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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • REPORTERNami Minaki Sandra

Born and raised in Brazil. After graduating from university, She has been teaching shadow box crafts that she learned while in Singapore where she resided for three years due to her husband’s work and she is also a language teacher. She is in love with the life here in São Paulo where cultures and traditions of various countries melt together.

  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2026.09.16
  • Bunkyo Kokushikan Park
  • I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival held every July at Bunkyo Kokushikan Park for the first time[H1.1]. It is truly wonderful to be able to see cherry blossoms on the other side of the world from Japan.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2026.08.07
  • Casarão do Chá, a Cultural Heritage Site
  • Last year, I learned about a ceramics festival held every weekend in August on the outskirts of Mogi das Cruzes, a city 63 km from São Paulo. Unfortunately, I was not able to go to the festival, but I have been curious about the festival venue ever since. Looking at the photos, the building had a distinctly Japanese look, and I found myself wanting to see it even more than the event itself. So I decided to visit it right away.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2026.07.10
  • A 9,760-km Road Trip to Argentina and Chile (Part 3)
  • After leaving Puerto Montt in Chile, we traveled 109 km south along Route 7, the Carretera Austral, and reached a village called Hornopirén. Along the way, we took a 30-minute ferry ride across the sea. The thought that my journey through the Chilean side of Patagonia had finally begun was exciting, and even this small ferry ride felt like a bit of fun.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2026.05.19
  • A 9,760-km Road Trip to Argentina and Chile
  • I just returned at the end of March from my fifth road trip, which took us from São Paulo to Argentina. From Argentina, we traveled on to Chile and visited the Chilean side of Patagonia. It was a 24-day round-trip covering 9,760 km.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2026.03.25
  • MASP, São Paulo Museum of Art
  • The full Portuguese name of the São Paulo art museum is the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, affectionately known to Brazilians as “MASP.” The largest museum of art in South America, MASP is located on Paulista Avenue amidst rows of office buildings in the city center.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2026.02.18
  • Rodoanel – São Paulo’s Ring Highway
  • Rodoanel Mário Covas is a 176-km ring highway encircling the São Paulo metropolitan area. Construction began in 1998 under Governor Mário Covas, and while the northern section remains unfinished, the entire loop is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2026, when you will be able to drive the whole way.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2026.01.27
  • A Beautiful Concert Hall
  • Although I had heard about this concert hall having wonderful acoustics and people being overwhelmed by the beauty of the building itself, I just didn’t get an opportunity to go there, but I recently went there when a friend invited me.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2025.10.16
  • Brazilian Folk Crafts
  • Folk crafts and handicrafts are some of the souvenirs that travelers buy when they go overseas. I'm the sort of person who wants to have handmade crafts when I see them, so I've collected things like accessories, lace, and decorative objects.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2025.09.17
  • It's Cold this Winter!
  • People are asking a lot lately, "Are the winters in São Paulo always this cold?" This winter really has been cold, and for the first time in a long time, I've been wearing a sweater or a down jacket. At subway entrances and on main street sidewalks, there are a lot of thick socks, scarves, and woolen hats available to buy.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2025.07.28
  • Scented Candles
  • Have you ever used scented candles?
    Lighting a scented candle on a cold night creates a gentle flame and dancing glow that adds a sense of calm to the evening. Before long, an aroma starts to permeate the room as well, adding a luxurious touch. In a previous post, I talked about the floral and fruity scents used to make soap in Brazil, and these same aromatics are used in the candles here as well.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2025.05.29
  • Caqui (“Kaki” - Persimmons)
  • This is the season when you start seeing persimmon fruit in supermarkets. In Brazil, the word for persimmon is pronounced the same in Portuguese as it is in Japanese, which is “caqui” [“kaki” in Japanese]. This fruit was introduced to Brazil by Japanese immigrants and is harvested from the end of March to June every year.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2025.04.04
  • Cashback
  • You can use cash, debit cards, and credit cards to pay for goods in Brazilian stores, and there’s also a payment system where you do Pix on the spot. Pix is a system for instantly transferring funds between bank accounts used in Brazil. You pay using your smartphone or the like.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2025.03.12
  • Condominiums
  • In Brazil too, when you say “condominium,” you mean the sort of housing complex they have in the U.S. and Asia. It refers to a system whereby individuals buy an apartment, house, or land, and amenities such as gardens, swimming pools, playground equipment, and tennis courts are made available to the residents.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2025.02.13
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Have you ever heard of Brazil nuts?
