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November 22, 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 17, 2007
Japan's master of an ancient Muslim art
For Kouichi Honda, writing a beautiful line is what life is about. Getting every detail right — the subtle curves, the varying thicknesses and the density of the ink — matters to him as much as life itself.
LIFE
Jun 10, 2007
When and how you slumber is not as simple as it may seem
Getting up early is one of those things that people older and wiser always say is "good for you.''
Japan Times
LIFE / QUEUING
May 27, 2007
Disney bids to make the waiting fun
If you are looking for some long, hot lines, Tokyo Disney Resort, comprising the Disneyland and DisneySea theme parks, surely beats all others as your destination of choice.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 1, 2007
Blasting off for Golden Week
Tired of sitting in front of computers all day long? Sick of sucking up exhaust as you walk down the street? Have you been pondering life's meaning and, above all, our meager existence in this world?
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 22, 2007
Mutual benefits as East meets East
Prior to the 1990s, most people in Japan probably knew little more about India than it was the home of curry, snake-charmers and the Taj Mahal.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 15, 2007
Train fan's dream buy is derailed online
Internet-auction sites allow people to sell and buy, at the click of a mouse or with a push on a cellphone button, almost anything from brand bags to resort condominiums to moldy Imperial Japanese Army uniforms. And, according to a 2005 report by Nomura Research Institute, in Japan it's a market that...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 20, 2007
Tragedy swirls around Tamiflu
On Feb. 4, 2004, on a cold, snowy day in Gero, Gifu Prefecture, Haruhiko Nokiba's 17-year-old son fell sick. The fevered teen visited a local doctor, tested negative for a flu virus but was prescribed an antiviral drug called Symmetrel. He took a capsule that evening and another the following morning,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Mar 11, 2007
What happens when blog bullies get hot under the collar
In April last year, Jiji Press technology reporter Tsuruaki Yukawa felt as if he had enemies all around him.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 20, 2007
TV shows spur 'health' food fads
How many people would believe a doctor who says eating two packages of natto fermented soybeans every day helps you lose weight?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 23, 2007
'Listen' to your nose: sniff out a calming custom
Swing by any variety store and you will notice how popular aromatherapy has become. There you will find a wide variety of shiny little bottles containing oil extracts of rose, lavender or sandalwood. Along with foot massage, onsen (hot springs) and the music of Mozart, inhaling aromas has in recent years...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 21, 2007
Personal style gurus for common people
When Japan's star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka inked a $52 million deal to play for the Boston Red Sox in mid-December, one of the most memorable comments he made in a packed news conference on his return from the United States was that he was frustrated with having to go through an agent in the negotiations....
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 31, 2006
Eyeing Japan's new year and far, far beyond
The future may be fundamentally uncertain, but people's appetite for predictions of what will be happening in days, weeks, months, years or even decades to come is one thing, at least, that is certain to be part of it.
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 31, 2006
Shaping our future along with robots
Yoshiyuki Sankai is a professor of engineering at Tsukuba University in Ibaraki Prefecture and a front-runner in the field of "cybernics," which combines robotics with a wide array of academic disciplines, including neurology, information technology, behavioral science and psychology. Now aged 48, he...
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 24, 2006
Sutra-writing by hand to boost the brain
Amid the current national craze over anything that might boost brainpower -- or at least help its legions of elderly to retain their mental functions -- a relatively low-key, centuries-old Buddhist practice has lately been attracting a lot of attention.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 19, 2006
Take note: You needn't always think straight
'How-to" business books are stacked knee-high in bookstores and advertisements for motivational seminars continue to multiply through commuter trains.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Dec 17, 2006
How can anyone remember 100,000 numbers?
Unless you're a mathematician or an engineer, pi probably ranks high on the list of things that are of little or absolutely no use in your life.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 21, 2006
Label not enough for a healthy diet
Next time you go grocery shopping, take a closer look at the beverages, yogurt and other packaged foods on display in the store you're visiting. You'll most likely find a number of products bearing a special logo and a carefully worded sentence touting their health benefits.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 5, 2006
Joi Ito: Master of multitasking
Joichi Ito, better known as Joi Ito, defies any one simple label.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 17, 2006
Visiting a theme park sure beats working, unless . . .
Japan has lots of young people who are out of work or not even in the hunt for a job. The government estimates that 850,000 people, from teens through to their 30s, fall into the category of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Then there are the "freeters," youths who only work odd jobs...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 17, 2006
Bizarre bouts of self-expression
Nearly 300 spectators cheered wildly as disco music blared. A spotlight picked out two fighters approaching the ring to kick off a puroresu (prowrestling) event held recently in a Tokyo town hall.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

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

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