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Amy Chavez

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Amy Chavez
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 18, 2014
Stone, sweat and stamps: chasing Jizos in Kamakura
Amy Chavez gets to know Jizo Bosatsu — the Buddhist deity who looks after travelers and children — a little better, by embarking on a 24-site Jizo Pilgrimage jog through Kamakura.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 20, 2014
The one that got away
In 2004, the job of looking after the local foreigner went to Rikimatsu-san, a 75-year-old fisherman intent on teaching me the ways of the Seto Inland Sea.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 21, 2014
Move over, Tigers — the era of the Chihuahua Mama is here
I don't mind screaming children so much as I mind their doting mothers. Eyeing the antics of the parent, sometimes you can clearly see why their child is screaming. Recently, believe it or not, I heard a 1-year-old, coddled in the arms of her exuberant mother, scream at the top of its lungs, "I am not...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 7, 2014
Barely-a-bear Kumamon could be the next faker to shock Japan
Japan's "deaf composer," Mamoru Samuragochi, has turned out to be an imposter. Wow, who's next? Well, I'll tell you.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 22, 2014
Tokyo 2020: only as old as the medalists you field
The motto of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is 'Discover Tomorrow,' which organizers hope will help distract sport fanatics from the reality of Japan being the fastest-aging country in the world.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 7, 2014
'Cove' to become 'aquatic nook' as Abe takes aim at improper eigo
Some say that Shinzo Abe's latest proposed tax increases, part of the 'fourth arrow' in his popular 'Abenomics' policy, are going a step too far. Dubbed the 'language tax,' the new levy is aimed at word usage.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 24, 2014
From the ditches of Nara to the Otohime, a lav story
Ever wondered what's with the toilet slippers in Japan? Surely I am not the only foreigner to question whether we need to be entirely reshod before entering the restroom in a Japanese house.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 10, 2014
Teachers must nurture critical thinking, confidence in English for a shot at 2020 goals
Until English teachers start developing critical thinking skills in the classroom and emphasizing confidence over competence, students will never be able to converse with native English speakers 'at a viable level of proficiency.'
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 27, 2013
Japan should take English lessons from Philippines
English is an official language of the Philippines but this does not mean that everyone understands or speaks English. However, it does mean that exposure to the language is so widespread that those who do speak it can communicate quite fluently.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 13, 2013
Bike-riding bureaucracy may threaten the classic 'obāchan dismount'
The new regulation decrees that bicycles must be ridden on the left side of the road, in the direction of the flow of traffic. Seems logical, doesn't it? But no one has said how this will prevent accidents or make anything safer; we're just presuming it will.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 29, 2013
Islanders must think bigger to thrive, not just survive
As a resident, may I be so bold as to suggest that we don't need an NPO to save our island from aging and depopulation. What we need is for an NPO, or anyone, to save our island from itself!
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 15, 2013
A war of words over butchered English
The student wanted to make a brochure in English, aimed at attracting foreign tourists to Shiraishi. The English title of her presentation was “Come on my Island!”
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 1, 2013
Seven Unlucky Gods sowing misery across Japan
I have a theory about the conspicuous absence of the Seven Lucky Gods: They each have an evil twin.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 18, 2013
Shōchū and the art of conflict resolution: an islander's insight
If you don't drink shochu, you're bound to have problems adjusting to island life. It's like moving to Okinawa and not partaking in awamori: It's a part of the local culture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 11, 2013
A really long name — as long as the Mississippi
Small islands in the Seto Inland Sea such as mine are visited periodically by health care boats with doctors, nurses and medical equipment on board to offer health exams for islanders. The boat makes the rounds of all the small islands that belong to Okayama Prefecture, making it possible for even the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 4, 2013
How enlightened are you? — it doesn't have to be religion
We've all heard of enlightenment: awakening to the ultimate truth of life, usually achieved by relief from suffering. With the stresses of modern life — careers, love, family, Facebook — all that mental and physical pain, who wouldn't want to suffer a little less? Who wouldn't want enlightenment?...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 27, 2013
FYI: Agricultural World Heritage status
After our 3,776-meter-tall friend Fuji-san won the coveted UNESCO World Heritage status this year, many people are wondering what site will win the status next? Only one Japanese site per year can be nominated for the award, and recent reports have said the government is considering a steel works, a...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 20, 2013
The ancient pilgrimage routes and the local community
As I headed out the door to do some trail running in the national park behind my house, I was surprised to make it only a few hundred meters before I was stopped dead in my tracks. The dead part was a tree that had fallen over the trail over a month ago and had yet to be removed. No problem. I went back...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 13, 2013
The dysfunctional family of Mother Nature
"From now on, I will carry my own water bottle," I promised Mother Nature. She had just scolded me as I came around the corner by presenting me with an angry beach covered with garbage. And this was not the first time she has told me off. Hundreds of beaches in the Seto Inland Sea are inundated with...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 6, 2013
The big and small of it — slippers that fit the feet of Hibagon
I live with Bigfoot. Don't tell anyone though, or the media will be all over it.
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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