Search - features

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 4, 2017

Japan's magazines get misty-eyed over Showa Era brothels

Commencing with the death of Emperor Taisho on Christmas Day, 1926, the Showa Era ran for 62 years and two weeks, ending with the death of Emperor Hirohito (posthumously referred to as Emperor Showa) at the age of 87 on Jan. 7, 1989.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 3, 2017

Patisserie Kihachi kick-starts spring with Mont Blanc Sakura sweet

It may not feel like it, but spring is right around the corner, and for the nation's dessert makers that means everything gets a bit pink as they capitalize on the coming of the ever-fleeting cherry blossoms.
Japan Times
LIFE / EVENTS AND INFORMATION
Mar 2, 2017

Exploring the nation's tea and rice cuisine

Arigato.kitchen presents its first book, "Chazuke" (¥1,200), an inside look at traditional Japanese recipes, ingredients and regional attractions. As the book aims to introduce both Japanese and international readers into the culinary art of , a bowl of rice with tea poured over it and topped with various...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 2, 2017

Celebrating 7 years with fine fare

From March 7 to April 2, the ANA InterContinental Tokyo hotel is inviting guests to celebrate the seven year anniversary of its 36th-floor Pierre Gagnaire restaurant with menu items created for the occasion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 1, 2017

'Snow Woman': chillingly modern

The Japanese folklore story of the "Snow Woman" has been told in many places, in many ways, and in many versions, but best-known is that of Lafcadio Hearn, the Greek-Irish writer who published it in his 1904 collection, "Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2017

Laser technique sheds light on pivotal feathered dinosaur

A technique using high-powered lasers to reveal hidden soft tissue in fossils is bringing insight into one of the major evolutionary transitions: small feathered dinosaurs taking flight as birds.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 27, 2017

Nagoya ad startup uses bonus boost to discourage overtime

An online advertising startup has adopted a unique method to achieve zero overtime in its workplace by paying a higher bonus to employees who have reduced their work hours after quitting time, a move likely to draw attention as more Japanese try to achieve a better work-life balance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 26, 2017

What's in a name? Just ask Cairophenomenons

When a band changes its name, it sometimes signifies a switch in artistic direction. For indie band Cairophenomenons — previously known as Cairo — the decision was far more practical, even if the new moniker is a bit of a mouthful.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 25, 2017

Nintendo is switching it up

It's still early in 2017, but Switch, Nintendo's newest gaming console, is bound to be the most desirable hardware of the year. Both a home console and a handheld, it's being touted as an all-in-one must have. Drop it in its dock and players can game on a television screen. Attach Joy-Con controllers...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NEIGHBORHOOD HOP SPORTS
Feb 24, 2017

Koenji's alehouses and brewpubs put the craft back in beer

Often touted as Tokyo's apex of cool, Koenji is a maze of narrow mixed-use streets, where the city's trendsetters, en route to hip cafes, cross paths with pensioners browsing cheap vegetables and various knickknacks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KNOWING KISSATEN
Feb 24, 2017

Tokyo's retro coffee palaces are in a class entirely their own

The archetypical kissaten (traditional coffee shop) would probably be a cozy neighborhood joint with faded '60s decor, one of those vintage pink pay phones that only take ¥10 coins and a couple of elderly customers smoking furiously as they squint over their newspapers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 24, 2017

Takoriki: Where champagne and takoyaki meet halfway

A few years ago, Katashimo Winery in southern Osaka brought out Tako-cham, a limited-edition sparkling wine that, as is suggested by its name, is an ideal partner for takoyaki, the nation's favorite batter ball.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 24, 2017

Beijing continuing 'steady pattern of militarization' in South China Sea

New satellite imagery appears to confirm a report earlier this week that China has nearly completed structures intended to house surface-to-air missile systems on its three largest outposts in the disputed Spratly chain of the South China Sea — "part of a steady pattern of Chinese militarization" there....
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 23, 2017

Cerezo target J. League upset

The following is the first of a two-part preview for the upcoming J. League season. Team-by-team previews of the nine lowest-ranking teams competing in the first division are listed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Feb 22, 2017

Asian Film Festival unspools in Osaka

Why go to Osaka to see films? I may sound like an insufferable Tokyo snob asking this, but given all the hundreds of movies on offer in the nation's capital, it's worth answering to justify the shinkansen ticket.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 22, 2017

China completing possible missile structures in disputed sea: U.S. officials

China, in an early test of U.S. President Donald Trump, is nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea that appear designed to house long-range surface-to-air missiles, two U.S. officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 20, 2017

Nagoya junior high trio hold cancer event to share concerns

A trio of junior high school students from Aichi Prefecture organized an exchange event for children who are undergoing cancer treatment and their family members, hoping to attract young participants to share their feelings on the difficult subject.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2017

Japan's buckling health care system at a crossroads

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to repeal “Obamacare” has left many people here wondering: How does Japan compare?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 18, 2017

Wasteland: Tokyo grows on its own trash

Waste management authorities are working constantly to ensure that garbage in the metropolis is put to better use.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Feb 18, 2017

Techie home comforts

A polite talking ted
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 18, 2017

'Moving Zen' and the modern samurai

"Be true to the thought of the moment and avoid distraction. Other than continuing to exert yourself, enter into nothing else, but go to the extent of living single thought by single thought."
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 18, 2017

With Florida rally, Trump looks to bypass media as campaigner-in-chief

After a tumultuous opening month in the White House, President Donald Trump is heading to a friendlier, familiar and potentially rejuvenating place: the campaign trail.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 17, 2017

Black S'more Pancake: More than the sum of its many parts

Sometimes, simply piling sweet tastes onto a dessert is a winning strategy. As it happens, The J.S. Pancake Cafe chain is offering up a chocolate Black S'more Pancake until the end of February.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Feb 16, 2017

Cherry blossoms ring in the season

Tokyo's Royal Park Hotel will hold a Sakura Fair March 11 through April 20 to welcome the splendid season of cherry blossoms.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 16, 2017

Toshiba underlines why Abenomics is failing

Toshiba is the poster child for how little headway the government has made in modernizing corporate governance practices.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2017

North Korea missile test delivers early challenge to Trump and Abe

North Korea says it successfully test-fired a new missile, presenting the administration of President Donald Trump with an early foreign policy challenge and testing his commitment to U.S. allies in Asia.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Feb 13, 2017

Let's discuss bans on smoking

The health ministry is considering a legal revision banning smoking in public areas to help bring Japan's battle against secondhand smoke in line with the global standard ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 13, 2017

Aichi policewoman takes traffic safety message to seniors, kids

Policewomen in Aichi Prefecture, which has had the highest number of traffic fatalities nationwide for the past 14 years, have teamed up to offer safety seminars for elderly people, children and others who are often the victims of such accidents.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat