Speak Japanese, learn Japanese words, read and write kanji with Japanese lessons.

Giri is an important value and social custom in Japan.  In short, it is the duty one has to fulfill various social obligations. These include the giving of gifts, returning favors, attending functions such as weddings and funerals, the sending of New Years cards and avoiding actions that would cause harm to any one’s livelihood or reputation.
While [...]

After living in Japan for close to ten years and once never breaking the law I was quite angered when I learned that the next time I re-enter Japan I will be fingerprinted and my photo will be taken. My photograph and the image of my fingerprints will then be ran through a database of [...]

Watching when Japanese meet Japanese for the first time in Japan appears to be an uncomfortable experience for all involved. It can be most certainly uncomfortable for Japanese when meeting foreigners for the first time. Westerners being frank and sometimes a little aggressive can scare or intimidate Japanese. For me, meeting Japanese who have had [...]

Japanese culture – there are two cultures in Japan. The traditional culture that most people seem fascinated by and attracted to. Then there is the modern culture which is equally fascinating, but quite dark and depressing.
Traditional culture includes Japanese Tea Ceremony, flower arrangement, Haiku (Japanese poetry), calligraphy, martial arts such as Karate and sumo, Hanami [...]

Here is a letter from a student I got a while back in Japan. I  thought I would share it with you.
Dear Nick,
Thank you so much for your enjoyable lessons every time! After class last week, I was thinking about what you told us. I do understand you have some stressful life in Japan. I [...]

I can honestly say that after living in Japan for ten years I have never experienced any racism in Japan. Racism is almost non existent in Japan. I am talking about hate driven racism. Discrimination , however, is something common place and not just limited to non-Japanese living in Japan. The group, not the individual, [...]