St. Patrick's Day

The St. Patrick’s Day is the anniversary of a Saint of Patrick's death. This ceremony is held on 17th March. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century. The Saint Patrick’s Day was become public holiday in 1903. Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland.

According to the Confession of Patrick, he was born as a son of landowners in Wales, Britain. He lived in comfort. When he was 16 years old, he was captured by Irish pirates from his home in Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. He lived there for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland. He worked to disseminated Christianity in Ireland. People parade in the cerebration and the wearing of green stuff or shamrocks. On the date, people eating, drinking alcohols to celebrate in around the world.

My hobbies - after reading "Alien Alert in Seattle"

I have 2 hobbies. The one is mountain climbing and the other is going to Yamaga's game for give them a boost.

As for the mountain climbing, I started it to get healthy and become strong in physical. The climbing is always quite hard and is needed patience because it takes 4-5 hours to the top of a mountain. I always wanted to give up the climbing, but the landscapes/supernatural of mountain were very very beautiful even if it's not sunny day and I have never seen similar landscapes depends on weather and climbing time. It's one of my motivation for mountain climbing. A climbing with colleagues and former bosses is my another motivation. Talking with them is fun for me. I usually climb 3-4 times every season.

As for going to Yamaga's game, I firstly watched their game in March 2012. The cheering made me excited and as soon as I went home after seeing 1st game for me, I saw YouTube to know Yamaga's chants and past games and many articles to know the team history. Yamaga's team style which plays very tough and hard, touches me emotionally regardless of game's score. Through the Yamaga's games, I felt happiness, sad, angry, frustration etc, but I learn that it is most important not to give up. I think Yamaga's game would be a good education for children. I usually go to Yamaga's game at homeground "Alwin" every 2 weeks and sometimes cheer for Yamaga's team at opposing team's ground with some friends who became friendly at Alwin.

A sixth grader writes...

My favourite day of the week is Friday. In the afternoons I usually sweep the floor, then I sometimes go to the supermarket in the evening.

We're shopping at AEON Mall. My favourite shop is a speciality tea shop & AEON Style. I bought two sweaters. They're so cute!

I'm walking to school. We always have fun. Yesterday, it was rainy. I hung out with my friends. It was fun.

My brother's birthday is October twenty-ninth. I buy a cake and a present with my mum.

Posted for Akane (12)

My favourite day of the week is...

My favourite day of the week is Friday. I the afternoon I always go to brass band, then I usually play with my friends and watch TV in the evening.

We're shopping at the department store. It's the ice cream shop. My aunt is an insurance woman at the insurance company. I have insurance.

I'm walking to school. We always have fun. Yesterday, it was rainy. We were at the gymnasium. How's the weather today? It's sunny! We can go to school grounds.

Tomorrow is October 27th; it's my father's birthday. My sisters, mother and me make cake. I want to have fun.

Posted for Miki (12)

Postcard from...Hong Hong

 Good weather in HK today. I can’t imagine rainy Cold Japan ☔️

Reiko

This is me - a teen intro

Kotone's selfie

I'm a student. I'm studying at Luna.  I'm studying English with Jim. I go to English class on
Thursdays.

It's seven fifteen in the evening. I ate dinner at six o'clock. I'm not hungry. I ate miso soup and rice.

My desk is next to my bed. My favourite subject is art. I like drawing pictures. I draw pictures at school.

My favourite colour is purple. I'm wearing a yellow t-shirt, blue jeans and black socks.

Posted for Kotone, on starting Everybody Up 3

Last summer vacation

Last summer vacation I went to Matsumoto bonbon. I went with my best friend Maki. We ate a lot of foods and met friends. We danced with Luna's dance team. It was really amazing fun and exciting! I thought I want to go next year.

Posted for Karen

Last summer vacation was very interesting. I went to Ogaki to play basketball with my teammates from school. After we practised basketball, we headed to the hotel. We had a good time there. Because we played UNO. If we lost we did a forfeit. For example we call to stranger. It was scary but great fun!!

Posted for Yuta

The Wind in the Willows - A thank you letter

Dear Mrs. Keeper's daughter,

Sorry l haven't written for a while but I've been spent very tough days. I hope you're well. I have no words to express my gratitude. I am writing this letter in my Hall now. I think I was saved by the grace of you.

In prison you heard my rubbish story. At that time, I thought I hadn't been silly at all. Although I was in prison, I had such a foolish thinking. How foolish I was! Now I know I was silly, dangerous and boastful. I want you to know the reason of changing my thinking. Please read my story about escape.

I wore an old washer woman's dress which you bought and I passed the guards of the castle entrance easily. Then I got on the train. In the morning I met a barge -woman who said I was a fat lazy little toad. I stole her horse which I sold to a man later. At that time, I said to myself. What a cleverToad I am! I am ashamed of me in that time. I was just a criminal and an escaped prisoner. How silly I was!

I came to a road and began to walk. Then a terrible thing happened. The person whose car I had stolen recognized me. They chased me through a wood. I dropped into the deep water. When I was too tired to pull myself out of water, the Rat helped me.

The Rat told me about my Hall. The Stoats and the Weasles and the Ferrets - they had taken my Hall. They had been living there.They had got guns knives and sticks. They kept guard round the house night and days.They said they were going to stay there for ever. At first I couldn't believe it. But my good friends, the Rat, the Mole, the Badger and I made a plan to get the Hall back.

When they held a big birthday-party we run into dining hall. W could go there because there was an underground tunnel. They didn't have any guns or sticks with them at the party. So we could chase them and beat them and hit them with our weapons. What a battle it was! But we won the battle. Our attempt was a great success.

I have fortunate to have good friends. I changed my ways and became a sensitive animal. Still now I love to talk. But it isn't only about myself. It is about my likable friends. I am a very different Toad. I'm going to talk if you will visit our river under the Willows. Of course you had better come here in spring. It will be very peaceful and beautiful. Maybe you will like here.

See you again next spring!

Toad

Posted for Hiroko

The Last Sherlock Story - Doyle Sherlock vs Dibdin Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes in this story is very different from the one in Conan Doyle's story.

Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle was one of my favorite books when I was a child. He was very smart, brave, intelligent, and logical, a kind of perfect man. He could find any kind of criminals and he was a hero. He did not take cocaine at all, of course.

Also, he did not get bored by himself. With his intelligence and observational talent, his brain always worked busy. So, he did not need to take cocaine to amuse himself. And he knew how dangerous it was to take drugs. It could destroy a human. He was smart enough to know nobody could be an exception. Also, he never killed innocent women and cut their bodies in pieces. 

Sherlock Holmes in this story takes cocaine and he thinks he can control it, but he can not. He is a criminal, really. He kills women to entertain himself. He looks down poor people. I do not believe it. Sherlock Holmes in this story is also smart, logical and intelligent. But on the other hand, he is selfish, weak and immature. And he can not be a hero.

Posted for Yasumi

Rabbit-Proof Fence - The Long Walk

The Long Walk. This is the true story of Slawomir Rawicz, a Polish Army lieutenant who was arrested by Soviet Army during World War II. He and six others escaped from a Siberian camp. They walked 6500km, Mongolia, Gobi Desert, Tibet, the Himalayas from Siberia for one year.

Rawicz was prisoned and was sent to Siberia although he hadn’t done anything crime. He had to work there for twenty-five years. The weather of Siberia was severe, the labor was tight and the prisoners died one after another. So Rawicz and the others escaped from the camp. They began a long journey to India on foot.

At the time of escape, they had only some bread, an axe and a knife. One died in the severe nature. But the kindness of Mongolian who appeared occasionally helped them. They met the girl who ran away from Kolkhoz on way and calm time came. But a happy time was moment.

They had to cross the Gobi Desert on foot. It was the most terrible time in this trip. They walked in the extreme state. They were robbed of the physical strength and two of them died. But they continued to walk. Finally, they arrived at India.

I was deeply impressed that they had helped each other without losing hope to live even if it had been long severer trip. This story taught me the importance of what I didn’t give up till the last.

Posted for Olga

A Christmal Carol - Bob Cartchit's diary

Today was a Christmas Eve. It was cold and quiet day as past years. Mr. Scrooge looked unhappy and crosses. So it was too cold to work in office as every past year.

His nephew Fred came to the office today to say Merry Christmas to his uncle. But Mr. Scrooge answered to him, “Bah! Humbug! “ Fred said “You are too rich to be unhappy.” But he was not hurt. He said “Christmas is just a time when you spend too much, when you found yourself a year older and not an hour richer, when you have to pay your bills.”

I really hope Mr. Scrooge will be changed. But it would never happen for him. Even if such a thing happens all over the world it will not happen to him. Fred invited Mr. Scrooge to his house in Christmas dinner. He said that he wanted and asked nothing of Mr. Scrooge. But Mr. Scrooge didn’t answer to his nephew, I thought sorry for both of them.

