Why do Japanese people love かわいい (kawaii or 'cute') persons or things so much?It's very natural for kids to like such things but why does it even apply to grown-ups too?If you go to places like 原宿(Harajuku) or 秋葉原(Akihabara), you …

君が代は 【Kimiga-yo-ha(wa)】千代に、八千代に 【Chiyo-ni Ya-chiyo-ni】さざれ石の 【Sazare-ishi-no】巌となりて 【iwao-to-narite】苔のむすまで 【kokeno-musu-made】 These are the all lyrics of our national anthem 君が代 (kimigayo).It was writ…

One day, I was in abroad with non-Japanese friends...One of my friends jokingly asked me, " Have you ever seen harakiri?" " Ah...yeah...my dad did it..." I answered it with a small voice and a grief-stricken face.An awkward silence filled …

Oh my gosh! I hate this place - 歌舞伎町 (Kabukicho). It's infamous for its red light district and is one of the most dangerous places in Japan.However this place full of desires fascinates many people and draws them in every day, every ni…

Don't forget to pray when you visit a Shinto shrine! There are tablets hanging on boards or strings and spread on a frame. Those are called 絵馬 (ema). We write a wish on one side of the tablet, and if you turn it over, you see a picture.T…

Do you know what Hashi means? Perhaps it's written as 橋 ( bridge ) or 箸 ( chopsticks ).Nowadays it has different characters and accents. The sound of Hashi originally meant "connection". 橋ーBridge is a connection from one bank to anothe…