Blogs edited and submitted by Chiho Kamioka

Japanese mochi sweets There are many traditional sweets in Japan. But one of the most popular is Mochi which is a type of Japanese rice cake made of mochigome. Mochigome is a special kind of rice that becomes sticky when cooked. It is often used to make sweet food. In this blog for Japanese learners, Japanese teacher Maki Igarashi, she introduces a standard spring sweet which is made from Mochi...

Pilgrimages in Japan Pilgrimages are an important part of Japanese religious experience and have been practiced since Buddhism was first brought to the islands by the monk Kuukai. They are typically centered on holy mountains or famous Buddhist sites and sometimes to Shinto shrines as well. This blog by Japanese teacher Megumi Ogura explores one of the most famous pilgrimages in Japan. The pilgr...

How many Kanji for the JLPT N3? If you include the Chinese characters from the N4 and N5 level, then the commonly quoted number is about 650 kanji in total that you need to learn in order to pass the JLPT N3. This blog for Japanese learners includes a fun way to study for this. You can learn almost 50 Kanji this way and it is an interesting pastime during this period of Stay at Home. Many stude...

Essential businesses and non-essential businesses During this time there is a lot of discussion about essential businesses and non-essential businesses. The types of work that fit into each category differ from country to country and even from state to state. But in this blog by a Japanese language teacher, she gives thanks to all those putting their lives and health at risk to provide services ...

Japan's “lockdown” Japan began an official state of emergency at the start of April, and local governments of 7 prefectures began their “lockdown”. This was further extended to the rest of the country in mid-April. But the type of “lockdown” has been different to many countries in the world. It has not been a forced lockdown and people can go out to parks and shopping as long as they are careful...