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December 17, 2024
 

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Christopher Johnson
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 14, 2013
A swim with turtles (maybe)
For snorkelers, there's perhaps nothing better than hanging out underwater with a hawksbill sea turtle. Safer than sharks, they are graceful and beautiful, ancient and wise. But sightings are rare. Of my hundreds of snorkeling adventures, I've only seen turtles, from a distance, in Palau and Koh Tao...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 18, 2013
Chatting about Japan with Snowden, the NSA whistle-blower
Edward Snowden, the fugitive former CIA employee and NSA contractor who leaked secrets about America's spying operations, often hung out online with foreigners in Japan who shared his interests in anime, video games, martial arts, the stock market and the expat lifestyle.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 28, 2013
Cook Islands paradise isn't plain sailing for all
They span an area the size of western Europe, but the Cook Islands may seem like the ends of the Earth when viewed from Japan — an 11-hour flight away south to New Zealand, followed by a four-hour "local hop" to the capital, Avarua, on the main island of Rarotonga.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 28, 2013
A Pacific idyll where some go to escape, others to connect
A woman from western Japan, who calls herself "Amy," couldn't find paradise in Thailand, Cuba, Brazil or French Polynesia, so with the last of her $300 savings she bought a one-way ticket from Tahiti to Rarotonga. Then, claiming to be penniless, she walked from the airport to the police station and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 7, 2013
Appi's snowy joys await seekers of late-season thrills
With degrees in fine arts, Akiyoshi Osumi used his creative talents to coin a perfect slogan for the Appi Kogen Snow Resort: "Be Happy in Appi."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 19, 2013
Fukushima's powder paradise
I seem to have the whole mountain to myself. The vast majesty of Fukushima Prefecture spreads out below me, all around. Up here, skiing on powdery snow, zigzagging through challenging moguls, it's easy to forget about the nuclear reactors 120 km away.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 9, 2012
There are 'snow monsters' who can help save Tohoku
Yes, it's true. Spending some money on skiing among snow monsters and soaking in hot-spring baths is a good way to help the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, the terrible tsunami it triggered and the ongoing nuclear crisis that followed....
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jun 10, 2012
The Marshall Islands: Tropical idylls scarred like Tohoku
With all its American, European and Asian cultural influences, it's easy to forget that Japan is also an island nation in the Pacific.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jun 10, 2012
Paradise found in Renaissance man's footsteps
Continental Micronesia airlines operates an island-hopper run to Majuro in the Republic of the Marshall Islands via Guam, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Kwajalein — a great way to see fantastic scenery and sample the flavors of each airport.
LIFE / WEEK 3
Dec 18, 2011
Lone holdout's first nuclear winter looms in Tohoku
As bitter winds blow around cesium and other radioactive particles spewed from the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant's reactors, Naoto Matsumura lights a cigarette, which he considers relatively good for his health.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2011
All too familiar signs of state paralysis in Thai crisis
Like the Japan tsunami, flooding in Thailand will have a global impact on the supply and price of rice, cameras, computers and cars.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 11, 2011
A heartrending drive on the rebuilt roads of Tohoku
Before the March 11 tsunami, the Miyako area of Iwate Prefecture was a beloved tourist destination, famous for the beaches of Jodogahama and a national park with majestic views of coves and shimmering Pacific waters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 13, 2011
Furano: A winter wonderland
Here I am, taking a holiday in minus-20 Hokkaido instead of plus-20 Okinawa. I'm either losing my marbles or just a normal Canadian pining for a winter wonderland.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 5, 2010
Catching autumn's glory on camera
At this dazzling time of year, it seems that half of Japan's population turn into photographers journeying to their favorite spots or seeking out new ones around the city as they try to capture the myriad colors of autumn leaves.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 18, 2010
Kujukuri: the long, long beach on Tokyo's doorstep
If it was thousands of miles from home, I would wistfully think of this as an exotic and special place. It has almost everything I want in a seaside hangout: Empty beaches backed by pine forests, not condos; surfing waves; fishing piers; hilltop viewpoints; and family farms growing corn and watermelons....
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2010
Healing Thailand's broken spirit
BANGKOK — To pacify a divided nation, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva — blamed for a military crackdown on protesters that left more than 80 dead and 1,500 injured over two months — says Thailand needs to "heal the mind."
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2010
A turning point in Thailand
BANGKOK — Massive occupations of two areas of central Bangkok the past two months show that the rise of Thailand's "red shirt" protesters is one of the most significant developments in Asia in 25 years, as it signals a new type of conflict involving entrenched elites and millions of workers who have...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 2, 2010
The Zen nothingness of Zamami
Thinking that Japan is too expensive for them, many budget travelers eschew this archipelago for Southeast Asia. But with a mountain bike and a tent, it's quite possible to travel in Okinawa on ¥1,000 a day — and enjoy it — especially on Zamami Island.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 6, 2009
Painting Tokyo red and gold
In times past, some Native Americans believed the autumn colors were made when the Great Hunter finally shot the Bear, whose blood spilled across the landscape in the form of red leaves.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 6, 2009
Painting Tokyo red and gold
In times past, some Native Americans believed the autumn colors were made when the Great Hunter finally shot the Bear, whose blood spilled across the landscape in the form of red leaves.
Indian-born CEO of Japanese company says nation needs immigration to thrive
Lekh Juneja, chairman and CEO of Kameda Seika, at the company's headquarters in the city of Niigata in August
Schoolgirl stabbed to death in Kitakyushu
A McDonald's in Kitakyushu where a junior high school student was stabbed to death on Saturday
Fatal knife attack in Kitakyushu McDonald’s took less than 30 seconds
Flowers and offerings are placed outside a McDonald's restaurant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, where two junior high school students were stabbed by a man on Saturday, one fatally.
Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
Akie Abe, widow of slain prime minister, meets with Trump
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (left) and his wife, Melania (right), pose for a photo with Akie Abe, the widow of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday in this image posted on Melania Trump's X social media account.
Women are writing a new chapter in Japanese literature in the 2020s
"Butter," Asako Yuzuki’s thrilling novel inspired by a real-life femme fatale, was named the Waterstones Book of the Year in 2024.
The year that Shohei Ohtani achieved 'yokozuna' status … in the market
Shohei Ohtani's prowress on the diamond translated into an outsized influence on Japan's consumer trends this year.
Big franchises and bold voices dominated anime in 2024
In a year of anime hits, Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back” stood out from the bunch.
Glass half full: Japan’s sake industry celebrates a brighter 2024
Despite ongoing struggles, 2024 had plenty of bright spots for Japan's sake industry.
'Kin' selected as the kanji of 2024 after strong year for Japanese athletes
The head priest of Kiyomizu Temple writes the kanji "kin," which was chosen by the public as the character that best represents 2024, on Thursday in Kyoto.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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