Yookoso to everybody who's interested in this ancient culture and/or speaks or wants to learn Japanese!

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Rituals at Shinto shrine in Kawagoe, just north of Tokyo

  Every year in early July, visitors to the lovely "Little Edo" city Kawagoe (population a bit over 353,000) just a half hour north of Tokyo in Saitama Prefecture, can experience Chinowa Kuguri. This Shinto ritual, held at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine, began in the early Edo period (1603-1867) with the intention of warding off plagues and promoting disease-free breathing. A perfect event for an era with Covid, the liturgy, also known as Nagoshi no Harae ("summer passing purification…

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2 great Japanese evening "light-up" events in autumn 2021

In Japan's Nikko and Kinugawa-onsen areas, two hours north of Tokyo along the Tobu Railway Nikko and Kinugawa lines, special moon-viewing festivities with light-ups are being held from September through November. There is a Japanese expression, "aki no yonaga," which means "long autumn night." This year, despite the pandemic, two popular celebratory light-up events held annually are illuminating the autumn evenings in the Nikko-Kinugawa region, along Tobu Railway's Nikko and Kinugawa lines.…

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Practicing Zen and Zazen north of Tokyo

In these times of stress and uncertainty, it is relieving to know that once we can travel again, there are places in the world that offer the healing qualities of reflection, tranquility and mindfulness. Japan is one of those places. In Japan, the school of Zen involves practicing Zazen (meditation) and mindfulness, which can be achieved by the act of Shakyo (hand copying of Buddhist sutras. Both Zazen and Shakyo may help calm the mind and reduce anxiety. In under two hours north of Tokyo,…

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  • That sounds REALLY cool, Sarah! Please get him to come on here and let us know more about it!
  • Ohaiyoo gozaimasu......if anyone is interested in getting a great story on adventure sports in Japan, my big brother runs his own outdoor adventure company in the mountains about 3 hours inland from Tokyo on the border of Niigata, Nagano and Gunma.....rafting, canyoning, mountain biking, snow mobiling, back-country skiiing/snowboarding, caving and a monthly full moon party thrown into the mix during the summer season - amazing place!
  • I figured it was somethin' like that! Thanks, Bernie....
  • It's "hiiroo", i.e.,"Hero."
  • Konichi wa! Can anyone help me in transliterating a song name? Thanks!!!

    ヒーロー
  • I studied both at Durham Uni in England, some 16 years ago, and tho' my Chinese is way rusty, my Japanese is still very fluent. I agree Jose, Chinese grammar is easy, and once you get beyond hanzi, not too difficult to pronounce. Lived in Japan for many years but now back in the UK, finding it difficult to keep it up. Living in the country is really the only way to go
  • That's why I stopped... 'twas hard to handle Chinese & Japanese at the same time. People don't realize how easy Chinese is, once you get past the writing system.
  • I have not tried Rosetta Stone. I took a semester of Japanese at UW in 1990, and two years of weekend classes at a school affiliated with a Buddhist temple in San Francisco--3 hours weekly on Saturday mornings. Learned quite a lot, but I hardly use it, so it's very rusty. I found it maddeningly complicated after Chinese!
  • Wish I'd studied more Japanese! Anybody ever try one of those Rosetta Stone language learning software things? They're quite expensive, but if they're as good as they say...........
  • やった!簡単ですね!どうも!
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