Wisteria in Kameido

Between April and May, Kameido Tenjin Shrine holds its Fuji Matsuri, a festival celebrating the blooming of wisteria.

Bird Watching and Wabune

I went to do some birdwatching in 横十間川公園 (Yoko-Jukkengawa Kōen). Before seeing a single bird, this group of volunteers with Japanese-style rafts (和船, wabune) pressed me to get on and told me I could even try my hand at manoeuvring the boat myself. They didn't have to ask

A walk in Shōwa Memorial Park

Last weekend, I went to the Shōwa Memorial Park in Tachikawa and snapped a few pictures.

TIL #4 – From the pinta to the cruz

In Japanese, the word ピンキリ（ピンキリ）is used when talking about something that could be either great or bad value. Wine for example.

TIL #3 – Name for kanji radicals that just make sense

For the longest time, I just thought 禾 was a word by itself, that it was read のぎ, and that was basically it. Well, there's more…

TIL #2 – Gendered nouns for cows vs. chickens

Many intermediate Japanese learners are familiar with the words オス and メス, but there's more…

TIL #1 – There is no useless talent

鶏鳴狗盗 means both ‘there is no useless talent,’ and designs such a talent, or the person whose only talents are useless. Learn its origin.

Japanese phrases that don't literally translate in English… but do in French

Since learning Japanese, I've come across some words or expressions, that look like a direct calque of French (without necessarily being one) with no direct English translation.

Cycling tour in Asuka

I went on a e-bike cycling tour in Asuka and learned a lot about the old capital of Japan.

Is _____ a good resource to learn Japanese?

What is the best resource for learning Japanese? And what if this was not the important question?

An afternoon cycling around Kashiba

I love taking my camera on my bicycle, roaming around and taking pictures. I think there's a real sense of serendipity to it. You never know what you're going to get, but it's almost always worth going out in the end. On that day,

Should I spend time learning pitch accent?

I discuss what is pitch accent, how to learn it, and whether it is worth you time.