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July 17, 2024
 

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Tomoko Otake

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Tomoko Otake
Tomoko Otake is a senior writer with a strong interest in health, medical and social issues. A native of Nara Prefecture, she obtained an M.A. in journalism from The University of Montana.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jun 20, 2010
Towering ambition
One sunny Saturday last month, Hitachi Ltd., Japan's largest electronics maker, made headlines when it hosted a rare tour of its spanking new elevator-testing tower — the world's tallest — at its sprawling facility in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 18, 2010
Exhibit lets kids live like Doraemon
Doraemon, a blue, catlike character with a "magic pocket" in the eponymously titled manga/animation series, could have been an inspiration for many of Japan's scientists. For proof, just visit Tokyo's Miraikan (the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation).
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 17, 2010
Don't be afraid to ask questions about giving birth in Japan
With women in Japan making inroads into various career fields and having more options to choose from, it's only natural that more of them are starting families in their late 30s or even in their 40s.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jun 1, 2010
N.Y. expat delivers parenting options
When New York native Brett Iimura visited Japan for the first time in 1976, the teenage girl spent an "absolutely amazing" time here. Visiting a Japanese friend she had met at her school in New York, Iimura stood out everywhere she went because back then there were very few foreigners in Japan, even...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 21, 2010
Animation fest sparkles
A collection of surreal, witty and thought-provoking short animation films currently showing at the Laputa Animation Festival 2010 in Asagaya, western Tokyo, stands splendidly apart from the plethora of mainstream anime works that vie for airtime on Japanese TV.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 16, 2010
'Pig Meat' journeys from cute to cutlets
...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 14, 2010
Event aims to drum up cross-cultural 'magic'
Four Tokyo-based drummers from quite different backgrounds will get together on May 14 for a cross- cultural improvisational jam titled "Dagakkibashi" ("Percussion Bridge").
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 2, 2010
Renho: Japan's fiscal firebrand
Renho, a first-term Upper House member from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, shot to stardom in Japan last November when, as a member of a government committee tasked with screening ministries' budget requests, she had several fierce, face-to-face battles with bureaucrats.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010
Native Works puts city on fashion radar
Kenichi Kishimoto, 33, and Noriko Yasuda, 34, are a fashion-design duo who run an atelier-cum-shop named Native Works that's right beside the world-renowned Todaiji Temple.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010
Pilgrimage was the spur for low-priced guesthouse plan
Two years ago, Ippei Seto opened the Nara Ugaya Guesthouse in the center of Nara City, aiming to offer dormitory-style, affordable lodging for visitors. His guesthouse occupies a rented, two-story wooden building that is around 40 years old and formerly housed a pharmacy but is now his 20-bed inn —...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010
Tending to the city's 'holy envoys of the gods'
A recent news report that a pregnant Nara Park deer was killed by a crossbow bolt fired by a restaurateur from Wakayama Prefecture who was strapped for cash and looking to sell the meat was a sobering reminder of just how vulnerable the 1,000-plus deer living in the park really are.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010
Tabi-maker steps out in style
Ryo Yonehara is the 30-year-old president of Tabi-ji, a Nara-based company making and selling tabi (traditional Japanese split-toe footwear).
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010
Gods are on boom
An eighth-century lacquered sculpture of Ashura, the Buddhist deity of war, reached superhero status last year when it was taken from Kofukuji Temple in Nara to be displayed at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, then later at the Kyushu National Museum in Fukuoka.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010
Slow 'n' easy
This year is the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of Japan's first major capital, named Heijokyo, and its present-day home prefecture of Nara is basking in that ancient spotlight.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010
Cooking up a menu mixing local and Thai
Motoko Yamada, 27, the manager of a Thai restaurant named Rahotsu, has lived in Nara since 2002, when she moved to the prefecture to attend Nara Women's University. A welfare studies major who wanted to put her knowledge to work in local communities, after graduation it was a natural decision for her...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 23, 2010
Angelic vocal choir to sing Lennon, hymns
The "voices of the angles" are back.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 18, 2010
U.K. chef hails sake as 'sexy'
London-based chef and TV presenter Silvena Rowe is best-known in Britain as an expert on eastern Mediterranean cuisine. But in Japan last month, she had her compass set entirely elsewhere — promoting the "sex appeal" of sake to Japan's younger generations.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 2, 2010
Spring vegetables feature at open-air market
Look hard enough at the supermarket shelves today and you may find some obscure vegetables that you will hardly see at other times of the year. Whether it be taranome (shoots of Aralia elata, known also as the Japanese angelica-tree), urui (the young leaves of a plantain lily), or kogomi (the young shoots...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Mar 30, 2010
A fresh approach to Japanese food
Nicolas Soergel graciously brings two tiny plates to the table. They each contain three pinkish "umeboshi" (salted, dry plums), but those on one of the plates have been preserved for just one year; the ones on the other plate — whose skins are a little more wrinkled — are three years old....
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Mar 21, 2010
Moves afoot to make Japanese holidays a pleasure not a pain
It's a seasonal phenomenon in Japan: lines of cars 40-km long and more clogging expressways; super- jammed shinkansen terminals and airports; and hot-spring resorts besieged by visitors crammed cheek to cheek in the steaming baths, imo-arai-style (literally, "washing potatoes in a bucket").
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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