Hina Matsuri Doll’s Festival

Hina Matsuri (雛祭), or Girl’s Day, is a Japanese Doll Festival, which is celebrated on March 3rd in Japan. On this day, families with girls will display ornamental dolls in the hope of bringing their daughters a successful and happy life.

Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display the set of ornamental dolls called (雛人形 hina-ningyō) which represent the Emperor, Empress and other court attendants in traditional court dress of the Heian period in Japan. The dolls are usually displayed on a five or seven tired stand with the Emperor and Empress at the top. The next step contains three court ladies (sannin-kanjo), followed by five musicians (gonin-bayashi), two ministers (udaijin and sadaijin), and three servants ending the bottom row in a five-tiered display.

Inaugural World Tea Farms Festival

The Inaugural World Tea Farms Festival is a must see event you should schedule in to your calendar for March. It’s a 2 Day Festival celebrating tea from around the world. There will be tea from 30 tea farms including tea from India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. The tea from Japan will feature tea from Wazuka, Shizuoka, Yame, Kyoto, Nara and many more.

The event will be held on Saturday March 10th – Sunday March 11th from 10am to 4pm.

McDonald's Japan Big America Burgers Broadway Burger

The McDonald’s Japan Big America Burgers have returned for 2012. You can read about the previous editions of the burger here.

The latest release is the Broadway Burger, which features a quarter-pound beef burger topped with fresh vegetables, pastrami bacon, mustard sauce and cream cheese sauce.

Osaka Japan

Image by jiquem

Osaka is one of the must see places in Japan on any trip. Osaka is famous for its relaxed down to earth people, sense of humour and great food. Osaka is a really attractive city with traditional buildings mixed in with modern architecture. Osaka really comes alive at night with flashing neon lights and street vendors.

Osaka is divided into two main areas Kita (North) and Minami (South). Kita is the city’s main business and administrative center and contains the JR Osaka Train Station. Minami is the city’s entertainment and shopping area. It contains entertainment and nightlife areas such as Namba and Shinsaibashi.

Valentine’s Day in Japan

Valentine’s Day in Japan is very different from anywhere else in the world. Valentine’s Day is on February 14th but it is all about the chocolates in Japan. The tradition in Japan is for the girls to give chocolates to the boys. It is totally up to the girls to show who they like by presenting them with chocolate. The favour is returned to the girls on a special day called White Day, which is celebrated on March 14th.

Types of chocolate giving on Valentine’s Day

Setsubun

Image by siren7

Today, February 3rd is Setsubun no hi (節分の日) which marks the start of the spring season risshun(立春) in Japan. The word Setsubun literally means a division of the seasons. Setsubun no hi is not an official national holiday, but it is celebrated in ways meant to drive away evil spirits and bad luck and bring in good luck.

Fukuoka Japan

Fukuoka located on the island of Kyushu in Japan has been voted one of Frommers Top Travel Destinations for 2012.

Fukuoka is the biggest city in Kyushu and is about 880km west of Tokyo. Fukuoka is not as widely known on the International scene as some of Japan’s other big cities, but has transformed itself over the last decade into one of Japan’s most cosmopolitan and internationalised cities. Fukuoka has been placed in the spotlight recently as a model green city and all of this has taken place before the March disaster bought energy conserving measures throughout Japan.

McDonald's Japan Big America Burgers are Back in 2012

The McDonald’s Japan Big America Burgers have returned for 2012. If you loved the previous editions of the burger get ready for the set of four being released this year. The series has already started with the Grand Canyon Burger released at the end of December.

The Grand Canyon Burger offered a quarter-pound beef patty with “steak filling,” cooked egg, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, crispy onions, steak sauce (with soy and "smoked" flavors) and an extra middle bun.

The Las Vegas Burger has just made its debut and is topped with a spicy sauteed sliced beef, onion “salsa”, and drizzled with special cream cheese sauce.

Japanese Song of the Week MAMORE!!! by IDOLING!!!

This week’s Japanese Song of the Week is MAMORE!!! by IDOLING!!!, which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese J-Pop Oricon charts.

IDOLING!!! (アイドリング) is a Japanese female idol group created by Fuji TV. The concept of the group was to watch the girls grow as idols and experience various things. They have a weekly variety show on TV and release albums, singles, DVD specials and perform live. They debuted in 2006, and have gone through many generation changes with the 5th generation of the group due in February 2012. This is the groups 17th single.

Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival 2012

The Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival is on at the Docklands on Saturday, February 11th from 4-8pm. Summer Festivals are popular annual events throughout Japan and now you have the chance to experience one here in Melbourne.

Admission to the festival is free and will showcase a number of performances including Dances, Taiko Drumming, Shamisen and Sumo. The festival will be packed with a wide range of stalls with traditional Japanese games, activities and food including Sushi, Okonomiyaki, Japanese Bento and Japanese Beer.

Takayama Japan

Takayama (高山市) located in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture in Japan is famous for its beautifully preserved old town. It is a small beautiful city known for its traditional architecture and crafts. Takayama is a rare place in Japan because it has managed to retain its traditional charm with its traditional inns, shops and sake breweries still in operation. The main town is small enough to explore on foot or by bicycle and I recommend at least 2 days to fully enjoy the place.

Top 5 Must-Read Most Popular Japan Australia Articles of 2011

Hope you all had a great New Year’s (明けましておめでとうございます).

Japan Australia had a great year in 2011 and now it is time to get together a “best of” list to review the year.

Here are the top 5 most popular articles from 2011.

Japan on a Budget

Japan is a great tourist destination and it is possible to visit Japan on a budget. Here are some money saving tips to help you on your next trip.

Travel

If you plan to do a lot of travelling in Japan then it is worth getting the Japan Rail Pass, which allows unlimited travel on almost all JR trains, including the shinkansen (excluding the Nozomi superexpress). This pass can only be purchased outside of Japan and will save you travel money in Japan.

In Tokyo, most of the main sights and hot spots can be visited via the JR Train Line (Yamanote loop line) with a one-day JR train pass for 730 yen (about USD$9). You can also look at regional pass like the JR Kanto Area Pass.