Travel to the U.S.A.

Universal Studios, Hollywood, Scottsdale & New Orleans

TJ’s hotel reviewers headed to California, Arizona and Louisiana to experience the best places to stay and most entertaining things to do. Here are a few of our favorites.

The Yamano Beauty College Legacy

Interview with Yamano Gakuen Chancellor & Kimono Aficionado Jane Aiko Yamano

Yamano Beauty College was founded in 1934 by Aiko Yamano (1909-1995), a pioneer in the hair and beauty industry. At 16, she opened her first salon in 1925. Her dream was to dignify the beautician profession by increasing educational standards. Yamano also introduced the permanent wave machine to Japan in the 1930s and in 1980 was awarded the “3rd Class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure” by the Emperor of Japan. Today the Yamano group of schools has 3,125 students, with four areas of study: beauty, aesthetics, medical/chiropractic and Japanese language. Yamano’s granddaughter and successor, Jane Aiko Yamano discusses the 80th anniversary of her family’s school and Aiko Yamano’s legacy.

Hanjo

German Photographer, Yoram Roth, Pays Tribute to Yukio Mishima’s Noh Opera Adaptation

A sullen geisha sitting alone at a station, Hanako waits, For years, she has waited every day in the same place, gripping a treasured fan in her hand.

Such an exquisite beauty, she was noticed by all. The world wondered how she could be so passively obsessive. The conclusion was that she must be mad.

What her spectators didn’t know was that the fan she held was the embodiment of a vow she had made to the man who possessed her heart. Hanako had promised to love Yoshio eternally. When he had to depart, he had given her a fan to represent their love, which would be requited upon his return. And so she had sworn that she would wait.

Buddhism

Interview with Philosopher Dr. Hiroshi Tasaka

TJ: How do you define Buddhism?

TASAKA: Buddhism is a kind of “cosmology” that can accept various value systems - not only religions but philosophies that exist around the world. Zen Buddhism, especially, is a “philosophy of contradiction” that can accept all the contradictions in our life, because contradiction is an essence of life. An important thing in Buddhism is the ability to keep the contradictions in mind, to keep gazing at them and think about the meaning of the contradictions.

Léonce of Dame-Marie,Haiti: A True Free Man

Something from the ocean, something from the hills

By Marcel Duret
Co-author: Kettly Mars

It was four o’clock in the morning, pitch black, cool, and we were about one hour early. When our driver turned off the car’s engine, life seemed suspended to the songs of crickets and the spicy smell of mountain vegetation. It was an eerie moment for a city man like me who is intoxicated with artificial noise day and night. Léonce had promised as a farewell gift to end my three-day stay, that he would take me to “Planò” Hills, a few kilometers south of Dame-Marie, to see where the earth and sky become one. We waited in the darkness, using our cell phones when we needed light, talking and sharing the cassava, avocados and bananas that the generous old man had brought.

The Man Who Brought Sushi to America, Part IV

Remembering the War

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with Noritoshi Kanai, chairman of Mutual Trading and the man who coined the phrase “sushi bar.”

How to Kusa-Mochi (Japanese Mugwort Monchi with Anko)
草もち

Ingredients:

• 200g of joshinko (fine rice flour)
• 20g sugar
• 200cc warm water (adjust the amount depending on the humidity)

Overnight Sensation

Anthony Bourdain's Culinary Quest Crosses Cultures

Chef, TV host and author Anthony Bourdain began his culinary career as a dishwasher and worked his way up to line cook, sous chef and chef in New York restaurant kitchens. Rave reviews for his 1997 article “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” published in the “New Yorker,” helped spawn his New York Times bestselling memoir “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” in 2000. Instant fame launched the Culinary Institute of America graduate’s career from executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles to television host of “A Cook’s Tour,” and two Emmy-winning programs: “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” and CNN’s “Parts Unknown.” These programs have allowed Bourdain to swap New York kitchens for worldwide culinary adventures, as local hosts introduce him to their culture and cuisine. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with Anthony Bourdain to find out how he went from small fry in the Big Apple to the big cheese on television’s top news, food and travel channels.

Keiko Matsui

Ambassador of Jazz

Keiko Matsui is a Japanese contemporary jazz pianist and composer who has received international acclaim for her 24 albums spanning a quarter of a century. Born in Tokyo and living in Los Angeles, California, Keiko spoke with Tokyo Journal during a recent trip to Japan before embarking on a tour to Peru, the U.S., Indonesia and Russia.

CREative teAM CREAM

The duo that are making Japanese hip hop hip

Singer-songwriter Minami and rapper/track maker Staxx T form the Japanese hip hop group CREAM. Influenced by hip hop, pop and electronic dance music, they have gained popularity through their CREAM VISION YouTube channel featuring original songs, Japanese covers of western songs, and live performances, earning over 22,000,000 views and over 68,000 subscribers. In October 2012, CREAM started a free download project “Tada Uta” on their official website where fans could download their music at no charge, and their debut album DREAMIN’ was released in January 2013.