The Brisbane Japanese Language
and Culture School

On 14 March, a month after Valentine’s Day, people in Japan celebrate White Day or White Valentine's Day. It is the day males return gifts back to females in appreciation of the chocolates they received on Valentine's Day. See Japanese Valentine's Day: 日本のバレンタインデー Origin of White Day White Day is a relatively new phenomenon. As Valentine's Day has taken root and sales of chocolate thrive on 14 February, in response to this, the confectionery industry in Japan invented White

If you have ever been to Osaka before, you might be familiar with the Doutonbori's eye-catching signage and billboards. They create an amusement park-like atmosphere on the bustling streets at night. Of all these signs, the most well-known one is the Glico running man located in Doutonbori-Ebisubashi. It is hard not to notice this sign when you walk pass as you will see tons of tourists taking photos with it. You may wonder why the running man is so popular? In fact, the curr

#Hinamatsuri also called Doll's Day or Girls' Day, is a special day for young girls in Japan. Origin of Hinamatsuri There are various stories for the origin of Hinamatsuri in Japan. In Heian period Japanese people had custom to transfer their discomforts and illnesses to the paper figures, and then put them in the river to let them flow away which is called ‘Nagashibina – flowing doll’. This custom still can be seen in some of the places in Japan such as “Mochigase Nagashibin

In most of countries, people celebrate Valentine’s Day by giving flowers, chocolates, jewellery or other presents of all shapes and sizes to their loved ones or those they admire. However, celebrating Valentine's Day is slightly different in Japan. Normally, females give chocolates to males on Valentine's Day to show their love, admiration and appreciation, and recent years, it has been more diversified and there are names for each type. Chocolates giving to females' lovers

7th of July is Tanabata・七夕 which is one of the seasonal celebrations in Japan and also called star festival. In the northern hemisphere, during this time of the year, you can see three big stars in a beautiful milky way. Towards this day, people make and place decorations on a bamboo tree and write a wish on a long piece of paper to hang on the branch. Bamboo tree is believed to have spiritual power for the wish to be heard. This custom began in Edo period (1603-1868) when ma