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Most Sexy Japan, Shibuya Girl n Fashion

Shibuya Guide - Shibuya Tokyo is the trendy and fashionable shopping district of Tokyo. Our Shibuya guide covers shopping, attractions, hotels, nightclubs, restaurants and includes an interactive map.

Shibuya is a cara agar bisa shopping and eating district popular with a lot of young Tokyoites. In common usage, Shibuya refers to the area directly around Shibuya Station. However Shibuya is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo which includes the famous Harajuku with its famous Omotesando and Takeshita-Dori, Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu shrine and Sendagaya area.

The extremely busy and famous scramble crossing in front of Shibuya Station with the Tokyu department above the station.

Shibuya Map

You can see the location of Shibuya within Tokyo, the key sections, sights and buildings of Shibuya in our interactive Shibuya Map.

Hachiko Statue

Hachiko is a famous statue of a dog who possessed legendary loyalty to his owner. It is also the name of one of the many exits from Shibuya Station (see above) and the prime meeting place before a night out. Just hanging out near Hachiko for a while will give you some great people-watching opportunities.

Shibuya Hotels

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Shibuya - Famous Streets

Center Gai
Center Gai is a narrow pedestrian street leading away from Shibuya Station to the left of the giant video screen. It is famous as the birthplace of many of Japanese fashion trends. Center Gai is jam-packed with fashion boutiques, music stores, and video game arcades.
Koen Dori
Koen Dori, literately means "Park Street". It is a popular shopping street leading from the Marui department store to Yoyogi Park. The street's name is derived from the famous Parco department store (parco being Italian for park) and the fact that the street leads to Yoyogi Park.
Bunkamura-dori
Featured in Bunkamura-dori is the Bunkamura complex (Bunkamura literately means culture village) which includes an art museum, a theatre, concert hall, two cinemas, restaurants and a few shops. On the basement floor there's art and design bookstore as well as a branch of Paris' famous Les Deux Magots café.

Shibuya Shopping

Shibuya seems to be all about shopping with major department stores, fashion boutiques down every little street and whole buildings filled with latest Tokyo fashions like the famous Shibuya 109 Building. See more in our detailed Shibuya Shopping Guide.

Shibuya Restaurants

There are many restaurants in Shibuya where you can find some great Japanese food and we have a guide to just some of them. You can even find a whale meat restaurant in Shibuya. See more in our Shibuya Restaurant Guide.

A giant TV screen above "Star Bucks" opposite Shibuya Station.

The crowds of Shibuya attracts companies like Sony Ericson
to promote their latest and most fashionable products.

JAPANESE FASHION - TOKYO HARAJUKU

Harajuku Guide - Harajuku Tokyo is a major fashion and shopping region, famous for its Harajuku Girls. We have Harajuku Pictures and map.

For the young and fashionable teenager, spending time in Harajuku (原宿) on the weekends is practically a necessity. Even older folks will want to visit the area, though, to see Meiji Jingu shrine, Yoyogi Park or go shopping in Omotesando or Takeshita-dori. Harajuku is within the special ward of Shibuya .

Harajuku Map - Highlights the key points of interest within Harajuku. Alternatively you can see Harajuku within the context of Tokyo on our Tokyo Map.

Harajuku Bridge to Yoyogi Park

If it's Harajuku's youth culture you want to see, don't even bother unless it's the weekend and preferably a Sunday. The bridge across the train tracks from Harajuku station to Yoyogi Park is full of Gothic Lolita or GothLoli. The costumes are very outstanding and you can't miss them. It is funny to see the surprise of the western tourists heading to Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu who clearly had not read their guide books fully on Harajuku. You can hear their comments that make it very clear they just don't understand what is going on. Essentially the youth who have dressed up are just hanging out with friends, many of them come with the hope of being snapped by one of the many magazine photographers who mingle in the crowd. Failing that there are lots of western tourist happy to take their pictures. See nearly 50 exclusive pictures of GothLoli in Harajuku. See also Harajuku Fashion and Harajuku Pictures

Gothic Lolita on Harajuku bridge

Takeshita-dori

Opposite Harajuku Station, Takeshita-dori is a narrow street packed with young fashionable people and lined with fashion boutiques and cafes. This is definitely the place to be seen if you are young Tokyoite, but well worth visiting as a tourist. Takeshita-dori represents the cutting edge of fashion in Tokyo where you can see all the latest in Japanese street fashion and then buy in the boutiques.

