Search - information

 
 
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 30, 2014

Yokohama celebrates 155 years as a trade port

It might surprise you to know that Yokohama was once a tiny village with less than 100 households living off farming and fishing. It wasn't until the port opened to foreign trade in 1859 that it began to expand to become Japan's second most populated city. Now it is one of the most popular tourist destinations...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 30, 2014

Let the kids jump around in Osaka

Jumping around on an outdoor bouncy castle is a summer rite of passage that no kid should be denied, but with Japan's rainy season kicking in, it's not something that can be planned so easily. Fuwa Fuwa kids adventure 2014 in Osaka, though, offers inflatable entertainment indoors, so you can still get...
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 30, 2014

EU Film Days unfreezes movie options

Though it might not seem like it right now, films and animation other than "Frozen" do exist, and the EU Film Days 2014 festival could be a good way to explore some alternatives. This weekend, 30 films reflecting different cultural preferences in film aesthetics of 23 EU member countries are being shown...
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 30, 2014

FIFA World Cup 2014 brings the fun to Tokyo

When you're on the other side of the world finding a place to watch World Cup matches usually requires meticulous planning — from persuading friends with giant TV screens to let you join them, to preparing for an assault on your body clock. Flying to Brazil is an option, but for those of us with a...
JAPAN
May 29, 2014

Tokyo, Canberra test sub fleet export waters

Japan will get the chance to pursue an unprecedented military export deal when its defense and foreign ministers meet their Australian counterparts in Tokyo next month.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 29, 2014

China upbeat on gas prospects off Vietnam, despite regional frictions

A Chinese oil rig whose deployment to waters claimed by Vietnam early this month triggered a rupture in ties has a good chance of finding enough gas to put the area into production, Chinese industry experts said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2014

Short-film festival offers flicks for free

Short films are today both everywhere but nowhere, even for many who consider themselves film fans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2014

Tropfest gives Japan a peek at Australia

The homegrown Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia will have competition for eyeballs this year as Australia's Tropfest descends on Japan. The event claims — perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek — to be the "world's largest short-film festival."
WORLD
May 27, 2014

Canada eases in-flight mobile rules

Canada, following the lead of the United States and the European Union, on Monday relaxed official restrictions on using mobile devices in flight while maintaining a ban on transmitting information.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 27, 2014

SKST 4seasons aren't posing when it comes to rock

Tomo Nakamura had already decided before walking through the door that this audition would be his last. He'd already been in a half dozen bands that had never taken off. He was prepared to give up on dreams of being a musician, but fortunately for him he had found a group of young men who felt precisely...
BUSINESS / Markets
May 26, 2014

Confidence builds as investors await next phase of Abe growth strategy

If options are one way to measure sentiment, confidence is returning to Japan's stock market as investors prepare for the next phase of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's growth strategy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
May 26, 2014

Letters: Kikokushijo encounter trouble upon re-entry

Japanese returnees and others discuss the trials and tribulations facing those educated abroad if and when they attempt to settle back in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 26, 2014

U.S. life and times of a Japanese portrait artist

Today only a few art aficionados will recognize the name Kyohei Inukai, a New York society portrait artist who married or loved several American women during a period of rising racial prejudice against the Japanese.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
May 25, 2014

A cat named Blanco: In my time

Blanco came to ARK as a kitten last June with his siblings. Most of his brothers and sisters were adopted quickly but Blanco got passed over, as he was often too busy sleeping or playing to entertain visitors.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 23, 2014

Farm life leads to healthy business for Dutch expat

Outdoorsy expatriate lured by the beauty of Hokkaido sets up in Niseko. Sound familiar?
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2014

Hackers raid eBay in historic breach, access 145 million records

EBay Inc said that hackers raided its network three months ago, stealing some 145 million user records from a database in what is poised to go down as one of the biggest data breaches in history based on the number of accounts compromised.
JAPAN
May 22, 2014

Tokyo top for tourist joy in 2013, survey says

Tokyo was the world's most satisfying tourist city in 2013, according to a survey by U.S. travel site TripAdvisor.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 22, 2014

Phrase archive restores lost voices

Volunteers are reading out random lines of text to help people with Lou Gehrig's disease communicate in synthesized voices that sound more similar to theirs.
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 22, 2014

Music to the guitar fan's ears

For those who gave up trying to be Jimi Hendrix long ago — this might encourage you to get that unused guitar back out of the closet.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 22, 2014

Aichi Prefecture is firing on all cylinders

Among the different kinds of hanabi (fireworks) in Japan, the tezutsu hanabi is probably the one you really shouldn't try at home. "Tezutsu" means "hand-held," and a tezutsu hanabi cylindrical cartridge is made of a hollowed out bamboo tube, which is wrapped in rope woven from rice straw. The tube, which...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 22, 2014

Take a country stroll in Kobe

One of the best ways to improve overall health is to take at least 10,000 steps a day, but getting into the habit isn't always so easy. Rokkosan Country House's Two-Day Walk, an event hosted at a small farm at the top of Mount Rokko in Kobe's Nada Ward in Hyogo Prefecture and nearby locations, could...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 22, 2014

Marty Friedman takes a fiery break from J-pop on 'Inferno'

"When you're a 'rock' guy, there's something that makes you want to be in the business, as a photographer, working at a label . . . I mean, you're not going to be a fan of Cat Stevens and all of a sudden decide to be a roadie for Pantera or something. Rock gives you the inspiration to get involved."...
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 22, 2014

Island breaks in the city

Even if you don't have time to leave the city, there's nothing to stop you taking an island break this weekend. Tokyo Island Fair Shimajiman 2014 is presenting the lifestyle of Japan's islands Oshima, Toshima, Niijima, Shikinejima, Kouzushima Miyakejima, Mikurajima, Hachijojima, Aogashima and Ogasawara...

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick