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December 22, 2024
 

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Florentyna Leow
Few in Japan may be more passionate about the 'onigiri' (rice ball) than Yumiko Ukon, owner of an onigiri specialty shop in Tokyo's Otsuka neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 8, 2024
‘When I die, I would like to come back as a rice ball’
There’s no denying the cultural significance of the ‘onigiri’ (rice ball). But there comes a point where an onigiri is surely just an onigiri.
Clara Kumagai’s young adult debut, “Catfish Rolling,” follows a teenager who lost her mother during a major earthquake caused by the movements of a powerful catfish, which fractured Japan into different “time zones.”
CULTURE / Books
Jan 13, 2024
Genre-defying novel 'Catfish Rolling' navigates grief in a fractured land
Mixing folklore, science and philosophy with magical realism, Clara Kumagai’s impressive young adult debut explores the emotional aftermath of a powerful earthquake.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 15, 2023
Artisans update timeless craft of intricate ‘puzzle cabinets’
Although the craft of making karakuri-dansu is slowly disappearing, a craftsman and his son are keep the tradition torch lit with story-filled pieces for collectors and enthusiasts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 26, 2023
Jim Rion casts a keen eye on the spirit of Yamaguchi
Author, translator and certified sake professional Jim Rion puts people at the heart of sake production in his nonfiction debut, 'Discovering Yamaguchi Sake.'
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 12, 2023
Fukui’s dwindling washi makers hold on to paper-thin margins
As a product, washi's beauty is unassailable. As an industry, it's future is in doubt.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 11, 2022
Sweden's 'slightly rotten' fish tests Japan foodies
Japan is known for its affinity for seafood, but Sweden's infamously pungent surstromming challenges even the strongest of stomachs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 14, 2022
'Just Enough' offers ideas for a modern crisis
Azby Brown's comprehensive survey of Japan during the Edo Period serves up lessons that could aid in efforts to promote sustainability as the climate crisis grows more dire.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 31, 2022
'Trinity, Trinity, Trinity': A commendable exploration of nuclear power
Erika Kobayashi delves into the history of nuclear warfare and its consequences in a speculative thriller that appears to be a literary riff of her 'My Body, Your Voice' exhibition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 17, 2022
Banana Yoshimoto’s ‘Dead-End Memories’ is the literary equivalent of a lo-fi playlist
The award-winning author's collection of short stories is a comfort read that will transport readers to a melancholy world for an hour or two.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 10, 2022
‘Life Ceremony’: Sayaka Murata dishes out the grotesque with humor
Sayaka Murata's collection of hilarious and macabre short stories ask readers to take a hard look at humanity and reassess what is 'normal.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 10, 2022
Toast in translation: Aomori's ‘British’ sandwich mania
Aomori's favorite bakery treat comes straight from Old Blighty — or does it?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 19, 2022
Will Japan’s nonvegans bite on plant-based yogurt?
After perfecting a homemade recipe, this coconut yogurt devotee is trying to convert the rest of Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 21, 2022
Approaching tea like you would wine, Zach Mangan gives Japan's main drink its due
In his book, 'Stories of Japanese Tea: The Regions, The Growers and The Craft,' Zach Mangan hopes to pay respect to a dwindling number of true artists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 15, 2022
'This Monk Wears Heels' is a thing of beauty
Makeup artist, Buddhist monk and LGBTQ advocate Kodo Nishimura's memoir is a heartfelt and fun read that asks us to look inward with clear compassion and love ourselves.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 24, 2022
‘Cold Enough for Snow’: A meditation on the intricacies of mother-daughter relationships
Jessica Au's finely observed novel about understanding the inner lives of those close to us draws readers into a dreamlike vision of Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 24, 2022
Mushi Charo: From hellish waters, heavenly flavors
With thousands of hot-spring sources in Beppu, it's no wonder the town's chefs have started putting geothermals to good use in the kitchen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 4, 2022
'Moonlight Shadow' director Edmund Yeo praises the Japanese work ethic and the dedication of producers
Though filmmaking is not a particularly popular career path in Malaysia, Edmund Yeo still managed to follow his dream of being a director.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 19, 2021
How Amanda Tong finds balance in life and ceramics
Being marooned in Japan due to COVID-19 has helped the Hong Kong artist begin a new journey of discovery.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 14, 2021
Resurrecting the tachibana, Japan’s oldest native citrus
Once revered as “the fruit of immortality,” the tachibana has long fallen out of culinary favor. The Nara Tachibana Project hopes to save it from endangerment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 31, 2021
Lifting the lid on Shibuya’s designer toilets
The Tokyo Toilet Project has received considerable media coverage for its upscale public facilities. But how do these stylish porcelain thrones actually stack up?
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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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