Omotesando

Omotesando is broad, tree-lined avenue leading downhill from the southern end of the JR Harajuku station. This is the other side to Harajuku Fashion and its challenge to Shibuya and Ginza. Not only is the street full of cafes and international brand clothing boutiques, but now features the very up market Omotesando Hills. If Paris or Milan is the center of the world of fashion design, then Omotesando is the center of world fashion consumption.

MORE SIGHTSEEING IN HARAJUKU

Meiji Jingu (明治神宮), built in commemoration of Emperor Meiji in 1920, is Tokyo's grandest shrine. Like all of Japan's major shrines, it's large in scale but simple in structure, entered via a winding path and through a giant torii gate. On summer weekends you have a very good chance of catching a traditional Japanese wedding in progress here. See our detailed article.


Yoyogi Park is one of the largest parks in Tokyo. In the springtime, it is full of cherry blossoms and people partying under the trees.

Harajuku Hotels

Looking for accommodation near the Harajuku Tokyo?

JAPANESE FASHION - KOGAL

Kogals (コギャル kogyaru, lit. "small/child girl") are a subculture of girls and young women in urban Japan, one of several types of so-called gals. They are characterized by conspicuously displaying their disposable incomes through unique tastes in fashion, music, and social activity. In general, the kogal "look" roughly approximates a sun-tanned California Valley girl, and indeed, the similarities between the two extend to the linguistic, for both subcultures have derived entire sets of slang terms (コギャル語 "ko-gyaru-go"). Kogals are not to be confused with the ganguro subculture, although they are similar.

(Picture - Two young Japanese ladies reading photographers contracts they were just offered in the street outside Shibuya 109).

JAPANESE CULTURE - GEISHA

Geisha (芸者 "person of the arts") are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. The word Geiko is also used to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. "Geisha," pronounced /ˈgeɪ ʃa/ ("gay-sha") is the most familiar term to English speakers, and the most commonly used within Japan as well, but in the Kansai region the terms geigi and, for apprentice geisha, "Maiko" have also been used since the Meiji Restoration. The term maiko is only used in Kyoto districts. The English pronunciation ˈgi ʃa ("gee-sha") or the phrase "geisha girl," common during the American occupation of Japan, carry connotations of prostitution, as some young women, desperate for money and calling themselves "geisha," sold themselves to American troops.

Trainee Geisha (Maiko) Kyoto Japan by Michael Reeve

The geisha tradition evolved from the taikomochi or hōkan, similar to court jesters. The first geisha were all male; as women began to take the role they were known as onna geisha (女芸者), or "woman artist (female form)." Geisha today are exclusively female, aside from the Taikomochi. Taikomochi are exceedingly rare. Only three are currently registered in Japan. They tend to be far more bawdy than geisha. Other public figures who contributed to the creation of the modern geisha were Oiran, or courtesans, and Odoriko, dancing girls. The Odoriko in particular influenced geisha to include dance as part of their artistic repertoire.

A geisha at work in Gion Kyoto. Picture by ToddLara

Geisha were traditionally trained from young childhood. Geisha houses often bought young girls from poor families, and took responsibility for raising and training them. During their childhood, apprentice geisha worked first as maids, then as assistants to the house's senior geisha as part of their training and to contribute to the costs of their upkeep and education. This long-held tradition of training still exists in Japan, where a student lives at the home of a master of some art, starting out doing general housework and observing and assisting the master, and eventually moving up to become a master in her own right (see also irezumi). This training often lasts for many years.

The course of study traditionally starts from a young age and encompasses a wide variety of arts, including Japanese musical instruments (particularly the shamisen) and traditional forms of singing, traditional dance, tea ceremony, flower arranging (ikebana), poetry and literature. By watching and assisting senior geisha, they became skilled in the complex traditions surrounding selecting, matching, and wearing precious kimono, and in various games and the art of conversation, and also in dealing with clients.

