Is there an emoji that represents your country? Say you’re British – or you’re not, but maybe traveling to the UK and texting a friend about it – why isn’t there a fish and chips emoji? Or one of Big Ben, a red phone booth, Stonehenge? Sure, there’s a Queen’s guard 💂, a cricket bat […]
Why are there so many Japanese Emoji Read More »
A Japanese morning show recently did a report on how some kids are doing their homework while playing clips of YouTubers studying. The show featured a clip by Hajime Shacho, one of Japan’s most famous YouTubers. The clip dates from fall 2016 and has racked up over three million views. While this wasn’t a first, other benkyou douga (勉強動画)
Study Buddy YouTube Videos Read More »
Like many things in Japan, cycling habits also differ from what we are used to in the Western World. In any area of conduction, Japanese are well-known for being extremely considerate due to the combination of law and traditional customs. Cycling is no exception. Even though traffic is habitually busy and in majority of the
Why Japanese Consider Using a Bike Bell Extremely Rude? Read More »
Shoppers in Japan are increasingly eating at “grocerants,” the in-store supermarket eateries that first appeared in the United States, which sell freshly cooked meals made with ingredients sold on the premises. The fusion concept provides economies of scale by sharing food items among the grocery section and restaurant divisions of the same shops, while dishes
‘Grocerant’ store-restaurant hybrids gaining ground in Japan Read More »
Shogatsu, the term for the New Year’s holidays in Japanese, is a time when people take the first three days of the New Year off to relax with their families and engage in traditional activities to remind themselves of their heritage. Below are some of the New Year’s traditions in Japan. Otoshidama On New Year’s
Japanese New Year’s Customs Read More »
While preparing for a message recently, I decided to to a simple Google search. People often refer to “That World” in Japan when talking about the place when people go after they die. To hear some public thought, I searched for “Where is That World.” The very first result was on Yahoo Japan’s Chiebukuro, which
Where is “That World”? Read More »
In Japan, a game of Red Light, Green Light might be more like Red Light, Blue Light. Because of a linguistic quirk of Japanese, some of the country’s street lights feature “go” signals that are distinctly more blue than green, as Atlas Obscura alerts us, making the country an outlier in international road design. Different languages refer to colors very
Why Does Japan Have Blue Traffic Lights Instead of Green? Read More »
Many people will have heard that in Japan, exchanging business cards is very important. Business card etiquette — something I doubt very much even exists in my home country — is still strong in Japan, and one gets a chance to practice this protocol almost daily here. If you’re being introduced to someone, even outside
Business cards in Japan: So many rules, so easily and often broken Read More »
As globalization makes headway, calls for increased ability in an international language like English become louder and louder. Although English is a compulsory subject in junior high and high school in this country, Japanese still have a hard time achieving even daily conversation levels. According to the most recent EF English Proficiency Index, the English
Why do Japanese have trouble learning English? Read More »
From Mitsubishi Motors to Kikkoman – over a thousand Japanese firms are celebrating their hundredth birthday in 2017. The development reveals much about Japan’s history and economic base. Martin Fritz reports from Tokyo. What do Japanese companies such as camera maker Nikon, auto manufacturers Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru, sports equipment maker Mikasa and dairy product
Japan and the industrial boom of 1917 Read More »
