Life Style

In Japan, policymakers and economists are paying close attention to the oshikatsu phenomenon as a growing driver of consumer spending – and 24-year-old Momoka Matsui is one of many doing her part to shore up the economy.“If my salary goes up, I’d like to go to concerts out of town, even overseas, more frequently,” said Matsui as she, like many workers in Japan, waits eagerly for another year of bumper wage increases.Matsui, who does oshikatsu-related marketing and research as part of her overall work at advertising giant Hakuhodo, declined to identify her bands of choice because of conflict-of-interest concerns in her job.Momoka Matsui takes photos of acrylic stand figures of their favourite idols with cakes and teas which she and a colleague ordered at a Tokyo cafe where Matsui’s favourit...

It is late morning on board the MS Trollfjord when the announcement comes through: “Land in sight!”It is welcome news after sailing 523 nautical miles – 970km – between Honningsvag, on the North Cape, and Longyearbyen, the largest town on the island of Spitsbergen, in Norway’s remote polar north.It is the last major stage on the Spitsbergen route of the Norwegian shipping company Hurtigruten. The company discontinued the service in the 1980s, but resumed it in summer 2024. You can only book a trip aboard the MS Trollfjord from May to September.The cruise starts in Bergen on Norway’s southwestern coast and heads some 3,000km (1,860 miles) to the Svalbard archipelago – the name meaning “cool coast” in Norwegian – in the Arctic Ocean.Bergen, on Norway’s southwestern coast, is where the cruise...

Nintendo will release its new Switch 2 console on June 5, seeking to keep the No 1 spot in video-game devices with a new version of the top-selling model it introduced in 2017.The new product would start at US$450 in the US, the company said Wednesday, an increase from the US$300 the company charged for the original Switch.Shares of Nintendo fell 5.9 per cent Thursday morning in Tokyo, part of a broader sell-off on fears that tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump would harm Asian exporters. Some of Nintendo’s consoles are assembled in Vietnam and Cambodia, which are facing particularly high levies.Nintendo revealed details of the machine during an hour-long livestream, including a new chat feature and a separate video camera. The company also announced several new games, including...

The 1999 action game Shenmue has been named the most influential video game of all time following a survey organised by Bafta, the British association that honours films, television, and video games.The series, created by Japanese designer Yu Suzuki, stars a young Ryo Hazuki as he seeks to avenge the death of his father, killed by a mysterious martial arts specialist.The game is split into three instalments (Shenmue I, II, and III) and was, at the time of the first instalment’s release, the most expensive game in history to produce.While the third instalment was available on PlayStation 4 and PC, the first two defined the brief history of the Dreamcast console, the first so-called sixth-generation console, released by Japanese manufacturer Sega in 1998.Having become a cult classic among ma...

By Park Jin-haiPark Hae-joon, once infamously known in South Korea as the “nation’s adulterer” for his portrayal of an unfaithful husband in the 2020 drama The World of the Married, is reclaiming his screen persona – this time as the “nation’s romantic lead”.In Netflix’s acclaimed series When Life Gives You Tangerines, Park delivers a heartfelt performance as Yang Gwan-sik, a devoted husband and selfless family man.Park shared that he laughed and cried along with viewers while experiencing the story of When Life Gives You Tangerines, adding that portraying the devoted Gwan-sik proved to be more challenging than his previous role as an adulterous husband.Kim Hee-ae and Park in a still from The World of the Married. The actor’s role in the series led to him becoming known in South Korea as t...

After a sudden cold snap at the end of March, spring finally looks to be on the way in Hong Kong. Regardless, these new cafes have something to offer coffee lovers whatever the weather.From new branches of well-loved chains to a coffee newcomer, pin these spots on your map for when a pick-me-up is needed.It is also worth mentioning that two coffee festivals will take place over consecutive weekends in April. The first is Coffee Mania Festival in Tsim Sha Tsui from April 12-13.For its 11th edition, the festival will take over Salisbury Garden near the Avenue of Stars. It will feature more than 50 Hong Kong and regional coffee brands as well as a market, workshops and talks.Latte art featuring internet meme Chill Guy, the mascot for the 2025 Coffee Hong Kong x Tokyo Coffee Festival. The fest...

Following news of Val Kilmer’s death at age 65, many fans have returned to one particular scene in the actor’s storied film career: his last one, opposite Tom Cruise, in the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.In a cameo role, Kilmer reprised his character of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, whom he originated in 1986’s Top Gun.Kilmer’s Iceman, a former naval aviator risen to the rank of admiral, offers words of advice to his long-time friend and one-time rival pilot, Cruise’s older, but not necessarily wiser, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.Those words, “It’s time to let go,” are now resonating with Kilmer fans.At Cruise’s insistence, the 2022 Top Gun sequel found a way to include Iceman in the story and to accommodate his friend Kilmer’s real-life struggles with throat cancer, which had significantly affe...

Artificial intelligence risks taking Japanese anime artists’ jobs but nothing can replicate Hayao Miyazaki, the creative lifeblood of the studio behind classics such as Spirited Away, his son says.Movies such as My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle are famous for their lush nature and fantastical machinery, painstakingly drawn by hand.While the studio has not commented directly on the image trend, Goro Miyazaki, 58, predicted that artificial intelligence could one day replace animators.Studio Ghibli-style pictures created by ChatGPT, such as this one, are exciting fans of the animation studio, but also raising copyright concerns. Photo: X/lycfyi“It wouldn’t be surprising if, in two years’ time, there was a film made completely through AI,” he said in an interview last week....

The rich aroma of tofu hangs in the air in a back room at Hong Kong’s Kung Wo Beancurd Factory restaurant in the Kowloon neighbourhood of Sham Shui Po.At this Hong Kong institution, soy products are made daily using a time-honoured – and time-consuming – process.Every morning at 2am, a stone grinder whirls into action, crushing pre-soaked soybeans into soy milk that is then boiled in copper pots and stirred until smooth and velvety.“I think people would be shocked if they knew that a square of our tofu takes about 13 hours to make,” says Renee So, the owner and director of Kung Wo Beancurd Factory who, in 2013, gave up a career in finance to take over the business from her father, So Sung-lim.Tofu is cut into pieces at Kung Wo Beancurd Factory. Photo: Kylie KnottKung Wo’s history stretches...

Ching Ming Festival, also known as tomb-sweeping day, is celebrated 15 days after the spring equinox in the Chinese lunar calendar, and in 2025 falls on April 4. In mainland China and Hong Kong, the festival is a public holiday.What is the festival’s origin?Its name originates from the saying “plants start to revive and prosper at Ching Ming in a clean and bright way”, according to People’s Daily. The literal translation of the Chinese ching is “clean” or “pure”, while ming means “bright”. The festival was traditionally seen as marking both the beginning of warm spring weather and of farm work.The customs of the festival as we know it today originate from hanshi jie, or the Cold Food Festival.According to legend, in the 6th century BC in the Chinese state of Jin, an exiled duke called Wen ...