Amy Chavez - The Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Aug 4, 2007

Man-chan and Kio-chan are my favorite Funky Old People who come to the Moooo! Bar on the beach. Local historians and the island's unofficial welcome party for tourists, they come to the bar hoping to meet some interesting gaijin. And gaijin come to the Moooo! Bar in hopes of meeting Man-chan and Kio-chan....

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 28, 2007

Marine Day sets off startling new theory on global terrorism

As you know, the national holiday on July 16, called Marine Day, has come and gone. Or, to be more correct, it came in on the typhoon and left on the typhoon.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 21, 2007

What's your Hokey Pokey biography?

So, where are you from? How old are you? What are your hobbies? What do you like sports? How long stay Japan? Tired of answering questions? Really?

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 14, 2007

Bathhouse dress codes, or tell Yo! mama, no army boots!

The Japanese are exporting one of their greatest commodities — sleep. Or at least the idea of it. The Japanese are masters of the power nap, and at any time of day you can see entire extended families sleeping while sitting upright on the train. A raise of an eyebrow at each stop is enough to make...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 7, 2007

How a look out to sea can help you determine lodging rates

Just as I was jogging down the beach past Amano-san's house, I saw her in her yard with a hoe, turning up the grass. I winced each time the hoe cut into the ground, digging up another patch of green, but she was working very hard at this. I suppose dirt is easier to take care of.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jun 30, 2007

The trouble with foreigners — wayward ways amid the regiment

Renting rooms to foreigners can be a sensitive subject for many minshuku owners in Japan. It's not that the owners can't speak English, nor that they don't like foreigners. Through the years, I've gotten to know some minshuku owners and have learned that foreigners can indeed be a bit mendokusai (troublesome)...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jun 23, 2007

'Rub hotels': Vegas in a box

I made a recent discovery: love hotels! Not dirty, sleazy hotels on the other side of the tracks, but hotels that are cleaner than a "minshuku," cheaper than a business hotel and located near the main shopping district. What's love got to do with it? Nothing, necessarily.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jun 16, 2007

Father's Day gifts on 100 yen

Dear Dad,

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jun 9, 2007

Key garbage experiences in the land of the sanitary enthusiast

Years ago when I first moved to my island, some Japanese friends from the mainland came to visit. The plan was to have a barbecue, so they brought all the ingredients from the mainland, since meat and some other things were hard to come by on the island.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jun 2, 2007

The chiropractic masseuse and the starfish

Several friends had recommended Tana-san for massage. "He's a little strange, but he's very good," one friend said. He sure sounded strange — Mr. Shelf?

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

May 26, 2007

Before you whack or splat — consult the Insect Hotline

Some insects are highly revered in Japanese culture. While in the West, we may whack first and ask questions later, in Japan, you should really shouldn't go around indiscriminately killing insects. It may even be bad luck.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

May 19, 2007

A reflection on harmonious cohabitation

It seems the insects arrive every year during Golden Week. Is it possible that even the insects are on this Japanese work schedule with set travel times? Or maybe it's insect tenkin. Transfer or travel, during Golden Week we are all on the same migration pattern. Face it, we're all just really large...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

May 12, 2007

One sure way to build your Japanese vocabulary

I'll never forget the first time I went to city hall in Japan to talk about the national health insurance plan. The man behind the desk explained the whole scheme in perfect Japanese, which at that time was perfectly unintelligible to me.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

May 5, 2007

Elvis impersonators may be answer to island's problem

Like many other places in Japan's countryside, Shiraishi Island is suffering from depopulation. When I came here 10 years ago, the population was 900. Now it is almost 700. Which goes to show that anyone can have his or her own island if one waits long enough.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Apr 28, 2007

Leading figures in the Funky Old People's Hall of Fame

After having spent the winter away from the island, I can say it is great to be back. As I take a walk around the island, I am comforted by the little touches of home: Bent-over ladies with bundles of sasaki on their backs, white-haired fishermen bringing in their day's catch, and old men sitting on...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Apr 21, 2007

The cherry blossom in a court of its peers

Imagine a clearing in the forest, where several species of flowers are blooming.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Apr 14, 2007

When life's a drag, wear a costume

Do you think Japanese people are too serious? Do you ever speak to someone in Japanese only to have them just stare back at you in confusion? Do you find living in Japan downright depressing sometimes? You may need help. You may be a gaijin.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Apr 7, 2007

The short-lived cherry blossom -- Japan's national identity

The most beautiful time to be in Japan is right now -- cherry blossom season. Oha-nami cherry-blossom-viewing parties are taking place everywhere, and you don't need an invitation to go to one.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Mar 31, 2007

Short on big? Stretch out in Hokkaido

Everything is big in Hokkaido. Big streets, big stores, big parking lots. Hokkaido doesn't give you that quaint, traditional, slightly claustrophobic feeling you get in Honshu and throughout the rest of Japan. Big gaijin would like Hokkaido.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Mar 24, 2007

If it looks like yesteryear, you know you're skiing in Japan

After a winter in Hokkaido, I feel at home skiing on the mountains here. Sometimes I even forget I am in Japan, until something "only in Japan" happens.

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