Man Creates and Plays World’s First Cabbage Flute

You don’t get to write titles like that everyday. If you’re a fan of unusual uses of vegetables or enjoy the sultry tones of a leafy woodwind, you may want to spend 1:15 of your life listening to this creative Japanese man and his cabbage flute.

Thanks for Tokyo Mango for the story.

Japanese Phrase Book Review

Photo by JoeBenjamin on Flickr

A well put together phrase book can be a life saver for any traveller. While getting to know a few key words and expressions in Japanese is always recommended, before long you’ll find yourself venturing far outside your comfort zone, and that’s where a good Japanese phrasebook is worth its weight in gold.
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Japan’s Amazing Bento Lunchboxes

Photo by Robert S. Donovan on Flickr

Thanks to Stacey for another great BBC link. Take a look at their Close-up video of some of Japan’s amazing bento lunch boxes.

Making a packed lunch for your children to take to school is a chore performed by parents around the world.

But in Japan, it is not just the taste and healthiness of the meal that is important – but how it looks.

Book Review: 100えんｸﾞﾂｽﾞでｾﾝｽのいい

Here is another review of one of the books/magazines I purchased while in Japan. This one also came from Book-Off (link) for only 105 yen.
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10,000 Free Flights to Japan Not Going Ahead

Photo by FrancoisRoche on Flickr

Stacey just sent me an update to our 10,000 Flight Giveaway story from October last year. It looks like it’s not going to happen. The Japanese Nation Tourism Organization reports that the Japanese Government announced the budget for this proposal and it has been declined, so the flight give away will not be going ahead.
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Japanese Idiom: To drop thunder

Photo by Richard Elzey on Flickr

Our Japanese idiom this week is a fun one. If you’re looking to blow off some steam in Japanese try dropping some thunder! Read on for all the detail about this Japanese idiom.
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Spring in Japan

Photo by jasohill on Flickr

March to May brings on the spring season in Japan (be sure to check out our post on winter in Japan). With the weather starting to warm up and the flowers and trees starting to blossom and bud, spring in Japan is a photographers dream come true.

Here’s our rundown on things to do in Japan in spring and some outstanding spring photographs from Flickr.
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Top 5 Hiking Trails in Japan

Photo by -just-jen- on Flickr

While my early mountain hikes more closely resembled death marches than something actually enjoyable, recently I’ve started to find a lot more pleasure in overnight hiking trips. So I was particularly interested when Stacey sent me this link to a BBC article on Japan’s top five hiking spots.
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Cute Stuff from Japan: My Re-Ment Part 2

It has been awhile since I wrote of my beloved Re-ment. Please don’t think my lack of posts on it suggests a lack of love!

I still adore it!
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Singleness on the Rise in Japan

Photo by colodio on Flickr

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about the increase in people deciding on staying single in Japan. With Japan’s single occupant households exceeding 30% recently and the average family unit of 2.46 members is the smallest it’s ever been, it looks like this trend is becoming more and more popular.
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