Japanese Words & Culture Hakuro (白露): White Dew in Japan
What 白露 (White Dew) means in Japan, and what is actually in season now through the lens of shun.
Japanese Seasons
Japanese Words & Culture 
Japanese Words & Culture Shosho (処暑): End of Heat in Japan
Shosho (処暑) means “End of Heat,” but Japan can still be very hot. A 2026 seasonal note comparing the traditional calendar with current weather, food supply, and everyday retail.
Japanese Words & Culture Japan’s 24 Solar Terms and 72 Microseasons: A Living Seasonal Calendar
Japan’s traditional seasonal calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms and 72 microseasons. This living guide will grow through the year, linking each old seasonal phrase to modern Japanese weather, food, plants and everyday life.
Japanese Words & Culture 天地始粛: The heat begins to subside | Japan’s 72 Microseasons
In late August Japan, the old calendar says the heat is easing — while the forecast still looks like summer. 天地始粛 is where lingering heat, early-autumn fruit and everyday seasonal culture overlap.
Japanese Words & Culture Japan Now Has an Official Name for a 40°C Day
Japan’s weather vocabulary has a new word: kokushobi, an official term for days reaching 40°C or higher. Here is what the name says about everyday summer life in Japan.
Japanese Words & Culture Obon Is Not a National Holiday—So Why Does Japan Shut Down?
Obon is not a national holiday in Japan, yet trains fill up, highways clog, offices quiet down, and families head home. Why does an unofficial holiday have so much power?
Daily Scenes Why Is a Japanese Mosquito Coil Shaped Like a Spiral?
Why are Japanese mosquito coils spiral-shaped and green? Discover the flower, the inventor, and the simple idea that changed Japan’s summer nights.
Japanese Words & Culture Cucumber Horses and Eggplant Cows: The Vegetable Animals of Japan’s Obon
Every summer, ordinary cucumbers and eggplants become small animals that carry ancestral spirits home. Discover the quiet meaning behind Japan’s Obon tradition.
Daily Scenes I Bought a New Umbrella, So Let’s Talk About Japan’s Rainy Season
Japan’s rainy season, called tsuyu, is humid and inconvenient, but it also brings green streets, quiet rain, umbrellas, rice fields, and water before summer.