A postcard from...Okadaibuka, Matsumoto

Recommend a sturdy pair of boots

One of Matsumoto's very well kept secrets! I used to live in Okada for nearly ten years, but never knew there used to be a castle perched on a hill top overlooking the suburb, dating back over a thousand years. To be honest, when I told my students about it , they were equally non-plussed.

Site of Okadaibuka, hilltop castle

You really have to look in the right place to find the little path up through the woods from Yoshihirotera Park. And it is a steep hike up an unkempt track, zig-zagging through the trees to a shade under 1,000 metres. The flattened hill top would offer an incredible vista, with a managed tree line - about 270 degrees looking straight down the valley (south) over modern day Matsumoto towards Shiojiri, with the Alps sweeping northwards to the right beyond Joyama Park and the approach from Shiga village. To the left, the pass up & over to Ueda.

Northern apron, overlooking Joyama

There are obvious defensive ditches across the ridgelines; the remanants of the walls would have been steeper yet and really hard to 'surprise'. However, sustaining any kind of force up here would have been really tough; and cold! There are two obvious aprons just below the peak, where soldiers/servants would have been quartered. There is no clue what the fortification would have actually looked like, which is a shame; it was overrun in the 1660s (think Great Fire of London era for context) & became less of a military installation and instead a shrine, maintained by monks for a couple of hundred more years until it burnt down and fell into disuse.

Okadibuka is a hidden treat if you have the time to find it

A postcard from...Hikone Castle, Shiga

Hikone Castle's main keep

 

Sitting atop a rocky plug near the shore of Lake Biwa, is the superbly proportioned Hikone Castle.

I got there in the evening, and found a delightful light show being cast onto an outer wall. I had trouble photographing it because I did not have a tripod with me and my hands were really cold - a biting November breeze.

I was virtually alone, as I stumbled up the path - lighting was adequate/inspired, but made for awkward shadows! As usual, the approaches to a Japanese castle means 90 degree corners designed to create choke points/killing zones in defence. Hikone no different. Impressive ramparts would have been very difficult to attack.

Part of the serene lighting

The light show on the castle keep itself was pretty, with an interesting sound track; rather than enter the keep I stumbled around in the shadows trying to be creative...I totally failed to catch the beautiful full moon rise through the broken clouds, which was breath takingly "Japanese" as it climbed behind this medieval fortification.

I returned next morning, with a couple of hours to walk briskly around the grounds. Although it sits on a prominent hilltop, the castle is not easy to see from relatively close up, nor are there any other hills nearby to look down at it from. Instead, you can catch glimpses of it through the trees as you circle around it.

The main keep, from the west side

The autumn colours were fading, but still obvious and delightful. I would put Hikone Castle on my 'go to' list; it's an easy walk from the town's train station and not thronging with tourists. It's a lovely, quiet detour which is very well worth the effort.

I'll post again with the history part of the story, in the New Year.

southern entrance

Review - a high school student's favourite hangout

I always go to Starbucks when I want to relax. My recommendation of which Starbucks to go to is the one in the station. It has a large space, and the wifi is running, which is perfect. The surroundings are simple, based on black, and some fashionable paintings hanging on the walls. Jazz music is always going, which makes us pretty comfortable. Overall, the place is cosy.

In Starbucks, you order your drink at the counter and bring it to your seat. There are many kinds of drink, of course coffee, but also frappuccinos, and you can put extra toppings like cream, chocolate, or honey and so on. I always wonder which to have, but well-trained staff help me, and tell me about the drink. The service is perfect.

I usually use Starbucks as a place to study, because it is quiet and I can access the internet while having a nice coffee. However, I also go there to have a chat with my friends and watch movies on my iPad. The price is a little bit high, as a cup of coffee costs about Y500 (normal size), so I only go a few times a month.

There is no doubt that it has stores all over the world. The one in Matsumoto station is the best one around here!

Posted for Yuto

A tale of Little Red Riding Hood and Momotaro!

Last Friday (10th of December) Sasabe held their annual play done fully in English! I was blown away, by the set, costumes, and the performance in general. It was done beautifully! It's amazing how the set and costumes were made fully by the teachers, they looked wonderful and well done!

