Water sports in Japan Since Japan is an island nation with many incredible beaches, going to the beach and enjoying some water sports is one of the country's main tourist draws. There are many prefectures well known for surfing, like Miyazaki and of course in the south the islands of Okinawa are extremely popular. From windsurfing to scuba diving and everything in between, you can find something...

Japanese dialects Japanese dialects are often separated into two categories of eastern and western. But in reality, there are many variations and even some types of spoken ways that are not strictly dialects at all but completely different forms of the Japanese language family. It can be confusing to understand various people from different prefectures and Japanese people are often very...

Japanese breakfast A traditional Japanese breakfast is typically some rice with some grilled fish, miso soup and possibly some side dishes of eggs or seaweed. This is part of a healthy diet, although some experts warn against the abundance of salt in some of the dishes. In this blog by Kumiko Yatabe a Japanese teacher, she explores another choice for breakfast...one that is far more familiar to...

Japanese autumn season The autumn season is a pleasant time in Japan. It is a good time to visit and go sightseeing since the weather is comfortable most of the time. In Japan, the autumn season is seen as a special season for many reasons. In this interesting blog by Akari Ueno sensei, a Japanese teacher at Japonin(JOI), she explains some of the ways that many Japanese people enjoy this season....

Japanese noodle cuisine There are many types of noodle cuisine restaurants in Japan. The majority of restaurants that serve noodles, cater to a single type of noodle and offer a unique style of cooking and original ingredients in order to differentiate themselves from the competition. In this short and interesting blog for Japanese learners, Japanese teacher Chiharu Takase talks about her...

Interesting birds in Japan Japan is home to over 400 species of birds and many are indigenous and endangered species too. Many species are protected and there are almost 200 protected bird habitats, since the islands are also a prominent lay-over site for migratory birds as well. For birdwatcher's it is a fascinating country, and there are numerous bird-watching enthusiasts and groups all around...

Autumn is the season for sports in Japan There is a saying in Japanese that can be paraphrased as; 'Autumn is the season for watching sports, reading books and eating great food'. Well, in the fall season of 2019 this is definitely true. The Rugby World Cup is being held here, the finals of the baseball league championships are also on TV all the time, and the Japanese national teams are...

Giant trees in Japan In Japan, you can find a lot of ancient nature and especially some very ancient trees. They can be found dotted around the country and often in and around Shinto shrine grounds. Many of them are designated as holy sites and you can often see huge ropes tied around them to indicate that they are sacred trees. Many modern Japanese people refer to these trees as 'power spots'...

Auspicious signs and omens in Japan In ancient Japan, much in the same way as many ancient cultures, there were many methods and ideas about how to read the future and predict the onset of good or bad times. With the widely varying seasons and natural disasters in Japan, for farming and fishing communities, predicting future weather conditions and phenomena was actually critical to the way of...

Osaka food Japan is a great country for people who enjoy a gourmet experience. There are many Japanese people and foreign tourists that travel throughout Japan just to eat the great food of different cities and prefectures in the country. Japanese online teacher Emi Sakude introduces one gourmet experience that can be found in her hometown of Osaka. But it is not what you would expect. When...