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November 22, 2024
 

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J.J. O'Donoghue
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 13, 2015
Eat Osaka teaches you how to cook like a local
Here's a joke unlikely to be endorsed by the Osaka Government Tourism Bureau: "There are three great reasons to visit Osaka: great people, great food and because Kyoto doesn't have an airport." The truth hurts, even if it's also mildly humorous.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jan 13, 2015
Jiki Miyazawa keeps the focus on the food
After the excess of the holidays, the exactitude and temperance of lunch at Jiki Miyazawa was a welcome treat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jan 13, 2015
The peculiarties of pizza aren't an issue at Mercato in Kyoto
I once heard that Japan is the land of milk and honey . . . on pizzas. Thankfully, this is not the case at Mercato. The only unwanted topping to feature on chef Chihiro Togo's pizzas is sweet corn, which is best served where it began — on the cob. You can't blame the Japanese for sweet corn on pizza,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 3, 2015
Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
"Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan," first published in 2000, is a comprehensive and convincing biography of the wartime Emperor Hirohito and one which set out to shatter the myth that he was merely a figurehead, isolated from the power play that saw Japan militarize on a massive scale.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 3, 2015
Fu-go
At the same time as the U.S. Air Force was reducing Japanese cities to rubble in the final year of World War II, mainland America was also being threatened by aerial attack. Free-floating balloons, loaded with bombs, were launched from Japan's Pacific coast aimed at the U.S. mainland more than 10,000...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Dec 24, 2014
Early morning sushi in Osaka that's a cut above the rest
If someone were to ask me where the best place in Osaka to go for sushi at 5 a.m. is, I would answer — immediately and unequivocally — that it's Endo's. Of course, it might also be the only place open at such an ungodly hour, owing to its location at the Osaka central market.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 20, 2014
Japanese Things: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan
"Japanese Things," originally titled "Things Japanese" when it was published in 1890, is the book that launched a branch of publishing: explaining Japan and the Japanese to everyone, including themselves. You could draw a line connecting Alice Gordenker's excellent "So, What the Heck is That?" column...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 18, 2014
Navigating Japan with a family at New Year's
Let's be honest. We're adults. New Year's in Japan can be a bit hectic. And then static. It's one of the longest, if not the longest, holiday periods in the year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Dec 9, 2014
Aji-Zen's noodle sets are worth getting 'sauced'
'Tis the season for Christmas analogies. On the first day of December I wound my way round downtown Kyoto, hoisting and reining in my umbrella because the weather couldn't make up its mind. At the first inn I called upon there was no room; I went to a second inn and was met with the same response. I...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Dec 9, 2014
Enjoy the warmth of a soup and sandwich at Mina_Mina
I started my year of reviews in Nishioji, a suburb west of Kyoto Station, which might not stand out but for a few notable cafes. One of these is Hagi and another is Mina_Mina, where owner and baker Jiro Yamaguchi transformed an old home into a cozy cafe and bakery. The bakery is located to the back of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Nov 25, 2014
Tackle a mountain of tempura at Tottuan
Is there ever a good time to be under a train? Well, yes. If it happens to be in Tottuan, which is directly under the loop line in Osaka. Every time a train rolls by you hear it, feel it — but not in a startling way — it's just another part of the rhythm and ambience of a great little izakaya (Japanese...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Nov 25, 2014
Ramen under the tracks
Usually I'm three sheets to the wind when I slurp down ramen, but the ramen at Fusama ni Kakero is worth staying sober for.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 23, 2014
Teaching quality, not lesson quantity, may be key to Japan's top math marks
Japan spends less on education than most OECD countries, so why do its students continue to outperform their Western counterparts in math?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 22, 2014
Blood & Guts
"Blood & Guts" by Australian journalist Sam Vincent is a behind-the-scenes investigation into whaling and a tale of two countries. Australia is on one side, united in its love of whales and its condemnation of Japan, which has refused to stop killing whales in the Antarctic despite (or perhaps in spite...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 22, 2014
Gender and Nation in Meiji Japan
Recently the "London Review of Books" described the Khrushchev Thaw — the period, beginning during the mid-1950s, when Russia became a little more open and less draconian — as "expansive and repressive."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Nov 11, 2014
Kyo no Okazu: Fresh from the vegetable garden to the plate
If you had to learn only one pair of Japanese words pertaining to food (you should probably learn more, but...), I would advocate for oishii (delicious) and okawari (a second helping).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Nov 11, 2014
Nishitomiya Croquette Store: Crunchy snacks that are perfect for pairing
When you think of eating croquettes you don't usually picture yourself doing so over a wine cask with a glass of red, Camembert cheese, thinly sliced salted ham, figs and olives. At Nishitomiya croquettes have been gentrified, but thankfully not in the pejorative sense. Price-wise they're only a little...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 8, 2014
Finding Murakami in his own weird worlds
Consider this hypothetical conundrum: Haruki Murakami is (finally) awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, but what does the author have to say for himself on Japanese television?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Oct 29, 2014
Kansai: Who would you like to see replace the scandal-hit female ministers who quit?
Views from Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo Prefecture about who, in an ideal world, should have been given the jobs vacated by two female ministers on Oct. 20.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Oct 21, 2014
Mantenya: Eccentric food for eccentric people
Where would a journalist be without his or her contacts? Most likely not in Mantenya, a pocket-sized tempura restaurant near Tenma in Osaka. I am based in Kyoto, so Osaka is a bit of a known unknown. Luckily I have two contacts who have yet to set me wrong.
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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