Chika

Bijin-hime is the name of a special strawberry that is produced by a farm in Gifu, Japan.  Bijin-hime literally means “beautiful princess”. Large sized bijin-hime can weigh over 100g a piece.  The most expensive one sells for 50000 yen (approx $452.75 as of 2/15/19) per piece, NOT per box. Cheaper ones can be bought through a vending machine that operates 24 hours, and those vary in price and size from 6000 yen for 15 pieces to 10000 yen for a dozen.  Originally I thought that selling one heart-shaped Ichigokoro strawberry for 5000 yen was absurd, but that is nothing compared to bijin-hime.

Here is the list of top 5 anime for 2018 according to the Japanese fan website www.anikore.jp.

  1) A Place Further than the Universe (宇宙よりも遠い場所)
2) Laid-Back Camp (ゆるキャン)
3) Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう)
4) Violet Evergarden (ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン)
5) High Score Girl (ハイスコアガール)
I guess the viewers in 2018 liked the anime that girls become more independent and work hard towards their interests, dreams, goals, etc.

An ema is a wooden plate on which to write a wish or a prayer.  We offer money at a Shinto shrine to receive an ema.  When we pick it up, one side has a picture, and the other side is blank to write our own wishes or prayers. We normally leave it hanging in the shrine after we write our wish.

The word ema literally means “picture of a horse”.  From ancient times people believed God would descend on a horse, so horses were offered to shrines.  But horses were too expensive to offer, and also shrines often had a hard time caring for the horse afterwards, so people started using wooden or clay horses instead.  Then people started using a wooden plaque with a picture of horse on it. That was the origin of the ema. Today many kinds of pictures are used and it does not have to be a horse at all.

We offer ema making workshops at SCETA Japan Center.  Please see photos.

If you look up how to say “happy new year” in Japanese on Google, you will find “あけまして おめでとうございます”, and probably because of that, some of my students say this to me now.  But actually this phrase is only used after the new year has started.  The word “あけまして” comes from “明ける” which means “to begin”. So “あけましておめでとうございます” can be used after midnight on New Year’s Eve, but before that time, you should use “よい おとしを”, which means “have a happy new year!”

Did you put up Shōgatsu kazari?  Are you ready for the New Year?

Shōgatsu kazari is the generic term of all types of Japanese New Year’s decorations.  Shōgatsu kazari is usually suggested to be put up by the 28th of December, and to be taken down on the 7th or 15th of January depending on the area of Japan.  Both shimekazari and kadomatsu are specific type of shōgatsu kazari.

I mentioned in my Christmas post that most people in Japan celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve.  We often hold a party with family or with friends (normally one of the two, not family & friends together).  If a person has a loved one, then they almost always go out together on a date on Christmas Eve.  Most places like hotels, amusement parks, restaurants, bars, are packed with couples.  Many places offer a special dinner/event that is much more expensive than usual price, but still sells out quickly.  There is a phrase, Christmas Bocchi, that means being alone on Christmas Eve.  Some people feel embarrassed to be “Christmas Bocchi”, and they try hard to find a partner by Christmas Eve.  On the other hand, some local restaurants and bars make a special effort to welcome “Christmas Bocchi” by having a sign up saying “the regulars & singles only on Christmas Eve”.  lol