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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Aug 20, 2006

Medieval gem to blow you away

Heidelberg's a blast! This German university town has something about it that simply says "style." It also has a history of revolutionary ideas, religious schisms, destruction, anarchy and heroic restoration.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Mar 3, 2006

Water, water . . . almost everywhere

Squeezed between the Sumida and Arakawa rivers, sliced with canals, and facing Tokyo Bay, Koto Ward is sometimes known as the "Venice of Tokyo." While the comparison is a considerable stretch -- many of the canals have been filled in or obscured by buildings and highways, and you certainly won't spot...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 23, 2005

Plenty of ways to howl in the new year

Once again, it is time to make that all-important decision about where to spend the magic midnight moment when the calendar starts anew. According to the Chinese zodiac, the cock will pass his hat on to the dog. And, as usual, there are several options for parties where, this year, you can let out a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 2, 2005

Once-lovable prince goes medieval

Like any other entertainment medium, it isn't hard to point out certain qualities that suggest whether a game was developed in Japan or abroad. Japanese games tend to be very character driven, boast a more artistic visual style and are often a part of a long-standing series. ("Final Fantasy XII" rings...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 20, 2005

PIFF: Asia's magnet for movies

The Pusan International Film Festival, which took place Oct. 6-14, marked its 10th year with its biggest program ever -- 307 films from 73 countries. These numbers alone make PIFF the largest annual film-related event in Asia, and with the Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) taking place in the Korean port city...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 6, 2005

Give them what they want

When Paul Baron moved to Tokyo three years ago, he was excited to explore the city's vast art world as he had been an avid follower of art events while studying graphic design in London. There was only one problem: Where to find out what was going on. It should have been easy; it should have all been...
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Apr 6, 2005

From Zen to story, a tale of artists East and West

The Mori Art Museum in Roppongi is not yet two years old but the two new Mori shows that opened last weekend -- "The Elegance of Silence: Contemporary Art from East Asia" and "The World is a Stage: Stories Behind Pictures" -- suggest a space now comfortable with its potential and its limitations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Jan 28, 2005

Epson's bold gamble leaves door ajar for Canon

Pole position in Japan's home printer market changed hands in 2004 for the first time in eight years, with the two principal rivals in the sector pursuing starkly contrasting product strategies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 13, 2005

Fossils reveal human drift to 'beauty'

The 18th-century British philosopher David Hume said "Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty."
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2004

New Nintendo console analysts' choice

The PlayStation Portable is the talk of the town, after basking in the limelight at a recent game show.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2004

Suzuki unveils restyled 650,000 yen Alto minicar

Suzuki Motor Corp. on Monday took the wraps off a restyled Alto minicar that features a low price tag and high fuel efficiency.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 30, 2004

Creating mirages: the Muslim world onscreen

While Hollywood has a long tradition of demonizing Muslims, Japanese filmmakers have taken a decidedly more benign approach
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Blood centers get creative to lure donors

Mitsuko Kobayashi often gave blood at local Red Cross centers as a young girl, because her mother said she should try to help people. But after giving birth two years ago, she found such trips difficult with a child in tow.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2003

3G phones to boast music, animation

Animation attachments for e-mail, complex role-playing video games and Hollywood film cuts as screen savers will be some of the features offered in new third-generation cell phones from Japan's top mobile carrier.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2003

Sony, DoCoMo team up for e-money cell phones

Sony Corp. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Monday they will jointly develop integrated circuit chip technology that will allow mobile phone users to pay for groceries and train fares using their handsets.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2003

Junta critic's 'Burma's Children' photo show portrays Myanmar plight

Munesuke Yamamoto's visa applications to Myanmar have repeatedly been rejected since the freelance photographer conducted an exclusive interview with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon in September 1998.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Oct 10, 2003

Sherry lovers lap up the soul of Spain

Sherry. The mere mention of the word is enough to conjure up images of debauched grandmothers singing from the kitchen, "One for the cook, one for the pot." But as we recently discovered, sherry can be quite a sophisticated drink, with styles ranging from bone-dry aperitif wines to thick, nectar-of-the-gods,...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Mar 27, 2003

A garden is born

After a cool March, the first warm days of spring are working their magic, and people are eagerly waiting for cherry trees to fill with blossoms.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 6, 2002

A message of tolerance set in stone

History is never short on irony. The Indian subcontinent, now one of the world's most unstable nuclear hotbeds, once cradled a religion founded on nonviolence. And what is today a breeding ground for sectarian fundamentalism was the birthplace of a rich artistic heritage that drew deeply on the tolerant...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 6, 2002

When every channel is the same channel

Ever since the advent of that popular programming idea known as the "wide show" in the mid-1980s, so-called hard news and tabloid news have slowly merged into an alloy of informational reporting that defies easy categorization.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Sep 22, 2002

Recession? What recession?

For many, the mere thought of Champagne is enough to make the pulse race and the tongue tingle. Josephine de Beauharnais, the wife of Napoleon and Empress of France 1796-99, once remarked that "making love without a bottle of Champagne alongside my bed is merely silly." For those looking to indulge in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2002

Trance music: Taking it to the next level

When deep into the music at a trance party, most people dance a sort of mechanized primal stomp, working their arms like pistons and clomping their feet. Although these maneuvers may look awkward, they are a natural reaction to the music's rigidly 4/4 industrial-sounding beats, which, though sublime...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

The complete picture

The late Hiroshi Teshigahara was not only the "iemoto" (head) of the Sogetsu school of ikebana and a noted traditional potter, he was also a film director of international fame, best known for his 1964 picture "Woman in the Dunes." The sumptuously designed DVD collection "Teshigara Hiroshi no Sekai"...
Japan Times
Events
Apr 2, 2002

'Eco-building' offers green example

KYOTO -- The three-story building in Fushimi Ward looks no different from other buildings, but it is an "eco-building" that provides environmental education for visitors.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 6, 2001

'Shrek,' 'Final Fantasy' raise bar for DVDs

When ogres and space monsters battled last summer, the ogres won handsomely. At least they did in box offices across the United States.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 7, 2001

Tokyo in a tub

There was a time when virtually every city neighborhood had a public bathhouse. Those days are over, but the soothing waters haven't completely dried up. Here in Tokyo, there is a variety of sento from which to choose. And if traditional bathhouses aren't up to your standards, you can try kenkoland (literally,...
BUSINESS
May 28, 2001

Sea change in Japan's values

Japan is in the midst of change in its social value system.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2001

The garden of good and herbal

Herbs have been used in Japan for hundreds of years, for both culinary and medicinal purposes, and a fun way to learn more about the rich heritage of Japanese folk remedies is to visit a herb garden.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2001

Microsoft shows off the Xbox

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Attendees at the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show on Saturday were given the first public viewing of Xbox, the new 128-bit video game console being developed by computer software giant Microsoft.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan