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Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2007

Postmodern sports for all

One night last month, while I was lazily channel-surfing at home, I happened on shot-putters doing their thing at the IAAF's World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 1, 2007

Yamanote Line clocks — perfect for torturing Tokyo commuters

C locks make marvelous torture de vices. For sheer infliction of pain it's hard to top a creation that's dedicated to wrenching you out of your hard-won sleep. Throw in the fact that they insist on rousing you in time to cram yourself into a sardine can on wheels known as a train and you are adding pain...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 7, 2007

'Bad-boy papa' puts kids on track to fame, glory

The doors to Seisaku Watanabe's workshop cum salesroom cum clubhouse in west Tokyo's Inagi stand open to all. Waving from inside, he motions passersby to drop in, take a look, have a chat.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 6, 2007

Crystal Kay is all yours

"I've been on the Crystal Kay train," says the R&B diva sitting across the table. Twenty-one-year-old Crystal Kay isn't speaking figuratively, or in some sort of existential code; she's referring instead to Tokyo's Yamanote Line, whose carriages were recently plastered inside and out with her visage...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 5, 2007

Japanese system stifles foreign scientific talent

Left unchecked, Japan's aging population and decreasing birthrate will reduce domestic economic productivity and, ultimately, affect the quality of life of all those who inhabit these islands.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 11, 2007

Music player goes swimming

Jogging might be good for your body but just how many brain cells die of boredom in the process? Swimming laps is perhaps a more palatable exercise method but it doesn't lag running by too much in the boredom stakes. What serious pool lappers need is a waterproof iPod, or some facsimile thereof. Century...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 5, 2006

There's no need to grit your teeth

It has all the elements of a nightmare. A masked person stands over you wielding a small mirror in one gloved hand and a needle-sharp probe in the other. A drill powerful enough to cut through bone in seconds sits idle on a table beside other implements of torture. You cannot see the masked face clearly...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 22, 2006

Rakugo and a noisy neighbor

Rakugo Ewan, teaching in Tokyo, is interested in Japanese story-telling. "I don't know if you have heard but story-telling in the U.K. is enjoying quite a revival. Edinburgh has the first center for story-telling ever created in the world, funded by the Scottish Storytelling Forum and the Church of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 27, 2006

PBJ's SmartCaddie, Kai's kitche shears, Dainippon Type Organization's writing accessories, Nussha Japanware

This month, we are turning the spotlight on another eclectic array of goods that have been popping up in some of Tokyo's best design and interior shops recently, and are just begging to be included in any aficionado's arsenal of stylish accouterments. From portable computers to kitchen accessories, here's...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 28, 2006

Crafts collective opens up studio

The artisans of the Akeppiroge crafts collective will open up their homes and studios for the only time this year to visitors for an exhibition event to be held May 12-14 in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture -- a small scenic city on the western shore of Lake Biwa. Visitors are welcome from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m....
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 25, 2006

Saving our environment one step at a time

Having ended 2005 with a rant (see below), let me begin 2006 on a more positive note by introducing some valuable environmental education resources.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 24, 2006

DoCoMo's D902i phone, Signeo's MP3 player, Rooshopper tote bags, TEPCO's cooking heater, Stand Kamimakiki

It's the start of a new year and that often means making changes in your life. Want to be an eco-friendly shopper? Looking to make some much needed improvements in the household? Or maybe you just want to make the people around you exhibit signs of envy by sporting some new 2006 gear. Here are a few...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 13, 2006

Aichi Prefecture shows the glory of culture, industry -- past and present

Aichi Prefecture, internationally better known as the venue of the 2005 Aichi World Expo, which was successfully held for six months last year, is located near the center of Japan and has prospered as a corridor between the east, west, north and south with a long history.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 27, 2005

Real estate, a good cigar and body wax

Property in Yokohama Shirley, in Monterey, Calif., found an interesting article on buying property in Japan while browsing on the Web, and had a question.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Oct 18, 2005

Mika Noguchi

Peach John has been providing women with sexy and cute lingerie via its catalog and retail business since 1994. Leading this company, which had sales of 16 billion yen last year, is President Mika Noguchi, a woman who is not afraid to bare her true feelings.
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Sep 20, 2005

T-shirts, leave and a reminder

T-shirt exchange "Get it Pumping!", "I'm a steel driving man," "Almost famous," and "New Kids on the Block world tour." Random English adverts on the train? An English lesson gone wrong?
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Aug 21, 2005

Cartoon duo leads the way in a version of history that's no joke

The phrase "textbook row" has become a regular sighting in Japanese newspapers of late, as newly authorized history books for schools are accused, both at home and abroad, of "glossing over" the bloodier aspects of this country's warmongering, Imperialist past.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 29, 2005

Where did we go right?

When it opened on Broadway in the spring of 2001, Mel Brooks' musical comedy "The Producers" became an instant cultural phenomenon steeped in irony. The day after its premiere, 33,000 tickets were sold at $100 each, a record high price, and the production was able to pay off its initial investment of...
COMMUNITY
Jun 28, 2005

Curing that constant chocolate craving

Food for thought Steph in Saitama writes: "I like Japanese food a lot, but every now and then I get a craving for goodies that are nowhere to be found in my area. I could ask my mom to send a care package, but I'd feel silly asking her to send an emergency supply of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Any suggestions?"...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 28, 2005

Visa crackdown -- don't get burned

Last year The Japan Times ran an article entitled "Students pay price in visa crackdown" about Americans put through the wringer on minor infractions.
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Apr 19, 2005

Pensions, easy credit, freecycling and dogs

Lump Sum payments Following on from last week's Zeit Gist article on the insurance probe involving Japan's eikaiwa, Rob has a question on pension refunds.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 4, 2005

Racism is bad business

The Community Page has commented at length on socially-sanctioned exclusionary practices in Japan. However, it has rarely touched upon their quantifiable, longer-term effects.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 3, 2004

Olives Tokyo: For a night to remember

It was one of those evenings that called for -- nay, stridently demanded -- a special celebration. Not a quiet, intimate table a deux; nor some sober parade of rarified gourmet delicacies; but a full-on, self-indulgent feast in a setting to match. It was time for dinner at Olives.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 7, 2004

What's a (Western) woman to do?

Many Western women in Japan complain that, despite plentiful romance in their home countries, they now face a dating desert.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 31, 2004

Air travel, kids stuff and wills

Air travel R.M. has a friend who wants to come and visit Japan, but he needs to use a portable oxygen tank from time to time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 11, 2004

National treasures of Bizen-ware pots

The city and pottery style of Bizen hold a special place in my heart; in a sense, Bizen was my "first love" in the ceramic world. When I was first given a Bizen yunomi (tea cup) twenty years ago I had never held something so earthy and "alive" -- a vessel for use in daily life, to enhance drinking pleasure,...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 27, 2004

A pottery master and mosquitoes

Bernard Leach John writes that his parents will be hosting Japanese friends in the U.K. this coming autumn.
Japan Times
Features
Jul 18, 2004

Drop by and tune in to a world of music

Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jul 14, 2004

A diamond in the rough

During the 20th century, Japanese studio pottery made by individuals came to the fore. Up until then, many potters worked for large kilns or were artisans involved in a production-line method; one man molded the pots, while another decorated and so on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 12, 2004

The Emperor's phantom porcelain set

Rarely, if ever, has a dinner set taken on such a mysterious aura as the maboroshi (phantom) porcelain service made by the late Yoshimichi Fujimoto (1919-92). Used only once and then, for reasons that remain enigmatic, hidden away for years, it comprises 230 pieces, enough to serve 15 diners. Only two,...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?