Search - life-style

 
 
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 21, 2003

Gonpachi: Elevated dining at this three-in-one

Nobody would claim that Shibuya is among the most attractive neighborhoods of this metropolis. And yet, as with so many other less than salubrious districts, when viewed at night from a suitable distance -- say 14 stories above the ground -- it does take on an undeniable glow that could almost be called...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 8, 2003

Calling to the gods with a true, independent female voice

The career of composer, vocalist and dancer Makiko Sakurai has followed a unique path. She is the only woman who has been trained in shomyo -- the Buddhist liturgical chanting that dates back to the ninth century and is traditionally practiced only by males.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 20, 2002

Sinead O'Connor: "Sean-Nos Nua"

Though she's done the occasional traditional Irish song as a guest on other people's records, Sinead O'Connor has never explored her country's musical heritage in depth. Now, after more than 10 years of trying to express her adolescent earth-mother iconoclasm, she gives up and goes the trad route with...
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 7, 2002

Zico reveals his plans for Japanese team

In an exclusive interview with The Japan Times, Brazilian soccer legend and newly appointed Japan national team coach Zico aired his views on his philosophy and plans for the future of Japanese soccer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 20, 2002

Bon Appetit!

Le Cordon Bleu. The name conjures up images of starched linen laid three-ply across a table, heavy silverware and plain white plates bearing artfully arranged food. "Cordon Bleu" was once synonymous with all that is best in cooking. And if, in these days of fusion cuisine, its image seems a little stuffy...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Sep 8, 2002

Tataki : a tasty starter created in a flash

After the hors d'oeuvre course is served, the first dish presented in a traditional Japanese meal is most often a course of raw fish or other meat. The general term for this course is o-tsukuri. The root of the word, tsukuru, means to make, create or — if you read into the meaning — to arrange. ...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 1, 2002

How much do you really need to know?

The choice of yeast in sake brewing exerts marvelous leverage on the aroma and style of the final product. And, while creativity and diversity lead to better sake over time, things can indeed get out of hand. Today, there are so many different yeasts -- and ways of combining them -- that it almost ceases...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 21, 2002

Universal comedy without errors

Hold on to your seats: We're going back to the essence of theater -- entertainment. "The Kyogen of Errors," directed by and starring 36-year-old Mansai Nomura, is a fitting way to celebrate his five-year appointment as artistic director of the Setagaya Public Theater (SEPT), which was announced two weeks...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Aug 18, 2002

Quick kitchen revision before term begins

Washoku is a feeling as much as it is a style of cooking or a way of seasoning. Mastering basic techniques — no matter what the season or the ingredients used — and developing the confidence to adapt recipes will help you to incorporate the style into your own cooking repertoire.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2002

Felicien Rops: Days of madness

The catalog of the Felicien Rops exhibition is wrapped in the anonymous brown paper more often used to disguise pornography than art. The display itself, now at the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, would, if art galleries issued such things, come with a parental advisory label. With a preponderance...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Days of the dead: O-bon and the ghosts of Japan

It's that time of year again. The whole of Japan seems to be on the move as people head to their hometowns for the mid-August O-bon festival. And it's not just the living who make travel plans this month. O-bon is the Buddhist holiday when the spirits of the dead are believed to visit the homes of their...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 7, 2002

Hisio: The pleasure zone is your oyster

Now that the monthlong soccer carnival has samba'd off stage, it's safe to venture back into the heartland of Roppongi again. This is highly welcome, as there are several places that we've been looking forward to trying out -- and top of the list is Hisio, with its newly opened oyster bar.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jun 2, 2002

Still tastes like Shonen spirit

Raspberry rock? Pineapple pop? Just plain old vanilla? Osaka-based all-girl band Shonen Knife -- age 21 this year -- haven't been flavor of the month for many a moon.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Feb 14, 2002

Take time to savor Ryoanji's splendors

The stone garden at Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto is perhaps the most famous of all Japanese gardens, and in 1994 it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
COMMUNITY
Dec 2, 2001

