June in Japan The month of June in Japan is usually seen as the rainy season or the beginning of summer. It can be an uncomfortable month which is humid and rainy. The temperatures do not climb up to the highs of mid-summer months like August, but the humidity can be tough for many people to handle. Japanese teacher Ayako Suzuki does not like this month at all. But in this blog for Beginner lea...

Coffee in Japan Did you know that Japan is the 4th ranking country in coffee consumption? There are coffee shops and cafes everywhere and also vending machines selling coffee in cans. Recently, convenience stores also serve freshly ground coffee for a very reasonable price as well. In this blog for Japanese learners by Japanese teacher Yukiko Takane, she looks into the different ways that the wo...

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...