41.

Baseball In Japan

Japan has played baseball for more than a century. It's a common sport for children that gets intensely
competitive by high school. The country's national high school championships in summer attracts huge
crowds and television coverage. Japan has a professional league known as Nippon Professional Baseball
with 12 teams and a highly successful national team known as Samurai Japan. Baseball games in Japan
have much atmosphere, particularly in cities with die-hard fans such as Osaka.

42. Shodo

Shodo is the Japanese art of calligraphy. Most Japanese people have studied it and have an appreciation
for it. A calligrapher's confidence and fluidity shows in each work. It's considered an almost spiritual
exercise that has been heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism.

43. Yukata

Yukata are traditional cotton robes that are commonly worn to summer festivals. Although they are
shaped something like kimono, they are very different. For example, kimono are expensive formal wear
and yukata are roughly as formal as pajamas. It's common for hotels in Japan to provide yukata to guests
that may be worn in limited public areas such as the hotel's onsen. Some hotels prohibit yukata at hotel
restaurants but it's common for guests to ignore this because yukata somehow feel formal enough for
breakfast.
44. Cars

Japan is home to several of the world's largest car companies and it's fair to say that people in Japan are
passionate about their cars. In Tokyo, it's common for families to have a car that they only use on
weekends as commuting by train is the norm. Auto customization is popular as represented by the
elaborate cars on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon, a customization industry event in January. It's common
to see some fairly unique cars streaming through the night streets of Japanese cities, towns and suburbs.

45. Bonenkai

Bonenkai are a tradition of holding year end parties in Japan. The term can be literally translated "forget
the year party." At companies, these parties typically have structure with speeches and in some cases
performances. It's also common for teams and friends to hold bonenkai making December the busiest
party season in Japan.

46. Kaiseki

Kaiseki is a fine multi-course meal that may include over a dozen small aesthetically pleasing courses. In
many cases, kaiseki dishes are the original creation of a chef. As a result, it tends to a little mysterious
even to the Japanese who may also find it exotic. Although it's typically highly original, kaiseki does
follow traditions that include dozens of categories of dish that are typically served in the same order.

47. Yurei
Yurei is the Japanese word for ghost. Japan has countless old ghost stories that are typically terrifying,
sad or both. In the past, these stories were often taken seriously and ghosts were blamed for disasters
and misfortune. As a result, the government and wealthy individuals occasionally spent large sums of
money building temples to appease angry spirits who were blamed for various tragedies.

48. Shotengai

Shotengai is a style of shopping street that is often covered by a roof. Almost every city in Japan has at
least one shotengai and they are usually filled with old family run businesses. More often than not
businesses in a shotengai represent a complete mix of services that include groceries, clothing, drug
stores, barber shops, cafes and restaurants. Most have a distinctly 1980s feel to them.

49. Bonsai

Bonsai is the Japanese art of making aesthetically pleasing miniature trees designed to look like full sized
trees. Remarkably, the trees used are not genetically dwarfed but are kept small by pruning and other
techniques. Bonsai can reach hundreds of years of age while remaining small.

50. Owarai

Owarai is a general term for Japanese comedy acts that are geared to stand up or television
appearances. Japanese comedy has a unique style that's heavy on slapstick, wordplay and general
silliness.
51. Hanabi

Hanabi is the Japanese word for fireworks. Japan's first large scale fireworks show was the Sumidagawa
Hanabi in 1732, an event that's still held today. Japan has a rich tradition of crafting fireworks and the
country has an unusual level of enthusiasm for summer fireworks shows.

52. Ama

Ama are female free divers who collect pearls, shellfish, lobsters, octopus, sea urchins, oysters and
seaweed. This traditional profession is still practiced in several regions of Japan.

53. Ukiyoe

Ukiyo-e is a genre of art that first appeared alongside cheap paper in the Edo-era. It has a comic book
feel that has been used to document life in Japan for hundreds of years. Ukiyo-e is often irrelevant, dark
and tends to find humor in the most serious of events. Works of Ukiyo-e reached European artists
beginning in the 1850s and is considered one of the main inspirations for the Impressionist art
movement.

54. Ikebana

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It's unique in that it focuses on sticks, stems and
leaves over the flowers themselves. This makes for some interesting aesthetic possibilities.

55. Japanese Snacks

Japanese snacks include both traditional classics made at home or sold at festivals and packaged snacks
that are factory made. Snacks in Japan tend to be seasonal and many are associated with holidays,
events and pastimes.

56. Obon

Obon is a summer holiday in Japan when it's believed that ancestors of departed loved ones return for a
visit. The holiday is associated with a number of rituals and celebrations such as dances to welcome the
spirits.

57. Salaryman

Salaryman is a term for male office workers in Japan who tend to lead a particular lifestyle. They are
viewed with an odd mix of admiration, respect and pity by locals.

58. Seiza

Seiza is a method of sitting with your legs directly under you and the tops of your feet flat on the floor. It
can be somewhat painful even when you're accustomed to it. Nevertheless, it's considered the proper
way to sit in a variety of formal situations. It has a disciplined feel to it.
59. Desserts

Japan didn't historically have access to sugar and when sugar first arrived it was extremely expensive for
several centuries up until the 1860s. As a result, Japan developed unique traditional desserts that are
sweetened with ingredients such as red beans.

60. Japanese Street Fashion

Street Fashion is an individualistic fashion sense that can often be seen in urban areas of Japan. It's
particular prevalent in neighborhoods such as Tokyo's Harajuku and Omotesando that are considered
desirable areas amongst street fashion enthusiasts.