Christmas lights in Japan Even though Japan is not a Christian country, the season of Christmas is celebrated very widely. Most cities reserve budgets for the annual Christmas decorations and of course shops and department stores add to the festive spirit. The illuminations in Kobe city are not strictly Christmas decorations however. Read this Japanese learner's blog below by Sakude sensei who l...
Blogs edited and submitted by Chiho Kamioka
JOI Support staff and manager.
Christmas lights in Japan Even though Japan is not a Christian country, the season of Christmas is celebrated very widely. Most cities reserve budgets for the annual Christmas decorations and of course shops and department stores add to the festive spirit. The illuminations in Kobe city are not strictly Christmas decorations however. Read this Japanese learner's blog below by Sakude sensei who l...
Japanese trees Along some of Japan's most celebrated streets you can find some trees lining the sidewalks. In Tokyo, along Omote Sando street, there are are some Keyaki trees which are also known as Japanese zelkova trees. They create a nice atmosphere to walk during the different seasons. In this blog by Japanese teacher Yatabe sensei, she talks about this topic and introduces some vocabulary ...
Autumn leaves in Japan In Japan, the viewing of autumn leaves is known and Koyo. It is almost as popular as viewing cherry blossom leaves in the spring months. There are many fantastic autumn leaves viewing spots all over the country. Since the practice has been popular for centuries, there are any number of forests and groves that were planted purposefully for this event. Inamoto sensei is one...
Japanese fireworks Fireworks festivals (or hanabi taikai) in Japan are usually summer events. There are hundreds of events during the season, with some notably larger than others. The most popular fireworks shows draw huge crowds and people travel from far to view them. In this blog by Murahara sensei, she focuses on a fireworks show in Kagoshima city that was held out of season. Find out more b...
Japanese Sumo Sumo (or 相撲 in Japanese ) is a wrestling bout in which the wrestlers (or rikishi) try to push one another out of a round arena (or dohyō) or make another wrestler fall down in the ring. The sport is considered as the national sport of Japan, and there are many foreign rikishi in recent years competing professionally in Japan. This interesting blog by Kinoi sensei, a professional J...