Find yourself in Oguni during the winter season? Then you must go to Yokone ski area (suki-jou). As a local favorite, this ski area is the heart of Oguni during winter. Both children and adults can enjoy skiing or snowboarding throughout the day from 9 am – 5 pm. You can also ski at night…

Need a break from the busy city life? Then come to the hidden town of Oguni-machi in Yamagata prefecture. In Oguni you can enjoy the beautiful nature and positive atmosphere anywhere you go. One of my personal recommendations to enjoy the outdoors at is Kenko No Mori Yokone (健康の森横根). Kenko No Mori The lake in…

When most people think of sports in Japan, baseball or the various traditional forms of martial arts generally come up. Unfortunately, ice hockey isn’t on the top of many lists but in my opinion, it absolutely needs to be included. Recently I had the opportunity to watch 4 professional hockey games in Shin-Yokohama at the…

Have you started learning any Japanese yet? How’s your hiragana, katakana, and kanji? Once you’ve mastered those, maybe you would like to start learning the dialects (ho-ben方便) of the different areas across Japan. Various areas have their own unique dialect and it’s quite interesting to listen to the differences. For me, Kansai-ben sounds like Chinese,…

Ready for a breathtaking adventure? Come to Tsuruoka city in Yamagata Prefecture and climb Mount Haguro. Mount Haguro, or Hagurosan, is a 2,446 stone step mountain that’s part of the 3 sacred mountains in Yamagata Prefecture. While climbing you’ll enjoy amazing views and excellent service. You can climb this mountain all year long, but I…

When I think about my life in Japan and what I will remember for years, persimmons always come to mind right away. Persimmons, you ask? While that might seem strange to some, Japanese persimmons, or kaki, now hold a special place in my heart. When I hear the word kaki, I think of vibrant colors,…

This fall I went to Hakodate with my family for the first time but we didn’t really know much to see there. So after asking the hotel staff and looking through some pictures on different social media websites, I decided that we must go to Kousetsuen park, or also known as Miharashi. We were not…

Fairy tales are a good example of a global concept, because they are prevalent in every culture. Reading fairy tales allows you to learn about a culture more in-depth, and add to the knowledge you already have through portrayal in the media. Recently, I have started to learn more about Japanese fairy tales. There are…