Ambrose sees influences of her work across the Japanese fashion landscape.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 1, 2024

June Ambrose: ‘Cultural appropriation is the best form of flattery’

Ambrose has been Jay-Z’s designated “style architect” since the billionaire started Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1994.
Yuta Orisaka strips things back on his latest album, “Jumon,” though it still features a few explosive moments.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2024

Yuta Orisaka's folk style is far more than a throwback

The singer-songwriter wanted to make songs his grandmother could enjoy, but that doesn't mean he'll skimp on the electronic touches.
Waight Keller, who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, finds a different kind of luxury at a mass market brand.
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 22, 2024

A designer moves easily from royal gowns to Uniqlo

Clare Waight Keller, who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, finds a different kind of luxury at a mass market brand.
Emmanuelle Moureaux in her office, which looks like a museum, at emmanuelle moureaux INC.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 31, 2025

How Tokyo taught a French architect the power of colors

French-born architect Emmanuelle Moureaux took inspiration from Tokyo's vibrancy to create her "100 colors" series.
A screenshot of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Ghibli-style profile picture on X
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2025

Copyright questions loom as ChatGPT's Ghibli-style images go viral

The images raised questions about copyright infringement by OpenAI, which already faces lawsuits regarding the use of source material without permission.
Hokkaido's famous lamb is turned into a ragout or French-style stew and used as a pizza topping at Savoy Ezo.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 26, 2025

Savoy, Tokyo’s top pizzeria, fires up in Sapporo

The chain of pizza restaurants has opened its first branch in Hokkaido, offering locals a taste of its famous crisp and airy pizzas.
A field study by elementary school students takes place in the Izawa River basin in Shiso, Hyogo Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 24, 2023

Unveiling Shiso, a hidden gem of nature and coexistence

With 90% of its area covered by forest, the Hyogo city boasts picturesque streams and a bounty of access points to refreshing natural spring water.
After stints working in New Zealand and Germany, Yoshitada Katsuki opened his winery in his home prefecture of Miyazaki in order to work with grapes his own way.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2024

Despite ‘inhospitable’ Miyazaki, Katsuki Wines stays au naturel

For pest control, Yoshitada Katsuki applies to vines a solution of vinegar, sugar and local shōchū that he jokes “lets bugs get drunk before dying.”
Ryosuke Kunisawa hopes his "concept brewpub" serves as a focal point to an image change for the salaryman epicenter that is the Shimbashi neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2024

Craft beer, craftsmanship and a family of reinvention

On the first two floors of his family’s slender eight-story building, Kunisawa launched the Kunisawa Brewing Company, Shimbashi's first beer brewery, in May 2022.
Japan has a long history of parasol use, and there's no time like the present to see if they can help you get a bit of heat relief.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Jul 6, 2024

Parasols are an age-old solution to today’s crippling heat

By Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1868), bamboo and waterproofed paper ‘kasa’ (umbrellas) and ‘higasa’ (parasols) were everyday tools and props in kabuki plays.
Cream-filled 'maritozzo' buns are just one of the many sweet treats on offer at Japanese convenience stores.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 3, 2024

Exploring the ‘B-gourmet wonderland’ of Japanese convenience stores

Tourists who obsess over 7-Eleven and FamilyMart can seem a bit absurd, but there's no denying the integral role these stores have in daily life in Japan.
'Dorayaki' (red bean paste-filled pancakes) are humble treats with delicate sweetness — and the two Tokyo shops who may have created the treat are similarly light-handed in the way they pursue their claims as the originator of the morsel.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 12, 2025

‘Dorayaki’ creators say flavors trump the dessert’s murky origins

More modern than you may think, filled ‘dorayaki’ pancakes have a past almost as sweet as the treat itself.
At the inaugural World Lambrusco Day held this June, the sparkling wine took center stage beneath the Eiffel Tower.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 20, 2023

Passe or sparkling, Lambrusco can get you through a Tokyo summer

Fizzy, fruity and tantalizingly affordable, the sparkling red wine from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region is a convivial antidote to the summertime blues.
"A Very Asian Guide to Japanese Food" is the first edition of the Asia-centric series to focus on rice balls, fermented soybeans and other Japanese staples.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 19, 2025

For kids, Japanese food ‘is a doorway to exploration’

Begun as a response to Asian-directed violence during the pandemic, the “Very Asian” series of cookbooks-slash-cultural primers turns its gaze toward Japan.
Together, Shinsuke Yamagai (right) and his younger brother, Ryota, have elevated the cuisine at Shintaku, putting it on the map as one of Niigata Prefecture’s premier gastronomic destinations.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 9, 2025

Brothers’ local focus lifts Shintaku to Niigata’s highest rank

From the ashes of a devastating 2005 fire, Shinsuke and Ryota Yamagai have remade their family’s historic Niigata restaurant into a beacon of Japanese gastronomy.
Mexican designer Italia Segovia, 26, known as "Kumiko," poses for a picture wearing clothes from her brand Chicanjuku.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 26, 2025

Mexican designer blends Chicano and Harajuku styles

Designer Italia "Kumiko" Segovia says experimentation is great as long as it's from a place of knowledge and respect.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji