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 also the oldest remaining monarchy with a single continuing bloodline. The Yamato Dynasty, the name…
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 different. Boys’ uniforms can either be similar to a business suit (pants, blazer, tie, dress…
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 traditional Japanese kimono during their performances and sing slow ballads in vibrato style, you might…
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 is an upscale area of Tokyo, famous for department stores, restaurants, and other high-end boutiques…
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 dinner at their home. Knowing ahead of time what’s expected of you as a guest…
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 workout. Communities gather at local parks, employees at offices arrive early to exercise before the…
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 Japan or you meet Japanese people, you may benefit from a quick lesson in a…
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 example, if you want to say “I wrote a letter,” you might say, “Tegami wo…
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 a restaurant menu (it’s called “indo karee” in Japan), there’s a Japanese treatment of curry…
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 generally considered a Western food: the hamburger. To have a hamburger in Japan (or just…