There are two types of Japanese traditional dance: Odori, which originated in the Edo period, and Mai,

which originated in the western part of Japan. Odori grew out of Kabuki drama and is more oriented toward male sentiments. Mai is traditionally performed in Japanese rooms instead of on the stage. It was influenced by the Noh Drama. A variation of the Mai style of Japanese dance is the Kyomai or Kyoto Style Dance. Kyomai developed in the 17th century Tokugawa cultural period. It is heavily influenced by the elegance and sophistication of the manners often associated with the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Painting has been an art in Japan for a very long time: the brush is a traditional writing tool, and the extension of that to its use as an artist's tool was probably natural. Chinese papermaking was introduced to Japan around the 7th century by Damjing and several monks of Goguryeo,[1] later washi was developed from it. Native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West.
The fairy tale Taketori Monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), written in the 9th century, is thought to be Japan's first novel. It is widely known today as Kaguya-hime (The Moon Princess) and is popular in children's picture books. It tells the tale of an old bamboo cutter who one day discovers a tiny child in a bamboo stem. He and his wife adopt her and the child grows into a beautiful woman in just a few months (just as bamboo grows phenomenally quickly). She attracts many suitors, including the emperor but sets impossible tasks for them to win her hand. Finally Kaguya-hime declares that she will return to her home - the moon. The emperor sends thousands of troops to stop her but she eludes them and leaves only a letter behind. The emperor orders the letter burned on the highest mountain in the land. Miraculously, the the letter continues producing smoke and as a result the mountain became known as Fuji, "the immortal one".

The Japanese tea ceremony (cha-no-yu, chado, or sado) is a traditional ritual influenced by Zen Buddhism in which powdered green tea, or matcha (), is ceremonially prepared by a skilled practitioner and served to a small group of guests in a tranquil setting. Cha-no-yu (, literally "hot water for tea"), usually refers to a single ceremony or ritual, while sado or chado (, or "the way of tea") refer to the study or doctrine of tea ceremony. Since a tea practitioner must be familiar with the production and types of tea, with kimono, calligraphy, flower arranging, ceramics, incense and a wide range of other disciplines and traditional arts in addition to his or her school's tea practices, the study of tea ceremony takes many years and often lasts a lifetime. Even to participate as a guest in a formal tea ceremony requires knowledge of sado, including the prescribed gestures and phrases expected of guests, and the proper way to take tea and sweets, and general deportment in the tea room. Pictures are from the Japan Festival where a tea ceremony was conducted.

The Japanese language is written with a combination of three scripts: Chinese characters called kanji (), and two syllabic scripts made up of modified Chinese characters, hiragana ( or ) and katakana ( or ). The Latin alphabet, rmaji (), is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when entering Japanese text into a computer. Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also commonplace. Okonomiyaki, Sashimi, Sushi, Tempura, Sukiyaki are all a few names of some of the traditional Japanese food served in Japan. So, if you are looking forward to being experimentative and don't mind sampling

grilled octopus or raw fish and eel, the traditional Japanese food will not come as a disappointment to you. Japan has many talented singers such as: Lee Hyori,the pop queen, Ayumi Hamasaki,ect. And the bands are also amazing like Arashi, Kat-Tun, dong Bang Shin Ki, LArc En Ciel. Japan also has great actors and actresses like: Tomohisa Yamashita, Yuu Shirota, Masami Nagasawa, Kyoko Fukuda, Ryoko Hirosue, ect. What strikes us at first in Japanese society is the group's priority over the individual. Unlike countries where competition reigns and each must look tougher or more important than others, the social balance relies here upon humility. The renowned courtesy comes from the habit of always being humbler than the other. When mentioning somebody else's mother, a Japanese will say Anata no oksan ("Your honorable Mother"), but to speak of his own he will humbly say Watashi no haha ("My mom"). Whatever the subject, different words are used according/ to whether they relate to the other (as laudating as possible) or to oneself (as lowly as possible). The Japanese are unrivalled in vague and softened expressions. "No" (Iye) is avoided because it is too strong a word; it is better to say Chigau ("[The answer] differs"). As you can imagine, polite expressions abound, and there are several versions of Thank you, Goodbye, Please, each corresponding to a certain degree of deference. Enter a shop, and all the clerks go Irashaimaseeeeeeeee ("Can I help you?"). During the first few minutes after the opening, the personnel stands still to bow deeply before visitors. Then only, they can get back to work. When speaking to a customer, a vendor always stands bowed so as to be lower placed than him or her. The custom of bowing surpasses stereotypes: they bow upon meeting, parting, thanking, agreeing, apologizing, at the wheel of a car or even while riding a bicycle if we gave them right of way. Most machines, from the ticket vendor to the phone booth, display an animated character that bows to thank you from deigning use it. Japan night lifes are not all as intoxicating. There are discos, pubs (traditional or modern), pachinko (sort of casino). The favorite of young Japanese (which does not exclude a previous intoxication!) is the karaoke. Several can be found in any neighborhood, some of them open 24 hours a day. Behind the speaker the youth can let out their emotions, since in the society it's bad form to show them. On the street they mostly show impassive or smiling faces, sometimes a laugh (especially women), but without ever letting go of their self-control completely. Amazing but true, when someone shows strong emotions in public the others immediately know that person is mentally unstable. Japan national song is Kimigayo. Japan also has many kids song such as Kira Kira Boshi, Sakura Sakura, Rainy Day, Moonlight in the Ruined Castle, Lullaby in Edo District,ect. The kimono (?)[1] is a Japanese traditional garment worn by women, men and children.