Miriam-sensei and all the teachers at Sasabe did such an amazing job! I even got to see a student of mine perform. From recognisable songs tweaked to help students' memorisation to the confidence the students portrayed! They split the students into 2 groups, 1 group performed Momotaro while the other Red Riding Hood! Parents to teachers were proud. By the end of the performances, there were no dry eyes in the hall (me included!) 

        Momotaro

I was able to ask Miriam-sensei a few questions on how they prepared and how long did they practice it for! She said the teachers prepared it back in Spring, with the scripts and songs of choice while the students only started practicing at the beginning of November! With the help of Jim-sensei, students watched recorded videos of the play and they were exposed to the script in both Japanese and English early on! 

"Once the kids have an idea of what the play is we read it through line by line, students follow along and repeat until we get it right. We do this as a whole class, no roles are assigned as yet and once we have assigned roles, some lines are modified or shortened to help specific kids." - Miriam-sensei

Surprisingly, the roles are only decided two weeks before the play. Amazing how the students were able to be in character in such a short amount of time. With lots of encouragement and help from peers and teachers, students were able to stage a loud and big performance! To help with memory, songs are played in the background during lunchtime for easier practice afterward. 

Little Red Riding Hood

Miriam-sensei even shared her proudest moments throughout the whole production, just the students' determination in remembering their line made her extremely proud especially when they went on stage without any hiccups! I can definitely understand how proud she must have felt seeing her students on stage saying all the lines! 

Miriam-sensei told me that she was nervous from the start of practice (back in November!) and was worried if they will ever have time to finish everything. The students are practicing the whole day and exhausted from it. But once they got the hang of it, it was like a breeze just because the students were extremely motivated to stage a perfect play. It was a joy to watch the kids perform and their parents being able to witness the students' excitement as well as motivation. Miriam-sensei said "Overall, it was a great experience although a bit tiring for the kids I believe the students learned a lot and had so much fun in the process"

Was definitely a beautiful performance by the kids and was I happy to tag along to see it! Once again, great job, and congratulations to Miriam-sensei, Jim-sensei, the teachers at Sasabe, and the students! 

Did Japanese folk monster Kappa really exist?

 Do you know Japanese folk monster named “Kappa”? It is very famous in Japan, and there are various Kappa all over Japan. They love cucumber and Sumo and have some common characteristics which have shell like a turtle, snout-like mouth like bird, web hand like a frog, and a plate on their head.　It seems that Kappa is one of river gods. Plate on head is the most important feature for Kappa and it is always wet and even if the plate is dry or broken, Kappa is unable to live.

It is not known what purpose Kappa existed for, but there are some stories that Kappa brings some happiness into the life of people who helps Kappa.

I think that Kappa may exist in ancient Japan with the following reasons. Firstly, there are some writing and painting with Kappa’s story. Secondly, some mummified remain believed to Kappa were discovered. Lastly, people may need folklore in ancient Japan to tell important thing with a big impact.

In the conclusion, I assume that people utilize Kappa’s story to say children to stay away from river not to cause water accidents of children with no adult round. The folklore will give children bigger impact than usual instruction/advice.

A postcard from...Akasaka, Tokyo

C.E.M. greets the S.E. team

Thank you to all my students, who are zooming with me today because I 'needed' to be at Yamawaki Junior & Senior High School to conduct speaking exams for Young Learners...

As you can see, I am not alone; it is very hard to find teachers with "free time" on a Thursday morning (or be able to get back to work in time for classes after). So, I was delighted to meet a couple of new faces from Osaka, and familiar faces from Kobe & Yamagata, as well as Kanto 'locals'. Really grateful for the effort made to get here - overnight car drives through the snow, late night shinkansen sprints & early morning commutes - thank you guys!

I am proud also of the diversity in our team - today from South Africa, Singapore, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, China, Syria, Japan, UK & USA. 

 

Letter to a friend, from New York

Greenwich Village

I'm super happy to be here, Big Apple. I should thank for my uncle who gave me such a great opportunity. People lives in New York are very sophisticated and everyone looks busy. They walk so fast!

Today, I went to Greenwich Village and Soho for shopping, then moved to Chinatown for lunch. I also stopped by Little Italy.

I plan to go to Central Park tomorrow morning for walking and want to eat hot dog in the park after walking.

This morning, I ate a hamburger with french-fry at a delicatessen. It was my first meal in New York. That's also very delicious.

