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July 16, 2024
 

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JAPAN LITE

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 12, 2002
Personal fences and Hello Kitty killer
In the spirit of "benri de ii" (convenient and good) I would like to propose some ideas for making Japan a more convenient country.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 5, 2002
Rules of the 'genkan': First, wear shoes
There is a peculiar space in Japanese houses called the "genkan." Although "genkan" sounds like a Japanese English abbreviation for Genghis Kahn, the genkan has little to do with conquering and more to do with barriers. The genkan is the welcome pit just inside the front door that serves as a gathering...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 28, 2002
Drugstores spread queasy headaches
I'm afraid to go to the doctor in Japan. If I did, he might bring up the bread crusts. You know, those mammoth slices of bread in Japan with crusts that take forever to chew all the way through? If the doctor looked down my throat, he might see into my stomach and say, "Look at all those bread crusts...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 21, 2002
Far-out news headlines from the Far East
Sometimes I yearn for lies. Like sensational news items that everybody knows aren't true:
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 14, 2002
Rip Van Twinkle: awake for 100 years
You all know the story of Rip Van Winkle, who slept for 20 years. But how many of you know the story of Rip Van Twinkle, who stayed awake for 100 years?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 7, 2002
Mute appreciation by home stay girls
We went to Paris for a couple of hours, ate brunch in Venice, then did some shopping in Luxor. When I looked at my watch, I realized we were going to have to walk fast to make it back to New York on time to check out of our hotel. It wasn't as far as you'd think, though: all of this was on the strip...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 31, 2002
Fear and loathing in XXL Las Vegas
The combination of classic American kitsch and the Japanese love for it makes Las Vegas a mandatory stop on any Japanese person's tour of the U.S. This is how I find myself in Las Vegas now with two Japanese home stay students.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 24, 2002
Taking kids on a Disneyland home stay
If you stay in Japan long enough, there will come a time, equal to that of the Super Lotto, called "ongaeshi," when you have to pay back people who have helped you along your rocky limestone road to a comfortable life in Japan. I'm pretty sure that's why Japanese people always ask how long you have been...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 17, 2002
Personal grooming goes grossly public
Of all the changes we have seen in Japan over the past 10 years, one really stands out: personal grooming. It used to be that people did their personal grooming privately, behind closed doors. But nowadays, the Japanese people have gone public. Sometimes there are so many women on the train applying...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 10, 2002
All about God, the gold sweat shirt guy
When I was a child, I believed God was a bald guy in a gold cotton sweat shirt with the letter "G," for God, on it. I still believe this. Only now, his sweat shirt is 50 percent polyester and 50 percent cotton, preshrunk. The gold color has faded and the "G" is wearing off , peeling in little specks...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 3, 2002
I'm a carefree street food vendor, baby!
You know what I like about Japan? The mobile food. And I'm not talking about going to the drive-through at McDonald's for takeout. Albeit a dying tradition, in Japan you can still get some food such as noodles, octopus balls and "yaki imo" from street vendors who cruise the neighborhoods. If you have...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 27, 2002
Do you speak like (pause) a teeeacherr?
Australian researchers have discerned that we use three different voices: one when talking with other adults, one with elongated vowels for talking to babies, and a high-pitched voice for talking to pets.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 20, 2002
Comparing how American and Asian kids sponge
Americans are known for being "kechi" or frugal. We don't like to spend money and often fuss over small change. We seek out the cheapest product before buying it and then return it if we are not completely satisfied.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 13, 2002
Giving our insects a permanent vacation
On July 7th, all bad insects left our island. How do I know? I threw them out myself, along with 40 other islanders.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 6, 2002
Goldirocks' Japan home stay experience
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Goldilocks came to Japan?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 29, 2002
'Mochi nage' -- organized food fights
Now that the World Cup is nearly over, those of us in Japan turn our attention to other matters, such as food fights. Japan must be the only country where throwing food is not only acceptable but encouraged. Whole neighborhoods gather to throw food at each other in a tradition called "mochi nage," or...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 22, 2002
Islanders ward off cholera the rite way
Out the window, I caught a glimpse of the yellow silk tails of a Shinto priest's robes. He was walking up the stone staircase behind my house, followed by men in black suits. I grabbed my camera and ran after them.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 15, 2002
The coming imperial hooligan regime
A couple of weeks before the beginning of the World Cup soccer tournament, I went into the local grocery store on my island. Yes, this tiny island has a grocery store -- with four aisles! (sorry, no salad bar). We don't need more than one store, because only 800 people live here on Shiraishi Island....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 8, 2002
To World Cup soccer fans: Uerukamu!
In Japan, we have only two languages: Japanese and a dialect of English called Japanese English. JE is Japan's second language. I call it Zen English because you can't translate it directly. A lot of the meaning is left up to the listener. Entire sentences are often expressed in just two words. For example,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 25, 2002
Petunia diet: key to a long, slender body
Are you a city dweller living in a high-rise apartment block? Do you miss having trees as neighbors? Have the few plants you tried to grow on the veranda died of asthma? I offer all you smog dwellers my garden: a virtual garden where you too can grow tomatoes and even pick off the worms. Or just be glad...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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