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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 10, 2017

Sake sommelier unlocks the fun of 'nihonshu' for visitors from abroad

Every week, sake sommelier Satoko Utsugi leads groups of overseas visitors past the Fukagawa Fudosan Temple and along a shopping street in Tokyo's downtown neighborhood of Monzen-Nakacho.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 4, 2017

Bathing in the French culture of Tokyo's Kagurazaka district

"To err is human. To loaf is Parisian," said the French writer Victor Hugo. Although seasoned in erring and loafing, I cannot attest that he nailed Paris. But loafing is tres a la mode in Kagurazaka, a shopping and dining area in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward that is famed for its touch of French culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 28, 2017

Good fortune in the Tokyo suburbs

The Tokyu Setagaya Line, a sweet little tramline, makes stops between Sangenjaya and Shimotakaido stations. A mere 5.1 kilometers long and one of only two trams left in Tokyo (the other being the Toden Arakawa Line), the Setagaya Line boasts a sleek fleet in candy colors. I hop onto a cherry red one...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Jan 14, 2017

Don't let winter stop you from going out

It's the coldest part of the year in Japan. Combine frigid weather with cramped apartments, rambunctious kids and a dose of cabin fever and you have a parent's recipe for frustration. However, in Tokyo there are countless options for indoor family fun, and with the season in mind, I've created a list...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2017

Japan's hair salons reaching out to expats, tourists and international students

It takes a little courage to go to hair salons when living overseas. Without knowing where to go and what stylist has which specialty, you can wind up gambling with your style.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 29, 2016

Japan's students face uncertain future under cloud of debt

Kengo Kyogoku borrows about ¥122,000 ($1,035) per month in addition to a scholarship and a part-time job, because his mother can't afford to pay his college fees at the prestigious Waseda University in Tokyo.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 22, 2016

Private rooms for intimate gatherings

The Hotel Century Southern Tower in Shibuya Ward welcomes the new year with a party plan. The offer makes it possible for guests to welcome the new year in a private room on the 21st floor, while taking in a magnificent view of Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 17, 2016

Professional Santa Jeremy Rigby: 'Think about what makes a gift special'

Visiting Saint Nick on working off Christmas snacks and washing his beard with toothpaste.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
Dec 7, 2016

A taste of Russia in Tokyo

With Russian President Vladimir Putin set to visit Japan next week, expectations are growing as to whether progress will be made on a territorial row that has been a thorn in bilateral ties.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2016

Three-star restaurants extend streak in new edition of Tokyo Michelin guide

The selection of restaurants and hotels to be listed in Michelin Guide Tokyo 2017 was announced online Tuesday, including four restaurants that have received a three-star rating for 10 years running.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 26, 2016

Graves and gods of Otsuka

It's a bright fall morning when I return to Gokokuji Temple, an Important Cultural Property in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. Exiting Gokokuji Station, it only takes me a few minutes to find the two monks who promised to help me when I visited here earlier: 33-year-old Shinsei Miura and 23-year-old Kenkai Yamada....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NEIGHBORHOOD HOP SPORTS
Nov 25, 2016

A journey to the center of Tokyo's crowded craft beer scene

It may be located in the center of Tokyo but people always seem to be passing through Kanda on their way to someplace else: north to Akihabara, east to Asakusa, south to Tokyo Station or west to the Imperial Palace. This liminal neighborhood can feel like a no man's land of offices, banal apartments...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Oct 31, 2016

Led by Shabani, gorillas challenge koalas for popularity title at Nagoya zoo

Expectations are running high that Shabani, a male gorilla famed for his "good looks," may win the prize for most popular animal at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Nagoya.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Oct 29, 2016

Living on prayer and paper in Otsuka

Hoping to catch the earliest blush of autumnal colors, I seek out the Important Cultural Property of Gokokuji, a prominent temple located in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. A satellite map shows it embraced by a forest of trees. I suspect a cemetery might lurk below the leaf canopy, but in late October who would...
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 20, 2016

Christmas cakes set the season's tone; sushi prepared in the home or office; closing out the year in holiday style

Christmas cakes set the season's tone
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2016

Getting site-specific installations down to a fine art

Kenpoku Art 2016! is one of the latest projects to appear in an area for which art has been a relatively niche concern. Despite the fact that Okakura Tenshin, one of the central figures of Japanese art history, set up shop in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1906, and Art Tower Mito consistently provides top-class...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 28, 2016

'Harmonium': Dangerously good family drama

The films of Koji Fukada have long wrapped ambitious themes in deceptively unassuming genre packages. His 2011 international breakout "Hospitalite" ("Kantai") begins as a quirky comedy but becomes a sharp-edged drama of deceptions and secrets. Last year's "Sayonara" starts as an offbeat essay in apocalyptic...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 16, 2016

Canadian imprisoned in China on 'spying' charges back home after two years behind bars

A Canadian man held since 2014 in China on charges of espionage and stealing state secrets has been freed and has returned to Canada, his family said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 10, 2016

Asakusa: in the glow of Nippon kitsch

Every once in a while, the Japanese have to remind themselves that they're Japanese. We feel the need to reconfirm that we are part of a long and enduring traditional culture — one which includes kimono, samurai, ninja, eels on rice, and other weird items. Many like to pretend that these particular...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 10, 2016

Anrealage gets real in Tokyo's Omotesando

Anrealage gets real in Omotesando
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 14, 2016

Rio volunteer setting the pace for keirin cyclists

He rides with champions but his name is not on any team list or competition schedule.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Aug 2, 2016

Paul Smith has earned his stripes

Colorful and cluttered, the office bursts with paraphernalia, from stacked bicycles and piles of books on designer chairs to an apple-green iMac, a futuristic record player and a red Snoopy phone on the rosewood desk.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 31, 2016

Difficult questions for Japan's animal-loving city dwellers

This week's column deals with two queries that highlight cultural differences in attitudes to animal welfare.

Longform

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