Search - life-style

 
 
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / New Wine Frontier
Jan 23, 2022

Funky Chateau: Straight from the gospel of natural winemaking

Toyohiko and Michiko Kanehashi were told their vines would die if they didn't fertilize. On the contrary, going natural sets Funky Chateau wines apart from the pack.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 7, 2021

Paying pilgrimage to the last kissaten on the Kumano Kodo trail

Writer Craig Mod takes inventory of the coffee shops that are left alongside the old roads of the Ohechi Kumano Kodo UNESCO World Heritage routes.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2021

Cuba's Raul Castro leaves the political stage, his legacy yet to be written

While Fidel was the charismatic leader who rallied Cubans to defend the revolution and defy the United States, Raul, 89, built the military into a formidable fighting force.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 27, 2021

‘That We May Live’: New Chinese fiction delves into the playfully weird

Explaining the difference between speculative fiction and science fiction can feel like sorting out overlapping nebulae. The main distinction of speculative fiction may be that a story is just barely possible, at a slight remove from reality that veers into the playfully weird. A Japanese author exemplifying...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 22, 2021

Martin Holman: A pioneer in Japan's puppet theater tradition

Martin Holman knew early on that he had a passion for puppets. What he didn't know, however, is just how far that passion would take him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2021

Director Kentaro brings an auteur’s touch to a soulful road movie

The 'Under the Turquoise Sky' director mixes realism, fantasy and comedy in his visually stirring feature debut about a Japanese man who goes on a journey of self-discovery in Mongolia.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 9, 2021

New trends in 'J-vlogging' allow for a more diverse range of views on Japan

YouTubers based in Japan are focusing less on the 'slice of life' videos that defined past content and are catering to smaller communities within the non-Japanese audience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / 2020 in review
Dec 19, 2020

Our critics’ favorite books published in 2020

As 2021 approaches, six Japan Times book reviewers look back on their top reads released in English this year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 9, 2020

Cuushe: Music born from emotion

Dream pop musician Mayuko Hitotsuyanagi, aka Cuushe, on her upcoming album, “Waken,” and her musical inspiration.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 26, 2020

The bureaucratic wall that hampers entry to Japan

The requirements Japan has put in place to enter the country amid the pandemic don't quite match up with the realities of what's going on overseas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 17, 2020

'#Handball Strive' digs into the pitfalls of performing for the 'likes'

Daigo Matsui's comedy is about a fake handball team that chases Instagram fame and falls victim to online perils.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / 2019 in Review
Dec 25, 2019

2019 brought both tragedy and triumph to Japan's anime industry

While the anime world was rocked by a fatal arson attack at the studios of Kyoto Animation, a diverse range of new films and series gave the year a creative boost.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Commentary
Dec 5, 2019

LDP statesman Yasuhiro Nakasone helped shape postwar Japan from the top down

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who died at 101 on Nov. 29, will undoubtedly be remembered as a giant in Japan's political history.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / Nikko Special
Nov 21, 2019

30 hours of wonder: Shrines, temples and hot springs

The city of Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture is one of the brightest lights in the Japanese sightseeing firmament, which is apt, given that its name literally translates to "sunshine." With some amazing attractions from World Heritage sites dating back to the eighth century to picturesque hiking trails and...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2019

The first thing to do is fire all the cops

Warrior cops don't make us safer. They're loose cannons who need psychiatric counseling, not guns.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 3, 2019

Julian Opie: A fascinating view of the mundane

Julian Opie's schematic reductions of people, animals and landscapes to planes of color may be fun and casual, but it's not just eye-candy — he gets us to see much more than he shows us.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 21, 2019

Untapping the power that lies between fashion and costume

"Fashion and costume can offer freedom, protection, power. Sometimes they can even change the world."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 31, 2019

Rock gardens, ryokan and rafting in Tokyo's Mitake

From the historic Kajikaen to kimono dyeing studios and the Gyokudo Art Museum, numerous institutions of traditional art and culture line the banks of the Tama River as it runs through Mitake.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Apr 27, 2019

Aozora Blue: Hand-made udon with a soba inflection

At Aozora Blue, chef Hirofumi Matsui draws on his soba-making experiences to offer an exquisite, handmade udon noodle in an elevated setting.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 20, 2019

Understanding the true ties between health and success

There's a right way and a wrong way to do everything — and you're probably doing it wrong.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 12, 2019

Japanese companies warming up — slowly — to four-day workweek

Once synonymous with long work hours, Japanese companies are beginning to embrace — or at least consider — the idea of a four-day workweek.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Oct 27, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: When anime and manga went global

The Heisei Era commenced after two gods fell in rapid succession. The first, Emperor Hirohito, was no longer officially a god, having repudiated his quasi-divine status under the terms of Japan's surrender in World War II, but he remained god-like in stature. His January death in 1989 at age 87 signaled...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2018

Haru Nemuri's rapping and roaring speaks to the zeitgeist of 2018

Haruna Kimishima knew her music had found an audience overseas when her Twitter DMs began to fill up with English.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 3, 2018

Canada's national water polo squad forges new bonds during trip to Japan

Half a world away from home, quality competition is a top priority for the Canada men's national water polo team.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 8, 2018

Entering sumo world not something to be taken lightly

In lifting the Emperor's Cup last month, Mitakeumi became the fourth Japanese wrestler to win a championship in the past two years.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2018

U.S. teacher, naturalized ex-student recall impact of 1968 Ogasawara reversion

When the 23-year Allied Occupation of the Ogasawara Islands ended 50 years ago, it was also a moment of closure for George Yokota, who had worked for 12 years as a teacher on Chichijima — one of the two main inhabited islands in the chain 1,000 km south of Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 3, 2018

How Japan can fix its gaping gender gap

The World Economic Forum's 2017 gender gap index ranks Japan 114th out of the 144 countries surveyed — this must change.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake