The Japanese concept of ikigai can be defined as one’s “reason for living” or “purpose in life.” Living in accordance to your ikigai results in a sense of fulfillment. Kasia, founder of Ikigai Connections, has taken…
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Tsukimi, the “Moon-Viewing” Celebration
Praying to the Harvest Moon As it is often depicted in Japanese pop culture, manga, anime, or video games, you may have already heard about ”tsukimi,” or more formally “otsukimi,” literally “moon viewing.” It is the most emblematic celebration in…
My Japanese Supermarket Culture Shocks
After living in a different country for many years, you adapt to the local lifestyle and tend to forget the things that surprised you in the first place. The last time I went to my home…
Japanese Cram Schools Are Not What You Think
Takahiro Goto is the director and a teacher at the cram school “GS Shingaku Kyoshitsu” in Hachioji City in the Greater Tokyo Area. Cram schools (“juku” in Japanese) are schools where young students study hard to prepare…
Teru Teru Bozu, the Japanese Handmade Charm for Good Weather
Have you ever seen this doll hanging by someone’s window in Japan? You have great chances to see them during the rainy season. Japanese children (and sometimes adults, too) hang these dolls called teru teru bozu,…
Iwata-san: Learning about Life and Leadership in Japanese
One of the things I love about interviewing experts and business leaders is the opportunity to learn while I work. I get to hear their experiences, process their wisdom, and share it with anyone willing to…
The Japanese Ghost Story “Yotsuya Kaidan” and Its Shrine
Japan has a tradition of ghost stories dating from the Edo period and if you’ve been there before you may have heard some of them. “Yotsuya Kaidan” or the Yotsuya ghost story, a story of murder…
Bouncing Forward: Helping Japan’s Fishing Industry after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
Takashi Suzuki is an assistant professor at Kagoshima University and a former project researcher at the University of Tokyo. Now a specialist in marine life and fisheries, he was a student on the Iwate Prefecture campus of Kitasato University student…
How My Home Is Making Me “More Japanese Than the Japanese”
The community of French residents in Japan often uses a funny word to describe and make fun of the French people who “want to be more Japanese than the Japanese.” They use the word “tatamisé,” which…
A Roadmap for Learning Japanese: How to Optimize Classes, Textbooks, and Flash Cards to Achieve Fluency
A few weeks ago, I was listening to a podcast about learning Japanese, and the host divided learners into two camps: those who use textbooks and those who don’t. I immediately thought, “Wait a second, what’s…