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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 23, 2022

Virtu’s new master mixer looking to shake and stir up the classics

After stints in Bermuda, Seoul and Beijing, bartender Keith Motsi has come to Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 21, 2022

The 'mother' of the modern otaku charted her own bug-obsessed path

One of Japan's original eccentrics, the 'lady who loved insects' ignored the trends of her day and was content to be herself — a valuable lesson to the generations that followed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 16, 2022

Japan’s first Nobel literature laureate a towering figure 50 years after death

The anniversary of the death of Yasunari Kawabata is being marked with an exhibition and a new adaptation of one of his works.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 18, 2020

Hard-to-trace coronavirus cases put pressure on Japan’s hostess bars

In the fantasy world conjured up by Japan's hostess clubs, the coronavirus pandemic has delivered an unwelcome dose of reality.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 11, 2020

'Childhood Years': Junichiro Tanizaki's precious memories of Tokyo

Autobiographies tend to reveal only as much as the subject chooses to share. Here, Junichiro Tanizaki is surprisingly forthright in detailing his inner life, especially those pertaining to the germination of his sexuality.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Dec 6, 2019

Wartime documents shed light on role of Japanese government and military in recruiting 'comfort women'

According to documents that shed new light on the wartime practice of forcing and coercing women into military brothels, the Imperial Japanese Army asked the government to provide one “comfort woman” for every 70 soldiers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2019

Kuroneko Burlesque: The dancers keeping Kyoto's risque side alive

The burlesque troupe has been staging shows in an around Kyoto, and will soon begin a short residency at a new theater in the city
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 27, 2019

Morimoto Kyoto: Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto opens second restaurant in Japan

In an alternate reality, Masaharu Morimoto would be fielding questions from sports journalists. He might even be talking about his transfer from Japan’s top-flight baseball league to Major League Baseball in the United States.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 3, 2019

Fukumitsuya Sake Brewery puts a twist on Kanazawa culture

Fukumitsuya Sake Brewery has focused on high-quality sake and capitalized on Kanazawa's rich history and culture to stay relevant in a competitive market.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / G20 host cities special
Mar 5, 2019

Premium produce, delicious dishes

Niigata, which will host the Agriculture Ministers' Meeting on May 11 and 12, is known for many things, but premier Koshihikari rice is likely the prefecture's most notable product.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 26, 2018

'Westworld' slays fans with re-creation of Edo in Shogun World

With its story of life-like robots in a Wild West-themed amusement park becoming sentient, and the complications that arise as a result, the television show “Westworld” has attracted a dedicated following over the past couple of years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Nov 26, 2017

Japan is seen through a lens warily in 'You Only Live Twice,' James Bond's sole sojourn to Tokyo

"You Only Live Twice," the only "James Bond" film — to date — to be set in Japan, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. While undoubtedly great fun, it must be admitted that it's a long way from being a masterpiece of cinema.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 22, 2017

The traditional kimono never goes out of style

The fusion of traditional Japanese culture with contemporary life isn't a new concept, but as trends change the results can vary greatly. On the runway, we are seeing sophisticated ideas that infuse new looks with time-honored tastes in subtle yet effective ways; while on the streets, the stylings of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Aug 11, 2017

Akasaka: Sublime and surreal spots in Tokyo's government district

A diplomat friend and I enjoy lunch at the Akasaka Capital Tokyu Hotel, in the governmental hub of Tokyo. As we part, he tips me off that there's a little-known footpath from the hotel, leading uphill to the Hie Shrine, one of Tokyo's most important Shinto sites. I decide to climb the discreet bamboo-shaded...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Aug 6, 2016

Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura: the samurai era in town and country

A friend I've known for more than 20 years is now president of the Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura cultural theme park in the Kinugawa Onsen area of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTEL SPECIAL 2016
Jun 24, 2016

Hands-on experience of traditional culture

Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo guests can trade the noise of the city for chirping birds while enjoying nature in the lush greenery of the hotel's well-kept Japanese garden that is home to a three-story pagoda and traditional teahouse, both well-known cultural icons of Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 28, 2016

