Welcome to The Avocado’s weekly discussion of Japanese pop culture! Last year I shared some of this in OT on the day of the Harvest Moon, but this year I wanted to share it with you all BEFORE the Harvest Moon so you could prepare accordingly! This year’s Harvest Moon is September 25th or 26th depending on where you live (you can look it up). Why am I tell you this? Because that means it’s 月見 time! What is 月見 (tsukimi)？It’s “moon viewing”! So get out there and view that moon! If you want to get really fancy, get some dango and sake to keep you company as you let the moon’s energy rejuvenate your spirit. Don’t have dango or sake? That’s okay! Try adding a fried egg to…pretty much anything and you have a 月見 dish…more or less. Check out McDonald’s seasonal menu for inspiration. Or maybe have a nice bonfire. Meditate. Dance. Sing. Howl. Plenty of ways to celebrate the moon.

Of course, &TEAM has a “harvest moon” song: 「十五夜」–> “jyuugoya”, meaning 15th night, in this case the 15th night of the 8th lunar month. They also have an adorable music video to go along with it, so you should definitely watch it! What a great way to celebrate the moon’s beauty!

And one of their new songs is perfect for howling at the moon. Here’s a live performance to get you in the right mindset! AWOOOOOOO!!!!!

And, as always…

What have you been watching/reading/playing/eating/listening to lately?

Happy Wednesday! 🐺