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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 29, 2021

In a scarred Hong Kong, 'beautiful things are gone'

People who want a democratic future are regrouping behind an invisible front line: The memory of what happened in 2019.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 12, 2021

Shozo Street is ‘sacred ground’ for cafe lovers

The town of Kuroiso might seem an unlikely candidate for one of Japan's top coffee destinations. But Shozo Kikuchi has kicked off 30 years of community revitalization, one cafe at a time.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 24, 2020

Takashi Omae: Uplifting his community through udon

Noodle chef Takashi Omae on coming up with ramen-udon noodle fusion recipes, how COVID-19 has impacted business and his recent film debut.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2020

Tochigi city launches project to help potential residents open ramen shops

The municipal government of Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, has launched a project to help potential settlers open ramen noodle shops in the area.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Sep 21, 2019

Signs of life: Urban renewal in Nakamachi

The oldest surviving quarter of Toba, Mie Prefecture, pins its hopes on crafts and small businesses to stay afloat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE HIGH GROUNDS
Jun 8, 2019

Great coffee makes for a better shopping experience

Though many shops still have a 'no food or drink' rule, there are a growing number in Tokyo that offer high-quality coffee alongside curated retail products, so you can keep your shopping energy up.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 10, 2018

The standing bars of Osaka: Cheap, cheerful and nostalgic

The origin of tachinomi can be traced to the Edo Period (1603-1868), when sake shops started offering customers a quick tipple from square wooden measuring cups known as masu. Since then, they have become neighborhood institutions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Oct 5, 2018

Banking on the riverside alleyways of Komagata

Venerated establishments and new shops putting their own spin on traditional food and craft exist side by side in Tokyo's aquatic Komagata neighborhood.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 6, 2018

History is woven into the very fabric of Ome

Ome has a long history of high-quality textile production, and today's designers are trying to preserve old fabrics and techniques while still giving them a contemporary update.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jul 1, 2018

From Tokyo to London: This is the house that Japan built

As London's new cultural hub of all things Japanese, Japan House London's minimalist interiors, striking central spiral staircase, displays of nnovative design, art and architectural works and classy top-floor restaurant impressively avoid the all-too-easy preconceptions about Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 18, 2017

Japan’s 'kanban' are still hanging in there

Little information remains about the personal life of the artisan Kojiro Shimizu. His personality and interests, his passions and motivations — all are shrouded in mystery. What we know is that he worked in Kyoto in the late 19th and early 20th century and that he appeared to be on good terms with...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
May 20, 2017

Shoemaker Hidetaka Fukaya models creations on feline elegance

A renowned craftsman in Florence is working hard to maintain his freedom of expression as a shoemaker.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 5, 2017

Pineapple cakes, pirouettes and petals in Aoyama

The one time of year I'm happy to linger in Aoyama Cemetery is when the venerable rows of old cherry trees growing around the gravestones blossom. Before heading there, though, I decide to first get in the mood with a bit of personal spring renewal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Dec 24, 2016

It's a small world after all in Komagome

On a crisp and cloudless winter morning, the streets outside Komagome Station in Tokyo's Toshima Ward scintillate with shards of sunlight cutting between sharp shadows. I bundle up against the cold, and set off to seek out an artisan that I heard tell of on a backstreet last summer. It's a luxury to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Sep 18, 2016

Freezing of Tsukiji relocation plan draws cheers, jeers

Hiroyasu Ito, chairman of the Tsukiji Market Association, has been "extremely shocked" twice in the past two weeks by the latest twist in the world-famous fish market's relocation plan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 13, 2015

No reservations about eating in Tokyo

We arrive a little before the soba shop opens and wait in the rain. A waitress slides the door to one side and hangs up a noren, a traditional curtain used to indicate that a shop is open. She looks at us — two Americans — and says in Japanese that the restaurant is a member's only shop and that...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jul 4, 2015

Emperor photographed; gendarmes arrested; teen held after Tokyo shooting spree; work becoming easier

100 YEARS AGO
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 24, 2015

Monkeying around in Sarugakucho

Sarugakucho — which loosely translates as "monkey fun town" — is a hot spot near Daikanyama Station in Shibuya, Tokyo. As a place to hang out, this area sets the bar pretty high: Its backstreets are a zoo of uber-cute boutiques offering exclusive jeans, aromatic drip coffee made with gourmet beans,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 28, 2014

Not ducking tradition in Higashi-Ueno

With its lotus-laden Shinobazu pond, park grounds, and national museums, the Ueno area in Tokyo draws millions of visitors a year. Nearby Higashi-Ueno (Eastern Ueno), however, seems to be another world altogether. When I exit Shin-Okachimachi station, under skies portending summer heat, this low-lying...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 27, 2014

Can big names help the plight of small factories?

The smooth, metallic surface reflects the sunlight coming through the window. Without touching it you can see that this is an object made with great care — even though it came from a factory. I'm inside a shop run by Lexus in Tokyo, but what I'm looking at isn't part of a luxury car, it's a small metal...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 13, 2014

The avant-garde of old and new, plus a quick reminder that the 'real' sales are nigh

In November last year, Issey Miyake opened an extra-large Omotesando shop called "Reality Lab," which features his more experimental lines all under one roof. These include 132 5., a wearable line of origami-folded clothing cut from fabric derived from recycled PET bottles, and IN-EI, a line of pleated...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 2, 2013

Let's talk 100 percent kawaii!

Long before the mayor of Shibuya announced pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu as an official ambassador of kawaii culture, Sebastian Masuda, her art director, had been on a mission to spread "kawaii culture" across the world, advocating it as not only a potent source of Japan's emerging soft power, but also...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 26, 2013

Mining gems in Okachimachi

On early maps of Edo, as Tokyo was known prior to 1868, Okachimachi is rendered as a town (machi) densely packed with the tiny dwellings of okachi — low-ranked, poorly paid samurai infantry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2012

Softbank bets on credit card tieup

In an attempt to change the deep-rooted cash culture in Japan, Softbank Corp. is hoping to create a business opportunity here by teaming up with U.S.-based PayPal Inc.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Aug 14, 2012

Parisienne cool reaches Tokyo

Isabel Marant, the queen of French haute-casual wear, has finally opened her first shop in Japan, right off of Tokyo's Omotesando promenade.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 17, 2011

Tis the season to tell stories

The warmth of the holiday season often cooks up a nice story — a helping of good will to be served with turkey and plum pudding, osechi and omochi or whatever other delicacies might grace your international table.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 26, 2011

Morishita: treats in place of the trees

Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees. According to Akinori Saito, a historian in Tokyo's Koto Ward Office, the area known as Morishita (lit. "forest below") was most likely named for woods that surrounded the yashiki (residence) of a feudal lord named Saemon Sakai (1564-1619), a retainer...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 9, 2011

The narrow roads of Senju

In the frantic yearend season known as shiwasu (lit. "teachers running"), when even dignified people grow harried, a friend invited me to play hooky from the madness and take a ramble together around her Tokyo neighborhood. Since the gift of time together is a great one, I hopped the next train to Senju...

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?