Weekend Farming in Japan: What’s It All About - Therapy, Social Interaction, Education, Match-making?
Weekend farming boom even in pandemic By Ryoji Shimada, staff writer “Carrots, pumpkins, peppers, burdock, bok choy, tomatoes! Growing food is totally awesome!” fourth grader Masato shouts back. His mother enjoys growing and planting all the things they like and says, “They have a lot more flavor than what you buy in the supermarket. When […]
Sense of Privacy of Japanese People
Japanese people don't want to stand out There are many myths about Japan and Japanese contemporary culture but one certainty is that “standing out” is still frowned upon. So perhaps it is not surprising that when you ask people about the nature of privacy and their concerns about it given that today’s prevalence of social […]
Eating Lunch Together Is Important in Japan
Let’s Have Lunch! Lunchtime in Japan In Japanese companies, the lunch break is almost always 12:00am to 1:00pm. All work stops and everyone goes to lunch at the same time. Large companies have multiple cafeterias so that everyone can get a full hot meal almost simultaneously. It is not a particularly leisurely meal. Once everyone […]
Xenia Lavrow: Wagashi Chef Apprentice in Japan
Creative wagashi, “Goldfish Bowl” (patent pending): Enjoyed by young and old, sold only during the summer months Samples of Korakuya’s creative wagashi Mr. Katsurada, owner chef of Korakuya Xenia’s important notes They include everything she has learned about wagashi at Korakuya. A YOUNG WOMAN FROM GERMANY CROSSES A CULTURAL BRIDGE AND FULFILLS HER DREAM AS […]
Profession as a Gamer in Japan: Daigo Umehara
Japanese first fighting game pro “Wait, you mean you thought you were winning?” “Why don’t you try using your head a little next time?” The trash talking screen character addresses you directly – this is what happens when you lose in the extremely popular one-on-one fighting game Street Fighter IV arcade version. The day after […]
Revitalizing an Old Shopping Arcade in Japan
Two Birds With One Stone – Revitalize Shotengai (or Shoutengai) & Create Jobs For Young People “Good afternoon!” “Irassahimase! Welcome!” Bright young voices resound inside the shops of the Momodani Station shotengai or shopping street, about 15 minutes by train from Osaka’s downtown. The young people selling recycled clothing and other things in some of […]
World First! Water-powered Batteries in Japan
Dry-cell batteries generate electric power from magnetized particles through a slow-acting chemical reaction. Normally the user does not play any role in this process. But Nakabayashi Co., Ltd. has just put on sale “Mizudenchi NOPOPO,” reusable batteries that can be activated by inserting water (plastic dropper provided). Their main advantage is that unlike ordinary dry-cell […]
Shared House Rentals Take Off in Japan
About Shared House Rentals in Japan By John Mori House sharing has become Japan’s newest popular trend, especially in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The capital city has seen a particularly rapid rise in shared-rental opportunities targeted at younger people. These homes offer each tenant an individual bedroom along with a shared kitchen and living room. […]
Drawing-your-face Business in Japan
Nigaoe Business Not long ago, in this column we noted the popularity of portrait artists. More recently this phenomenon seems to have set off a boom among children. Satoshi, who's in the 4th grade of primary school, will sketch your portrait for just 100 yen. In Japanese, it is called, "nigaoe". Perhaps because of the […]
Farming at the Office
The term "weekend farmer" took root about 10 years ago. The word applies to a new lifestyle in which people go to the countryside where they rent small plots of land on which they raise vegetables, which puts them in touch with natural surroundings, gives them a chance to teach something to their children and […]