Japanese consumer marketing Japanese consumers can be very fickle yet also very loyal customers. They can stick with a custom or create a new habit which continues for decades or even generations, and are apt to jump onto a quick fad that lasts for only a matter of weeks. There are many strategies that are housed in cultural images but are really just a clever marketing ploy by a certain...

Japanese traditional local events In Japan, there are a great number of local traditional events held in towns and villages all over the country.The local cuisine and craft specialties are often used and help to make each of the events unique to the area. If you are ever in Japan on holiday, we recommend that you research any local events that might be occurring near where you are traveling. In...

in Japan If you visit Japan in March and April, you will tend to see many people wearing masks. This is not due to air pollution or due to colds, but it is probably because many people are hay fever sufferers. The Japanese hay fever phenomenon was created by a forestation policy decision made shortly after World War II. This policy involved planting Japanese cypress and cedar which...

Traditional Japanese businesses Japan is a country with old age customs and a rich culture of businesses and merchants that have been around for a very long time. There are more than 50,000 businesses that are over 100 years old. Of those, about 4,000 of them have been running for more than 200 years. As you can imagine, with a history of business stretching back so far, there are some...

The end of the Heisei era The Japanese imperial era of Heisei 1989 began on Sunday, January 8 and ends on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. Recently in Japan, the local media have been highlighting the successes, trends and changes that were made within Japanese society within this period. The period encompassed the 'Bubble Era' of financial and economic successes when Japan rose to great heights in...

Japanese shrines and temples When traveling in Japan you can find some very traditional architecture and atmospheres at the shrines and temples. At first glance, they do seem rather similar but they are actually quite different in religion, customs and uses. The typical answer you might receive if you ask most Japanese people about the differences, is often a simple explanation of the different...

Japanese rice cakes They are very popular during the winter and especially during the New Year season, but you can enjoy them all year in a variety of different cooking methods. In this Japanese language learning blog, Japanese teacher Yuko Momoki who lives in Yamanashi prefecture, introduces one of the prefecture's most popular rice cake sweets. Japanese rice cakes or mochi are one of Japan's...

Japanese raw cuisine Japan has a tradtion of eating raw food. Raw fish is a staple of Japanese cuisine or Washoku. There is of course sushi and sashimi but there is also a custom of eating raw eggs. The most popular way to do this is with rice. With the popular dish Sukiyaki being an example. Yet this blog for Japanese language learners introduces an even simpler speciality. The blog is written...

Imported words in Japanese Gairaigo are loan words or imported words into Japanese of foreign origin. Many of them come from English and Chinese but there are some words from other European languages too. In Japanese these words are usually written in the katakana phonetic script, but some have Kanji readings attached to them which are often known as 'ateji'. In this blog for language learners,...

Japanese sweet and snack makers Japan has a huge number of snack and sweet producers. From the traditional makers of Wagashi which are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with tea, to the modern snacks and potato chips that you can buy in supermarkets and convenience stores all over the country. Some snacks are considered local delicacies and domestic tourists often buy these...