culture
In Japan, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May. It’s the same date as many countries — but the mood feels uniquely Japanese: gentle, warm, and quietly grateful. 🌸 Red Carnations Everywhere Walk through town in early May and you’ll see a wave of red. Flower shops and supermarkets fill their displays with red carnations. Ads read “お母さん、ありがとう” — “Thank you, Mom.” This custom came from the United States in the early 20th century and spread widely after World War II. Over time, it blossomed into one of Japan’s sweetest spring traditions. 🎁 Gifts Beyond Flowers ...
People are enthusiastic to learn new things to upgrade themselves. Kouminkan – community centre – is where to go. Community centre is a public facility provided and supported by the local government. Their main purpose is to offer residents the spaces for their multiple activities, which could be group meeting, event or anything that the space could serve for. Some facilities could be just simple with a few of meeting rooms while others could have multiple functions; meeting rooms, hall which is suitable for larger events and some indoor sports, Tatami Japanese room, besides some are combined with library and ...
In Japan, students receive school lunches — kyūshoku — from elementary through junior high school. Everyone eats the same meal, served at the same time, in the same classroom. It’s part of the country’s compulsory education and continues until the end of junior high. From high school onward, students usually bring their own obento lunch boxes. Kyushoku=School Lunch The system began as a way to ensure that all children, regardless of family income, could eat a nutritious meal during the day. It also lightens the burden on parents, who no longer need to prepare daily lunches. With a small ...
If you walk through a Japanese suburb on a sunny weekend, you might spot a patch of soil surrounded by neat fences — rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, and shiso leaves quietly basking in the light. This is a kitchen garden, or katei saibai in Japanese. It’s one of the most popular hobbies in Japan, blending the calm of nature with the satisfaction of harvest. 🌱 A Little Farm in the City Many people don’t have a backyard, so they rent a small plot from a local landowner or community garden. The space is modest — often just a few ...
Beauty salon for women is not only the place for hair treatment but also a place to feel relaxed. Just within an hour or two what a salon can offer the customers is where competition for elaboration thrives. Open the door and step into the salon, you will be cheerfully greeted by the staff. Your bag and coat will be collected to store in the closet. Then you will be gently questioned your requests for the day. Discussion Once you are lead to the seat set in front of the mirror, the hair stylist and the assistant will take ...
If you want to take a walk or kill time and don’t want to spend money, library shall be the perfect destination; fully air-conditioned and full of books, magazines, CDs and DVDs from the latest to the classics. Every local government has several of the well-stocked libraries per district. You can visit there and just scan the latest materials at the site or if you prefer, you can borrow them for a specific period, most of the case for two weeks and extendable, as per stipulated at each facility, if you are resident of the district. This system has contributed ...
Very early in the morning, much before dawn, you will hear the sound of motorbike going around the houses and apartments. They are ‘Shimbun haitatsu’ newspaper delivery. Although people who subscribe newspaper are decreasing than before, along with the spread of the internet that provides various information immediately, especially among young generation. Internet will update you per minutes. But newspaper delivery is still much alive. One way or another we must get things Win To combat with the internet news services, newspaper agents are very keen to keep up the number of subscription. They send salespersons occasionally to visit houses ...
Konnnichiwa (hello) must be the most well-known Japanese greeting. ‘Konnichiwa’ will be used any time after ‘good morning’ time but before ‘good evening’ time. ‘Ohayo’ is good morning. Ohayo followed by ‘Gozaimasu’ (oayo gozaimasu) is the polite version. ‘Konbanwa’ (good evening) is the greeting used in the evening and afterwards. Greeting at Departure When you go out, anytime of a day, you will say to anyone you leave behind ‘Ittekimasu’ which literally means ‘I’m going’. You will be answered by ‘Itterasshai’, let’s say ‘Have a nice day’. When you are back, you are supposed to say ‘Tadaima’ toward anyone at ...
Few everyday items reflect Japan’s love of precision and minimalism better than the so-called “sharp pencil” — what English speakers know as the mechanical pencil. In Japan, these aren’t just tools for writing; they’re a blend of engineering, practicality, and quiet beauty. What Is a “Sharp Pencil”? In Japanese, a mechanical pencil is called shaap penshiru (シャープペンシル) — often shortened to “sharp.” While many countries rely on ballpoint pens for schoolwork, Japanese students overwhelmingly prefer mechanical pencils. Why? Because graphite can be erased cleanly with a plastic eraser, keeping notebooks neat and legible. For most students, a sharp pencil ...
Keigo is the honorific language in Japanese, which is one of the major categories that have to be mastered to be a proper Japanese speaker. Let’s start from a simple example. ‘Sushi’: the most famous Japanese dish actually is hardly called ‘sushi’ especially among ladies, and the people who want to use polite speech: it has to be called ‘O-sushi’. Prefix ‘O’ denotes politeness. ‘Cha’ (tea) will be called ‘O-cha’, ‘Hashi” (chopsticks) will be ‘O-hashi’, equally. "Go" & "o" But it’s a bit tricky. You can’t put ‘O’ to just anything, as it should be ‘GO’ in some cases like ...
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