48 hours in… Kyoto: Where to eat, sleep, drink and visit February 15, 2015 WHERE TO EAT Kiyamachi Sakuragawa Situated along a scenic stretch of the Kiyamachi-dori, Michelin-starred restaurant Kiyamachi Sakuragawa is an accessible way to try kaiseki, Japan’s haute cuisine. Smart casual dress is encouraged and the open kitchen means you can watch the chef whip up dishes while you wait. Call +81 255 4477. Bookings recommended. [...]
5 top trails: Hike your way round Japan’s numerous natural wonders February 15, 2015 NAKASENDO WAY This 11-day hike was a popular route through central Japan for 17th century merchants and travellers, but now it’s a much quieter, enjoyable trek through the countryside with traditional inns dotted along the way. Nakasendo is an ancient highway that translates into “the road through the mountains”, starting off in Kyoto, then [...]
Half term! Imagine Children’s Festival 2015 February 13, 2015 If you’re struggling to think of what to do this half term, head down to the Southbank Imagine Children’s Festival. A diverse programme of activities features readings from top authors including Russell Brand, Judith Kerr, Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz and Helen Skelton. For something more lively you can clap along to live performances of Charlie [...]
Film review: Coherence has the kernel of something interesting but doesn’t hold together February 13, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★☆☆☆ Coherence is soft science fiction slush that simply doesn’t hold together. As four couples meet for dinner, a mysterious comet streaks through the heavens, cracking mobile phone screens, fracturing reality, and encouraging the kind of ill-informed, feng shui and quantum theory-tinged, new age, nonsense-strewn dinner party conversation that makes you hope [...]
Theatre review: How To Hold Your Breath at the Royal Court February 13, 2015 Royal Court | ★★☆☆☆ Zinnie Harris’ How To Hold Your Breath begins with an intimate encounter. A man is alarmed to find the stranger he slept with isn’t a prostitute. She’s offended by his attempt to pay. It’s a zippy opening that makes the rest of the play feel leaden. The action shifts uncomfortably [...]
Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends – art review February 13, 2015 National Portrait Gallery: ★★★★★ Despite enjoying a successful career as a portraitist in the late 1800s, John Singer Sargent was overtaken by the lurch toward abstraction that took place in the subsequent century. His luscious, august paintings of society figures seemed to pull in the opposite direction to those throwing off the figurative constraints of [...]
Film review: Love is Strange is a backwards romance with heart February 12, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ Traditional love stories end with a wedding. Love is Strange flips fairy-tale romance on its head, beginning with a marriage and following it up with a sweet, sad separation. Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) have been together for 39 years, and when a law change in New York [...]
Something for half term February 12, 2015 SOLVE: MUSIC OF FIRE This event features a tour beneath the famous Globe Theatre, where you will encounter mysterious magicians and bizarre puppets who will give you clues about how you can stop the Globe burning down. It culminates with a show at the theatre itself. Ages 6 to 11, 16-20 Feb, shakespearesglobe.com LOL: MINI [...]
British Academy Games Awards 2015: The nominations are in February 11, 2015 The potential winners are in – which games should scoop the prestigious award? Hot on the heels of the BAFTAs come the British Academy Games Awards, once again setting out to reward the industry’s artistic innovations and convince the non-believers of the medium’s merits. This year is particularly interesting – the end of the [...]
Oxo Tower Restaurant has great food but the lighting left us a little blue February 10, 2015 The Oxo Tower Restaurant has been chugging along forever, minding its own business. Harvey Nicks has run the eighth-floor dining room for 19 years. Its head chef Jeremy Bloor has been there for 12, while the restaurant manager is a relative rookie, with only nine years under his belt. Located on the South Bank, in [...]