December 25, 2024

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COMMUNITY

Voices

Summer in Japan is now consistently brutal enough to drive you indoors and keep you there until autumn.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Jul 27, 2024

When did summer in Japan stop being fun?

By Thu-Huong Ha

Summer in Japan used to be something to enjoy. Now, it’s something to endure.

Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Jul 15, 2024

No AC this summer? No problem (for me).

By Jordan Allen

I do have a unit, and I dutifully clean the filters now and then, but over the past two or three years, I’ve learned to live entirely without it.

Perhaps being seen in the company of your own children in the right places — playgrounds, schools, etc. — can make you seem more approachable and allow children to say exactly what’s on their mind.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Jun 24, 2024

‘You’re a spy, then?’ The odd interactions of a non-Japanese father in Japan

By Jordan Allen

Remember to keep your ears open whenever you’re near children and you’re guaranteed to hear something that’ll make you think.

Opal Lee, the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," visited Japan last month shortly after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden.

COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye

Jun 14, 2024

U.S. civil rights icon Opal Lee brings her Juneteenth walk to Tokyo

By Baye McNeil

Juneteenth, held on the 19th of the month, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Opal Lee sees it as more than an American holiday.

This untitled work was completed and installed in 1994 by a prominent Nigerian artist named Sunday Jack Akpan.

COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye

Jun 3, 2024

How a cache of African art found a home in western Tokyo

By Baye McNeil

When I first encountered these statues, I was just minding my business headed for Tachikawa Station. I was struck dumb, paralyzed damn near mid-step.

Why does it feel like we’re in a ceaseless cycle of seasonal prep?

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

May 31, 2024

Help! I'm stuck in Japan's endless cycle of seasonal prep

By Thu-Huong Ha

Rainy season is here, and so are all the preparations for your home and clothes. Why does living in Japan feel like an endless cycle of gearing up for the weather?

For someone who grew up in a country with a system of street names, finding an address in Japan — or worse: trying to guide someone else to one — is no easy task at first.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

May 7, 2024

Lost in translation? No, lost in Japan’s maze of streets.

By Jordan Allen

Anyone who experienced wayfinding in Japan before the age of map apps will remember how much sleuthing was required to get to your destination.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.

Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?

By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

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