enSat, 06 Apr 2013 11:41:21 PDThttp://www.chimpfeedr.com/Latest features from The Japan Times: entertainment, arts, lifestyle, community, travel, food & drink and more35.64160343193103139.74571824073792http://www.japantimes.co.jp/images_jtads/jt_rss.gifhttp://www.japantimes.co.jphttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/trvwZqk6bv0/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:30:18 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>Generally speaking, an architect’s style is defined by particular forms or shapes. There’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s prominent horizontal lines, for instance; Le Corbusier’s simple white boxes; or, more recently, the deliberately abstract masses of Frank Gehry — of Guggenheim Bilbao fame. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/07/people/peoples-architect-shigeru-ban-combines-permanence-and-paper/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=peoples-architect-shigeru-ban-combines-permanence-and-paperhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/BvHb-_Upah4/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:15:07 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>TWELVE VIEWS FROM THE DISTANCE, by Mutsuo Takahashi, translated by Jeffrey Angles. University of Minnesota Press, 2012, 243 pp., $19.95 (paperback) This remarkable book is an autobiography of childhood, written by the poet Mutsuo Takahashi (born 1937) when he was 32, and issued in 1970, although its separate chapters had appeared as a series of [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/07/books/a-portrait-of-the-poet-as-a-child/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-portrait-of-the-poet-as-a-childhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/frY6EcM4Xkg/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:14:27 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>SALT, SUGAR, FAT: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss. Random House, 2013, 480 pp., $28 (hardcover) New York Times journalist Michael Moss spent 3½ years working out how big food companies get away with churning out products that undermine the health of those who eat them. He interviewed hundreds of current and [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/07/books/the-unholy-trinity-of-junk-food-redux/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-unholy-trinity-of-junk-food-reduxhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/V8tqx8tc0rM/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:13:31 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>THE SILENCE OF ANIMALS: On Progress and Other Modern Myths, by John Gray. Allen Lane, 2013, 240 pp., ￡18.99 (hardcover) ‘The more I see of men,” said Madame de Stael, “the more I like dogs.” Always excepting the pit bulls and Rottweilers that slather and snap at the heels of yobs, I agree with her. [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/07/books/the-myth-of-human-progress/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-myth-of-human-progresshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/cV8PGILyKeY/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:12:42 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>KICKING THE BLACK MAMBA: Life, Alcohol and Death, by Robert Anthony Welch. Darton, Longman and Todd, 2012, 240 pp., ￡12.99 (paperback) The late Bob Welch’s many friends will read this heart-rending elegy for his son, Egan, with total absorption. Some in Japan may recall how during his second visit here, at a banquet of the [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/07/books/processing-the-bitter-to-a-durable-beautiful-form/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=processing-the-bitter-to-a-durable-beautiful-formhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/I1u4QrsxdTk/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:05:59 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news ]]>Has Facebook become less fun? That’s something many users — especially those in their teens and early 20s — are asking themselves as they wade through endless posts, photos “liked” by people they barely know and spur-of-the moment friend requests. Has it all become too much of a chore? Are the important life events of [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/07/digital/for-many-young-users-facebook-is-boring-and-has-lost-its-edge/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=for-many-young-users-facebook-is-boring-and-has-lost-its-edgehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/dyr-NOL5Tfg/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:05:49 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>The March 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant forced the relocation of hundreds of families, and since then television has made a concerted effort to keep us informed as to their situation. On Tuesday, NHK will air a special about family members who tend to get less attention: pet dogs. “Iitate-mura [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/07/tv/the-dogs-of-post-311-fukushima-esp-for-the-common-man-cm-of-the-week-tokyo-metro/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-dogs-of-post-311-fukushima-esp-for-the-common-man-cm-of-the-week-tokyo-metrohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/lYN2XGCB0JI/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:01:49 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>Generally speaking, an architect’s style is defined by particular forms or shapes. There’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s prominent horizontal lines, for instance; Le Corbusier’s simple white boxes; or, more recently, the deliberately abstract masses of Frank Gehry — of Guggenheim Bilbao fame. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/07/environment/many-in-japan-cant-see-the-stars-some-not-even-their-home/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=many-in-japan-cant-see-the-stars-some-not-even-their-homehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/EyXyv0ccwXY/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:01:01 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>The Philippines will ask the United States to pay 58 million pesos ($1.4 million) in compensation for damage caused by a U.S. warship to a protected coral reef. The amount is based on studies by Philippine agencies, including the coast guard, that found the USS Guardian damaged at least 2,345 sq. meters of the protected [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/07/environment/philippines-asks-u-s-to-pay-1-4-million-for-reef-damage/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=philippines-asks-u-s-to-pay-1-4-million-for-reef-damagehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/TrI6KE1zYHw/Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:00:44 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>With degrees in fine arts, Akiyoshi Osumi used his creative talents to coin a perfect slogan for the Appi Kogen Snow Resort: “Be Happy in Appi.” Appi, which is open for spring skiing until May 6, really is an oasis of happiness in northern Iwate Prefecture. About an hour’s drive northwest of the prefectural capital [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/07/travel/appis-snowy-joys-await-seekers-of-late-season-thrills/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=appis-snowy-joys-await-seekers-of-late-season-thrillshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/oETUEvJVRDA/Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:46:24 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture will hold a workshop April 21 in which children learn to dye fabrics using cherry trees. Students in elementary and junior high school and their guardians will be accepted in the workshop, which will run from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition to a [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/06/events/childrens-workshop-will-feature-fabric-dyeing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=childrens-workshop-will-feature-fabric-dyeinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/gk9eKWdgai0/Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:05:19 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>Humor may be the hardest genre to translate, but laughter speaks any language. Poet and literary translator Peter MacMillan’s recent foray into visual art, “Thirty-Six New Views of Mount Fuji,” delights with wry whimsicality, employing mixed-media print-making to reveal a multicultural drollery. It’s exactly the witty disparity you’d expect from a philosopher with a mischievous [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/06/our-lives/irrepressible-irishman-promotes-japan-culture/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=irrepressible-irishman-promotes-japan-culturehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/9VSvp3plr4E/Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:04:38 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>Kazuhiro Tsuga, president of Panasonic Corp., addressed his new recruits on Monday telling them that he hopes they will turn the company into “a wonderful place to be.” President Akio Toyoda encouraged his recruits at Toyota Motor Corp. to exhibit “the strength seen in cherry blossoms that can persevere in a harsh winter.” In the [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/06/our-lives/who-turns-a-company-into-a-wonderful-place-to-be/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=who-turns-a-company-into-a-wonderful-place-to-behttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/FR4ovbC6904/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:37:13 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>Roger Ebert, the most famous film reviewer of his time who became the first journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize for movie criticism, dies.http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/05/entertainment-news/famed-u-s-movie-critic-ebert-dies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=famed-u-s-movie-critic-ebert-dieshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/FL6RDEotz_Y/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:20:08 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>Critics have called “The Master” a triumph of style over substance. That is, the acting wins out over direction and writing. The trio of principal actors: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams, were all nominated for Academy Awards. Director and writer Paul Thomas Anderson (“There Will Be Blood,” “Magnolia”), however, was passed over [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/05/films/extreme-characters-fuel-the-plot-of-the-master/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extreme-characters-fuel-the-plot-of-the-masterhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/mmWnfXJow3Q/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:15:59 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>My first impression of director Jacques Audiard is that he’s almost as wired as the street-punk hero of his film “The Beat That My Heart Skipped,” fidgeting in his chair, desperate for a smoke, jumping in mid-translation to clarify a point. Entering his sixth decade, Audiard shows no signs of slowing down, and if anything [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/05/films/audiards-method-as-slow-and-steady-as-the-waves/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=audiards-method-as-slow-and-steady-as-the-waveshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/PFpUwAWhG8k/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:13:38 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>For the second time in about four years, Jay Leno is stepping down from NBC’s iconic late-night franchise “The Tonight Show.” This time, he’ll exit in spring 2014 to make way for “Late Night” star Jimmy Fallon. Fallon will take over sometime after that, the network announced Wednesday, confirming the industry’s worst-kept secret in recent [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/05/entertainment-news/leno-to-leave-tonight-show-in-spring-2014/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=leno-to-leave-tonight-show-in-spring-2014http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/FFTtyR7zegk/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:10:57 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=culture ]]>I used to think that religion in Japan was for most a matter of custom, not belief. You clap your hands at the shrine because that’s what people do, not because you think the resident gods are actually listening. But as Minoru Kurimura’s drama “Sakura, Futatabi no Kanako (Orpheus’ Lyre)” shows, it’s not so simple, [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/04/05/films/sakura-futatabi-no-kanako-orpheus-lyre/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sakura-futatabi-no-kanako-orpheus-lyrehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/cV_9MgIsPFo/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:10:48 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>A pair of ornamental cherry trees stand like attendants by a sturdy wooden gateway. A narrow flagstone path lined with bamboo and maples curves out of sight in the mid-distance.http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/05/food/tastes-of-old-kyoto-in-tokyos-bustling-heart/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tastes-of-old-kyoto-in-tokyos-bustling-hearthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/HrCyrcxHdAo/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:05:15 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>The petals may have dropped from the cherry trees, at least in the Tokyo area, but there are plenty of leaves to be seen — and not just on the trees. Look around any shop selling traditional wagashi sweets at this time of year and you’ll find cherry leaves in evidence, wrapped around sakura-mochi. Nibbling [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/05/food/springtime-sweets-come-into-bloom/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=springtime-sweets-come-into-bloomhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/qEmoyrztHgQ/Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:01:52 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>Handmade pasta fair at Shangri-La The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo is holding a special dinner fair, offering a course called Pasta e Pasta that features handmade, fresh pasta at its Italian restaurant, Piacere, on the 28th floor, through April 14. The restaurant’s pasta is kneaded daily and has been one of the most popular menu items [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/05/travel/shangri-la-tokyo-handmade-pasta-fair-reasonable-ginza-buffet-armani-cafe-in-omotesando/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=shangri-la-tokyo-handmade-pasta-fair-reasonable-ginza-buffet-armani-cafe-in-omotesandohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/9QycBGZolyg/Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:56:44 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>A rare type of floating offshore wind turbine is being tested about 1 km off Kabashima, a 9-sq.