This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘nostalgia‘. I wasn’t going to do another photo blog this week, but this theme was too good to resist. The word ‘nostalgia’ instantly makes me think of the Japanese word ‘natsukashii’ (懐かしい), which is one of those wonderful untranslatable words the Japanese language has so many of. It’s feeling … Continue reading
Back when I was a teacher at AEON we used to use these textbooks that had conversations in them for the students to practice. I can still recite bits of some of the more memorable conversations, and one that has always stuck in my mind is this one: It was a bit of a ridiculous … Continue reading
It’s time for ‘Japan by Prefecture‘ again! This is the series that aims to provide the highlights of each prefecture of Japan, along with my personal favourites and suggestions from readers. This week, we’re looking at Shizuoka (静岡県). Shizuoka Prefecture is part of the Chubu Region (中部地方) and the capital is Shizuoka City (静岡市). Thank you to Zooming Japan, Japan Australia, Uncovering Japan and Paul for making … Continue reading
I went along to a car boot sale in Bristol this morning and look what was waiting for me for the small price of £2: This ukiyo-e (浮世絵) print is ‘Tokaido Ejiri Tago-no-ura’ (東海道江尻田子の浦略図) by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎). The name can be translated as ‘Shore of Tago Bay, Ejiri on the Tokaido’. This piece is … Continue reading
It’s time for A to Wa of Japan again (a little earlier than usual as I’ve got a busy weekend ahead)! Last week’s post was about things beginning with に (ni) and we looked at ninja (忍者). This week we are looking at things beginning with ぬ (nu). A big thank you to everyone who joined in with suggestions this week: … Continue reading
To be honest, I’m not missing many things about London, but of all the Japanese-related things I had access to in London the one I do find myself missing is the ICN gallery. I don’t just miss the gallery because they have wonderful exhibitions, I also miss it because the people working there are so friendly … Continue reading
When I lived in Japan I became aware of the Tokaido (東海道), an ancient road which once connected Tokyo (then Edo) to Kyoto. The Tokaido was the most important of the Edo Five Routes (Gokaidō / 五街道), five routes set up by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康) (1543 – 1616) to connect Edo to other parts of Japan during the … Continue reading
As some of you will know, I’m a bit of a Kit Kat ‘otaku’ (obsessive fan). I even have a separate blog for Kit Kats (Kit Kats!), which was initially a page about Japanese Kit Kats on this blog but, when it grew too large, it became a blog about Kit Kats from all over … Continue reading
I’ve been a bit slack with my blogs these last couple of weeks, so I’m trying to catch up a bit now. On 23rd May I went to a fantastic event called PechaKucha for Japan, at the Institute of Education. A “PechaKucha” event, for those of you who don’t know, is an event where each speaker has … Continue reading
The J-Festa theme this month is “Japan in May“, so I thought I’d share my top 5 reasons to visit Japan in May. I know May is nearly over, but this way you can plan your trip for next year! March to May is generally considered to be spring in Japan, with summer (starting with … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 