Holiday plans to penfriends

 Hi Bill and Bill's family,

Hello, long time no contact. Thank you for your e-mail about coming to Japan. We planned your travel course below and we'll enjoy staying with your family, if you like.

We're going to Kyoto and Osaka after staying in Tokyo for two days. Do your family like amusement parks? We're going to the Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo and the Universal Studio Japan in Osaka. Then we're going to take a Japanese traditional experience in Kyoto.

It'll be very hot in Japanese summer, especially in Kyoto. In addition, we're going to wear a kimono which is unique Japanese clothes and take a walk in the town. So we'll get very hot and might be tired.

You should have a lot of suncreem and wear shoes to walk easily since we're going to walk a lot outside.

We're looking forward to meeting.

Best regard

Takeshi

Holiday plans to friends in Australia

 Dear Nancy and family, 

Hi! How are you? I'm looking forward to you coming to Japan. I maked a plan your trip.

On Tuesday, we're going to go the Tokyo Disney land, and the hot spa in Tokyo. On Thursday and Friday, we're going to Kyoto. After that, we're going to Osaka. In Osaka, we're going to the Universal Studios Japan.

Summer in Japan is hot and humid. Please be careful of heat stroke. I think that you should have some water diligently. To Kyoto from Tokyo take about three hours. Because you'll have better childrens toy to play in bullet train.

I'm going to do recommend nice some Japanese foods. I bet you'll love it.

If you have some questions, feel free to ask me anytime.

See you!

From Kanako

Current Magazine - Nujeen Mustafa

Inspired by reading a snippet of Nujeen Mustafas's 'Nujeen: One Girl's Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair' in Mary Glasgow's Current magazine, some students wrote about the toughest journeys they've experienced in their lives.


When I was a university student, I sometimes had a part-time job. The university was in Kyoto, so there were some special part-time jobs.

One day, I found the notice of the job with my friend at the student affairs office. It was an extra of a period play. It looked fun and payment was not so bad. We were willing to apply that job. On the day, it was really heavy rain early in the morning. I wonder whether I go there or not. I decided to go there.

The bus was waiting for us at school. After leaving there, it stopped raining. Because of the heavy rain, my friend hadn't come. I went to Uzumasa film studio to wear a peasant costume. I was unhappy.

Everyone got on a bus again for an hour, and arrive at Ado river ibn Shiga prefecture. Around the river was lonely place. There were just only a field and a river. It was a good place to shoot peasants riot. Some professional extras involved in our group. s making a sign, everyone began to run. We did it again and again. Lunch box was served on the bus.

Then we ran in the different field. In the evening another scene was shot. This time we ran with torches. There is no place to go to the restroom. So I gave up to go there. After shooting, they gave dinner box. When I got to my sharehouse, it was nine. It was a unique experience, but I didn;t want to do it again. It was the toughest day trip.

Posted for Hiroko

A review of 'Honnouji Hotel'

Honnouji Hotel,
Comedy, 2017

Honnouji Hotel is about the Hotel connected to the age of (Japanese civil) wars, and heroine Kuramoro Mayuko meets Oda Nubunaga in there. The film is not based on a book. However, Nobunaga is a person who existed. He is one of the most important people in Japanese history. The film is set in Kyoto Japan, and starts in 2017. It tells the story of Mayuko's relationship with Nobunaga and his character as the Military Commander.

Portrait of Oda Nobunaga (detail) 

I love the acting in this film. Tsutsumi Shinichi stars as Oda Nobunaga and Ayase Haruka plays the role of Kuramoto Mayuko. My favourite character is Oda Nobunaga, because he seems to be cold in history, but he is a warm and a charming strong man in this movie.

I think this is an ideal film for people who like comedy stories. Everybody laughs well and sometimes becomes sad. It is a pleasant movie. I give Hannouji Hotel *****. Go and watch it soon!

Posted for Reiko

Guest Blog: Tom & Damo's adventures (Part 1)

Skytree selfie

Hello all!

Just to introduce myself, my name’s Tom and I am Damo's friend from England. We became friends at university in the UK, and now although Damo is living 5713 miles away we still keep in touch!

I have been travelling in Asia the last couple of months including stops in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, all of which I had a fantastic time seeing some amazing things. Whilst I was in Asia I had to take the opportunity to go and see Japan, having never visited before.

I flew into Narita Airport, Tokyo, and was welcomed by Damo and his family. After being treated to a very traditional British beef roast dinner in the evening we made our way the following day on our adventures. First stop was Tokyo, and having only seen pictures of it on television, I was amazed by how busy it was and all the amazingly colourful lights everywhere. We stayed in a capsule hotel (something I think is unique to Japan!) which was a strange experience. We almost felt like cattle, having so many people staying in such a small space. We visited some temples in the city and went to the base of Tokyo Skytree. The evening was filled with good traditional Japanese food and many, many beers!

