Learn Japanese Online - JOI Teachers blog

Astronomy in Japan Japanese people have historically made the stars an integral part of their lives, as is common with many old cultures around the world. The Japanese however, tended to associate the stars with everyday objects rather than mythological Gods or animals. There are various names for the constellations throughout history and sometimes there are local differences in the names as well...

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...

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...

Japanese Campus festivals Japanese schools and universities have many cultural and intramural events during the school calendar. And in Autumn the campus festival season starts. Japanese Manga and Anime often feature these events in their story lines, and there are similar events in different countries too, but there is also a uniqueness to some of these festivals that make them “very Japanese”. ...

Japanese Sports Days Japanese Sports Days are a central part of the community culture. Although people who have never been to Japan might not have seen one in real life, the events are often featured in Japanese movies and Japanese Manga, so are often part of the standard images of Japan. Ishibashi sensei, a Japanese teacher at JOI, has a son and she attends his school sports day as well as...