    They’re nuts that come from a wild tree that only grows in the Amazon rainforest.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.12.27
  • First Visit to Argentina in a While (Part 2)
  • From Salta City in northern Argentina, we traveled 180 km south to Cafayate. Along the way there is a group of unusual rock formations called “Quebrada de las Conchas.” The appearance of these reddish-brown, green, and gray rocks changes as you drive along the highway. Here and there on the side of the highway, there are places to park, from where you can take a short walk to get to sightseeing spots.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.11.25
  • First Visit to Argentina in a Whiler
  • Ten years ago, my husband and I started going on road trips. We have been to various places, inside Brazil as well as Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. After the start of the pandemic, we couldn’t plan any trips, but last year we went to the Pantanal (in Brazil) and this year we managed to travel to Argentina.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.10.16
  • The Metro’s 50th Year
  • São Paulo’s first Metro line came into operation between Vila Mariana and Jabaquara. That was in September 1974. This year marks its 50th anniversary. Known as the “Metrô,” it is operated by the Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo (CMSP, “São Paulo Metro Company”).
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.08.19
  • Enjoying Cherry Blossoms in Brazil Too
  • When I looked up the symbolic meanings attached to cherry blossoms, I found that they vary slightly depending on the type, but regardless of the variety, the symbolic meaning attached to cherry blossoms as a whole is "beauty of spirit." It’s surprising that there are more than 600 types of cherry blossoms and that they come in tones other than pink. Most of the cherry trees in Japan are the Yoshino cherry (Prunus x yedoensis) type, but the weeping cherry, double-flowered cherry, wild cherry varieties, etc. are all beautiful.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.07.17
  • Building Boom
  • A lot of shops closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. When a shop you’re used to going to closes, the owners suffer financially, which made me just feel so sorry for them.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.06.26
  • Catastrophic Floods in Southern Brazil
  • Rain started falling in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on April 27. Then at the start of May, it turned into localized heavy rain, causing floods and landslide disasters. Disasters are affecting 85% of cities in the state.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.05.10
  • Dengue Fever Outbreak
  • Dengue fever has been spreading in Brazil since the start of this year, perhaps due to El Niño, and as of April, it has killed more than 1,000 people. In the whole of 2023, there were 1,079 deaths from dengue. The São Paulo City Department of Health announced that the number of cases in January had risen to 1.6 times the number in the same period last year. Cases have only continued to rise since then.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.03.25
  • Roadworks At Night?!
  • Without warning, workers started making a lot of loud machinery noise, like guhguhguhguhguhguh and duhduhduhduhduh in my neighborhood each night from 10:00 from the middle of January.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2024.02.19
  • Summer Storms
  • Powerful storms with high winds and torrential rains are part of nature. In Brazil, they are most common in the summer months, between December and February.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.12.21
  • Recycling
  • There have been a lot more things to recycle, like paper, plastic, and cardboard boxes since the pandemic because people have been shopping and ordering food deliveries online.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.11.27
  • The Colors of the Months and Their Meanings
  • To maintain your health, it’s best to consider nutrition and regular exercise. But as well as that, it’s important to have regular health checks. The most common diseases among Brazilians are heart disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.10.30
  • Pharmacies in Brazil
  • As the name suggests, pharmacies sell pharmaceutical drugs, but nowadays they also sell other products like medical equipment, daily necessities, cosmetics, as well as health and beauty products. They also offer things like baby care products, formula milk, and disposable diapers, and they have chocolate, cereal bars, candy, gum, and so on at the cashier counters.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.09.19
  • Non-stop Excitement in the Pantanal! (Continued)
  • Recently I visited the Pantanal, one of the world’s largest tropical wetlands. I traveled to Mato Grosso state in the west of Brazil, drove 145 km along the Transpantaneira, the road that traverses the Pantanal north-south, and arrived at Porto Jofre, the endpoint.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.08.18
  • Non-stop Excitement in the Pantanal!
  • The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland area, in southern South America. It covers 195,000 square km. That is a similar size to Honshu, the main island of Japan (227,000 square km). “Pantanal” means “big wetland.”
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.07.25
  • Cosmetic Surgery
  • Brazil ranks second in the world for the number of cosmetic surgeries performed. In 2020, that number was 1,306,962.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.06.12
  • Curitiba – A City to Aspire to (Continued)
  • I was still in elementary school the first time I went to Curitiba, the state capital of Paraná, and it grew on me a little more every time I visited. I get excited whenever the prospect of going to Curitiba comes up. In this article I’d like to tell you about a few of the city’s sightseeing spots.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.05.12
  • Curitiba – A City to Aspire to
  • Located about 400 km southwest of São Paulo is Curitiba, the state capital of Paraná. I get excited when going to Curitiba because it is tidy and has plenty of sightseeing spots. In this article I would like to tell you about this wonderful city.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.03.10
  • Elderly People’s Rights
  • Do you have anything to do with elderly people in your daily life? I think it must be quite difficult to understand the needs of elderly people unless you have a close association with them. All countries across the world are addressing the problems faced by elderly people. In Brazil, they have started addressing the aging population problem relatively recently.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2023.02.02
  • The character and characteristics of the Brazilian people
  • The Portuguese word for “Brazilian” is Brasileiro. Of course, Brazilians themselves are an ethnically diverse people. They could be the descendants of indigenous people, Portuguese colonizers, African slaves, or immigrants—Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese, Middle Eastern—anything.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.10.27
  • Brazilian Colors
  • The soccer World Cup kicks off on November 20th, 2022, so in Brazil they have launched what they call “figurinhas da Copa,” sticker collection albums featuring profiles of the teams appearing in the World Cup, the schedule, matches, and so on.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.09.14
  • At the Supermarket Checkout
  • “They ask all sorts of questions at the supermarket checkout, but I don’t understand at all what they’re asking.” That’s the sort of thing people starting a new life in São Paulo say. And they are probably right.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.07.29
  • The Lençóis Dunes
  • I left the small town of Barreirinhas, 250 km from São Luís, the capital of the State of Maranhão in the northeast of Brazil and headed for Lagoa Bonita (“Beautiful Lagoon”), which lies amid some big dunes.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.07.05
  • 4th COVID Vaccination
  • It’s almost winter in Brazil. The air is cold in the mornings and evenings more often in São Paulo. That means we have to be careful of influenza, and the City is calling on people to get their influenza vaccination along with the COVID vaccination.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.06.07
  • Things They Just Don’t Have in Brazil
  • When I was a child, what I liked the best when we visited Japan was seeing my relatives, but I also enjoyed shopping too. I was in elementary school, so I liked going to stationery shops. My parents would buy me everything, pencils with cute designs, pencil cases, scented erasers, envelopes with writing paper, memo books, and so on. When I got back to Brazil, I wondered why they didn’t have such cute stationery, and I used to look forward to visiting Japan again in a few years time.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.04.05
  • Consumer-Protection Code
  • I bought a washing machine almost 3 months ago and it was working fine until the other day when it started making a worrying knocking sound at the beginning of the spin cycle, so I asked for a repair person to come and have a look at it.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.03.07
  • Traditional Confections
  • The pandemic has meant going on trips less often, and going to my local supermarket more. It often happens that I have trouble deciding what to buy at my usual store from among the usual items. That might be why I sometimes notice myself slowly walking the aisles of the supermarket. And I might notice in the confection section something I used to eat in my childhood, and think, “They still have these?” In this article I’d like to tell you about some confections and so on that have been around a really long time.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.02.04
  • Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose
  • I had my second COVID-19 vaccine injection in early September last year and in early January I had my third, one month ahead of schedule. Here in Brazil they don’t call it a third vaccination, but a “Dose Adicional” (“additional dose”).
