Obon Holiday

こんにちは！ＳＥＳでこれからお世話になります、チャールズです！お盆休みは東京、大阪、広島と旅行を楽しんできました！

Hi, I am the new teacher Charles. I just recently join the wonderful SES team. Last week was the Obon Holiday I had the week off. I got to travel to Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima. It was exciting to see the different cities.

徳山駅から東京まで新幹線を使いました。4時間の旅は長く感じました。

The first part of the trip was going to from Tokuyama Station all the way to Tokyo Station. I woke up very early at around 6:15 AM on Saturday to ride the Shinkansen. The train was really fast, but the trip was still very long. It took over 4 hours to get to Tokyo.

日曜日は友達と一緒に浅草観光をしました。人力車に乗って浅草寺まで行き、初めてお好み焼きを食べました。見た目は変でしたが、食べてみるとおいしかったです！

On Sunday, I went to Asakusa to meet with my Japanese teacher. She showed me around Asakusa. We rode a rickshaw around Asakusa, got our fortunes at Sensoji Temple and I ate okonomiyaki for the first time. It looked very weird; however, it was very delicious. I really like okonomiyaki very much.

Looks like vomit but tastes like heaven
見た目はグロテスクですが、味は最高！

月曜日は父親に会いに大阪まで行きました。2人とも日本が大好きで楽しい時間を過ごしました。

On Monday, I left Tokyo to go to Osaka to meet with my father. My father arrived from Kansai Airport and it was wonderful to see my father again. We both love Japan very much and we were going to have a very fun time together.

Meeting my Father at Kansai Airport.
父親と関西空港で合流！

水曜日の夜は、2人で友達に会いに行きました。夕飯の後はカラオケに行ってBeach BoysやJohn Denver, Queen, ディズニーの歌を歌いました。

Wednesday night, My father and I  met up with a few friends that were also in Osaka. We went to eat dinner and afterwards we went to sing Karaoke. We sang everything from the Beach Boys, John Denver, Queen, and even a Disney song. Even my father sang a song and his voice was so beautiful.

Singing the classic "Beat It" by Michael Jackson
マイケル・ジャクソンの"Beat It"を歌いました

金曜日は宮島の大鳥居を見に行きました。そこにいるシカが人間に懐いていてビックリ！写真も撮ってもらったのですが、
カメラマンがエサでシカをおびき寄せて一緒に撮ってくれました！

We went to see the very famous O-torii Gate in Miyajima on Friday. There were so many people and deer running around Miyajima. It was surprising that the deer were friendly with people. We decided to buy a picture from the photo shop. The photographer took some food and herded a deer to be in the picture with us. It was so cool!

The deer with no fear
シカは怖がりません！

とても充実したお盆休みでした。もっといろんなところに行ってみたいなあ！

The holiday was very enjoyable and it was very cool to see so many different places. I can't wait to explore Japan more!

Wakayama, My Second Home

梅干しや熊野古道で有名な和歌山県田辺市は第2の故郷です。私は2年間そこに住んでいたことがあり、たくさんの友達と思い出を作りました。

Tanabe City, in Wakayama Prefecture, is my second home. It's a small city surrounded by countryside; its probably most famous for ume-boshi (pickled plums) and the Kumano Kodo ancient pilgrimage trails (a world heritage site).

I lived there for almost two years and made a lot of friends and great memories. Shunan city is almost 600 kilometers away from Tanabe, so now it is difficult for me to see my friends often.

このお盆に田辺市を訪れて、友達や同僚にまた会うことができました。事前に「行く」と伝えていなかったので、とても驚いてました！

During the Obon vacation I took a trip back to my old hometown of Tanabe, and I met up with lots of old friends and colleagues. I didn't tell them I was coming home so they were very surprised to see me!

田辺ではカラオケやバーベキューなどをして過ごしました。その後は神戸や大阪などを訪れました。

We spent a couple of days catching up in Tanabe; singing karaoke, having barbecue and socialising. After that we went on a roadtrip around the Kansai region; first we went to Kobe and then to Osaka.

神戸では港で観覧車に乗ったりゲームをしたりして楽しみました。中華街で中華料理も食べてきました。

In Kobe, we visited Harborland to ride on the ferris wheel and play arcade games. Then we went to Chinatown, where we ate some traditional Chinese dishes.

クリスマスには私に会いに田辺市から来てくれるとのことで、楽しみです。

At the end of the trip it was sad to say goodbye to my good friends from Tanabe. But during Christmas vacation they plan to come stay with me in Shunan city.

