Impressions of daily life in Japan
Around New Year's time, you will see special decorations outside shops and in temples all over Japan. For foreigners, these public decorations are very interesting. Since we often don't have access to Japanese family life, the decorations put up by shops and temples are the best (and often only) way for us to learn about... Continue Reading →
In Japan, it is customary to send out New Year's cards, or 'nengajou'. While in the West, traditional Christmas and New Year's cards are gradually being replaced by electronic versions and e-mails, in Japan cards are still being sent through the mail (which I quite like). New Year's cards are big business in Japan. Every... Continue Reading →
When I first decided to start this blog, I spent a lot of time thinking of a good name. One thing that kept popping up in my head was 'The Japans'. The term comes from the novel 'Shogun' by James Clavell. 'Shogun' is the story of an English pilot, John Blackthorne, who washes up on... Continue Reading →
Keeping a pet is quite a challenge in Japan. Living space is limited and the rules about keeping pets are very strict. But the Japanese wouldn't be the Japanese if they hadn't found a very interesting solution to that problem. I present to you: The Cat Café. Cat cafés are places where one can go... Continue Reading →
Japan has an elaborate gift culture. Therefore it should come as no surprise that the Japanese are masters of gift wrapping. Their attention to detail, combined with their ancient tradition of beautiful paper makes for some of the most gorgeous gift wrapping I have ever seen. You might notice that the Japanese wrapping paper is... Continue Reading →
I recently got the idea to do a series of posts titled 'Japan in a word'. Japanese language is fascinating and holds many clues to cultural phenomena. I found that Japanese is rich in very specific vocabulary, more so than other languages that I have studied. When Japanese students of English attempt to literally translate... Continue Reading →
The Japans 