Hope we can go around with you next time.

Posted for Reiko

A postcard from... Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, Kyushu

Inui-Yagura (turret) - foreground

I have been trying to find a way to see Kumamoto Castle properly since before I was married! I did visit the city before but was unable to give this outstanding medieval embattelemt the attention it deserved.

The buildings & walls suffered considerable damage in a powerful earthquake in 2016, which is still evident today. I know people locally suffered considerably too; the modern part of the city shows no sign of lasting damage.

At first glance, it looks like nothing much has been done to repair the fallen masonry or prop up teeting towers...but closer inspection reveals that actually, there has been a tremendous amount of careful planning (archeological triage), strategic redirection of visitors and massive investment in resources (old and new) & some awesomely clever engineering work arounds...

Boffin information!

Priority #1 was preventing the second (small) keep from collapsing into its sunken foundations (I think!) and to use it as a counterweight to the main keep, which was also completely rebuilt. The schematic diagram below is much more technical than me - the outcome = two very sturdy structures! Yes, modern; really good state of the art, multi-media displays throughout the buildings (and even a lift). My quibble would be that there's no information at all inside in any other language than Japanese. There is a lot of detail presented, which is probably very interesting, but...

The repairs are obviously a work in progress, in stages. Visitors are ushered up, over, around & even under worksites/vulnerable walls. This has been done cleverly & sensitively. I've got no idea how you set about rescuing the teetering turret (above) but it looks like they have a plan to secure it and to restore the walls of the Nishidemaru.

Visiting 'ginko' castle at this time of year has its obvious advantages,as you can see. The famous tree was in all its glory. I can't wait to process all of my photos over the Christmas/New Year holiday. Highly recommend making the time to visit this awesome structure, and its part in Satsuma history.

"Ginko" castle - Kumamoto's main keeps

The perfect way to enjoy afternoon tea.

The perfect afternoon tea should feel like a special event so it's worth going to a fine hotel with some girlfriends for a tea party or a special friend for a tea for two, no gentleman thank you very much. At the luxurious hotel tea room there is a beautiful setting with flowers, shining silver cutlery, fine china and cake stand, and if you are lucky there would be a glass of Champagne as well.  

Our shy tea lady!

Firstly you choose your tea, a Darjeeling, an Assam, Earl Grey or more.  It's always a big issue with the milk first or needing a slice of lemon, but it's absolutely fine whatever you like, though I prefer putting the milk in last with no lemon and sugar.

When stirring your tea, try not to touch the side of the cup ( otherwise you'll get attention! ) and place it behind the cup on the saucer then drink your tea with the pinky finger sticking out like a Royal family.  

On the cake stand there would be sandwiches filled with cucumber, smoked salmon with cream cheese and egg mayonnaise with the crusts cut off and some savouries like quiche or pie and eat those first. 

Then move onto the scones following some sweets.  There are many traditions about the way to eat your scones: cut the scone in half, cover it in jam then add clotted cream or the other way around.

Most of all, the important thing is to enjoy yourself in your own way with your good friends and have an amusing conversation.  

Just have a lovely time!

Posted for Sayuri

Young Learners - Can Do by themselves!

 

 Yuuna introduces her family...

Meet Shuma and his family...

 This is Mashiro and her family...

Emika inroduces her family...

I'm sure you'll agree these young learners have drawn lovely portraits of their family members, and can talk really confidently about them as well! Well done Emika, Mashiro, Shuma & Yuuna: termendous project

Seasons personified - inspired by "The Selfish Giant"

Spring has brown hair and brown eyes. She is about 40 years old and she wears a blue-green dress.

In her hands, she has lots of birds. She lives inside a cherry tree. She plays with birds there.

She is a kind person, who loves cherry blossoms.

By ShiTei

Winter is a wizard. He is about 120 years old and he wears an ice crown and a black coat. In his hands he

 has lots of magic wands. He causes snowstorms. He lives in the snowy mountains. He is feared by

 everyone because he is scary.

Spring

By Kosuke

Spring has brown hair. She is about 30 years old and she wears a

 blue and yellow dress. In her hands she has birds. She cleans the

 woods. She lives in the woods. She is very kind.

