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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 26, 2004

Brown-lined puffer

* Japanese name: Kitamakura * Scientific name: Canthigaster rivulata * Description: Puffer fish have plump bodies and thick, smooth skin interrupted by large bulging eyes. In many parts of Japan, puffer fish are called fugu, which is written using Chinese characters that mean "river pig." In western...
Features
Aug 22, 2004

Keeping it in the club

On Oct. 16 last year, Hans van der Lugt, a correspondent for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, telephoned the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry with a simple inquiry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 20, 2004

On the path of poets

Utter silence, Piercing the stone walls, The cicada's cry
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Aug 15, 2004

Mad Max and a mango make for a mind-bendingly memorable city tour

After half an hour of clinging to the back of Mr. Tuc's scooter, the question needs to be asked. It really does.
Japan Times
Features
Aug 15, 2004

Boys will be ...

Paint fingernails, then dab on foundation. Lots of foundation. Lipstick and eye shadow go on next. Slip into a comfortable blouse, apply one final blast of VO5 to the hair -- and voila!
Japan Times
Features
Aug 15, 2004

Lanvin cuts a new dash

Only a couple of years ago, no self-respecting fashionista would have been caught dead in Lanvin. A brand stuck in the past, it had plenty of pedigree -- but was about as chic as white socks and sandals.
Japan Times
Features
Aug 15, 2004

A towering test for the tongue

Tall, cool, slim and graceful: Meet Millecre's Tokyo Tower 333, the gorgeous new face on the ice-cream block.
Japan Times
Features
Aug 15, 2004

Barbed organ of delights

"Whereas women were created solely for amusement of men it ill becomes them to emancipate themselves," begins an article in an 1873 edition of Japan Punch. "As our slaves they are the most delightful of animals, but when they attempt to assume airs of superiority, then they become hateful."
Features
Aug 15, 2004

Serendipity with suds

Forget that Kanto has a GDP bigger than Italy's. What really fills me with a sense of civic pride is the knowledge that my Tokyo is home to the only museum in the world dedicated to laundry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

'Onsen': know what you're getting into

Another big labeling scam is unraveling, and this time it's not over beef or milk but the nation's biggest tourist draw: "onsen" hot springs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Aug 13, 2004

Loveless in Aoyama

Who needs love when you can have fashion? So goes the philosophy behind Tokyo's latest and greatest luxury clothing store, Loveless, which opened in Aoyama on July 23.
OLYMPICS
Aug 13, 2004

Ai-chan fired up for first appearance in Olympics

Japanese teenager Ai Fukuhara will make her mark as the youngest woman to appear in the table tennis competition at the Athens Olympics.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 12, 2004

Black-eared kite Tobi

* Japanese name: Tobi * Scientific name:Milvus lineatus * Description: Kites are large raptors, birds of prey with a noticeably forked tail. The black-eared kite has dark brown plumage (darker than the plumage of its close relative, the red kite), and black feathers over its ears. They have large wings...
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2004

Daiei told by three creditor banks to seek IRCJ help

The rehabilitation of Daiei Inc. entered a new stage Tuesday after its three major creditor banks told the embattled retail giant to seek help from the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, according to sources.
Japan Times
Features
Aug 8, 2004

The art of seeing

Photographer Jun Akiyama is taking ostrich strides down a Tokyo sidewalk, snapping pictures on a flimsy-looking tourist camera. Click! A child's curious glance is frozen in grainy black-and-white. Click! Akiyama catches a moment of anxiety on an old woman's face.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Aug 6, 2004

A feel of the real Edo

The Marunouchi business district, the national government center of Kasumigaseki, and the Diet building in Nagatacho all stand on land that in the Edo Period (1603-1868) was reserved exclusively for daimyo lords.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 6, 2004

Galali: Summertime, and the grazing is easy

Tongues lolling, throats parched, energy levels flagging, taste buds shriveled . . . When the summer heat sets in, nobody feels like hefty meals. It's the time of year when you have to coax your appetite into action. This is the season for grazing.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2004

Daiei rescue package calls for 300 billion yen

Struggling retail giant Daiei Inc. has worked out a new three-year rehabilitation package, including 300 billion yen in financial aid from three creditor banks, sources close to the plan said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2004

Like NTT phone fee, line brokers face extinction

Kanji in the window of a three-story building near JR Okachimachi Station in central Tokyo advertise "denwa tokubai" (discounted telephone lines).
Japan Times
Features
Jul 25, 2004

Brolly good notion out of the blue

One evening in March, Daryn Peterson was stretched out on his sofa at home. After a hard day's work, he was totally relaxed and just watching TV. Then, when the weather forecast came on, he sat up suddenly. It was as if lightning had struck his brain; an idea had suddenly flashed into his mind.
Japan Times
Features
Jul 25, 2004

Inspiration drawn from inconvenience

Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say. But for grandmother Yoko Sukekawa, it's the inconveniences she encounters in her daily life that get her inventor's juices flowing.
Japan Times
Features
Jul 25, 2004

Japan's inventor supreme shares the secret of 3,218 successes

Who is Japan's most famous inventor? No doubt about it, it's Yoshiro Nakamatsu -- or Dr. NakaMats as he styles himself. The doc says he has 3,218 inventions to his credit, including the floppy disk and the compact disc. Although his childhood dream was to become Finance Minister, from the age of 5, Nakamatsu...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jul 23, 2004

Fuji Rock's nightlife takes it off the scale

A good three-point formula to apply when reviewing a bar is to consider 1) the setting, 2) the people and 3) the music. These are the main ingredients that best sum it up and measure its potential. Some places score higher on some counts than they do on others, but the nightlife at the Fuji Rock Festival...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 22, 2004

Carrion crow

* Japanese name: Hashibosogarasu * Scientific name: Corvus corone * Description: Crows are large birds, growing up to 50 cm long with a wingspan of 104 cm. They have entirely black plumage and black eyes. Two species are common in Japan, the carrion crow and the jungle crow, and it's difficult to tell...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2004

Dancing as hard as they can

The Company Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Robert Altman Running time: 112 minutes Language: English Opens July 24 [See Japan Times movie listings] What does it mean to be a ballet dancer who lives, breathes and looks to be ready to die for his or her art?
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 18, 2004

Verdy routs Marinos to make quarterfinals

Tokyo Verdy, FC Tokyo and Nagoya Grampus Eight booked their places in the quarterfinals of the J. League Nabisco Cup after adding points in their first-round campaigns Saturday night.
Japan Times
Features
Jul 18, 2004

Bygone botanists bring the past to life

Features
Jul 18, 2004

Wherever you may be

Japan Times
Features
Jul 18, 2004

Woe betide the accused

Japan Times
Features
Jul 18, 2004

Rural revelations and a sake to go

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.