Japanese desserts There are many traditional Japanese desserts that use local ingredients like rice and red bean paste. These include mochi and daifuku. But there are also some western desserts that use cream and butter for example cakes and cookies. But in this blog for Japanese learners, Japanese teacher Yuki Kamiyama introduces desserts that use fruits that are in season. Read this interest...

Japanese sweets There are many kinds of sweets to be found in Japan. From the traditional Wagashi which use local and unique ingredients, to sweets that were imported to Japan at various points of the Japanese history. In this interesting blog about interesting sweets, Kaori Ishibashi, a Japanese teacher at Japonin(JOI), introduces one type of sweets that sounds fun to make and delicious to eat....

Rail transport in Japan There are a very large number of train companies in Japan. The rail system in Japan was privatized in 1987 and the Japan Railways (JR Group) was established as a result. There are 6 regional JR railway companies, JR Hokkaido, JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Shikoku, and JR Kyushu, and also a freight railway company. And then there are many private rail companies that run...

Japanese pottery Japanese pottery and porcelain are one of the oldest crafts and art forms in Japan. There are many kilns and famous districts for pottery which are distinguished by the differences in local clay and traditional techniques. Since ceramics are held in high esteem due to their connection to the tea ceremony, the artistic traditions are well-funded and popular even among modern Japa...

Temples in Japan There are many temples and shrines in Japan. Temples are part of the Buddhist religion and Shrines are part of the Shinto religion. Some of these places of worship are very famous and have a lot of daily visitors for sight-seeing and praying. But others are less well-known but often have some interesting back story as to their origin or specialize in one aspect of life (like chi...