Our little son Tiny Tim looked badly. I am so worried about him. But today, our sweet daughter Martha comes back. We are so happy to see her. We had a happiest time tonight. And we really appreciate God and Mr. Scrooge. My wife wants to say something different, but I think we have to say thank you for Mr. Scrooge. Anyway his money paid for today’s dinner. God bless Mr. Scrooge too.

Posted for Naoko

The Long Tunnel - A holiday with friends

When I was highschool student, my friend asked some of friends to working in Tugaike. My friend's relative ran a guest-house in Tugaike. Tugaike was famous ski earea. They wanted to working students during winter holiday. I imagined we could enjoy in winter after working. My friends thought so. We had pleasure to go there.

But we guessed wrong. We had been swamped with all day long. We were very tired. After working we could not out freely. We were under age. Resort area had many temptations. My friend's relative had a sense of responsibility to us. So during working in Tugaike we could not enjoy. Of course no skiing. But it was important experience for us. "Life isn't as easy as you think"

Posted for Misuzu

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - A letter to your teacher

To Mrs. Douglas

I’m sorry to run away from home without saying. My father locked me in a cabin. But I escaped from the cabin. And I went Jackson’s island on canoe. I met Jim there. I was frightened. Please don’t scold Jim. Jim wanted to be free. Our adventure started from there.

We found a strong raft. And we intended to go to the Free State on the raft. The great Mississippi River was taking us away from St Petersburg. We prepared meals and had a long talk. We were very happy.

Various things happened. Two white men running away to us. They were the Confidence Tricksters. In a small town they pretended to be another person, and cheated the money out of the girls. But I took the money and hided it. So the money was safe. The white man sold Jim. But I could meet Jim again. Surprisingly, I met Tom Sawyer there. The adventures were splendid for me.

Huckleberry Finn

Posted for Yoko

Jane Eyre - A female writer from the Meiji era

Ichiyo Higuchi is a first female author in Meiji era in Japan. Her portrait is printed on 5000 yen bill.

She was born in March in 1872 in Tokyo Uchisaiwaicho—now Chiyoda-ku. She had two sisters and two brothers, and she was the second daughter. When she was a girl her father was rich. She loved reading. When she was seven she finished reading old long stories. Her father educated her to school and other private cram school. But her mother thought girls did not need education. She stopped school.

In 1888 the eldest brother died, next year her father died. She became a head of householder. Her father left a big debt, her family lived poverty. She did some jobs, cram school assistant, needle works, small shop master and so on.

Around in 1890 she tried to be a novelist. To earn a living as a novelist she apprenticed to Tosui Nakarai famous novelist.

In 1895 she published “Takekurabe”. It received high praise. She continued to publish “Nigorie” “Juusanya”. She became a popular writer. She suffered from tuberculosis. She died in November in 1896. She was 24.

Posted for Misako

The Three Musketeers - The true hero

I think D’Artagnan is the hero of the story. In 1625, a young man called D’Artagnan comes to Paris.

D’Artagnan wants to be special soldiers, a King’s musketeer. D’Artagnan is brave and handsome and a man of many loves. I think he is charming.

D’Artagnan is in love with Constance and he loves Milady too in this story. Milady’s maid, Kitty like D’Artagnan . And by a request of Constance, D’Artagnan has to go to England for the Queen’s diamonds. D’Artagnan solves various troubles with his friends, three of the King’s musketeers, Athos, Aramis and Porthos. And D’Artagnan is recognized by Cardinal Richelieu.

Finally D’Artagnan is able to become a lieutenant in the King’s musketeers. D’Artagnan from country fight by a sword bravely and he is in full activity. And D’Artagnan became a lieutenant in the King’s musketeers. I think this story is D’Artagnan’s success story, and D’Artagnan and his friend’s great friendship story.

Posted for Reiko

My favorite photo ーreunion partyー

One of my favorite photos is one that I took with my elementary school classmates and our teacher.

The photo was taken on 17th September in 2017.We asked an other people to take our photos,when our reunion party was over near Matsumoto station.

We have had a reunion party every 3years since 1997,when we were 18years old.The time we can spend together is very valuable because everyone lives in different places.

I love this photos because the reunion party was very fun.We talked about our work,family,relationships,and many different things about our lives.Then my teacher gave us some good life advice.Finally,we promised to meet again three years later,and we took a photo together outside.

I think that we don't forget childhood memories even if we become adults.I have the photo on my phone and on my album with other photos of my childhood.

