Postcard from Oshamambe, Hokkaido (Japan)

About that train you wanted to catch!

The ticket counter guy's face went white. He'd seen a memo somewhere, he'd seen the news, and he works for JR. At the ticket counter. In Matsumoto. Hokkaido is a day away and nobody is going to ask for a ticket to Sapporo, surely? Oh no, this foreign dude just did, and there's a line of people behind him...

Don't panic - helpful staff everywhere

By the time we'd finished our exchange, that line of people was significantly longer and more impatient!

What he tried to decode, under real-time stress, from his fax about schedule disruption, was that there'd been a landslide, after torrential rain, around the coastline of Ushiura Bay. That had wiped out the train tracks somewhere on the Muroran Line, meaning the Hokuto Express was not in operation and instead, a replacement, limited timetable, non-reserved train service with a bus link around the affected track was in place. He did his best to understand the fax himself + the geography, while I was leaning on his counter in dismay wondereing just how long it'd take me to get there & back again (and trying to ignore the daggers I was getting from the queue building up behind me).

After he'd consulted with a couple of JR mates, and scratched his head a lot, he was able to give me a cobbled together itinerary/set of tickets/route.

Fast forward 48 hours and I've disembarked a Hokuto train in Oshamambe, where some evidence of the Hokkaido Shinkansen construction is in sight - concrete pillars, raised sections of track & loads of orange cranes. But not many buses! JR actually managed this extremely well...and nobody was moaning or throwing their 'me first' weight around. Carraige by carriage, we were invited to wait on the platform and not push up the stairs/over the bridge & down again - then released in a very orderly fashion to find a seat (thank you, not standing) for a 90 minute diversion on a comfy limo bus to some hitherto unknown town called Toya.

Crowd control with JR Hokkaido

A train was waiting there - for everyone from the bus shuttle to re-embark. This took a while, because I don't think there are enough buses in this part of the world to cope with such a sudden relay. No drama - the local shop was stripped bare by the locusts and everyone waited patiently to get on our way - whenever!

Throughout this boring queue maintenance, I did not hear a single raised voice or see any frustration from JR staff, who were superbly organised & calm, communicating clearly & directing passengers to the 'very Japanese' invisible "right place". 

Express tracks

OK, my journey took longer, but that's part of the joy of travelling, isn't it. I can add this to a couple of other train rides which were far worse (a couple in Thailand spring to mind!) and any Brits will doubtless have dozens of domestic disasters to moan about.

How can a young boy improve his life?

 I have some problems in my life, resulting in a big spot on my chin. Please give me any advice to solve the huge spot.

My dad worked before, but now he is not working and doesn’t do enough housework. My mom recently started her job and left us at home and seems to be with Mr. Lucas . My house is very dirty and is turned off the electricity as my dad didn’t pay the bills. As you can easily imagine, I can’t have enough meals to improve my skin.

In my school, a new girl with long blond hair came to our class, and she is my love. However, she is going out with Nigel!!! I hate Barry Kent as he keeps looking at my work and using my answers, and hits me unless I give him twenty-five pence every day.  Where should I have that money while I have no enough food? Thus, I needed to get a job and am doing newspaper round every morning. Of course, I told the teacher a part of my trouble from Barry Kent, but she didn’t say anything to him as she’s afraid of Barry Kent.

All the stress is making me ill, and my skin becomes worse than before. I want to be with my mom again and not to be with Mr. Lucas. Also, I hope my dad has a stable jog to be with my mom again. How can I improve my situation?

Sick note - Yuki explains his absence last week ;)

I have broken my left arm.

I was playing gymnastics. I was jumping over a vault, when I crashed on a mat.

I went to hospital in my father's car. The kind doctor said "Oh my God!"

The doctor took some x-rays and saw it was broken. The doctor pulled my arm to fix the bone. It hurt a lot.

The doctor put on a plaster cast, and gave me some medicine.

My father paid and drove home. I was very sad. My mother was surprised.
 

Memories with my best friend - Ayumi writes

Chimari and I met when we were in elementary school.

At that time, we were both shy and couldn't talk much. However, when we were in junior high school, we often went home together after school,or went to the shopping mall on holidays to deepen our relationship. Then we started playing a lot together and we became best friends.

I think the main reason why we are still best friends is because we have the same hobbies and favourite things.

For example, we like action and rhythm games. We also like fantasy movies and novels. In addition, we love shopping. That's why we always have a good time.

As you can see , chimari and I have a story friendship since our early school days and we have grown up together. We remain “besties” because we have common interests and we still often hang out together in our free times.

Chimari is very cool.

Posted for Ayumi

Shohei Ohtani: A Remarkable Athlete

Shohei Ohtani was born in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, in 1994. He has been playing baseball since elementary school. From a young age, his talent was appeared in baseball and joined the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's professional league in 2013. He established himself as a two-way player in Japan’s professional league.

After spending successful seasons, he moved to Major League Baseball in the United States and joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. He became famous for his ability as both a pitcher and a hitter. In 2023, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. Furthermore, he played in the WBC in 2023. He was a great pitcher and hitter in the tournament. In the final game, he struck out his teammate and helped Japan become world champion.

In 2026, he became the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball, with total earnings of about $127 million. Around 98% of this income came from sponsorship deals. He has partnerships with more than 20 global companies from Japan and abroad, which makes him one of the most successful athletes in the world.

He married in 2024, and he is a father for 2 kids. Even though he has his own family, he has continued to focus on baseball. His wife is supporting him very well.

He also helps other people through charity work. In 2023, he donated about 60,000 baseball gloves to elementary schools across Japan. He hoped that more children would enjoy playing baseball. (I saw the gloves at my kids' school!!)

I think fame and fortune have brought Ohtani happiness. Although he has natural talent, his happiness today is the result of his hard work and his sincere attitude toward everything he does.

Ignoring L1 in game play to extract English!

The background to this blizzard of interaction is that two of the students are new to the class, and originally a bit reluctant to speak up/take turns/be decisive (is scared of 'being wrong').

Aim of this game was to pre-teach the difference between singular & plural nouns - notice a) the right name of the animal...b) has it got an s on the end or not? Why/why not? I did not 'teach' this but rather, asked them to notice when it is used...form their own idea & check it out together - then remind each other as each image gave them two 'wrong' animal names, the others a 50/50 singular or plural option. 

Liverpool fan - "off side, ref!"

That the students used quite a lot of L1 while engaging in the game play = totally fine with me. It was
focussed, respectful and enabled them to 'manage' their participation in the game as teammates (encouraging each other to choose the correct answer/use the mouse) & competitors (throwing in bad advice!). What does annoy me enormously when I observe other classes is when L1 interferes with the progression of the activity - back channel to discuss other thiings, which indicates a lack of engagement/interest in the exercise...and/or the whole game is in L1 with next to no English input/output.

I also felt the children in this class were switching languages without thinking about it - really keen instead to get on with the game & win. That they didn't win = small beer; both teams scored loads of points and got most of the answers right - and they did all the hard work...teacher's job to notice 'glaring mistakes' (ignore mis-steps with the mouse or make light of jumping in too quickly & chosing the red-herring). 

This activity on Baamboozle not a filler at the end of class (the 'reward' or lack of a full lesson plan). Rather, previewing the next topic we are going to be dealing with in Everybody up Starter - essentially flipping the classroom & already drilling the vocab set (domestic/farm animals) & grammar point.

Win win.

 

A tram affair!

I was not expecting to fall in love in Toyama...

The most noticeable thing around the city centre is the relative lack of cars (maybe it was because of the summer holiday) but also the gentle rumble of the city's trams! And they all look so cool - variously wrapped, some old, some very modern, getting people around town in simple comfort & and on time.

There are a number of routes, as you can see from the route map, with departures every 10-15 minutes; fares are cheap & there are a number of special offers, such as a one day pass.

The city's official website says:

 "In 2006, the former Toyama Port Line was reborn as Toyama Light Rail (Portram).

With its sleek design and low-floor vehicles that make boarding easy, the new system quickly gained attention and made access to the Toyama Port area far more convenient.



7000 series, types 1 & 2 (yellow)
In 2015, city streetcars began operating at the newly built Toyama Station stop beneath the Shinkansen viaduct.

Following the completion of the conventional railway’s elevation in 2019, the long-awaited north–south connection was achieved on March 21, 2020.

This marked the completion of a seamless streetcar network centered around Toyama Station.

Today, Toyama’s streets are shared by a diverse fleet of streetcars.

These include the circular Centram line in the city center, north–south routes such as Portram and Santram, modern low-floor vehicles,
as well as classic and retro-style streetcars that retain a nostalgic charm."

 

Wonderful goalkeeper Zion Suzuki

Zion Suzuki was born in the United States to a Ghanaian father and Japanese mother and grew up in Urawa, Saitama that has a football team named Urawa Reds.

His mother taught him from a young age to take care of things himself. He tried to see his distinctive appearance as an advantage, and he made a conscious effort to behave properly and do the right thing, and he dreamed to become a Japan's first goalkeeper and play in the World Cup.

He started his carrier at Urawa Reds, and transferred Sint-Truiden in Belgium, Parma in Italy. Now, he plays for Aston Villa in England. During the 2024 Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup, he showed a good/stable performance and became famous. On the one hand, when the team lost a game, there were discriminatory messages about his appearance.

He made his dream come true. Now, he tries to enjoy his new challenge at Aston Villa. He may get some opportunities from fame and fortune, but I think those may not bring him real happiness.  I hope him to enjoy his carrier and his new challenge, and keep Japan’s goal in the next World Cup.

 

Tamagoyaki

 My mom loves cooking. She often takes a memo when she finds any new recipe, and always tries to cook it.

I love mom's Japanese food. She can cook most of them if I ask her to cook.
Among them, Tamagoyaki always makes me comfortable and relaxed when I eat them.
Tamagoyaki is very popular Japanese food. The recipe is simple, so the taste varies from home to home.
Here is my home's recipe.
1. prepare two or three eggs and crack them into a bowl
2. put two spoons of sugar and a pinch of salt
3. pour it into a rectangular frying pan after mixing it well
4. mix a center of egg mixture until half set
5. roll from front to the back of the pan

As Tamagoyaki was always put in my lunch box, it was soft, sweet and jiggly, with a brilliant yellow color from well-mixed eggs. It always made me comfortable. One day I got up early for climbing mountains of a school event when I was a junior high school student. As I had some time before leaving, my mom taught me how to make Tamagoyaki, and I cooked it for the first time. Because I put too much sugar, it was burned and turned black in no time...

At that time I felt the simpler the recipe was, the more difficult it was to cook.

A postcard from Toyama Castle, Japan

Toyama Castle - southern ramp

I've shot through Toyama city several times on the shinkansen, in a rush to get somewhere further west - Kanazawa for a training session or exploring the full extent of the Hokuriku line down to Tsugura, without getting off to explore. I also used to drive to Kanazawa for work, but again, always in a rush (or taking the scenice route through Gifu instead).

Dedicated effort this summer break to take a slow look around the castle & city centre!

I have to admit there's 'not a lot to the castle'...it was flattened/burnt to the ground towards the end of the war in 1945 (Aug 2nd). The grounds remain, with the basic outline of the domain but only one small, rebuilt tower on the south side.This reinforced concrete 'reconstruction', on the site of the Honmaru Kurogane-mon, was completed in 1954; there's a hint of a gateway that would have crossed the inner moat. It looks like the moat, as in many other castle cities, was filled-in & re-used as a tramway & or main road. The north side of the domain does feature a lovely river as part of the defences (even offering short river cruises under the cherry blossoms I assume), but again, as usual, post war corporate/local government construction within the larger grounds is incongruous. 

Toyama castle's extant moat

Nothing much has been done around the keep - a nice open park - but pretty hard to take a nice photo of the 'castle' without a hotel in the immediate background or a stupid clock in the foreground!

Lonely concrete keep

Unfortunately this castle lacks a wow factor - but I did instead fall for the trams...more about them in a post coming soon...cities with tram networks are really cool, in my opinion!

Full history here

An imaginary entry in Anne of Green Gable's diary

Today was the happiest day of my life...so I thought. I was so excited to come to Green Gables. The road was lined with old apple trees. they were full of sweet-smelling and snowy-white flowers! The beautiful way made me feel like I were walking into a wonderful dream. I fell in love with this lovely place at once.

But everything changed so quickly. Matthew and Marilla wanted a boy, not a girl like me. What a horrible mistake! Why was I not born a boy? My heart was full of hopeness in this morning, but now, I feel so lonely and miserable.

What will happen to me tomorrow？Will they send me away?

Oh, Dear God, please! Please let me stay here. I promise I will work hard and be a good girl.

Posted for Nene

Upcoming training session for Cambridge assessment - Young Learners (YLE) in Tokyo

Can you manage eight flashcards in one hand, talk about/point to a picture with the other, and remember a child's name? Can you do this with a smile & encourage a young learner to 'tell you more'? Can you also focus on a speaker's use of vocabulary & (simple) grammatical structures, word stress & the amount of support you needed to provide over a 5-minute interaction?

Got three years or so experience teaching younglearners as an English language teacher (in Japan or overseas)? Currently teaching YL full-time in the Kanto region & looking to add some professional development to your skills set? Got two references to stand up your application to become a Cambridge Young Learners Speaking Examiner? Check out the requiremenets & details below...and apply now before we run out of chairs!

https://lnkd.in/gwTQpBkZ 

YLE Starters (pre-A1): https://lnkd.in/gvKkqBwQ

YLE Movers (A1): https://lnkd.in/gWDiefxC

YLE Flyers (A2): https://lnkd.in/gUCRAU-W

Memory of my local train station

When I was a high school student, I used to take the train from the nearest local station every morning.  Trains came frequently during morning time.  It came usually every five to ten minutes.  I always got on the same train and stood in the same spot near the train door.  After a while, I noticed that the same people were there with me each morning.  I didn’t know their names, and I never asked which schools they went to, but from their uniforms and bags, I assumed they were also high school students.

 

I usually traveled alone, so the routine of the morning train became something I looked forward to.  During the ride to the station where I got off, I often listened to their conversations. They talked about homework, teachers, club activities, and sometimes their boyfriends.  I never spoked to them and I never even said “good morning” to them.  We   shared the same space and time.  So, it felt as if we were part of a team, commuting to school together every day.  Secretly, I felt a quiet connection to them.  

 

When one of them was not on the train, I found myself worrying.  I wondered whether she had overslept, or she was sick.  Even though we were complete strangers, their absence made my morning routine feel incomplete.

Upcoming Cambridge SE training in Tokyo - B2:First & C1:Advanced

Looking forward to running this #B2First & #C1Advanced #SpeakingExaminer training session for Kawaijuku JP026 Sept 12-13th in #Tokyo

Need a roomful of chalkface professionals to work with! Please check out the recruitment details below - can you walk the walk and talk the assessment talk? All applications welcome if you meet the MPRs - no 'native-speaker' bias.

https://lnkd.in/grrDFcrd

Great chance to put assessment learning into practice in your own teaching environment; great chance to network & work with educators from a wide variety of teaching backgrounds - language schools, high schools, corporate, universities, with an international outlook.

What is B2:First? https://lnkd.in/gXwyWB_T

What is C1:Advanced? https://lnkd.in/geKYvfT6


Now you know! Come & join the Tokyo team - recognised globally.

Let the kids talk!

Three videos here, highlighting how even very young learners can quickly become content creators in their English langauge learning journey! Each of these examples are a result of after reading projects, from graded readers, which all of our students at Luna invest in. We use these readers in a myriad of ways - not 'just' reading...we try to 'milk' them for all the're worth!

Misaki's Cake is the outcome from Oxford University Press' Read & Imagine graded reader called 'The Cake Machine'. Inventor Grandpa has a fairly calamitous baking experience...our children do better with a drawing project (homework) & then guided with a writing task in class to describe their lovely, dreamy, cake creations.

My approach as teacher is to do the background prep quickly, then let the students take control of the creative process, using the iPad + Chatterkids app intuitively. Recording themselves & criticising their own speaking (want to be smoother, or quicker, or not stop in the middle or get a word wrong...) is an easy fix - just re-record against the thirty-second limit. Their own pressure, not teacher's! As you can hear, the focus is on far more than just a list of ingredients - a proper description. As a quick finisher, Misaki was first - after that, she was first assistant & bling direction for whoever finished next. Teacher - job done (help the slower finishers with gentle suggestions & corrections).

 

What do you think of Misaki's cake?

A twist on this exercise I love with slightly older young learners, is to have them interview each other about their after reading projects. Here is Moe's description of her favourite animal (her real pet), from OUP's Read & Imagine title 'In the Treehouse'. Here the pressure is on both learners to ask, and answer, a set of questions quickly...so of course they want to practice a few times before hitting the record button - who said 'drilling' is boring?! Love Moe's "Wolfie"?

And from another class, Yuri & Koharu tackle the same task from their reader. 

Extensive reading has obvious benefits - so does intensive reading...the two do not need to be mutually exclusive. As you can hear, students are empowered with being able to share their imaginations and are unencumbered with stage fright, instead collaborating and being bold. Love these outcomes!

Let the kids think!

 I'm a firm believer in teachers waiting for students to actually ask for support. If you're playing a game, and really want to take your turn & progress, then the motivation is high...but teacher, don't jump in to facilitate. Instead, wait for the language to percolate, language attempted, missing word isolated.

And wait for an actual request (weaker learners who are unable to verbally ask for help will indicate no-verbally they need a boost - watch carefully). Other students might be able to help - if not, then chances are they'll all need to use this same 'unknown' word again soon and will listen/practice/rehearse before their turn comes around.

Similarly, let students self-correct. Accept what they are trying to say, and let them reflect on their output/pronunciation/accuracy. Maybe teacher indicates that something was not quite right, or it needed to be faster or more fluently delivered? Not teacher driven, but students striving to 'get it right' on their own.

Teacher's role in any game, for my money, is to facilitate as much English with as little active participation as possible. Encourage, keep the focus, make sure we're playing nicely and having fun. For sure, allow books open to glance at key structures, question or sentence structures...but let the players do all the work. Can't see any English here? Because it's all been absorbed already :)

Where are all the words?!

My take on a recent online Cambridge SE certification session - I'm biased!

