Japanese language & culture blog

Inspired by Jamaipanese, I’ve decided to compile my own list of NihongoUp’s most popular posts of 2009. This blog is less than one year old and it’s impressive to see how much happened last year, how my writing style evolved over time and, last but not least, how many thoughtful and inspiring reactions were incited by my articles. The ranking is based on the amount of traffic the individual posts received during the two weeks following their publication.

1. 10 Beautiful Japanese Fonts

The list of some of my favorite Japanese fonts was by far the most popular post this year; not only traffic-wise, but also in the amount of comments it received. If that’s not enough, it is also one of the five most popular articles on JapanSoc of all time!

2. Japanese Color Names (Cheat Sheet)

Well-done infographics are always popular and the fact that my Japanese color names cheat sheet is the second most popular post this year confirms that. Wait for more cheat sheets and a complete e-book in the near future!

3. How to write kanji

This was a bit of surprise for me and I’m really glad that my thoughts on the importance of stroke order induced so many interesting comments!

4. Japanese Body Parts (Cheat Sheet)

Another cheat sheet of mine was nearly as popular as the first one further provoking me to start working on an e-book.

5. 10 beautiful Tokyo time-lapses

It looks like I’m not the only one who enjoyed watching these mesmerizing HD time-lapses from Tokyo.

6. Lotte Black Black Chewing Gum

My first article on this blog: a review of the legendary Lotte Black Black chewing gum.

7. The digital camera that started it all

A review of Casio QV-10; my entry into the December Japan Blog Matsuri themed around technology.

8. Recipe: Mushroom miso soup

A guest post by my fellow blogger and a good friend Ksenia Klykova. The recipe was surprisingly popular and got featured at the TasteSpotting visual potluck.

9. Ichi (2008)

One of the only English-language reviews of the 2008 remake of Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi.

10. And the kanji of the year is…

My thought on the kanji of the year and words of the year 2009.

There’s a lot more coming in 2010 so stay tuned by subscribing via RSS, following me on Twitter and joining the NihongoUp Facebook fan page. And of course, if you have any suggestions on how I could improve this blog, please let me know!