Category Archives: culture

Christmas in Japan

Christmas in Japan

It has been a long time since I last updated this blog…
How have you been?

Last week I went to Seoul,Korea and Korea was so cold that I caught a cold…

The long-range forecast says it will be a mild winter in this year in Japan.
It’s good news for me!

Christmas will come soon.
Many streets and buildings are decorated with lights during the Christmas season in Japan.
christmas decoration in tokyo
In Japan, Christmas is like a festival not sacred event.
And Unmarried people spend time with their friends or lovers rather than with their family.

Some couples stay luxurious hotels or enjoy meal at a gorgeous restaurant,
and exchange gifts. The most popular gift is “jewelry”. (especially pair jewelry!)
Christmas is important event for Japanese especially couples.

I will spend time with my husband on Christmas Eve 24th Dec.
On 25th Dec. I will enjoy christmas with my friends!

summer feature in Japan

summer feature in Japan

When most japanese feels “the summer has came” ?
What is the summer feature in Japan?

1.Watch Fireworks
More than 5,000 fireworks festivals are held throughout Japan every year from July to August.
All Japanese likes fireworks because we can feel summer when we watch fireworks.
Young ladies wear “YUKATA” and watch fireworks with beer and food.
There are many stalls and we can enjoy food and drink.
The climax of any firework is a rapid-fire series of bursts called ‘star-mines’.
Hundreds of fireworks are launched to form a blazing curtain in the sky.
Unfortunately I could not go this year.
Still I cannot feel suumer…
If you have a chance to come to Japan in this season, please go to the fireworks festival!
It’s so gorgeous!
please check youtube → fireworks Japan

2.Beer Garden
“Beer garden” means the bar served mainly beer which is set up outside or rooftop of building.
It is opened only in summer from June to September.
See the pictures about beer garden→ click here
Japanese loves beer!
Of course, Not only Male but also young beautiful lady go beer garden to enjoy summer.
Nowadays there are fancy beer garden like “Hawaiian beer garden” with Hawaiian food and the Hula show!!
I’m going to go beer garden in this weekend!
This is the first time and the final of this summer.

3.Music festival
This is a common for other countries.
In Japan there are two major music festival.
One in Fuji rock festival.
This festival held in Ski slope at Naeba,Niigata!
The others is Summer Sonic in Osaka. We calls “samasoni”.
Of course, I couldn’t go…

How about your country??

japan culture

Japanese culture OMIKUJI

Do you know omikuji?
Japanese people like to buy omikuji.
Omikuji can buy in shrines and temples.

omikuji
This is a omikuji.
Omikuji = Draw your fortune.
This paper show my feature!
It helps people make decisions the outcome of future plans.

My total luck is “Great blessing” (大吉 daikichi)!
“Daikichi”(great blessing) is the best, and “Daikyo”(bad luck) is the worst.
And this paper shows about my study,marriage,transfer,health,love…etc.
It’s costs only 100yen(the most of shrines and temples).
When you’ve picked the “Daikyo”, you have to tie it like below.
omikuji
If you draw lucky, you can carry.

Some temples has omikuji written in English,
so let’s try!

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japan culture

national malady pollen allergy

Most Japanese suffers from pollen allergy.
This is the “national malady”.

There are many kinds of pollen allergy,
cedar,cypress,rice, ragweed… and so on.

Especially from March to First of May,
it’s really hard…
keep on sneezing, fever, like a cold.
So, many peaple wearing a mask to prevent pollen.
Sometimes this mask is useful for ladies because no need to put on makeup 🙂

Some people cannot hang the washing out on the balcony
because pollen will stick to the clothes!

You have a pollen allergy suddenly!
Take care!!

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japan culture

Zen experience

Do you know “ZEN”?

zen

Human being think selfish.
This behavior makes “Kleshas” like worries,anger,resentment,jealousy and desire.
ZEN can remove all Kleshas.

Steve Job met ZEN in 1970’s and visit KOKE-DERA(temple) incognito in Kyoto with his family.
Zen had a great influence on him.
※Next I will tell you about KOKE-DERA. Here is a World Heritage! so beautiful!

If you have interested in ZEN, please visit “SHUNKO-IN”.
You can experience ZEN with English explanation.
Cost is 2000 yen and you have to make a reservation before visit.
Please check the schedule and contact.
For more details, click HERE!

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japan house

Data shows that the average area of a single property in Japan is 94.13 m².
The average for Toyama, 151.37 m², is the largest, followed by Fukui and Akita.
Properties near the Japan Sea coast area have bigger areas than in other locations.
On the other hand, the average for Tokyo, 63.94 m², is the smallest,
while other big cities such as Osaka and Kanagawa also tend to have smaller areas.

