Top 5 Most Popular Articles of 2012

Japan Australia had another great year in 2012 and now that it is close to being a new year in 2013, we thought we’d take a look back on the best posts from 2012.

The first in the series will be the most popular articles based on total views. Here are the top 5 most popular articles from 2012 count down from 5 to 1.

#5 Winter Illuminations in Japan

Published on October 24th this is one of my recent posts that has proven to be quite popular. The illuminations are part of winter and Christmas in Japan and are a must see at this time of the year. The article highlighted some of the best places in Japan to see the spectacular night time illuminations including Kobe Luminaire, Nabana no Sato, and Shirakawa-go. Read this post

 #4 Japanese Miso Paste

Published on June 26th this post explained all about traditional Japanese miso paste, including the different variations and numerous health benefits. It also included a few handy tips on how to use miso paste and a great basic recipe for making miso soup a favourite Japanese dish. Read this post 


#3 Hina Matsuri Doll’s Festival

Published on March 1st this post all about Hina Matsuri (雛祭) shows how popular Japanese festivals are. I love this time of the year as it is around my birthday and is the start of the warmer months in Japan including the beautiful cherry blossoms that appear in spring. Read this post


 #2 Golden Week 2012 in Japan 

Published on April 25th this post highlighted and explained all about Golden Week, a holiday period in Japan based around several national holidays. It is one if the busiest travel periods in Japan and most tourist destinations are extremely crowded. The travel peak was around May 3rd this year. Read this post




#1 Okonomiyaki

Published on April 12th this post was the most popular for 2012. Japanese food posts have always been popular on Japan Australia, and this dish from Osaka is often called “Osaka Soul Food”. Okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake based on a batter containing a variety of ingredients and it is cooked on a hot plate. Read this post 


Thank you again everyone for supporting Japan Australia in 2012 and we look forward to a fantastic year ahead in 2013.