On the 19th of February Usui started. The snow turns to the rain. It’s still cold outside but hints of spring is appearing.

After Setsubun, the spring is here in Japanese ancient calendar. It’s called Risshun. But it’s still cold. Why ancient people decided it’s spring now?

The 3rd of February is Setsubun in Japan. Evil masks and dried soy beans are sold in many supermarkets. There are three things people do on this day for good luck.

Daikan is the coldest season of the year and is one of the 24 Seasons Japanese and Chinese people have been using to describe the small changes of the season.

Ancient Chinese and Japanese people divided the year in 24 seasons according to subtle clime changes. People still refer to Nijushi-sekki to describe the time of the year.

Have you noticed the air has got colder recently? That’s because we are now in the season of Shokan. This is one of the 24 seasons of the year.

Japanese children get money, otoshidama in the New Year. It was my best event at the beginning of the year as a child and not my favourite as an adult.

Happy New Year!! It’s a year of mouse in 2020. Wish you all lots of new challenges and fun!

Japanese tattoo is well-known because of Yakuza films. But there are also tribal tattoos that have been a tradition of Ainu and Ryukyuan people. The patterns are very similar to the ones seen in Taiwan, Philippines or Polynesia. Why tribal tattoos are not so common in Japan and how did it arrive there?

This year, I have experienced a funeral as a family. There were a lot of things to prepare and organise even though it would be a small family funeral.