 

As we all know, with work & family commitments we can't always be available when we intended to be - same is true for Cambridge Speaking Examiners (SEs) & their certification commitments/requirements. Despite numerous face-to-face meetings throughout the year, and around the country, some of our valued team members have simply been elsewhere. Great to be able to reintegrate valuable assets who've been out of country.


For SEs 'in good standing' we are able to offer occasional online meetings to ensure our team maintains compliance. Obviously doing so via zoom requires quite a bit of preparation by the Centre and participants, and managing activities differently - the variety I have tried to incorporate into F2F sessions this year won't work in break-out rooms for example. Also bandwidth & screen(s) size can negatively impact the core details of the job - delivering exams per scripted format & procedure, managing unforeseen circumstances (always new ones!); and applying assessment criteria consistently.

In the latter regard, discussing performances with a wider cadre is motivating - we can get a bit used to the same faces that we usually bump into annually. It's also vastly reassuring that the same messaging & 'examiner-speak' is in play no matter where SEs are physically based in our network...#Kanto, #Ryukkyu, #Kyushu, #Chubu, #Hokkaido, #Tohoku


An added benefit of conducting our annual get-together online is that we can also assess the possibilities of remote assessing, and workshop such eventualities realistically. Well done our JP026 team recently!

(NB online certification is not 'an alternative' to F2F certification. Essentially, all SEs must attend certification meetings in person, annually).

A very non-veggie Japanese teen - a healthy diet?

DIET

I think my diet is bad. I'm not a vegetarian. I don't usually eat vegetables because I don't like them. I like unealthy food, which have have a lot of calories.

HEALTH

I think I'm healthy. I don't get many colds or fevers. I sometimes get headaches, but that's when I'm very hot.

EXERCISE

I don't follow an exercise proram. I have to take three hours of P.E. every week at school. I should do more exercise.

Postcard from - Shenzhen, China

 Hi Jim sensei,

I came to Shenzhen, China for a short business trip. I stayed here for three nights and had three appointments.

My passport will be expired in a year, so this will be my last trip with the current passport. I had lots of trip with good memories!

Tomoko

The food I eat - a teen's report on his diet

 DIET

I think my diet is good, bacuause I eat salad every morning and I always eat healthy food, but I like burgers & pizza.

SNACKS

I sometimes eat fruit or yogurt for snacks. I don't eat ice cream in front of the TV. I try not to eat unhealthy snacks like potato chips.

DRINKS

I usually have milk with my breakfast and I often drink tea with my dinner. I like grape juice and Japanese plum juice, but my mother usually buys them.

Posted for a teen!

Magic Ingredients! App-smashing with a reader

One app I really enjoy using with our graded readers as a boost to after reading projects, is to make sure that all of the students have taken time (and been shown how) to produce full, grammatically sound, sentences.

In this case, after reading OUP's Read & Imagine beginner level title The Cake Machine, easy homework was to draw their own 'dream' cake. The blank space below 'describe your cake' is a forbidding prospect without guidance...teachers job to ask leading questions, and then help everyone agree on their responses (all different, of course, but simliar in structure.

Obviously, most of the structures & vocabulary they need are high frequency from the book they've just read (and enjoyed) + the Picture Dictionary at the back a rich resource. "New words" (our own ingredients) an easy share on the whiteboard.

Bit of teacher speed needed to photo & crop drawing into the app, and then gave a example of 'how to' for early finishers, who get on with their project enhancement. Then they help the slower finishers through the tech hurdles and encourage the narrating part (they read their own writing into a 30 second limit). 

 

A teen's report on his diet

My diet

I think my diet is bad, because I don't eat vegetables. I often eat rice & ramen. These have many calories. And I often eat fast food, too.

Drinks

At home, I usually have milk with my breakfast and dinner. I sometimes drink tea. I love milk, and my sister likes milk too, but it has a lot of calories.

Possible changes

I love chicken and I often eat chicken when I eat breakfast. I probably shouldn't eat so much chicken at breakfast because it's unhealthy. I should eat vegetables at breakfast.

Posted for a teen!

Professionally proud - speaking examiners recognised

I'm really pleased to be able to share that no less than four Cambridge Speaking Examiners have been awarded with Certificates of Excellence. These awards are very well-deserved, and are in recognition of availability & dedication to turning up to 'unfashionable' exam sessions...the mid-week ones in the middle of nowhere; the awkward ones with long lunch breaks and not allowed to step out to get lunch; the full-on ones when it's almost dark by the time you notice; the ones with the students who do not know what to do or the ones with the chemistry lab layout!

Jim with Gavin Addison

I'm pretty sure, between, them, these four champions have been there, and done that, and got the t-shirt!

