Amy Chavez - The Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Nov 6, 2004

When you come to Japan as a "gaijin," it seems there is always a Japanese person who adopts you. This person makes sure you have all the things you need, informs you of important events and perhaps even takes you sightseeing. I've had several people take on this role during my time in Japan, and I'm...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Oct 30, 2004

Fancy funerals for fish are all the rage

For a couple of weeks now, the smaller fishing boats in the port have been sporting special yellow "hikitsuri" flags. A casual inquiry to my fishing friend Rikimatsu-san as to the meaning of hikitsuri, literally "fishing by pulling," brought an invitation to go out with him and see for myself.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Oct 23, 2004

Do you qualify for O-baa-chan Club?

I do believe that I am the youngest member to enter the O-baa-chan Club, an inner circle of old ladies who keep Japan under their thumbs. I'm not exactly sure why or how I gained entry, but apparently the fact that I live in the countryside and have a vegetable garden was enough to convince everyone...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Oct 16, 2004

Island life: gangsters, fish and thieves

If I have led my readers to believe that my island is safe, then I have misled you. Although still safer than the city, island life has its own dangers, not all of which are the natural disasters. We have the human type too.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Oct 9, 2004

Gone fishin' and fishin' and fishin' . . .

I've never understood why people go fishing -- why would you go fishing if there is the possibility of not catching anything? Would you buy a ticket to the movies if they told you that you might not be able to watch the movie? Of course no one would buy a ticket, unless maybe it was to see a movie about...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Oct 2, 2004

Drive into the sea, then put up guardrail

On my planet, the United States, used car salesmen have a classic line for selling a car with low mileage: "This car was driven by a little old lady who only used it to drive to the grocery store." In Japan, if I ever get rid of my lightweight pickup truck, the salesman will say, "This truck was driven...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Sep 25, 2004

Look at the moon! Hiraite, chong, chong

My next-door neighbor Kazu-chan was standing in my "genkan." "Amy, I've signed you up to take part in the dance performance on Respect for the Aged Day." This national holiday was observed on Monday, but our island celebrated it on Thursday, the autumnal equinox.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Sep 18, 2004

The perfect touch for fall: Christmas

Every eight years, our neighborhood has "matsuri toban," or festival duty, which means we are in charge of all the island festivals for the year. One house within that neighborhood volunteers to set up decorations, receive guests at festival times and host the Shinto gods for the year.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Sep 11, 2004

Want to be royalty? Try a home stay

When it comes to hospitality, the Japanese are champions. In Japan, hospitality is like an Olympic sport and requires rigorous cross training in fields such as politeness, modesty, unconditional giving and overall self-sacrifice. There is no better display of this hospitality than in the Japanese home...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Sep 4, 2004

Typhoon No. 16 brings real flower power

All we could do was wait. We all knew the Big Hibiscus was coming from its tropical roots south of Okinawa. The flower, in full bloom, had already hit Kagoshima and was now headed our way. Who ever imagined the hibiscus could be such a violent flower?

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Aug 28, 2004

Hammer throwing for the whole family

Every time I turn on the TV, the Japanese are winning Olympic medals -- mostly the same ones -- over and over again. But this is Japan, where repetition is highly prized as a way to impress upon us the vital importance of repetition. Practice, practice, practice and you will succeed.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Aug 21, 2004

Beat the heat -- get out to the islands

It has been one of the hottest years on record in Japan, especially in Tokyo. Something about too much pavement and too many high-rise buildings blocking the breeze. It makes you wonder, why don't those people in the high-rises just open their windows to let the breeze through?

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Aug 14, 2004

Bon brings more than family back home

"Attention Shiraishi Island residents. This is an announcement from the Kasaoka city Environment Committee. This month's toilet cleaning will take place on Friday, Aug. 3 and Thursday, Aug. 26. Please register for toilet cleaning at least one day beforehand. And don't forget to buy your toilet tickets."...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Aug 7, 2004

Bon ancestor worship going to the dogs

It's almost Bon, the festival of the dead, a time when the spirits return to their ancestral homes. On our island, that's a lot of returnees. With the population dying off so rapidly, the ratio of spirits to living people is so great that at Bon, the living become a minority.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 31, 2004

'Addams family factor' in Japanese food

When a friend of mine who is a Japanese cook offered to make me pizza, I have to admit that my stomach did a turn. I mean, this guy specializes in preparing sashimi -- would the pizza come with the sausage still twitching?

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 24, 2004

Rent-a-cats bring women love at first bite

It has long been said that for men, walking a dog is a good way to meet girls. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a cute dog too. Whenever I see a dog, especially a black Labrador retriever, I run over and pet it, hug it, kiss it and tell it how beautiful it is. So walking a dog is a good way to meet...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 17, 2004

Sea Day -- For good or bad, a holiday

Happy Sea Day! Monday, July 19, is Sea Day, a national holiday when we are supposed to go out and enjoy the sea. But for me, this has not been a good year with the sea. First, on a yachting trip from Japan to Guam, the boat turned over in the Pacific Ocean and we had to be rescued. More recently, I sprained...

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 10, 2004

Benten: goddess of luck and watercolors

It's summertime, the festival season in Japan. On Shiraishi Island, the festival season is already in full force, with a number of Shinto festivals and celebrations to start off the summer. These are traditions from hundreds of years ago.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jul 3, 2004

Sussing Aussie English -- it's a bugger

When I found out I'd be spending a month accompanying two Australians around Japan, I thought, "Easy -- we speak the same language." Bloody wrong! "Aussie English" is completely different from the English used on my planet, the United States.

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE

Jun 26, 2004

Potty training for joy of the Grand Pee

One thing most foreigners are surprised to see when they come to Japan is men urinating in public. Taxi drivers, salarymen and just plain drunks can be seen standing against a wall, a hedge or over a grid in public streets any time of day or night, peeing. I call it the Grand Pee.

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