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Amy Chavez

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Amy Chavez
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 25, 2012
Austerity — we've embraced it in the countryside
Austerity. It's a word steeped in meaning. No one is more aware of a stagnant economy than the Japanese people, who are spending less and learning to relish cheap, imported goods.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 18, 2012
Learning a foreign language: blood, sweat and beers
A recent education ministry survey evaluated Japanese "third-year middle school students" on their attitudes toward learning English. One editorial indicated that the results of the survey showed that students nationwide had an "ambivalent and contradictory attitude toward English." Wow, imagine 14-year-olds...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 11, 2012
A sure way to get rid of a cold
Have you ever thought about where colds come from? Where they start?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 4, 2012
Valentine's Day — the perfect holiday for one
Valentine's Day is coming up, and once again, you may be wondering how to deal with it in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 28, 2012
Watching Nishikori Down Under
All Japan was watching as Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese tennis player to make it to the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam since Shuzo Matsuoka at Wimbledon in 1995, took on the No. 4 seeded Brit, Andy Murray, at the Australian Open Wednesday night. Nishikori, ranked 24th in the world, knew he was up...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 21, 2012
Hold the plastic grass — I want the real stuff
Holding the kama (scythe) at the hilt, I tore into the grass. This is the way we cut grass on the island. Not many people actually have grass, and I cherish my small 2 sq. meter patch. My neighbor Kazu-chan, who was watching me in the distance, calmly walked over and said, "Amy, you're doing it all wrong."...
MULTIMEDIA / JAPAN LITE
Jan 21, 2012
Hold the plastic grass — I want the real stuff
Holding the kama (scythe) at the hilt, I tore into the grass. This is the way we cut grass on the island. Not many people actually have grass, and I cherish my small 2 sq. meter patch. My neighbor Kazu-chan, who was watching me in the distance, calmly walked over and said, "Amy, you're doing it all wrong."...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 14, 2012
Reflections on being an expat
The hairstylist exclaims, "Wow, you live in Japa'an!" — pronouncing the word as if it was a diphthong. I am home for a friend's wedding, and getting my hair cut.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 7, 2012
Confessions of a beer lover on the New Year
So, how's your New Year's resolution coming along? "The what?" you say? Given up already, have you? Well, I haven't given up mine. And so enthusiastic am I that I've already completed three weeks of my resolution even though we're only one week into the New Year. And I don't even consider myself an overachiever....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 31, 2011
Year of the dragon — it'll be a hot one
The year of the dragon, (tatsu, ryu or ryo in Japanese) is upon us — and now just hours before the New Year, I can see the dragon peeking out of his lair, counting down the seconds until he is allowed to take over the world for a year. As midnight approaches, he waits . . . 10, 9, 8, 7, ready to pounce...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 24, 2011
Politeness beyond words
We all know the Japanese are "very polite." But being polite goes beyond just saying excuse me or thank you or holding the door open for someone. Let's start with the word "teinei," or "polite," in Japanese. Teinei goes beyond the English word "polite" because it applies to far more than just people...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 17, 2011
Herbivorous men, where's the beef?
My single Japanese girlfriends complain that there are no interesting guys out there. Could they be right? It seems that these days the average Japanese guy is, well, you know, kinda boring. Kinda quiet. Nothing wrong with being quiet of course, especially if you have nothing to say.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 10, 2011
How does 'Come all ye Bodhisattvas' grab you?
Many people know that most Japanese believe in Shinto and Buddhism. Fewer are aware that many also participate in "commercialized Christianity" in order to take advantage of those fun Christian holidays.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 3, 2011
Sorry, please excuse me, thank you
"I hear the Japanese are very polite. Is it true?"
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 26, 2011
Keeping abreast of the bra trends in Japan
Oh fun, time for an annual breast examination. Not that there is any pain involved with the examination. It's finding time to go to the hospital that's tough.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 19, 2011
When are we going to eat udon?
"When are we going to eat udon?" asks our neighbor Rikimatsu-san.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 12, 2011
Meanwhile, on the island where they say hello . . .
"This year we have a class where we introduce the children to their neighbors on the island," said the principal of the Shiraishi Elementary School. "So we'd like you to come and talk to the children and tell them why you like living on the island."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 5, 2011
What are they thinking?
People in the Japanese countryside do some strange things. It's enough to make you wonder, "What are they thinking?"
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 29, 2011
A hippo goes under the drill
The meeting room was packed with dentists in white smocks — men and women, interns and doctors nearing retirement — about 30 of them sitting in front of a screen and another 20 standing along the sides of the room. The lights go out and on the screen appears an X-ray of hippopotamus teeth.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 22, 2011
Telling time with animals
There are many ways to tell time: the sundial, the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock. But there is a much more interesting way to tell time too, one the Japanese used in ancient times: by animal.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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