Everything you need to know about Japanese cherry blossom: sakura

In the Japanese culture, one very important theme is the seasons and the flowers symbolizing the passage of time. Among them, one kind is particularly iconic, capturing the attention of visitors and locals: the cherry blossom, also very well known as sakura. All year round Japanese people long for the sakura season and wait with […]

Coto’s events in March 2016

This is an older post – to see our upcoming monthly events – click herehttps://cotoacademy.com/monthly-events/ Special Cooking Class〜 Nigiri-Sushi 特別料理クラス にぎりずし Tuesday, March 1st  11:00-13:30 in GinzaWould you like to try making Nigiri Sushi? This lesson will be held at a restaurant in Ginza, where a professional sushi chef will teach participants how to make “Nigiri […]

Have you ever seen live sumo? The Grand Sumo Tournament

The 40th Grand Sumo Tournament In Coto Japanese Academy every February we have an appointment with Sumo. Come with us and discover the picture of an incredible Grand Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, near the sumida river! We went just as viewers, of course! During the event, we enjoyed the exciting fights between the […]

Origins of Hiragana (ひらがな) and Katakana (カタカナ)

Click Here to join our 30 day challenge to learn Hiragana Origins of Japanese Written AlphabetsExamples of Change Differences between Hiragana and Katakana Origin of the Japanese Alphabets Originally, the Japanese language did not have a phoenetic writing system. Around the fifth century, they starting using kanji, ideograms that were adopted from China and Korea. […]

Sentô: the Japanese public bath!

In January, our students went on a Special Sentô Tour to discover the wonders of the traditional Japanese public baths and their artworks. The communal baths appeared in Japanese temple during Nara Era (710) but it is around the 13th century that commercial bathhouses opened across the country. The Showa Era (1926 – 1989) was the golden […]