Mike Fu

Jan 24, 2025 | japantimes.co.jp | Mike Fu

Kenny Colvin, 44, is the loquacious and warmhearted owner of Sanita, a cocktail bar in Tokyo’s Hatagaya neighborhood that opened in 2020. A born and bred New Yorker, he worked in hospitality consulting before moving to Tokyo in 2017. 1. What brought you to Tokyo? I was working with this Australian restaurant group, doing their design and branding, and created a concept for them that got popular in Australia.

Jan 16, 2025 | japantimes.co.jp | Mike Fu

On a chilly December night in Manhattan, I step inside a renovated carriage house in the stylish but understated Gramercy Park neighborhood and find myself on the first floor of Martiny’s. I’m among the first wave of the evening — all by reservation — to enter this handsomely appointed space of wood and brick, opened just a few years ago in 2022 by Tokyo native Takuma Watanabe. A staff member ushers me to my seat at the counter, where I’m offered an o-shibori (hot towel) to warm my hands.

Dec 14, 2024 | japantimes.co.jp | Mike Fu

As the first half of the 2020s comes to a close, one global literary trend shows no signs of abating: a hunger for the stories of Japanese writers. The past five years saw authors from Japan win prestigious literary prizes at home and abroad, while a growing interest in translated East Asian literature contributed to an uptick in the number of Japanese novels translated into English.

Dec 6, 2024 | japantimes.co.jp | Mike Fu

Overtourism in Japan has been a major point of tension — and even outright conflict — in 2024. But what if those tourists could help local communities rebrand, regroup and regrow? That’s the thinking of the small seaside town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, located a few hours north of Tokyo. The area has an ancient history stretching back to the Kofun Period (250–552).

Nov 14, 2024 | japantimes.co.jp | Mike Fu

In 1938, the Japanese writer Chizuko Aoyama embarked upon an extensive tour of Taiwan to celebrate the film adaptation of her novel “A Record of Youth,” which had proven to be a hit with local audiences. Thanks to financial sponsorship from the Government-General of Taiwan, Chizuko would spend a full year zigzagging across the first colony and crown jewel of the erstwhile Empire of Japan.