Click on photo or link to read the feature • Seasonal Secret: Feast your eyes on these Japanese New Year’s decorations From December 28 to January 7, Japanese new year decorations hang on every door, beckoning in good luck and prosperity for the coming year…read more • The Thing I Learned Today: Why do JapaneseContinue reading “JAN-FEB 2023”
Category Archives: February
Did you win the Nov-Dec Japan Swag Giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a realer-than-real sushi fridge magnet! If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and tell me where you’d like me to send it! (I’ll need a mailing address for this one,) If I didn’t pull your name from the hat this time, you might getContinue reading “Did you win the Nov-Dec Japan Swag Giveaway?”
Why are used cars, beautiful old houses and vintage kimonos so cheap in Japan?
The longer you’re in Japan—a place known for the meticulous preservation of its ancient sites and the intricacy of its recycling rules—the weirder it seems that Japanese people insist on buying only new houses, new cars, new clothing, new everything. Saddest of all, they often even refuse to adopt pets that had previous owners. It’sContinue reading “Why are used cars, beautiful old houses and vintage kimonos so cheap in Japan?”
Feast your eyes on these Japanese New Year decorations
From December 28 to January 7, Japanese new year decorations hang on every door, beckoning in good luck and prosperity for the coming year, but they’re just plain beautiful too! Shimenawas are stuffed with symbolism (red and white, to scare away evil spirits and attract good luck, rice straw for a good harvest/that raise youContinue reading “Feast your eyes on these Japanese New Year decorations”
Let’s go to the odd theme park that’s amazing in the most unexpected way
Tobu World Square in Nikko What if I told you that I’d visited a place in Japan that surprised me in a way that I never expected to be surprised? When I finally made it to this place in October, I expected the space-time continuum to be so warped that in a single day youContinue reading “Let’s go to the odd theme park that’s amazing in the most unexpected way”
Tasty Ginger Pork
This dish is fast, easy, and will make your kitchen smell delicious! Tasty Ginger Pork Serves 4 Ingredients:12 oz. (340 g) pork loin or tenderloin2 yellow onions2 T (30ml) oilSalt1 knob of fresh ginger root (about twice the size of your thumb)3/4 c. (175 ml) mirin (sweet rice wine)*3/4 c. (175 ml) sake (Japanese riceContinue reading “Tasty Ginger Pork”
Convenience Store Woman
by Sayaka Murata Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Represents real life in Japan: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: Well worth reading Convenience Store Woman is the story of middle-aged Keiko Furakura, who has worked in a convenience store all of her adult life, and finally dares to seek a futureContinue reading “Convenience Store Woman”
Thousands of candle-lit igloos turn this village into a winter fairyland
Kamakura Festival in Yokote, Akita February’s destination is the castle town of Yokote, in the northiest north of Akita prefecture. For two days every year (February 15-16), the town’s children offer toasted rice cakes and sweet sake to visitors inside tiny traditional igloos (kamakura) built all over town. Each kamakura is a shrine to the water deityContinue reading “Thousands of candle-lit igloos turn this village into a winter fairyland”
Weird Chocolate
When Japan embraces Western holidays, things can go a bit…sideways. And the biggest example of Getting It Wrong is nearly upon us: Valentine’s Day. Why? Because only MEN get chocolate!* That’s right. For Japanese women, Valentine’s Day might as well be called Big Fat Obligation Day, because not only are they on the hook for giftingContinue reading “Weird Chocolate”
Why the most interesting food you’ll eat in Japan might be…spaghetti
I know. Nobody goes to Japan to eat spaghetti. It’s sushi that’s supposed to deliver the big revelations, right? The exotic fish. The squicky I-dare-you innards. The arcane serving rituals at a restaurant with no menu. But it’s eating spaghetti in Japan that will really make you think. Because although every “Italian” restaurant in Tokyo offers pastaContinue reading “Why the most interesting food you’ll eat in Japan might be…spaghetti”
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