Search - restaurants

 
 
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.
Nadine, a 43-year-old tourist from the U.S., wears a sumo wrestler costume and tries to spar against former sumo wrestler Towanoyama in the sumo ring at Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka in Tokyo in June 30.
SUMO
Jul 23, 2023

Sumo retirees play for laughs from tourists flooding back to Japan

Themed restaurants, including those offering sumo performances, are part of a tourism ecosystem that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes will add ¥5 trillion a year to the nation's economy.
A "No Kids Zone" sign written in Korean hangs on the glass door of a cafe in Gimpo, South Korea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 24, 2023

Lawmaker on crusade against South Korea's 'no-kid zones'

Seoul spends billions to encourage citizens to have more babies, offering subsidies, babysitting services and infertility treatment, but fertility rates continue to drop.
BTS fans at an event in Seoul on June 17
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 3, 2023

K-pop fans fight big coal to protect beach made famous by BTS

Environmental groups are aiming to harness the immense influence that K-pop enthusiasts have to fight climate change.
Warabeya Nichiyo Holdings has apologized after a video went viral that showed one of its rice ball products appearing to contain a cockroach at a Seven Eleven convenience store.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023

Cockroach contamination sends rice-ball supplier’s stock reeling

The company said it is recalling all relevant goods from the factory in Omiya where the food was produced.
Tom Malian on Monday at his business, Toluca Lake Dry Cleaners, in Burbank, California near the Warner Bros. and Disney studios. His business has taken a severe blow since Hollywood went on strike. Film and TV production ground to a halt 100 days ago when writers downed their pens, before being joined on the picket lines in mid-July by actors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 9, 2023

Los Angeles subdued as Hollywood double strike hits 100 days

Despite its sprawling size, the city is almost as much a company town as any in America dominated by a single industry.
The "furoshiki" style of wrapping gifts takes advantage of a fabric that can be used more than once.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 10, 2023

Eco-friendly eating with a healthy helping of Japanese

Sustainability-related vocabulary isn't the only way to get your thoughts across on sustainable food practices in Japanese.
Thousands of Afghan women run microenterprises from their homes.
WORLD / Society
Aug 15, 2023

Afghan women set up secret businesses to escape Taliban bans

The administration has banned women from most jobs, barred girls from secondary and higher education, and restricted their movement.
A father-daughter duo keeps a beloved local tofu shop running despite disagreements and obstacles in Mitsuhiro Mihara’s “Takano Tofu.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2023

'Takano Tofu': Cranky craftsman serves up heartwarming drama

In Mitsuhiro Mihara’s touching drama, Tatsuya Fuji adds layered nuance that sets his tofu-making protagonist apart from the typical cinematic elder.
Michael Oher (left) has accused Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy of cheating him out of earnings from "The Blind Side," a film based on his life story.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 17, 2023

'Blind Side' couple responds to Michael Oher's lawsuit

Oher, whose life story was the subject of the film "The Blind Side" accused the pair of tricking him into signing away control of his financial affairs.
At the inaugural World Lambrusco Day held this June, the sparkling wine took center stage beneath the Eiffel Tower.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 20, 2023

Passe or sparkling, Lambrusco can get you through a Tokyo summer

Fizzy, fruity and tantalizingly affordable, the sparkling red wine from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region is a convivial antidote to the summertime blues.
After enjoying robust demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, air cargo firms are now reeling from overcapacity.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Aug 19, 2023

Air travel boom creates crosswinds for air cargo

Passenger jets grounded during the pandemic are flying again and transporting goods, upping the competition with dedicated air freighters.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2023

Japan to begin releasing treated Fukushima water Thursday

Despite fishing cooperatives' lingering worries of reputational damage, the government will go ahead with its plan.
An Air Koryo plane is reflected in a glass structure of the airport in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 22, 2023

North Korea sees first passenger flight in three years

An Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang landed in Beijing early Tuesday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020.
South Korean soldiers prepare for a counterterrorism drill, as part of the Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea, at a subway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 23, 2023

