Since JAPAN Forward asked readers and followers at the end of March to send us their original sakura photos this year, we’ve been getting really amazing...
Spring is now in full flush here in Tokyo, which sadly means that the sakura season is coming to an end. Soon the streets will...
A few days ago on April 9, after the entrance ceremony at the high school my younger son is attending, I decided to take advantage...
Since JAPAN Forward asked readers and followers at the end of March to send us their original sakura photos this year, we’ve been getting really amazing...
There are only a few weeks out of the year when people all over Japan get out and enjoy what is called hanami (花見), or...
As Japan prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020, there has been much attention to how the country will handle the influx...
I have recently become the proud owner of a Japanese driver’s license! Getting this document was incredibly complicated and riddled with tons of unexpected elements throughout....
Spring is officially here! Looking at blooms at the Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, the Meteorological Society has declared that the cherry blossoms are...
As the 2019 sakura season starts, JAPAN Forward is calling for submissions of your best cherry blossoms photos. The rules are simple: The photo must...
Progress was slow, but no one seemed to mind. This was a festival, and people were in a good mood. As the purple-robed Shinto...
What is a mikoshi and what is Mayumi Mikoshi? A mikoshi (or omikoshi) is a “portable shrine parade” where a small palanquin shrine is...
Ah, February. A short month with long, dark nights and brief days consisting of bitter winds and plunging temperatures. The depths of winter always seems...