author

 
 

Meta

Twitter

@tokyoreporter

Brett Bull
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 27, 2009
Ivan Ramen, ready in an instant
The success of Ivan Ramen, a noodle shop founded in 2007 by U.S.-born chef Ivan Orkin, has been well documented in the press over the past year. Indeed, it is not unusual for the 10-seat restaurant in Minami Karasuyama, Setagaya Ward, to have dozens of people waiting outside its doors to try the handmade...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 22, 2009
Decades as Tokyo's tower of girl power
In any panoramic photograph of Shibuya's always busy crossing, a structure likely positioned prominently in the background will be the part-wedge-shaped, part-cylindrical Shibuya 109 building. The teen district of Shibuya is continually in flux, with trends and stores coming and going by the week, but...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jan 9, 2008
At home with Dr. Nakamatsu: Japan's most eccentric inventor
The declining birthrate is a well-known issue in Japan, but for renowned inventor Dr. Yoshiro Nakamatsu, it is merely another challenge. Two weeks ago at a press conference in Tokyo, Nakamats, who prefers to drop the "u" from his name, unveiled a new bottle of Love Jet, a product first introduced nearly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 22, 2007
Festival swaps mobsters for something 'safe'
In days past, a film festival held within rough-and-tumble Kabukicho might be assumed to feature a sampling of the work from gangster-flick director Seijun Suzuki ("Tokyo Drifter," "Branded to Kill"), or perhaps "Yojimbo," the Akira Kurosawa classic where a samurai arrives in a village run by two groups...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 15, 2007
Bulbous hair gives 'Brand King' a head start
People aligning themselves with a unique hairstyle is nothing new. But Tsutomu Morita is likely the first pitchman via pompadour. "Some people don't believe it is real," Morita says in a back room of his discount luxury-brands store, referring to the black bulbous bob that hangs over his eyes. "Others...
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2007
A Japanese Grand Prix
The red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival could be graced by more Japanese if the government and the film industry were to cooperate in a more substantiative way, suggests director Naomi Kawase, this year's winner of the Grand Prix for her film "Mogari no Mori (The Mourning Forest)."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 6, 2007
Asakusa Jinta march into history
Unless in search of a cheap, dusty souvenir for a relative, Tokyo's historic Asakusa district isn't on the radar of too many folks under the age of 70. But Asakusa Jinta, a seven-piece band that mixes elements of ska, swing, punk and chindonya (traditional street performance), is hoping to bring the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 29, 2007
A haven of hedonism's days are numbered
As any good street tout will tell you, high foot-traffic is the key to success. Sure, he might toss out his chest, flash his best smile and smoothly sell you an explanation for the apparent contradiction between the shapely, high-class ladies he promises and the remarkably low entry price to his establishment,...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?