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Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 26, 2008

Phone imitates MP3 imitates phone

Lighter than Air: Anorexic models might no longer be PC on the catwalks, but laptop computer makers believe that consumers just can't keep their hands off them. As usual, Apple is seen as the trendsetter, thanks to its ultrathin MacBook Air model, which is trumpeted as the thinnest laptop of them all...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 11, 2008

Tying the knot; furry fallout

Cats in Kobe Paul, his wife and children lived for some years in Kobe. They arrived shortly after the devastating earthquake of 1995, before the infrastructure had been rebuilt. Part of the fallout, he writes, was cat colonies living in the local parking lot.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 7, 2008

Change the channel of your sexual energy

The ancient Chinese practice of Taoism tells us that "sexual energy is not just about sex!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2008

Takagi taps the color of sound

Is Masakatsu Takagi a musician that makes video art or a video artist that makes music?
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 6, 2008

A digital SLR camera for every trigger finger

Snap-happy: Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes. With their interchangeable lenses and reasonable prices, entry-level digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras are a halfway house between a cheap pocket-size point-and-click camera and a full-on pro shooter. The best-selling of the entry-level...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 27, 2007

Always thinking big

There's no shortage of pop musicians who reached their creative peak in their 20s, then struggled to remain productive and relevant after the flush of youth failed them. Think of Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett and even John Lennon.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 14, 2007

Culture observed by an art of glass

All of us go through life with our own set of personal "filters" — emotional baggage and cultural biases that color the way we see the world. This is the theme of the exhibition "Culture Filters."
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Nov 28, 2007

Online goes HD, palm PCs go green

Hail HD: Sony is out to worship at the altar of high-definition. Its eyeVio video-sharing site has started up an HD TV service, which will allow users to put their offerings on public display in the super-resolution of 1280x720 pixels from spring 2008. Sony is also marketing its new BRX-NT1 network set-top...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Nov 3, 2007

International group helps shed light on shadows of injustice

Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, you can pretty much expect to find Akiko Mera in the second-floor Oxfam office in a gray, nondescript building in Ueno, Tokyo, surrounded by a half-dozen desks piled high with papers, pamphlets and books. It looks very much like many other decades-old offices, where the daily...
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Nov 2, 2007

Venus

Venus © 2006 Venus Pictures Ltd./UK Film Council/Channel 4 Television Corporation
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 1, 2007

Art al fresco in Daikanyama

Years ago, Daikanyama was one of those places you could visit for a bit of peace and quiet in Tokyo. It had beautiful tree-lined streets and lovely old traditional Japanese houses. There was also a slightly bohemian edge to it, with small independent shops and galleries littered among the back alleys....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 30, 2007

Lean, green and no hippy aftertaste

Imagine a lasagna without the meat. Now drop the cheese and pasta too. Not much left?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 16, 2007

The faces behind the numbers: A day feeding Tokyo's hungry

Last in a two-part series O n a typical Saturday evening, I stroll around the bustling streets of Shibuya with my friends, dressed up, heels clicking, ready to hit a couple of trendy shops. The chilly breeze puffs up the hairs on my arms and I shudder — winter is approaching. We chat about school,...
COMMUNITY
Oct 2, 2007

Have your say: Is it over for Nova?

Following are responses to last week's Zeit Gist on the Nova Corp. conversation school chain (see search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070925zg.html):
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Sep 29, 2007

Putting the red light on human trafficking

"Neary grew up in rural Cambodia. Her parents died when she was a child, and in an effort to give her a better life, her sister married her off when she was 17. Three months later, they went to visit a fishing village. Her husband rented a room in what Neary thought was a guest house. But when she woke...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Sep 22, 2007

Children smile again thanks to art of healing

When you're just one person who wants to make a change in a world of 6 billion, effecting that change can be a little daunting. But for some people, waiting around for something to happen is a whole lot more worrisome.
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.

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