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Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 21, 2005

Sugidama

Dear Alice,
Features / WEEK 3
Jan 16, 2005

Water from everywhere, and so many drops to drink

Sure, water is tasty. Water is healthy. And recently, bottled water seems to have been deluging the shelves of Japan's shops, as more people turn away from their taps and toward thirst-quenching labels from home and abroad.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Jan 16, 2005

A cheapskate let loose in Tokyo paradise of print

Jinbocho in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward is Japan's treasure trove of used books.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 12, 2005

Stars come out in plays of love and loyalty

Kabuki is flourishing in Tokyo at the beginning of the year of the cock as the four of the city's major theaters vie with one another to present the best kabuki performances. At the Tokyo National Theater in Hanzomon, there is a three-hour production of "Gohiiki Kanjincho" (literally "Our Favorite Kanjincho"),...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2005

Nara man held over bogus notes

Nara Prefectural Police said Thursday they have arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of using a counterfeit 10,000 yen note at a coffee shop in the city of Nara on Dec. 20.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 28, 2004

A clever yarn crafted from a hoax

MY LIFE AS A FAKE, by Peter Carey. Faber & Faber, 2004, 276 pp., £6.99 (paper). One of the most stunning acts of literary criticism in modern times was perpetrated in an Australian magazine called Angry Penguins during World War II. It consisted of a small body of faux experimental poetry, purporting...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 5, 2004

Nezu Club: Closer to real soul of Tokyo

Just like stepping back in time. The soul of traditional Tokyo. Ancient Edo preserved in amber.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 29, 2004

Adventures abound in city's toy towns

It may be all Halloween pumpkins in the shops right now, but just around the corner is Christmas -- the season of peace, goodwill and bank accounts plundered for presents, both for your own progeny and for all those nieces and nephews you've somehow acquired. In the runup to the festive season, here...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Oct 22, 2004

Born to be wild . . . in moderation

I know what bikers look for in a bar. Though I've never been a rider myself, I did spend 10 years tooling around Tokyo on the back of my Japanese boyfriend's 1977-78 FLH custom shovelhead Harley-Davidson. In fact, we met in Bar Aoyama, which he and one of his Harley-riding buddies used to frequent because...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Oct 8, 2004

At home with wine appreciation

Organizing a home wine-tasting party for a small group of friends can be a huge amount of fun, and is actually much easier than you might think.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2004

Mitsukoshi to shut down 10 unprofitable outlets

Department store chain Mitsukoshi Ltd. said Thursday it will close 10 unprofitable outlets across the country in 2005 in an effort to boost profitability amid weak sales.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Sep 22, 2004

Project seeks new sites for sore eyes

I would estimate that for every artist sipping champagne at an opening reception -- clad in Gaultier and coiffed with contrived insouciance -- there are hundreds of other artists sitting alone in cheap apartments eating cold noodles. "Starving artist" may be a cliche, but the truth is that most people...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 15, 2004

You can't beat an old master

Coffee Jiko Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Hou Hsiao- hsien Running time: 103 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Yasujiro Ozu's trademark style -- the low camera angles, the straight cuts, the actors talking at the camera in medium closeup...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 15, 2004

In the company of wolves

The worst (read best) rock 'n' roll animals never grow up. They act like idiots and we let them get away with it because they make great music. In rock 'n' roll it's always better to burn out than fade away into "maturity" -- i.e. making tame and crappy music.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 20, 2004

Chilling out with noodles in summertime

These are days of heat and tribulation. For 40 days and 40 nights we sweltered and sweated through that record heat wave -- and there's plenty more of the summer yet to come. Not surprisingly, given these almost biblical weather conditions, our main source of solace and sustenance has been noodles --...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jul 14, 2004

A diamond in the rough

During the 20th century, Japanese studio pottery made by individuals came to the fore. Up until then, many potters worked for large kilns or were artisans involved in a production-line method; one man molded the pots, while another decorated and so on.
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2004

Applauding a regional forum

It is tempting to dismiss the just-concluded annual meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) as little more than a talk shop. The statement released at the end of each meeting tends to look like the one before it. Tangible accomplishments are hard to identify. Furthermore, it is difficult to take a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jul 9, 2004

A tale of two Pichons

Our favorite scene in "Tampopo," Juzo Itami's 1985 cult film about gastronomic excess, begins with two bums finding an expensive-looking bottle behind a Shinjuku hotel with a bit of wine left in the bottom. They deliver it to a compatriot, a sommelier who'd apparently seen better days but still has sharp...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 29, 2004

Large clothes, scooters and passport help

Larger fashions Susan has info on where to find larger-sized clothes for women. "You can find Ladies LL size at the Ito Yokado Store in Shinagawa Ward (Oimachi Line, Rinkai Line and Keihin Line). Dress shop 'Miharu' (3F; phone 03-5743-0306) stays open until 11 p.m." Car parking is free to buying customers....
Japan Times
Features
Jun 27, 2004

Baby pictures

She hung up the phone and looked out of the living-room window. The house was on a slight rise and she could see most of Fairview Estates -- the rows of wide, orderly streets, the big houses and neat lawns, children on bicycles, the mail truck making its rounds. It all looked too neat, too much like...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 18, 2004

Enjoy a taste of Boso's byways

When I got off the train at Sanuki-machi on the Uchibo Line in Chiba Prefecture, I realized, in a vague kind of way, that I knew the old little station. Perhaps I'd visited this rural town near the sea on a grade-school summer trip. Certainly, the 89-year-old station at the foot of the hills was exactly...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 3, 2004

Shall we meet at Sutaba, Tsutaya or the dog's tail?

Doing the machiawase (setting up a meeting place) is one of things that define Japanese relationships, especially relationships in Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2004

Soaring soybean prices hurt tofu makers

A historic rise in soybean prices driven by soaring demand in China is dealing a heavy blow to Japanese makers of traditional staples such as tofu and soy sauce.
Japan Times
Features
Apr 18, 2004

Hanging by a thread

Spurned by many top Japanese designers, patchy in quality and sprawling over a month at a mishmash of venues, the twice-yearly Tokyo Collections -- whose fall/winter 2004/05 shows end this week -- still lay claim to being the highpoints of Asia's fashion year. But are Tokyo's days numbered as the `Paris...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Apr 9, 2004

A glass act that's proved hard to follow

A brief stint as an apprentice glassblower on Sado Island in the late '80s left me with a great appreciation of the aesthetics of a well-made wineglass. The weight, the balance, the cut of the lip, the curve and thinness of the bowl -- and the subtle ring after a toast -- are all factors that, when they...
Events
Mar 28, 2004

KANSAI: Who & What

Major antique fair to be held in Kyoto: A major antique fair will be held April 2 to 4 at Pulse Plaza in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Mar 26, 2004

Meet the Office manager

Everybody knows about Office in Kita-Aoyama -- the funky little fifth-floor, no-elevator hangout with a photocopier next to the DJ booth. But few people have had the pleasure of meeting Sadahiro Nakamura. Then again, you may have met him and just not realized that he was the man behind the scene and...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes