The lowdown on high art and cool style, as well as the best food, film and events this month. Plus manga madness, eikaiwa excitement, backdoor politics and smart advice from Greta.

DISPATCHES Richard Lloyd Parry Kwangju is an ugly, lively South Korean city--where the ghosts of slaughtered protesters still stir. THE BIG PACHINKO Paul Betney You don't have to be well-connected to score the best concert seats. Just slightly insane. Neighborhood Watch Michael Stanley The Okinawan rape incident has stirred high level debate on the U.S. military role in this country. But what do the men in uniform think?

OYAKO photograph by Bruce Osborn

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Conversation: Kazufumi Miyazawa
by Paul Fisher

The leader of pop sensation The Boom discusses world music, fatherhood, the stifling pop industry and the trials of writing the sort of songs he'll respect himself for in the morning.

Trance Tokyo Express

by Mark Robinson

Guns, speed and zero gravity: when sci-fi animation wunderkind Koji Morimoto made his first music video, he didn't count on his fantasies being too hot for MTV to handle.

School Daze
by Azby Brown

A professor of architecture decides to test the most basic knowledge of his students--and is bewildered and challenged by the results.

To Die Like a Dog
by Willam Yoshimura

They were a dog-loving couple of national repute. Then a series of gruesome killings suggested they'd make pet-food of anyone who got in their way.

CONTRIBUTORS

What's on in Tokyo this month. Full listings and commentary

Performing Arts by Gilles Kennedy Butoh--the last great stronghold of anarchic social protest--is dead. Or is it just sleeping? Art by Cheryl Chow It's early days yet for Tokyo's graffiti artists. Music by Mark Robinson Rough, ready, and raw--can Tokyo's indies stay that way? A just-released 14-track CD might help. Film by James Bailey It may not be Flashdance, but the arcane world of ballroom dancing lives on. Food by Robbie Swinnerton Shinjuku--for state-of-the-art Japanese cuisine and saké. And tempura in trendy Ginza. Area Spotlight Yokosuka's thriving bayside community is just an hour out of town, nestled in beautiful scenery.

Survival Stuck in town? Bored at home? Why not try one of Tokyo's many unorthodox hotels? Nightlife by Phil Miller Forgotten New Year's so soon? Shame on you! Wild Phil's been carousing ever since Christmas and even he remembered to write. For Kids Bend ze kneez pleez! Send junior down a ski slope before the white stuff melts away. Events Shipping out: all the boats that float. Plus outdoor gear and camping stuff. Festivals Get filthy and bare without getting arrested--at the Warabi "Muddy and Naked" Festival. Books by Richard Lloyd Parry Early Japanese Images, by Terry Bennet. Back Home --