Visitors to Kyoto will get the chance to eat boiled white radish, which is believed to dispel misfortune, this weekend at Senbon Shakado Temple.

Participation is ¥1,000. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The temple can be accessed by taking city bus 50 from Kyoto Station to Kamishichiken.

For more information, go to kanko.city.kyoto.lg.jp/detail.php?InforKindCode=2&ManageCode=1000387 (in Japanese). The contact number is 075-461-5973.

Japanese-language lessons offered in Osaka

People learning Japanese can take lessons at the Osaka International House Foundation from January to April.

There are four levels in elementary classes, along with an advanced practical Japanese class. The elementary classes for the lowest and the second-lowest levels run every Tuesday from Jan. 7 to April 1 except on Feb. 11, and the other classes every Wednesday from Jan. 8 to March 26. All classes take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

A placement test, which must be booked by calling 06-6773-8989, will be held for 10 minutes per person between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 and 11.

The foundation is several minutes' walk from Tanimachi 9-chome Station on the Tanimachi and Sennichimae subway lines and Osaka Uehonmachi Station on the Kintetsu Line.

More details can be found at www.ih-osaka.or.jp/english/news/20131113_2817/ (in English).

Free Christmas concerts in Otsu's Biwako Hall

Biwako Hall in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, will feature Christmas songs during two free concerts Dec. 13.

The performances will start at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. No reservations are required.

The hall is a three-minute walk from Ishiba Station on the Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line.

More info is available at www.biwako-hall.or.jp 013/11/8226/ (in Japanese) or by calling 077-523-7152.

Chocolate featured at Nagoya Science Museum

An exhibition on chocolate will be featured at the Nagoya City Science Museum from Dec. 17 to Feb. 23.

Visitors can learn how cacao beans grow, how they are processed into chocolate and how chocolate was introduced to Japan, in addition to the history of chocolate. The gift shop will be selling various types of chocolate, including original and rare styles.

Admission is ¥500 for elementary and junior high school students, ¥800 for high school and college students, and ¥1,300 for adults. The museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed Dec. 20, 24, 29, 30 and 31; Jan. 1, 2, 3, 6, 14, 17, 20 and 27; and Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 21.

The museum is a five-minute walk from Fushimi Station on the Higashiyama and Tsurumai subway lines.

For further information, visit www.ctv.co.jp/event/choco/ (in Japanese) or call 052-211-0083.

Special festival at Aichi shrine to cure asthma

People with asthma from all over Japan will gather for the Sanada Festival this Sunday at Sanada Shrine in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, as attending the festival is believed to cure the malady.

The shrine prays for a patient after he or she provides a plate with a picture of a radish, their date of birth and their name. The festival runs from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The shrine is 10 minutes on foot from Sugiyama Station on the Toyotetsu Atsumi Line. To learn more about the event, go to www.honokuni.or.jp/toyohashi/event-info/?Mode=detail&code=67 (in Japanese) or call 0532-54-1484.