Postcard from - Goryokaku Citadel, Hakodate, Hokkaido

Bird's eye view - Goryokaku

I have been meaning, trying, aiming to visit this iconic, un-Japanese structure for years and years - how to manage a dog-leg swoop on a work trip. Finally cracked it, but my well-thought out travel plan did not include a landlslide diversion further north (another story!).

Be brave - lean out!

This was a fortification was inspired by a Dutch design, and not necessarilly aimed at keeping the ever-encroaching foreigners at bay, defending the Tsuragu Strait. I think its primary function was to actually protect an emerging, 'modern' government (magistrate's office) from domestic forces trying to maintain their medieval mode of governance (with military factions untamed).

southern entrance highlights the low walls

The structure itself is impressively laid out, in a star/pentagonal shape, with five protuding bastions, all best viewed from the viewing tower nearby. You need a good head for heights to get the best photos, leaning out onto the glass... I couldn't, because my shoulders hurt ;)  On the ground, the low walls are impressively sturdy, and surrounded by a wide moat. I don't think there were ever any yagura (turrets) on the protruding bastions, though there were canon emplacements. The focal point of the defence is a fairly non-descript, single storey wooden office building, sitting in a depression in the middle of the grounds. Around it had been other buildings, including a small prison, which I'm sure was grim enough.

Completed in 1864, with ancilliary buildings added by 1866, it played an important role as the political center of Ezo (Hokkaido)..which only existed for a year.. It was handed over to the new Meiji government after the Taisei Hokan (restoration of imperial rule) in 1867. However, in October 1868 after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate

Magistrate's Building

, it was occupied by the former shogunate's rebel army led by Enomoto Takeaki and became the stage for the Battle of Hakodate, to conclude the Boshin War.



Predictably, the army then took control of the place, relinquishing it only in 1897, no doubt reluctantly!

The Magic Hat and my coice

 

If I found a magic hat, I think I would spend a lot of time thinking about how to become rich. That can change many things, so I may try to use its power to get money or make my life easier. In that way, I am very different from Moomintroll and his friends.

 

After reading this story, I felt that Moomins are very honest and kind. They do not think only about money. They enjoy adventures, friendship, and time with their family. Their kindness made me feel warm and happy. At the same time, I realized that I am a person who often thinks about what I can get for myself.

 

To be honest, if I found the hat, I might not want to return it to its owner right away. It is such a special and powerful hat that I would want to keep it for myself. However, I think it would be a bad idea. If I did something selfish like that, I would probably get into big trouble. I might even feel that bad luck would come to mine.

 

So, if I ever found the magic hat like in this story, I would be too scared to keep it. I would take it to the police as soon as possible and let them find the real owner. I think that would be the safest and best choice.

How different is school life now for a 13 3/4 year old between Adrian

I thought about how different school life is for teenagers today. I imagine that Adrian lived in a world without smartphones, social media, or the internet. Most of his worries were about school, his family, his friends, and his relationship with Pandora. These are still common concerns for teenagers for now, but modern children face many additional problems.

One of the biggest differences is the influence of social media. Teenagers today often spend a lot of time online and may feel pressure to look perfect like a celebrity or and K-pop idol, or be popular. They can easily compare themselves with others every day through social media. Another modern problem is cyberbullying. I think that, unlike traditional bullying, online bullying can happen at any time and may reach a wider audience.

Many young people need advice about smartphone use, online safety, privacy, and mental health. Because they are always connected to the internet, it can be difficult to balance online activities, schoolwork and real-life relationships. 

Although the world has changed greatly since Adrian's time, I think the feelings of teenagers remain similar. Young people still want to be understood, accepted, and loved. They should not depend too much on social media. It is important to keep a good balance and things around them in real life. 

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.