Learn more about Japanese tradition and culture and discover the wonders of the New Year traditional dishes called “osechi ryouri” (おせち料理).

This is an older post – to see our upcoming monthly events – click here Monthly Events at Coto We are going to be holding some really fun events this January, take a look below! Go for Lunch!　Kagurazaka area Thursday, January 7th 12:30-13:50 in Kagurazaka Let’s go for lunch together and explore the Iidabashi-Kagurazaka district! We […]

How has everyone’s 2015 been? Continuing the tradition from last year, our 2015 year-end party was held at Salt and Soil organic restaurant, only a two minute walk from the school. Over 60 students and teachers had a fun-filled night eating an interesting selection of food and enjoying the nomihodai (all you can drink). We […]

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 […]

Time passed quickly and here we are, already in December! It’s the perfect time to introduce a Japanese custom called “bounenkai”. Written “忘年会” in kanji, the phrase literally means “to forget the year party”. Composed of the kanji for “to forget (忘), the year (年) and gathering (会), a 忘年会 is a gathering of friends or coworkers, forgetting the unpleasant […]

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 […]

Momiji and KouyouWhen do I get to see these?What can I do in Autumn?   If you’re planning on visiting Japan, you should make the trip twice! Once in the spring to experience the cherry blossoms, and again in autumn to witness the beautiful sight of the tree leaves turning red (Momiji)! Momiji and Kouyou […]