"Let's nick it!"

After a very hungover morning, we made our way to Tokyo station to get the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. I was amazed how quickly they travel and how smooth the ride was. Trains in the UK are slow and always late, so this was a complete contrast! Arriving in Kyoto we picked up a rental car and after attempting to get used to an automatic (in the UK all cars are manual) we made out way around Kyoto. Visits included going to Kiyomizu-dera and Chion-in amongst others.

An okay view from Kiyomizu

On the outskirts of Kyoto we also visited one of the Onsens. This was to be my first of many Onsen visits during my stay. I loved the hot spring water, and after a long hard day visiting Kyoto's sights, was well needed. Sitting outside with a slight cool breeze, but with lovely hot water was the perfect balance.

Jet setting around Japan

Where's Damian?

I hope that you've all had a grand Golden Week, letting loose and relieving any pent up stress.

I was one of the more fortunate souls and got over a week off! I made the most of it and went travelling around Chiba, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and even a little bit of exploring closer to home. Had an absolutely amazing trip and would like to thank Jim for lending us his tent. We really would have been roughing it without it!

Replicating Tom's favourite movie scene

I won't go into  further details as there will be a guest post from my friend Tom (once he finishes his 30 hour transit home!), who I am grateful for putting up with me during our travels.

I took my fare share of photos, so if you're interested in having a look, here's a link to my album on Facebook (should be able to access without a Facebook account). 

Driving stories - riding without a windscreen

Mountain road (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I was twelve years old my father had been driving with my family for about two hours. He drove very narrow mountain road. There are no fence beside road.

Suddenly he shouted "Oh no!" and the car fell from the road. It revolved and landed on the road below. The front window broke all of it.

But we didn't have an injure. Only my father cut his finger a little. Then he drove to his university hospital. We were examined. We were all well.

We went home from Kyoto to Osaka by that car. It was very cold because there wasn't front window.

Olga

Training Day in a Wordle

CPE on Sunday

Some people you know are always going to transform your day from run of the mill to a moment you can dine out on for years to come. Anthony in Singapore is one, Owen another. Grant Trew was a late addition to the training team this weekend but I was chuckling quietly to myself at the news. Something GT said during training for KET & PET last year in Kobe had me paralysed for half an hour; so this morning with a crack the German coast guard which cracked me up & made it pretty near impossible to keep a straight face for the next ten minutes!

Come to mention it, Paul Delaney has his moments too. Almost exactly my age, from my neck of the woods and extremely droll. No stand up gags but pithy one liners with excellent timing - no hesitation and plenty of relevance!

Our session today was intended to cover CPE - Certificate of Proficiency in English. To pass this Cambridge ESOL level (CEFR C2), candidates really do have to be exceptionally strong in all aspects of English, so much so that most of us agreed that your average native-speaker off the street would struggle to be successful in this test. I'll leave it for another day as to why there are not a lot of CPE candidates in this country...it took a whole day today to make sure we have a dozen OEs properly competent at this level. Time well spent? Absolutely. Hard work for everyone - oh yes. Chances like this come along every day of the week? Nope.

Thank you Oana, Grant, Paul, Tom, Malcolm, Tana, Joan, Andrew, Oliver, Eamonn for your perseverance & hard work.

Luna link = big up Tana, please. The first person to work for the school who will achieve OE status for all levels of exams that we offer apart from Jim. No mean feat at all, and something she (and we) need to be very proud of indeed.

Churrasco & Ciapirinhia in Kyoto

Oana had been promising a slap-up Brazilian meal for us this evening for months, and I for one was not going to let the opportunity of some very good local knowledge slip. Not disappointed! What a blow-out! Tabihodai (eat as much as you like) barbecue & 'Viking' ie salad & dessert smorgasbord. My first experience of Brazilian barbecue style, so let me explain; waiter brings along the world's longest skewer and slices off chunks of deliciously juicy meat (beef, pork, chicken, sausages) during your meal, topping up your plate. Slightly similar to middle-eastern kebab style I guess, but we a talking lumps of tender meat rather than delicate slices!

Washed down with a beer or two? Of course, but it was the Ciapirinhia that proved the ideal accompaniment. New tipple for me, and no disastrous side/after-effects so will be researching this one for our Ohanami next weekend! (You'll have to come along to find out more!)

I just have time to mention pudin. I realised that Brazilians must actually be from Yorkshire (and so much suddenly makes sense - the football, the beach volleyball, the same bon viveur outlook on life). "Pudin" loosely translated from Yorkshire/Brazilian = dessert. The chocolate mousse thing was divine!

In Kyoto - check out Estrela, in Sanjo (east side of Pontocho)

Kyoto - Examiner Training

A dozen of the nation's finest EFL teachers gathered in Kyoto today to participate in Cambridge ESOL Oral Examiner (OE) training.

Today's attendees had already been tasked with a certain amount of pre-training which meant we were able to get cracking at a decent pace. I have found that providing recruits with as much info as possible beforehand saves a lot of aggro on the day, as examiners have a lot to process/manage/do, and digesting a 50+ page booklet at the same time has proved to be too much in the past. I love Dropbox!

We gathered from Okayama, Osaka, Nagoya, Matsumoto (our Tana) as well as locals based in Kyoto & Shiga.In all  would say there was over 150 years of English teaching experience in the room; quite a lot of experienced examiners (other levels) too. Great to see motivated and capable teachers pushing themselves professionally and being open to guidance/a bit of tweaking even with all that experience. It is rare that we teachers are challenged to justify our opinions and have a common framework with which to discuss student/candidate performances.Very few teachers (in Japan) are experienced enough/qualified to deliver & assess these levels (CEFR B2/C1).

Personally it was great to see OEs I have previously trained at other levels (YLE, KET, PET) in three different cities (Okayama, Kobe, Nagoya) get down to business very much "on the same page". I was even happier to hear myself quoted as OEs collaborated during the day on rubric delivery (interlocuting) & assessment. I find it very rewarding personally to see & hear teachers/trainers I respect 're-tweeting' my suggestions/sharing their experiences moulded in consistent "Cambridge-speak".

I tried a few new things before & during this session, which I hope added value. I have given up reading commentaries to the room; the 'mana from heaven' approach falls on barren ground too often :)  Today I asked trainees to assess performances alone & then discuss their scores together, before giving them commentaries without scores to fine tune their ideas against the analytical criteria. This stops everyone arguing with me! At the end of the day, here is Cambridge's mark. "Move your scoring to this benchmark!"

Tomorrow the Himalaya of EFL - CPE... The absolute pinnacle of a student's ambitions. Very rare air at this level.

The longest day

It's been a while since I started a business trip at 9pm! I did so last night...

This has been Luna's first week back after the holidays, as it has been for most people; it has been just as hectic for us as everyone else too! Gossip to catch up on and email to wade through; old students to reconnect with and schedules to remember. You know?!

At Luna we also had to replace our car over the break. Nothing wrong with the old one except the shakken/roadworthiness would have cost more than buying a second hand vehicle.

If any students did not get a New Year card (nengajo) from us I apologise. Please email us & tell us your new address! (Help save trees and scroll down a bit?). The fault is probably mine - I am never organised with nengajo nor Christmas cards until it is too late, and I never give Yuki a list :(

At the end of a 'welcome back to work/school & let's be cheerful' campaign, I literally ran home, got changed & threw stuff in a bag before continuing running to the station for my trains. Damn. All the platform kiosks were closed. Local train = no buffet cart with food (or beer...important) BUT heated seats set to 'melt arse to chair' temperature. Horribly uncomfortable to Nagano, trying to sit on one 'cheek' before cooling off in Nagano. Then same performance again on the last chugger to Naouetsu.

I meant to read & finish one of my books on the go, but instead listened to an extremely good podcast on British naval history from Binge Thinking History. I have already read half of a brilliant 'biography' of the Royal Navy, but this was easier as my head kept banging the frozen windows!

What to do around Naoetsu station at the midnight hour in early January? Find somewhere warm? Yes! Next to the sake-reeking old gits curled up in the (only) heated waiting room? Lovely. I know for a fact there are no convenience stores near here for a bento (or a beer!).

{How do you know that, Jim? Well, funny you should ask. In Dec 1989 I first came here to get me visa extended, and only managed to get the hairs in my ears trimmed. As then, I froze.}

At 00:55 the Kitaguni Express slid along platform 6 and I found my berth against the rafters in the last carriage. It's been a while since I had to undress lying flat, and I posted on Twitter what to do with valuables! I woke, feeling like I'd never really fallen asleep, rocking into Kyoto pre-dawn with a few minutes to find the Shinkansen Nozomi to Okayama. Still no food, and no longer in the mood for a beer...saw the sun rise on platform lucky 13 before being whisked away west to arrive an hour later disheveled, dehydrated, and discombobulated.

Less than an hour later starting a day-long training session for Cambridge ESOL Centre JP176 & my friend Malcolm Harding, who is trying ever so hard to get the exams going. A pleasure to be here for him (I just wish I didn't feel like a ghost after that trip!) and to meet some quality new examiners.