A musically inspired postcard

Dear Jim,

Hi, I'm in China now. I'm writing this postcard on a beach with a beautiful red sky on my back.

My holiday started in Thailand. I met traditional people and they show me a dance. their clothes were beautiful too. After that I rode a long boat through the villages. It made me calm & I could feel the nature.

Next day, I flew to Beijing, China. At night, people were singing & dancing in the city!! I was shocked. I saw kung-fu too. I learned a little bit, but it was too difficult for me. There were a lot of children, and their movement was amazing and so cool! You should do it some time.

The day after, I drove around beijing and the other big cities. The food was delicious and the people were so kind.

The guide man told me that there is a famous alien museum in Beijing, so I'll go there after I finish writing this.

I couldn't have enough time time to go more, but this trip was fantastic! I want to come here again and you should definitely come.

See you.

Tomoro

Written under FCE-style time pressure, after hearing 6 short instrumental/vocal chunks of music & challenged to draw what came to mind immediately. Writing from the picture announced afterwards, otherwise it instruct the free-range of ideas. Inspiration chunks courtesy of Bjork/Anoushka, The Reverand Black Grape, Mark Knopfler, Clannad, Carolina Chocolate Drops, - and if I could access my own iTunes library on my home PC I'd tell you the other one! Tomoro has never been to China or Thailand, except in my classroom!

My favorite photo - Mount Jonen Spectre

My favorite photo is of a Broken Spectre. I took the photo in the summer of 2016 when I was climbing Mt. Jonen.

A Brocken spectre is a very
rare and beautiful phenomenon. The phenomenon can be see when the sunlight comes from someone's back and the shadow is projected to a cloud or fog in the mountains. In the phenomenon, you can see the shadow of yourself and the shadow is surrounded by a circular rainbow. In the past, German people believed that the shadow is of a spectre.


In the morning, we watched the sunrise on the top of Mt. Jonen. While we were going down to the mountain lodge, we saw the Broken Spectre by good fortune.


I keep the photo on my tablet and on my portable HDDs.

Postcard from a wino, France

I'm sure both you gentlemen will agree with these honourable sentiments!!

Weather crap.

Wine good and plentiful which is why I am looking so good (see pic)!!

Alors buvons

Dudley

My Culture Shock in Paris

When I was 18, I stayed in Paris with my friend for a few days.  One day, while we rode in a metro, suddenly a man was getting on our carriage and started playing music with his accordion.  His performance was so skillfully.  Though we were surprised at that scene, the local passengers didn’t seem to be surprised.  After the performance, he asked for some tips around them before he got off the carriage.  During stayed in Paris, we met that types of metro musicians several times.  I had never seen the situations in Japan.  From that experience, I decided to hold some Euro coins in my pocket wherever I go in Paris.

Postcard from Moscow

Hi Jim,

Here are pics as promised.

Sorry I have not visited any touristy places and I doubt that will have time to... .
Anyway, this is indian summer in Moscow: the best season here.

Best wishes,

Olga

Luna's Open Week

A flipped classroom this month with Jim and Damian coming under the microscope for a change. Luna was open for eager parents, sleepy siblings and any other family members who were curious enough to sit in in classes or watch via webcam in the waiting room.

Quizzing mum

Luna holds an annual 'Open Week' to give an opportunity for busy parents to have a peek, see what goes on in our classrooms and sit down and have a good old chat with the teacher. A full-on week (for students, parents and the Luna team!) where our younger learners show that they are CAN DO students and are using English as an effective communicative tool in the classroom. Of course not everything goes perfectly swimmingly or according to plan, but we did get through the week with minimal tears, tantrums and mishaps. More importantly, however,  there were smiles all round and plenty of fun was had! Even mums and dad feeling the pressure when thier kids are asking them questions in English!!

Big smiles!

A few parents did express their concerns over the lack of exposure or opportunities to use English at home, so for some mums and dads it was an eye-opening experience to see their children really enjoying themselves and being right in the thick of it in an English speaking environment. We do put an emphasis on what our learners can do, and strive for our students to build their confidence and feel comfortable taking on challenging tasks. I'm sure returning mums and dads can vouch for us when I say there has been progresss in their children's linguistical ability, self-confidence and social skills.

Lovely

We do have a few ideas on the backburner to further improve our Open Weeks in the future. The parking congestion we suffer definitely needs sorting, especially since many over our classes overlap so we have 2 sets of parents in a rather tight space. We're also looking at spreading out the Open Week into an observation period. It can be extremely draining for teachers when they have to be on their A-game class after class after
consecutive class for an entire week. Extending our Open Week to 2 weeks would take the pressure off a bit and allow us to take a breath and collect ourselves in between our observed classes.