Where will I go next?

こんにちは！前の投稿から数ヶ月ぶりのブログになります。

Kon'nichiwa!

It has been a few months since my last blog post so here's an update on what I've been up to.

数週間前、私とダラスといっしょに韓国のプサンで週末を過ごすことに決めました。福岡から45分で到着しました。

A few weekends ago myself and another teacher, Dallas, decided to get away from Shunan and take a weekend break to Busan in South Korea. It was a place both of us had been wanting to visit since we came, and so we booked the short 45 minute plane journey from Fukuoka and off we went!

友達と一緒になって知らない場所を探検するのはとても新鮮でした。小雨が降っていましたが、おいしい食事や観光地、

浜辺を散歩したりして楽しみました。

When we arrived we were both happy to be back in the city and close to the beach. It was lovely to also meet up with friends and enjoy the new experiences of exploring a brand new place. We ate delicious food, visited some of the tourist attractions and walked along the beach. Although the weather was a little rainy, it was still an enjoyable weekend. 

写真を何枚か載せておきますね。

Here are a few photo highlights from the trip 

Dallas and I posing in front of the sign of Haeundae Beach in Busan

海雲台ビーチの前で

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple by the Ocean

海東龍宮寺

Gamcheon Culture Village, I recommend this place!
甘川文化村①　ここはオススメ！

Gamcheon Culture Village, Harry Potter steps
甘川文化村②　ハリーポッターの階段

Gamcheon Culture Village, there is artwork to be found all over the village
甘川文化村③　村中にはアート作品がたくさん！

Gamcheon Culture Village, the stairs to see stars!
甘川文化村④　星が見れる階段

プサンは週末に訪れるだけでもいいくらいオススメの場所です！

As you can see we had a fun weekend immersing ourselves in all the different sites of Busan. I highly recommend that you visit here, even for just a weekend, as the atmosphere, food, attractions and views are all excellent. 

まだまだアジアを旅行する予定です。次の目的地は・・・香港！

I am going to continue exploring Asia whilst I am here so be ready for more posts from me. Hopefully my next stop will be...Hong Kong!

もっと写真を見たいという方は、インスタグラムをご覧ください。

If you want to see more photos from my adventures here in Japan (and from the world) you can view my instagram here 

->  https://www.instagram.com/amymartha/?hl=en

Thank you

Amy 

VISTING HAGI

先週、萩に行ってきました。そこのビーチがきれいで大好きなんです！

Last weekend, I went to Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture. I have visited Hagi many times. Why? Because I love to visit the beach there. It is amazing and so beautiful.

I love to visit this beach in Hagi
萩の海に行くのが大好きです

The water is always a beautiful blue color
水はいつもきれいな青色です

浦上記念館で展示中の浮世絵も見に行きました。北斎や広重の息をのむような絵がありました。

I also went to look at the Ukiyo-E exhibit at the Uragami Art Museum. They had many wood block prints from Hokusai and Hiroshige. They were breathtaking, in person.

I ate a delicious zaru soba lunch
お昼ご飯にざるそばをいただきました。

萩で食べるざるそばは絶品です！

My lunch was zaru soba from a small restaurant that serves both udon and soba noodles. I love the cold, zaru soba noodles at this place!

I always visit the brown, COSMOS in Hagi!
萩に行くといつもこのコスモスに行きます！

茶色い看板のドラッグストア・コスモスにも行きました！茶色なのは日本でここだけなのかな？

My last visit was to the brown colored Cosmos Discount Drug Store in Hagi! I think this is the only brown COSMOS in all of Japan.

Written by David Press-Dawson

GOLDEN WEEK IN JAPAN

INTRO
ゴールデンウィークいかがお過ごしですか？私は日本に残って楽しいゴールデンウィークを過ごしました！
Last week was Golden Week here for Shunan English School Teachers. What a great holiday Golden Week is! A lot of the other teachers went to other countries for Golden Week, but I decided to stay in Japan. Japan is the best country for me. 

