Japan

いわて牛 Iwate Beef- “Meat Icecream”

08/11/2009
By Sade
いわて牛 Iwate Beef- “Meat Icecream”

Do you see all of that beautiful marbling? So recently on a fluke I picked up a pack of Iwate beef at my local supa (grocery). It was pretty expensive, 1000 yen for a few pieces of beef weighing less than a pound. I also picked up some regular beef for about 300 yen. I...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Food, Japan, Latest | No Comments »

191 Kanji Coming to a Town Near You

07/11/2009
By Sade
191 Kanji Coming to a Town Near You

According to the Japan times, 191 kanji may be added to the official joyo kanji list next year, which is of course music to the ears of Japanese learners everywhere! On the other hand, there are also five kanji slated to be taken off of the list, including 勺 (shaku) to the dismay of shakuhachi...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Japan, Japanese Language, Latest | No Comments »

2009 紅葉特集

04/11/2009
By Sade
2009 紅葉特集

I missed hanami (花見) where everyone goes to watch the beautiful sakura blossoms, but momijigari (紅葉狩) is just starting! Momijigari is like hanami, everywhere there are advertisements for viewing trips, and they even forecast the best time to go see leaves change during the weather report. There are many places online that monitor each of...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Holiday, Japan | No Comments »

クリスマスの時

03/11/2009
By Sade
クリスマスの時

It is only a few days after Halloween, and already the stores at Ikebukuro are putting up Christmas decorations. The pumpkins and costumes that had been selling since September are gone as quickly as they came.
Read more »

Tags: , ,
Posted in Holiday, Japan | No Comments »

It’s Party Time

02/11/2009
By Sade
It’s Party Time

It’s that time of year… In fall, many Japanese universities have festivals, or sai (祭) that are like town carnivals. At bigger ones, like at my university Waseda the festivals are like concerts, and have many entertainers and bands come to perform. There are street vendors selling food and little souvenirs, as well as student...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Holiday, Japan, Music, University | No Comments »

Tricks and Treats in Japanese Halloween

01/11/2009
By Sade
Tricks and Treats in Japanese Halloween

There was too much fuss this year over Halloween in Tokyo! Even though Japan has a long history of fairly scary things, the commercial American style Halloween has become more popular over the years. That has its good points and its bad points. There is of course the Infamous Yamanote Halloween Train, which in previous...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Holiday, Japan, Oddities | No Comments »