Tag - living-in-japan

 
 

LIVING IN JAPAN

Otono Kuboki, a Japanese Canadian hair stylist for salon chain Sozo, is a key figure in the company's mission to elevate the viability of Japan's hairdressing industry to foreign residents.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 11, 2025
Can an international makeover help Tokyo salons meet foreign demand?
Sozo Education aims to train Tokyo’s next crop of stylists not just in English vocabulary related to hairdressing but in the diverse needs of foreign hair types.
For the 20 Questions column this year, writers asked their interview subjects about everything from their lives in Japan to their thoughts on news topics.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 28, 2024
There were plenty of hot topics to opine on in 2024
We take a look back at some of the best answers that our interviewees gave for 20 Questions from throughout the year.
At each shrine and temple, priests create festive, decorative go-shuin stamps, and you can collect the marks of all seven of the lucky gods on one piece of paper (called a shikishi) to serve as a good-luck talisman.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 27, 2024
Start the new year not with one temple visit, but seven
The seven lucky gods pilgrimage is a less hurried alternative to the often-crowded first temple or shrine visit of the year.
A date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 18, 2024
Silent night? Not if you want to impress your Christmas Eve date.
In Japan, a date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
Fewer and fewer people are using the administrative consultation system, which will mark its 70th anniversary next year.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 12, 2024
Japan aims to raise awareness of administrative consultation services
Fewer people are using the administrative consultation system, which will mark its 70th anniversary next year.
Kumiko Shichijo provides tips on Japanese etiquette and manners on Instagram and says videos on gift-giving and hand towels have done particularly well.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 29, 2024
Kumiko Shichijo: ‘Living abroad helped me appreciate Japanese etiquette’
Worried about committing a social faux pas while in Japan? This manners expert hopes to help you be your most polite while out and about.
After almost a decade of traveling around the world, a working holiday during the 2019 ski season in Nozawa Onsen was to be Rowie Geraerts’ last hurrah before she settled down in Australia.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 25, 2024
How a solo yoga teacher built a wellness community in the Japanese Alps
A budding entrepreneur from Australia, Rowie Geraerts has created Shizen Collective in Nozawa Onsen — a new home for herself, locals and visitors.
As the weather gets colder, we are seeing an uptick in cases of influenza as well as COVID-19.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 13, 2024
The Japanese you need to get vaccinated before winter comes
With strains of both COVID-19 and the flu circulating, learn the words that will help you navigate a visit to the clinic.
An experiment by NITE shows an oil heater catching fire from leaked kerosene.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024
Consumers urged to check heater safety ahead of winter accident surge
Past incidents typically surged in November and peaked in December, with elevated levels of heater-related accidents continuing through April.
About 82% of all toilets in Japan have electric bidet toilet seats, with nearly all homes with flushing toilets having them installed.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 21, 2024
78% of electric bidet toilet accidents involve older models, report finds
Japan's product safety watchdog emphasizes the ubiquitous appliance's limited lifespan and advises users to regularly conduct safety checks to prevent mishaps.
Helping your child through their first experience with a school bully can be a difficult situation to navigate — doubly so if you're trying to do so as a non-Japanese resident in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 30, 2024
What’s a mother to do when your non-Japanese child is bullied in school?
The school experience in conformist Japan can be difficult for students who don't share things like skin color and language in common with their fellow classmates.
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024
First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.
Renovations are usually the most expensive part of the journey and the laundry list of what needs to be done is long and tends to get longer after the process starts.
If you're still trying to be active during Japan's record-setting heat, you should also know how best to care for yourself when you inevitably get a sunburn.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 31, 2024
Japan’s nasty summer has left you with a nastier sunburn. Now what?
Aloe facial masks, non-alcohol-based lotions and souped-up sunscreen can take the edge off the pain of getting a sunburn.
As if moving isn't stressful enough, Japan requires a host of paperwork to accompany your switch to a new apartment — a process that may get a little simpler in the near future.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 16, 2024
Online banking consortium to slash the busywork of moving in Japan
The free service is expected to launch in February 2025, with even more functions available online by 2026.
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Aug 10, 2024
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
There are easily affordable ways to work some more cooling elements into your runs.
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?
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).
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
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
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.
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
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?

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go