As you probably know, Japanese has three alphabets: Hiragana, katakana, and kanji. You're going to need all three of those; something I'm specifying mostly because I've met people who insist that just one will do, and you should pick kanji because then you know Chinese too (no, it's not the same, and 'I've been to Korea' just makes things worse).

Setsubun is an annual festival celebrated widely both in private homes and public areas that at first glance seems to consist of equal parts charm and eccentricity. Can you imagine wearing a plastic devil-mask while the rest of your family gleefully pelts you with dried beans? This is a key part of the Setsubun celebration!

Japanese gardens take many forms. There are large, meandering stroll gardens, hilly landscape gardens that can best be enjoyed from a single vantage point, smaller gardens attached to teahouses, tiny interior courtyard gardens, and stony dry landscapes.

The tranquil gardens of Japan are famous for offering their visitors a sheltered landscape in which to stroll, sit and reflect. In this article we will introduce some of the most beautiful and fascinating gardens from across the country.

"I am a Cat" was the famed Japanese author Natsume Soseki’s first novel — written and published in the early 20th century. The main character is a house cat who, with humor and satire, describes the lives of the upper middle-class humans around it in all their pomposity.

Japan has a rich array of annual events and festivities that are celebrated through the seasons, each with their own special traditions, and each with their own special foods. In this article we are going to look at some of Japan’s most important seasonal foods, and examine their significance.