Families
Keen to get the kids away from their digital life and into nature? From the lofty heights of tree trekking in the pine trees of the Niseko Adventure Centre (NAC)’s Adventure Park, to rafting the river rapids around Mt Yotei, the NAC Summer Kids Day Camps are three days of outdoor adventures in Niseko’s nature. About The NAC Summer Kids Day CampsThe main objective of these day camps, apart from using up your child’s energy during the day for better rest, is to get them out into nature. These days, many children are brought up in city environments with little access or experience in the outdoors...
Savvy Tokyo
Japan’s traditional square backpacks will be your first grader’s perhaps most prized possession. Read on for a guide that tells you what to look for—and look out for—when making this important purchase! Randoseru, from the German and Dutch words meaning backpack, has been a prominent feature of Japanese elementary school life since the post-war period. Its history, however, began in the late Edo period when randoseru-like leather bags began being used by the modernizing Japanese military. The first student to use a randoseru was Japan’s crown prince who in 1887 was given a randoseru upon enter...
Savvy Tokyo
How many hours a week does your child spend playing video games? We’re guessing it’s probably more than you’d like! Tokyo Coding Club believes that education has the power to connect with children’s interests. That’s why they’re dedicated to providing fun and engaging classes that help students grow and develop valuable skills. Their expert instructors, who are industry professionals, teach weekly classes for beginner and advanced students, aged five to 18. The school offers lessons in a variety of formats including personalized private lessons and group classes. Some of their most popular cla...
Savvy Tokyo
Although the new Japanese school year doesn’t begin until April, there’s a lot to get ready before the entrance ceremony. If you are the parent of a soon-to-be first-year elementary student, in November you would have taken your child to the local Japanese elementary school for a health check. Probably on this day you also had a short interview with the principal or vice principal and were able to talk about any concerns you may have had. Unless you ask for another meeting, this was probably your only scheduled opportunity for a one-on-one discussion with a teacher before your child enters the...
Savvy Tokyo
Wanting a head start on your toddler or preschooler’s Japanese skills? Start strong by giving them a solid base in hiragana. The strategies below will help make learning fun and fresh by switching between products and mediums to keep your tot entertained. Teaching your little one the basics of language is a weighty task, even in your mother tongue. And, when you are hoping to give them proficiency in a language other than your own, it can feel especially intimidating. Research is clear that young children learn best through play and direct interaction with parents (see our articles on Bringing...
Savvy Tokyo
Looking for fun ways to introduce (or re-introduce!) this February holiday to your little ones? Our ideas below offer suggestions based on tradition, but with contemporary kids in mind, to get them engaged in this fascinating piece of Japanese culture! The Japanese festival of Setsubun, which falls this year on February 3, is a favorite of children across the country. Marking the start of spring and the new year on the Lunar Calendar, this holiday began long ago in the Muromachi period (1337-1573). It is traditionally celebrated by customs, like bean throwing and hanging sardines and holly out...
Savvy Tokyo
Sometimes the biggest challenges we foresee for our children are the ones we’ve faced ourselves. “You’ll have such cute babies!” My husband and I heard this from the moment we started dating. It was usually the first thing out of someone’s mouth as soon as they realized that my partner was Japanese. I couldn’t help wondering if people would be so excited about my future offspring if my partner were Black like me. As it turns out, we did have really cute babies—but that’s not the point. Before I was even thinking about kids, I learned that there were already expectations for them based on their...
Savvy Tokyo
Pregnancy is an exciting time, but one that brings its own unique challenges under Covid. Although many hospitals and clinics don’t allow birth partners in Japan, we’ve rounded up a list of those that will! When my partner and I first considered getting pregnant again in Japan, I knew that finding a clinic that would meet my requirements would be tricky. After a challenging experience in Canada, I really wanted to create a peaceful environment for my second experience of giving birth. One of my top requests was that I have my partner present at all times during the labor—as well as with me aft...
Savvy Tokyo
Expectations and experiences when raising bilingual kids. In a recent Ask Hilary column, the issue of speech delays in young children was addressed and generated a great deal of discussion. Namely being that families with bilingual households often noticed their children struggled with reaching language development milestones. The basics of speech development and delaysChildren can start speaking at any time and in various ways. Baby talk or babbling, and repeating words ad nauseam, are two common ways for an infant or child to start communicating. There are of course certain milestones that p...
Savvy Tokyo
Looking for a cross-cultural name for your little one? We have you covered! Read on for a how-to guide on finding names from non-Japanese languages that would feel right at home for kids growing up in Japan. One of the first decisions that you make for your future child is bestowing a name upon them. While for some parents, this job feels fun and easy, for many others, especially those trying to bridge cultures and languages, baby naming is a complex and family-filled negotiation. On top of that, if your new bundle grows up in Japan, you’ll have a few extra challenges when it comes to naming. ...
Savvy Tokyo
閲覧を続けるには、ノアドット株式会社が「プライバシーポリシー」に定める「アクセスデータ」を取得することを含む「nor.利用規約」に同意する必要があります。
「これは何?」という方はこちら