ITSUKUSHIMA - BEAUTIFUL AND FAMOUS

広島の厳島神社に行ってきました！アナゴで有名なところですね。

Recently, I traveled to Itsukushima. You must know it because it is probably the most famous shrine-island in the area. The island is right next to Miyajima and is famous for the saltwater eel.

まずは何と言っても鳥居！私が行ったときは海に少し浸かっていました。

The first thing I enjoy about Itsukushima is the beautiful "gate". It is probably the most famous thing on the island. When I went, it was cover partially by the sea.

奈良と同じように、シカが自由に走り回っていました。

Similar to Nara, Itsukushima also has many deer that run free. It is nice to see them walking around, but I noticed that many of them had ticks on their ears.

厳島にはほかにも小さな神社がありました。皆さんも探してみては？

Itsukushima also has many smaller shrines on the island. I really enjoyed finding them as many of them are hidden and must be sought out.

五重塔も見てきました。赤色がステキですね。

The five story pagoda is also magnificent to see. I really enjoy its red color.

最後につけ麺を食べて帰りました。かつおぶし風味でおいしかったです！

Lastly, I went to the new Hiroshima Outlets to try some tsukemen. It was really good. It had a very smoky flavor. Like "katsuo-bushi". It was a really nice day.




Written by David Press-Dawson

10 Months in the Land of the Rising Sun

SES Teachers Amy, Dallas, Taz, Josh & Adrian
SESの先生方と

Sakura tress blooming in Hagi City
萩市の桜

こんにちは！ダラスです。今年は素晴らしい生徒さんや友達に会えたり、

アジアの国を旅行したりしてとても充実しています。

Hello friends! They say, "Time flies when you are having fun!" This past year has been quite an adventure for me. I have been lucky to see and experience many places in Japan, meet many fun and interesting people (both students and new friends), and I have also traveled to some other countries in Asia. Working at Shunan English School and living in the Chūgoku region has been wonderful.

今年の初めには香港に行ってきました。壁に絵が描いてあったり、中国とイギリスの文化が混ざり合っていて面白かったです。

Earlier this year, I went to visit my friend in Hong Kong for my 25th birthday. I really enjoyed touring around this big city. Some people call it the "New York of Asia". There are many public paintings (murals), and it was interesting to see the mix of Chinese and British cultures in this city. I recommend visiting this unique place!

Hong Kong skyline from Kowloon
香港にて

A mural in Hong Kong central district
香港にある壁画

ゴールデンウィークは東京、京都、大阪のＵＳＪ、韓国のソウルに行ってきました。どの場所も見るものがたくさんあってとても楽しめました。

I have been lucky to have many visitors, both family and friends, come to Japan. For Golden Week, I met my brother and my friend Evanne in Tokyo. I had a great time, and many laughs with them. We toured around Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Universal Studios, and also Seoul, South Korea! Tokyo itself is such an enormous city, there are endless places to see and discover. Kyoto is my favourite city in Japan because of its many beautiful and historical buildings. I also enjoy Osaka because of the variety of things to see; it really reminds me of Chicago.

Evanne & Blake at Ginkaku-ji Silver Pavilion in Kyoto
京都の銀閣寺にて

Driving MariCar in Asakusa, Tokyo
浅草をマリオカートでドライブ！

宮島もお気に入りです！いとことその友達と一緒に弥山（みせん）に登ってきました。

One of my favourite places in Japan is Miyajima Island, with the beautiful Itsukushima Shrine. I really enjoy touring the historic temples and hiking Mount Misen. When my cousin Bradley and his friend Leon came to visit Yamaguchi Prefecture, we went hiking to the top of this mountain.

