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Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2004

Kimono makes comeback -- in used form

Every once in a while, 27-year-old Junko Nagumo and five companions visit boutiques in upmarket Tokyo districts such as Omotesando and Ginza -- not to buy trendy fashion items but to find inexpensive used kimono.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 17, 2004

Three's a (talented) crowd

The Kabukiza in Ginza celebrates the arrival of spring with two excellent programs this month, including a striking dance number titled "Dattan" inspired by the fiery Buddhist rite of the same name held every March at Todaiji Temple in Nara.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 25, 2004

Happy Ko-Edo exile

Midori Fujii calls herself a "cityscape exile."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 26, 2003

Fostering the will for a better way

MYSORE -- On the outskirts of historic Mysore -- city seat of maharajas until Indian independence in 1947 -- is a settlement called Kuduremala. A community of just 800 people, its name is testament to the former rulers of Mysore -- which occupies about a third of present-day Karnataka State -- who took...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Thai handicrafts tempt couch potatoes

The Thai government has turned to a home-shopping channel to sell traditional handicrafts to TV viewers in Japan, industry officials said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 19, 2003

Yuki Horibe

COCOS ISLANDS -- When Yuki Horibe was planning a university break in order to gain some overseas experience, she looked at a world map. She said: "I wanted a small, tropical island. I wanted to learn English. I wanted diving. I found Christmas Island, and thought, 'Every day is Christmas. That should...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 28, 2003

Doing business: the 'uchiawase' vortex

It has never been easier to start a business in Japan. These days, anyone can register a business with zero money and an "inkan" stamp. Indeed, this is what attracted me. I thought: Hey I have no money -- I'll start a business!
Events
Mar 30, 2003

KANSAI: Who & What

Foundation to screen women authors' films: The Japan Foundation Kyoto Office is inviting foreign residents to free weekly showings of Japanese films, starting at 2 p.m. each Wednesday in April at its facility in the city's Nakagyo Ward.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Mar 28, 2003

Goodness gracious, great balls of rice

Just 60 years ago, preparing food was a time-consuming process that for some — mainly the suburban housewife — could occupy much of the day. Though we had long since progressed from hunter-gathering and industrialization had created a class of consumers rather than producers of food, keeping the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2003

Video shorts become cafe fare

OSAKA -- The 20-odd people sipping coffee and tea in a shop in Chuo Ward here haven't come in just for the beverages. They also want to see free short videos made primarily by amateur filmmakers such as high school students and citizens' groups.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 4, 2003

Kitting out the big man in Japan

If this writer had to pick a Tom Hanks film to depict his three-and-a-half decades of life in this country, it would be a tossup between "Forrest Gump" and "Big."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 12, 2003

Shopping queen shelves host 'illusion'

Popular writer Usagi Nakamura is known to many Japanese as "Shoppingu no Joo (The Queen of Shopping)," which is also the title of her popular column in the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun. Nakamura, 44, who describes herself as "shop dependent," writes frankly about how she impulsively purchases luxury...
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Jan 11, 2003

Style, taste, color of Kyoto brought directly to Tokyo

If you want to learn some of the secrets of the ancient capital of Kyoto without leaving Tokyo, visit Kyoto-kan in the Akasaka district.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2003

Chinatown to be more tourist-friendly

Yokohama Chinatown, proud of its 140-year history as a symbol of the city since the early days of the port's opening, is gearing up for a makeover that it hopes will draw tourists back to its streets.
COMMUNITY
Nov 24, 2002

A feast for the eyes

A man carefully slices a loaf of rye bread. He piles lettuce leaves and slices of ham and cheese onto one slice, then tops it with another slice. The tasty looking sandwich finished, he cuts it neatly in two.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 19, 2002

Shine on you crazy plumber

Mario, Nintendo's world-famous plumber/mascot, may be the oldest active character in video games, but he's certainly not washed up. Neither is "Super Mario Sunshine," Mario's latest adventure.
COMMUNITY
Jul 14, 2002

Before the boomtown

Running a grimy motorcycle repair shop amid the high-tech neon frenzy of Akihabara may sound a little odd. But if you know a bit about the district's history, you will understand the pride -- and anxieties -- of the shop's 72-year-old owner, Mikio Kimura.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 14, 2002

It's a wired, wired world

If you were among the hordes of shoppers itching to spend summer bonuses last weekend, perhaps you got caught up in the frenzy in Akihabara. Everywhere in Tokyo's "Electric Town," the hunt was on for air conditioners, computers, MD players, stereos and the latest flat-screen TVs.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

Abtronic aside, couch potatoes make TV shopping 110 billion yen juggernaut

The growing legion of TV shoppers in Japan has turned the relatively new market into a 110 billion yen colossus.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 2, 2002

Snobbery will not be permitted

Once upon a time, wine in Japan was a hushed affair, conducted with starched linens and stiff-backed chairs. Elusive first-growth Bordeaux and top Burgundy accompanied the tense, dutiful rituals of business negotiations. The mood was earnest; the cost high. It sometimes seemed as if the highly codified...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CUP COUNTDOWN
May 31, 2002

Hooligan phobia triggers siege mentality

KAWAGUCHI, Saitama Pref. -- Soccer fans hoping to stop for a cup of coffee on their way to or from World Cup games at Saitama Stadium won't be able to do so at Katsura cafe here. Whenever matches are being played -- and hooligans might be in the area -- the cafe will be closed.
JAPAN
May 30, 2002

Hermes denies Japanese sales block

French luxury brand Hermes on Wednesday denied a recent report by an Austrian weekly magazine that its boutique in Vienna is limiting the number of handbags that can be purchased by Japanese customers to two per person.
JAPAN
May 9, 2002

Law slow to ease bite of small business failures

The immediate goal of lawyer Toshi Yoshinari is to keep his clients from getting a divorce.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2002

Fashion world banking on teenage girls' yearning to grow up

In an effort to capitalize on the Golden Week holiday period, many department stores across the country are targeting preteen and early teen girls with a series of brand-name clothing promotions, fashion shows and makeup classes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 7, 2002

The trickle-down effect

It's late in Tokyo's Yurakucho district, and the pachinko parlors clustered here have shut off their garish neon signs. The consoles through which the game's trademark metal balls are sent cascading have gone quiet, and the hard-core players who hang on until closing time are scurrying out onto the pavement...

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?