Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!If you received chocolate on Valentine’s Day, the clock is ticking. In Japan, March 14th is White Day, and it isn’t optional. It’s when replies are made, intentions are clarified, and small gestures suddenly mean...
Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!In Japan, Valentine’s Day isn’t really about romance in the way people expect. Chocolates are categorized and all Japanese people know them. Giri-choco is obligation chocolate for coworkers, tomo-choco is for fri...
Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!It's almost February and we hope your Japanese is going well! This week, we wanted to look at some less traditional, but more interesting ways to level up your Japanese. Let's get straight into it!Ultimate Guide...
Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!Right now, everyone is motivated to study Japanese. They've got new goals, fresh plans, new textbooks and apps, and the feeling that this year is going to be different. Then... February arrives. Progress feels sl...
Akemashite omedetou (Happy New Year) from the Japan Switch Team!We're here again... and January does this every year.You don’t say it out loud, but you feel it, right?In the back of your mind, something says, “I should probably be better at Japanese...
Happy Holidays from the Japan Switch Team!This isn't the best way to start, but... Have you ever heard the Japanese slang term kuribocchi? It’s a blend of kurisumasu (Christmas) and bocchi (being alone), and it refers specifically to spending Christm...
Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!I might ruffle some feathers with this. A few years ago, they tried to cancel the Christmas song 'Baby, It's Cold Outside.' But honestly... baby, it is c o l d outside right now.Still, Tokyo doesn’t slow down for...
Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!In Western dating, you’re usually talking, dating, or stuck in a messy situationship, right? But in Japan, there’s a whole intentional middle phase called aimai na kankei, which means “ambiguous relationship.” It...
Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!Once upon a time, Halloween in Shibuya was legendary.We're talking tens of thousands of people in wild costumes, getting lit, that rivaled the Mardi Gras in ferocity. But it got real messy real quick. Trash every...
Konnichiwa from the Japan Switch Team!Japanese fashion has a certain reputation, doesn't it? The media loves to parade around cosplayers, hosts, and idols as shining examples of how fearless and "wild" the fashion is... But those are kind of outliers...