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.12.17
  • Domestic Violence
  • Inside the elevator of the apartment building where I live there is a place for putting up notices to residents. A new notice appeared there the other day. It said that the governor of São Paulo state has approved a law (Act No. 17.406/2021) that obliges residents to report incidents of violence in the state. That means notifying a police station or a Women's Police Station within 24 hours of a violent incident occurring.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.11.04
  • Renovations (continued)
  • In my last article I wrote about renovations in Brazilian apartments, removing old tiles, how tiles and other waste are disposed of, and the LED lighting people are using nowadays.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.10.11
  • Renovations
  • Here and there in Brazil, people are renovating and restoring apartments in buildings that were constructed a number of years ago. When I looked into it, I found that, “restoration” means returning an aging building to the condition it was in when built, and involves installing new appliances, replacing soft furnishings, and so on. “Renovation” involves adding new value to the original building.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.08.02
  • I Got My First Dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine!
  • COVID-19 vaccinations started in São Paulo City on January 19 this year. First to receive the vaccine were healthcare workers, then they gradually went down the age groups and vaccinated people aged 90 or over from February 8, and a week later, those aged 85 or over.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.06.16
  • Bioethanol Fuel
  • I remember how excited I was about turning 18 because in Brazil you can get a driver's license when you turn 18.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.05.21
  • Havaianas
  • Have you heard of Havaianas, the Brazilian flip-flop brand? Havaianas is pronounced "avaianas" in Brazil. Apparently, it’s called Hawaianas in some other countries.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.04.01
  • Coconut
  • Have you ever tried coconut water? Sipping cold coconut water on a white sandy beach is the best!
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.02.04
  • Birth Certificates
  • The very first certificate that a baby gets after being born is a birth certificate. Birth certificates serve an important role in Brazil.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.11.27
  • Portuguese
  • Ten countries across the world have Portuguese as their official language: Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste, and Macau.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.07.08
  • Second in the world in COVID-19 cases
  • Anything new in your lives? I’ve been reporting on the COVID-19 situation and the response here in Brazil since March. Many people who read my blog have reached out to ask if I’m OK, and I’m touched by your concern. Brazil has the second most COVID-19 cases in the world, passing one million on June 1.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.06.11
  • Helping Each Other Out
  • How are you going? When I hear news that restrictions on leaving home are gradually being eased all over Asia and Europe, I think we might be getting a glimpse of what will be coming soon, and I just keep on hoping that a novel coronavirus vaccine will be found. In Brazil, the infection is still spreading, while political turmoil is continuing, including two new Ministers of Health in a month.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.05.21
  • Time at Home
  • São Paulo city government gave the order to stay at home on March 20 and in that first week, family members decided where they would set up their own home office workspace. In my family, my eldest son uses his own room while my husband and I work out a schedule between us where we use the study and the dining table.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.04.30
  • Fique em casa (Stay at Home)
  • After the start of the year there were growing reports in the news about the coronavirus, and I heard that Wuhan, China was closed off on January 23rd, but that was a story about the other side of the world, plus, sightseers kept coming from all over the world during the Carnival holiday at the end of February, like every year, and big parades were staged in São Paulo and Rio.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.03.18
  • Bath Time with a Fruity Scent!
  • The fruits from southern Brazil are plentiful, colorful, sweet, and fragrant. They include fruits like mandarins, mangoes, pineapples, and watermelons, and when you order fruit juice at a restaurant, you get 100% fruit juice. It’s really good!
