I saw a survey of popular Japanese names for 2009. The top 5 names for boys are, "Hiroto," "Shouta," "Ren," " Souta" and "Sora". The top 5 names for girls are, "Rin," "Sakura," "Hina," "Yua" and "Yuna". Since Japanese names are usually written in kanji (sometime in hiragana), even the same name can be written in many different ways. Having "ko" at the end of a name (like my name, "Namiko") was quite common for girls a while back, but I only see one name ("Riko") that has this pattern in the top 50 list this year. Many of the girl's names are two syllables and have a cute sound. It is interesting that the list of the names is quite different from my classmate's names at elementary school. It might not be too long till a younger generation finds my name grandma-ish.
Japanese translation

It is already December. Time flies, doesn't it? The Japanese word for December is "juuni-gatsu," which literally means, "twelfth month." Each month has an older Japanese name, and December is called "shiwasu." The old names are not commonly used today, but "shiwasu" is the one that you would hear more often than the others. It is written with kanji characters for "master, teacher" and "to run." There are several theories for the origin of the name, "shiwasu." One of them is that December is so busy that even a priest to pray on the run. It is a busy season, but I like to remind myself to slow down.
Japanese translation

I went to see "The Nutcracker" ballet the other day. "The Nutcracker" is one of the many Christmas traditions in North America, but the Japanese don't think about it in the same way and it is performed anytime of the year. Oddly, Beethoven's 9th has seasonal nature in Japan, it is usually played before the end of the year. When I was a little girl, I loved watching ballet. I dreamed of being a ballerina when I grew up. It has been quite a while since I last saw "The Nutcracker". I was quite moved by the performance and felt it was so nice to see it live. The dancing looked so effortless and graceful, but I can imagine it requires a strong mind and a lot of practice to be a dancer at that level.
Japanese translation

NHK (Japan's national public broadcasting corporation) recently announced the list of the 50 artists for the 60th Kouhaku Uta Gassen. Kouhaku Uta Gassen (literally means, "Red and White Song Battle") is a popular annual Japanese music show broadcasted on New Year's Eve. It draws a large audience every year. Although TV viewership of Kouhaku has been going down in recent years, performing on Kouhaku is said to be a huge honor and big highlight in a singer's career. When I was a child, I used to enjoy watching it with my family. It is a long standing New Year's Eve tradition for many Japanese families. When I watched it, I always felt deep emotion that the year is almost over.
Japanese translation