By Ryusei

A postcard from...Himeji Castle

A castle for all seasons

My brother (who is obviously English, but lives in Australia) has been going on and on about majestic
Himeji Castle for years....and I have to admit that I now understand exactly what he has been on about. It has been on my 'bucket list' for a while :)

As soon as you pop out of the station, you can't miss it! Sitting imperiously atop a hill, shimmering white walls against a moody sky - jaw-droppingly impressive. As you approach it, it just gets bigger and broader, steepling ramparts and shifting perspectives as you round another corner.

I happily spent the best part of  an afternoon snooping around for angles that I am sure have been well found over the centuries! I got a bit annoyed with the over-officious staff, and also inconsiderate tourons walking in front of an obvious photographer (who has had to wait nearly 30 years to get this chance!); and the procession up the inside of the castle was over-marshalled/busy. Impressive structure yes, and fabulous views, but no real time to savour & not a lot of useful information (can't climb steep slippery steps in slippers, with a camera & a bag of shoes & browse the guidebook!).

Himeji Castle is an awesome experience; visually stunning, architecturally immense, and historically significant. Don't miss "Heron Castle"!

 

A postcard from Aso Boy - Mount Aso, Kumamoto, Kyushu

Aso Boy: a 5-minute stop at Aso Station

I was fortunate enough to be travelling on a National Holiday from Kumamoto, towards northern Kyushu. An extra service of  "Aso Boy" was running (usually only at weekends). Of course I grabbed the chance to ride on this 'grand tour' slow train, over the Aso Caldera to Beppu!

It's a slow chugger of a train (not sure if that is the correct techinical description!) with a kids' play area (I avoided) as well as a cafe, taking four hours to climb up & across this active volcanic caldera - erupted last month!

Spectacular views if you take even a local service, but the frontmost or rearmost seats of Aso Boy are very well worth booking, well-ahead of travel time. There's only one service a day (in either direction). There are uninterrupted views of the panoramas as they unfold, as the driver's position is above & behind you, so I recommend clicking away, as every bend unveils another breathtaking gorge or rural view, surging river or cloud-studded skies across forbidding peaks. 

Stark skyline of Mount Aso

I loved the slow reveal of the countryside, with life in the fertile caldera carrying on as usual while some heads were turned by our iconic chariot! Of course you can drive up & around the area yourself (beware, it snows up here!) but why not sit back with a coffee & treat yourself? Cheaper than the blisteringly fast shinkansen, and obviously slower...which is just the way travel some times. 

What's your favourite 'secret' train line/trip in Japan?

A postcard from...North Alps Arts Festival, Azumino, Nagano

 Another really badly publicised event in Nagano :(

I am lucky that one of my students is really into cultural & arty stuff, and is always trying to share! The Northern Alps Arts Festival (NAAF) had been going on all autumn, with installations in over 40 locations around Azumino (Omachi & Ikeda) but I doubt ANY information about this awesome event had filtered out into languages other than Japanese. FAIL!

What a waste! If ever there was a year to make sure you have maximum footfall from a very limited patronage, 2021 is it. I have lived here for donkeys' years - and I only found out about it during its last week, by accident.

On one gorgeous autumnal day, Amirah & I could only visit four installations with our tour guides from Chihiro Museum. Truly creative & breathtaking concepts, inspiring locations and generous backdrops...

What do you think? Check out all the rest on Flickr!

A postcard from...Kagoshima, Kyushu

Sakurajima rumbling

I enjoyed my working day in Kagoshima recently, looking after an experienced group of teachers in their training as Young Learners speaking examiners. The events over the last couple of years have prevented most of them from actually examining, so it was refreshing to get their active status revived, and to have a couple of new faces also join the YLE team.

Training is always an intense effort, as covering three quite different levels from pre-A1 to A2 requires hands-on practice with materials, and consierable thought into what-ifs...which with children can mean just about anything! Main concern is with having the right kind of people in this role of responsibility, who I can trust to act properly & professionally.

mask-wearing styles in Kagoshima

I did manage to grab an hour of sunshine at lunch, and reacquaint myself with the stunning view that is an erupting volcano on the doorstep; Sakurajima has been rumbling for years now, but no less menacing! I also found some intersting street art in the rain, heading back to the station...why were ALL the hotels in Kagoshima fully booked? I'll never know, but learned my lesson to plan ahead a bit better next time!