Search - features

 
 
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Dec 19, 2012

2012 has been a big year on the Japanese social-media scene

Twitter continues to ride high. Facebook has grown a lot, but newcomer Line seems set to overtake it. Social game companies Gree and Mobage have shifted their overseas expansion into high gear. And Mixi finally admits that it needs to try harder to understand what its members want. In this month's column,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 16, 2012

Mount Fuji's lacustrine Gang of Five

Among Japan's many physical features, none comes even close to matching the manner in which its loftiest peak has carved out the fondest niche in the national psyche. The Mount Fuji name and image are evident practically everywhere in Japan today — as they have been one way or another over the centuries....
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 7, 2012

Geisha to perform yearly dance

It may be a bit touristy to hunt for geisha in Kyoto, but head to Fukuoka and they're there for all to see.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 28, 2012

Two new viewing options for your collection

With so many different types of screens to choose from, it's a wonderful time for home entertainment these days. Whether you opt for the latest HDTV, or a shiny new tablet computer as your second screen, there's something for everybody depending on your specific needs and preferences.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 24, 2012

Yaeyama stray cats steal the show on the beaches of Taketomi

After eight days on Miyakojima in which again our departure was delayed by bad weather, we finally set sail for Ishigaki Island, part of the Yaeyama Island chain and the end of our sailing trip through Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 23, 2012

Musician Shugo Tokumaru starts to adjust to the spotlight

Among the many billboards looming over Shibuya Station crossing, one of the busiest and most famous intersections in Tokyo, is one for Tower Records that features musician Shugo Tokumaru. The picture looks slightly awkward. The artist sits on a spiral staircase and clutches a guitar, positioned just...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 23, 2012

Doctors discuss a face-lift for Japan's plastic surgery societies

Though it's hardly talked about in public, cosmetic surgery appears to be an increasingly popular option in Japan for people trying to enhance their looks and defy the signs of aging.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2012

Special screenings and other spinoffs at TIFF

The Special Screenings section at Tokyo International Film Festival is largely made up of films that will soon be opening in Japan anyway, but there are still a few hot tickets this year. With "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away," TIFF has scored the world premiere of this 3-D spectacle featuring the much-loved...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Oct 17, 2012

Apple should team up with local companies to solve Maps dilemma

In September, a major update of Apple's iOS software for iPhones and iPads (iOS6) replaced the devices' long-standing Google Maps application with Apple's self-made Maps service. However, the new app soon caused outrage among iDevice users around the world due to the low quality of the maps.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 7, 2012

Shigesato Itoi shares lots of 'delicious life'

Shigesato Itoi is an established name in the Japanese cultural scene, but what he is known for may differ depending on who you ask.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 5, 2012

Sweets in honor of Ogai Mori; Hyatt Regency fall kaiseki; preorder Cerulean Tower Christmas cakes

Novelist Ogai honored with sweets To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ogai Mori, one of Japan's most famous novelists, Bunkyo Ward in Tokyo held a special project earlier this year in which it commissioned new desserts named after authors associated with the ward, such as Mori, Natsume Soseki,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Sep 26, 2012

Get ready to broadcast video live online

Japan-based Cerevo has carved out an interesting business niche for itself as a provider of live-video-streaming hardware, most notably its Live Shell device released last year. That device enabled aspiring Internet broadcasters to stream live video directly from a camera to the Web without the need...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 23, 2012

Evolution revelation sparks MAD inspiration to sucker the (U.S.) soul

Thank god for all things virtual.
Japan Times
Uncategorized / TRAVEL INSIDER
Aug 22, 2012

Take a photo, win a trip to Bali; Singapore F1 package tour; SAS special fares

Garuda photo contest
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 19, 2012

Yakuza face new battles within and without

The nation's largest underworld syndicate, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi, is 97 years old.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 12, 2012

Seeking eternal youth in an aging society

Here's an idea: we all retire at 40.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 3, 2012

World Ballet Festival shows how Japan has jetéd its way onto the world stage

Ballet lovers faced a difficult choice this week when two productions of "Don Quixote" were performed in Tokyo. The shows heralded the opening of the 13th World Ballet Festival, whose main program began Thursday and closes with a Special Gala on Aug. 16.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 29, 2012

A heavenly retreat amid the bustle of Kyoto

On my first visit to the ancient pond garden of Kajuji, it took me a devil of a time just to locate it. Alighting at Ono, a subway stop on Kyoto's Tozai line, there was nothing to suggest the area might be of interest to visitors, that it could have any serious historical or cultural credentials.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 8, 2012

Japanese geek cool

OTAKU SPACES, by Patrick W. Galbraith. Chin Music Press, 2012, 240 pp., $20.00 (paperback)
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2012

Innovation, marketing by the book doesn't hold in globalized world

Creativity and innovation hold the key to being competitive in a global environment, but what does it really take for a company to recruit or build innovative talent?
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Jun 2, 2012

Sculptor Sato's works at Sagawa Art Museum

The Sagawa Art Museum in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, is hosting an exhibition of sculptor Churyo Sato through June 24. Sato, who died last year at age 98, was a diligent artist, working from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for 70 years.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 29, 2012

Japan's house of the rising sun

What will our lifestyles be like in the future? An international group of students at Chiba University plan to explore the possibilities with their proposal for a next-generation solar house, a futuristic mix of new technology and traditional ways of life in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2012

Sintok festival brings Singapore's growing movie scene to Tokyo

How long does it take to develop a unique national culture? Perhaps the answer can be found in Singapore. The "Lion City" has been independent for just half a century and maybe, judging from the splash the country has made at international film festivals in the last couple of years, its film directors...
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2012

Preparing elevators for the Big One

No one wants to get stuck in an elevator, but with the possibility looming of a major earthquake in the Kanto area, the government has at last begun to pay attention to the safety of elevators. The land and infrastructure ministry announced it is offering to cover one-third of renovation costs to help...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 29, 2012

Mapping out Asia's future

China or Japan: Which Will Lead Asia?, by Claude Meyer. Columbia University Press, 2011, 195 pp., $35.00 (hardcover) The title poses a question with an obvious answer; a rising China is increasingly eclipsing Japan and seems destined to become the hegemonic power in Asia. So why read this book about...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2012

It's what Oi reactor tests don't cover that worries

After having undergone major safety checks that were mandated because of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis that started last year, the government is moving to restart reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi facility in Fukui Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Apr 20, 2012

Kokeshi back in style with a new look

Once sinister-looking souvenirs, kokeshi make a comeback.

Longform

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