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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 10, 2011

At Innit's Osaka parties it's bring your own beats

Osaka's Innit crew don't hold your typical club event. Though their parties feature a mix of live performers and DJs, founder Masayuki Kubo wants to attract a particular type of reveler — aspiring artists. The Osaka native offers a ¥500 discount for anyone who brings along electronic music that they...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 5, 2011

Micro-hydro power set to light up cherry tree

The city of Motosu in Gifu Prefecture is planning to light up its famous Usuzumi Zakura cherry tree, said to be more than 1,500 years old, during the "hanami" season using electricity from a small hydroelectric generator.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 4, 2011

Akita's Gardener proving a formidable force once again

With identical 5-1 records, the upstart Akita Northern Happinets and expansion Chiba Jets square off four times over the next two weekends. It will be a strong early season test for both squads.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 4, 2011

Fashion's Night Out offers chance for freebies

Hot on the stiletto heels of Tokyo's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week comes Fashion's Night Out, an event that features limited-edition merchandise, some freebies and, of course, Champagne.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 4, 2011

Get a sample of Japanese arts

The Japanese arts of noh and kabuki are popular with tourists from all over, and Kamigata Traditional Entertainment Night was created to make productions easier to comprehend with its all-English program of traditional theater.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 4, 2011

"Passionate Men Challenging Iron: Keiji Uematsu, Jun Tsukawaki and Chu Enoki"

This show features three artists who use iron as the prime material for their works.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 4, 2011

Innovation abounds at Tokyo Designers Week

If ever proof was needed of the efficacy of Tokyo Designers Week, the annual designers' trade show currently under way at Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Gaien park, then it is apparent at booth D14, where designer Atsuhiro Hayashi is showing his wares.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Nov 4, 2011

Innovation abounds at Tokyo Designers Week

If ever proof was needed of the efficacy of Tokyo Designers Week, the annual designers' trade show currently under way at Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Gaien park, then it is apparent at booth D14, where designer Atsuhiro Hayashi is showing his wares.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Nov 2, 2011

Shōgi showdown for supercomputer

Eiki Ito, 49, started programming a shōgi (Japanese chess) computer in 1998, because back then, he says, his job with an IT firm wasn't keeping him busy enough. Thirteen years later, his pet machine boasts a computing ability of 4 million moves per second. And it may well soon beat one of the strongest...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 2, 2011

Preorders keep that 'I-can't-wait-to-play' energy alive

Nov. 11, 2006, was one of the most stressful nights of my gaming life. That was the date the PlayStation 3 launched in Japan — and it was hell.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 30, 2011

Canada's hanging garden of stone in Japan

Nobody appears to object as you step onto the covered elevator that ascends to the fourth floor of the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo's well-heeled Aoyama-Itchome district. Formalities are waived for the occasional visitor coming to see one of Japan's finest and most daring contemporary stone gardens.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 30, 2011

Sheer delight of graceful Kurahara

There is a persistent hum of activity among small-press publications in Japan, much of it concerned with poetry and a good deal of it translation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 30, 2011

Cyclists piste at Tokyo police crackdown

Last month, comedian Mitsunori Fukuda was stopped and cited for riding a fixed-gear racing bike on a public street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. These bicycles, also known as "piste bikes," have become popular in the past few years, not so much as a conveyance but more as a fashion statement. They usually...
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 28, 2011

Entrepreneurs make Korean ikemen the dish du jour

Cute, young Korean man-flesh is on the menu now, as Tokyo establishments cash in on the continuing hanryu boom.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 28, 2011

Shimane's Yamamoto plays a cerebral game

The Shimane Susanoo Magic have begun their second season in terrific fashion, winning four games on the road.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Oct 27, 2011

Cruel to be kind: Does noruma work in bands' favor?

One of the first stumbling blocks you'll probably come across starting up a band in Japan is trying to book gigs. You'll explain to the booking manager about your music, give them a demo CD or a link to a place they can hear you online, they'll say, "Sure, I love your sound" — and then they'll tell...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 27, 2011

Tadao Ando's bold visions: distractingly daring in design

Like any prominent, PR-savvy architect these days, Tadao Ando likes to present himself as a sensitive sort, one who adjusts his architectural approach to harmonize with the unique features and characteristics of each local site. The latest exhibition of his architectural models, drawings and graphics...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 25, 2011

Feeling your way around the Tokyo National Museum

Next time you have a chance to visit the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) in Tokyo's Ueno district, before walking around that home to a vast and impressive collection of traditional Japanese paintings, sculptures and crafts, remember to make a quick stop in the room on the left of the foyer.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 23, 2011

Post-Fukushima, 'they' can no longer be trusted — if ever they could

Every year when I was a child, my parents would take my brother and me from our Los Angeles home to Las Vegas on vacation. Back then in the 1950s, Vegas was still a family-oriented holiday destination. Dad would drop a few bucks at the crap table while the rest of us basked in the sun.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 21, 2011

Get on board for some art

Osaka's Keihan Electric Line might not seem like the ideal gallery space, but the city's Art Area B1 is hoping to change that.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 21, 2011

Halloween at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo

This year, the Grand Hyatt Tokyo is once again offering luxury Halloween treats at its shops and restaurants.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 21, 2011

"KAWAI Gyokudo: A Retrospective"

During the Meiji Era (1868-1912), nihonga (Japanese-style) artist Gyokudo Kawai (1873-1957) developed a new aesthetic of Japanese painting by mixing the styles of two popular schools of the time: the Kano school and the Maruyama-shijo school.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2011

'Cowboys & Aliens'

You can be 100 percent sure that "Cowboys & Aliens" was a title long before it ever became a story; this is one of those high-concept ideas that practically writes itself. No doubt someone felt very clever at figuring out how to solve the now politically incorrect "cowboys and Indians" match-up with...
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2011

Eulogies for Jobs misplaced

I was a big fan of Steve Jobs. He inspired many people, including me, and all the effusive praise is well justified. But aren't we going a bit too far in describing him, as an Oct. 8 article does, as "The man who dented the universe"?
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 15, 2011

Golden Kings, Evessa class of the West again

Almost nothing remains the same in the Eastern Conference, as all 10 head coaches this season are in spots that they didn't occupy at this time a year ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 14, 2011

Busan festival takes a bold step, but is Asian cinema ready?

"Change" was the key word at this year's Busan International Film Festival, and not just because the organizers finally succumbed to the host South Korean port city's request to change the name from "Pusan." Lee Yong Kwan took over as festival director from founder Kim Dong Ho, who is credited with turning...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 14, 2011

Print show profits to help quake victims

Art fans have the chance to enjoy one of Japan's longest running exhibitions and help out the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake at the same time this weekend, when the College Women's Association of Japan hosts its annual print show at the Tokyo American Club.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 14, 2011

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