Japanese Song of the Week Pedicure Day by No Sleeves

This week’s Japanese Song of the Week is Pedicure Day by No Sleeves, which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese J-Pop Oricon charts.

No Sleeves (ノースリーブス) often shortened as no3b is a unit consisting of three members from the idol group AKB48 team A. They debuted in 2008, and have had three J-Pop Oricon top 10 singles to date.

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.

New Year’s in Japan

New Year’s or Oshogatsu (正月) in Japan is one of the most important holidays. Most people will return home to spend the time together with their families. Many people visit a temple at Midnight on December 31st as Buddhist temples all around Japan ring their bells a total of 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins in Buddhist belief and to get rid of the 108 worldly desires.

New Year’s Day is meant to be full of joy and happiness with no stress or anger. Everything should be clean and you should not work on this day. It is tradition to visit a Shrine or Temple during Oshogatsu.

Merry Christmas from Japan Australia

Wishing all my followers and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let's hope for a great 2012 and many more great years to come.

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.

Ue Kara Mariko by AKB48

This week’s Japanese Song of the Week is Ue Kara Mariko by AKB48 which has debuted at number 1 on the Japanese JPop Oricon charts. AKB48 is a popular all girl idol group, which you can read more about here. This is AKB48’s 5th number 1 single of 2011 and they have dominated the Japanese JPop Oricon charts with the top 5 selling singles of the year in 2011.

Japan Picture of the Week Kinkakuji Temple Surrounds Kyoto

This week’s Japan Picture of the Week is a shot of the surrounds of Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan.

Kinkakuji Temple (金閣寺)Temple of the Golden Pavilion is one of Japan’s best known sites. The original building was constructed in 1397 as the retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.