Picturesque Japan

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Mountain Day (Yama no hi)

August 10, 2020

August 10, 2020 is "Mountain Day" in Japan. It's relatively a new holiday started in 2016 and it's usually August 11. However, it is moved to August 10 this year for the Olympics. August is chosen because the shape of the kanji character "eight" looks like a mountain. We don't have any special traditions related to this day, but this is the day to provide “opportunities to get familiar with mountains and appreciate blessings from mountains.”

Shochu-mimai & Zansho-mimai (summer greetings)

August 05, 2020

Do you send summer greetings in your country? Though not all Japanese people do this, we have a culture to send summer greeting cards. Until the end of July, it's called " Shochu-mimai " (the meaning is something like "I care you during these hot days") and from August 1, it's called " Zansho-mimai " (the meaning is something like "I care you while the heat is still remaining"). I don't like summer, but these summer cards have been making me very happy. :)

Radio Exercise (Radio Taisou)

July 18, 2020

There is a well-known exercise program in Japan. It's called "Radio Taisou (Radio Exercise." People who were born and raised in Japan definitely know this. The exercise program goes on air at 6:30 am, 8:40 am, noon, and 15:00 on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). When I was an elementary school student, kids in my neighborhood gather to do this exercise every morning during the summer holiday. Even after growing up, some factory workers do this exercise before work or during the break. Also, there are some local communities to do this exercise together. In the novel "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami has some episodes with this Radio Taiso. Anyway, it's truly well-known stuff. However, my friend from the US didn't know about this (of course). She stayed in Hiroshima for one year to go to high school and she learned this exercise at the school. She believed it was her high school's own exercise. Later, she had a chance to travel to some other ...

Star Festival (Tanabata)

July 07, 2020

In Japan, people cerebrate "Tanabata (七夕)" on July 7. The literal meaning of "Tanabata" is the seventh day of the seventh month of the year. According to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair (male) and Vega (female) are allowed to meet on this day if the sky is clear. For the rest of the year, they are separated by Milky Way. To cerebrate this day, Japanese people write down wishes on a piece of colored paper and decorate bamboo trees. Sometimes, you'll find some cute wishes of kids like "I want to be a squirrel." What would you like to wish?

Mosquito-coil holder (Kayariki)

July 03, 2020

Hello, travelers. This is Kumi. Let me introduce "Kayariki." Kayariki is a mosquito-coil holder and the very traditional one is pig-shaped. However, you can find some cute ones these days. Here is mine. One day, my dad found a mosquito was resting at the tip of her tail and said "She may be too sweet to kill mosquitoes." Anyway, whenever we see this Kayariki cat, she makes us very happy.

The funny cat book!

May 09, 2020

Hello, travelers. I published the cat edition of "TOKYO PHOTO LOCATIONS" and you can download it for free until 11:59 pm on May 10 (PDT) . The text is exactly the same as the previous book "Tokyo Photo Locations: Photographer's Guide" but many of the photos were replaces with the ones with cats. Even if you are not really interested in photography, you can simply enjoy seeing the photos. Hope you enjoy my new Kindle book! P.S. Even if you don't have a Kindle tablet, you can read this on your smartphone or computer using the Kindle app.