When I was in high school, I went to Okinawa on a school excursion, but I don't remember going to any of the tourist attractions. I am sure I took a plane on the way there and on the way back, but I don't remember that at all either.

In Japan, an event called Tanabata (Star Festival) is held on July 7, where people write their wishes on long, thin strips of paper called tanzaku and tie them to bamboo leaves. This is one of the most common summer customs in Japan. In some areas, Tanabata festivals are held from July to August.

The famous Japanese pear, named the 20th Century Pear, is a very tasty pear, juicy, with a good balance of acidity and sweetness. But this is the result of chance and the efforts of a boy and his father.

Here are some of the unusual flavors of soft-serve ice cream in Japan. I will introduce three slightly unusual flavors and four extremely unusual flavors.

Not long ago, we would have been talking about the future, six months or a year from now, but those plans would soon become a thing of the past.

And the pace of my language progress is not at all in proportion to the speed of the passage of time.

Azuki is believed to ward off bad luck. It is also said to help expel fatigue and toxins from the body and keep the stomach healthy, making it a very healthy traditional Japanese food.

The dessert known as parfait has become like an art form, so popular nowadays as an Instagram image. And now they are available at convenience stores for a reasonable price. If you come to Japan, I urge you to try the parfait at a convenience store called Ministop!

The basis of Japanese food is one soup and three side dishes. This is the basis of the Japanese diet, which is said to provide a balanced intake of nutrients. If it is too difficult to make three side dishes, you can put a lot of vegetables in miso soup.

We take a luxury trip once a year. Since the purpose of this trip is to enjoy onsen, we only go sightseeing when we have extra time. We stay at a different ryokan every year, and each one has its own unique and interesting features.

Nails are not used in most old Japanese buildings. That is because the expansion rate of each material is different, making them vulnerable in the long run. In the past, the Japanese built shrines and temples with hundreds or even thousands of years in mind.