Festivals around Japan - nationwide by Rukiya

Ruikya's after reading "Festival around the World" poster

Living with Ataxia - a must read

Dear readers,

I invite you to read another blog's posting today, written by the daughter of two of my closest friends living in Dorset - they used to live & teach right here in Nagano prefecture as well as in Kofu.

Please take time to reflect on her story, and share a comment to her directly on the Ataxia blog

Postcard from Lincoln, England

Hello everyone at Luna!

Hope you have been looking after Damian and Laura?
I have had a very busy ie too short a week in UK.
I really wanted to show my nephew the Magna Carta in Lincoln Castle, but we had to settle for battlefield news from 1217!
This cathedral is stunning, built in 1185 no less! Reunited old school friends & my home city Sheffield and the Peak District.
Had an enormous fish and chips plus a couple of cheeky pints. Surprised?!

Jim

Postcard from Wollongong, Australia

Hello all!

How are you?
I enjoy going to school near beach.
I made Australian friends!

See you next year :)

Ceilidh

See you later, take care, goodbye!

So the day finally arrived when we toasted Damian for being the star of the show at Luna for last 3+ years, and into the bargain welcomed Laura back to our car park BBQ (she joined us last year with her parents, remember?!).

For a while there, sad & lonely Jim was on his own there snuggling his beer & reflecting on how lucky we (Luna) have been with his endless enthusiasm for the "job" here - which is as much as a teacher can make of it...and he has made it a very big job with countless attributes & thorough preparation.

Therefore, no surprise when a whole host of students and rugby types rocked up & shared fabulous munchies, smothered the lad with hugs and sayonara messages.

He's not gone yet though - covering Jim's classes for a final hurrah and to help super cheerful Laura find everything!

Find the rest of the photos here https://flic.kr/s/aHsmvPx9sE and also on our FB page

Pre-teens on future plans

About my sister I

Alien Alert in Seattle - Reiko's hobbies

My hobby is painting, pottery, watching movies, going on a trip, and so on. I love drawing since I was a kid, and my grades of art were also good.

Since I became an adult, my job was to draw a picture. So, after I quit my job I draw a picture as a hobby. I also like to make things. So I am making pottery. I like traveling so I can have a different experience from the usual. I am excited. Before the exhibition, I am drawing a picture. And I go to the pottery class twice a month. I always go to the movies twice a month.

Unfortunately, I do not like moving my body very much. I do not play sports now. However, when I was in my 20s, I loved skiing and went to the ski area weekly. Some friends have the same hobbies as me, but they are not the same hobbies.

Posted for Reiko.

Miami Police File: the O'Nell Case - The Utsukushigahara Open-air Museum

The museum stands on the top of the mountain, the Utsukushigahara. It located at the center of Nagano prefecture. It is about 2000 meters high and the top is flat and very wide. At the corner of it there are a lot of big outdoor sculptures of modern art. We can see all directions view, sometimes Mt.Fuji in a fine day.  And we can see a various beautiful alpine flowers in every season.

There are restaurant, gallery, indoor museum, a huge sculpture for kids playing in it and so on. The admission fee is 1000 yen for adult. It opens from April to November every day. 

It takes about 60minutes from the centre of Matsumoto city by car. And we can go down from the top to Suwa city or Ueda city if we like to.

Posted for Misako