Japanese Blog

David Ishikawa restarted his career as a UI/UX designer in Japan exactly where he wanted after completing a six-month Japanese language course. David first came to Japan in 2004. He stayed in Tokyo and Osaka for business and sightseeing and immediately fell under the country’s spell. I’m not alone in this thought, but I’m interested in […]

IntroductionItadakimasu (いただきます)Gochisousamadesu (ごちそうさまです) Eating in Japan: Using Itadakimasu and Gochisousamadesu Ever wondered about the meaning of the most important Japanese expressions for meal? Clapping hands together. “Itadakimasu!” This is an aspect of the Japanese culture which is well-known and loved by many. Simply ask any of our students for the reason of coming to Japan, […]

Japanese Summer is finally around the corner and despite the heat in this season, there are many things to enjoy. Time for you to boost your conversation with 20 perfect Japanese seasonal words for summer! This time of year, festivals are held continuously which hyped up the summer spirit. What is summer without dressing up in […]

We like to think some constants are with no doubt universal and shared by everyone. For instance, sounds that animals make. They don’t have change from one country to another. But here you are in Japan, learning that dogs say “wan wan” instead of “woof, woof”. Welcome to the world of Japanese animal onomatopoeia! Animal-related OnomatopoeiaOther […]

This is an older post – to see our upcoming monthly events – click here Monthly Events at Coto Coto events in July are so promising! Lunch Tour, Calligraphy Class, a Special Kyushu Night and… a Japanese Sword Experience! Lunch Tour in Kagurazaka ランチツアー in 神楽坂 Thursday, July 7th 12:30-13:50 It’s the time of the […]

This summer marks the 16th anniversary of Coto Japanese Academy, from its early foundation as the Iidabashi Language School in 2000. Started by 4 staff in a small apartment, we have grown to a fully staffed school, caring to provide the best services to our students. I am so delighted to be able to celebrate […]

Japanese calligraphy is not only an important part of Japanese culture but also a relaxing and fun way to practice your Kanji! If you are troubled by Kanji studies, why don’t you take a break with some brushes and ink?   Japanese Calligraphy’s History & PhilosophyMore than Holding a Brush and Drawing StrokesTools commonly used […]

Do you believe an umbrella will just do the trick when the rain starts falling? Well, keep that thought in mind, experience the Japanese rainy season, 梅雨（つゆ） , and get back to us! The Japanese rainy season starts in late spring and ends in early summer – roughly the beginning of June until mid-July in […]

You would be very mistaken to think that Japanese bento is merely a quickly prepared meal for busy people. In essence, it is the love of ones who make wrapping for ones who take. Japanese bentos form an integral part of the food culture, which cannot be simply traced from a packed meal.  The word bento […]

When studying Japanese, one of the first ending particles you learn is ka (か). This acts as a question mark and turns the whole sentence into a question. It’s one of the many ending particles used in Japanese and is grammatically practical to designate a question. As ending particles in Japanese convey a lot of context […]

First, watch our video about Aizuchi above! What is The Art of Aizuchi? “Sou” Variations Expressing “I got it!” Showing Your Surprise! Using Aizuchi Properly What is The Art of Aizuchi? To master conversing in Japanese, you must first learn the Art of Aizuchi: A way to indicate to the speaker that you are actively listening. […]

Without punctuation, language is doomed to be ambiguous. And yet, you would be quite surprised to discover that in Japan, punctuation did not even exist before the 19th century. Despite it being widespread during the Meiji Era, it wasn’t until 1946 that the Japanese punctuation we know of today was imposed by the Ministry of […]