Let’s cook Japanese food – Tempura Posted by keiko on Feb 20, 2014
Hi everyone! Have you heard of a Japanese dish called Tempura(てんぷら、天ぷら)? Tempura is a dish that has battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables.Tempura is one of the major Japanese dishes that you will easily find at local Japanese restaurants. You can easily make this at home. Ingredients could be any seafood, and pretty much…
What to say when you are not feeling well. Posted by keiko on Feb 17, 2014
Here in Portland, we’ve just gone through a pretty heavy winter storm recently. Hope everyone is doing well in this winter season. The cold snowy weather prompted me to this topic: what to say when you are not feeling well in Japanese. I sure hope that you won’t have to use this too often, but…
Valentine’s Day in Japan Posted by keiko on Feb 14, 2014
Happy Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day is very popular, it is widely celebrated by many people around the world. In Japan, the way people celebrate the Valentine’s Day is a bit different from the way it is celebrated in the U.S. When we hear the word, “Valentine’s Day”, the first thing that comes to our mind…
Let’s learn how to read Japanese! Part 5 (Kanji) Posted by keiko on Feb 12, 2014
Hi everyone. We have had some lessons on how to read Japanese since last month, starting with basic Hiragana through Katakana so far. This month, I would like to introduce you to basic Kanji’s. If you would like to review what we have covered so far, please take a look each link below: Let’s learn…
Things to say at the restaurant. Posted by keiko on Feb 10, 2014
So, you are walking into a restaurant in Japan where nobody understands English. These are the expressions that you can use to survive and enjoy your restaurant experience! Below, I have created a typical conversation you might have at the restaurant in a dialog format. English translation is below for your review. ________________________________________ You(the customer)…
Explore Japan – Shirakawa-Go Gifu Japan Posted by keiko on Feb 6, 2014
Have you heard of the historic villages of Shirakawa-go(白川郷, しらかわごう) and Gokayama(五箇山, ごかやま)in Japan? The villages are registered as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1995. The site is located in the central Japan, between the border of Gifu and Toyama prefectures. These villages are known for “Gassho style” houses.The gassho style is characterized…
How to introduce yourself in Japanese? Part 2 Posted by keiko on Feb 3, 2014
This is the part 2 of the “How to introduce yourself in Japanese”. I thought I would include the questions that go along with Jikoshokai (じこしょうかい、自己紹介) below this time. Please note: in Japanese, we often omit the word “Your (あなたの)”. You don’t need to add the word when asking questions. In less formal conversation, it…