February 14th is Valentine’s Day! In Japan, Valentine’s Day is a chance for women to show their appreciation to the different men in their lives. Here’s what the massive $800 million Valentine’s Day industry looks like in Japan.
Setsubun: Japan’s Bean-Throwing Festival
In just a few days, everyone in Japan will be celebrating a holiday called Setsubun, which involves people throwing roasted beans at people wearing masks in a ritual meant to ward off evil spirits! Here’s everything you need to know about Japan’s centuries-old Setsubun holiday.
How to Write Your Name in Japanese (Katakana)
If you’re learning Japanese, one of the first things you should learn is how to introduce yourself! And you can’t do that unless you know your name in Japanese, right? Here is how to write your name in Japanese!
10 Famous Japanese Proverbs
It’s quite likely that you have heard the phrase, “fall down 7 times, get up 8”. But did you know that it originated as a Japanese saying? Nana korobi yaoki (七転び八起き), which translates to “7 falls, 8 rises” is a very well-known kotowaza (ことわざ), or proverb. Here is our list of 10 more famous Japanese proverbs.
The “Silver Week” Holidays in Japan
You may have heard of Golden Week in Japan, but how exactly is Silver Week different?
Top 10 Best Places to See Hydrangea in Japan
Every year in June, along with the rainy season, pretty clusters of colorful hydrangea flowers bloom across Japan. The beautiful flowers are called ajisai (あじさい、紫陽花) in Japanese. Some places are even famous for the incredible number and variety of hydrangea flowers. Here are 10 popular hydrangea-viewing spots in Japan!
How To Speak Casual Japanese ~7 slang expressions
When you speak casual English to friends, you don’t use perfect grammar and full sentences like you would when writing a paper, correct? Japanese is the same way. When speaking conversational Japanese, people rarely use the exact words and long phrases that you’d find in a textbook. Here is a 5-minute mini lesson to help you speak Casual Japanese.
10 Fun Things to Do in Japan in May
May in Japan is packed with a number of festivals – this is in part due to the Golden Week holiday period that happens every year for several days in early May. Then, the rest of the month is filled with good weather, sunshine, flowers, and lots of food and festivities! Here are 10 fun things to do in Japan … Read More
Japan’s Top 10 Wisteria-Viewing Spots
The end of cherry blossom season is certainly not the end of flower festivals in Japan! Every year, following the cherry blossoms, lush purple wisteria flowers arrive in Japan, blooming from April to May. The beautiful purple flowers are called fuji (ふじ, 藤) in Japanese. Here are the Top 10 wisteria-viewing spots in Japan!
From Tradition to Today: Japanese School Uniforms
When you were a student growing up, did your school have uniforms? Most schools in Japan do! Japanese school uniforms, called seifuku (制服), were introduced to Japanese private and public schools in the late 19th century. The uniform traditionally consists of a military-styled uniform for boys and a sailor outfit for girls, but Western-styled Catholic-school uniforms are also very common. In … Read More