These days we can see many very tall skyscraper apartment buildings and public apartments,
reflecting the lack of available land for housing. Nationally, on average,
about 52 percent of houses are purchased.
However, the proportion of purchased houses in the 23 districts of Tokyo is only about 24 percent. In Tokyo,
the number of purchased apartments is 19 percent, while the figure for rental apartments,
28 percent, is the highest in the country.
The national average for rented apartments as a proportion of all homes is about 13 percent,
so the rental rate in Tokyo has reached twice the national average.

The homeownership rate is increasing among people in their 30s,
and has reached more than 60 percent for those in their 40s.
Properties are very expensive in Japan but it seems that people still like to own their own home if they can.
Even though new apartments are increasing in number, people continue to enjoy traditional Japanese aesthetics
and there are many homes which still have at least one Japanese-style room.

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japan culture

traditional Japanese houses

Most traditional Japanese houses are made of wood and have a Japanese style room,
which has tatami flooring.
The tokonoma, an alcove, is a space for decoration where people display Japanese drawings,
flowers and so on.
You can usually experience the Japanese aesthetic in this space.
Shoji, wooden framed sliding doors covered with Japanese paper,
produce the distinctive shadow and light of Japanese houses by making the sunlight
softer as it comes through the paper.
While concrete houses with wooden floors are also popular these days,
Japanese people still like to have at least one Japanese style room in their house.

Japan from a geographical point of view, has a lot of earthquakes,
so the brick houses often seen in Western countries are not suitable for Japan.
Even if you see what appears to be a brick house, it probably just has brick-like tiles on the walls.
Sliding doors used to be used for the entrance, but Western style doors are common now.
Also kawara, a traditional Japanese tile, used to be a common material,
but many houses have Western tiles or flat, accessible rooftop balconies these days.

Since Japan is an island country with rough terrain,
the areas suitable for living are overcrowded and there is a shortage of land.
As a result, land is very expensive and a house with a garden in the city
tends to be beyond most people’s reach.
Compared to houses in Western countries, which are made with stone and bricks
and so retain their value, wooden Japanese houses are said to have a useful life of only 30 years
and a depreciation period of about 15 years.
After a certain number of years wooden houses tend to lose value as an asset.
Many people say that we need to change the house valuation criteria to reflect this.

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japan culture

Japanese sports “SUMO”

Sumo is the national sport in Japan. It is a kind of martial art where two sumo wrestlers,
or rikishi, fight in a ring, or dohyo.
As you may already know, a wrestler loses the bout if he is forced out of the ring,
or if any part of his body other than the soles of his feet touch the ground.

sumo

To be a sumo wrestler, you must be at least 173 centimeters tall and weigh 75 kilograms.
It is said that some people who were not tall or heavy enough,
hit their heads to get a lump or drink a lot of water before the measurement.
There was one wrestler who even had surgery to put silicon on the top of his head before the measurement.
You see many sumo wrestlers, however, who are taller than 180 cm and weigh over 100kg.
They have their hair tied up in a certain style, called oicho.
This is not just a matter of aesthetics, but protects the wrestlers’ heads when they go head-to-head
at the beginning of the match or if they fall out of the ring.

The Japan Sumo Association holds six tournaments, or hon-basho, each year.
Tokyo hosts hon-basho in January, May and September, Osaka plays host in March,
Nagoya in July and Fukuoka in November.
Sumo wrestlers wear a silk belt, or mawashi, which is 10 meters long and weighs four to five kilograms.
They also attach fringes, or sagari, which have 17 to 21 strings to the belt.

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japan culture

Japanese culture maid cafe

Have you ever heard “maid cafe”?
maid
cosplay cafe!!

There are many maid cafe in “Akihabara“, Tokyo. or “Nipponbashi” Osaka.
Waitress dressed in maid costume and act as servant, and customers act like master.
When I went to Bogota,Colombia, I found a maid cafe!
So surprised!

cosplay group
And there are many people wearing a costume of anime character!
If you like Japanese anime, you should go Akihabara and really enjoy.
Sometimes, we can see the foreigners wearing a costume!

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japan culture

Japanese culture

Today’s topic is 『Bonsai』.
bonsai

flower bonsai

Bonsai is the horticultural art of miniature potted tree and plants
which have been grown for a long time to look as they appear in nature.

Recently, bonsai gathered attention overseas and
there has been a trend towards seeing it in a new light, and as a new awareness of bonsai
has grown as it has become a stylish hobby among young people.

The evaluation of ” JAPANESE BONSAI” is very high in the world,
there are professional books in the United States, Spain, and France.
In Italy, there are bonsai universities and museums!

There are 『bonsai village』in Saitama city, Saitama.
People who loves bonsai and bonsai suppliers gather here.
So, many tourists from overseas also visit here!
If you have a interested in Bonsai, you must visit !!

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