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April 01, 2025
 

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Kris Kosaka

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Kris Kosaka
Kris Kosaka, a resident of Japan since 1996, contributes regularly to The Japan Times. She is a lecturer at Meiji Gakuin University in the Faculty of International Studies.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 23, 2010
Ballplayer is in a league all her own
Bessie Noll won't celebrate her 16th birthday for another year, but she's already got a sweet swing on her future.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 16, 2010
Professor finds meaning in silence
In Japanese there's a word for it, that prolonged silence that cuts into a conversation, bringing discomfort and interrupting flow: shiin. We've all experienced that dead-air tension, but surprisingly there are different levels of comfort with silence, depending on the language being spoken.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 2, 2010
Living green, Venetia truly is at home in Kyoto
Venetia Stanley-Smith Kajiyama, or Venetia to her many fans, personifies natural, country living in her popular NHK program "Neko no Shippo, Kaeru no Te," but her first two months in Tokyo exemplified neon lights and city swing as a go-go dancer at a Shinjuku disco.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 11, 2010
Flower designer's success blossomed under rising sun
The Nicolai Bergmann brand radiates upscale elegance, taking flower fashion to a new level. In addition to his famous floral designs — he revolutionized Tokyo's flower world in 2000 with his original Flower Boxes, a best-selling trend that landed his name in more than 500 publications in Japanese,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 28, 2010
Putting true community back in theater
Throughout the Western world, community theater spices the dramatic arts.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 7, 2010
Kamakura expat at one with all Buddhist deities
Mark Schumacher's home in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, requires a journey, both on foot and for the spirit.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 24, 2010
Seattle pair put sake on local map
Japan abounds with foreigners attracted by its cultural opportunities, who live in the country and eventually make a livelihood by specializing in attributes the country has to offer. Scattered across the world, their counterparts reside in towns in Europe or America, those who, after spending time in...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 10, 2010
Architect wants to end nail-hammer cycle
Miwa Mori, president of Key Architects, thinks a lot about nails, both as part of her profession and as her philosophy about life.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 3, 2010
Witnessing over a century of history
When alone, Hedwig Koh's eyes gaze perpetually into the past. Even as a child, she looked off into the distance: "I spent most of my childhood upstairs at the attic window, looking out at the view, imagining far away places."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 26, 2010
Global multitasking: it's in her DNA
Miho Natori can recite nursery rhymes in Thai, speak German fluently, converse over coffee in English and is native in Japanese. For this 40-year-old graphic designer, life kaleidoscopes world to world, from Japan, to the orphanage she helped start with her mother in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and to Germany,...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 20, 2010
Untangling the elusive past across time
The first 115 pages of Marie Mutsuki Mockett's debut novel, "Picking Bones From Ash," incredibly heightened my anticipation of a great, literary read. Then the crash came, splintering my expectations from the weight of disgruntlement.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
May 25, 2010
Expat dancer Hibari Misora-inspired
Chris Chavez maintains an upbeat outlook about life in Japan but leaves the rosy-tinted view for idealists or those newly arrived. This Mexican-American's snapping brown eyes differentiate clearly the good, bad and indifferent of living as a foreign woman in Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 15, 2010
Fatalist follows music to find his niche in life
Life can veer abruptly, in mere seconds, from the way it was to the way it is. Occasionally, change occurs so gradually that metamorphosis is under way before you can even detect the unfamiliar wind.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 17, 2010
Fuji veteran brings kids English Adventure
If you hike in the Chichibu mountains this summer in Saitama Prefecture, you may stumble across an American-style summer camp with huge tents and 50 to 60 school kids exploring nature with walks and tree-climbing adventures and enjoying campfires and roasting marshmallows.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 13, 2010
Volleyball star finds meaning off court
As every top-level athlete knows, sacrifice underpins every training plan and for an Olympic athlete it becomes a way of life. For Sohn Jeong Wook, his goal of taking part in the Olympics was more important than country, but it didn't override family.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 6, 2010
Authenticity is all for mountaineer
Within the majestic silence of a snow-covered mountain lies the hush of possibility. The dormant assurance of life; a mountain in winter signifies hope. Especially for Dan Junker, 47, who lives in a tiny village in the shadow of Mount Norikura.
COMMUNITY
Feb 27, 2010
Something to be said for Japan's gray zone
It was an a-ha moment, an epiphany light-bolting across her face. It flickered with incredulous certainty and ended with awareness in her eyes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 6, 2010
Journalist gives voice to voiceless
Shin Yamaaki is not familiar with the story of David and Goliath, but she has long understood the plight of the underdog. A chance experience in her 20s forged Yamaaki, 38, into who she is today: a woman who takes on global issues by giving voice to people who might go unheard.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 30, 2010
The culinary art of feeding the soul, with zest of Zen
Soothing sunlight fills the peaceful living space; arrayed atop a bamboo leaf, a slice of yuzu and mikan tart beckons, complemented by a steaming cup of herbal tea. In the Spartan abode of Valerie Duvauchelle, a French cooking teacher and zazen practitioner, nothing indicates her former life as an executive...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 23, 2010
Big changes from life's small lessons
Naotaka Aoki, a black belt in tae kwon do, stands tall among his students. A few days later, he stands at ease while leading 160 service members from the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base on a recent tour of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Fluent in English and Japanese, he laughs quickly in every language.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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