The Gakuensai: Annual Japanese School Festivals
In a few weeks, schools across Japan are going to hold their annual gakuensai (“school festival”), also often known as the bunkasai (“cultural festival”). The…
Japanese Royalty
Japan is currently the only nation in the world in which a monarch is addressed with the title of “Emperor.” The Japanese Imperial Family is…
Japanese Schooling, Part 3: School Life
Uniforms are required at most Japanese middle and high schools (and some elementary schools), public and private alike, but each school makes the uniforms slightly…
Enka Music
Enka music is a uniquely Japanese style of music that’s popular with the older generations of Japanese in particular. As the enka singers dress in…
The Particle “Mo”
The grammar section of The Japanese Tutor takes a closer look at a number of important particles in the Japanese language. Another particle you’ll hear…
Ginza: Glitz and Glamor
We’re taking a look at another area of Tokyo today: Ginza. Ginza is part of Chuo, one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo. Ginza…
Properly Greeting Your Japanese Host
If you spend a length of time in Japan–or even if you’re just there for vacation–you may be asked to join a Japanese family for…
Radio Taisou: Daily Exercises
Every morning at 6:30, the NHK radio airwaves play a special tune and encourages residents of Japan everywhere to join together for a special 5-10-minute…
On the Train: What the Japanese Find Rude
Some aspects of rudeness are practically universal–calling someone a rude name, for example–but others vary by culture. If you hope to spend any time in…
~ta Koto Ga Arimasu: To “Have Done” Something
If you’ve been studying Japanese with our language guides, you should have learned how to make a statement about an action in the past. For…
Japanese Curry (Best Served with Rice)
When you think of curry, you usually think of India, the homeland of the dish. In Japan, while they do have Indian curry on many…
The Japanese Hamburger
This week we thought we’d do something different when it comes to discussing Japanese food and instead discuss what the Japanese do with what is…