Janken race in full flow

A huge thank you for each and every one of you who came to view your children, nieces/ nephews etc. We appreciate all of your feedback, which allows us to change and adapt to provide a better education for our learners. Also don't forget to thank Yukari for all of her hard work she was involved in leading up to and during the observations. See you all next September, but hopefully sooner!

A teen prefers not to have a mobile phone!

Almost everybody has a mobile phone. But is it a great invention? 

I think there are both advantages & disadvantages.

The first advantage is that we can keep in contact with friends easily. It is small enough to put into pockets, so we can call people from anywhere. Secondly, it is helpful in emergency or trouble. The alarm tells us about missiles & earthquakes immediately. Thirdly, there are many other uses. For example, you can take a photo, listen to music or see a map.

On the other hand, there are also disadvantages. For example, using a mobile phone too much kills conversation, as people avoid talking face-to-face. Also, personal information might be shared a lot, putting you or your family in danger.

In conclusion, although having a mobile phone has some advantages. I think it is better not to have one. We should try not to use them all the time, and talk to each other.

Posted for Tomoro

Ohagi

Ohagi is one the Japanese traditional sweets. It is a sticky rice ball covered by red bean paste. Red bean paste is made from Azuki, which is believed to be to shut unhappiness away. In Higan, an important opportunity to appreciate our ancestors, people visit their family graves and hold a memorial service by offering flowers, incense and Ohagi. Nowadays, people enjoy Ohagi all year round.

How to make
Ingredients:
Rice 1cup
Glutinous rice 1cup
Water 1and a half cup
Sugar 3tbs
Boiled Azuki 400g
Roasted soybean flour 30g
Sugar 3tbs

1, Wash the rice and Glutinous rice. Mix them in a bowl and soak in the water over 30min. Steam them.
2, Put Boiled Azuki in a pot, and mash them. Put it over a fire, knead them.
3,Put steam rice and sugar in a bowl, and smash them. After cool down, make 12 rice bolls.
4, Cover 6 rice bolls with Azuki bean paste and 6 rice bolls with mixed Roasted soybean flour.

My grand mother used to makes Ohagi for me. To be honest Ohagi is not my cup of tea, however my grand mother hand made Ohagi was really lovely sweets for me.
 Teruki.M

Cambridge First lads succeed at Luna - Can Do!

Congratulations from Damian

A proud Wednesday evening recently as Damian and Jim were both able to hand over Cambridge First (FCE) certificates to successful students, who have worked very hard to achieve this very credible benchmark. 

FCE is not the kind of exam you can just stroll along to and get lucky with; you need to prepare carefully and understand the nature of the tasks required of you. Listening is not a matter of connecting the dots or remembering a telephone number...the writing paper is seriously hard & comes with considerable time pressure - an essay? a report? an article? Reading requires mental dexterity, a sound grasp of unfamiliar vocabulary, and ability to process quickly without panicking/getting bogged down. There's a lot of heavy duty grammar to control as well.

Damian & Jim both know these two lads can cope with the speaking part of the test...both of them could talk the hind leg off a donkey!

And a well done from Jim

Postcard from... Helsinki (Viking country!)

Muumi/Moomin

Dear Jim-sensei,

I'm in Helsinki waiting for my flight to Berlin.

When I read "Viking Tales" I didn't imagine I could have a chance to come to Northern Europe.

Everything is very cute and I hope I can spend more time when on my next trip.

Tomoko

Another postcard from Vietnam!

Dear Jim-sensei

Three days has passed in Hanoi.

It was very fast! Although it is second time to visit Hanoi, I could enjoy "new" Hanoi & felt Vietnamese kindness a lot. It seems it's so cold in Japan, I don't want to go back!!

See you next class :)

Best regards,

Reiko

Postcard from Vietnam

Dear all at Luna,

Vietnam is an incredible country!

The food is amazing, the people are friendly, the sights are beautiful, the architecture is fascinating.

See you all again soon!

Damian

Postcard from Kotohira Shrine, Kagawa-ken

Counting practice!

Can you think of anything better than to set of in the blazing mid-summer heat to climb 785 stone steps half-way up a mountain? If not, then I thoroughly recommend setting your sights on Kotohira Shrine on Mt. Zouzo, in Kagawa prefecture (Japan's smallest prefecture, by the way) on Shikoku Island.

