ごみ (gomi) - Rubbish

One of the first things I always hear from people who come to visit Japan is "where are all the bins?". It's true enough - at home there's a bin on every corner, whereas you can walk for kilometres here without ever seeing one. The second thing I hear is "why isn't there rubbish everywhere?"; you would think that if there were no bins to be found, people would just give up and throw things on the ground. Not so - people diligently carry their bottles, wrappers and cartons around until they find a コンビニ (konbini - convenience store), which will usually have ごみ箱 (ごみばこ - gomibako - rubbish bins) out the front.

So why are there no bins and where is all the rubbish? The answers might be more interesting than you think.

お盆 (おぼん) - Obon

お盆 (or just 盆 - ぼん - Bon) is a Buddhist festival that happens during the middle of Summer across the whole of Japan. Similar to Mexico's Day of the Dead, it's a time where people's ancestors are said to return to the world of the living. It's also one of the busiest times of year to travel, with thousands of travellers returning to their families for the occasion; if you wanted to experience being pushed on to a crowded train firsthand, お盆 would be a very good time for it.

So what is お盆 and what does it involve, exactly? Let's find out.

Japaneats その5 - ラーメン (Ramen)

With all the travelling we've been doing in recent topics, it's probably time we stop for a bite to eat. ラーメン has to be one of Japan's most successful food imports - originally from China, it's now almost as much of a national staple as its native cousins うどん (udon) and そば (soba). In its most basic form, ラーメン is a bowl of noodles in soup, but that makes it sound more boring than it is. There are hundreds of variations from instant to gourmet and with that level of diversity, Japan is bound to have the perfect ラーメン for you.