Backstage drama on Ginza's Konparu-dori

A temperate breeze swings through the surrounding willow trees as I pass jewel-encrusted ball gowns in the display windows of Ginza Takaraya, near Shinbashi Station in Tokyo. I'm scouting out Konparu-dori, a street named for the eponymous noh troupe that was gifted land here by the Tokugawa shoganate...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2016

Van Sant plots a bleak hike through Aokigahara

At least Arthur Brennan didn't want sushi, an AKB48 concert or a night out on the town with a maiko (trainee geisha) on his arm. As Japan's ranking soars on the international travelers' destination lists, the more cliched their itineraries seem to get. But Matthew McConaughey's Brennan of Gus Van Sant's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Apr 21, 2016

Showing gratitude to mothers; tasting the best of traditional cuisine; enjoying a ladies night out

Showing gratitude to mothers
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 10, 2015

Jimbocho Den brings hot sake and hanami to Shizuoka

On an evening in late March, a group of well-heeled guests arrive at the Nippondaira Hotel, on a high plateau in the center of Shizuoka City, for the fifth edition of Dining Out, a series of creative pop-up dinners held at various locations around the country. The theme this time was hanami — the tradition...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2014

R-18 to G: Are pink films losing their potency?

Yuji Tajiri and Shinji Imaoka were two of the “Seven Lucky Gods of Pink” — a group of young pinku eiga (erotic film) directors who were hailed as the genre’s hope after they rose to prominence in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 5, 2013

Kagurazaka GiroGiro: Kyoto import brings a youthful buzz to kaiseki

The plate is a deep turquoise blue, hand-thrown and uneven. The sliver of fish on top, its skin grilled to a burnished copper, sits on a jade green sauce. The place mat depicts a neon psychedelic geisha. Welcome to the Technicolor world of dining, GiroGiro style.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 23, 2013

For Japanese women painters, elegance came at expense of individuality

"Painted by Women: Elegance of Showa Period" announces a thematic concern of the time, 1926-89, on which the art world was rigidified. Japan had embarked upon a 15-year period of war (1931-1945) and the individual expressive liberties that had informed the Taisho Era (1912-26), were being reined in.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 25, 2013

'Yellow fever' and the fantasy of the Asian female

Here is a dumb thing you should never do: watch the 007 caper "You Only Live Twice" with your feminist American girlfriend — a woman of color to boot. In a series renowned for its sexism, the Japan entry takes the biscuit.
JAPAN / Media
Mar 31, 2013

Online documentary series explores why 'They're All So Beautiful'

"They're All So Beautiful" is a six-part Web series/forum focused specifically on the attraction that Asian women hold for Caucasian men, and director Debbie Lum interviews men in the throes of "yellow fever" — whether they like to admit to the term or not.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2013

A son of Lyon brings his native conviviality to the heart of Tokyo

When Lyon-born French chef Christophe Paucod arrived in Japan in 1998, he came on a one-way ticket with no job prospects and no idea of what he would do.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LABOR PAINS
Jan 22, 2013

AKB48: Unionize and take back your lost love lives

They started performing on stages in Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district, and today their ubiquity is unrivaled. The current flavors of the month pepper the TV schedules and covers of weekly magazines all year round. In Tokyo, you can't swing a carrot without hitting a giant poster of one or a bunch...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 11, 2012

To Kagoshima in search of a great samurai unbowed

Flying into Kagoshima from Tokyo across the volcanic landscape of Kirishima and Ebino Kogen, I feel as if I'm arriving in another country. The air is moist and warm, the light sharper, the sky bluer and the foliage intensely green, sprawling exuberantly over the rugged hills.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 22, 2012

A century of Tokyo taxis

The year 1912 is recorded in Japan both as the 45th year of Meiji Era and the first year of the Taisho Era. After a protracted illness, Emperor Mutsuhito expired, age 61, on the night of July 29 (although the official announcement came the next day). Through the remainder of the summer, the front pages...
Tour guide and history buff Rory Dent left his job at a U.K.-based tour operator to move to Japan and start his own business.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jun 30, 2024

Guiding Japan through the challenges of overtourism

With the number of overseas tourists breaking records, guides and tour operators are seeing their businesses flourish.

Longform

Tour guide and history buff Rory Dent left his job at a U.K.-based tour operator to move to Japan and start his own business.
Guiding Japan through the challenges of overtourism