-km island with some 110 households in Nagasaki Prefecture. The wind turbine, with a 22-meter propeller arc diameter, generates 100 kwh and has been in operation since August as part of an Environment Ministry test project to develop [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/04/environment/project-tests-viability-of-offshore-floating-wind-turbines/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=project-tests-viability-of-offshore-floating-wind-turbineshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/KhR4YY9-Noo/Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:47:58 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life ]]>Canada’s information commissioner on Tuesday launched an investigation into allegations that the federal government is muzzling its scientists, a spokeswoman for the commissioner said. A report from the University of Victoria said the Conservative government has stopped some government researchers from discussing their studies on prehistoric floods, the 2011 Arctic Ozone hole, and snow research. [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/04/environment/canada-to-probe-alleged-muzzling-of-government-scientists/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=canada-to-probe-alleged-muzzling-of-government-scientistshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/TWDYzm4izCA/Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:18:52 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>A year ago we looked at a 20-year-old apartment after it had just gone on sale in the city where we live, which is about an hour from Tokyo. It was large and sunny, but the walls needed to be re-papered and the floors replaced. The realtor told us that the ¥11.6 million asking price [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/02/how-tos/when-remodeling-isnt-quite-a-home-improvement/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-remodeling-isnt-quite-a-home-improvementhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/7D1fq2PIMAU/Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:09:14 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>Bianca Scheurer, 25 Office manager (German) Amsterdam comes to mind, but on second thoughts, I would choose to live in Maastricht, the Netherlands, because I love the pastoral atmosphere there. It has many of the same benefits as the more famous capital — canals, nice people, coffee shops — but without the tourists, and combined [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/02/voices/osaka-if-you-could-live-in-any-city-outside-japan-which-would-it-be/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=osaka-if-you-could-live-in-any-city-outside-japan-which-would-it-behttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/zFv4xQuQFd0/Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:08:58 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>Crucial to any public discussion is defining the terms of debate. However, often those terms must be redefined later because they don’t reflect reality. One example is Japan’s concept of “foreigner,” because the related terminology is confusing and provides pretenses for exclusionism. In terms of strict legal status, if you’re not a citizen you’re a [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/02/issues/tweak-the-immigration-debate-and-demand-an-upgrade-to-denizen-class/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tweak-the-immigration-debate-and-demand-an-upgrade-to-denizen-classhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/wOqGGuto1S8/Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:07:38 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>Costa Rican Ambassador Alvaro Cedeno Molinari says his mission here is to deliver his country’s message on green growth and renewable energy — and to develop what he describes as a green growth agenda between his country and Japan. “My agenda is not a technical one. I’m not a biologist, I’m not an engineer. I’m [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/02/our-lives/green-growth-tops-costa-rican-envoys-agenda/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=green-growth-tops-costa-rican-envoys-agendahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/svCjQCb33cU/Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:06:17 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>Whoever wrote “Right or wrong, corporal punishment can produce winners” (The Foreign Element, March 12) picked an excellent pseudonym. “Richard Parker” has a long fictional and actual history. In the Marvel Universe, Richard Parker is the father of Peter Parker, Spider-Man. You’d think that would be a good thing, but considering Richard Parker died from [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/02/voices/using-richard-parker-pseudonym-to-excuse-terror-fear-is-most-apt/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=using-richard-parker-pseudonym-to-excuse-terror-fear-is-most-apthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/y8_zR4geGOI/Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:05:53 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>The story reads like a New Zealand news editor’s wish list: Celebrity, dangerous weapons, bizarre behavior, death threats, Brazilian street gangs and a mysterious love interest. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/04/02/issues/a-tale-of-two-knives-a-kiwi-legend-a-gang-and-a-girl/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-tale-of-two-knives-a-kiwi-legend-a-gang-and-a-girlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/japantimes_features/~3/4UFwUhh-MkY/Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:02:44 PDThttp://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community ]]>The sakura season is here! The question is, does this refer to the horsemeat season or the cherry blossom season? It’s hard to tell when the Japanese use the word “sakura” to describe horse meat, which is pink. Sakura nabe is not nabe made with cherry blossoms, for example, but nabe made with horsemeat. So, [...]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/03/30/our-lives/the-sakura-season-is-here-but-which-one/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-sakura-season-is-here-but-which-one