This review of Tokyo Times is brought to you by The Weblog Review blog and website reviews. Get your site reviewed within 4 days by using the 'For Faster Service' link on the left menu.
Tokyo Times
All white!! That are the words that come into my mind as the site loads. The writer seems to be very frequently traveling through local trains, because the two latest entries are both train-related.
The writer, as he tells us in 'About Me' section, is Britisher who has been living in Tokyo since 1998. The blog is fairly new, starting December 2003 (actually end of December).
The writer has liberally used images, and unlike many blogs where the only function of the images seems to increase the load time, this guy knows how to strike that fine balance wherein images actually do what they are supposed to do: entertain the reader.
Most of the topics covered are Japan-related. Yet the diverseness of the topics is worth an appreciation. One moment he is talking about used-underwear industry in Japan and second we hear his ramblings on Smoking manners.
It should be added that the writer is scantily personal, it appears that his fascination with Japan is still quite strong and he keeps posting in interesting(and sometimes really really funny) facts about Japan.
Overall site design is quite good, though the header screaming "Tokyo Times" seems a little out of place. Apart from that, the design, graphics and the actual writings all blend in quite nicely.
All and all, a nice refreshing blog. If you are looking for some blog where you don't have to read each and every microscopic detail of the writer's life, the this is the right place for you. This blog is definitely 'Out of the Box'.
This site was reviewed on 2004-02-06 by lucidlyawake.
They felt this site belonged in the Entertainment category.
lucidlyawake felt that Tokyo Times deserved a rating of 4.5.
Tokyo Times is one of those sites that you really don't know what to do with. I've never been one for News and Links sites because most of them are boring, frankly. But Tokyo Times seems to be a bit more entertaining than the usual humdrum news sites. I liked it - a surprise to me - and I read a fair number of them before actually bothering to check out the obligatory 'about me' page. A definite sign of an interesting site.
As it turns out, Tokyo Times is actually authored by a Brittish guy, Lee Chapman, who traversed the oceans to live and teach in Tokyo for a year with the initial thought of returning home one day - but didn't. No, instead he's still there and married a local and as he says: "...it looks like I’ll be here for a fair bit longer too".
The design of the blog is your typical links down one side, content down the middle and more links down the other side layout. Boring but functional. On the plus side, it's very easy to read. I did have a minor problem with the resolution though, as it didn't fit on my 1024x768 screen, but so long as the content was viewable, I think it's a moot point in retrospect. Everything is all set out and very easy to find if you wish to jump straight into a category listing or read the blog by archives. Everything loads relatively quickly too which is also a plus for slow connections (sometimes a bare site can be a good thing, I'll admit!).
So what does Tokyo Times have to offer for the avid news reader/watcher? Well, you'll love it if you like news features that focus mainly on Japan. Japanese culture, coutour, sex, transport, language, imports and exports, art and more! Lee discusses everything from Sony's new artificial pets to odd-looking sideways scooters (Segways) to condom exports (a brief post that made me giggle). All the posts are delivered with humour, wit and intelligence and the odd picture here and there to add to the entertainment value. I've always found it intriguing to read an outsider's quiet observation of what is a foreign culture to me. As it's a relatively short blog (started in December 2003) and all the posts are pretty short and concise, it was easy enough to read through almost the whole thing and not get bored - which is a definite first for me.
I think Tokyo Times is definitely one to add to the favourites listing - which I have! Thank you, Lee!
This site was reviewed on 2004-02-06 by Ren.
They felt this site belonged in the News/Links category.
Ren felt that Tokyo Times deserved a rating of 4.5.
The Tokyo Times comes (as you can see) under the News/Links category, so when I first entered the site I was expecting a rather dry, factual site based solely on the latest news events and current affairs in Japan. However, The site is a lot more reader- friendly than that, a lot more personal and a lot more fun too.
The site design is fairly plain- simply black and white throughout, though there is quite a groovy title bar. For some reason, the title bar disappears intermittently on my IE browser, but this maybe because the author is a Mac User (I think) and there is a resulting compatibility issue. Use is made of the various standard Typepad features, though these could be enhanced a bit further (book and music reviews for example, instead of just links.) There are a lot of photos in the entries themselves though, which brighten things up quite a bit. Overall it is not an unpleasant site to look at, but it could be improved from average to great with a little more effort.
Despite a few minor shortcomings in the site design, the content is great though. Like I said in the introduction, the site is very enjoyable and fun to read. This is mainly due to the viewpoint of the author- he is a British ex-pat now living in Japan (for about five years now). He is therefore able to give a rather quirky slant on Japanese culture. Many of the stories are either funny in their own right, or are made funny due to the author's take on things. There is a nice little series about how badly some Japanese phrases translate in to English and use is made extensively of toilet humour, which I enjoyed tremendously. There is rarely a dull story to be found in the archives (which sadly only go back to just before Christmas) and topics mainly cover Japanese technology and culture, politics, football, sumo wrestling and a few other titbits thrown in for good measure. The author also manages to strike a good balance between news stories and some more personal ones about his life there as a teacher.
Overall then, this is an enjoyable site to read if you want a laugh, or a light hearted look at Japanese culture. There are no angst ridden personal postings to be found or intellectually astute political commentary, but the humour and cheeriness of the writing more than compensates for any lack of depth or weighty content in the site.
This site was reviewed on 2004-02-06 by ODAAT.
They felt this site belonged in the News/Links category.
ODAAT felt that Tokyo Times deserved a rating of 3.5.
3 reviewers gave Tokyo Times an average rating of 4.1667
Site Stats
Site Category: News/Links
Reader Rating: 1.7500 based on 2 votes
Report URL
Cast your vote
Sorry you need to log in to vote.