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Karen A. Foster
For Karen A. Foster's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 29, 2005
Opening the kimono to everyone
Maia Maniglier fell in love with kimono in 2001, when she was convinced to let a Tokyo kimono stylist dress her for a reception at the French Embassy. Kanji Nakashima impressed the skeptical French woman, who had lived in Japan since 1989, by dressing her both stylishly and comfortably.
COMMUNITY
Nov 22, 2005
Keep your cash on Buy Nothing Day
Started in 1992 by a group of Canadian activists, BND aims to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of consumerism.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 20, 2005
Revealing times on a girls' night out
The bare back of a man shines like a beacon in a dark empty street below an expressway in Tokyo's Tamachi district. The brightly lit mural points the way inside to one of the only male strip shows in town catering to women.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 27, 2005
Time well spent
Living in the world's second largest economy, it's often tempting to forget that there are people and organizations in Japan in dire need of help.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2005
The nature of the mind
Shunmyo Masuno calls his works "expressions of my mind," and they have the power to stir up depths of emotion and even tap into the subconscious. They are not psychedelic paintings, however, nor are they virtual reality installations -- they are gardens. And the man who creates them is a Buddhist priest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 17, 2005
Tokyo as a chilled-out paradise
So you think Tokyo is fast-paced and tiring? Think again.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 7, 2004
What's a (Western) woman to do?
Many Western women in Japan complain that, despite plentiful romance in their home countries, they now face a dating desert.

Longform

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