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Japan Times
Dec 25, 2017

Pop Culture Experience Program 'pop-cul.jp' for International Visitors to Japan Launch on January 2018!

'MANGA Drawing Experience for Press' on January 4.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2005

Eastern Europe in the Far East

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia For generations of expatri ates in the days before jet travel, the first stop on the journey back to Europe from Japan was Vladivostok, Russia's easternmost city and the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Dec 16, 2007

A drama of our own making

One recent sunny afternoon, I set off for a performance of "Tokyo/Olympic" by the city's Port B theater company.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 2, 2007

Japanese media reaches for the stars in restaurant coverage

The first Michelin Guide to Tokyo's best restaurants has sold extremely well since going on sale Nov. 22, which isn't surprising given the huge amount of press it has received. The media love it when a foreign entity pays close attention to Japanese culture, and in this case it's culture you can eat,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Women of Taste
Dec 12, 2020

Want a deeper understanding of Tokyo’s culinary landscape? Just ask Yukari Sakamoto.

The first non-Japanese to become a shu014dchu016b advisor, this chef, sommelier and tour guide built her career on sharing Tokyo's best with the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 26, 2017

Looking for 'omotenashi' in Cuba's southeast

Though half a world apart in geography, history, language and just about anything else you could name, Cuba and Japan are not entirely without similarities.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Feb 6, 2008

Tokyo Jazz Site

Brooklyn-born James Catchpole runs Tokyo Jazz Site, a blog that documents the capital's extensive jazz scene.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 21, 2013

Crossing the Himalayas through memory to Ladakh

I'm in a small van careering along a rough and narrow road beside a rushing river with brightly painted temples along its banks and craggy peaks towering overhead. We're traveling in the prescribed Indian fashion — drive as fast as you can and hope for the best or, better still, pray.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 25, 2005

Bus hire, good food guides and more ISPs

The mailbox is choc-o-bloc with post New Year queries at the moment, so please be patient. We're answering them as fast as we can.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 26, 2002

The other treasures of Angkor

SIEM REAP, Cambodia An enormous complex located on a vast wooded plain, Cambodia's spectacular Angkor was built between the ninth and the 14th centuries by the Khmers as an administrative and religious center. From here, the early Khmer kings ruled over a vast territory that extended from what is now...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 27, 2001

Bibliophiles rejoice

A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO BOOKS ON JAPAN IN ENGLISH: An Annotated List of over 2,500 Titles with Subject Index, by Joseph Rogala. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, Ltd., 2001. 292 pp., 15.99 UK pounds. The book's title says precisely what it is. It is not a listing of 'best' books on Japan, nor a catalog...
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Hiroshima G7 Summit Special
May 19, 2023

Seto Inland Sea area boasts lush nature, bustling cities, cultural heritage

The area surrounding the Seto Inland Sea, Japan’s largest inland body of water, constitutes the Setouchi area, represented by the cities of Hiroshima, where the G7 Summit will be held, Okayama, Matsuyama and Takamatsu. Spanning the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Ehime and Kagawa, respectively,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 10, 2004

Dodging tourist traps in Kyoto

Ebisugawa has a vast array of small shops that sell dozens of varieties of high-quality green tea and traditional Kyoto sweets, as well as bric-a-brac stores that are a bargain-hunter's dream.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 16, 2022

Where the wild things grow — foraging in Japan

Winifred Bird is the author of 'Eating Wild Japan,' a book that goes deep into the foraging culture of Japan and contains essays on foraging, a selection of recipes and a guide to forageable plants.
Japan Times
JAPAN / INTERPRETATION & TRANSLATION
Feb 18, 2013

Making a living using foreign language skills

What would it be like to make a living using foreign language skills as a freelance professional? Missa Takahashi, an interpreter and translator of English, French and Italian, shares how she established her career, expanded her work and deepened her understanding of language and culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2008

Critics dispute Michelin regard for Tokyo

Paris might still be good if you've got a big wad of cash and want the best of the best. But Tokyo is really where it's at foodwise, at least according to the French people who keep track of these things.
Japan Times
CULTURE / OTAKOOL
Sep 27, 2007

Akihabara's awful truths

While the Establishment packages Electric Town as a mecca for manga and anime obsessives, and a magnet for camera- toting tourists, the reality differs: 'Akiba' is alienating the geeks who once made it great
Characters from the Super Mario Bros. franchise adorn the front of Super Potato, a well-known retro game shop in Akihabara.
LIFE / Digital
Sep 20, 2023

Let the gaming begin: A guide to Tokyo's video game landmarks

Whether it's arcades, retro finds or chip-tune nightclubs, Japan's capital won't disappoint gamers wanting to geek out.
Visual AI allows us to see more than meets the eye when looking at cities like Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023

AI will show us the future of cities, if we guide the way

Visual AI can help us better see our cities, from crime rates to property values, but only human intelligence can tell the forest from the trees.
A person walks among the giant columns supporting the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Saitama Prefecture.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 20, 2024

Tokyo underground: The city beneath our feet

Join us this week on Deep Dive as we discuss with Alex K.T. Martin the expansive subterranean world of Tokyo’s ever-changing underground.
Summer averages in eastern Hokkaido float in the high teens and low 20s, not necessitating widespread air conditioning usage in homes and businesses.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2024

Fear the impending heat? Escape to Kushiro, the land of no summer.

A once mighty fishing port, Kushiro now aims to capture the hearts of tourists seeking escape from sweltering urban jungles for a misty paradise.
The Chairman's steamed flower crab with aged Shaoxing wine and chicken oil
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 5, 2023

Seeking 'the perfect combination of Chinese and French cuisine'

Chefs Daniel Calvert and Danny Yip are old friends, but for the first time this month, they're collaborators.
A Ukrainian drone pilot, call sign Darwin, operating a first-person-view, or FPV, drone on a test flight near Kupiansk, Ukraine, on Aug. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Ukraine’s war of drones runs into an obstacle: China

Ukraine's latest fight is one over global electronics supply chains that run through China.
Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin,” once the victim of high waves that dragged it into the sea, sits at the end of a pier on the south side of Naoshima.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 6, 2024

The sweaty pleasure of Japan’s inconvenient art

This week, writer Thu-Huong Ha is our tour guide into the world of Japan’s inconvenient art movement.
Okayama and Tottori prefectures are some of the least-visited regions in Japan among foreign tourists — which is why they offer such a welcome break from crowd-clogged cities like Tokyo and Kyoto.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 23, 2024

In Japan’s flyover country, 72 hours of hidden gems

Some of Japan’s least-visited prefectures among foreign tourists host opportunities for peace, quiet and rural beauty.
A newly released prisoner (right) hugs a relative during a welcome ceremony following the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023

Mediators race to extend Israel-Hamas truce ahead of expiry

The six-day halt to fighting ends on Thursday morning local time, with a last hostages freed from Gaza overnight in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Ellie Harrell launched her dog seitai practice in late 2023 after seeing first hand how the therapy helped her own injured dog.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 27, 2024

‘My job is to provide dogs with relief from even the smallest amount of pain’

Does your dog need a back adjustment? Ellie Harrell’s salon is waiting to provide treatment.
Yukio Hattori was an integral part of "Iron Chef" broadcasts, though his impact on food culture in Japan went far beyond the TV screen.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 27, 2024

Remembering Yukio Hattori, the voice of ‘Iron Chef’

Yukio Hattori was best known to international audiences as the expert commentator on the original Japanese version of the popular TV program “Iron Chef,”
For someone who grew up in a country with a system of street names, finding an address in Japan — or worse: trying to guide someone else to one — is no easy task at first.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 7, 2024

Lost in translation? No, lost in Japan’s maze of streets.

Anyone who experienced wayfinding in Japan before the age of map apps will remember how much sleuthing was required to get to your destination.

Longform

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