Kotohira Shrine

It is a tough climb for the fit and able. My son raced up it; I paused 'to take photos'...but there were plenty of oldies making the climb, and I was humbled to a one-legged bloke about to tackle the steps as I was nearing the sanctuary of a noodle restaurant at the bottom.

There are a number of interesting shrines along the climb, but no information anywhere in English (or any other language) to inform tourists. This would have made my journey more satisfying - I like to know what I'm looking at!

Who he?

I did discover (Google!) that the main shrine is dedicated to mariners & seafarers - explains the massive propeller and anchor, and a subsidiary building with an ocean-going row boat in it, and pictures of boats great and small, new and some very old indeed. I found one stone plinth with the name "Hood" on it - a CEO or something of a shipping company. I wondered if he was any relation to the Hoods (an Admiral, a Baronet & a Captain), of Royal Navy service? I doubt few visitors up here have ever heard of HMS Hood?

Anyway, cracking view of the unusual Kagawa landscape from Kotohira-gu and plenty of good photos to be taken if you are not dripping with sweat! An easier walk uphill in the shade, through the woods, is much more relaxing and peaceful. I got as far as Shiramine Shrine before turning back to catch up with my family.

Shiramine Shrine - worth the extra climb

I loved this collection of shrines, and would like to know more/spend more time poking about!

My extreme sports experience in the summer holiday

I went to Otari with my family, to go white-water rafting, on the Hime River. It is a 5km course, and it took an hour. The river wasn't deep, but very fast and cold. There were huge rocks everywhere, and if we crashed into a rock it was very exciting, and there were a lot of rapids. It's really bouncy going through a rapid, scary because you don't know where you are going. I don't know how the instructor can control the raft or know where to go.

My brother fell in and everybody laughed. He was picked up by another raft. He enjoyed the experience. He went again the next day with his friends, and lost his glasses (see Rule 10). My mum had a lot of fun & we all want to do it again in another season or on another river. The instructor said the river is twice as high in Golden Week (mid-May), so the rapids are more violent then.

Here are the rules and some suggestions to enjoy your rafting trip:

1.  You have to hold the T part of the paddle. If you don't hold the T part, it might hit you or another crew in the face.
2. You have to put your feet in a secure place. If you don't, you won't be able to stay on the raft when it hits rough water.
3. You have to do what the instructor says. If you don't, the raft might flip over.
4. If you fall into the river, you mustn't try to swim or stand up.You should float on your back with your feet first.
5. You must wear a life jacket and a helmet.You should also wear crocs or sneakers, and a wet suit if the water is freezing cold.
6. You have to paddle hard together when you go through the rapids. If you don't, the instructor can't steer the raft.
7. You don't have to be able to swim.
8. You have to be fit and healthy.
9. You have to have insurance.
10. You have to leave your phones, cameras & valuable in a locker. If you take them with you, they'll get broken or you'll lose them.
11. You have to enjoy the danger and high five your crew mates. 

Posted by Tomoro

Postcard from Awaodori Festival, Tokushima

Thank goodness we don't have to provide our own band to produce the music for Bon Bon!

Every dancing group here at Tokushima Awaodori Festival brings its own drummers; some with shamizen & other instruments, and choreograph their own dance routines (but with the same foot & arm gestures). Some of them had really cool moves & wonderful traditional costumes; nearly everybody wears the signature conical straw hat. And they do this for three nights running?!

Also unlike Bon Bon, the groups move between set places to perform, where there are grandstands for the crowds to sit & appreciate the teams properly. This stops people walking through the groups, which is something that really annoys me when we dance in Matsumoto - it is very disrespectful and potentially dangerous.

And finally, there were no deisel generators chugging out noxious fumes to light the streets. This has to stop in Matsumoto.

There was a good crowd, and all the shops were open - plenty of ramen shops - and the party went on until 10pm. It's nice to see someone else's summer festival, and enjoy as a spectator.

Postcard from Universal Studios Japan - Osaka

Despicable Me!

Hi everybody at Luna.

I drove across Gifu prefecture on the backroads to avoid big traffic jams, but still got stuck around Kyoto & Osaka. The next day, I think we met everybody as they were all queueing for rides at USJ as well. Oh my word, so many glum looking people waiting for over three hours with NO entertainment to sit on a 90 second ride. Admittedly, the rides are pretty amazing (Harry Potter was first choice, and Despicable Me/Minions in the old Back to the Future zone was second) but good grief the waiting was grim.

