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The Cemetery Posted by Marcel on Sep 28, 2012
Unlike カナダ (Canada) and many western countries, the 春 (はる/spring) equinox and 秋 (あき/fall) equinox are national holidays in 日本 (にっぽん/Japan). Many people use this time to go to the 墓地 (ぼち/cemetery) to pray for their deceased family members and relatives. While the 夏 (なつ/summer) Obon holiday is perhaps the most popular time to go…
鹿児島 Kagoshima Posted by Marcel on Sep 13, 2012
日本 (にっぽん/Japan) consists of four main 島 (しま/islands), starting with 本州(ほんしゅう/Honshu), the large main 島. To the 北 (きた/north) you’ll find 北海道 (ほっかいどう/Hokkaido), 南 (みなみ/south) of it’s middle you’ll find 四国 (しこく/Shikoku), and to the 西 (にし/west) you’ll find 九州 (きゅうしゅう/Kyushu). The biggest and most famous city in 九州 is 福岡 (ふくおか/Fukuoka), but if you travel…
“Candy” Pop Music Posted by Marcel on Aug 30, 2012
As many of you already know, the Japanese pop music scene is rather… eccentric. The variety is huge: Rock pop bands like: Tokio Solo pop singers like: 浜崎 あゆみ (はまさき あゆみ/Hamasaki Ayumi) or 宇多田 ヒカル (うただ ひかる) Utada Hikaru (not the most recent I know, but I don’t know the names of anyone more current) A huge number of…
The National High School Baseball Championship Posted by Marcel on Aug 11, 2012
What’s 日本 (にっぽん/Japan’s) national sport? If you answered 相撲 (すもう/Sumo), you’d be right, at least on paper. If you rank by popularity though, 野球 (やきゅう/baseball) is far and away 日本’s most popular sport. 男の子 (おとこのこ/Boys) start playing in 小学校 (しょうがっこう/elementary school) with the dream of joining one of the 12 teams in Japan’s professional league…
Thunder and Lightning Posted by Marcel on Jul 31, 2012
Due to all the 雨 (あめ/rain) we had over the last ２ヶ月 (にかげつ/two months), I’ve thoroughly got 雷 (かみなり/lightning) on the brain. We don’t get 雷 *every* time 雨が降る (あめがふる/rain falls), but we still get it a lot. I personally love to sit at a 窓 (まど/window) with a cup of 紅茶 (こうちゃ/ black tea) and…
Mother Nature is Angry Posted by Marcel on Jul 23, 2012
As I mentioned last month, the 梅雨 (つゆ/rainy season) runs from late ５月 (ごがつ/May) to mid-late ７月 (しちがつ/July), depending on the area that you live in. As scheduled, the 雨 (あめ/rain) hit during that time, but 今年 (ことし/this year) there was a lot more than average. In fact, many areas received more 雨 in a…
The Rainy Season Posted by Marcel on Jun 15, 2012
Well, it has finally happened. The 梅雨 (つゆ/rainy season) has begun! I grew up on the coast of カナダの東 (かなだのひがし/eastern Canada), so I have always been intimately familiar with 雨(あめ/rain), but it was only after I moved to 日本 (にほん/Japan) in 六月 (ろくがつ/June), that I finally understood what the term “rainy season” 梅雨really meant. Note…