December and January are the busiest times for the Japanese post offices and it all come to one reason: the tradition of New Year‘s postcards (nengajo). And yes, it’s probably the biggest item on the calendar of annual events! New Year wishes postcard: 年賀状 年賀状 is composed of year 年,  congratulations 賀 and 状, meaning circumstances. With the […]

When leaving the office for your well-deserved winter holidays, don’t forget to wish your Japanese colleagues a Happy New Year with the correct expression! You may have learned the phrase 明けましておめでとうございます which translates Happy New Year. However, you can only use this greetings from first of January! If you have the unfortunate idea to greet your […]

This is an older post – to see our upcoming monthly events – click here Monthly Events at Coto Go for Lunch!　Kagurazaka area ランチツアー！ 神楽坂 Thursday, December 3rd  12:30-13:50 in Kagurazaka Let’s go for lunch together and explore Iidabashi-Kagurazaka district! We will advise you some of the top restaurants of the area. Discover the delicious […]

What so special about the Japanese kotatsu table? Foreigners traveling around Japan during the winter are often very surprised by how cold Japanese homes can be. They wonder why such an advanced country is incapable of heating houses. Indeed, whether traditional or western, most Japanese homes don’t provide any type of isolation from the cold. One […]

Are you currently studying Japanese? If so, then you might be interested in knowing more about the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, in short, the JLPT! Launched in 1984 as a biannual testing service by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges & Services, the JLPT is a tool to evaluate and certify the Japanese proficiency of […]

When you are learning a foreign language, studying slang is a nice and fun way to widen your vocabulary. Not only will you speak more fluently but you will also sound more like a native speaker and surprise your Japanese friends! It also provides an insight into the Japanese culture. Let’s learn the expression “mazakon”. […]

If you are interested in the Japanese marketing culture, you might have come across the expression “arasaa market”. As one can guess, arasaa is not originally a Japanese word, but a Japanese – English made expression, short for “araundo sati”, the Japanese pronunciation of “around thirty”. “Arasaa market” refers to the market of around 30 years old people. The […]

Finally, you are living the dream here in Tokyo! Do you enjoy discovering Japanese culture and traditional food? Any difficulty shopping in Japanese? If so, we are here to help you! But first, let us give you an overview on Japanese size. Firstly, Japanese body structure is quite different from foreigners. Even skinny foreigners have […]