こたつの（ ）に ねこが いる。a. うえ b. した c. そば d. なか Before I talk about the answer, I’d better explain…
母の日
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, all mothers-to-be and all mother figures! Hope you’ll have a wonderful day!! ははのひ
Traffic lights – green or blue?
In Japanese 青（あお） is the word for the colour “blue” but often it is used for “green” or “immature” as well. This post gives some examples for those usages.
"October"
It is already 20th and I haven’t written about different names for October yet! Usually it is 十月 (じゅうがつ…
Is Tokyo really the capital of Japan?
Apparently 13 October is 引っ越しの日 (ひっこしのひ / hikkoshi_no_hi / Moving To A New House Day) in Japan as it is…
“6-day week”
Most countries which use the Gregorian Calendar accept the 7-day-week system. So does Japan now. However, traditionally Japan used to…
Health and Sports Day Weekend
Today is the first day of another long weekend in Japan as Monday 8 October is 体育の日(たいいくのひ / Taiiku_no_hi /…
Beckoning Cat Day
It seems Japanese people like to set “xxx Day.” There is a day for almost everything, anything. Apparently today is…
Harvest Moon
Next Monday, 24 September, is 中秋の名月（ちゅうしゅうのめいげつ ）and is a Moon viewing day in Japan. Aristocrats in the Heian Period (the…
Respect-for-Senior-Citizens Day
Up until 2002, 15 September was the annual Respect-for-Senior-Citizens Day in Japan. The law changed and since 2003 it is…
Udon Menu
So far I have been talking about food this week, so I might as well make this week a food…
2-minute noodles
Apparently, today 25 August is 即席ラーメン記念日 (the Memorial Day for Instant Ramen) and the first 2-minute noodles “chicken ramen” was…
高校野球記念日（こうこうやきゅうきねんび）
Today, 18 August is the Memorial Day for High School Baseball in Japan. Apparently, the inaugural national high school baseball…
大文字
Last week, I mentioned 五山の送り火（ござんのおくりび） as one of many events held for the Buddhism “bon” festival. It is going to…
終戦記念日（しゅうせんきねんび）
In the Western world, 2 September is marked as the end of World War II, but in Japan 15 August…
山の日
Today is a public holiday called 山の日(やまのひ, Mountain Day) in Japan. This is the newest public holiday which was established…
Differences between Kimono and Yukata
It seems that the word “kimono” has won a citizenship in the Western people’s vocabulary as the word for Japanese…
広島原爆の日
6 August is a sad day for Japan and for many people in the world. Needless to say, it is…
Firework Displays
Firework Display In Australia, we have big firework displays on New Year’s Eve but firework display on New Year’s Eve…
かき氷（かきごおり）
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakig%C5%8Dri かき氷（ごおり） is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup. Apparently 25 July is set as the "shaved ice…
