All posts tagged "Culture"

  • Long-Term Residency to be offered to 4th-Gen of Japanese Descent

    Japan’s Immigration Services Agency plans to launch a new program as early as this year to grant long-term residency to fourth-generation foreigners of Japanese descent, government sources said Tuesday. Under the program, those eligible for long-term residency...

    • Posted June 7, 2023
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  • Weight watching but craving for cheesecake? Try Japan’s soufflé-style cheesecakes

    A Japanese soufflé-style cheesecake is a low-calorie variety of cheesecake, usually lighter in texture and less sweet than American-style cheesecakes. It has an airy texture when fresh out of the oven and a chiffon cake-like texture when...

    • Posted May 30, 2023
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  • Family-friendly places to go for cherry blossoms viewing in Tokyo

    The cherry blossoms season is upon us.  Anyone who’s been in Japan for a long time knows the drill. Get your leisure mats ready and pick your spot at any of these four legendary ohanami parks for...

    • Posted March 22, 2023
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  • Fashion guru Issey Miyake passes away

    World famous Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake died of liver cell cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Friday at the age of 84. The internationally acclaimed brand creator, whose real name was Kazunaru Miyake, was awarded the...

    • Posted August 10, 2022
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  • What does Japan think of Gender Bias?

    When Shiori Ito, a Japanese woman who became a symbol of Japan’s #MeToo movement won a civil case against Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a former broadcast journalist who she sued for rape, the topic of gender bias has become...

    • Posted February 14, 2022
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  • Look to 2022 lucky bags for workation opportunities.

      The object of  New Year shopping tradition in Japan is to find a lucky bag or  fukubukuro with unknown random contents sold at really bargain prices. These are usually discounted by half or more of the...

    • Posted November 16, 2021
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  • The important life skills children learn in a Karate class.

    Karate is in itself both an art form and sport. Though the styles taught to students vary with philosophical, traditional, and technical aspects, karate remains Japan’s staple martial arts. Today, there are about twenty three million people...

    • Posted July 26, 2021
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  • “Polar Summer Night” builds a cultural bridge between Finland and Japan at the Puijo Tower

    Post-war Japanese artist Kaii Higashiyama (1908–1999), best known for his Nihonga style paintings, made a creatively fruitful trip to the Nordic countries in the spring and summer of 1962. While he was visiting Finland, the beautiful nature...

    • Posted December 23, 2020
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  • Japan grows trees without using much land.

    Did you know that Japan has been producing more trees for centuries using no land? In the 14th century, Japan invented a pruning technique called “Daisugi”, a process that requires hand pruning every two years. Such technique...

    • Posted December 7, 2020
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  • Japanese artist carves animals out of Tangerine peels.

    Japan has fascinated the world with different forms of art in which nature is always central to its philosophy. Everyone knows the metaphor of Kintsugi, the art of repairing and preserving a broken pottery with gold to...

    • Posted May 2, 2020
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  • A delicious rice dish bursting with deep flavors.

    Jambalaya, an original Louisiana rice-and-meat dish, is possibly one of the most go-to meals for families. It’s a practical one-pot hearty dish where you can just put about anything from shrimps to chicken. The only thing you...

    • Posted April 26, 2020
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  • Common sense habits that keep viruses out of Japanese homes.

    In this time of coronavirus threat, the Japanese case numbers seem to be lower than the rest of the G7 countries. This may be routinely connected to common sense habits practiced in Japan. When you’re welcomed to...

    • Posted March 30, 2020
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  • Award-winning author Suzanne Kamata has released a new book.

    If you’re exhausted from sifting through every news to get the latest coronavirus update, take a break and lose yourself in a newly released book by Suzanne Kamata. Suzanne Kamata is no stranger to the community in...

    • Posted March 14, 2020
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  • “Japan’s Cuisine, Nature, and Wisdom”- Exploring the Past and Future of Japanese Cuisine at the National Museum of Nature and Science

    In 2013, Washoku or traditional Japanese cuisine has been added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage raising the country’s global recognition. In a rare special exhibition, Ueno National Museum of Nature and Science puts the spotlight on 250...

    • Posted February 4, 2020
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  • Tea and the arts in Japan

    Tea was first brought to Japan by buddhist monks, back from studies in China. A first attempt occurred in the ninth century, but it was Eisai (1141-1215), the founder of zen, that really settled the culture of...

