Big Chicken and a Monkey

～山賊焼と猿廻し（レスリー講師）～

Hello Everyone!

The weather has been getting cooler, which makes me very happy :)

Last weekend, I went to Sanzoku and Iwakuni. I had a great time! I loved eating the big chicken at Sanzoku.

Me in front of Sanzoku

In Iwakuni,  I saw the famous Kintai Bridge. I also saw a monkey perform many tricks! He walked on stilts and on top of a basketball. It was really funny to watch. 

Kintai Bridge

Performing monkey!

I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather! Have a good week!

Beautiful Rice

~秋の訪れ・田んぼの美しさ（ショーナ講師）～

Hello,
 
Recently, I took a drive up into the mountains of Yamaguchi. My car had a very hard time going up and down and around all those sharp corners. I am used to it though. In Jamaica, we have the same problems going up steep hills. However, there is one thing we don't have ; rice fields! Oh the beautiful rice fields!!!

Rice field in Kano

 I just love the contrasting green especially when the wind is blowing the rice to and fro. Just beautiful! I can only imagine what it would be like to play in a field of ready-to-harvest rice. I would probably break out in hives since I have allergies, but it looks like fun.

Tokyo 2020!

～2020年オリンピックが東京に！（レイア講師）～

After a long and heartfelt campaign, Tokyo was finally announced as the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics! The final vote between Tokyo and Istanbul was 60-36. Congratulations!

Japan last hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964 in Tokyo. The Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998. 

Even though it's 7 years away, many people are very excited. I hope that I will still be in Japan so that I can attend. My favorite Summer Olympic events are basketball and gymnastics! 

What are your favorite events?

Maps! I wish I had a map!

~私のコレクション（エイドリアン講師）～

 

 

Aloha!

Two of my favorite hobbies are collecting post cards from around the world:

Popular postcard in Hawai'i

...and studying antique (old) maps:

Map of Sea Monsters!

 

But... antique maps are expensive! This antique map of Japan costs $1,200!

Popular Postcard of Mt. Fuji Art

     




Postcards can be fun and cheap.  I have post cards from Hawai'i, Alaska, California, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Mexico, Canada, and now I have some from Japan!


What do you collect?


Take Care,
Adrienne

Obon in Nagasaki and Kumamoto

~長崎・熊本の旅（アマンダ講師）～

Hello, everyone!

Did you enjoy your Obon holiday?

This year, I spent 6 days in Kyushu. First, I drove to Nagasaki. I really enjoyed seeing Glover Gardens and the night view from Mt. Inasa

Glover Gardens

Nagasaki night view

After Nagasaki, I took the ferry from Shimabara to Kumamoto. I spent two days in Kumamoto and saw Kumamoto castle. It was really interesting!

Kumamoto Castle

I hope you had a good vacation as well!

-Amanda

Typhoon Fun!

 

Japan is very exciting.
There is sumo, the bullet train and also typhoons.I am from the U.K. It rains a lot in the U.K. but it is not as exciting as Japan. Japanese weather is very extreme. Last week it was 36 degrees in Tokuyama. Yesterday it was 24 degrees. The temperatures in England never change so much!

The typhoon moved north and missed Tokuyama. I was so sad. At least it was cooler and there was heavy rain.
The typhoon last week was so much FUN. We don't have typhoons in England.
I am looking forward to the very cold winter in Japan!
~Mel~

Obon Vacation

～お盆休みは初体験目白押し!(レスリー講師）～

I have been in Japan for two months, and I was very excited to do some traveling over Obon.  

My first stop was Hiroshima, which included a day trip to Miyajima Island. I really enjoyed my day on the island. It was absolutely beautiful, and I got to see the torii gate at low and high tide. 



広島・宮島の鳥居

On my way back from Hiroshima, I stopped in Yanai to the festival that included many, many spinning goldfish. I loved to watch the goldfish light up at night!



柳井のお祭り

I did visit a few other cities, but I also did some exploring around Shunan. I saw the Hello Kitty exhibit at the Shunan Art Museum, which was very cute! I love Hello Kitty :)

I hope you had a fun Obon!

- Leslie