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CULTURE / Stage
Mar 17, 2001

Two women, a ghost and a very big fish

An abridged version of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's 1809 play "Okuni Gozen Kesho no Sugatami" is being presented at the National Theater in Tokyo until Tuesday under the title "Imayo Kasane Kesho no Sugatami (Kasane Putting on Her Makeup)."
CULTURE / Books
Nov 7, 2000

From great fiction, more fiction still

THE TALE OF MURASAKI: A Novel, by Liza Dalby. Doubleday, 2000, 424 pp., $25.95. What if the author of "The Tale of Genji" had written an autobiography and it had remained undiscovered until now? What would it be like?
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 20, 2000

Tales of love, pride, loyalty and death

Murder leads off and finishes up the Kabukiza's June playbill in the usual midori sampler of acts from different plays separated by dance numbers.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2000

A tradition that's all pinned down

To decorate one's hair with morning glories, complete with a tiny snail on one leaf, may not be everyone's idea of chic. However, if they are fashioned by Tsuyoshi Ishida out of sheer silk, it is another matter.
CULTURE / Stage
May 1, 1999

Timeless tale grabs new audience

NEW YORK -- The final segment of Saeko Ichinohe's imaginative three-part dance project "The Tale of Genji" premiered at a theater at New York's Lincoln Center Plaza April 6, as part of a gala event that included a formal dinner and the Second Annual Cultural Bridge Awards.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 24, 2023

Land of sake, gold, premium tools and elegant geigi

The Group of Seven comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, and receives representation from the EU as well. It was originally formed in 1973 as a forum for the world’s major industrialized nations to discuss economic issues. From an initial informal...
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 16, 2022

Best foot forward for Japanese socks in U.S.

Maari Wada offers products from Nara Prefecture, known as a center for high-quality sock production, to customers in the United States.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Oct 31, 2022

Can Japan’s pandemic-hit amusement parks return with a bang?

Does the opening of Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture reflect a turnaround in fortunes for theme park operators in Japan?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 15, 2022

‘Undesirable consequences’ may await Japan’s well-meaning tourists

The return to full-scale tourism may be much more of a slog than previously thought — for tourists and Japan alike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2022

‘Bullet Train’ proves that Hollywood hasn’t lost its knack for topsy-turvy visions of Japan

David Leitch's hyper-violent comedy may be the least authentic screen depiction of the country since “Austin Powers,” but it's hardly the first Western movie to take such liberties.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2022

Retailer Miniso to ditch Japanese styling after Chinese outcry

The Guangzhou-based company has long promoted itself as Japanese-influenced, with a Japanese chief designer and Japanese characters on its shopping bags and marketing language.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 30, 2022

For the most complex heroines in animation, look to Japan

The girls and women of anime tend to experience the conflicting emotions of real life. That's because the auteurs try to create “an everyday, real person.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 16, 2022

Drama and exhibition portray the struggles and successes of Japanese women who moved to the U.K.

The stories document the interviewees' changing relationships with both Britain and Japan and unveil the shifting views of Japan in Britain over many decades.
Asia's best bartenders congregated in Hong Kong for the unveiling of the 2023 list of the continents top watering holes.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 21, 2023

Tokyo’s Ben Fiddich inches toward top of Asia’s 50 Best Bars

A total of 14 bars in Japan cracked the top 100 of this year’s continent-wide rankings.
Cormorant fishing master Youichiro Adachi (left) holds the leashes tied to the necks and bodies of cormorants on the Nagara River in Oze, Gifu Prefecture, on Sept. 8.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 30, 2023

Environmental change threatens Japan's cormorant fishing legacy

The method of fishing was once common in Japan, and a version of it has also been practiced in China
Blue Bottle Studio Kyoto's tasting sessions combine excellent coffees, curated music and a technical display of barista-ship.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 26, 2023

Blue Bottle Kyoto gives coffee the 'kaiseki' treatment

The menu unfolds with each course crafted to present a different facet of coffee culture.
The defunct Ichiyotei Hotel (background), which is undergoing renovation work, and a model of the proposal for the building in Minakami, Gunma Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2023

