O Hana Mi, O Hana Mi … How Lovely Are Your Customs

Yet another of Japan’s most excellent traditions is that of O Hana Mi (literally, “flower look”) – around the beginning of April, friends and family gather to gaze at the beautiful clusters of cherry blossoms cropping up all over the country. Sometimes parties are organized – my school held a sushi rolling-and-corsage making do a […]

A Story of Words

A couple of weeks after I arrived in Japan, I came across a rather cunning little device while nosing around at a department store: “Word cards” are often used by Japanese students to help them remember English vocabulary – one precise mini flashcard at a time. Ever-determined to improve my mortifying Japanese, I snatched up a set and almost immediately began […]