Jim with Colin Malaney

I met both Gavin & Colin in 2016, at their first training session with a Centre called Z-Kai (no longer offering Cambridge exams, unfortunately). I remember one of those training sessions vividly, as I was not able to connect my laptop to the big screen as we were stuck in a hallway, and I could not grab an HDMI cable from any of the locked rooms. Awkward.

Claire Jansen & Toni O'Connor with JP026
SE Personnel Manager, Keiko Ohashi

Claire Jansen has been associated with Kawaijuku probably longer than I have - we have been working together since 2018, and was also awarded a Bronze Certificate for long service (to be honest, several other SEs deserve this recognition!). Toni O'Connor joined the team in 2020 and has been very busy ever since.

I am really proud of all the hard-working Speaking Examiners across the country, some obviously busier than others but each & every one a valued member of the team. It was very nice indeed to be able to be able to demonstrate to the team that we do notice, and we do care!

Miyuki's profile of Jaz Santos

Jaz Santos is a young football player.

She started playing when she was about six years old. She plays as a forward and loves trying to score goals. Her best moment was when her team scored. It made the team feel happy.

She didn't give up when she had problems around her. However, sometimes she had hard times. She felt it was hardest to keep motivated.

The most fun part of football for Jaz is being with her team. She loves passing, playing & laughing with her friends. Jaz playes for her team & her parents!

She will continue playing football & everyone who watches her feels encouraged.

Posted for Miyuki

Remembering Kobe - Taisei's childhood visit

When I was younger, we sometimes went to Kobe, in Hyogo in Kansai (central Japan). It is an excitingcity.

We went there by my father's car. It took four hours.

Kobe is different now. In the past, there were nice cafes. Now, there isn't the cafe.

Kobe today is a popular city to live and work. I still want to go to Kobe someday.

Posted for Taisei

When the student is the teacher - reviewing a presentation

My last couple of evening classes with one of my private students have been a revelation. She's a very dedicated mid-wife/intensive care nurse at the wonderful Nagano Children's Hospital (in Azumino).

I've had a long association with the hospital, its staff & patients, as I've taught various groups of doctors, and nurses there over the last twenty-five years or so, as well as groups of their children (some of whom are doctors themselves now!)...and also classes to long-term in-patients in the charming little school they have there. That itself was a career changing experience for me & some of my lucky colleagues.

Makiko's presentation was on zoom, to a group of about 300 Indonesian care providers/NICU professionals. In English. She was dealing with a really tender topic - tiny tiny babies' management. She really is the experts' expert, from arguably the best premmie unit in Japan - she absolutely knows what she's talking about, and presented a powerful powerpoint with excellent on the job photos & graphics to highlight her crucial top tips for managing the precarious state of very premature babies - "premmies".

I was awed by the levels of layered care required, and provided - and the nature of such often surprised me. Obviously medical - but how to provide to an infant so small who doesn't actually have a 'skin'? What parameters to heat/light/oxygen saturation? Resistance eg a small incubator with walls to press against & stimulate muscle tone? Sleeping positions & constant observation. Honestly, labour of love & devoted professionalism.

I am never going to complain when students like Makiko tell me they're tired! No-brainer. Constant shift work & emotional drain, my job is change the subject, find something to enhance her use of English...stuff she can use next year when she will present at the Premmy Conference in Jakarta next year! Yep, she did such a good job they want her to present to the BIG room. And she'll steal hearts & win minds :)

Nagano's premature babies are in very,very good hands - actually not physically, but you know what I mean!

Eric Carle - a fan club member appreciates his artwork & stories

 I'd like to talk about Eric Carle, a famous children's author & illustrator.

Eric Carle was born in the United States in 1929. When he was six years old, his family moved back to Germany.

As a child, he loved nature & animals, and he often explored forests with his father. This experience influenced many of his books later.

At school, he especially enjoyed art classes. One of his teachers secretly showed reproduction paintings such as Picasso, Paul Klee & Kandinsky whose work had been banned by the Nazis. He was inspired by this teacher & studied commercial art at an academy.

When he was twenty-three, he returned to New York. He worked as a graphic designer, art director and illustrator. After meeting the picture book creator Leo Lionni, he became interested in children's books.

When he was thirty-eight, he illustrated his first book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?". This experience encouraged him to focus on creating picture books.

Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

In 1969, he published his most famous book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". The idea came to him while he was playing with a hole punch. Interestingly, the main character was originally going to be a worm, not a caterpillar!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into more than seventy languages and it is loved by children around the world. Eric Carle went on to create more than seventy books.

