Japanese Schooling, Part 2: School After School
Japanese students are easily overworked because they do more than just attend 50 to 60 more days of school each year than their American counterparts.…
Japanese Schooling, Part 1: A Brief Overview
This week we’re taking a look at the Japanese school life. Look for Parts 2 and 3 later this week! So you’ve finished all your…
The Obon Festival: A Tribe to Ancestors
This week was the festival of Obon throughout Japan. Obon, a Buddhist holiday, is a time for bonding with one’s ancestors and deceased family members.…
Utashinai: Japan’s Least Populated City
So far we’ve covered a number of Japan’s most populated cities in this blog. For example, Tokyo, Japan’s most populated city, is home to about…
Japanese Host and Hostess Clubs
If you’re familiar with geisha culture–and not the Western stereotype that a geisha is a Japanese prostitute–you know that formally entertaining a guest is an…
Traditional Japanese Ghost Stories, Part 2
This week we’ll take another look at a famous Japanese ghost story. Look over last week’s entry and compare the two–you’ll find some similarities. This…
Traditional Japanese Ghost Stories, Part 3
Summer is the season of Obon in Japan, so it’s high time for another look at a traditional Japanese ghost story. This time we’ll take…
Japanese Table Manners
If you enjoy Japanese food, you owe it to yourself to learn about Japanese table manners. Not only does the knowledge of this aspect of…
Traditional Japanese Ghost Stories, Part 1
Bloody Mary, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow… How many ghost stories from Western culture can you name? In Japan, where cultural beliefs born from the…
Common Japanese Superstitions
Knock on wood, don’t open an umbrella indoors… All cultures have superstitions and the Japanese are no exception. If you spend time in Japan or…
Rounin: “Wandering Samurai” in Modern Times
The traditional rounin is a wandering samurai–a samurai who lost his master, either to death or to his master’s fall from grace. Since the samurai’s…
Japanese Whaling Meat Finds Its Way to the US
A controversial subject for decades has been Japan’s decision to engage in annual whale hunts for what it deems a scientific program, a study to…