I recently visited 六義園 Rikugien Gardens to see the illuminated leaves. It was a calm and beautiful evening. I almost forgot I was surrounded by busy roads and high-rise buildings.

The name “Rikugien” refers to a system for dividing Chinese poetry into six categories. This system also influenced the division of Japanese Waka poetry. The number six is usually read “roku”, but in this case it is pronounced “riku” in keeping with the Chinese pronunciation. Read on…

Tokyo was the first and last place of my tour of Japan in May. The best day I had there was actually my last day in Japan. I spent the day with a friend I’d made online. We’d been talking in English and Japanese for a while and she was kind enough to show me around Tokyo. However, rather than describe a whole day, I’ve decided to pick a few of my favourite moments from the 4 days I spent in Tokyo. Read on…

Warning, total newb Japanese ahead. I’m just going to try my best to get it right, throw it up on Lang-8 and see what reaction I get. I’m hoping that writing about similar things and repeating similar kanji will help me remember them. Read on…