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J.J. O'Donoghue
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2016
'The Story of Emoji' speaks for the symbols we speak through
There are two types of people in the world: those who fret about the invasion of emoji, and those who seem to have umbilical attachment to them. Gavin Lucas is most likely in the second category. Though his book is called "The Story of Emoji," a more accurate title might have been "The Story and Possibilities...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jun 10, 2016
Okina: The intangible joys of heirloom eggplant
In 2013, UNESCO gave Japanese cuisine, or washoku, Intangible Cultural Heritage status, an unwieldy mouthful that left some people wondering, "What's that?" A recent lunch at Okina, near the tourist mecca of Arashiyama in northwest Kyoto, provided a clear path through the official language.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jun 10, 2016
Ichikawaya Coffee: A young cafe inside a 200-year-old wooden townhouse
Many of Kyoto's traditional wooden machiya townhouses are being renovated, and one of the most enchanting ones that has recently opened to the public can be found a few minutes walk from the endless stream of tourists visiting Kiyomizu Temple.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 28, 2016
Thomas Bertrand: 'My passion for food makes me very curious'
French entrepreneur on bento boxes on trains and putting a bit of salt and lemon on rice.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
May 27, 2016
Chi-Fu: Chinese-Japanese fusion dressed in French clothing
Chi-Fu is a French restaurant in every sense except the cooking. The maitre d' and wait staff are besuited and seemingly straight-laced, the linens are crisp white, the wine list is long and, yes, there are the inevitable oversize plates on which chefs sparsely arrange morsels connected by a sprinkling...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
May 27, 2016
Naniwa: The taste of summer in Japan
The small and flimsy Naniwa cafe is located on Tengonakazakidori, one of my favorite shōtengai shopping streets in Osaka. Compared to the neighboring Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai, which stretches for 2.6 kilometers, Tengonakazakidori Shotengai is a short stroll. What it lacks in length it makes up for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 21, 2016
Where's the beef? Matsusaka looks to carve out a name for itself
Mie Prefecture's meat industry seeks to promote its prime marbled cuts worldwide.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 21, 2016
'Christ's Samurai' is an account of the days when Japan went to war with Christianity
Jonathan Clement's latest book focuses on the troubled arrival of Christianity to Japan, and the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Catholic Christian peasants in 1637-38.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
May 13, 2016
Sakamoto offers an 'only in Kyoto' experience
There's every chance that while dining at Sakamoto you'll end up in a tourist's photo. It's not because of who you are, but where you are. Diners sit overlooking the shallow Shirakawa River, which is lined with restaurants, bars and cafes on one side, and a cobbled street with cherry trees and willows...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
May 13, 2016
A sweet retreat in Toraya's tea rooms
Tokyoites could be forgiven for thinking Toraya is theirs as it has been based in Tokyo for more than a century. This famous teahouse and confectioner, however, has its origins in Kyoto. When the capital moved to Tokyo, Toraya followed suit, moving its operational base both to curry favor with the Emperor...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Apr 22, 2016
Ukon: Traditional kaiseki cuisine served in a bento box
The answer: bento box. The question: What Japanese food — or type of meal — would I miss most if I left Japan? And now for some qualifications, before an explanation in the form of a restaurant review.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Apr 22, 2016
541+: Mastering the art of dumplings and elaborate puns
There are all manner of euphemisms to describe the size of 541+: cozy, intimate, snug. But in reality it's a closet containing three small tables separated from the kitchen by a fridge.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2016
Kyoto's photographic slice of life
Kyotographie is growing up. The international photography festival, which runs for a month at various stunning venues throughout Kyoto, is in its fourth year. So far there have been no signs of growing pains, even if the Kyotographie team members appear a little exhausted as they gather at their ramshackle...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 16, 2016
'Six Four' is a haunted, complex novel by Japan's heavyweight crime writer
Prior to writing crime novels, Hideo Yokoyama worked at the Jomo Shimbun newspaper in Gunma Prefecture for 12 years, first as a police reporter and then as a desk editor. The police beat, and the relationship between the police and press is central to the complex machinations in "Six Four," Yokoyama's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Apr 8, 2016
Godan Miyazawa: Traditional multicourse cuisine unsettled by a wild bear
Regrets? I have a ton. Here's one: I didn't get to eat bear meat at Godan Miyazawa. Perhaps one of the drawbacks of the omakase (chef's selection) here is that there's no actual menu to provide information about what's being served. Trusting your chef is a small price to pay for an elaborate multicourse...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Apr 8, 2016
Nick Stock: The steaks are high but the muzak is terrible
There is elevator muzak and shopping channel muzak, but combine these two subgenres and you'll have a type of muzak so bland that even a computer would be embarrassed to claim ownership of it. Yet there's no avoiding this banal background music at Nick Stock, a steakhouse and cafe just west of Kyoto...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Mar 25, 2016
Fujimoto: Superlative sushi at an informal counter restaurant
Fujimoto is that rare kind of sushi restaurant that has covered many bases without tripping over any of them along the way. Take the price, for example. While the omakase (set menu) options for lunch and dinner are priced between ¥3,500 and ¥6,000, the a la carte menu starts from around ¥900 for a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Mar 25, 2016
Ramen Yashichi: Enjoy some of the city's best noodles without lining up
Yashichi is a notable ramen shop on two counts: it ranked 39 on review website Tabelog's top 50 ramen restaurants for 2016 and has devised a way of dealing with its popularity by eliminating long lines to get it. Rather, when you pull up to its ramshackle exterior, one of the servers will issue you with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 19, 2016
There's just one problem with Marie Kondo's 'Spark Joy'
In "Spark Joy" Marie Kondo, the decluttering guru and publishing phenomenon, looks to build on the success of her debut, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up," by more or less repeating herself. The only noticeable additions are cute illustrations revealing how to fold panties and trunks, pack your...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 16, 2016
Kyoto monk on a mission opens his doors to diversity
Business-savvy Zen abbot invites media attention, praise and criticism with his embrace of same-sex weddings.
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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