On Setsubun day (February 3rd), there is a culture to make "Yaikagashi" (a holly sprig with a baked sardine's head). Japanese people have a time-honored custom of putting this "Yaikagashi"at their door on Setsubun (the traditional end of winter) to ward off evil spirits. They may look a little bit spooky if you see it for the first time without knowing the custom, but it's one of our interesting traditional customs. :-)
OKAKI-sun
Japan
Tokushima Prefecture is located on Shikoku island and they hold one of the most famous dance festivals across Japan once a year in summer. Awa Odori has a very long history whose origins date back 40…
The Naruto whirlpools (鳴門の渦潮 Naruto no Uzushio) are tidal whirlpools in the Naruto Strait, which is one of the largest in the world. I have visited the Naruto Strait many times and it’s been alw…
Recently I had a chance to visit Nara with my family. In Nara, we have the largest wooden building in the world, called Todai-ji and you can view the Great Buddha housed inside Todai-ji temple comple…
Skipjack tuna is used extensively in Japanese cuisine, where it is known as katsuo. It is smoked and dried to make katsuobushi, the central ingredient in dashi(=a common Japanese fish stock).Beside…
As Japan is surrounded by ocean, we have a lot of famous fish markets with fresh fish. Usually such markets have a couple of restaurants inside the market and they serve great fish dishes. I recommen…
Dashi-maki tamago is basically a Japanese-style omelette made by rolling up the egg as you cook it. Very popular recipe in Japanese restaurant. It is made with dashi broth so it's packed with extra f…
Attending a Japanese funeral can be stressful, even shocking, if you don't know what to do. The more you know beforehand the better, as you'll be able to comfort and support mutual friends and their …
Former Deep Japan Writer
In Japan, the color white is attributed to happiness and good times. Death is a time of mourning and so people must dress in the color of depression, black. Men usually wear a black suit with a black…
GenS
Ghosts and spirits hold a place in the folklore of many cultures around the world. In the western world, Halloween, observed on October 31st, is a time for scary, spooky tales, while Latin America…
jdlawrence
Enjoy taking bath with Babu(Bub), a popular Japanese bath tablet to Relax after Exploring Japan on Foot.All travelers know how sight seeing can be exhausting. Especially walking around on foo…
mimichan
To people new to Japan, the Tokyo subway system, stylishly called "Tokyo Metro" is a confusing labyrinth of lines going every which way. Orderly thought and planning, it would appear, seem to be the…
jdlawrence
If you wondered why Japanese people refer to Mt. Fuji as Mr. Fuji, you are not alone.When I first came to Japan, and actually until about two years ago, well okay, actually it still happens a lot…
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