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	<title>The Japan Times &#187; Our Lives</title>
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	<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp</link>
	<description>News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More</description>
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		<title>Dutch banker turned writer finds a home and inspiration in Japan</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/27/our-lives/dutch-banker-turned-writer-finds-a-home-and-inspiration-in-japan/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=dutch-banker-turned-writer-finds-a-home-and-inspiration-in-japan</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/27/our-lives/dutch-banker-turned-writer-finds-a-home-and-inspiration-in-japan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Sep 2013 13:45:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stephen Mansfield</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hans Brinckmann]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writer]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The first taxi driver really didn&#8217;t have a clue, going as far as to suggest that the address given him was a fabrication. The second driver, with the aid of a car navigation device, had more luck in finding the Fukuoka apartment of Dutch writer Hans Brinckmann. &#8220;You should have mentioned the name Sadaharu Oh,&#8221; [...]]]></description>
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		<title>FYI: Agricultural World Heritage status</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/27/our-lives/fyi-agricultural-world-heritage-status/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=fyi-agricultural-world-heritage-status</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/27/our-lives/fyi-agricultural-world-heritage-status/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Sep 2013 13:40:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[After our 3,776-meter-tall friend Fuji-san won the coveted UNESCO World Heritage status this year, many people are wondering what site will win the status next? Only one Japanese site per year can be nominated for the award, and recent reports have said the government is considering a steel works, a dockyard and a coal mine [...]]]></description>
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		<title>When worlds collide</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/27/our-lives/when-worlds-collide/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=when-worlds-collide</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/27/our-lives/when-worlds-collide/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Sep 2013 13:40:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Dillon</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[My Japanese language skills mostly stink. And always have. Yet it&#8217;s an odor to which I&#8217;ve grown accustomed. My excuse is that I came here to work, had little time for study and when I found I could get by, that&#8217;s just what I did. I got by. Now, as excuses go, that&#8217;s fairly lame. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Expat ambient musician and artist prefers not knowing what he&#8217;s doing</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/20/our-lives/expat-ambient-musician-and-artist-prefers-not-knowing-what-hes-doing/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=expat-ambient-musician-and-artist-prefers-not-knowing-what-hes-doing</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/20/our-lives/expat-ambient-musician-and-artist-prefers-not-knowing-what-hes-doing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2013 13:30:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael Kleindl</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[keyboardist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morgan Fisher]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Sitting in his home recording studio in Tokyo, surrounded by dozens of instruments that he has collected over the years, Morgan Fisher is in the center of his universe.]]></description>
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		<title>The ancient pilgrimage routes and the local community</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/20/our-lives/the-ancient-pilgrimage-routes-and-the-local-community/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-ancient-pilgrimage-routes-and-the-local-community</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/20/our-lives/the-ancient-pilgrimage-routes-and-the-local-community/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2013 13:25:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[As I headed out the door to do some trail running in the national park behind my house, I was surprised to make it only a few hundred meters before I was stopped dead in my tracks. The dead part was a tree that had fallen over the trail over a month ago and had [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Seattle as the city of love?</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/16/our-lives/seattle-as-the-city-of-love/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=seattle-as-the-city-of-love</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/16/our-lives/seattle-as-the-city-of-love/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Sep 2013 14:45:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Magdalena Osumi</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[If you think that &#8220;Sleepless in Seattle&#8221; was the only love story that the city has ever known, you&#8217;ve got a lot to learn. Seattle has many romantic tales to tell. This story wouldn&#8217;t have had a happy ending if Anna Morawska, 42, from Poland, had not gone to the United States to spend her [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Briton relies on samurai spirit as he sets out on 126-km walk for charity</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/briton-relies-on-samurai-spirit-as-he-sets-out-on-126-km-walk-for-charity/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=briton-relies-on-samurai-spirit-as-he-sets-out-on-126-km-walk-for-charity</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/briton-relies-on-samurai-spirit-as-he-sets-out-on-126-km-walk-for-charity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kris Kosaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Trevor Skingle]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=454800</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Like many before him, Trevor Skingle became fascinated with samurai ethics while learning a martial art. But for this Briton, the samurai respect for the arts in traditional Japan resonated with his own life choices. That happened when he was a physical education trainer with the British military vying in army judo competitions at the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>My day at the races</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/my-day-at-the-races/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-day-at-the-races</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/my-day-at-the-races/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Sep 2013 13:50:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Dillon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[commuters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rush hour]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=454802</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The surface of the coffee in my Starbucks cup begins its gentle dance, the signal to lift my head. No, this is not &#8220;Jurassic Park&#8221; and the vibration is not due to an approaching T-Rex. It&#8217;s Takadanobaba and the train station quivers with the force of commuters ripping up the stairway, some no doubt two [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/my-day-at-the-races/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The dysfunctional family of Mother Nature</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/the-dysfunctional-family-of-mother-nature/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-dysfunctional-family-of-mother-nature</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/the-dysfunctional-family-of-mother-nature/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Sep 2013 13:50:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=454801</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;From now on, I will carry my own water bottle,&#8221; I promised Mother Nature. She had just scolded me as I came around the corner by presenting me with an angry beach covered with garbage. And this was not the first time she has told me off. Hundreds of beaches in the Seto Inland Sea [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/13/our-lives/the-dysfunctional-family-of-mother-nature/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>&#8216;Playground of Hope&#8217; project builds communities, benefits affected kids</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/06/our-lives/playground-of-hope-project-builds-communities-benefits-affected-kids/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=playground-of-hope-project-builds-communities-benefits-affected-kids</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/06/our-lives/playground-of-hope-project-builds-communities-benefits-affected-kids/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2013 14:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Louise George Kittaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Michael Anop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tohoku volunteer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=451861</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Michael Anop, a longtime Tokyo resident and entrepreneur, says he is &#8220;very much a people&#8217;s person,&#8221; as demonstrated by a definite talent for connecting with the right individuals to make things happen. As a teenager, he dreamed of a career working with young people in the counseling field. But after arriving in Japan just as [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/06/our-lives/playground-of-hope-project-builds-communities-benefits-affected-kids/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The big and small of it &#8212; slippers that fit the feet of Hibagon</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/06/our-lives/the-big-and-small-of-it-slippers-that-fit-the-feet-of-hibagon/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-big-and-small-of-it-slippers-that-fit-the-feet-of-hibagon</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/09/06/our-lives/the-big-and-small-of-it-slippers-that-fit-the-feet-of-hibagon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Sep 2013 13:55:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=451858</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I live with Bigfoot. Don&#8217;t tell anyone though, or the media will be all over it. Bigfoot is not as hairy as you might expect. He&#8217;s not even as big as you&#8217;d expect. But he does have a big foot. Bigfoot is my husband. Like many other foreign men in Japan who have a 31 [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Organizer of annual writers&#8217; workshop helps others find artistic way</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/organizer-of-annual-writers-workshop-helps-others-find-artistic-way/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=organizer-of-annual-writers-workshop-helps-others-find-artistic-way</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/organizer-of-annual-writers-workshop-helps-others-find-artistic-way/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Aug 2013 14:00:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kris Kosaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[John Gribble]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teacher]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=435804</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[John Gribble gives a part of every day to creating. Whether it&#8217;s pinpointing the perfect word for a poem or plucking out a ditty on a guitar, his life and livelihood in some way proves creative. As a poet and teacher, Gribble has spent the last 20 years in Japan organizing others to find their [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/organizer-of-annual-writers-workshop-helps-others-find-artistic-way/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Investing in global group home &#8212; while telling kids to &#8216;smile&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/investing-in-global-group-home-while-telling-kids-to-smile/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=investing-in-global-group-home-while-telling-kids-to-smile</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/investing-in-global-group-home-while-telling-kids-to-smile/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Aug 2013 13:55:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=435816</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As part of the Liberal Democratic Party&#8217;s &#8220;national resilience plan&#8221; to protect against natural and made-made disasters, I noticed one obvious natural disaster missing from the list: aging. Aging is bringing this country to ruins. Not only can the current pension system not support a population with one of the longest life spans in the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How the West was lost &#8212; almost</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/how-the-west-was-lost-almost/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-the-west-was-lost-almost</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/how-the-west-was-lost-almost/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Aug 2013 13:55:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Dillon</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=435826</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;How was your trip to Las Vegas?&#8221; grins this friend who knows I never gamble. &#8220;Did you win a million bucks?&#8221; Not exactly. The truth is I nearly lost everything &#8212; twice. So he asks to hear the story about a trip I took in early spring. Not that he has much choice. We are [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/30/our-lives/how-the-west-was-lost-almost/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Californian eyes making English studies easier</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/23/our-lives/californian-eyes-making-english-studies-easier/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=californian-eyes-making-english-studies-easier</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/23/our-lives/californian-eyes-making-english-studies-easier/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:02:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Louise George Kittaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[English teacher]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Katie Adler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voice actor]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=433132</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Visitors to Katie Adler&#8217;s interactive website, English with Katie, are greeted with Adler&#8217;s sunny smile, her mellow California accent and a wealth of hints to make using the language both easier and more enjoyable. She aims to help language learners in Japan take charge of their English, building confidence in their ability to have real [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/23/our-lives/californian-eyes-making-english-studies-easier/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>&#8216;Senior moments&#8217; for foreigners &#8212; they could start in your 20s</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/23/our-lives/senior-moments-for-foreigners-they-could-start-in-your-20s/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=senior-moments-for-foreigners-they-could-start-in-your-20s</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/23/our-lives/senior-moments-for-foreigners-they-could-start-in-your-20s/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[foreigners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[senior moments]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=433139</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;How do you know if you have Alzheimer&#8217;s?&#8221; said the front of the pamphlet. The answer inside was: &#8220;If you can&#8217;t remember what you ate for lunch, you don&#8217;t have Alzheimer&#8217;s. If you can&#8217;t remember whether you ate lunch or not, that&#8217;s Alzheimer&#8217;s.&#8221; But I have a hunch that such &#8220;old timer&#8217;s&#8221; diseases start much [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>Mitaka pair find flexibility key in navigating values</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/19/our-lives/mitaka-pair-find-flexibility-key-in-navigating-values/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=mitaka-pair-find-flexibility-key-in-navigating-values</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/19/our-lives/mitaka-pair-find-flexibility-key-in-navigating-values/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:02:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mami Maruko</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=431706</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Almost 33 years since their first encounter in 1980, Bill Achilles, who hails from Geneva, New York, and his wife, Michiko, from Tokyo say they share more or less the same values &#8212; by merging Japanese and American cultures. After working for eight different companies, including those in the financial industry with expertise in human [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/19/our-lives/mitaka-pair-find-flexibility-key-in-navigating-values/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What being a minority allows us to see</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/what-being-a-minority-allows-us-to-see/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-being-a-minority-allows-us-to-see</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/what-being-a-minority-allows-us-to-see/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2013 13:24:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[discrimination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minority]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=430824</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yeah, yeah, I&#8217;ve heard it all before &#8212; many times. Someone called your child hafu (half) and you take offence. Or your contract is only one-year renewable, whereas your Japanese coworkers have &#8220;lifetime employment.&#8221; Or maybe someone called you a gaijin as you walked by. I&#8217;ve heard these stories dozens of times and while having [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/what-being-a-minority-allows-us-to-see/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>44</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Some words of self-introduction</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/some-words-of-self-introduction/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=some-words-of-self-introduction</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/some-words-of-self-introduction/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2013 13:24:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Dillon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[self introduction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=430817</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ask what&#8217;s good about life in Japan and answers always vary. One foreign resident&#8217;s passion is often another&#8217;s poison and you can count on similar divergence with what makes Japan difficult. Language, commuter trains, high costs, big bugs &#8212; everyone has their own particular bur stuck somewhere in the seat of his or her pants. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/some-words-of-self-introduction/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Akiko Kuraoka&#8217;s documentaries find fresh relevancy amid Fukushima crisis</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/akiko-kuraokas-documentaries-find-fresh-relevancy-amid-fukushima-crisis/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=akiko-kuraokas-documentaries-find-fresh-relevancy-amid-fukushima-crisis</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/akiko-kuraokas-documentaries-find-fresh-relevancy-amid-fukushima-crisis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2013 13:23:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael Kleindl</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Akiko Kuraoka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[filmmaker]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=430813</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For Akiko Kuraoka, filmmaker, lecturer and freelance French translator, films have always been her passion. Over a span of nearly four decades, Kuraoka has made three documentaries and is now deep into her fourth. Her films have dealt with chromium pollution, nuclear radiation, war, and the displacement and suffering of people living intimately with those [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/16/our-lives/akiko-kuraokas-documentaries-find-fresh-relevancy-amid-fukushima-crisis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Film helps heal A-bombing, and family, wounds</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/09/our-lives/film-helps-heal-a-bombing-and-family-wounds/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=film-helps-heal-a-bombing-and-family-wounds</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/09/our-lives/film-helps-heal-a-bombing-and-family-wounds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2013 14:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kris Kosaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[filmmaker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M.T. Silvia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=428477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In a poignant scene in the award-winning 2010 documentary &#8220;Atomic Mom,&#8221; filmmaker M.T. Silvia tells the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Hiroshima atomic bombing victim, as she presents 1,000 paper cranes to Silvia&#8217;s mother, Pauline, a former U.S. Navy biologist involved in radiation testing on animals in the 1950s. The tale of Sasaki, who after [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/09/our-lives/film-helps-heal-a-bombing-and-family-wounds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sounds that stem from quietude &#8212; when a tree falls down</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/09/our-lives/sounds-that-stem-from-quietude-when-a-tree-falls-down/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=sounds-that-stem-from-quietude-when-a-tree-falls-down</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/09/our-lives/sounds-that-stem-from-quietude-when-a-tree-falls-down/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Aug 2013 14:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=428479</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Perhaps the best thing about living on a small island in Japan of just 583 people (258 men and 325 women) is that you can walk out your door and kiss the online world goodbye. Here, most people don&#8217;t walk around glued to their cellphones, the majority don&#8217;t even have smartphones, and very few take [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/09/our-lives/sounds-that-stem-from-quietude-when-a-tree-falls-down/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Housewife takes time to make a difference volunteering in Tohoku</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/housewife-takes-time-to-make-a-difference-volunteering-in-tohoku/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=housewife-takes-time-to-make-a-difference-volunteering-in-tohoku</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/housewife-takes-time-to-make-a-difference-volunteering-in-tohoku/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2013 14:01:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kris Kosaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Kerry Shioya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tohoku]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[volunteer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=423067</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes making a difference just means making the time. Kerry Shioya, 49, travels two or three times a month to the Tohoku areas hit by the March 11, 2011, disasters. Sometimes setting out alone, sometimes bringing one of her five children, interested English students or other volunteers, Shioya continues to make time for those affected [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/housewife-takes-time-to-make-a-difference-volunteering-in-tohoku/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Guts, glory and shaved ice: Koshien baseball</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/guts-glory-and-shaved-ice-koshien-baseball/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=guts-glory-and-shaved-ice-koshien-baseball</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/guts-glory-and-shaved-ice-koshien-baseball/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2013 14:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Dillon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Koshien]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=423084</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Summer is not summer in Japan without two things: 1. Heat (OK, so maybe it&#8217;s not the heat, it&#8217;s the humidity); and 2 . . . High school baseball. Which means the national high school baseball tournament at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture &#8212; due to start next week &#8212; with every single game [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/guts-glory-and-shaved-ice-koshien-baseball/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The yellow flag outside the door &#8212; life or death</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/the-yellow-flag-outside-the-door-life-or-death/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-yellow-flag-outside-the-door-life-or-death</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/the-yellow-flag-outside-the-door-life-or-death/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2013 14:00:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=423081</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One thing is as sure as death: You will receive mail long after you die. My mother, who passed away three years ago, still gets direct mail ads and catalogs in the mail even though I&#8217;m pretty sure she&#8217;s not going to buy anything. I&#8217;m guaranteed to get spam in my email inbox long after [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/02/our-lives/the-yellow-flag-outside-the-door-life-or-death/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Haiku brought together Polish-Japanese couple</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/29/our-lives/haiku-brought-together-polish-japanese-couple/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=haiku-brought-together-polish-japanese-couple</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/29/our-lives/haiku-brought-together-polish-japanese-couple/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:45:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Magdalena Osumi</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=420906</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[They say that languages bring people closer together and bridge distances. So, too, does the Internet. ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/29/our-lives/haiku-brought-together-polish-japanese-couple/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Brit Scoutmaster jogs for health, charity</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/26/our-lives/brit-scoutmaster-jogs-for-health-charity/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=brit-scoutmaster-jogs-for-health-charity</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/26/our-lives/brit-scoutmaster-jogs-for-health-charity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:05:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Louise George Kittaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Colin Yarker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scoutmaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trail runner]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=419290</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Running up a mountain probably wouldn&#8217;t be most people&#8217;s idea of a pleasant weekend leisure activity, but Brit Colin Yarker thrives on the physical and mental challenge of trail running. &#8220;We take the same route as people who hike up a mountain, but we run instead of walk,&#8221; he said. Not only has trail running [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/26/our-lives/brit-scoutmaster-jogs-for-health-charity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tall tales among the bamboo &#8212; where do babies come from?</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/26/our-lives/tall-tales-among-the-bamboo-where-do-babies-come-from/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=tall-tales-among-the-bamboo-where-do-babies-come-from</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/26/our-lives/tall-tales-among-the-bamboo-where-do-babies-come-from/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amy Chavez</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[tall tales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=419301</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Please fill out this information sheet,&#8221; said the nurse. It had been several years since I had been to this hospital for a check-up. I noticed, with glee, they had done away with the plastic slippers at the genkan, where the masses had to leave their shoes in a locker and step into slippers before [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/26/our-lives/tall-tales-among-the-bamboo-where-do-babies-come-from/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Peruvian offers lifeline for Spanish-speaking expats</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/22/our-lives/peruvian-offers-lifeline-for-spanish-speaking-expats/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=peruvian-offers-lifeline-for-spanish-speaking-expats</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/22/our-lives/peruvian-offers-lifeline-for-spanish-speaking-expats/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mami Maruko</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[counselor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peruvian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sonia Romero de Hara]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=415912</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sonia Romero de Hara was surprised years ago when she was woken by a phone call late at night from a Peruvian-Japanese friend living in Fussa, western Tokyo. The friend said that police officers had visited her after the local police station received a complaint from a neighbor that music being played at her house [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/22/our-lives/peruvian-offers-lifeline-for-spanish-speaking-expats/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pioneering Australian&#8217;s outdoor adventures invigorate Hokkaido</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/19/our-lives/pioneering-australians-outdoor-adventures-invigorate-hokkaido/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=pioneering-australians-outdoor-adventures-invigorate-hokkaido</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/19/our-lives/pioneering-australians-outdoor-adventures-invigorate-hokkaido/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:05:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kris Kosaka</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Niseko]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outdoor adventure sport]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ross Findlay]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://awsadmin.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=community&#038;p=412613</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Australian Ross Findlay is a doer. Name any outdoor sport and chances are he&#8217;s done it, from kayaking to rock climbing to snowcat skiing and snowshoeing. The ever-active Findlay, 48, was one of the first to bring the summer outdoor adventure business to Hokkaido almost 20 years ago. He has helped to turn the prefecture [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/19/our-lives/pioneering-australians-outdoor-adventures-invigorate-hokkaido/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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