Blogs edited and submitted by Chiho Kamioka

Shrine festivals in Japan Many of the festivals that are famous in Japan are held in Shinto shrines. These festivals are usually held annually and many have meanings related to good forune. In this blog, from Japanese teacher Shiomi, she introduces one of the most celebrated festivals. The Toka Ebisu festival is held in many places around Japan and celebrates Ebisu, the God of Good Fortune. Ple...

Pets in Japan Japanese people are great animal lovers and there are many households with pet dogs and cats. The skill and availability of veterinarians is also astonishing in this country. Many people spend a lot of time, money and emotion in taking care of their pets. In this blog for students who would like to learn Japanese for free, Igarashi sensei shares her own harrowing but moving pet sto...

Birds in Japan The Japanese archipelago is home to a wide variety of species of birds. Many of them are migratory. Bird watching is a popular hobby and the coming and going of birds as the seasons change has given inspiration to many poems, music and art. In this blog to help students to learn Japanese for free, one of the JOI online school Japanese teachers, Murahara sensei introduces a bird th...

Japanese card games There are many Japanese card games. Ranging from the traditional Hanafuda and Hyakunin Isshu Karuta to the modern Pokemon card games and Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games. The traditional card games are sometimes played competitively, and in this Japanese blog for learners of the language presents one of the most popular games. Please read this blog in Japanese without Kanji read...

Japanese books Japan has a long literary culture and history. There are a large number of publishers for texts, novels, manga comic books and also picture books for children. In this Japanese learner's blog, Takase sensei who is one of the Japanese teachers at JOI, introduces one of her favorite and recommended titles. If you get a chance, try to find it and reading – it would be an effective wa...