Hayao Miyazaki is retiring. Yes, the beloved creator who brought us Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro among many others is finally stepping down. His latest film, Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises) is his … [Read more...]
What do you imagine when you hear the word ‘manager’? I’d guess that most of you would probably think of your bosses at work. Does hearing the word coincide with a negative image or feeling? Well, when Japanese people hear … [Read more...]
If you're a beginning or intermediate student of Japanese, you may feel like you have a very limited arsenal of verbs within arms reach. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to write a sentence in class, and the … [Read more...]
Ah, chocolate. Sweet chocolate. Just like any other country, in Japan people love chocolate. The big five Japanese chocolate brands work on pumping out all of the sweet brown candy that they can and people consume it at … [Read more...]
Let's say you're going to run a marathon. That's the plan, at least. "I'd better go run today," you say. But... you just don't really feel like it, so you think "okay, I can skip today, no biggie." Tomorrow, the same thing … [Read more...]
Chopsticks. You've probably used them at some point in your life. But do you know where they came from? Whether you're a chopstick master or completely inept with the things, you may find it interesting to learn the … [Read more...]