A slice of Japanese life with a professional Japanese teacher Yamamoto sensei has been teaching at Japonin(JOI) for some years and is out resident expert on business lessons as well as various other classes. This blog is a small collection of Yamamoto sensei's feelings and pensive reflections that he shares about his daily life. Read the blog and blogs below and listen to Yamamoto sensei read...

Japanese breeds of dog There are some breeds of dog that are native to Japan. Most of them were bred to be hunting dogs and are quite closely related to wolves. The oldest breed is known to be the Hokkaido Inu dog breed. Their features (longer thicker coat, and small ears) make them suited to colder climates. The Akita dog breed is well known for the story of Hachiko. And the most popular breed...

Rice in Japan Rice is the staple food in Japan. It is eaten daily by people – often for all three meals in a day. But there are some reports that as Japan modernized and society underwent changes, other food started to be consumed as an alternative more and more. And this included bread and noodles. In this blog for Japanese learners, Japanese teacher Yukiko Takane explains the connection that...

Top tourist sites in Japan Miyajima island in Hiroshima is one of the top five places for tourists to visit in Japan. Another top site is the Atomic Bomb museum in Hiroshima. This means that Hiroshima has a couple of world renowned places that are a must-see for sightseeing trips to Japan. The other places that are on the list are the city of Kyoto which used to be the imperial capital of Japan...

High school sports in Japan In Japanese high schools and junior high schools, there are a wealth of sporting activities and after-school clubs. These include baseball, basketball, volleyball, softball and soccer. And you can also find clubs for traditional sports such as sumo (traditional wrestling), judo (martial arts), and kendo (traditional swordsmanship) as well. Baseball, soccer, and rugby...

Using computers in Japan When you come to Japan and start to live in the country, or when you start to learn Japanese, one of the first hurdles you face is using the computer in Japanese. This has now become quite easy and only requires setting the IME into the Japanese language. There are many online guides to teach how to write and how to use the keyboard too. But in this blog by a Japanese...

Trends in Japan Japan is a famously faddish nation. There are trends that pop up, only to disappear soon after they become popular. And there are fashion and pop culture fads that become global phenomena in their own right. There are also many Japanese language trends that can be limited to certain age groups or even gender. In this blog for Japanese learners, Ms. Akari Ueno, a Japanese teacher...

What is Japanese Kanji? The word for Kanji in Japanese comes from two characters, Kan = the ancient name for China, and Ji = which means script of style of writing. The style of writing was brought to Japan in the 5th Century. Much later after the second World War,it was simplified into the Japanese style that is used today. Most Kanji characters have two ways to read them, and these are called...

Japanese education system The Japanese education system is often described as unique both culturally and in terms of educational goals. This has been a pro and in some cases a con for the population. The pros being the cultural emphasis on discipline and ethics while the cons being the system of memory focused education. But there have been some changes occurring in Japan, and Someya sensei, a...

Japanese Anime Japanese Anime has become a genre of entertainment of its own. In most of the world, the word ‘Anime’ points to Japanese animation products, but did you know that in Japan, the word ‘Anime’means all types of animation, not only domestic products? In this blog by a Japanese language teacher, Noriko Yokozuka, she talks about one of her favorite Anime. And it is a very popular Anime...