Stephanie Gartelman - The Japan Times

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Stephanie Gartelman

For Stephanie Gartelman's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

LIFE / Food & Drink

Jun 30, 2002

Ramen reborn as noodles nouveaux

Could ramen, Japan's answer to the greasy spoon, go gourmet? It started out simple -- this dish of Chinese-style noodles in soup was conjured up by cooks in Yokohama's Chinatown in the 1920s. Its present association with drab 24-hour diners and poor nutrition gives it a low rank in the food hierarchy: as the underdog's dietary staple.

COMMUNITY

Feb 10, 2002

A true poet of the people ...

Coming soon to a sidewalk near you is one of Japan's most original street artists, Hiromitsu Noriyasu, along with his growing cult of fans. The spirited 34-year-old has covered more than 16,000 km over the past seven months on his bicycle tour of Japan, raising funds to finance a film by composing poems for passersby.

COMMUNITY

Jan 13, 2002

Fukuoka fish are jumping

FUKUOKA -- First-time visitors to this sunny city are often told with a certain friendly belligerence that Fukuoka's seafood is the best in Japan. Usually, just a glimpse of its sparkling harbor and rugged natural coastline is enough to whet their appetite to test this claim.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Oct 14, 2001

Green tourism: where town and country meet

Ajimu in Oita Prefecture isn't exactly a major tourist destination. Yes, it has luxuriant fields and picturesque farmhouses boasting unusual basque-relief paintings called kote-e, but most visitors spend a half-day at most in Ajimu, perusing its stone Buddhist carvings or the African Safari nature park, before heading to any of the fashionable hot-spring towns nearby. Although it has been dubbed the "Tibet of Oita Prefecture" for its remote location, there is nothing particularly exotic about this sleepy town.

COMMUNITY

Sep 9, 2001

Still healthy, after all these years

FUKUOKA -- Passing your twilight years in Japan used to entail long days of contemplation and an austere diet of tofu. Sound dull? The good news is that doctors these days recommend an active social life for a happy, healthy old age. The bad news is, according to medical practitioner Magoe Ando, you'll still need to adopt a strict diet -- and well before your hair turns gray.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Aug 19, 2001

Natural resources

FUKUOKA -- More than 100 years of mining has given the town of Tagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, a masculine, working-class character, with widespread associations of gangs and violent crime. Abandoned concrete plants and mines line its hilly outskirts, and a coat of dust covers its many boarded-up shops. Tagawa is also a quiet place, with a noticeably aging population.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Aug 19, 2001

Activists in the name of art

FUKUOKA -- "Art doesn't have to last forever -- otherwise it's like a topic that's discussed to death," says Takahiro Ogata, an architect involved in Fukuoka's annual Tomyo Watching event. The organizers, nonprofit organization Museum City Project, have kept Fukuoka's citizens on their toes since 1978 with an innovative blend of education and action-oriented art.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Aug 5, 2001

If at first you don't succeed . . .

FUKUOKA -- Divorce and remarriage have been possible in Japan since feudal times, though until recently shame and social stigma ensured that few unhappy couples formalized their differences -- let alone took the plunge again.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Jul 29, 2001

Shochu appeal goes supersonic

FUKUOKA -- Kyushu folk are feeling quite tickled about something at the moment: a shochu boom in bars around Japan. The surging popularity of this once-lowbrow spirit, which originated in Kyushu, suggests that its old-fogy image may be disappearing for good and that lucrative times lie ahead for the shochu market.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jun 17, 2001

Fukuoka's 'Asian' flavor

FUKUOKA -- B day Fukuoka shows a sleek, modern face to the world, but when the sun goes down its complexion changes to something more timeless and intriguing as nearly 200 wooden yatai (food stalls) are towed into its downtown area.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

May 27, 2001

Sip your way to a green, healthy state of mind

URESHINO, Saga Pref.-- Green tea is back.

LIFE / Travel

Mar 21, 2001

Where there's a spark, there's green tourism

If the thought of an entire mountaintop in flames sounds like a nightmare or a Dali painting, you'll be surprised to learn that noyaki, a land conservation technique in Kumamoto Prefecture's Aso county, looks exactly like that from a distance. Local environmental group Aso Greenstock has been teaching the public about noyaki (field-burning) for several years now to ensure it doesn't die out -- and take the Aso grasslands with it.

COMMUNITY

Mar 1, 2001

Spreading the word of Zen

They don't hold formal conferences or seek out media coverage of their more than 20 years of charitable work in Myanmar. Rather, members of the Asian Buddhist Association put their time into the project itself and traversing Japan drumming up interest among grassroots Buddhist groups, nongovernmental organizations and potential volunteers.

ENVIRONMENT

Feb 22, 2001

Fukuoka's waterfront looks west again

FUKUOKA -- Fukuoka Harbor's public foreshores grew again last October with the opening of a new designer outlet and shopping mall, Marinoa City Pier Walk, in the city's west.

CULTURE / Art

Jan 3, 2001

The simple pleasures of Karatsu

KARATSU, Saga Pref. -- Best known for its deceptively simple pottery, Karatsu is a peaceful coastal town on a western tip of Kyushu. It's quiet year round except for summer, when holidaymakers crowd the long sandy beaches nearby, and November, when several hundred thousand visitors flock to see giant, fish-shaped floats at the Karatsu Kunchi festival.

ENVIRONMENT

Dec 21, 2000

One tall organic latte, please

If you started your day with a cup of coffee, think about how you selected the beans for your brew. Perhaps they were on sale, or your favorite roast from Brazil or Colombia. Chances are, however, you didn't have the option of buying organically farmed coffee.

LIFE / Travel

Dec 20, 2000

Rapt in the spell of a castle town

There's something exotic about a castle town, and Kumamoto is no exception. Kumamoto Castle's enormous fortifications and steps give an immediacy to the thrills and spills of history, and tower knowingly above its surrounds today.

LIFE / Travel

Dec 7, 2000

Popularity of Aso region both blessing and burden

FUKUOKA -- Kumamoto Prefecture's mountainous Aso region is a place where you could get drunk on nature's immensity. Swing your car onto Aso's Panorama Line road, step on the accelerator and you'll fly past grassy plains stretching upward to the green-tipped crags of Mount Aso and its five peaks. Here, sigh city visitors, is a vast sky and a sweeping horizon one simply doesn't expect to see in Japan.

LIFE / Travel

Nov 1, 2000

A stroll through ceramic country

FUKUOKA -- Driving from Fukuoka to the fertile northeast of Saga, the landscape suddenly changes. Gently stepped rice terraces and fields give way to short hills that rise abruptly like sugar lumps and end in craggy, chalky rocks. Towns with square brick chimneys loom, and signs begin pointing to artsy workshops and palatial showrooms. You're in ceramics country.

COMMUNITY

Oct 19, 2000

Kyushu reaches out to Asia through education

FUKUOKA -- For years it's been said that Kyushu's economic nerve center, Fukuoka, is one of Japan's most promising areas when it comes to forging new business and cultural links overseas. The city's proximity to the East Asian continent, as well as government and business activity, have all contributed to an increase in trade, tourism and educational exchanges with Asian countries.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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