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

～夏休みは、九州・屋久島へ （アダム講師）～

Obon 
is a festival celebrated around August 13th to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. 

Since I don't have any ancestors in Japan, I decided to take my week vacation to see some of the more beautiful sites of Japan. I went touring around Kyushu island and Yakushima for 6 days. It was a great trip, camping, swimming, hiking, visiting waterfalls and onsens, and meeting new people. I also saw two volcanoes! Kyushu is a beautiful island and I can't wait to go back.

Here is a picture I took of Sakurajima on the ferry back from Yakushima

屋久島フェリーから見た桜島の噴火

Weekend in Hiroshima

～見どころがいっぱい♫　広島観光 (アマンダ講師）～

Hiroshima is one of my favorite cities. There are a lot of things to do there, but it's not too big and it's easy to find your way around.

A few weeks ago, I went to Hiroshima for two days. I visited Shukkeien landscape garden for the second time.

There were so many beautiful plants!

I also visited Hiroshima castle for the first time. It was really interesting

Outside of the castle

I also went to an Irish pub called Molly Malone's. The food was really good, but the portions were SO large!

Chicken pie and mashed potatoes...so good! 

(picture from http://www.mollymalones.jp/)

Where are your favorite places in Hiroshima?

The Start of My Adventure in Japan

～みなさん、はじめまして！　(レスリー講師）～

Hello!

My name is Leslie, and I am a new teacher at SES. I love watching movies and traveling. I have traveled to England, Scotland, Italy, France, New Zealand, and Australia. I am very excited to travel around Japan and see many new places. Last weekend, I went to the summer festival in downtown Shunan. I also saw the fireworks in Hikari.

What are your favorite places in Japan? I would love to see them!

Baby Lions!

~可愛い動物との触れ合い(レイア講師）~

Last weekend I went to Safari Land near Akiyoshidai to see the baby lions. They were sooo soft and cute!

We could watch them drink milk from bottles. For  ¥1000 we could also have our picture taken while holding one of them! It was such a cool experience!

If you are interested you can check the Safari Land website for more information. Hurry! You can only hold the lion cubs until the end of July!

July 1 2013, Adrienne's 101st day in Japan! Where has the time gone!

～日本での充実した日々・ここはどこでしょう？(エイドリアン講師）～

Aloha!

Today is a special day, today is my 101 Day Anniversary in Japan!  Wow!  

There is an old saying:  "Time flies when you are having fun!"  

I am having lots of fun, so the time is going by very fast!

Here are some places I've seen since coming to Japan; can you guess where they are?  

Bonus Points: What are these buildings/structures called?

Have Fun!  Adrienne

Hint:  Somewhere in Yamaguchi prefecture

Hint: This is in one of the former capitals of Japan!

 

 

HInt: This nearby building contains a giant!

Hint: Somewhere in Kansai

Hint: One of the largest in Japan, also in Kansai