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.02.18
  • Food Delivery
  • In São Paulo these days you regularly see motorbike drivers carrying large, square bags on their backs. They ride in between the cars and they ignore the red lights, so what’s the big rush? The answer is: Food delivery.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.12.03
  • Education
  • Does Brazil have a compulsory education system? People often ask me this, so I thought I’d write about the educational system.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.10.29
  • Weddings
  • Up until about thirty years ago, it was typical for Brazilians to hold their wedding ceremonies in a Catholic church. More recently, though, many couples start living together without having a wedding.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.06.17
  • Pet-loving Brazilians
  • Over the past few years, I'd noticed that there were more pet stores popping up, and I also felt like I'd been seening more people in town walking their dogs.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.05.20
  • Northeastern Brazilian Cuisine
  • A northestern Brazilian cuisine restaurant named Mocotó (“calf's foot jelly”) opened in the northern part of Sao Paolo in 1973, the owner has been working hard to support his family ever since.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.03.06
  • Embu das Artes
  • Just 25 kilometers or so outside of São Paulo is Embu das Artes, where you can spend the entire day enjoying art in a relaxing rural atmosphere.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.02.12
  • Feijoada
  • Feijoada is a classic Brazilian dish made from feijão, or beans. The Japanese typically think of bean dishes as being sweet, but this one has a salty flavor. I describe the adzuki beans used in Japanese confections as “sweet beans”, but apparently the Brazilians still can’t get their minds around it.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.01.11
  • Happy Hour
  • Happy hour is a period of time when restaurants and bars offer beer, cocktails, and other drinks at a discount price.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.12.05
  • Mendoza, Argentina
  • I’d long heard that if you’re going to tour the wineries of South America, you’d best visit Mendoza in Argentina. Unsurprisingly, Argentina is the world’s fifth-largest wine producer, and the Mendoza region accounts for 70% of the country’s output. Perched at an elevation of 800 meters, it is an arid region with a cool climate that is perfect for growing grapes.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.10.05
  • Cafezinho (coffee)
  • Brazil has been the world’s number-one coffee producer for more than 150 years, turning out 3,019,051 tons in 2016. That’s 30% of the global total.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.08.17
  • Brazilian Pizza Laden with Toppings
  • Here, it is common for friends to get together and decide to order pizza delivery. Lots of different toppings are chosen so everyone can eat. Once ordered, a piping hot pizza is delivered to the home 30 minutes later. It’s such an easy, cheap, and delicious food.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.07.12
  • Fazenda Hotels
  • If you feel like having a nice relaxed weekend or vacation with your family in a natural setting, I can recommend a fazenda hotel.A “fazenda” is a farm, so a “fazenda hotel” is a hotel on a farm.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.06.13
  • The Soccer World Cup
  • Every year 20 teams compete in Brazil’s soccer champions league. Before and after matches, violent fighting among supporters hits the news.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.06.05
  • Sticker albums
  • Do you know about the sticker albums that go on sale about three months before the World Cup? In Brazil, they are so popular that people say, “if you never collected these stickers even once, you didn’t enjoy your childhood.”
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.05.18
  • Brazilian Bananas
  • Bananas. We start eating them in childhood and never give them up. They’re easy to peel and easy to eat. And they’re great when you’re feeling a little hungry. Plus, they’ve got lots of vitamins A, B1, B2, and C as well as minerals like potassium. And, they’re Brazil’s favorite fruit.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.03.28
  • Ramen Boom
  • I have childhood memories of going to Japan and my grandmother ordering home delivered ramen. I remember it tasted really good and I was amazed that in Japan they deliver piping hot food to your home.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.03.01
  • Eataly São Paulo
  • “Eataly” is made up from the English words “Eat” and “Italy.” It’s a place based on the concept of bringing together eating, buying, and learning in one place, with selection of good-quality Italian foods.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.01.31
  • It’s just not summer without ice cream
  • It’s midsummer down here in Brazil. The sun typically just beats down on us this time of year, but since January we’ve had a string of rainy days. Even with the rain though, people are still crowding into ice cream shops.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.12.21
  • Smartphone Apps
  • A newspaper report in April this year said the number of smartphones being used in Brazil was 168,000,000 and that by the end of the year, one phone would be being used per head of population.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.11.17
  • The Arrival of Spring
  • The seasons are not very distinct here in the southern country of Brazil. After a cool fall with no fall leaves, we go through winter without a snowflake falling, and then spring comes around again. At an elevation of 760 m, São Paulo isn’t humid even in summer, which makes it comfortable.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.09.27
  • Daiso Japan – Now Trending in São Paulo State
  • Even today it’s horrifying to think that Brazil’s annual average inflation in 1989 was 1,232.71%. People used to run to the supermarket on payday to do the shopping for the next month or so. Prices seemed to be rising every day, and people would look for shops with even slightly lower prices.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.09.13
  • Where Will I Go to Eat?