Residents use big-city thinking to bring onsen town back from brink

It is hoped that Minakami Onsen can be returned to its past glory as a tourism hot spot in collaboration with local authorities and private companies.
What's old in Tokyo libations is new again at Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Brewery, where sake's cloudy, rustic predecessor takes center stage.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Dec 24, 2023

At 2023’s close, Tokyo bars enter a new golden age

This year’s cocktail trends offer a spirit-forward reflection on the past as well as glimpses of the future.
People line up to board a city bus outside JR Kyoto Station in Kyoto on Feb. 29.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2024

Kyoto may launch tourist express bus service to beat overcrowding

The city government said it is looking to introduce in June "a sightseeing express bus" that can travel to major tourism sites.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) and Deputy Govs. Ryozo Himino (left) and Shinichi Uchida (right) attend a news conference at the bank headquarters in Tokyo in April 2023
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2024

How the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth stimulus exit unfolded

The decision was complicated by differences between BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda's two deputies, as well as the governor's wavering on the exit timing.
Tourists crowd Sensoji Temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district in February.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2024

Japan tourism agency picks model areas aiming to address overtourism

The agency has selected 20 areas to implement model projects aimed at addressing challenges related to the negative impacts of a surge in tourists.
Yum China, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut, plans to add more than 5,000 outlets by 2026 with more than 50% of them outside megacities.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 23, 2024

China’s small towns thrive as more opt out of demanding megacity life

As an economic downturn in China’s biggest cities prompts layoffs and competition for remaining posts, many are finding a better quality of life elsewhere.
Canadian singer Avril Lavigne attends the opening ceremony of Gap Flagship Ginza in Tokyo in 2011, three years before releasing her music video for the Japan-inspired track “Hello Kitty.”
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Apr 26, 2024

Avril Lavigne walked so today's influencer tourists could Mario Kart

Ten years ago, the pop star’s ‘Hello Kitty’ video drew outrage from the West, but she wouldn’t be the last visitor to use Tokyo as a backdrop for content.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 7, 2024

Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.

Japan needs better long-term strategies to manage tourism sustainably.
Cars are pictured with Mount Fuji from a secondhand car dealer in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
May 9, 2024

Barrier to block view of Mount Fuji delayed

Fujikawaguchiko town is building the screen to deter people from taking pictures of the landmark.
A worker installs a mesh barrier to block the view of Mount Fuji emerging from behind a convenience store in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Tuesday. The measure follows complaints of bad behaviors by tourists seeking the perfect photo at the location.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2024

Weary of overtourism, Japan town blocks one popular view of Mount Fuji

The large mesh barrier was put up at the popular photo-taking spot in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, in response to misbehaving tourists.
A worker installs a barrier to block the sight of Japan's Mount Fuji emerging from behind a convenience store to deter badly behaved tourists, in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture on May 21.
JAPAN
May 28, 2024

Holes poked in Mount Fuji barrier near convenience store, town says

Although a security guard is there between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the small holes appear to have been created in the morning or evening when no one was watching.
A worker installs a barrier to block the sight of Mount Fuji in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on May 21.
JAPAN
May 30, 2024

Town to replace Mount Fuji barrier after holes found: local media

The barrier was put up last week in a popular viewing spot in the town of Fujikawaguchiko.
Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin,” once the victim of high waves that dragged it into the sea, sits at the end of a pier on the south side of Naoshima.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 6, 2024

The sweaty pleasure of Japan’s inconvenient art

This week, writer Thu-Huong Ha is our tour guide into the world of Japan’s inconvenient art movement.
People wait to cross a street in Kyoto in April. The number of foreign visitors to Japan came to 3.04 million in May, marking the third straight month at more than 3 million.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2024

Flood of tourists prompts call to charge foreign visitors more

Foreign tourist arrivals numbered 3.04 million in May, up 9.6% from 2019 and marking the third straight month at over 3 million.

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