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July 16, 2024
 

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JAPAN LITE

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 19, 2003
Cosmo fashion takes over the classroom
Some of the biggest changes in Japan over the years have taken place in the world of academia. Over 10 years, for example, my university classroom has changed from reserved, plain-dressed girls who used to hide behind their bangs to a group of miniskirted, sexy, breasty teens who wiggle and jiggle their...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 12, 2003
Business Japanese using Braille method
I have learned business Japanese through trial and error, which is very similar to the Braille method of learning to parallel park your car.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 5, 2003
'Uchiawase' meeting reveals mooing OL
"Japanese is a vague language." I often hear Japanese people say this, but I've never heard a foreigner say it. To me, what the Japanese mean by their language being "vague" is that the reality is often very different from what you are told. On my planet, the United States, we call this lying. But in...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 28, 2003
Doing business: the 'uchiawase' vortex
It has never been easier to start a business in Japan. These days, anyone can register a business with zero money and an "inkan" stamp. Indeed, this is what attracted me. I thought: Hey I have no money -- I'll start a business!
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 21, 2003
The rainy season and umbrella politics
It always surprises me that with year after year of rainy seasons, the Japanese aren't better prepared for it. They slog through the rain and puddles with just umbrellas and arrive at work harried in soaked pants legs and waterlogged shoes. No one bothers to wear rain boots or galoshes. Umbrellas, and...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 14, 2003
Zen rock gardens: just rake and groove
Have you planted your garden yet? What garden? The container garden I taught you how to plant in a previous column. What -- you haven't even started it yet? I know, you're busy. You don't have time to water your plants and you absolutely hate weeding.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 7, 2003
If you love someone, give a slime stocker
The instructions were clear: Choose anything from the catalog, fill out the form, and it will be delivered to you for free. Anything from kitchen appliances to pearl necklaces. This was my landlord's way of thanking me for letting him stay in his own house for a weekend. He had already given me plenty...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 31, 2003
Flower power and the heathen gardener
It's time to water your garden. What garden? You mean you haven't planted your garden yet? Oh, you're too busy? Don't have enough space? No more excuses. I'll tell you how you can make a Japanese-style flower garden in just 30 seconds a day. Heck, you learned Japanese in 10 minutes a day, right?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 24, 2003
The 49th day -- tradition and cat hair
Four rolls of toilet paper, one bag of fried shrimp snacks, "manju," bourbon biscuits, two pieces of "milk candy" and some liquid soap. That's what I got on the 49th day of my landlord's death.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 17, 2003
Defensive perfume: to use, just fling it
It was a bad Japan day. After a full day of teaching into the evening, the train was too crowded to find a seat on the way home, and just as I was taking up the old Japanese horse tradition (sleeping while standing), a drunk "salaryman" sidled up and accosted me with bad English for an entire 30 minutes....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 10, 2003
Japan's most honorable form of death
"Well, you don't have a fever," the doctor told me. Next, he looked down my throat.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 3, 2003
Shinkansen: shared stink, flying fruit
This is a followup to an article I wrote a few weeks ago on how to ride the shinkansen. As many readers pointed out, I overlooked some very important aspects.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 26, 2003
How to tell if your neighbor is a yakuza
Several years ago as I was taking a taxi to work, the taxi driver took a shortcut down a small side street through an old neighborhood. When we rounded a corner, we were met by about 50 men dressed in suits lining both sides of the street and making deep bows. The taxi driver stopped behind a large black...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 19, 2003
Paying your last, last, last respects
When Kazuko, my next-door neighbor, came to my "genkan" at 8 in the morning, I knew something was wrong. She never comes to my house before 9. "Amy, your landlord has died," she told me.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 12, 2003
How to ride the shinkansen (and get off)
After 10 years in Japan, I still haven't figured out the bullet trains.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 5, 2003
In a second tongue, mistakes are nature
I taught all of Japan English yesterday. At least it seemed that way. I started out in the morning teaching 3- and 4-year-olds and ended teaching 75-year-olds.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 29, 2003
Food displays and questions best unasked
Japan is very creative when it comes to the presentation of food. Indeed, much time and effort goes into making food look so good, you'll pay big bucks for it. Here are just some of the ways food is displayed in Japanese restaurants.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 22, 2003
Funny money clothed in cute cartoons
Before I came to Japan, I hadn't used money in years. It's not that I didn't have money -- I just never dreamed of taking it out of the bank and using it. That's because on my planet, the United States, money is a thin piece of plastic called a debit card, inside of which are mathematical molecules swirling...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 15, 2003
The queen of England at a hostess bar
Every Tuesday evening, I teach a private "English lesson" to a doctor. The lesson takes place at a hostess bar, or a "snack" as the Japanese call it. This doctor has about 10 snacks he goes to regularly, and I know most of them. In one lesson, we will hit one or two of them.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 8, 2003
Amazing character goods made of pulp
With the current state of Japan's economy, many of us are wondering: Is this the end of heated toilet seats in public restrooms? Will we be expected to live our futures without free household cleaning sponges from the bank and individual trash bags on the buses and trains? Maybe.
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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