Once a woman became an apprentice geisha (a maiko) she would begin to accompany senior geisha to the tea houses, parties and banquets that constitute a geisha's work environment. To some extent, this traditional method of training persists, though it is of necessity foreshortened. Modern geisha are no longer bought by or brought into geisha houses as children. Becoming a geisha is now entirely voluntary. Most geisha now begin their training in their late teens.

Are Geisha Prostitutes?

Strictly speaking, geisha are not prostitutes. Because they entertain men behind closed doors in an exclusive manner, there has been much speculation about the underpinnings of their profession. The confusion that surrounds this issue has been complicated by Japanese prostitutes who wish to co-opt the prestige of the geisha image, and by inaccurate depictions of geisha in Western popular culture. Although a geisha may choose to engage in sexual relations with one of her patrons, geisha engagements will never involve sex.

The first geisha was indeed a courtesan named Kako. Over time, she discovered that she had no need to engage in the red-light district. Kako was directly or indirectly to heir to many schools of Japanese art. She called herself a geisha ("arts-person") and confined herself to giving artistic performances.

Occasionally, a geisha may choose to take a danna (an old fashioned word for husband), which is typically a wealthy man who has the means to support a geisha mistress. Although a geisha may fall in love with her danna, the affair is customarily contingent upon the danna's ability to financially support the geisha's lifestyle. The traditional conventions and values within such a relationship are very intricate and not well understood, even by many Japanese. Because of this, the true intimate role of the geisha remains the object of much speculation, and often misinterpretation, in Japan as well as abroad.

Geta - The original Japanese platform shoes

Long before the 1970's and the platform shoes, Japanese women had been wearing Geta sandals or clogs.

The reason for wear these very high platform shoes was not for fashion, but for very practical reasons. If you are wearing a very expensive kimono that hangs all the way to your feet, you do not want to get mud on it when you walk outside. (A larger version of the picture can be seen by clicking on it).

Are Geta difficult to walk in?
Yes! Significant practice is required before someone can walk safely and elegantly in Geta.

Geta are made of one piece of solid wood forming the sole and two wooden blocks underneath. These block may have a metal plate on the section that touches the ground in order to lengthen the life span of the Geta. A V-shaped thong of cloth forms the upper part of the sandal.

JAPANESE CULTURE: SHICHI-GO-SAN FESTIVAL

Shichi-go-san is a festival celebrated by parents on the fifteenth of November in Japan, to mark the growth of their children as they turn three, five and seven years of age.

Shichi-go-san literally means “seven, five and three”. These ages are considered critical in a child’s life. Particularly, at the age of seven, a young girl celebrates wearing her first obi, while at the age of five a young boy celebrates wearing his first hakama pants in public. The age of three marks the first time whereby both boys and girls are allowed to let their hair grow.

The festival is said to have started in the Heian period (794-1185) where the nobles celebrated the growth of their children on a lucky day in November. The festival was subsequently set on the fifteenth of that month during the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa was said to be celebrating the growth of his son, Tokumatsu, on that day.

By the Edo period (1603-1868), this practice spread to commoners, who began visiting shrines to have prayers offered by priests. The shichi-go-san custom followed today evolved in the Meiji era (1868-1912). November 15 was chosen for this celebration because it was considered one of the most auspicious days of the year in the Japanese almanac. Since the day is not a national holiday, most families pay their shichi-go-san respects on the weekend just before or after the day.

Today, parents celebrate shichi-go-san as their boys turn three and five years of age, and as their girls turn three and seven. The boys don on haori jackets and hakama trousers, while the girls would wear a special ceremonial kimono when making their shichi-go-san visit. In recent years though, an increasing number of children are wearing Western-style suits and dresses.

Following the visit to the shrine, parents buy chitose-ame (“thousand years” candy) for their children. The candy is shaped like a stick and comes in a bag that carries illustrations of cranes and turtles - two animals that traditionally symbolise longevity in Japan. The candy and the bag are both expressions of parents' wish that their children lead long and prosperous lives.

Traditional Japanese Bath

Taking a bath has always been an integral part of Japanese life.

In the past, Japanese people enjoyed the daily ritual with their friends and neighbours in a public bath (the sento) or in a hot spring bath (the onsen). It was not until the middle of this century that the provision of a water supply made it possible for most people to have a private ofuro, although the onsen and the sento remain popular for many Japanese people.

Above you can see an Ofuro at the Japanese Mountain Retreat where you can enjoy a weekend away in this traditional Japanese style accommodation. By clicking on the image you can see a more detailed picture.

The Japanese bath means much more that just getting oneself clean. Having shed one’s clothes and daily concerns, then lathered, scrubbed and rinsed oneself thoroughly, one steps into the ofuro and sinks slowly into the deep, pure and clean hot water. Soaking, submerged to the chin, it is a time for relaxation and contemplation, a sensual pleasure and a feeling of well-being and harmony with the natural surroundings, perhaps the garden or landscape beyond.

JAPANESE MARRIAGE

Japanese Marriage - Japanese marriage history, Japanese marriage ceremony, Japanese marriage pictures and Japanese marriage culture.

See articles on Japanese marriage history and Japanese marriage ceremony.

If you look carefully you will be able to see how the Uchikake is very long and would touch the ground if it was not held up. Unlike traditional Western wedding dresses, that have train or material that flows along the ground at the back of the dress, the Uchikake is long all the way around. The Japanese bride has to be assisted by one of her attendants to walk in this kimono.

Japan Government

Government type

constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government

Capital

Tokyo

Administrative divisions

47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

Independence

660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)

National holiday

Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)

Constitution

3 May 1947

Legal system

modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Flag description

white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center

(Article based on Wikitravel article by Based on work by Brian Kurkoski, Mitch Sako, Paul N. Richter, Rene Malenfant, Evan Prodromou, Ryan, Jose Ramos, Namgay Dorji, David Zentgraf, Bujdosó Attila, Niels, Richard Petersen, Craig Fryer, Sat.K, Ted O'Neill and Yann Forget and Wikitravel user(s) Nightingale, Jpatokal, WindHorse, Maj, Sekicho, Ravikiran r, Littleblackpistol, Cjensen, PierreAbbat, MMKK, Historian, Nzpcmad, KagakuyaSan, Mark, Bijee, InterLangBot, Chris j wood, Nils, Joi, MykReeve, Huttite, Dhum Dhum, Â?, Luke, Karen Johnson and CIAWorldFactbook2002. Article used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0.)

J-Pop History

“J-pop” means “the popular music among the youths in Japan”.

J-POP word began to be known all over the world since Japanese music industry became big enough to influence Japanese pop culture and young people. Music industry in Japan is now one of the biggest industries in the world and affecting the music scene in other countries. Along with the expansion of Japanese music industry, J-pop has been getting popular in some countries in Asia, Europe and U.S., since internet makes it easier to access any information at home. In fact, some J-pop musicians like Glay often tour around Asia, especially China, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea. As well as Japanese artists tour around Asia, some Japanese bands tour in Australia. For example, the bands like Softball, Beat crusaders*¹, Zoobombs and Suns owl toured in Australia during the last couple of years.

Picture: Koji and Hiromi from "Drink Up The Ocean"

J-pop has been built up in long history. The basics of J-pop are made up from Japanese traditional music and folk music. Japanese music scene has been developed by Japanese artists and influences from overseas artists, mainly from U.S. and U.K. It is interesting that we can find every genre of music we can think of, in the Japanese music scene if we look at the weekly music charts like Orikon.*²

The problem of J-pop music is that they are sometimes identical to the particular American songs. Maybe it cannot be helped to become similar to the music that they were inspired. However, Japan has been importing other cultures, adjusting to them, and then even adding them into a part of Japanese culture since the opening of a country to western countries in 19 century. Even now, Japanese people are doing the same things as before, importing new music from overseas and changing them into a part of J-pop. Once the new music is rooted in Japanese music scene, they are no longer imported music. They are made in Japanese, by Japanese and for Japanese. They all are changed into Japanese flavors.

When you listen to some J-pop songs, you may think “oh, I have heard these songs before…” And then, you will realize that you have never listened to them and they have quite unique sounds somehow. The uniqueness could be an arrangement of the songs, voice of singers, language differences or all of them. All J-pop songs have uniqueness and familiarity in common. It means that they are similar to existent music, but they are different in any ways. Once you listen to J-pop, you will be able to understand its uniqueness. J-pop is worth listening to.

J-ROCK JAPANESE ROCK MUSIC

Japanese rock is a form of popular music, often abbreviated to "J-Rock" in much the same way that "J-Pop" is used as an abbreviation of Japanese Pop. J-Rock is one of the most popular forms of music in Japan.

J-Rock History

Psychedelic rock was invented in the 1960s by American and British counterculture figures. Arriving in Japan, psychedelic rock took on a different flavour. Previously known for the drug intake of its performers leaving an impact on the hazy, drugged-out music, J-Rock performers tended to be drug-free, or even adamantly anti-drug (for example, Kosugi Takehisa, Haino Keiji, Nanjo Asahito).

Psychedelic rock first appeared in Japan in the mid to late 1960s. A few Group Sounds bands imitated their Anglo heros, including The Golden Cups, The Tempters, The Mops, The Dynamites and Jacks, whose "Karappo No Sekai" and "Marianne" were two of the first psychedelic recordings from the country.

Like in the UK and US, the psychedelic rock scene was linked to a political movement involving young, spirited students. An economic boom brought many young people to universities, where radical politics abounded. Central to this movement, arising from the late 60s Kyoto student revolts, was the band Les Rallizes Denudés and the Taj Mahal Travellers, followed by Lost Aaraaff.

In the 1970s, singer-songwriters like Kazuki Tomokawa and Kan Mikami became popular. As in the US and UK, Japanese rock spawned a folk-rock scene, there led by Magical Power Mako. At the same time, radical progressive rock was evolving, with distinctly Japanese bands like After Dinner and YB02, Kenso and KoenjiHyakkei.

From the late 1980s popular rock bands such as X Japan helped define the Visual Kei aesthetic in Japanese rock and pop music. "Visual kei" is often focused upon in the West as a uniquely Japanese part of the Rock music scene. Strictly speaking, however, "Visual kei" is not defined by its sound (which may or may not be "rock" music) but by the appearance of the bands.

A fringe movement from the late 1980s in Japanese alternative rock took the form of noise rock, a sound popularised by bands such as Boredoms.

J-ROCK Bands

The 5,6,7,8's
Acidman
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Bleach03
The Blue Hearts
The Boom
BOØWY
Boredoms
Brahman
The Brilliant Green
Buck-Tick
B'z
Dir en grey
Do As Infinity
GLAY
Guitar Wolf
The Golden Cups
GO!GO!7188
The High-Lows
Janne Da Arc
L'Arc-en-Ciel
Luna Sea
Malice Mizer
Miyavi
PYG
RC Succession
Shonen Knife
the pillows
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
The Tempters
The Tigers
The Yellow Monkey
Vodka Collins
X Japan

Japanese Fashion

Japanese Fashion - modern and traditional styles of Japanese fashion including Japanese street fashion, Japanese fashion (Tokyo), Kogal (Japanese fashion) and traditional Japanese fashion (kimono). Pictures and Photographs of Japanese fashion plus discuss Japanese fashion in our forum.
A example of Japanese Fashion in Harajuku Tokyo Japan

Japanese Food

JAPANESE FOOD - Guide to Japanese food including Encyclopaedia of Japanese Food, Japanese food - recipes, sushi, sake and Japanese restaurant guides.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF JAPANESE FOOD If you ever wanted to find out more about a particular Japanese food or dish this is the place to find it. If it is not here we will find out about it for you! A to N of Japanese food, O to S of Japanese food & T to Z of Japanese food.

SAKE COCKTAIL RECIPES Sake is the latest mixing sensation in New World Cocktails, proving to be the ideal base in a clear and low to medium level alcoholic beverage. Sake is a gentle and delicate mixer, easily and harmoniously blending an earthy dry, yet delicate flavour to most chosen cocktails.

YAKITORI CHICKEN RECIPE Looking for a simple, yet satisfying Japanese recipe? Look no further than this Yakitori chicken recipe. More.

SUSHI STARTER KIT Always wanted to make sushi, but didn't know where to start? The Obento Sushi Kit could be just what you are looking for. More.

TONKOTSU NOODLE SOUP RECIPE Japanese style noodles with a bit of flare. Try this easy Japanese noodle recipe out. More.

