World Expos in Japan World Expositions or World fairs are always exciting events. They vary in themes and styles depending on their aims and the countries they are held in. The 'first World Expo' was the “Great exhibition” held in The Crystal Palace in London in 1851 and this year the Expo 2015 will be held in Milan. Japan has held several expositions. In Osaka in 1970, Naha in 1975, Tsukuba in...

Reviving Japanese traditions There are so many old goods and past traditions in Japan that have long gone out fashion. Their uses have been replaced with modern gadgets and practices, and they are no longer practical. But the craftsmanship of the old goods is really a Japanese cultural treasure, and many people have started to recognize the value of these customs and have started to revive these...

Learning Japanese through TV Japanese TV has some gems among some of the ridiculous and seemingly repetitive products. These often end up running for generations with dedicated fans. Yokozuka sensei seems to be one of these fans ( and I admit to having a special place in my heart for the program she introduces below too !) Watching TV can be a great way to learn Japanese. There are many shows th...

Japanese sweets Japanese sweets are known as Wagashi and are a high Japanese culinary art form. But also Western style cake shops can be found in Japan and people usually buy cakes when visiting friends' houses, for birthdays and also for Christmas Day. In this blog, one of Japonin(JOI)'s veteran teachers, introduces a very popular Western style cake – which is surprisingly found mainly in Japan...

Japanese traditional calendar The Japanese annual traditional calendar typically starts with the first shrine visit of the year or Hatsumode. If you are planning to go, it might be good idea to try one of the lesser known shrines first, because the sheer numbers of people, and waiting in very long lines to offer prayers at the more famous Shinto shrines can be a little daunting for the first tim...