Search - life

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2023

Don’t pay people to leave Tokyo. Make more Tokyos.

Trying to arrest rural depopulation, Japan wants people to quit Tokyo, its greatest metropolis. How about creating new ones instead?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Dec 19, 2022

Things to do before saying 'sayonara' to your life in Japan

Planning on leaving Japan? Think long-term with your plans. It will take a while to ship everything to a different country.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 27, 2022

Toyama puts itself on Japan’s map of sustainable tourism

From traditional architecture and local folk crafts to impressive temples and a luxury hotel, Toyama's rural Tonami Plain is rich with culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Nov 17, 2022

How to prepare for life after Twitter

Don't delete your Twitter account just yet. Elon Musk's takeover can teach us valuable lessons about our relationship with social networks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 7, 2022

Taiwan’s bomb shelters: ‘A space for life. And a space for death.’

Preparing for war over hundreds of years has left a mark on the island, with its hundreds of bomb shelters. Some are being turned into cultural oases.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2022

‘The Zen Diary’: Simple life lessons to feed the soul

Yuji Nakae's foodie drama, adapted from a 1978 book by the late Tsutomu Mizukami, plays out like a feature-length episode of “Chef's Table.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2022

Get ready to relearn how to use the internet

Everyone knows that an AI revolution is coming, but no one seems to realize how profoundly it will change their day-to-day life.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 29, 2022

In Myanmar's rebel strongholds, internet blackouts can mean life or death

With many people relying on Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, warnings about impending attacks by junta forces haven't been able to reach villages.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 19, 2022

Paula Badosa adjusting to life among tennis' top class

Badosa is currently ranked No. 4 in the world and enters the Pan Pacific Open this week as the top seed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Sep 19, 2022

Run for your life — and a sense of community — with these international clubs

Internationalized groups are as much about camaraderie as they are exercise, but the effects of physical activity can work wonders on both your physical and mental health.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 10, 2022

‘An Illustrated Guide to Samurai History and Culture’ brings the warriors to life in color

Journalist and author Gavin Blair offers a nuanced view of samurai history and their influence on modern pop culture in his latest book.
The Japanese word for cooked rice, "gohan," is the same word used for meals in general.
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Sep 25, 2024

Some idioms and terms pertaining to Japan's favorite grain

When one kind of food is so essential to the diet of an entire culture, it's bound to affect the language.
A farmer harvests rice in a paddy field in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture, last month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 25, 2024

In need of rice and some Japanese words that describe necessity

When does something go from being a "want" to a "need"? A few grammar structures can give the listener a sense of how urgent a situation is becoming.
GU's first overseas flagship store opens in SoHo, New York.
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 30, 2024

How to own something by the punk poet designer Jun Takahashi

GU, Uniqlo’s trendier sibling, is opening its first store outside Asia in SoHo, collaborating with the subversively witty Jun Takahashi of Undercover.
Dikembe Mutombo was one of the NBA's most fearsome shot blockers and earned defensive player of the year honors four times.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 1, 2024

'Larger than life' Hall of Famer Mutombo dies at 58

Mutombo's gregarious personality made him a fan favorite as he played 18 seasons with six different teams.
A pedestrian walks past a 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo. The Japanese model for a convenience store is gaining fans overseas where similar stores sell mostly gasoline and junk food.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 1, 2024

Making a habit of describing your morning convenience store run

Hitting up the local convenience store before or after work can wind up becoming habitual, and there are a number of grammar points to help describe it.
Shinobi, one of Sega's most popular video game series, is to be made into a movie.
LIFE / Digital
Oct 9, 2024

Sega's ninja game Shinobi to get the movie treatment

Sega did not give a target date for the movie's release.
As streaming services like Netflix invest in Japanese content, the hope is to revitalize the nation’s cultural exports and elevate its television landscape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 9, 2024

Netflix’s ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ reveals some surprising truths

"Tokyo Swindlers" can reveal some home truths — even when they’re presented by a group of fraudsters.
The wellness amenities at Six Senses Kyoto are just the latest example of hotels in Japan bolstering their relaxation offerings to attract guests.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 12, 2024

Can't choose a Kansai hotel? Perhaps a wellness screening will help you decide.

The holistic offerings at Six Senses Kyoto and Four Seasons Osaka are part of a growing wellness travel trend sweeping Japan.
The Bank of Japan’s historic shift this year from radical monetary easing to two interest-rate hikes has sparked volatility in the nation’s securities market as investors speculate on the BOJ’s next move.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 17, 2024

Japan Post Insurance markets chief sees Nikkei setting new records after votes

The Nikkei's all-time high, set in July, will probably be "just a passing point,” said Kenichi Kuga, head of global equity and fixed income investment.
For Designart 2024, 130 (one thirty) is exhibiting its first furniture collection of 100% recyclable 3D-printed works at Issey Miyake Ginza.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 19, 2024

117 creative exhibits take over Tokyo for Designart 2024

Designart’s official exhibitions at the World Kita -Aoyama Building in Minato Ward are always well-rounded displays of both established and up-and-coming designers.
At least 10 firms have temporarily suspended some business activities with Nomura because of its market manipulation scandal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2024

Big clients halt trades with Nomura over market manipulation scandal

At least 10 firms have temporarily suspended some business activities with Japan's biggest brokerage because of the breach.
Waight Keller, who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, finds a different kind of luxury at a mass market brand.
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 22, 2024

A designer moves easily from royal gowns to Uniqlo

Clare Waight Keller, who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, finds a different kind of luxury at a mass market brand.
A city as rich in history as Kyoto has accumulated plenty of hair-raising tales perfect for your Halloween perusal.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 26, 2024

Japan’s ancient capital houses a millennium of ghosts

August is the traditional period in Japan when the worlds of the living and the dead overlap, but who’s to say spirits don’t make an exception for Halloween?
Sanwa Koutsu's Kuroko Taxi service has drivers dressed in traditional stagehand garb communicate with passengers only through gestures and written messages.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 9, 2024

The sound of silence: Japan's no-conversation services

“Constant social interaction can feel like torture for us introverts,” one customer says. "I think it’s a pretty smart business move."
For some Americans, physical distance between them and their country in the immediate post-election period is the best thing they can do for their mental health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 9, 2024

Americans are traveling abroad as a post-election salve

One woman who temporarily relocated to Mexico City wishes she had traveled even further to a place like Japan for even more distance from domestic politcal news.
In Japan, these sweet morsels are a traditional New Year's treat, but they share a surprising overlap with American Thanksgiving flavors, too.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
Nov 10, 2024

The winter sweet that matches perfectly with autumn

If I’m in America for Thanksgiving, I’ll serve "kuri kinton" (syrup-stewed chestnuts in sweet potato paste) as a festive accompaniment to the holiday turkey.
The newly opened Nintendo Museum and upcoming Donkey Kong Country area of Universal Studios Japan are the latest examples of the gaming giant's efforts to expand beyond traditional consoles and handhelds.
LIFE / Digital
Nov 16, 2024

Why Nintendo is becoming a 'talent agency' for its beloved characters

Game and console sales account for over 90% of Nintendo's revenue, so exposure to characters could be "a trigger" to attract more people to consoles.
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 18, 2024

For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action

Always trying to solve the problems of modern life, the perennial candidate refuses to bow to societal expectations of age.
Best known as the home of Kuon Temple, Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a charming day trip from Tokyo with the potential for cultural verisimilitude.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2024

In rugged Yamanashi, a wild-goose chase for ‘real Japan’

Japan’s countryside certainly offers a different experience than its cities, but whether that makes it categorically superior is up for debate.

Longform

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