'Float on Earth' at Japan's snow resorts

You draw in a sharp, crisp breath of clean air, point your board straight ahead and blast off full speed down a short, steep drop, then up a narrow slope that launches you high in the air. Landing in a meter-deep pillow of fluffy, white snow that swallows your board, your bindings and your knees brings...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 11, 2001

Back in brass -- and loving it

In the '60s and '70s, when rock was king, for any North American teen who dreamed of musical fame, learning to play the electric guitar with suitably straddle-legged machismo was the only route to nirvana. Taking up other unfashionable instruments like the trumpet, saxophone, tuba, clarinet, squeeze...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2001

Fighting for independence in the shadow of a Goliath

ALMATY, Kazakstan -- The phone calls started last May, after the body of an ethnic Uighur activist was found strangled and dumped in a water reservoir.
SPORTS / TALK OF THE TIMES
Aug 6, 2001

Iwabuchi hoping for big season this year

Saracens and Japan flyhalf Kensuke Iwabuchi is hoping for a great season this year in England.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 13, 2001

The black art of the Bard

'For a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble, boil and bubble, boil and bubble," the witches howl as they move in a frenzy across the stage, their green rags alternating as dervish skirts and forest cover. They throw runes as they call upon darkness and conjure up a brew of murder,...
BUSINESS
May 28, 2001

Sea change in Japan's values

Japan is in the midst of change in its social value system.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 18, 2001

The Japan Blues Carnival

Some things in life are constant: the power of good music, the satisfaction of spicy food, the cathartic effect of a plainly told story. The annual Japan Blues Carnival will bring all that wrapped up in the blues for two great, long outdoor shows, plus three gigs at smaller indoor venues.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 18, 2001

Journey to the center of the human volcano

HotaruStyle to Kill Rating: * * * Director: Naomi Kawase Running time: 164 min. Language: JapaneseEnds April 20 Rating: * * * * * Director: Seijun SuzukiLanguage: Japanese Now showing In 1997, a young documentary filmmaker named Naomi Kawase won the Camera d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 11, 2001

Abe's enchanted villa inspires sublime pottery

In peaceful hamlets throughout Japan, local potters work at their own pace while garnering a loyal local following. There are literally thousands of such ceramists, and the serene environment in which they work nurtures and supports their artistic endeavors in subtle ways.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 27, 2001

Excelling in a formerly alien medium

White rappers used to be a joke until a credible one -- Eminem -- came along. In a similar way, Japanese artists' early efforts to master Western oil painting ended up looking extremely ersatz, clumsy or derivative; their paintings mere experiments or study pieces rather than true works of art. The urge...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2001

'Charismatic housewife' advocates happiness through homemaking

Many Japanese women revere Harumi Kurihara, calling her the "charismatic housewife."
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Feb 11, 2001

Yeltsin and Reagan revisited

This year there were two sad anniversaries in the first week of February: two former political superstars, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Boris Yeltsin celebrated their birthdays in the shadow of severe health problems. Confined to hospital, they were unable to appreciate the cheering...
COMMUNITY
Jan 7, 2001

Good manners make comfortable relations

In Japan, there has been much discussion of late of both morals and manners. Indeed, one national newspaper on Jan. 1, in a section devoted to scrutinizing how Japanese have changed in recent years, devoted a whole page to the question: Are good manners a thing of the past?
CULTURE / Art
Dec 30, 2000

'Discovering' Heinrich Vogeler

With most Tokyo galleries closed during the New Year's break, it can be difficult to find an interesting contemporary art show in the city.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Oct 24, 2000

Okinawan sounds old and new resonate through the mainland

For a reason that has so far confounded me, October and November usually herald a spate of Okinawan concerts and releases on the mainland, leading to unfortunate clashes of dates. This year is no exception: The Ryukyu Festival in Tokyo (previewed in this column) in early October unfortunately fell on...
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2000

Insurers plan comprehensive alliance

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Nichido Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. are planning to form a comprehensive tieup with a view to integrating their operations in the future, company sources said Thursday.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.