Japanese flowers Japan is a country obsessed with flowers. From sakura cherry blossoms and Ume plum blossoms in the spring, to a host of summer and autumn blooms, Japanese gardens can offer some wonderful day-trips for the nature lover. In this Japanese language learning blog, Hachiyama sensei has written about a trip she took during the Golden week holiday with Japonin(JOI) Managing Director Ms...

Buddhism in Japan Buddhism is one of the two official religions of Japan (Shintoism being the other) and has been practiced in Japan since 552 AD. Buddhist temples can be found all over Japan, and there is a high concentration of these religious sites in the cities of Kyoto and Nara. In this Japanese learner's blog by Oosawa sensei, she introduces a central feature of many temples; the 5 storie...

Rainy season in Japan The rainy season starts from the beginning of June until the middle of July in Japan. It's wet and humid and therefore not one of the seasons that is loved by many people here, but there are a few pleasures to be found including hot springs and mountain walks. However, most people just bear it until it ends, and then the full-blown summer heat takes over. In this blog from...

Kawaii goods in Japan The word Kawaii in Japanese can be translated as cute or adorable. The word seems to have morphed into a universal expression which encompasses a lot of typically Japanese trends. There are many goods made in Japan that are designed to be cute. Their target audiences are usually young girls, but there are many objects including road construction site markers that defy under...

Mechanical pencils in Japan Japanese school children tend to write their assignments in pencil. This is true all the way up to university. In the British education system pens (more specifically fountain pens) were used during our childhoods, so finding High School and university papers written in pencil is a cultural surprise. The use of pencils means that pencil sales tend to be high and many ...