JAPANESEjapanese_recipes.html RECIPES Japanese Steak Crispy Tempura

JAPANESE RESTAURANT & DINING GUIDE With over one hundred and fifty Japanese restaurants, cafe, take away's and sushi bars in both Melbourne and Sydney you will find these guides very helpful. Japanese Restaurant Guide Melbourne Japanese Restaurant Guide Sydney

AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST RANGE OF JAPANESE TEA Recently a new tea boutique from Japan opened in South Yarra. With around 200 different varieties of tea direct from plantations all over the world and Australia's largest range of Japanese tea. More.

JAPANESE SUSHI AND SAKE SETTINGS Having the right settings can make all the difference to entertaining Japanese style. Here are some examples of those available.

FOOD SHOPPING JAPANESE STYLE Find out how the Japanese shop for their food and where you can do your Japanese food shopping in Australia.

Samurai

Guide to samurai including samurai meaning, samurai history, samurai culture, samurai pictures, samurai swords and samurai in popular culture.

Samurai (侍 or sometimes 士) is a common term for a warrior in pre-industrial Japan. A more appropriate term is bushi (武士) (lit. "war-man") which came into use during the Edo period. However, the term samurai now usually refers to warrior nobility, not, for example, ashigaru or foot soldiers. The samurai with no attachment to a clan or daimyo was called a ronin (lit. "wave-man").

(Tom Cruise in "The last Samurai" has provided a modern introduction to the way of the Samurai - Discuss here.)

Samurai were expected to be cultured and literate, and over time, samurai during the Tokugawa era gradually lost their military function. By the end of the Tokugawa, samurai were essentially civilian bureaucrats for the daimyo with their swords serving only ceremonial purposes. With the Meiji reforms in the late 19th century, the samurai were abolished as a distinct class in favour of a western-style national army. The strict code that they followed, called bushido, still survives in present-day Japanese society, as do many other aspects of their way of life.

Etymology of samurai

The word samurai has its origins in the pre-Heian period Japan when it was pronounced saburai, meaning servant or attendant. It was not until the early modern period, namely the Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period of the late 16th and early 17th centuries that the word saburai became substituted with samurai. However, by then, the meaning had already long before changed.

During the era of the rule of the samurai, the earlier term yumitori (“bowman”) was also used as an honorary title of an accomplished warrior even when swordsmanship had become more important. Japanese archery (kyujutsu), is still strongly associated with the war god Hachiman.

Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. Photograph by Felice Beato.

Japanese Language

Japanese Language: Japanese (日本語 nihongo) is spoken in Japan, and essentially nowhere else. The Japanese language is distinct from Chinese and Korean, although the written form uses Chinese (kanji) characters, and is not known to be related to any other language.

Grammar
Japanese generally employs a subject-object-verb order, using particles to mark the grammatical functions of the words: 私がハンバーガーを食べる watashi-ga hamburger-o taberu, "I-subject hamburger-object eat". It is common to omit subjects and even objects if these are clear from previous context.

Verbs and adjectives conjugate by tense and politeness level, but not by person or number. There is no verb "to be" as such, but the polite copula desu can be used in most cases: John desu ("I am John"), Ringo desu ("This is an apple"), Akai desu ("It is red"), etc. Note that the exact meaning will depend on the implied subject!

The good news is that Japanese has none of the following: gender, declensions or plurals. Nouns never conjugate and almost all verbs are regular.

Reading and writing
Reading and writing Japanese are advanced skills which take years of work to gain much real proficiency. Japanese themselves use three different writing systems of various complexity, two of which (hiragana' and katakana) are syllabic and relatively easy to learn with 50 characters each, but the clincher is the set of over 2000 Chinese characters known as kanji. The set of hiragana characters is illustrated in the Japanese Pronunciation Guide.

See also Japanese Writing System.

IMPROVE YOUR JAPANESE

The best way to improve your Japanese is to use it regularly. The best way to use your Japanese regularly is to talk to native Japanese who are interested in developing their English skills. This way you improve your language skills, help them with their English and make new friends at the same time.

Japanese Lifestyle Friends is the ideal way to find language partners, both male and female. It is great to have friends in Japan so when you travel there, you can meet them and they can show you around. This way you can experience the real Japan that you would normally miss as a tourist.