Wonder how Japanese police conduct themselves? In my experience, they are polite and helpful, and although they do some targeted ID checks once in a while, the population is generally not afraid of them. Despite their reputation for being calm, this video shows them in action with a Yakuza group, yelling and talking like…Yakuza! But […]
🇺🇸 In a previous post, I discussed how the perspective differs between Japanese and English languages. Today, I’d like to share two more examples that are areas where students often make mistakes. Quiz time: how would you translate these two phrases into Japanese? 1) “My friend and I swam.” Many students are tempted to do […]
Today’s cute and useful Japanese expression is: あっという間 atto yuu ma Literally, it means “while saying Oh!,” or “in the time it takes to say Ah!”. And it is used to say “very short” or “very quickly” (if you ad “ni” at the end), because we just have the time to say “Oh!”! It’s interesting, […]
🇺🇸 In the midst of a Pandemic and without any audience, the Tokyo Olympics is a historical first and is a source of inspiration for Japanese miniature artist Tanaka Tatsuya (田中 達也). Check out his Instagram account where you can view his wit filled work exploring many Japanese related themes: https://instagram.com/tanaka_tatsuya?utm_medium=copy_link 🇫🇷 En pleine pandémie […]
🇺🇸 Wondering what’s going with the Olympics in Tokyo? At barely one week away from the games, Japanese people are… pretty worried and angry. Summed up with perfect sarcastic wit, “Le Monde”, France’s most renowned newspaper, states: “Prime minister Suga’s lack of political courage and discernment has succeeded in provoking an almost unanimous dissatisfaction amongst […]
Today I’d like to share an interesting video about two American men living in Japan and hunting old Japanese houses. They call themselves “Akiya hantaa,” (空き家ハンター) hunters of vacant houses. They recently turned their passion for old Japanese house into a business, and a new TV show is featuring their work. It’s an excellent opportunity […]
カラスの行水 (karasu no gyouzui) 🇺🇸 If you have gone to Japan, it’s likely you have noticed the important cultural significance of baths. So, it is not a surprise that we have expressions specifically about them. カラスの行水 (karasu no gyouzui) or “crows’ bath” refers to “taking a quick bath instead of enjoying a leisurely bath.” Most Japanese […]
🇺🇸 More and more people in Japan and overseas are questioning whether it is reasonable to hold the Tokyo Olympics in July, as the epidemic has yet to be contained. Whether you are for or against the event, you must admit that this French ad is very cool! It’s an amazing tribute and I love […]
🇺🇸 Today, I’d like to introduce a French group who named their last album with an interesting Japanese expression. L’Impératrice (= the empress) is a French pop-disco band made up of six musicians. They were founded in 2012 and have become exceedingly popular. Their last album is named “Tako tsubo” (蛸壺)… can you guess what it […]
🇺🇸 Who doesn’t like onigiri ? If you want to make your own with a crazy cute look, check this Youtube channel 「おにぎり劇場」 (onigiri gekijou = Onigiri theatre). From kappa (Japanese folkloric monster) to Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga, you can find an array of delicious fictional character themed food inspiration as well as ones based […]