Today, as we celebrate Mountain Day, let’s look at some statistics about Japan’s geography.  According to the Ministry of the Environment: Government of Japan, forests cover 67% of Japan’s total land area, and mountains and hills cover 70%.  70% is a lot of space to be covered by mountains. 

Mie Prefecture is home to the most famous shrine in Japan, Ise Jingu, also known as the Ise Grand Shrine.  Ise Jingu has 125 betsugu (separate, detached shrines), which include Shima’s Izawanomiya Shrine.  According to the Japan Royal Service, Izawanomiya shrine has a special status among the betsugu under Ise Jingu’s Naiku.  Every June 24th, Izawanomiya Shrine holds the Izawanomiya Omita Ceremony, a rice planting ceremony known as Isobe no Omita. 

While people of all gender identities whole-heartedly believe year-round in the truth that love is love, the month of June in particular is when people and communities around the globe celebrate this irrefutable fact and take enormous pride in themselves for who they are and for who they wish for others to recognize them to be. Hence the name of the month-long celebration PRIDE.

Like Giving Tuesday, World Caring Day serves as a catalyst for inspiring acts of kindness and highlighting the various ways people show kindness.  While it isn’t regulated to a single day, some people need a nudge to recognize how they are caring.  Some kind souls don’t see helping others as a caring act, but rather as something that is just a part of their character or daily routine. 

Peace is a concept that we are all familiar with in varying capacities.  To the fortunate, it is a part of their everyday life.  To others, it is a hope for the future.  There will always be people who crave chaos and seek to sow it into the world, but where there is darkness, there will always be light.  That light can be seen in people who strive to promote peace with their actions and words.  A beacon of that peace can be seen in the peacekeepers stationed throughout the w

どの文化にも新年を祝う独自の方法がありますが、日本では12月31日の最後の瞬間は、ほっとするような一杯の蕎麦で締めくくられることが多いです。年越しそばは、単なる料理ではなく希望、再生、感謝の象徴的な意味合いが込められています。

Every culture has its unique way of celebrating the New Year, and in Japan, the final moments of December 31st are often marked with a comfo

Tanabata, also known as the star festival, is celebrated in most places on the seventh of July.  During this festival, it is common to write