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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Oct 23, 2015

A La Campagne: A patisserie lacking a little 'je ne sais quoi'

A La Campagne, or "in the countryside" is a loosely French-themed chain of patisseries and cafes. The first shop opened in the sweet-toothed city of Kobe in 1984 and since then they have been sprouting up all over Japan. On a recent sojourn to Osaka, I popped into the branch in the city's Shinsaibashi...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Oct 21, 2015

Tokyo can feel less than welcoming to food allergy sufferers

Japan needs to improve labeling and education surrounding food allergies, and increase allergen-safe options.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 21, 2015

Join the zombie horde for Halloween this year

Last Halloween I showed up at a nightclub in Shibuya wearing a pair of fangs and a sexy dress and expected to get the costume discount. The doorman laughed in my face.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 19, 2015

An increasingly bitter battle of the ages brews in Japan

The elderly believe that having worked themselves to the bone their entire lives, they deserve to have fun. Society, though, is becoming less sympathetic to this view.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 16, 2015

Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta: Don't let the name fool you, this is the best ramen in northern Tokyo

Is ramen Japanese or Chinese? That particular question is clearly a non-starter for the good folks at Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta — whose name stakes out their position. But, to clarify things, you won't find buckwheat noodles in their bowls; what you get is arguably the finest ramen in northern Tokyo....
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2015

Apply hospitality to all of humanity

The column "Omotenashi comes up short on humility" in the Oct. 11 edition gave me a chance to ponder the essence of omotenashi (hospitality).
JAPAN / HOTEL SPECIAL 2015
Oct 16, 2015

Grand Hyatt serves best of autumn harvest

Grand Hyatt Tokyo is offering autumn menus at all of its restaurants, featuring a colorful lineup of dishes for guests to enjoy the harvest season with family and friends.
Rugby
Oct 14, 2015

Rugby fever sweeps Japan, as Goromaru and Co. become household names

Rugby fever has swept the field in Japan after the national team gained its best-ever three wins at the Rugby World Cup 2015.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 14, 2015

Animal advocates divided over shelter practices

Foreign volunteers break off contact with Tokyo NPO over conditions at dog facility.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 10, 2015

Home sweet home: Preserving the traditional Kanazawa townhouse

Traditional wooden townhouses called machiya could once be found throughout Japan and were especially common in cities such as Kyoto and Nara in Kansai, as well as Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 10, 2015

Saitama's 'Little Edo' is big on Japan's colorful history

As my smartphone clock flashes from 11:59 a.m. to 12 p.m., I watch the visitors to Kawagoe, in Saitama Prefecture wipe the sweat from their foreheads and direct their attention toward a more primitive form of time keeping — the Toki no Kane (Bell of Time) tower in the middle of the town square.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 10, 2015

'Omotenashi' comes up short on humility

A Japanese friend who used to travel a lot for work told me of a funny thing that once happened to her in a Tokyo hotel. She was checking in when a bellhop came up and, without saying anything, picked up her bag. She resented the presumption and tried to yank it out of his hand. A silent tug of war ensued....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Oct 10, 2015

Fashion premieres and opening ceremonies

October debut for Gaultier's Sept Premieres
Japan Times
TENNIS
Oct 10, 2015

Paire ousts Nishikori in semis

Defending champion Kei Nishikori crashed out of the Japan Open after a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 semifinal defeat to his U.S. Open conqueror Benoit Paire on Saturday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 8, 2015

Guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei calls on his pals for 'Strangers'

Recalling his first encounter with rocker Iggy Pop, a huge grin flashes across the face of Tomoyasu Hotei. It occurred at Berlin airport around 30 years ago when he was recording in Germany with former band Boøwy. Despite being one of the most famous musicians in Japan, the guitarist was too shy to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 3, 2015

Women of Japan unite: Examining the contemporary state of feminism

On Oct. 21, 1970, hundreds of women marched through the streets of Tokyo, an occasion that is often referred to as the birth of the women's liberation movement in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 2, 2015

Mochi is making a sweet turn outside Japan

Vivien Wong and her brother Howard are pinning their future on a Japanese favorite that is beginning to gain popularity elsewhere.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE HIGH GROUNDS
Oct 2, 2015

Kyoto's Weekenders Coffee keeps customers on their toes

To get a sense of how much the Japanese coffee scene has evolved over the past decade, pay a visit to Weekenders Coffee. This specialty coffee shop in northeast Kyoto — which marks its 10th anniversary next month — ranks among the city's most essential destinations for discerning caffeine junkies....
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 26, 2015

Tea Party aided rise of potential Boehner successor McCarthy

The Republican next in line to succeed U.S. House Speaker John Boehner owes his success, in part, to the same grassroots conservatives who have pushed his boss to the exit.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Sep 22, 2015

Site of 1930s activism, Kyoto cafe is steeped in heritage

Nestled away on a side street just south of the busy intersection of Shijo and Kiyamachi streets, the Western facade of the Salon de the Francois cafe stands out amidst the traditional machiya wooden townhouses.
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Sep 20, 2015

Ready or not, government will soon have your My Number

The government claims My Number will make your life easier, but its egalitarian goals will likely eliminate your privacy and invite more abuse of authority by the police, experts say.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 19, 2015

Yakuza infighting puts nation on edge

Around the start of this year, the weekly magazines — Shukan Taishu, Asahi Geino and Shukan Jitsuwa in particular — were brimming with articles feting the centennial anniversary of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which had gone from being a small group of tough guys on the Kobe waterfront in 1915 to Japan's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE KIDS' TABLE
Sep 18, 2015

A child's dream day: lunch, ice-cream and fun at the park

When cooler weather is upon us, my daughter and I like to venture to neighborhood parks to spend some time outdoors. Since I like to eat out and she likes to play, I have found that one of the keys to a peaceful meal with kids in tow is finding a restaurant with somewhere nearby for them to run around...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 16, 2015

Play it again: One fan's quest to save old video games

We now recognize the late Yasujiro Ozu as one of Japan's finest film directors, but his early works are lost to history, victims of a time when cinema was seen as disposable entertainment and not an art form worth saving. Joseph Redon doesn't want the same thing to happen to video games.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 12, 2015

Sweeping beauties of Kumano's brush area

In the soft morning drizzle, a handful of people line up before an altar-like mound of stones where a small fire crackles and hisses. Each person in turn throws a handful of old brushes into the blaze. The local garbage incinerator? No — this is ritual cremation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Sep 12, 2015

TenQ can stop kids getting lost in space

There's something special about the sky at night. The stars may be clearer during the colder months, but right now it's easier for you and the kids to sprawl out on a patch of grass (or sand for you beach lovers) and gaze at the galaxy — at least when the weather is more accommodating. I love the conversations...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 11, 2015

Abundant autumn sanma are a symbol of sustainable fishing

Autumn's silvery little fish, the sanma, has arrived. To officially mark the beginning of the season, the annual Meguro Sanma Festival — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year — was held last weekend in Tokyo, where sanma were grilled and offered to a crowd of over 30,000.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake