A mascot is born! Introducing our Village House mascot; Ville-Jiro-kun. Ville-Jiro-kun is a smart and friendly owl, here to help you find good deals for rental apartments and to help make life in Japan as wonderful as it can be! Who is Ville-Jiro-kun? You’ll soon find out! A lot more goes into mascots in Japan than one may expect. After people get to know the interesting characters behind these …

Nagano prefecture is known as the ‘roof of Japan’, with endless mountain ranges, sometimes reaching heights of 3000 meters. There are so many opportunities for hiking in Nagano. There’s no shortage of things to do in Nagano; it is one of Japan’s most popular spots for snow sports, onsen, snow monkeys, temples, castles, and, of course, hiking in Nagano is very popular too! The prefecture is abundant in nature …

If you’ve caught flower fever after this spectacular sakura season, don’t worry – Wisteria season is just around the corner so get ready! Wisteria, known as fuji or ofuji in Japanese, bloom between mid-April and mid-May. Japan is home to some of the best wisteria gardens in the world. As well as this, Japanese gardens and parks are so beautifully sculpted and often feature blooms throughout all seasons. So, …

Spring in Hokkaido starts a little later than in the rest of Japan, while cherry blossoms are in full bloom in Tokyo and Kansai around early April when spring in Hokkaido is only just beginning. The Hokkaido cherry blossom season is usually in early May, a whole month later! With the vast array of parks and national parks in Hokkaido, there are always opportunities to get outside and enjoy …