Konnichiwa!! Let's talk Japanese music! 🪭🎸🌸 Last month we had so many good recommendations. Let's keep it going! One of the top songs of 2026 in Japan is Vivarium by Ado. Ado is a young pop star who never shows her face. Do you think this adds to her mystery and appeal? What Japanese music are you listening to? It can be from any era or genre - we'd love to hear about it!! Arigatou, Joe.

This week’s fact is about one of Japan’s most famous symbols of perseverance. 🔴 Daruma Dolls A Daruma (だるま) is a traditional Japanese doll that represents: • perseverance • determination • never giving up The doll is based on Bodhidharma, the monk associated with the origins of Zen Buddhism. Its round shape is symbolic too. If you knock a daruma over… it rolls back upright. This connects to a famous Japanese phrase: 七転び八起き Nanakorobi yaoki “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” 👁️ Why Daruma Have Blank Eyes When people buy a daruma, one eye is usually left blank. First, you make a goal or wish. Then you paint in one eye. The daruma watches over your effort and determination. When the goal is finally achieved… …you paint in the second eye. Only then is the daruma complete. ⛩️ When Are Daruma Used? People often use daruma for: 📚 passing exams 💼 business goals 🏃 fitness goals 🎯 personal challenges At the end of the year, many people return old daruma dolls to temples to be respectfully burned in ceremonies. 🔴 My Daruma Goal I recently bought a daruma of my own. It is the one in the photo. Right now, both eyes are blank and I'm about to fill in one eye to start the journey toward my goal. My goal is to make Japanese Language Learners as useful and engaging as possible so we can grow this group to 1000 members. When our group reaches 1000 members, I’ll paint in the second eye. 👁️✨ So every new member brings us one step closer to completing the daruma together. 🧠 Language Lesson 🔴 だるまをかいました。 Daruma o kaimashita. I bought a daruma. 🔴 もくひょうがあります。 Mokuhyō ga arimasu. I have a goal. 🔴 がんばります。 Ganbarimasu. I will do my best. 🫵 Your Turn If you had a daruma, what goal would you use it for? 日本語の目標ですか？ 😊 Also, please let me know what you would like to see in our group to help it be as useful as possible for you and for our 1000 potential members. See you next Friday for another Japan Fact Friday 🇯🇵✨

I've been a little sick the last couple of days so felt inspired to write about phrases for sickness in Japanese. Everyone needs this vocabulary at some point! 🤧 Common Phrases かぜをひきました。 Kaze o hikimashita. I caught a cold. インフルエンザにかかりました。 Infuruenza ni kakarimashita. I got the flu. ねつがあります。 Netsu ga arimasu. I have a fever. のどがいたいです。 Nodo ga itai desu. My throat hurts. あたまがいたいです。 Atama ga itai desu. I have a headache. せきがでます。 Seki ga demasu. I have a cough. はながでます。 Hana ga demasu. I have a runny nose. 🗣️ Useful Sentences 今日はちょっと具合が悪いです。 Kyō wa chotto guai ga warui desu. I feel a bit unwell today. 今日は休みます。 Kyō wa yasumimasu. I will take a day off today. 🫵 Your Turn Try writing one sentence: ＿＿＿がいたいです。 ＿＿＿があります。 Example: あたまがいたいです。

Konnichiwa, What's your favourite Japanese word or saying? Mine is 儚い - hakanai. Hakanai means evanescent, fleeting, ephemeral. It suggests the passing nature of moments, beauty and life. The delicate cherry blossoms blooming and shortly falling are hakanai. The crimson sky and the setting sun moments before night falls are hakanai. Each day spent with loved ones are hakanai. We must appreciate the beauty of these experiences that will come and go and cherish them all the more for it. The special things in life are hakanai and that's why it is my favourite Japanese word. What is your favourite Japanese word or saying? Arigatou, Joe Sensei.

What's something you're proud of learning? I learnt about fermentation. Why? After dinner in Japan one evening, I decided I desperately needed to learn about fermentation and the very next day I bought this book. But why? It was talking to my friend's parents that made me feel I needed to learn the Japanese vocabulary and about the process of fermentation. The parents both had worked for drcades for Sapporo Breweries Limited and during dinner they wanted to tell me about their time in the company, their roles and their brewing inventions. But so many times they tried to tell me but I didn't have the vocabulary to understand. It was vocab that would be common to a teenager having studied a little bit of chemistry. But I was lost and frustrated. They were so patient and so nice and we had a lovely dinner. But I swore to myself that I'd learn the necessary vocab so that when we had dinner together again, I could understand their stories of successful brewing. I studied this book, Hakkou no Hon, the Book of Fermentation. It wasn't easy. The book is aimed at young teenagers, but there were so many technical words and phrases that were new to me. But I tried my best. The next time we had dinner, I more easily followed along with their explanations and there was so much less of the frustration a language barrier can give. We had a wonderful meal and even better conversation. So, I'm proud of learning about fermentation! What's something you're proud of learning?