Even though most Japanese people are not Christian, Christmas is very popular in Japan. There are lots of special Christmas events all over Japan. Minion Yellow Christmas is the 2018 Christmas event at Universal Studio in Osaka, Japan. It runs until 1/6/19.
Senbazuru literally means 1000 orizuru, but it does not have to be exactly 1000. It just means to make many of them as a wish for the speedy recovery of a sick or injured person. Most people in Japan can make orizuru without instruction. We learn how to make them in school as a part of normal school activities (usually in elementary school). When a student gets hospitalized, classmates and teachers get together and make senbazuru for the student.
This is the first time that I will talk about “勤労感謝の日” or “Labor Thanksgiving Day”. This day, November 23rd, is a national holiday in Japan. All Japanese people probably know about this holiday, but interestingly many of them misunderstand the real meaning of this holiday. Let me explain. The name “勤労感謝の日” sounds like it is the day to thank workers. In elementary school we wrote thank you letters to the local police officers. For this reason, I never thought about it deeply before, but today I finally realized that this day is actually the Japanese Thanksgiving Day. This holiday reminds us to be grateful for having a job, and to appreciate all the things that are produced by jobs, such as food, products, services, events, entertainments, etc. If I ever told you that there is no Thanksgiving in Japan, then I am sorry, I was wrong. November 23rd is Thanksgiving in Japan.
Crane is not the national bird of Japan, but it is often shown as an image of Japan together with cherry blossoms and Mt. Fuji. Orizuru is a paper crane that is made from origami. Almost all Japanese people can make orizuru without looking at the instructions. I think most of us make it as a school activity. If you love Japan and you think you know a lot about Japan, then you should definitely know how to make orizuru (^_<)～☆
I offer origami classes. Please contact me for details.
The 3rd of November is a national holiday in Japan. It is called “Bunka No Hi” or “Culture Day”. This day is dedicated to freedom & peace in Japan and to promote Japanese culture. November 3rd is the birthday of the Meiji emperor (11/3/1852) and is also the day that Japan’s revised constitution was officially announced (11/3/1946). It has been a national holiday since 1948. On this day the entry fee for many museums is either free or discounted and many places hold a special event that is related to Japanese art, music, films, etc.
The official unit of Japanese currency is the yen. One dollar is equivalent to 112 yen as of 10/10/18. The idea of Japanese currency was greatly influenced by China. In China certain type of shells were used as currency before coins were invented. Today, as in the past, some Japanese coins have a hole in the middle, and it is believed that this is a remainder of those shells that also had openings (see the photo). In Japan today there are six types of coins (1, 5, 10, 50, 100, & 500 yen) and 4 types of bills (1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen). The bill for 2000-yen is not common, but you may come across one from time to time, I guess it is just like the two-dollar bill in the U.S.
Today Doraemon is well-known not only in Japan but also worldwide. Most people who have watched this anime already know that Doraemon is a robot cat that has tons of fantastical gadgets and helps a 4th grader boy, Nobita who is somewhat slow and goofy. They also know that Doraemon came from future and that he is scared of mice because his ears were eaten by them. But most people probably don’t know the following trivia. Doraemon’s height (in cm), weight (in kg), bust, waist, and hip (all in cm), foot length (in mm), running speed when chased by a mouse (in km/h), and the height of his jump when he sees a mouse (in cm) are all 129.3 and his birthday is September 3rd, 2112. However, I am sorry to say that there is no special meaning to the number “129.3” except that it was the average height (in cm) of Japanese 4th graders when Doraemon first came out in 1969.
The second Monday in October is a holiday in Japan. Of course it’s not “Columbus Day”. It’s called “Taiiku no Hi (体育の日)” or “Health and Sports Day”. This holiday started in 1966. It used to be the 10th of October because the Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony was held on 10/10/1964, but in 2000 Japan started incorporating the American holiday system and changed the holiday from the 10th of October to the second Monday in October. This holiday is dedicated to growing healthy minds and bodies by playing sports. Of course you should exercise more than just once a year. lol
“Kuru fuku” means “a coming good fortune”, and this is what people hope for from a maneki-neko. Since Japanese people associate the sound of “ku” with the number nine (9) and “fu” with two (2), while “ru” is just an extra sound, the words “kuru fuku” can be represented as 9ru 29 or 9-29. Therefore, the Association for Manekineko Japan has established September 29th as Maneki-Neko Day (招き猫の日). Some communities and/or businesses host special programs or festivals on this day.
When you see a Japanese drawing of the moon, do you notice rabbits are often drawn with the moon? Do you know the name of the girl who turns into Sailor Moon? Her name is “Tsukino Usagi” and that means “rabbits in the moon”. Why rabbits? If you ask this question to any Japanese person, then they will all tell you about the rabbits in the moon. If you love Japan and want to be Japanese, then you need to know about them too. Lol. Look!
(Some people say there is only one rabbit in the moon, but that sounds too lonely to me. I want to believe there are two rabbits)
Chika 
