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April 29, 2024
 

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JAPAN LITE

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 5, 2013
Japan's national obsession with the color pink
If the cherry blossom is Japan's unofficial national flower, then it should be no surprise that pink is Japan's de facto favorite color. Yet I still have a hard time with this national obsession with the color pink.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 29, 2013
Exploring Japan's ancient past through pilgrimage
I've been running pilgrimages in Japan since 1997. So far, I've run the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage, the Mount Hiei Kaihogyo route in Kyoto (of the Tendai-shu monks), and tens of other smaller pilgrimages in Japan. If you are a runner in Japan, you should be running pilgrimages. If you're a hiker, you should be walking or hiking them.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 22, 2013
To be or not to be? — they simply can't decide
Japan is often criticized for the time it takes to make decisions. The government drags on making decisions from natural disasters to nuclear power and whether to allow gambling casinos.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 15, 2013
A feline confessional — for those who can't resist abusive pets
You often hear about animals being rescued from abusive owners, but I wonder, is there any help for pet owners who have been abused by their pets?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 8, 2013
Encouraging, not comparing, accomplishments
Aging Japan. We hear this phrase all the time. The question is, what are they talking about — the infrastructure? The people? Four Roses whisky?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 1, 2013
Everyone's own path to enlightenment
What is Buddhism?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 25, 2013
English education and English sheepdogs
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to globalize Japan's workforce and says that Japan must become more competitive in the English language. This has touched off a debate among native English teachers, Japanese who teach English, Japanese speakers who don't speak English, and English sheepdogs owned by both Japanese and English speakers.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 18, 2013
Taking care of an aging smartphone — until the end
I thought I had bought a smartphone, but I ended up with a dumb phone instead. It's probably my fault for not asking for documentation showing it had passed an IQ test.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 11, 2013
There are plenty more fish jokes in the sea
The Go Fish! Foundation is an international organization for the protection of fish, their parents, family and friends. Go Fish! rescues, rehabilitates and gives sanctuary to fish in need.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 4, 2013
Off on a spring tangent on the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage
This week 14 years ago, I finished a five-week, 1,350 km journey running the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage. One of the axioms of the pilgrimage is: "You will, and must, get lost." I envision the great master Kobo Daishi, the patron saint of the pilgrimage, with a huge map of the pilgrimage in front of him, assigning ambulatories to go off on tangents in order to test their will power and tenacity as pilgrims. "What curveball can I throw at this young foreign woman?" he says, watching me plod my way from temple 70 to 71. "Ahhh, I know just the thing . . ."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 27, 2013
Welcome to the Japan Jalapeno Hotline
It's April, which means new recruits in companies across Japan. And as the new school year starts, new foreign English teachers all over Japan are settling into their positions in Japanese public schools, getting shocked out of their socks. The newbie English teacher social media chatter has begun! Statements riddled with sparks are starting to fly across Facebook: "Why does that Japanese teacher I teach with keep telling the students the answers? Is parroting English phrases really helpful? Rote memorization of English grammar is not learning!" Yada, yada, yada.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 20, 2013
Doraemon trumps Hello Kitty for Olympic Games ambassador
Japan's most lovable anime character, el gato cosmico (the cosmic cat) has been chosen to be Japan's ambassador in Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. It's the first time Japan has chosen an anime character for an Olympic ambassadorship. Congratulations Doraemon!
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 13, 2013
The ration-ality of toilets — trying to change the 'plumbing code'
Nomura Holding America Inc., the U.S subsidiary of Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings, Inc. is in the news lately for being the first business to attempt to alter New York City's "plumbing code" that requires buildings to have an equal number of toilets for both men and women. Oh yay.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 6, 2013
Who turns a company into a 'wonderful place to be'?
Kazuhiro Tsuga, president of Panasonic Corp., addressed his new recruits on Monday telling them that he hopes they will turn the company into "a wonderful place to be." President Akio Toyoda encouraged his recruits at Toyota Motor Corp. to exhibit "the strength seen in cherry blossoms that can persevere in a harsh winter."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 30, 2013
The sakura season is here, but which one?
The sakura season is here! The question is, does this refer to the horsemeat season or the cherry blossom season? It's hard to tell when the Japanese use the word "sakura" to describe horse meat, which is pink. Sakura nabe is not nabe made with cherry blossoms, for example, but nabe made with horsemeat. So, is it the horsemeat season or the cherry blossom season? Is it kanpai or is it mmmmm!
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 23, 2013
Biiiiig baby! — Japanese get taller and skinnier, but not bigger
"How old do you think those kids are?" Asked my father, admiring the cute little American tots standing in line at the ski lift. They were dressed in the puffy ski outfits of the latest fashionable shade of kindergarten pastel, making them look like they were wrapped in cotton candy. Snuggly fit around their middles was a rope with a handle affixed at the back so their instructor could lift them up onto the ski lift, or pick them up from the snow when they fell.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 16, 2013
The Sandman and other gift-bearing creatures
Easter is upon us, and you know what that means: chocolate rabbits! Each year on Easter Sunday, a magical rabbit (actually a hare) comes out of the forest and brings baskets full of eggs, candies, toys and chocolate rabbits. The Easter Bunny, as he is called, hides the baskets inside each house, and the children who live there have to find the baskets.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 9, 2013
Sleeping on the train — a rite of passage into Japanese society
When I first came to Japan, I wondered how people could sleep on the train, a public and completely inappropriate place where you can be assured everyone will be watching you. But then I learned that sleeping on the train is involuntary — and should be classified as a sleeping disorder.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 2, 2013
What ever 'appened to the Tamagotchi?
Tamagotchi, the electronic pets that were first released by Bandai in Japan in 1996, have returned. But this time in the form of an app in which you can feed, discipline and even play "rock, paper, scissors" with your not-really-there pet.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 23, 2013
What's next for Toto? More toilet humor
What is the next logical toilet model for Toto? After one has invented a toilet that welcomes you by lifting it's lid automatically when you walk into the bathroom, cuddles you with a heated toilet seat, washes and dries your bum after you've done the dirty deed, disinfects the toilet, then automatically flushes and closes the lid — what next? What more would you want from a toilet? Nothing, I hope.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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