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...
Regional festivals and dances in Japan
There are many dances and festivals all over Japan, especially during the summer season. Each local area has famous dances, for example, there is the famous Awa Odori in Tokushima prefecture in Shikoku among many others.
Kitano sensei, one of the professional Japanese teachers at JOI, lives in Sweden, but she was raised in Hokkaido in Japan. In her hometown...
Japanese seasonal fashion
In November in Japan, the weather becomes colder, and Japanese people start to change their wardrobes from the autumn and late summer wear to their winter wear.
Japanese seasonal fashion is an essential part of the nation's culture. And this blog from Yatabe sensei gives a personal and amusing view of the tough choices some of us have to make.
You can read this blog, a...
Okinawan cuisine and culture
There are differences between the cultures and food eaten around different parts of Japan. Okinawa, the southernmost island chain of Japan, has a distinct tropical climate and as result different cuisine.
One of these is the Hechima sponge cucumber, and Inamoto sensei, who has experience in traveling to various countries, and a lot of experience in teaching Japanese...
How to improve your lifestyle
Human biorhythms can be adapted to suit your lifestyle. And following the natural flow of the day and sunlight is a great way to improve mental and sometimes physical health too. This means, going to bed early and getting up early too.
The Japanese latest fad of “Asa Katsu” is based on this idea. And goes one further; try to make the most of those first few hours of...
