Blogs edited and submitted by Chiho Kamioka

Learning Japanese through TV Japanese TV has some gems among some of the ridiculous and seemingly repetitive products. These often end up running for generations with dedicated fans. Yokozuka sensei seems to be one of these fans ( and I admit to having a special place in my heart for the program she introduces below too !) Watching TV can be a great way to learn Japanese. There are many shows th...

Japanese sweets Japanese sweets are known as Wagashi and are a high Japanese culinary art form. But also Western style cake shops can be found in Japan and people usually buy cakes when visiting friends' houses, for birthdays and also for Christmas Day. In this blog, one of JOI's veteran teachers, introduces a very popular Western style cake – which is surprisingly found mainly in Japan. You ca...

Japanese traditional calendar The Japanese annual traditional calendar typically starts with the first shrine visit of the year or Hatsumode. If you are planning to go, it might be good idea to try one of the lesser known shrines first, because the sheer numbers of people, and waiting in very long lines to offer prayers at the more famous Shinto shrines can be a little daunting for the first tim...

Japanese sweet culture One of the most distinctive parts of Japanese culture is the art of Japanese Wagashi sweet making. The sweets are often eaten together with Japanese macha green tea. The range of styles and tastes is incredible and many of the sweet-makers belong to families with long traditions of sweet-making, with recipes and techniques past down from generation to generation. Mitsumoc...

Christmas all around the world Christmas season is celebrated in so many countries now all over the world. Some countries, like Japan, are not traditionally Christian, do not have the same traditional cultures of Western countries or have different climates and local cuisine. Therefore there are often some variations to the Christmas traditions. For example, the Australians are famous for Christ...