    • Posted October 1, 2019
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  • Child cries incessantly at a family restaurant. Manager warns Japanese mom. Who’s right?

    It happens more often that despite parents’ attempt to make their children behave at restaurants, they run around, cry, scream or act other types of crazy, often, for no reason. When the manager of a Gusto Family...

    • Posted September 12, 2019
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  • A quick guide to Japan’s festival of Dolls

    An in-depth look at this month's Hina Matsuri celebrating daughters by way of traditional ornamental figurines.

    • Posted February 26, 2019
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  • Your guide to Onigiri, the sandwich of Japan

      Onigiri is Japan’s traditional finger food made up of sticky plain rice with various salty,  sour flavored stuffing at the center and wrapped in a crispy  “nori” (seaweed) sheet. Commercial onigiris found in convenience stores are...

    • Posted January 30, 2019
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  • Are you cooking your Tonjiru soup the wrong way? Japanese chef shares useful tips.

    Don’t we all love a steaming bowl of  Tonjiru soup when it’s cold? My family does. Maesen, a famous tonkatsu restaurant in Omotesando, serves the best Tonjiru soup in Tokyo. But since we can’t always go, I...

    • Posted October 20, 2018
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  • The Kurotamago believed to add years to your life

    The locals claim that seven years are added to your lifespan for each kurotamago you eat – with some saying eating more than two is not recommended. The famous “kurotamago” or black spa chicken egg as the name...

    • Posted September 9, 2018
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  • Japan’s 5S

    No, it is not iPhone 5S I am referring to but the standard methodology adopted by Toyota Motors Corporation proven to make the workplace efficient. The same organization method can in fact be applied at home to...

    • Posted August 22, 2018
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  • Drinking tea served at a business meeting against Japanese ethics.

    Did you know that many of Japan’s long-held beliefs about good manners revolve around tea? Here’s one you probably didn’t know. When you visit a Japanese office on business, it is customary practice to be served a...

    • Posted August 19, 2018
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  • All You Need to Know about Harajuku Omotesando Super Yosakoi

    Every year in August,  Harajuku is taken over for a weekend by thousands of people dressed head to toe in colourful costumes. Music blares out from enormous speakers and giant flags sway through the crowds as teams...

    • Posted August 18, 2018
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  • The Tokyo restaurant where you can catch your fish and eat it too

    Fishing Restaurant Zauo is one of those only-in-Japan experiences that make a welcome change to the increasingly globalized fare that we find in Tokyo. Simply put, Zauo is a seafood restaurant that lets you catch your dinner...

    • Posted August 11, 2018
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  • How to Origami

    Before Origami became world famous as a form of Japanese edutainment, this art of paper folding once filled a need in ancient Japan. During the Edo era, gifts did not come with greeting cards like the western...

    • Posted May 23, 2018
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  • Awkward Language Faux Pas You Didn’t Know

    There are many things Japan does accurately better than anywhere else from train arrival and departure times to timepiece precision.  Ironically, language translation is not one of them. Loan words derived from the English language have found...

    • Posted May 13, 2018
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  • Japan puts the spotlight on the works of Hayao Miyazaki at a new theme park

    Aichi prefecture has announced the opening in 2022 of a new theme park in Nagoya dedicated to the anime films of Japan’s famous celebrity Hayao Miyazaki. 77-year old Hayao Miyazaki is the prominent director and artist behind...

    • Posted April 25, 2018
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  • Hatsumode: Shrines that bring you good luck in the New Year

    Just as Christians go to midnight mass on Christmas eve, the Japanese ring in the new year with a first visit to a Shinto shrine, an age-old tradition called Hatsumode.  The visit happens on the first 3...

    • Posted December 27, 2017
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  • Japanese couples sleep in separate beds, seldom kiss each other but many are happy in their marriages, says new survey.

    One in three marriages in Japan leads to divorce. Many have cast doubt on the notion that unhappy marriage is likely the result of the absence of intimacy in Japanese couples. A recent survey shows that the...

    • Posted November 21, 2017
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  • How people count with fingers in other countries

    It’s indeed fascinating to know that although we all have a thumb, index, middle, ring finger, and the pinkie on both hands, many of us are so different when it comes to counting with the fingers.   People...

    • Posted November 2, 2017
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