New Japanese Banknotes Today, July 3rd, new designs for banknotes were issued in Japan. The new banknotes incorporate "3D holograms" as an advanced

Kasumi no Koromo In the early spring, especially in the mountains at dawn, you can often see kasumi no koromo (霞の衣). Since kasumi (霞) menas "haze,"

Tēpu Katto Shikiten Today, I participated in a tēpu katto shikiten (テープカット式典) for the launch of a new faculty at my university. ・Tēpu (テープ) means "t ...

Sozoro Aruki On my days off, I often do sozoro aruki (そぞろ歩き). Sozoro aruki refers to strolling around without any particular purpose. Sozoro (そぞろ)

Bōjaku Bujin The four-character idiom bōjaku bujin (傍若無人) describes someone who acts selfishly, without consideration for others. ・Bō (傍) means “bes ...

Gozō Roppu ni Shimiwataru: Part 2 The gozō (五臓 - "five organs") refers to the heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys, while roppu (六腑 - "six entrai ...

Gozō Roppu ni Shimiwataru: Part 1 The Japanese expression gozō roppu ni shimiwataru (五臓六腑に染み渡る) is used to describe situations where you take somethi ...

Kidoairaku The four-character idiom kidoairaku (喜怒哀楽) represents the various emotions that people have. ・Ki (喜) means "delight." ・Do (怒) means "ange ...

Nikukarazu Omou In traditional Japanese, the phrase nikukarazu omou (憎からず思う) can be used to express affection or admiration for someone. ・Niku/nikuk ...

Hitokara Today, I did hitokara (ヒトカラ). Can you guess what hitokara stands for? Hito (ヒト) is short for hitori (一人 - "one person"), and kara (カラ) is

Utsutsu wo Nukeasu The Japanese phrase utsutsu wo nukasu (うつつを抜かす) describes being absorbed in something. Utsutsu (うつつ) means "reality" or "sanity," ...

Ichinen Hokki The concept of making a strong resolution to achieve something is described as ichinen hokki (一念発起) in Japanese. Ichinen (一念) means a

Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe Today, I visited Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe located in Ikebukuro. I ordered a Pikachu-shaped waffle (called Pokéf ...

Okuman Chōja People with a large amount of assets are called okuman chōja (億万長者) in Japanese. Oku (億) means "a hundred million," man (万) means "ten

Hello Nyan-8 The beta version of Nyan-8, the much-anticipated successor to Lang-8, has finally been released. I am very pleased that such a service