author

 
 
 Amy Chavez

Meta

Twitter

@JapanLite

Amy Chavez
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 24, 2016
Eating crow on the issue of the clever critters we consume
The controversies surrounding the eating of various animals in our modern world are numerous: the hunting of bluefin tuna to near-extinction; eating shark fin soup (in which only the fin is used and the rest of the shark is often discarded); the consumption of dogs in various Asian countries; the use...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 27, 2015
Taking a longer view in defense of clutter
There's a worrying trend in Japan that is spreading throughout the world: that of throwing things out.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 29, 2015
Seeing 'only in Japan' through an inflatable kayak moment
'Only in Japan' isn't just about the lengths people go to here to do things for others — it's also the lengths they go not to.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 25, 2015
It's the little things — like ¥10 — that remind me why I'm still here
It's times like these that I chuckle to myself and am reminded why I love living in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 27, 2015
Can art bring people back to Japan's depopulated islands?
I've seen island revitalization projects come and go, but the idea of an NPO riding on the coattails of a successful art trend in the area strikes me as having some promise.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 30, 2015
I've often thought about your doppelganger, but have you?
Have you considered that maybe your double lives in Japan? And that you might meet them someday?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 26, 2015
Even the departed are abandoning Japan's countryside
At a time when Japan is trying to revitalize the countryside, the dead are being relocated to the big cities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 28, 2015
Time to banish old people to the countryside?
I couldn't help but gasp upon reading the Japan Policy Council's new recommendations to help take the aging population burden off Tokyo: "Encourage the elderly to move to the countryside, where the facilities are less crowded and there are more spaces for those needing full time care."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 24, 2015
Fostering entrepreneurship beyond the foreign community
Some people say that as long as you have blond hair, blue eyes and white skin, you can get a job, succeed and even become a celebrity in Japan. So imagine what would happen if there were two such people, married to each other!
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 26, 2015
A bare-knuckle race against time to the Edo Period and back
How in the world did I find myself in the passenger seat as an eager accomplice in a car chase?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 25, 2015
Frenemies, screenagers, kidults — kondo your English with these trending terms
How up-to-date is your English vocabulary? New words reflect a changing society and, as a result, new words are coined every day. Reading English newspapers and media from around the world can help you keep up with the changes. Here are some words I picked up recently on my travels.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 25, 2015
With more beer machines and school days, were the '90s better?
Japan has come a long way in the past 20 years. Or has it?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 21, 2015
Mount Fuji is 'brown hill,' A-Bomb Dome is 'depressing': Whiners diss Japan's wonders
Let's explore what some disgruntled travelers have to say about Japan's most impressive World Heritage Sites.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 24, 2014
Mastering the art of incense takes longer than you think
If you find all this incense as intriguing as I did and are ready to sign up to become a master in the Way of Fragrance, then I suggest you start right away, if not 20 years ago.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 26, 2014
Seeking Japan's gods and nobles in roots, stone and moss
If you've had a hankering to go hiking with Shinto deities, why not try the Kumano Kodo trail in Wakayama Prefecture?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 29, 2014
Town hall meetings: Abandon logic, all ye who enter here
The first thing you want to do when you get to the meeting room, whether it be summer or winter, is open all the windows. This is because you'll have to throw all logic out the window. Open as many as possible, 'cause there's a lot of logic to heave.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 24, 2014
Missing such sweet serow, Japan gets the goat
Whereas cats will walk away when you need them most, goats will continue to nibble at your fingers, root through your pockets, or just eat whatever you're wearing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 27, 2014
On this island, depopulation isn't the problem — inertia is
There is one thing most people don't realize about this island paradise amid the Seto Inland Sea: that despite many people wanting to move here, none of them can.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 23, 2014
To appear or not to appear on Japanese TV . . .
If you're in Japan long enough, you're bound to get the opportunity to appear on Japanese TV. But you might want to think twice before you make the leap to 'TV gaijin.'
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 15, 2014
Oh, the places we'll go in 2020 — unless, of course, we won't
In 2020 the Tokyo Olympics will be here! And all our troubles will be gone. Unless, of course, they won't. Because, sometimes, they don't.

Longform

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