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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Apr 14, 2018

'Sweet Bean Paste' offers an original take on the odd couple genre

Durian Sukegawa's novel is an original twist on the 'odd couple' genre, in which two unlikely companions find they have much to offer each other, and retains much of the humor that genre entails.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Apr 6, 2018

Swordplay and samurai in Tokyo's Maruyamacho district

Traditional businesses are heating up in Shibuya's old geisha quarter.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 29, 2018

Renovated 'staycation' getaway among the clouds

The Yokohama Royal Park Hotel has completed renovations of its Sky Resort Floors on the 60th to 64th floors, modeled after the concept "staycation" — a vacation taken from home. Fabulous night city views and a resort-like atmosphere can be enjoyed from the high-rise floors.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 9, 2018

Two millennia of heritage along Wakayama's Kumano Kodo trail

The Kii Peninsula is a land of ancient spiritual paths and holy mountains. Part of Wakayama Prefecture, the area is famous for onsen, temperate rainforests, mountains and a beautiful coastline. The prefecture is known as a place of rich cultural heritage, in part because of its connection to the Kii Province and the Kumano Kodo trail.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2018

Bringing little-known New York wines to Japan

Running to the west of the center of the city of Fukuoka is the wide, tree-lined boulevard of Keyaki-dori. An upmarket part of town, spots on the street rarely come up for renewal; once a shop has its prized location, it clings to it for all it is worth. So it is a pleasant surprise to find fresh noren...
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 25, 2018

Capsule hotel provides sauna and nap options

Do-c launched in Ebisu in December as a 24-hour accommodation service with sauna and capsule units for sleeping. It offers short stays for relaxation, as well as overnight stays for travelers.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Jan 21, 2018

Unique regional features present advantages

Tadashi Matsushima is a successful example of someone relocating and starting a business in a rural area. He is the owner of Jam’s Garden in Suō Ōshima in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He and his staff of 30 make 150,000 jars of jam every year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jan 6, 2018

Tattoo artist Gakkin leaves his mark in Amsterdam

Gakkin, a native of Wakayama and now a resident of Amsterdam, draws freehand, forgoing modern stencil machines to work directly on the body.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2017

End of 47-year Japan rice program signals boost for ramen wheat

The end of Japan's four decades of rice-market control could be good news for noodle lovers.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 18, 2017

In case you missed them: a year of responses to Community stories, part 3

The last in a series of selections of unpublished letters about Community stories from the previous year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Restaurant Do's and Don'ts
Dec 2, 2017

Restaurants and bars live or die in the margins

Since I haven't yet been able to convince you that opening a restaurant or bar is a bad idea, the next step is to start asking you questions. What is your vision for the shop? What do you plan to serve? Are you going to provide something new? Are you sure there's a market for that new thing? Are you...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 25, 2017

Designer Takeshi Nishio prefers 'cute' to 'cool'

'Kawaii' has more sense of affection than 'kakkoii,' says designer Nishio.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 3, 2017

Changing times in Setagaya's Shoin Jinjamae

There's something alluring about the suburban stops between Sangenjaya and Shimotakaido stations, which has been serviced by the Tokyu Setagaya tramway for the past 110 years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2017

Hospitality king Tomoyasu Kato sees small-scale boutique resorts as the next big thing

Tomoyasu Kato single-handedly transformed an ailing family business into a sprawling empire of hotels, spas, entertainment venues and a popular chain of udon noodle restaurants. Now he has set his sights on attracting affluent overseas travelers to a series of small-scale luxury resorts he plans to build...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2017

Huge rent hike set to end sweet deal for Sensoji Temple shopkeepers

One of Japan's oldest and most visited shopping streets in the heart of Tokyo's touristy Asakusa district is bracing for a massive rent hike.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 22, 2017

The traditional kimono never goes out of style

The fusion of traditional Japanese culture with contemporary life isn't a new concept, but as trends change the results can vary greatly. On the runway, we are seeing sophisticated ideas that infuse new looks with time-honored tastes in subtle yet effective ways; while on the streets, the stylings of...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2017

Amazon faces challenges in a shopper-friendly Singapore full of malls, Alibaba presence

As Amazon.com Inc. pushes into Southeast Asia with a new venture into Singapore, the online retailer is facing some tough hurdles. Shopping in air-conditioned malls is practically a national sport, and e-commerce rivals moved in long ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 7, 2017

Hokkaido's Hakodate is heaven for gourmands of all stripes

Hakodate occupies a unique place on the Japanese landscape, both literally and gastronomically speaking.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 6, 2017

Lawson, Rakuten join to test drone delivery system in disaster-hit Minamisoma

Convenience store chain Lawson Inc. and Japanese cybermall operator Rakuten have announced plans for a demonstration test on Oct. 31 of drone delivery services in an area devastated by the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 19, 2017

Gachapon: Tracing the evolution of Japan's colorful toy capsules

Where else but Japan could you buy a miniature version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" figure crouching over a squat toilet, horror-struck? It's one of thousands of ingeniously designed trinkets you can buy for a pittance from toy machines across the nation. They're subversive, beautifully crafted and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2017

Japan's budding fashion rental services proving popular with working women, moms

Satoshi Amanuma recalls his wife standing in front of her closet full of clothes before they went out, muttering she had nothing to wear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 30, 2017

Southeast Asian art gets its biggest showing in Japan

A few years ago, at the press conference for Taiwanese artist Lee Mingwei's solo show at the Mori Art Museum (MAM), Fumio Nanjo, the museum director, talked about the direction the museum would be taking from then on; they were no longer so interested in "the West" and were aiming to focus more on Asia....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2017

From sex toys to works of art: 'Love doll' maker seeks to shed seedy image

Japan's oldest "love doll" manufacturer wants to strip the sex toys of their seedy image and encourage people to see them as works of art instead.

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