Tag - festival

 
 

FESTIVAL

Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 12, 2013
They'll be running up that hill, with no pants on
According to folklore, during the Great Tenmei Famine (1782-1788) of the Edo Period, the people of Oyama in Hita, Oita Prefecture, were saved from death by the sacred waters of a pond found halfway up the local mountains. To offer thanks for being spared, men dressed in fundoshi loincloths began to ritually...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 7, 2013
Fabled strand of 500 pines
Beautiful beaches, we've all seen our share, right? But a beautiful beach that's also historic and sacred? That sounds worth driving out of our way for — especially as the way takes us over a span I've long yearned to traverse: the Ondo Bridge, a delightful crimson structure over the Ondo Strait, a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 27, 2013
Back to Back Theatre reveals the elephant in the room
Festival/Tokyo 13, this year's edition of the annual stage-arts festival, started Nov. 9. A unique feature of the festival's program is its many presentations that encourage audience participation, be it leading them around the streets following a certain theme, or guiding them via social networking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2013
Money, censorship and the future of Asian cinema
Flitting around Roppongi Hills during the week of the Tokyo International Film Festival, you get to meet and chat with any number of interesting people, but one of the better conversations I had was sitting down for coffee with Jacob Wong, curator of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, held each...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Oct 31, 2013
History repeats itself in Tokyo's Asakusa area
Asakusa is a busy but attractive area of Tokyo that still retains much of its historical charm. Legend has it that, in the year 628, two fishermen found a statue of the bodhisattva Kannon mysteriously floating in the Sumida River. The chief of the village enshrined the statue in what is now Sensoji Temple,...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 31, 2013
Good time to visit the dumpling capital of Japan
Dumplings are enjoyed the world over, but they are particularly loved in Japan. Here, they are honored not only with their own capital — Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture — but also by an iconic dumpling statue that stands proudly in front of that city's main station. In Utsunomiya, where the per-head...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 29, 2013
Damo Suzuki sees promise in young artists
"I don't like to make music, I like to make energy. Music is just a way to get energy, so why not just make energy?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 23, 2013
Tears shed for puppets in the City of Love
Japanese photographer/artist Hiroshi Sugimoto is inescapable in Paris just now, with posters all over the Metro for his "Accelerated Buddha" exhibition at the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent and "Sugimoto Bunraku: Sonezaki Shinju" ("The Love Suicides at Sonezaki") at the Théâtre de la Ville...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Oct 17, 2013
Why not play with the kids this weekend?
The Tokyo Toy Festival, on Oct. 19 and 20 at the Tokyo Toy Museum and Yotsuya Hiroba, aims to encouraging kids to explore their own creativity through various forms of play — but that doesn't mean adults can't join in the fun.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 16, 2013
Kyoto Experiment 2013: 'Do as you like'
Language, memory and identity politics are at the core of the fourth edition of Kyoto Experiment, the annual feast of progressive and experimental theater now being served up by organizers the Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2013
Busan is still Asia's film-fest gem, but its sparkle is fading
During the Q&A session after the screening of his new film "Stray Dogs" at the 18th Busan International Film Festival, which ran Oct. 3-12, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang mentioned that not only was his previous film not distributed in South Korea, it wasn't even shown at BIFF. Tsai was one of the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 10, 2013
Fashion Week's side shows give the public a rare seat next to their runways
Next week is Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo but, chances are, you’re not invited. Before that teen trauma of being excluded sets in, don’t panic — there’s a ton of alternative events to get dolled up for.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 10, 2013
Etw.Vonneguet designer draws inspiration from Pina Bausch for new collection
Under the alias "Olga," the Japanese designer behind Etw.Vonneguet has long been part of the official Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo, all the while challenging the institution by opening public auditions for models and welcoming anyone to her shows. This time she will break away from the official event...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 2, 2013
The Towada Art Center expands its landscape
Ever since the Towada Art Center opened five years ago, the city in Aomori Prefecture has seen its prospects dramatically alter. Not only by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, but by the subsequent devastation of neighboring areas, all of which compounded the dwindling prosperity of Towada....
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 26, 2013
Floats make Oirase fest a treat
The town of Oirase, Aomori Prefecture, seems like a good place for homesick Americans to settle down. It's known for its own Statue of Liberty — bigger than the one that sits at the edge of Tokyo Bay.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2013
Seiji Ozawa ends summer on high note
Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe reportedly once said “God is in the details.” Conductor Seiji Ozawa would literally agree. He meets The Japan Times at a cafe he frequents in Tokyo's Seijo district.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2013
Festival brings old films out of storage
Every year, nearly 100 of the films produced in Japan are said to "go into storage."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2013
Street concerts aim to connect community
This weekend, the residents of Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, will get the chance to hear music from every nook and cranny of the city.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2013
Green festival to push 'stylish' conservation
Recycling doesn't have to be unfashionable. In fact, the Tokai Eco Festa in Nagakute, Aichi, places emphasis on the theme of "eco-stye," a continuing trend where fashion combines with environmental awareness. Patrons can visit more than 130 booths that feature clothes, art and handmade items that are...

Longform

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