Japanese pickles Japanese pickles are an essential part of Japanese washoku cuisine. Usually they are served with traditional Japanese dishes along with Miso soup and rice. There are many ways to make Japanese pickles:- pickled in rice bran (nukazuke) , pickled sake lees or leftovers, pickled in miso, pickled in vinegar or in soy sauce. They each have special methods for preparation and a large...

The Washlet is a registered trademark of the Japanese company Toto. Since the launch of this product, a douche-equipped toilet, in 1982, the company has made design updates and technological improvements to their original series almost annually. These have grabbed worldwide headlines with their innovation. Many Hollywood stars and celebrities have also raved about their...

Convenience in Japan Japan is a country that values convenience very highly. There are many businesses that have become very successful by making services more and more convenient for their customers. Vending machines, for instance are ubiquitous ! Convenience stores are on every street corner in the major cities. And drive-through stores are not rare. In this blog by Igarashi sensei , a...

Hina Matsuri Hina Matsuri (or Girls' day or Doll's festival) is a celebration of the daughters of a house which falls on March 3rd in the Japanese cultural calendar. There are many traditions surrounding the festival including special types of food and drinks and some superstitions or beliefs that vary from area to area around Japan. But the most well-known point of the season is the decoration...

Brain training There are many ways to increase brain power and concentration abilities. There was a fad a few years ago in Japan of using the Ninentendo DS game consol to train brain power, but this seems to have quickly died down now (as many quick fads do in Japan). Getting a good night's sleep, eating nuts, blue berries, and fish are well known and long established methods of keeping the...

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...

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...

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...