Blog - About Japan

Tis the season!

Tis the season! One of the many surprises that I had during my first year in Japan was the popularity of Christmas. It’s everywhere! Everyone loves it. Who wouldn’t? All the lights, decorations, presents… Ahhhh. It’s cold here in the winter too! We may even have a white Christmas this . . . 
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How do you say “momi ji”?

A New Season!   It always amazes me that Japanese people of all ages have an appreciation for nature. (Although it is hard to tell just by looking at the concrete jungles that are the cities of Japan.) It seems to be ingrained in their psyches. It’s a huge part . . . 
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The Cold!

We have this old saying Japan has a lot of sayings. It’s interesting to talk with older people and hear about old expressions and things that younger people have forgotten. I have one friend in particular that likes to tell me about long forgotten expressions. Some so old that it . . . 
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Goodbye Summer

The End of Summer and the Beginning of… uh oh! When I was a kid, the end of summer vacation was always a sad event. I loved having nothing to do, especially no homework! September meant starting a new school year, getting used to a new teacher and new classmates. . . . 
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Summer vacation!

No more school, no more books! Summer vacation has finally arrived. Having a summer vacation kind of makes up for the low pay for teachers. But in Japan, summer vacation is a bit different than it is back home. 3 Months! When I was a student, summer vacation in the . . . 
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The Rainy Season

The Weather Outside is Frightful   Being from California really has spoiled me as far as weather is concerned. No, I’m not from Southern California. Where I’m from is not beautiful, sunny and warm all the time. It gets cold, but not that cold. It doesn’t rain much and even . . . 
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Healthy Japanese Food

Japanese Food Everyone thinks that Japanese food is healthy. Well, much of the food in Asia is healthy. It seems that the people of Asia have traditionally eaten more vegetables than we do in the west. Part of the reason, I think, is due to the environment. A lot of . . . 
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