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Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
All articles · Page 87
Matsushima Guide: Pine Islands, Bay Cruise and Japanese to Use
Matsushima is a bay of some 260 pine-covered islands half an hour from Sendai, counted for centuries among the Three Views of Japan. A cruise among the islands, a Zen temple rebuilt by Date Masamune and a hall on its own tiny island make an easy day out, with plenty of chances to buy tickets and ask questions in Japanese.
13 min readGinzan Onsen Guide: Gas Lamps, Winter Entry and Japanese to Use
Ginzan Onsen is a single street of wooden inns lining both banks of a mountain river in Yamagata, lit by gas lamps after dark and buried in snow in winter. It is tiny, very popular and, in winter, open to day visitors only by reserved shuttle, so a little planning and a few lines of Japanese go a long way.
13 min readChūson-ji Guide: Konjikidō Golden Hall, Hiraizumi and Japanese to Use
Chūson-ji is a forest temple in Hiraizumi, Iwate, whose Konjikidō is a small hall covered in gold leaf inside and out, built in 1124 and still standing. The visit is a walk up a cedar-lined slope past quiet halls, with one ticket, one golden room and a handful of signs to read.
11 min readYamadera Guide: 1,015 Steps, Godaidō View and Japanese to Use
Yamadera, the mountain temple, is a cluster of halls clinging to the cliffs above a valley near Yamagata, reached by about a thousand stone steps through the cedars. The climb takes half an hour or more, and the reward is one of the great views of Tōhoku and the rock where Bashō heard the cicadas.
11 min readAomori Nebuta Matsuri Guide: Floats, Haneto Dancing and Japanese to Use
Every year from 2 to 7 August, giant lantern floats of warriors, gods and monsters roll through the streets of Aomori at night, surrounded by drummers, flutes and thousands of hopping dancers shouting rassera. Anyone in the right costume can join the dance, which makes the Nebuta Matsuri one of the few big festivals where you can take part rather than watch.
12 min readHirosaki Castle Guide: Moving Keep, Cherry Blossoms and Japanese to Use
Hirosaki Castle has one of only twelve original castle keeps left in Japan, set in a park famous for some of the finest cherry blossoms in the country. The keep has spent a decade on a temporary base while its stone walls were rebuilt, and in 2026 it is being moved back, so a visit now means watching a rare piece of castle history in progress.
12 min readOirase Gorge Guide: Stream Walk, Waterfalls and Japanese to Use
The Oirase Gorge is a clear mountain stream flowing out of Lake Towada through fourteen kilometres of beech forest, mossy boulders and waterfalls, with a walking path right beside the water. It is one of the most beautiful walks in Japan, and the bus that shadows it means you can walk as much or as little as you like.
12 min readKakunodate Guide: Samurai Houses, Weeping Cherries and Japanese to Use
Kakunodate is a small castle town in Akita whose samurai quarter still keeps its 1620 street plan, with black board fences, old gates and great weeping cherry trees. It is compact, walkable from the Shinkansen station, and full of houses and craft shops where a few polite lines of Japanese open doors.
11 min readZaō Snow Monsters Guide: Juhyō, Ropeway and Japanese to Use
Every winter, on the upper slopes of Mount Zaō above Yamagata, whole forests of fir trees disappear under thick crusts of rime ice and snow, becoming the eerie white shapes the Japanese call juhyō and visitors call snow monsters. A ropeway takes you right into them, and a sulphur hot spring town waits at the bottom.
12 min readAizu-Wakamatsu and Tsuruga Castle Guide: Red Tiles and Japanese to Use
Aizu-Wakamatsu is the samurai city of Fukushima, and Tsuruga Castle, its white keep crowned with red tiles, is the symbol of a domain that fought to the end in the Boshin War of 1868. A visit combines the castle museum, matcha in a tea house linked to the family of Sen no Rikyū, and the hill where the young Byakkotai warriors died.
12 min readteamLab Planets TOKYO Guide: Barefoot Art, Tickets and Japanese to Use
teamLab Planets TOKYO is the digital art museum in Toyosu where you take off your shoes and walk through water, light and a garden of living orchids. It runs on timed tickets that often sell out, and a handful of short Japanese questions make the locker room and the water rooms much easier.
13 min readTokyo National Museum Guide: Galleries, National Treasures and Japanese to Use
The Tokyo National Museum in Ueno is Japan's oldest museum and holds the largest collection of Japanese art anywhere. Its labels, room names and photo signs are a compact course in museum Japanese, and a few polite questions at the ticket desk and in the galleries go a long way.
13 min readPractical guides
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