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November 22, 2024
 

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J.J. O'Donoghue
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Apr 10, 2015
A neoclassic return to the golden age of hamburgers at 58 Diner
In recent times, Japan has offered up a noteworthy list of burgers, with the newest additions being Burger King's "Kuro Burger," followed by a similar version at McDonald's (unsurprising given that one thing you could never accuse either company of is true originality). Here's something more substantial...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 4, 2015
'North Korea Confidential' shows how citizens flirt with consumption in their everyday lives
What is life really like for the more than 24 million citizens of Asia's so-called hermit state — the Democratic People's Republic of Korea?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 4, 2015
'Intimate Rivals' gives needed context to Japan and China's volatile relationship
The relationship between Japan and China extends back more than a millennium but, in spite of (or, perhaps, because of) all that the two countries have borrowed, traded and shared, that relationship could be best summed up as "Intimate Rivals" — the title of Sheila A. Smith's new book.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 26, 2015
Twenty years of 'Riverdance' and it's never been out of step
"Riverdance" is returning to Japan. Twenty years on from its debut as an interval in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, the Irish step-dancing show that revamped and massively expanded the genre's global appeal is returning to Japan for its sixth tour.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Mar 24, 2015
Beating the cliches on Italian food
Judging by the staggering number of Italian and French restaurants in Japan it would be hard to call which European cuisine is more popular: perhaps both, equally.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Mar 24, 2015
Cool and casual at Osaka's Garb Monaque
Garb Monaque, a cafe, bar and restaurant, occupies a funky building — think of a birdcage that's been twisted at both ends — between Osaka Station and Grand Front Osaka, two playgrounds devoted to conspicuous consumption.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Mar 10, 2015
Ryuheisoba offers new enjoyment to Japan's humble noodle
'Go west," U.S. singer Nathalie Merchant implores in her 1995 track "San Andreas Fault." "Paradise is there."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2015
Parasophia to take Kyoto into the now
What goes through your head when you look at contemporary art? Standing in front of, say, Damien Hirst's shark in formaldehyde ("Is this art or taxidermy?"), Tracey Emin's bed ("Anybody could do that"), Jeff Koon's giant balloon-like poodles ("Kitsch," or "preemptive kitsch," as one critic called them)...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 24, 2015
Craft Beer Base brews niche following
Osaka has been going through a minor boom in craft beer bars over the past few years. This is undoubtedly good news for drinkers who want more than what's on offer from the big four brewers of Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 24, 2015
Beef served big and loud at Buff
Highway FM is possibly the worst radio station ever, unless you like your music country and each song laced with messages of patriotism, a work hard, play hard mantra or neighborly love. Sometimes a bit too much love.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 21, 2015
Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan's Premodern Capital
Matthew Stavros is a historian of early Japan at the University of Sydney, and I imagine that reading his book on Kyoto's inception through to its medieval period is rather like attending a series of his lectures.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 21, 2015
Marguerite Paget: 'Get out, take a deep breath and go for it'
Kyotographie International Photography Festival spokeswoman Marguerite Paget on materialism, hammers and Bobby McFerrin
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Feb 10, 2015
Nothing drawn out about Kappo Yamashita
This might be the year of kappo dining for me. Recently, I have often found myself seated at sparse counters opposite small teams of industrious chefs, synchronized by their movements: cutting, peeling, grating, stirring, broiling, searing, tasting and fielding questions from patrons.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Feb 10, 2015
Sweet treats await Valentines at Qu'il Fait Bon
I would like to go back to Qu'il Fait Bon on Valentine's Day, but I think humans would sooner live on Mars before I'd secure a table there on that occasion.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Jan 27, 2015
Flavor without the fireworks at Osaka's Ajikitcho
Rene Redzepi, currently Denmark's second most famous export — behind Lego but ahead of Carlsberg — in an interview with Japan Times food columnist Robbie Swinnerton paid high compliments to the wait staff in Japan calling them "some of the best on Earth."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Jan 27, 2015
No kitsch tag for Kitahama Retro's delight
If in some yet-to-be-explained plot twist the British TV show "Downton Abbey" winds up in Osaka, expect Kitahama Retro to play a starring role. It's period perfect — right down to the maid in her pinafore, the linen curtains, silver-service tea sets and giant egg omelet sandwich. It's a recipe for...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 24, 2015
Jonathan Clements: Diving alongside a slowly sinking nation
When the pop singer Justin Bieber was in Japan in the spring of 2014 he asked his driver to make an impromptu stop at a shrine in Tokyo. Naturally, Bieber posted some photos of his shrine visit online, but instead of getting likes, his photos prompted outrage. Bieber, like Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 24, 2015
Stephen Gill: 'Don't believe everything you hear or read'
University lecturer Stephen gill on haiku, hiking barefoot and Kyoto ice-cream
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 22, 2015
Musicians, two screens and a poet recapture Stravinsky's spirit in 'Sanka's Winter Ritual'
The avant-garde scene in Kyoto has a unique challenge, being based in a city where tradition is synonymous with local identity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2015
The City that Silk Built
Kyoto has long been generous to its writers, stretching from Murasaki Shikibu, with "The Tale of Genji," right through to Yukio Mishima, with "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion." The poet Matsuo Basho also penned several memorable haiku while decamped here.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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’

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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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