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April 29, 2024
 

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JAPAN LITE

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 11, 2000
Haven't got the yang of Japanese gardening
I came home the other day and noticed my neighbor had cut my grass, trimmed my trees and watered my plants. This is normal. I apologized profusely, thanked Ueda-san repetitively and she said, as always, "Oh, it was nothing."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 4, 2000
It's the season for cool drinks and hot talk
Right now it's 28 degrees, sunny with a light breeze. It couldn't be a more perfect day on the island. Yet when I went to the post office this morning, Mr. Saito said, "It's hot!" When I stopped by the supermarket, Mrs. Amano, the store owner said, "It's hot!" When I stopped by the ferry port, Mrs. Amano, the port manager said, "It's hot!" No one has noticed that it actually isn't hot. That's because they're speaking "Summer Japanese."
COMMUNITY / JAPAN LITE
Dec 26, 1999
Forget this year, and the last 999 as well
At the end of the year now, Japan is in the throes of "bonenkai," or "forget the year" parties. I wonder, though -- shouldn't we be having "forget the millennium" parties?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 5, 1999
Born to fail the Japanese proficiency test
Today at this very moment, while you are reading this newspaper, myself, as well as thousands of other foreigners in Japan, are failing the Japanese Proficiency Test.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 28, 1999
Work full-time and raise a bonsai? No thanks
The other day I mentioned to my husband that I might like to take a class in growing bonsai trees. I don't even know why I mentioned it. I had been growing some pretty good mold in the bathroom and refrigerator so perhaps it seemed like a good time to move on to something more challenging.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 7, 1999
Hail Japan, for you will surely miss it one day
The foreign community in Japan is transient. People come and go. The funny thing is, when they go, they're usually ready. It's something biological: that need to return home.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 31, 1999
Jed and Ted's spine-tingling fishing adventure
In Japan, the heat of the summer is the time for telling ghost stories. In the United States, we wait for Halloween. One of the most famous ghost stories is "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," a story by Washington Irving that tells the tale of the headless horseman who rides his horse through the night.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 24, 1999
Who needs coffee when you've got kids around?
On Saturdays I volunteer at the Shiraishi Island Kindergarten, where I teach English at high volume. That's because Japanese kindergarten students are taught to shout everything in unison. So, a simple "good morning" becomes "GOOD MORNING!" Multiply that by 15 students and it's kind of like an alarm clock.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 10, 1999
It's a wonder more letter writers don't go postal
Everyone in Japan is worried about unemployment but islands like mine are suffering from overemployment.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 17, 1999
Ten reasons why English is an evil language
English is an evil language. If it wasn't, all Japanese people would speak fluent English upon graduating high school. After all, seven years of English study should be enough.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 12, 1999
Three cheers for Respect for the Aged Day
There's a naked lady in my "genkan." I was upstairs in my office just now, when I heard someone calling my name. I went downstairs and there was 88-year-old Yamakawa-san, standing there naked.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 5, 1999
Ultranationalist groups: aliens with sunglasses
It's another Sunday in Japan as rightwing organizations in black buses the size of semi-trailer trucks roll through the city streets spewing nationalist slogans. These military-style buses are driven by men who are usually described by others as "wearing sunglasses." Japanese people hardly notice when a convoy of buses passes, speakers blasting at volumes too loud to comprehend what's being said. These buses don't go unnoticed by foreigners:
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 15, 1999
Food with an attitude coming to a table near you
Irritated? Feel like having an argument? Argue with your food. And don't presume that just because you'll get the last bite, that you're going to win the argument every time. Linda Matthie-Jacobs, author of two cookbooks about "food with an attitude," has followed up her previous "Fire 'n' Ice" cookbook with a new cookbook called "Light the Fire: Fiery Food with a Light New Attitude" (MJM Grande Publishing, www.cooking withfire.com ). With items such as Margarita Jelly, Grilled Tequila Salmon Steaks, and Great Bowls of Fire, this is not food to be taken lightly. With this cookbook, you can take your everyday, ho-hum steak and give it an attitude. It's a whole new world of chili peppers, jalapenos and tabasco _ really hot! Believe me, this food does talk back.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 10, 1999
Goodbye yuckie duckies, hello hollering herons
Have you been shopping lately? The price of rubber ducks is outrageous. While remodeling my bathroom, I paid over 1,000 yen for a mother duck and three chicks for my bathtub. And they were pink! I think someone's been tampering with the rubber duckie formula because within minutes of tubbing with these pink yuckie duckies, they were belly up. I don't think this is a good example for children who may be led to believe that all ducks die in bathtubs. Not true. As a matter of fact, more ducks die on dinner plates.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 25, 1999
Gesture your way to Japanese fluency
Yesterday I went into a convenience store to buy some aspirin. I asked the clerk using the English loanword "asupirin." The clerk pointed to the freezer section and said, "it's over there." "No, not 'aisu kurimu,' asupirin," I said. "Pudding?" he asked. At that point, he did what all befuddled clerks do when they can't understand the "gaijin," he disappeared. Moments later another person came out and said, "Can I help you?" I said, again, I requested asupirin and told her that I had a headache. She said, "Oh, you mean 'zutsu yakuhin' (headache medicine). You have to go to a pharmacy for that."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 18, 1999
Becoming a black belt in things Japanese
When foreigners arrive in Japan for the first time, they are full of wonder. Many of us aren't familiar with the Japanese language or kanji and have only read about Japanese culture in magazines or books. We all start out with a "white belt" in things Japanese.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 4, 1999
Slurp noodles right with the lip-o-suction method
Japanese people can eat a bowl of noodles in just five minutes. That's because they don't chew. Real noodle connoisseurs know that the taste of the noodle is felt in the throat, not the tongue, so to appreciate the true flavor of noodles, you must swallow them whole. I wonder how the stomach feels about this.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 20, 1999
All it takes is a miracle to save the Earth
Last weekend I attended the 55th All Japan UNESCO conference in Okayama, where together we solved Japan's environmental problems. It's easy for everybody to do their part to help the environment. But it's surprising how many people don't do anything. So many people are environmentally unconscious -- to the point of passed out. It's as if people are waiting around for a miracle to happen.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 23, 1999
Slim down for summer with the chopstick diet
When my mother announced she would finally be coming to visit me in Japan this September, I asked her if she had any questions. She replied, "Yes, do I have to eat with those sticks?" This is when I realized that perhaps a lesson in "chopsticking" would be helpful. Mom, this one's for you: Chopsticks 101.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 16, 1999
Hate is a many-booted creature that bites
The word in Japanese politics these days is reform. Japan is faced with an aging population, a weakened yen and a less-than-thriving economy.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Putin’s war will soon reach Russians’ tax bills
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

Podcast

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

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

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