THE LOOP
火曜日は福岡に行って、博多駅の「ソルビン」というカフェで韓国風かき氷をいただきました。

その後はアミュプラザや、薬院駅、天神、キャナルシティなどを歩いて回りました。

I decided to make a trip to Fukuoka city. I went on a Tuesday. The bullet train was not busy, so I was very comfortable on the Kodama train. I started my day by going to the new Korean Dessert Cafe, called Sul Bing. It is in Hakata Station, in the basement level 1. Sul Bing is Korean shaved ice. It is a large chain in Korea and has a few shops in Japan, only in Tokyo and Fukuoka. After Sul Bing, I walked around the AMU Mall and found a pop-up coffee shop from Osaka, called Brooklyn Roasting Company. They were visiting for three weeks in AMU Mall. The coffee shop also sold art work from Keith Haring. After that I walked to the Yakuin Station area to my favorite coffee shop in Fukuoka. Then I walked to Tenjin, then Canal City and then back to Hakata Station. It took many hours, but it was fun and I had a great time exploring Fukuoka.

GAME DAY
木曜日は広島に行ってきました。新幹線の中はカープの試合を見に行く人でいっぱいで座れませんでした（笑）。

そして「一蘭」というお店でラーメンを食べてきました！とてもおいしかったです！

Later, on Thursday, I went to Hiroshima city to explore and relax. I did not know that day was the middle of Golden Week, so it was very busy. There was also a Hiroshima Carp game on that day so the bullet train was totally full! I could not sit down on the train. I wanted to try a Pablo Cheesetart at Hiroshima Station, but the line was very long, they said maybe 1 hour of waiting. So I went to Ichiran Ramen Shop and ate ramen. Ichiran is so good! After I went to a great coffee shop in the area and explored some new areas. I finally went to the shopping malls and looked at some expensive clothes. My last stop was a place that sells goods from Nara Prefecture. I love the toy machine there and always buy a couple if I am in Hiroshima. 

END
その後はアパート掃除や下松や光を散歩しながら一日を過ごしていきました。大満足なゴールデンウィークでした！
The rest of my vacation was quiet and nice. I just relaxed and cleaned my apartment. I walked around Kudamatsu a lot and even walked Hikari City to relax on the beach. It was great.

Korean Kakigori "Sulbing"
韓国風かき氷「ソルビン」

Freshness Burger
フレッシュネスバーガー

Ichiran Ramen
「一蘭」のラーメン

Written by David Press-Dawson

DONBURI FOREVER

私は丼を作るのが大好きなんです！簡単でお金をそんなにかけなくていいですからね。

I love to cook donburi. "Ricebowls" are very easy to make and usually are not very expensive to cook. 

家ではオリジナルの丼を開発しています。私の丼料理、いかがですか？

I am very creative when it comes to making my donburi at home. I use American tastes for inspiration to create new donburi. 

What do you think of my donburi?

This is my tan-tan donburi. I made a sauce for tan-tan men, but I used it on top of my rice.

担担丼です。担担麺用のソースを作ってご飯の上にかけてみました。

This is the pesto and ham donburi. I used pesto sauce, which is made from basil and ham that I fried. It was very delicious.

バジルを使った「ペスト」いうソースと、炒めたハムを使った丼です。

This was the best one. It is a Philadelphia Cheese Steak donburi! I cooked onions and shiitake mushrooms until light brown, then add sliced steak and cheese.

私のおすすめ！フィラデルフィアチーズステーキ丼です！玉ねぎとしいたけをきつね色になるまで調理し、

そこにスライスしたステーキとチーズを加えてます。

This is my gyudon. It is the normal style. I used brown rice for this bowl.

牛丼を作ってみました。お米は玄米を使ってみました。

Written by David Press-Dawson

IT'S CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME!

Taken from the bridge across from Kintaikyo.
錦帯橋の向こうにある橋から撮影しました

先週末は岩国でお花見をしてきました！天気も最高で桜満開でした！

Last weekend I ventured out to Iwakuni to see the cherry blossoms. It was amazing! The weather was fantastic and the cherry blossoms were at FULL BLOOM! There were also many food stands around the river. I ate udon and watched the river flow gracefully. It was great. 

Look the cherry blossoms!
見てください！この桜！綺麗でしょう？

桜ってなんで綺麗なんでしょうね・・・？桜は冬の終わりを告げるとともに、春の訪れを感じさせますね。

Observing the cherry blossoms made me think about why they are so special. Their short life and great beauty is precious. It is also a sign of the end of winter and the beginning of warmer weather.

The view of Kintaikyo.
錦帯橋

柳井にも行ってきて、あんパンとメロンパンをいただきました。おいしかったです！

I also went to Yanai to enjoy bread from Grand Maman Bakery. It was delicious! I ate red bean paste bread and melon bread.

Written by David Press-Dawson.