Language | BILINGUAL May 19, 2020
Relieving stress with the help of Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizon has been a stress relief for people looking to escape the current pandemic. Its puns are great, too.
Culture Nov 23, 2019
Fancy footwork: Japan's break dancers lay the groundwork for possible Olympic glory
Roars cascaded throughout the Salle Bellegrave's bleachers in the French city of Bordeaux earlier this month, filling the event space and reverberating into the virtual realm of shared (and reshared) stories on Instagram. The Instagram videos are of a pony-tailed dancer clad in black, white ...
Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN Apr 13, 2019
'Family Traits' review: A world of myth and whimsy comes to life
"Family Traits: The Fantastic Bestiary of a Father and his Sons" is a collection of watercolor illustrations by Thomas Romain, a Tokyo-based animator, and his sons' whimsical drawings that inspired them.
People | The Big Questions Feb 25, 2019
Ambassador sets course to spread cultural knowledge
Iranian Ambassador Morteza Rahmani Movahed was appointed to his newest position in July, but although he's lived in Japan for over six months, his schedule hasn't given him a lot of time for sightseeing.
Community / How-tos Jan 6, 2019
It's 2019 and it's time to hit those Japanese textbooks — for real
Whether you've been here for several days or several decades, listening to fellow expats, immigrants and other non-Japanese residents groaning about their dissatisfaction with their language abilities is nothing new. The advice I've received on how to improve, however, sometimes skews toward the exasperating. I've ...
People | The Big Questions Mar 12, 2018
Daruma wish comes true after nearly 4-decade wait
"What would you like to be in the future and what would you like to do?" It's 1978, and Sujan Chinoy is an exchange student at Otemon Gakuin University in Osaka being interviewed for the Yomiuri Shimbun.
People | The Big Questions Mar 4, 2018
PR firm chief keeps his eye on ever-changing market
On a trek along one of the Silk Road’s numerous land routes, when would ramen turn into spaghetti? It’s a question Ross Rowbury, CEO and president of Edelman Japan, would like to eventually answer during the month-long sabbatical awarded to employees after 10 years of ...
People | The Big Questions Jan 21, 2018
Redesigning and refining the perception of luxury
For the past 23 years Guido Tarchi has weaved among Tokyo's crowds, surrounded by the city's architectural jumble where the everyday harmonizes with the extravagant.
People | The Big Questions Jan 14, 2018
Philip O'Neill: McGill degree offers potential to open doors for global professionals
The adage of one door closing and another opening is at best, apt, and at worst, a cliche. However, as the director of McGill University's MBA Japan Program for the past decade, O'Neill's ongoing dedication to his students centers around a refreshing truth dating ...
Books / Reviews Dec 9, 2017
Off the beaten track with Isabella Bird
Isabella Bird was a tenacious traverser of continents, prolific Victorian era writer and the first woman awarded membership to the U.K.'s Royal Geographical Society. Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment, by Kiyonori Kanasaka, Translated by Nicholas Pertwee. 312 pages RENAISSANCE BOOKS, Nonfiction. Wait, who? As famous explorers and all-around ...