South Korea holds first nationwide defense drills in six years

The drill, focused on a North Korea attack, required South Korea’s 51 million residents to practice evacuating to shelters or underground spaces.
At Beijing’s Jingshen Seafood Market, sales of Japanese maritime products are now banned — just as they are elsewhere in the country.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2023

China is about to get a lesson in the limits of economic coercion

Most governments in Asia are relying on science to guide their responses to the Fukushima water release.
Singer Jimmy Buffett performs during NBC's "Today" show Summer Concert Series in New York City in July 2016.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 2, 2023

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett dies at 76

Jimmy Buffett, the American singer-songwriter who went from Key West beach bum to billionaire behind the always-on-vacation "Margaritaville" commercial empire, has died at the age of 76.
Tourists walk in front of Crown and Anchor pub on Neal Street in London in 2018. Pubs are big part of British culture.
WORLD / Society
Sep 4, 2023

What’s really killing Britain’s historic pubs

With each time-honored spot that’s shuttered, another little piece of British history is lost.
Workers unload sacks of onions from a truck at a wholesale market in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, on April 5.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 4, 2023

How these grocery staples became emblems of inflation in Asia

From war to disease to the effects of climate change, global food prices have been shaken by various factors in recent years.
The refined fusion cuisine at Toki reflects the delicacy of Kyoto’s famous kaiseki (multicourse Japanese haute cuisine).
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 17, 2023

Does whisky have a place in Kyoto's fine dining? Hibiki says yes.

My meal opens with a sparkling mix of soda and Hibiki Blossom Harmony, a blend finished with grain spirit aged in cherrywood casks.
Ichiro Miyashita arrives at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday after being named the new minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a Cabinet reshuffle the same day.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2023

Japan aiming to diversify export markets to cut risks

New agriculture minister Ichiro Miyashita has expressed his intention to work on diversifying export destinations to reduce risks.
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji on Aug. 31. The mountain has long been a popular destination for both domestic and international travelers.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 17, 2023

Tourists have returned to Mount Fuji. Is that sustainable?

A spike in visitors has created various challenges, including overcrowding, littering, strained infrastructure and a shortage of guides and rescue teams.
A cross-section illustration of the second Seikan Tunnel proposed by the Japan Project-Industry Council
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Sep 25, 2023

Is the plan to build a second Seikan Tunnel realistic?

Advocates suggest shorter travel times and revitalized communities, while critics worry about the price tag.
Women with portable electric fans in the Yurakucho district of Tokyo on Sept. 12. In Japan, Cool Biz became especially popular with women, who tended to wear lighter clothes and often complained about the cold temperatures needed to make business suits comfortable for their male colleagues.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023

Where did all the dark-suited Japanese businessmen go?

Under Cool Biz, salarymen and government workers don short-sleeved shirts in the summer as offices are kept above 28 degrees Celsius to save energy.
If you've ever dined on fresh fish, either within Japan or anywhere else in the world, there's a healthy chance it was processed via ikejime, a Japanese technique for preserving freshness in line-caught fish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 30, 2023

How the world got hooked on ikejime-caught fish

Roughly rendered in English as “locking in life,” this technique delivers a quick death to ensure freshness.
An image of an immersive attraction at Immersive Fort Tokyo slated to open next spring in Tokyo's Odaiba area.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023

New immersive theme park to open in Tokyo’s Odaiba

The new facility, to be called Immersive Fort Tokyo, will feature 12 immersive attractions along with six shops and restaurants.
Pedestrians walk past a McDonald's restaurant in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 13, 2023

Hong Kong takes economic hit as Chinese tourists fail to splurge

Changes in travel habits come as the Chinese economy weakens and youth unemployment remains high.
When COVID-19 first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023

Life after COVID turns rocky for reshaped health care businesses

When the coronavirus first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
Fruit and vegetables for sale at the entrance to a supermarket in a shopping precinct in Tokyo on Oct. 7.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 20, 2023

Japan's core inflation slows below 3% for first time in over a year

The rate has tracked above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for 18 straight months.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023

Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.

As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.

Longform

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