I chose Eric Carle because I recently visited his exhibition in Tokyo. I love his artwork and its atmosphere. I was also interested in him because I remember reading about him in my English textbook when I was in junior high school. I enjoyed learning more about his life & artwork.

Posted for Nene.

Remembering a childhood place - Nishinomiya

When I was younger, we lived in Nishinomiya, in Hyogo, Kansai (central Japan). It's an interesting city.

We went there by my mother's car. It took four hours.

Nishinomiya is different now. In the past, there weren't English schools. Now there are some kindergartens. Nishinomiya now is very fun, because the annual high school baseball tournament is in the Hanshin Tiger's stadium.

Posted for Sawa

Jaz Santos vs The World - profile of the player

You may have heard the name Jaz. Her name is Jasmine Santos-Campbell. She is a famous football player who played in the World Cup.

When she was eleven years old, she approached some people and formed a team.

Their coach was Rhiannon. She taught them that the things a player does off the field are as important as the things they do on the field. Some players become role models for young people.

In the final against the Silverton Shiners, at her first tournament, Bramrock Stars FC, where Jaz is a captain, played fairly and fought as a team. The game finished 2-2, and finally they won it on penalties.

She trusts her team, building good relationships.

Posted for Ritsuko

Message to Jaz Santos

Hello Jaz, 

I read your story for Jaz Santos vs. the World.

I’ve been watching your football journey, and I really like your personality on and off the pitch.  After reading the book, I felt warm and encouraged. You are not afraid to challenge and try difficult plays. 

At the same time, you have problems in your personal life and you may struggle when things don’t go your way. 

Sometimes your choices and actions might not have been perfect, but I suppose there’s 

nothing we can do. I also made many mistakes in my life when the problems happened. In that situation, you and I did what we selected from many choices. I made choices and took action, but in the end, I often regret them and feel like I made the wrong decision. I believe that's just part of life. I’m starting to believe that we move forward through all of these experiences.

To take part in the soccer tournament, you had some problems, such as gathering members and finance. However, you overcame these by coming up with great ideas and working together with your teammates. After your great work, you were able to join the tournament. In the end, you won the matches! That’s truly wonderful!!

If it were me, I think I might have given up quickly, so I truly think what you did is so amazing.

For the future, I believe you have great potential. You can reach a high level and succeed in football.

Keep pushing forward and enjoying the game!

A profile of Yayoi Kusama - Japanese artist (& influencer!)

Yayoi Kusama is a famous painter from Japan.

Yayoi Kusama

She was born into a wealthy family in Matsumoto in 1929. From the age of ten (in 1939), she began to suffer from hallucinations, such as the surrounding landscapes being covered with polka dots and flowers, and dogs talking to her. In order to escape from fear, she maintained her mental balance by copying the hallucination into a sketchbook.

She went to New York in search of freedom. In 1958. In New York, she won high praise for her 'net paintings' which continues to draw meshes on the canvas. In addition, she presented spatial works using mirrors with electric decorations, and created many works such as body painting & fashion shows.

She returned to Japan in 1973. She was away from the front stage for a while, but she was doing activities such as writing novels and poems.

"Cosmic Nature"
 at NY Botanical Gardens

Her painting was exhibited at the Venice Bienniale, Japan pavilion in 1993 and increased its international reputation.

Even now, polka dots are called "The Shape of the Universe" and continue to send message of infinit space and peace through museums & public art around the world.

Posted for Ayumi

Yuki reminsces about Okinawa

 When I was younger, we went to Okinawa in south japan for our vacation. They are little islands in the Sea of Japan. We wnt there by plane. It took two hours.

Yanbaru, Okinawa

Okinawa is different now. There was nature. There are cities now.

Okinawa today is a popular place, but I miss the peaceful forests that I visited as a child.

Posted for Yuki

Profile of a famous footballer - Honore Sawa

 Honare Sawa is a famous football player from Japan.

Honore Sawa

She started playing when she was six. When she was little, she played with boys on her brother's team. She played as a midfielder. She was number 10 on the national team.

Her best moment was winning the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011. She helped Japanese soccer become world champions.

She says that practice is hard, but playing with her team & winning game is fun. She wants to teach children for them to follow their dreams.  

Posted for Chinatsu

Journey in Denmark

 Late yesterday, I arrived in Copenhagen Denmark, and the hotel was comfortable for me. There was no issue with my room’s plumbing, and the area around the hotel seemed safe.

I woke up late and missed the hotel’s breakfast service. The bread I bought at a convenience store near the hotel was delicious, but tomorrow I'll take my time and enjoy the hotel breakfast. After eating the bread, I visited the canal side district of Nyhavn in the afternoon. There were fewer tourists in the afternoon, so visiting in the afternoon was probably a good decision. The houses along the canal were colorful, and I enjoyed my walk. It was a little cold today, so the walk warmed me up. The chocolate that I ate at ABC café for rest tasted so good.

Tomorrow, I'd like to go and look for a chair as Denmark is famous for its furniture. I’m looking for a chair that will make me feel comfortable and relaxed that can use for a long time and won’t get tired of.

This is what I want to do in Denmark.

* Taste various chocolate

* Go to shops where have dishes of Royal Copenhagen

* Visit Krongborg

I am going to talk to a local person to know his/her recommendations in Denmark.

Reminiscing about...Snap Cafe, HCMC, Vietnam

When I was younger, we often went to the Snap Cafe in Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam, for lunch. It's a
cafe which has a playing area.

Snap Cafe, Ho Chi Minh City

I think we walked there, but now I have to use the plane because I live in Japan.

Snap Cafe is not different now. The ice cream shop I loved is still there and playing area looked the same, when I went back there three years ago.

Snap Cafe today is a cool place for families. I hope it continues running.

Posted for Nanaha

Please welcome Lois, joining our staff this month

My name is Koishi, and I go by Lois. I’m originally from China, and before moving to Japan, I studied philosophy in Hong Kong and the United States. In my free time, I love reading, writing poetry, playing guitar, and spending time around plants and nature. 

I also really enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds and hearing their stories, so I’m looking forward to creating a warm and relaxed atmosphere where everyone can feel comfortable chatting together.

My cousin's wedding

I'm going to talk about when I attended my cousin's wedding. 

The wedding was held in the city of Tokyo on a sunny day. The place was a very spacious and beautiful building. From there, I could see the bay and the morning sun was very beautiful. At the ceremony, my cousin and my cousin’s wife were wearing very beautiful dresses and tuxedos, and they were very bright.
I ate a lot of food at the wedding. I ate seafood salad, cold corn soup, beef steak, foie gras, stewed seafood, sorbet, cake, and so on . I also drank Sudachi's non-alcoholic cocktail. The colour was blue and it was very refreshing.

There were two entertainments for the wedding. The first is to guess the colour of the dress that the bride will change. We choose which dress the bride will wear with a penlight. The dress, which was originally white, has become a very beautiful blue dress. The result,l could not collect,but the dress looked very good on the bride and was beautiful. The second is dancing. My cousin's classmate danced in costume. It was very fun and exciting. Everyone in the audience was laughing.

It was a very fun wedding with a lot of food and everyone laughing.

Posted for Ayumi

Sherlock Holmes - The Sign of Three (a year later...)

One year later, things have changed a bit for the characters. John and Mary are very busy taking care of their baby. John still works as a doctor, but he spends more time with his family now. Mary has become a good mother. They felt worried before having the baby, but they are happier.

Sherlock is still solving many crimes. He has changed a little because he understands friendship more deeply now and cares more about other people’s feelings. For Sherlock, John and Mary are still his best friends and very important people to him.

Janine didn’t start dating the man in the white jacket and blue shirt at the end, but she is more confident now. She enjoys meeting new people.

Sholto survived the crime and now lives more carefully. He will continue to feel guilty about the deaths of young men in Afghanistan for the rest of his life. But after the wedding incident, he felt a little better and started to trust other people more.

Jonathan Small is in prison to atone for his crimes. But he never forgave Sholto and doesn’t regret trying to kill him.

Posted for Nene

A respected football player - Daizen Maeda (Celtic & Japan)

 I will introduce a football player I respect. On Friday, May 15th, JFA (Japan Football Association)
announced the national team members for the FIFA World Cup 2026, starting June 11. Daizen Maeda was selected as a member of the Japanese national team. You may have seen news recently that he scored a goal in the most recent match against Hearts, which helped secure the Scottish Premiership title.

In 2016, Maeda started his career at Matsumoto Yamaga FC. After joined Mito HollyHock on a loan deal, gaining valuable experience, he contributed to Matsumoto Yamaga’s championship victory and promotion to the J1 (first tier) League in 2018. He played for Maritimo in the Portuguese League and Yokohama F. Marinos, and is currently playing for Celtic in Scotland.

When 18-year-old Maeda joined Matsumoto Yamaga FC, he declared that his dream was to become a member of the Japanese national team. Almost all of the supporters didn't think it would ever happen and it would just end up as a dream. However, he made his dream come true. The ex-director of Matsumoto Yamaga FC said that Maeda remained humble and serious even after he became famous. I think that he put a lot of effort into getting to where he is today, and learned that it is important to say a dream and act to make dreams come true.

He and the national team are seriously aiming to win the FIFA World Cup 2026. I truly believe that dreams come true someday, and I want to fully cheer him and the team.