Dallas, Leon & Bradley at the top of Mount Misen
弥山の頂上で

With my friends Ayami, Yoko & Tomoko at Itsukushima Shrine
厳島神社にて

毎年7月1日には福岡で「カナダの日」というイベントがあるんですよ！カナダ料理やお酒を飲んで楽しい一日を過ごしました。

Did you know that every year on July 1st there is a huge Canada Day party in Fukuoka? I learned about this event online, and I went to it with my friends Connie, Riku, Matt & Amy. It was a really fun day. The Canada Day party had many Canadian foods and drinks that you could try, including beer, wine, lobster tails, poutine, smoked-meat sandwiches, roast pork, and many Canadian desserts. The party was at a hotel near Canal City, and there was a lot of entertainment. It was great!

Canada Day party at Il Palazzo Hotel
カナダの日のパーティーにて

社用車が高速道路で故障するといったハプニングもありました！

ＳＥＳのメンバーが助けてくれてよかったです（汗）

During the hottest time of the summer, my friend Mason from California came to visit again. My company car was having some troubles, and it broke down inside of a tunnel on the Sanyo Expressway! Luckily, we were rescued by SES staff members, and eventually we went to Kyushu for a little vacation.

Nagasaki Peace Memorial
長崎の平和記念像

Dallas & Mason in Nagasaki
長崎にて

夏には長崎に2日間滞在して、平和公園の原爆資料館も訪れました。そのあとは大分の別府で温泉に浸かり、旅の疲れを癒しました！

We enjoyed Nagasaki City for two days, seeing the historical districts and trying not to melt in the heat! I enjoyed seeing the Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park. I think it is a very important place to visit, so that we can always remember the tragedies and loss that happens from war. After Nagasaki, we went to the hot spring capital of Japan, Beppu City in Oita! It was very relaxing! 

With my parents at Himeji Castle
両親と姫路城にて

Trying takoyaki in Dōtonbori district
道頓堀でたこ焼きをいただきます！

8月は両親が日本に来てくれました。大阪に行って（途中、広島と姫路に寄り道しました）、寿司やたこ焼きを楽しみました。

 In August, I was very happy to have my parents visit me in Japan. They stayed at my house here in Yamaguchi, and we went on a road trip to Osaka. Along the way, we stopped in Hiroshima and Himeji. It was a long day of driving, but we had a fun weekend in Osaka, sampling food and enjoying our time together as a family. I made sure that my parents tried sushi, takoyaki (octopus balls) and a few other unique Japanese foods.

SES Teachers Mari, Amy & Dallas in Kurashiki, Okayama
岡山の倉敷にて

9月になって涼しくなってきましたね。10月にＳＥＳとお別れしますが、生徒の皆さんや友達ともっとEnjoyしてみたいものです。それでは！

Now that September is here, I will enjoy the cooler temperatures that come with autumn. I also hope to enjoy some fun times with my students and friends before I leave Shunan English School in October. Bye for now!

SWITZERLAND IS FOR VACATIONS

今年の夏はいとこに会いに、スイスのジュネーブに行ってきました。皆さんにもぜひ行ってもらいたい場所です。

Everyone knows traveling is expensive. Traveling throughout Asia and Southeast Asia is known to be lower in price, but still it costs money to leave the country and live (for short time) in another country. This summer vacation, I went to visit my cousin in his new home of Geneva, Switzerland. It was an amazing experience and a place that I highly recommend for people to visit.

その道のりは、徳山から新幹線で福岡→地下鉄で福岡空港→飛行機で上海→6時間待った後に飛行機でパリ→電車でジュネーブ

と32時間の旅でした。長い！

In order to get to Geneva, I took a very long route. I took the bullet train to Fukuoka, then the subway to Fukuoka International Airport. From there, I took a small jet to Shanghai, China where I waited in the airport for 6 hours for my flight to Paris, France. Once I was in Paris, I took a train to Geneva, Switzerland. So from Tokuyama to Geneva was probably 32 hours in total. A very long time, indeed.

