tradition– tag –

In Japan, a day called White Day was created around 1970. White Day is a day when men who receive gifts such as chocolates on Valentine's Day (February 14) give gifts in return to women on March 14, one month later.

Even in the world, the meanings of numbers change from country to country, and the impressions of numbers in a country often are deeply influenced by the culture of that country. This is also true in Japan.

What would you do if bugs were in your house? To the Japanese, spiders are considered very good things and should never be killed. Here is why spiders should not be killed, and when they should not be killed.

Japan has traditional music that has been valued throughout generations of Japanese people. This comes with traditional instruments used in making this folk music of Japan. Here are six traditional Japanese instruments that have made an impact on music as a whole.

Pickles are an indispensable food in Kyoto. Since there is no sea in the vicinity of Kyoto, preservation techniques for food have been developed since ancient times. Here are the three major pickles in Kyoto!

Every New Year in Japan, thousands of people line up to buy "lucky bags" called "fukubukuro". A lucky bag is a bag filled with everything from clothing to food that the store sells, and the items are secret.

There tends to be some confusion between what martial arts are from Japan and which come from China. Yet, there is a fundamental difference between these styles of martial arts, influenced by their respective origin countries.

Every year in Japan, those who turn twenty get to experience a day decided by them! Seijin Shiki, sometimes called adult’s day, is a holiday in Japan where the coming of age into adulthood is celebrated.

There is an unlucky year called "yaku doshi" in Japan. Yaku doshi is a year to be more modest than usual. The word "yaku" has the meaning of misfortune or calamity, and the idea is to spend the year more carefully than usual in order to avoid it.

In the U.S., the U.K., and Europe, the most common way of heating is central heating. However, in Japan, there is basically no such central heating system, and people usually spend the winter by using heating appliances.

Different cultures and histories have their own unique laws, some of which you may wonder if they are true. When you live or travel abroad, you may inadvertently be in violation of the law. So here are some of the weird laws that are unique to Japan!