山の日 – Mountain Day
Mountain Day is a new national holiday of Japan that starts this year for the first time! The date is the 11th …
夏の風邪は・・・ – Summer Cold
The Japanese have a saying: “夏の風邪は犬も食わぬ” Roughly translated it means “even a dog won’t eat a summer cold.” The implication is that, while dogs …
Japanese Items
My student wanted to translate a Japanese snack package that she received in her “Kawaii box”.
2016 September Courses
Sign-up is available for the September courses: 9/6/16 – 9/28/16 It’s $125 for 4 classes!!! We will meet once a week for four …
七夕 – Tanabata
July 7th is Tanabata. It’s not a holiday, but Japanese families (especially with small children) celebrate it by writing their wishes on …
七夕の話 – Story of Tanabata
The story of Tanabata was inspired by a Chinese folktale. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful lady name Orihime near …
2016 August Courses
Sign-up is available for the August courses: 8/1/16 – 8/24/16 It’s $125 for 4 classes!!! We will meet once a week for four …
雨の日本 – Rainy Day in Japan
Traditional Japanese scenes (shrines, temples, old style houses, streets, gardens etc.) look particularly lovely in the rain. This is good because it …
梅雨 – Rainy Season
We have a rainy season every year in Japan. It arrives first in Okinawa (south) and moves up towards the north. It …
父の日 – Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day! Yes, we celebrate Father’s Day in Japan. We say “otōsan, arigatō (お父さん、ありがとう)” that means “thank you, dad”. So, お父さん、ありがとう to …