Magdalena Osumi - The Japan Times

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Magdalena Osumi

For Magdalena Osumi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

JAPAN

Dec 16, 2013

Complaints about overseas time shares rise

Consumer affairs centers are seeing an upsurge in complaints from people who bought time shares at luxury resorts overseas, including in Hawaii.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES

Dec 13, 2013

For Canadian traveler, last-minute meeting led to change of heart and new start in Japan

Michelle Takahashi works as an English teacher at a school for families who hope to raise their children in bilingual and multi-cultural environments. Together with Toru, a systems engineer at an IT-related U.S. company, and their two sons, she now lives in Kodaira, western Tokyo.

Japan Times

Events / Events In Tokyo

Dec 12, 2013

A crafty idea for gift shopping

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Dec 12, 2013

They'll be running up that hill, with no pants on

According to folklore, during the Great Tenmei Famine (1782-1788) of the Edo Period, the people of Oyama in Hita, Oita Prefecture, were saved from death by the sacred waters of a pond found halfway up the local mountains. To offer thanks for being spared, men dressed in fundoshi loincloths began to ritually...

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Dec 5, 2013

Act on Handel's message of good will to all

George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" premiered in Dublin in April 1742 and has since been performed in churches and concert halls worldwide, eventually becoming a popular Christmas tradition.

JAPAN / CHARITY DRIVE 2013

Dec 5, 2013

Fund helps feed impoverished rural Laotians

Despite making significant economic progress over the past 20 years, Laos remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in Southeast Asia.

Japan Times

JAPAN / CHARITY DRIVE 2013

Dec 5, 2013

Asylum seekers find help at JAR

The number of people seeking asylum in Japan reached some 2,600 at the end of October, adding to the soaring rate of those with no residency rights or financial assistance.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Society

Dec 3, 2013

Year's top buzzwords run the gamut from hospitality to revenge to shock

Four new words and catchphrases have been named "Buzzwords of the Year" in the annual contest held by publishing house Jiyukokuminsha in collaboration with correspondence education provider U-Can.

Japan Times

Events / Events In Tokyo

Nov 28, 2013

Roppongi Hills shows that 'tis the season

In Medieval times, farmers and tradesmen in Christian European countries would celebrate Advent — the anticipation of the "arrival of the Christ" — by meeting in the streets around churches with food, gifts, homemade crafts and singing. According to written records, the first gathering like...

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Nov 21, 2013

Snowmen settle in Osaka's Umeda district

Snowmen, and creating them, have to be among the greatest joys of winter days for both kids and adults, but it'll be a while longer before we are likely to see any in the city. Unless you are in Osaka. There, thousands of snowmen are about to pop up in 58 locations around the city.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 21, 2013

Volcano rises from sea to form new islet

A smoking cone emerged Wednesday from the Pacific during a volcanic eruption, forming a new islet about 1,000 km south of Tokyo in the Ogasawara chain, and the government hopes its arrival will be an avenue to extending Japan's ocean territory.

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Nov 14, 2013

An early Christmas in Osaka

The first record of a decorated Christmas tree came from 16th-century Germany, though some say the custom dates back to the eighth century, when an English monk, St. Boniface, traveled to Germany to help convert people there to Christianity.

Japan Times

Events / Events In Tokyo

Nov 14, 2013

Tokyo holds its very first Myanmar Festival

Although 2014 marks the 60th year since relations between Japan and Myanmar were established, for many, Myanmar's culture and customs remain a mystery. This Sunday, however, you'll get an opportunity to experience the Southeast Asian nation at a special festival in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES

Nov 8, 2013

Capturing the life and lives of Tokyo, one day at a time

Every day we presumably walk past about 2,000 or 3,000 people we don't know anything about,' French photographer Cedric Riveau says. 'But everyone has his or her story to tell.

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Nov 7, 2013

Takasaki's King of Pasta serves up a royal feast of local flavors

While many people believe that Marco Polo brought pasta from China to Italy in the 13th century, the records of a 12th-century Arab geographer claim that the dish was already known in Sicily back in 1154. Presumably it had been taken there by traders via the Silk Road during the Arab invasions in the...

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Oct 31, 2013

Good time to visit the dumpling capital of Japan

Dumplings are enjoyed the world over, but they are particularly loved in Japan. Here, they are honored not only with their own capital — Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture — but also by an iconic dumpling statue that stands proudly in front of that city's main station. In Utsunomiya, where...

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Oct 27, 2013

Vice premier touts Poland's stability to Japan investors

Poland's stable economy and Special Economic Zones are great for Japanese investors, Poland's vice prime minister says.

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Oct 24, 2013

Nagashima Onsen Resort lights up the winter

Although the Christmas holiday season is not yet upon us, Nagashima Onsen Resort in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, is already getting into the spirit of festive lighting. From Oct. 25, Japan's longest-running winter illuminations event lights up for its 10th time. Until March next year, Nabana no Sato, a botanical...

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Oct 23, 2013

Tokyo: Do you feel safe while out and about in Japan?

Women in the capital give their views on the safety — or otherwise — of Japan's streets.

Japan Times

Events / Events In Tokyo

Oct 17, 2013

Why not play with the kids this weekend?

The Tokyo Toy Festival, on Oct. 19 and 20 at the Tokyo Toy Museum and Yotsuya Hiroba, aims to encouraging kids to explore their own creativity through various forms of play — but that doesn't mean adults can't join in the fun.

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

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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