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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Dec 7, 2010

Italian baker gives new life to old Tochigi warehouse

Paolo Aggio, 48, born and raised in Venice, Italy, bakes traditional Italian country-style bread in a stone warehouse in the middle of the serene and quiet town of Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, a town famous for its pottery.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 7, 2010

Noriko Hama: Scholar brings economics to life

Clouds of gloom have been shrouding Japan and its economy for quite some time. The bursting of the asset- inflated economic bubble in the early 1990s, and the failures of banks, insurers and other big corporations later in that decade, has put a huge dent in Japan's collective self-confidence. That is...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 8, 2005

The art of having fun in style

Agnes Trouble Bourgeois, known to the world as Agnes B., started to design clothes at the age of 19 and opened her first boutique in Les Halles in Paris in 1976. Twenty-nine years later, her company has 129 boutiques, selling clothes, accessories and travel goods around the globe. While there are 32...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 5, 2005

Painting over old Edo

As a child, Akira Yamaguchi spent countless hours hunched over his desk, doodling the many space-age rocket ships and humanoids he encountered in his bedroom anime collection. The young artist, however, also remembers feeling a sense of guilt whenever he attempted to mimic more traditional Japanese art...
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jun 5, 2001

Risking your life at Victoria Falls

While Zambia's side of Victoria Falls is sedate, a little backward, but calming, the Zimbabwe banks of the Zambezi River draw adrenaline addicts from across the world.
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2001

Lines that trace a restless life

There is a French maxim that says "Style is the man." If there was ever an embodiment of that phrase, it was the French poet, novelist, playwright, filmmaker and artist Jean Cocteau. Considered one of the most creative talents of the 20th century, Cocteau's prodigious creativity is being currently showcased...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 11, 2023

Villa del Nido: Local produce, Italian technique, volcanic backdrop

Tucked away among the smallholdings of a rural community in Unzen City, it seems an unlikely setting for Villa del Nido’s sophisticated, Italian-accented, farm-to-table cuisine.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / New Normal 2.0
Jun 28, 2022

Japan firms that embraced remote work rediscover value of the office

Despite recognizing the advantages of work from home, some are finding the benefits of in-person communication and collaboration hard to ignore.
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2018

Work-style reform legislation

A package of work-style reforms, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says is at the top of his agenda for this legislative session, will soon be on the way to the Diet for deliberations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 24, 2017

Could even a missile alert stop Japanese from going to the office?

Flexible working styles like telecommuting would benefit Japan on many levels.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Feb 13, 2015

Valentines specials and ways to treat yourself

Valentine's is all about the man
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2013

Paul Greengrass brings real-life action to the screen with 'Captain Phillips'

Paul Greengrass once seemed like the least likely candidate to be a director of Hollywood blockbusters: the Cambridge graduate started his career by putting in 10 years as a documentary filmmaker/journalist for the hard-hitting British current affairs program "World In Action." When he moved into feature...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 29, 2011

Japanese genius shines eclectic in its extravagant simplicities of style

"Live your era, surmount your era!" With these words, written in 1935, the young woodblock artist Yoshio Fujimaki gave out a cry for genius. Certainly his words apply to the genius of Bob Dylan (whose 70th birthday was celebrated on these pages last week), since both he, Fujimaki and others of genius...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Feb 1, 2009

Chizu Saeki: Beauty's more than skin deep

Skincare guru Chizu Saeki's expertise is such that her abilities have been compared to those of a fortuneteller. She can, for example, determine people's physical and mental health condition, the key experiences that have influenced them, and even their outlook on life, merely by running her fingers...
JAPAN / OBITUARY
Nov 14, 2021

Jakucho Setouchi: A freewheeling nun who bucked conventional norms for women

Prior to beginning her religious journey in 1973, Jakucho Setouchi established herself first and foremost as a writer — and a controversial one at that.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 27, 2022

Toyama puts itself on Japan’s map of sustainable tourism

From traditional architecture and local folk crafts to impressive temples and a luxury hotel, Toyama's rural Tonami Plain is rich with culture.
Characters from the Super Mario Bros. franchise adorn the front of Super Potato, a well-known retro game shop in Akihabara.
LIFE / Digital
Sep 20, 2023

Let the gaming begin: A guide to Tokyo's video game landmarks

Whether it's arcades, retro finds or chip-tune nightclubs, Japan's capital won't disappoint gamers wanting to geek out.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Oct 9, 2023

Downsizing dinner: Aging Japan is eating less

As older citizens' shrinking appetites lead to less on the plate, businesses are having to adjust to a new market.
There are a lot of reasons for why the Pacific saury is becoming scarcer, including overfishing in international waters and changing ocean conditions.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Oct 23, 2023

A saury state: How the price of 'autumn's fish' skyrocketed

A fish so cheap and abundant that even the cats would ignore it, the Pacific saury is becoming a sought-after dish as stocks dwindle.
Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
LIFE / Language / Longform
Nov 27, 2023

How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku

A project to create a reference book categorizing subcultures didn't seem to cause offense until it was packaged and sold as a dictionary.
A native of Seoul who grew up in Shanghai, Hana Yoon moved to New York to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America when she was 20 years old.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 4, 2024

In Japan’s age-old capital, a young head chef stirs the pot

Upon her arrival in Kyoto, Yoon spent four months delving into the distinctive varieties of “kyōyasai,” vegetables grown in Kyoto and its suburbs.
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy when she became an adult.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024

The bonsai master working to branch out an age-old craft

Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy or otherwise end it.
Here are a handful of places around Tokyo where you can treat the dad in your life to the pampering they deserve.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 12, 2024

Retro barbers, executive facials: Pamper dad with a Tokyo spa day

Despite forward-thinking on male grooming, Japan markets these pampering services largely toward women — but here are a few places dad might enjoy this Father's Day.
Tour guide and history buff Rory Dent left his job at a U.K.-based tour operator to move to Japan and start his own business.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jun 30, 2024

Guiding Japan through the challenges of overtourism

With the number of overseas tourists breaking records, guides and tour operators are seeing their businesses flourish.
Nakazakicho may be just a few minutes outside the major commercial district of Umeda, but it certainly doesn't feel that way.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2024

The dancer keeping Osaka’s Nakazakicho indie

Nakazakicho’s transformation is more than the success story of a small neighborhood turning the tide against inner-city decay.
Commuters take a subway home at Sungsu station in Seoul on July 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024

Declaring ‘crisis,’ South Korean firms tell managers to work more

In South Korea, the five-day workweek is only a generation old, introduced by labor laws in 2004.
Stays at Aman Kyoto start at around $2,500 (about ¥375,000) and increasing to $4,000 (about ¥600,000) per night, but for the right traveler, it's not money entirely wasted.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 19, 2024

Kyoto’s most expensive hotel offers inner peace — for a price

Aman Kyoto is one of the most luxurious options for stays in Japan’s ancient capital — but is it worth the hefty price tag?
The luxury Seven Stars in Kyushu train trades the hyper-efficiency of typical rail travel in Japan for a slower, more decadent version.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 1, 2025

Aboard Japan’s most luxurious train, the journey is the destination

For those with yen to burn, the Seven Stars in Kyushu is one of the most luxurious ways to experience some of southern Japan’s best hidden gems.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.