Others

Holidays of Japan

Our impression of Japanese is that of worker bees, but they have a 15 day extended paid holiday, which is either used or not used. Let us look at the various attitudes towards holidays and the way of life.

Arts & Culture

Cultural Similarities

Throughout history, India–Japan relations have traditionally been strong. For centuries, India and Japan have engaged in cultural exchanges, primarily as a result of Buddhism which spread indirectly from India to Japan, via China. India is the largest recipient of Japanese

Food

Ramen

Bowls of steaming hot soup and noodles, slurping not considered rude while eating, born in China but remained well known in Japan. Ramen, from kanto to kansai, is everyone’s favorite dish, it is hearty, filling and cheap. Let us learn more about Ramen.

Food

CONVEYOR BELT SUSHI – Kaiten sushi

One of the many things you have to try in japan is eating sushi from a conveyor belt. Plates of sushi pass by customers, you can quickly eat and get going or slowly have an experience. Let us look at tradition meets technology.

Fashion

Fashion for Health? Harajuku

Walking around Harajuku you can see a lot of youngsters dressing up in rather eccentric out of the ordinary clothes as a form of art and expression. There are also some styles that are specific to tackling mental illnesses. Let’s find out more.

Food

MISO

A fermented soy based paste is the bedrock of Japanese cuisine, it is used in soups, simmered dishes and everywhere it is required. Long lasting and nutritious it is and was a valuable source of food for the Japanese.

Innovation

Stationery

One of my favorite things to buy as souvenirs from Japan is stationery, because they are high quality, useful, and very different from anything you would expect out of a simple pen or eraser. We’ll explore the technology, sense of fun and innovation behind Japanese stationery.

Travel

Convenience stores

Convenience store unlike corner shops can be seen wherever you go in Japan, so much that it has its own word in Japanese called “conbini”. These compact stores have everything a person would need as essentials for 24 hours a day, 365 days in a year. Let us find out the different strategies and methods used by these stores to survive in a cut throat competitive market.

Food

Japanese curry

Japanese of all ages, young an old love the Japanese curry with rice! Though the routes are Indian, it is nothing like the Indian curry? Let us look at the journey of curry to Japan and how it is a national favorite.

Arts & Culture

Geisha - The epitome of Japanese culture

Geisha, a word that most people have heard of and associate it with the beautiful Japanese women wearing kimonos and white painted faces. But that is not all that earned them the title. Let’s go back in time and learn more about them.

Arts & Culture

Matcha

Used in traditional tea ceremony to a Starbucks special of matcha latte, this green power powder is said to be one of the reasons for the lifespan of Japanese. Let’s find out more.

Others

A Translator’s Challenges - Pokemon

“You” is said to be one of the most difficult word to translate, but what about puns? Pokemon is full of puns from names to dialogues. As I started learning Japanese, I realized how difficult a job it is to be a translator and also how fascinating it is.

Arts & Culture

Rakugou: A one man show

Much like mono-acting, Japan has a traditional art form of storytelling in times where technology had not made its way yet.

Travel

Rural Japan – Toyooka

An experience, surrounded not by a concrete jungle but by paddy fields.

Others

Abbreviations in Japanese

As you finish N4 and enter N3, you tend to notice some words which are loaned from different languages, usually written in katana, there are also shortened versions of the same loaned words which you might have to remember. I’ll introduce these sometimes easy to identify, but many times not, words used generally and specifically used in social networking.

Travel

LOVING THE FOUR SEASONS: WINTER

As regions in Japan go from blazing colours, a frigid chill engulfs the whole of Japan, while you may not see sheets of snow in the metropolitan cities, areas surrounding mountains and northern regions are regularly covered by fresh sheets of snow.

Travel

LOVING THE FOUR SEASONS: AUTUMN

Autumn, the season of bright colours and lovely insects in contrast to the dead of summer, temperature drops as the land prepares for winter. Just before the dread of the cold, autumn starts with a pleasant weather.

Arts & Culture

LOVING THE FOUR SEASONS: SUMMER

A four part series about Japan’s seasons beginning with spring, and continuing on to summer, after the rains of course. We may not hear a lot about the rains in Japan, but summer is the season of youth! Vacations! Beaches and Pools! I’d suggest a read on spring first and then start summer to see the transformation of lifestyle.

Arts & Culture

LOVING THE FOUR SEASONS- SPRING

A four part series about Japan’s seasons beginning with spring. Explore in depth on the different lifestyle of the people such as the food they eat, the clothes their wear and the festivals they celebrate depending on the season.

Arts & Culture

THE KIMONO- WHEN, WHERE, WHAT

Although, we do not see the kimono being worn as a casual clothing anymore, during auspicious, important events in a Japanese person’s life, the go-to outfit is definitely the kimono. The Kimono has a variety of distinguishable features depending on the occasion, event and age at when it is worn. Let’s learn about what type of kimono is worn on what occasion.