Join Our Newsletter
  • Visit Our Store
  • Come Write for J-List!
J-List Blog
Visit J-List - Your Favorite Online Shop and Friend in Japan
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan
No Result
View All Result
J-List Blog
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan
No Result
View All Result
J-List Blog
No Result
View All Result

A fun anime celebrating rural life, and unexpected animals in Japan.

Peter Payne by Peter Payne
11 years ago
in Your Friend in Japan

An anime celebrating rural life, and unexpected animals in Japan.

Recently I started watching an anime from a few seasons ago called Non Non Biyori, translatable as something like “fine weather for enjoying a carefree day.” It’s a charming slice-of-life story about a girl named Hotaru who moves from Tokyo to an extremely rural village somewhere in the countryside. She’s surprised to find that there are only five students in her new school, which is taught in one classroom, Higurashi When They Cry-style. The show explores the differences between city and country life (Hotaru is up on all the latest Tokyo fashion trends, and is surprised to learn that Renge’s family owns a mountain), and about how Hotaru comes to love the village, even though the only thing to do for excitement is visit the candy store and buy traditional dagashi candy. I found the show hilarious – my laughter woke Mrs. J-List several times – perhaps because J-List’s home prefecture of Gunma can a pretty rural place, too. In one scene Komari and Hotaru go “shopping” but the store they visit is an untended vegetable stand in which you put money in a box before taking what you need, funny because there’s one of these right around the corner from J-List. If you ever have too much stress from blinking mobile phones and buzzing social networks, I recommend you turn on Non Non Biyori and feel your stress melt away.

Although Japan can get a little carried away with building stuff – when I took a trip to Hakone last year it was a challenge getting pictures of Mt. Fuji without power lines getting in the way – there is still plenty of nature to enjoy, and many animals, too. On weekends I sometimes take a drive up to Karuizawa, the pleasant town in the mountains that’s seen in several anime series including AnoNatsu, and along my route there’s a stretch of road I know to go slowly on because I’ll usually see some nippon-zaru, Japanese monkeys, lazily hanging out. (These are the same smart monkeys that know to take hot onsen baths during the winter.) There are lots of other animals to be found in the Japanese countryside, includingpheasants and foxes and wild boars, and bears are common enough in Nagano that an American friend of mine got his Japanese hunting license, in case any ever decide to raid his kitchen. One of the most enigmatic animals in Japan to foreigners are tanuki, the “raccoon dogs” that look at first glance like racoons, though they’re not closely related. Like foxes, tanuki are considered god-like, able to change shape and use youkai magic. This magic seems to have something to do with their testicles, and it’s not common to see statues of tanuki outside restaurants with huge kintama (lit. “gold balls”), which represent fertility and plenty and presumably bring good luck to the restaurant owner.

Kawaii Fashions from Japan!

Fashion week continues here at J-List, as we continue to ramp up our lineup of fun items for fall/winter. We’ve got more cute Fluffy Cat Ears and Tail Dress Parkas with actual ears and tails, plus cute Japanese socks, “spats” (the bicycle shorts seen in anime a lot), interesting bags from Japan and more. Browse them all now!

Tags: familyfashionNon Non Biyorionsen

More Posts Like This

Kiniro Mosaic
Your Friend in Japan

What Relaxing Anime is like Therapy? J-List Customers Respond!

by Peter Payne
4 years ago

One thing I hear from a lot of J-List customers is that anime can have a positive influence on their...

Why Are Short Anime Girls The Best
Your Friend in Japan

Who Are the Best Short Anime Girls? See Our Ranking!

by Peter Payne
4 years ago

The concept of moe is all about designing characters who are so adorably cute, fans can't help but fall in love...

Non Non Biyori Season 3

Why is Non Non Biyori the Most Relaxing Anime?

4 years ago
Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2

A Monster Anime Season is Coming! What Should You Watch?

5 years ago
Gochuumon Wa Usagi Desu Ka 3

Is The Order a Relaxing Anime? Why We Love ‘Gochiusa’!

5 years ago
Art by Pomu https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2302136

What is Christmas in Japan?

8 years ago
Next Post
Jlistfront Toxxcx W

Thoughts on technology and IC cards, and learning about Japan's culture through shoes.

Trending Today

The Top 11 Anime Sex Scenes Blog
Your Friend in Japan

Happy Sex Day! Let’s Rank the 11 Most Surprising Ecchi Scenes in Anime

1 month ago
Yandere Dark Elf Episode 1 Featured Image
Featured

Yandere Dark Elf, Episode 1 — Love Heavier than Chocolate Melons!

3 months ago
Spring 2025 Ecchi Anime Web Cover
News

Spring 2025 Ecchi Anime and Where to Watch Them

4 months ago
Haite Kudasai, Takamine San Episode 9 Featured Image
Featured

Haite Kudasai, Takamine-san, Episode 9 — Slippery When Wet!

2 weeks ago
Dengeki Moeoh August 2025 Cover
Anime Magazine

What’s Inside Dengeki Moeoh August 2025? Ecchi Illustrations, Posters, Art, and More!

7 days ago
Get the Newest Figures from J-List - Your Favorite Online Shop and Friend in Japan
Seishun.Buta.Yarou.wa.Santa.Claus.no.Yume.wo.Minai Blog Post
Your Friend in Japan

Seishun Buta Yarou Returns! Why You Should Not Miss ‘Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus’

by Peter Payne
July 14, 2025

Dandadan S2 Pulls No Punches (and the Fight Scenes Hit Hard, Too)

Cultural Exchange with a Game Center Girl — A Kawaii Romance

Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider and Fight Shocker

Haite Kudasai, Takamine-san, Episode 10 — Fall Brings Chill and Friction!

Hottest Cosplay for Summer 2025 Anime Season

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Discord
  • YouTube

© J-LIST. All trademarks, characters and images are property of their respective owners.

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan

© J-LIST. All trademarks, characters and images are property of their respective owners.

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan

© J-LIST. All trademarks, characters and images are property of their respective owners.