Souvenirs? What a racket - Y5,000 for a plastic chopstick with a crap light bulb in the tip = Harry Potter's wand. Every other kid had a Minions water cannon backpack - starting at Y3,000 each. You can seriously drain your bank account here without trying very hard/doing very much.

My kids even had to wait to get a picture with Kitty-chan, and again with Elmo! Best use? Charlie Brown's bullpen.

Meet the throng

In all, I think we stood in line for 7 hours. My suggestion? Don't go to USJ or Disneyland in the summer, and certainly not on a national holiday. If you must, try a pre-typhoon day or a nice snowy one. Take your own food & drinks, and take turns waiting in the queue - go do something else while one of you waits :)

Greetings from Singapore

Hi, How are you?

I'm in Singapore with my students. We've studied in the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) two days. Today is holiday of Singapore, so I went to look for insects of Singapore.

See you in Japan.

Karou

Rabbit-Proof Fence - A survival journey

His name was Junichi Toda. He was an ordinary office worker. But he didn't succeed his job. And even though he had been seeing a girl friend for five years, he didn't get along well with her. He wanted to change his life.

One day he climbed a mountain in Saitama prefecture in August. That was not a dangerous mountain. His climbing experience hadn't been even for one year. When he went down the mountain, he lost the way and fell down the cliff. He broke his left leg badly. He tried to stop the wound with T-shirt and an umbrella without panic. Then he covered with a plastic bag. But he couldn't go home. No one knew where he was climbing.

The food he had was the only seven candies. The second day he poured out his belongings in the mountain stream. He hoped that someone would find them.

Next day, he ate all of candies. He was't thirsty, because he was by the mountain stream. But he didn't have any food. So he ate ants and earthworms. On the other hand, his family had given out leaflets to the people in Chichibu area.

The ninth day they found the eyewitness. They asked the search party to find Mr. Toda in Mt. Ryokami in Chichibu. Two weeks later, he was rescued.

After he was operated on his left leg nine times, he could walk and got married his girlfriend and became a father of two children. Now he thanks everyone supporting him. I think it is wonderful that no one give up all hope.

Posted for Hiroko

A Christmas Carol - Christmas Eve diary

It was a hard day, as usual. I worked at the cold dark office all day long. Today, Mr. Scrooge's nephew came to the office to say Merry Christmas to him. But, Mr. Scrooge said Christmas was humbug and he just said "good afternoon". He is very strange and mean. He doesn't care about other people, especially poor people.

Tomorrow is a Christmas Day. Everybody wants to be happy, cares each other, loves each other. Mr.Scrooge is a rich man and he is very good at business, but he doesn't look like happy. If he cares about others more, he could be happier. Maybe something very sad had happened to him before and he became such a mean man. But I like his nephew. He is a nice man.

Anyway, it is Christmas Eve tonight. We had Christmas Dinner with all my family. How wonderful! I am a lucky man to have such a lovely wife and good children. Poor tiny Tim, he can not walk by himself, but he is lovely. I love him very much.

Mr. Scrooge gave me a half day off tomorrow. I wish I could have a day off, but I don't want to lose my job. I hope Mr.Scrooge will change his mind next year and he will be more gentle and generous.

Posted for Yasumi

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story - Holmes's final diary

April 1891 SWITZERLAND

I won’t have forgotten forever that I did have an irreplaceable friend Dr. Watson. I have enjoyed the life myself. Especially I have lived with my best friend Dr. Watson. I knew that something was wrong since I found my bedroom door was locked in Watson's house. I knew what happened. Dr. Watson was not Dr. Watson. He was not my best friend Dr. Watson. We had solved many cases together. There were some cases which we couldn’t forget. One of them is Berlin case “one in three”. But he couldn’t remember it. He forgot it. It surprised me and I doubted him.

When I tried to hit the man who came in the room I rested, he jumped away. And he wrote the letter to Lestrade, which said that I was the White Chapel murderer. What rubbish! He wasn’t Dr. Watson, of course.

Moriarty had killed my poor friend and taken his place. I saw him injecting himself with cocaine, but Dr. Watson would never, never do that. So I understood.

I’ll go to the Reichenbach Falles today. That is a wild and lonely place. He has asked me to walk with him. Certainly, he will try to kill me. But he will not succeed because I have put blanks in his gun. 

But I am sad, so sad. Because I lost my friend, Dr. Watson. When had he killed by Moriarty? Why I couldn’t help and save him? I’ll try to get the answer, but I don’t want to know it actually.

Posted for Naoko

The Wind in the Willows - a letter to a rescuer

Dear Mrs. Keeper's daughter.

