Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! It’s your birthday, and you’re spending it in Tokyo with some of your Japanese friends. To celebrate, they buy you a birthday cake, decorate it with candles, and wish you “Happy birthday” in Japanese. You close your eyes, pause for a moment to make a wish in Japanese, and then blow your candles out. When you open your eyes, your Japanese friends are staring at you like you have three heads. You ask them in Japanese, “Is something wrong?” They inquire in Japanese, “Why did you close your eyes before you blew out your candles?” You tell them in Japanese, “Oh, I was just making my traditional birthday wish.” Nodding their heads, one of your friends suggests in Japanese, “If you really want to make a wish, we need to go to a nearby shrine. There, you can make a wish, and it definitely will come true.” You look at your friends and tell them in Japanese, “I’m ready to go! Let’s do it!”

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Audio Blog lesson will discuss a famous Japanese shrine located near Tokyo, Japan. We’ll tell you the sights you’ll see while you’re there, and we’ll even share with you the ancient Japanese wishing ritual associated with the shrine. If your wish doesn’t come true after following this Japanese ritual, try depositing more coins next time! Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find Japanese lesson notes (remember-this lesson is spoken entirely in Japanese!) as well as many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

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