  • There are 12,500 places to eat and drink here in Sao Paulo with 50 varieties of cuisine, including Portuguese, Italian, German, Arabian, Japanese, and Chinese. There are 500 restaurants alone serving churrascaria, Brazil’s favorite, barbecued meats. With so many restaurants, it’s not easy deciding where to go to eat.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.08.15
  • My Journey to Peru
  • Recently I traveled to the neighboring countries, Peru and Bolivia in a four-wheel drive car. It was an 8,400-km round trip journey. Although I was still in South America, I found a lot of differences in the history, culture, language and so on.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.06.13
  • Festa Junina: The June Festival
  • Every June, a festival called Festa Junina is held. It is a festival for the Portuguese to celebrate St. John the Baptist (São Joao in Portuguese), and people in Brazil also celebrate St. Anthony (Santo Antonio) and St. Peter (São Pedro) during the festival.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.05.10
  • Health foods from Brazil
  • Brazil is a producer of propolis, which is highly regarded for its health benefits. The propolis from Brazil is a product of the African bee, which is known for its outstanding capacity to produce honey and propolis.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.11.22
  • Brazilian sweets
  • Brazilians love sweets. Dessert is essential after a meal, even in restaurants. Since salt and pepper are the base seasonings used in most Brazilian food,
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.07.26
  • The Metro System in São Paulo
  • São Paulo’s metro system was the first to enter operation in Brazil, and that was in September 1974. The total length of the railway system measured 7km, and it connected the Jabaquara Station and the Vila Mariana Station.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.06.07
  • Modern-day bakeries
  • Wherever you go in San Paolo, you are sure to come across a bakery pretty soon. Round about the 1940s, more than 50% of bakery owners were Portuguese immigrants, and the notion that “a baker must be Portuguese” remains widely held even today.  
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.05.02
  • A journey in a neighboring country: Argentina
  • At the beginning of March I left my abode in San Paolo for the town of Ushuaia, on the southern tip of the South American continent. And I made the entire journey – three weeks and 12,000 kilometers – by four-wheel drive! The places that really left an impression on me this time were Peninsula Valdes – a UNESCO Natural Heritage site – and Los Glaciares National Park. I would like to write about both of them here.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.03.29
  • The Rural Town of Cunha
  • Surrounded by mountains, with clean air and residents that are friendly, the town of Cunha is great if you want to spend a relaxing time. The town is located 217 km away from São Paulo as you head towards the direction of Rio de Janeiro. Its population is 22,000 as of 2015.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.03.01
  • The cathedral in Aparecida
  • Walking around in the city of São Paulo, here and there you’ll see Catholic churches. In this country where 99.7% of the entire population considered themselves Cathlolics in 1872, that number has diminished to 64.6% according to data from 2013. Even still, Brazil is the country with the largest population of Catholics in the world.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.01.18
  • The Magnificent Ibirapuera Park
  • Ibirapuera Park, a municipal park made in 1954 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of São Paulo, was ranked as one of the world’s top ten city parks in August 2015 by the British paper The Guardian (Aug. 7 issue). The issue emphasized the park’s size and this work of landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. It commented, “The park is lush, curvilinear in every direction, sometimes mysterious, sometimes breaking out into powerful colour.”Extending over a vast 1584km2 (221ha), this is the most visited park in Latin America. Many of the structures inside the park were designed by well-known architect Oscar Niemeyer, and they display silhouettes very unique to his style.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.12.24
  • Christmas Eve
  • As soon as December begins, Christmas decorations and illuminations pop up everywhere in the city, and display windows are decorated beautifully in order to attract and gain attention of customers.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.12.11
  • The Fascinating Feira (Open-Air Market)
  • Held in various regions throughout Brazil, the “feira” (open-air market) is embraced for their selection of fresh food ingredients.It’s said that back in 1914, São Paulo’s mayor Washington Luis officially authorized the open-air markets. In São Paulo and its neighboring cities alone, the number of the feira is 880, 12073 people have been registered. The feiras are open every Tuesday through Sunday, and sellers arrive to set up shop from 6 a.m. and sell until 1:30 p.m.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.11.13
  • Churrasco, The Brazilian meat feast
  • From the 17th century to the 19th century, in the southern part of Brazil bordering Argentina and Uruguay, there were a people called “Gaúchos” - a mixed-race of the local natives and Spanish settlers - who worked as cattle-herders in an area called the Pampas (plains region). The southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, is known as the Gaúcho state, while their grilled meat cuisine “churrasco” is representative of Brazilian culture.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.10.16
  • The Remarkable Development of Japantown
  • Did you know that Brazil is home to the largest settlement of Japanese immigrants in the world? Japanese immigrants, or Japanese Brazilians, are Japanese nationals who immigrated to Brazil as well as their descendants, including persons of mixed parentage.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra

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