Take Off Your Shoes
It’s a custom to take your shoes off before entering someone’s home in Japan. Most of the time indoor slippers are provided to keep your feet warm and to keep your socks clean. So wearing shoes that easily come off is a good idea.
Suicide in Japan
Samurai warriors would often kill themselves, Seppuku, to avoid shame. It was part of the samurai honor code known as Bushido.
Today, Japan has one of the highest suicide rates among rich countries. Suicide rates increased sharply in the mid-1990s as the economy soured, and have remained high since ...
Special Wards of Tokyo
The special wards (特別区 tokubetsu-ku) are 23 municipalities that together make up the core and the most populous part of Tokyo, Japan. Together, they occupy the land that was the city of Tokyo before it was abolished in 1943. The special wards’ structure was established under the Japanese Local Autonomy ...
Soba そば
Soba (そば) is a type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Moreover, it is common in Japan to refer to any thin noodle as soba in contrast to udon which are ...
Shinto (神道 Shintō)
Shinto (神道 Shintō) is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It is a polytheistic and animistic faith, and involves the worship of kami (神), or spirits. Some kami are local and can be regarded as the spiritual being/spirit or genius of a particular place, but ...
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