Sorry l haven't written for a while but I've been spent very tough days. I hope you're well. I have no words to express my gratitude. I am writing this letter in my Hall now. I think I was saved by the grace of you.

In prison you heard my rubbish story. At that time, I thought I hadn't been silly at all. Although I was in prison, I had such a foolish thinking. How foolish I was! Now I know I was silly, dangerous and boastful. I want you to know the reason of changing my thinking. Please read my story about escape.

I wore an old washer woman's dress which you bought and I passed the guards of the castle entrance easily. Then I got on the train. In the morning I met a barge -woman who said I was a fat lazy little toad. I stole her horse which I sold to a man later. At that time, I said to myself. "What a clever Toad l am!" l am ashamed of me in that time. I was just a criminal and an escaped prisoner. How silly I was!

I came to a road and began to walk. Then a terrible thing happened. The person whose car I had stolen recognized me. They chased me through a wood. I dropped into the deep water. When I was too tired to pull myself out of water, the Rat helped me.

The Rat told me about my Hall. The Scots and the Weasels and the Ferrets - they had taken my Hall. They had been living there.They had got guns knives and sticks. They kept guard round the house night and days.They said they were going to stay there for ever. At first I couldn't believe it. But my good friends, the Rat, the Mole, the Badger and I made a plan to get the Hall back.

When they held a big birthday-party we run into dining hall. W could go there because there was an under ground tunnel. They didn't have any guns or stick s with them at the party. So we could chase them and beat them and hit them with our weapons.

What a battle it was! But we won the battle. Our attempt was a great success. I have fortunate to have good friends. I changed my ways and became a sensitive animal.

Still now I love to talk. But it isn't only about myself. It is about my likable friends. I am a very different Toad.

I'm going to talk if your will visit our river under the Willows. Of course you had better come here in spring. It will be very peaceful and beautiful. Maybe you will like here.

See you again next spring!

Toad

Posted for Olga

Bon Bon 2017 - slideshow

Where were we this time last week?

Well, why not watch the slideshow & find out ;)



Don't miss out on all the fun - get your fabulous t-shirt for 2018 now (while stocks last!)

The Long Tunnel - A fond holiday memory

When I was an art university student, I entered a certain club. It was the travel club. When I was 20 years old, I went to the Okino Island with the friends in summer holiday. In first day, we stayed my friend’s house in Hiroshima. And we were entertained with dinner there. The next day, we went to Shimane by a local train from Hiroshima. Then we went to the Okino Island by a ferry from the port of Shimane. We carried a big rucksack on our back and traveled. We stayed overnight at tourist home. From the next day, we camped out in the shore. We cooked curry for dinner. We washed vegetables and pans in seawater. We were not worried about using the seawater and being inconvenient. Everything was fun. We swam and took a walk in the daytime. In the evening, several cows approached there. There was quiet Nature. I had a valuable experience and I had happy time.

Posted for Reiko

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - A letter of your adventures

Dear Mrs.Douglas,

 Hi, this is Huck. Have you been anxious about me disappearing suddenly? Now I am at Mr.Phelp's farm in Arkansas. Mrs. Phelps is Tom’s aunt and what are the chances, I met Tom here. At that morning on the way to school I was caught by my father and was confined in a cabin in the wood near the river. He drank heavily and hit me every night. I thought I would be killed some day. Then I escaped to the Jackson’s Island in the river, and there I met Jim who escaped from Miss Watson.

Then we went down the river toward a free state together. One day two men got aboard the raft, one was a king of France another was a duke of England, they said. It was not true. They were confidence trickers. They planned some tricks for deceiving big money. But they failed. Now Jim is not a slave now. I know my father died. Finaly all`s well that ends well. I’ll see you some day.

Huck

Posted for Misako

The Three Musketeers - England vs France

There were many wars England and France in the middle age. I`m interested in many queens battle. Eleanor of Aquitaine divorced from Louis VII, after she was married with Henry II. That was of the war, England against France. She had huge land in France. Her sons and France fought each other. Isabel of France killed her husband, Edward II with her lover. But her lover was killed and she was confined by her son, Edwad III. Then he demanded the claim of French King. It was the beginning of one hundred war. The end of one hundred war, there was rose war in England. Margaret Anjou fought against York family. She was very strong woman. She run away with mad husband and children, but they were killed by York. There were no strong woman in the middle age of Japan.Why so many powerful queens appeared? I want to read many England history books.

Posted for Misuzu