This is a follow-up to my no, no, mo, he face post. After writing that article, one of my students, Kumiko, mentioned more that could be added to the hiragana face. I thought is was pretty cool, and then when I was buying a kanji practice notebook, I found that there were two other types […]
Standing on the train, I couldn’t help but notice this grandmother (not shown), mother, and daughter trio nearby after an obvious Tokyo Disneyland excursion. I actually asked to take a photo because they were loaded with Donald Duck apparel. I had to snap the shot because it proves, once and for all, who the best […]
In our Japan Post Bank Account article, we looked at the form you need to fill out in order to get your bank account all squared away. During this process, there was one particular field that was asking for your birthday in imperial years. I never could really remember so with a little calculation, I […]
No? Well I have. Hachinoko, 蜂の子, are one of the unspoken delicacies of Japan. I tried hachinoko for the very first time while having dinner with my friend, Gareth, my student & friend Kyoko, and her family. We had already eaten our fill of the wonderful spread that she had prepared, so we had some […]
If you’re a foreigner and you’ve been here longer than a few months, I’m pretty sure you’ve experienced this. You’ve been on a train, at a restaurant, out with your friends, or somewhere in Japan, and forgotten an item that’s valuable enough to make your heart sink a little. Now, I can’t say everybody has […]
As you may or may not know, there are two types of Japanese toilets. One type, the western style toilet, is very near and dear to my heart because I been using it since I was just a little lad. The other type of toilet, the eastern style, is very different from what I’m used […]
By Donald Ash | Articles
Shiritori (しりとり(しり取り)), or the Japanese word-chain game, is a wonderful way to get those Japanese vocabulary juices flowing. This going to be a short post just to explain the rules of the game, and then we’ll actually play together! How to Play Shiritori Get at least one other person, because I don’t want you to […]