ジュネーブについた後は首都のベルンを旅行しました。「ロスティー」というジャガイモのパンケーキを食べました。ベルンには大きな川も流れていました。

After arriving in Geneva, we took a trip to Bern, the country's capital city. Bern was very nice and we had a chance to try potato pancake called, "rosti". Bern is a German speaking city although Geneva is a French speaking city. Also, in the south of Switzerland, they speak Italian. In Bern, we also saw a beautiful river that runs just outside the city.

その後はチーズで有名なグリュイエールというところに行きました。グリュエールクリームとベリーの組み合わせが最高でした！グリュイエールは昔ながらの建物が並んでいて、映画のような美しい場所でした。

After Bern, we went to the city of Gruyere, the home of the world-famous Gruyere cheese. There we tried Gruyere cream and berries. It was a real treat and tasted very good. Even better than Hokkaido! There is a famous old residence in Gruyere that we also visited. It was really a beautiful place that was surrounded by amazing mountains. It looked like a movie.

翌日はフランスのアヌシーというところを訪れました。イタリアのベニスのように水の上に家が立ち並んでいます。

そこで「ガレット」というそば粉を使ったクレープに似たお菓子を食べてきました。

The next day we visited the French city of Annency. France is only a 5 minute drive from Geneva so it was very easy to get there by car. Annency is a stunning city, which is built on the water of Lake Geneva. It looks very similar to Venice, Italy. I enjoyed a galette there, which is similar to a crepe, but it is made with a buckwheat flour instead of wheat flour.

ジュネーブの古い町並みや湖も楽しんできました。ハイキングでフォンデュを食べたりもして

素敵なひと時をジュネーブで過ごすことができました。

Another day we went into the city of Geneva and explored the "old city" and the lake. It was a beautiful place and we really enjoyed the Lake. We finished our day by hiking up a mountain and eating fondue while looking at Mount Blanc in the French Alps. A truly stunning time in Geneva.

Written by David Press-Dawson

Amys Obon Adventures

こんにちは！エイミーです！ この夏私はダラス先生と一緒にフィリピンのセブ島に行ってきました！

Hello its Amy again!

Hope everyone had a great Obon holiday last week.

Whilst most of the other teachers spent time exploring Japan, both myself and another teacher, Dallas, decided to go further abroad and explore the Philippines.

The view from our hotel in Cebu
セブ島にあるホテルからの景色

セブ島ではビーチでのんびりしたり、日光浴をしたり、島を探検したりしました！ジンベエザメにも会えました！

セブ島の次はボホール島というところに行って、チョコレート・ヒルズやメガネザルなどを見てきました。

We landed into Manila on Sunday evening and spent time relaxing at our hotel before our departing flight to Cebu on Monday evening.

When we arrived into Cebu we spent a few days relaxing by the beach, soaking in the sun and exploring parts of the island. My favourite thing that we did here was go and see the Whale Sharks!

After Cebu we traveled by ferry to the island of Bohol. To me this was the nicest and cleanest island that we visited. We also did lots of exploring before we had to head back home to Japan. We saw the Chocolate hills, Tarsier monkeys and man-made mahogany forest.

The views of the roads in Panglao
パングラオ島の道の風景

フィリピンは日本ととても違っていますが、共通していることは人々がとてもフレンドリーで素晴らしいということです！

写真を何枚か載せておきますね。

It was so nice to spend most of the week relaxing and experiencing another different culture. The Philippines are very different from Japan but one great thing that they have in common is how friendly and incredible the people are!

Here are a few photos from my trip below.

Found this graffiti on a wall at a petrol station

ガソリンスタンドで見つけた壁画

Dallas and I in the man-made forest 

ダラスと一緒に森の中で

Me - red faced and sunburnt in the Chocolate Hills
チョコレート・ヒルズ①

The Chocolate Hills of Bohol
チョコレート・ヒルズ②

A mural at one of our hotels!
ホテルの壁画

インスタグラムのフォローもよろしくね！

Thanks for reading and as always, if you'd like to see more of my adventures, follow my instagram here
https://www.instagram.com/amymartha/?hl=en

Amy

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