Picture of the Week Yokohama Marine Tower, Japan

Yokohama Marine Tower (横浜マリンタワー ) is located in the Yamashita koen area of Yokohama, which is known as the traditional sightseeing district of Yokohama.

The lattice tower is 106m high with an observation deck at a height of 100m. The tower offers spectacular views over the harbour. In clear conditions you can see Mount Fuji from the 100m high observation deck.

Entry to Yokohama Marine Tower is 700 yen and it’s open from 10am to 9:30pm.

This is my entry for this week's edition of Show Me Japan

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Golden Week 2011 in Japan

Golden Week in Japan is fast approaching. The end of April through around May 5th is called “Golden Week” in Japan and is based around a period of Japanese national holidays. Golden Week in 2011 is basically from April 29 through May 5.

There are four national holidays during this period: Showa Day (April 29), Constitution Memorial Day (May 3), Greenery Day (May 4), and Children`s Day (May 5). This is a very busy travel season in Japan and most tourist destinations are extremely crowded. Many Japanese offices close for about a week to 10 days, depending on the calendar with many people taking a vacation, travelling abroad or to a tourist attraction in Japan. Airports and train stations are usually overflowing with people during this time and it can be very hard to get reservations for accommodation and transportation during Golden Week.

The first national holiday during Golden Week is April 29 and is the birthday of the former emperor Showa, and is called showa-no-hi (Showa Day). The second holiday on May 3 is kenpou-kinenbi (Constitution Memorial Day). The new Japanese constitution was put into effect on May 3, 1947. May 4 is called midori-no-hi (Greenery Day) during which we show appreciation for the environment and nature. The last holiday is kodomo-no-hi (Children`s Day) on May 5. It`s a Japanese Boy`s festival and is a day to pray for healthy growth of boys. It`s a Japanese tradition for families with boys to hang up carp streamers (koinobori) outside their houses around this holiday. Carps are believed to symbolize successes in children`s lives. Also, samurai dolls called gogatsu ningyo (May Dolls) are displayed in their houses. May is a great time to travel in Japan and I would advise planning a trip to Japan after the Golden Week travel rush has ended.

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

An Introduction to Modern Japanese

An Introduction to Modern Japanese by Osamu Mizutani & Nobuko Mizutani is a fantastic book for learning Japanese. The book is designed to give the reader a solid foundation in modern Japanese, sufficient to handle everyday conversations and discussions as well as the ability to express their interests and life.

After studying this book you will be able to read all of the hiragana and katakana, recognise a lot of basic words in kanji, and have a good knowledge of grammar.

The book is made up of 30 lessons which contain dialogues, explanations, drills, reading comprehensions, aural comprehensions, pronunciation practices, and writing practices.

The drills are very useful because they are designed so that you will be able to use new expressions in meaningful actual situations, rather than just memorizing.

It is a system them really works and has helped me improve my Japanese.

An Introduction to Modern Japanese will fill all your needs for both classroom and independent study.

Read more on How to Learn Japanese

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Jet Coaster Love by Kara

Jet Coaster Love by Kara was the number 1 song on the Japanese Oricon music charts last week. Who is Kara do you ask? Kara is a girl group from Korea formed in 2007. The current five-member band made their debut in Japan in 2010 and by the end of the year was dubbed as Japan’s #1 New Artist of 2010 by Oricon. The group also released their first Japanese album, Girl’s Talk.

Jet Coaster Love is their 3rd single in Japan and was released on April 6th. It is classic J-Pop and very upbeat and uplifting. A good pick me up after a bad day.

All the proceeds from the single will be donated to Japan’s natural disaster relief aid.

You can watch the video for Jet Coaster Love below

Picture of the Week Cherry Blossoms in Gifu, Japan

The cherry blossom or sakura is the unofficial national flower of Japan. There are many dozens of different cherry tree varieties in Japan with most blooming for just a few days in Spring. The Japanese celebrate that time of year with hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties under the blooming trees. These celebrations usually involve a lot of eating and drinking. Hanami parties take place during the day or at night. Many places have paper lanterns hung on the trees and street vendors selling all sorts of great festival food including yakisoba, takoyaki and okonomiyaki.

These pictures were taken at Kagamigahara Shiminkoen in Gifu, Japan

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

This is my entry for this weeks Show me Japan

Meat Monster in Japan

The Meat Monster has hit Japan. The Burger King franchise has just released its Meat Monster hamburger in Japan. The 4900kj hamburger costs about $10 and contains two beef patties, a chicken fillet, three bacon rashers, two slices of cheese and more, served on two white buns. Don't worry, it does contain some salad coming with lettuce and tomatoes and onions to balance it out.

The Meat Monster has been created just for Japan and will be available Only in Japan.

Read more about some of the lighter and more interesting stories about Japan at Only in Japan

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Music 4 Japan

Music 4 Japan is another great compilation put together by musicians and labels all across the globe to help support the survivors of the Japan March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami disaster.

The digital album contains 41 diverse tracks, including Indie Rock, Electronica, Beats, Hip-Hop, Grime and even a little Country.

100% profit from sales of the album will go to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Appeal.

Show your love and support for Japan by purchasing this download.

Visit Music 4 Japan to purchase your download at Music 4 Japan

You can also support the survivors of the Japan earthquake and tsunami by purchasing
 Songs for Japan and the Book 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake