There are many examples of manners and etiquette particular to Japan. I would say gift giving is one of the most complicated and sensitive areas of Japanese etiquette. This is…

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland is one of the most popular overseas books for children in Japan. Alice is not only famous for its story but also its characters, description of…

  “Joshi-kai” means a gathering for girls/women only. The original “joshi-kai” referred to dining out only with female friends (no males allowed). It is said that the Japanese “joshi-kai” originated…

  Recently in Japan, a rash of stupid incidents have been been occurring. The one that triggered thousands of copycats incidents was reported on a hot day this past summer….

Fishing is one of the popular outdoor pastimes of Japanese men, and you can sometime find a fishing pond in your town where you often see a salary man fishing…

A few decades ago, it was often said that Japanese single ladies are highly interested in ticking each box of ‘‘3 highs – high income, high academic achievement, high (tall)…

  Tokyo won bid to host 2020 Olympic Games, and we are expecting visitors from many different countries and regions with diverse cultures. Illustrating this is a recent thought-provoking incident of…

The other day I read an interesting article about a unique rental business. According to the article, you can rent an “ossan” at the hourly rate of ¥1,000 (about US$10). Well,…

  Surprisingly or not, house-sharing is a new style of living in Japan. It has suddenly become such a popular style and also a social trend which has been largely…

  Do you enjoy Karaoke? Do you go and sing with a bunch of your friends? Or do you go to enjoy your time alone to sing and release your…

(picture and text unrelated)   Today’s topic is a flooring material which is made of wooden disposable chopsticks. This was started as a part of Nippon Kikan Project by Bunshodo…