Blog #8:Okinawa

    Hello, this is Junsei. Today I want to write about a trip to Okinawa during this summer vacation. Have you ever been to Okinawa?  I went there to see my friends who are students in Okinawa. It's been about 5years since  the last time we've met. I only went to areas adjacent to Naha because I made this trip so suddenly.
    Talking of Okinawa, what images do you get? I can image the beautiful sea, nice seafood, resort islands surrounding Okinawa and the time that makes me feel it's passing slowly. I also can image a samisen. The tone from it is quite beautiful and I feel a great sensation. I once got instruction of how to play a samisen, but I almost forgot. It's pretty easier than playing a guitar though.
    The weather was not so good, it's almost always cloudy during my stay. I went to the beautiful beach and the local restaurants and the local market. Friends taught me some places that are not introduced on the guidebooks, but it's boring enough to let  me feel down.
     At night we enjoyed drinking, I don't like "Awamori" but there were 2bottoles of  Awamori and we were so crazy to try to finish them. Naturally I spoiled the next day because my brain didn't work.

     I want to go Okinawa again. This is so beautiful sea but it's cloudy.

    In residential areas, there're stones engraved words "Ishigantou" in many places. Do you know what this object means and used for? It was used the same way as "Shi-Sa-", I don't know how to say in English, maybe "a little lion-figured object used to save people and houses from monsters". The monsters were not able to turn left or right at the corner, so people in Okinawa built these stones at the corner in residential areas. So if you find this stone in the city, maybe that city was built in the place where there was once an old residential area. (Because it's not good to break this stone)  

Blog #7: Indonesia

    Hi, I'm Junsei. I'll report that I went to Indonesia with my family in 28th August for 5days. My mother and sister separated from us to go to Bali, my father and I went to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.
     It's unsafe for Japanese to walk alone there especially at night, so we totally moved together everywhere we went. The purpose to go such a dangerous place was to see the factories. In Indonesia, almost every cars are made-in-Japan like TOYOTA, DAIHATU and HONDA. I saw a non-Japanese car only 5times or less. So demands for Japanese cars have rapidly been increased.  And many companies have advanced to Indonesia. I saw many factories were being built.
    The people in Jakarta are 28years of age on average, so I always could see young people, but many seemed poor, jobless. But by setting up many factories, it creates needs of workers. There were always traffic jams in the expressway when going to industrial area and coming back to city.
    We can't see the people who came as tourists, but only for business. Local people usually can't speak English. Even if someone can speak English, it's so hard to listen because of accent.
    We had a dinner with the Indonesian exectives who operate the companies and I could have a chance to use English. I made it, so I thought English was very important all over the world to communicate. This was totally pretty good trip for me.

              I thought how much we drive a car safely in Japan, because the people there are so rough to drive.

Blog #8: Fort Lauderdale

Hi, I'm Saori!In this summer, I stayed for a month in Fort Lauderdale to study English. Do you know this city? Fort Lauderdale is one of the cities in Florida.

I think there are not many Japanese people who know this city. Actually, I hadn't ever known even the name untill my advisor told me. Fort Lauderdale has great weather through a year and great views, so very popular as winter resort among people who live U.S especially rich ones.  In addition to it, Fort Lauderdale is located very close to Miami and has the airport, so it's very easy to travel to there. This might be one of reasons why this city is popular in America. Though, it's not easy for Japanese because it takes about 18 hours from Japan, and we have to change planes at another airport. That's why, this city isn't very known in Japan, but I recommend this city to you guys.We can enjoy great weather, many beautiful beaches, shopping at huge malls or something that we can't experience in Japan. I'm sure you spend great time at Fort Lauderdale!

 

 

 

 

Blog#8: Lovely cat

 Hello, I'm Kyoko. Recently a baby cat came to my grandmother's home.

She is named Fuzuki  because she came to my grandmother's home in July and in Japan, people call July Fuzuki in an old age. She is called Fuchan by my family and She is so little and sooo cute!! As he is just baby cat, she loves playing with us. When I go grandmother's house,  I always play with her. She responds to not a foxtail, called nekojarashi in Japanese, but anything that move. For example, she runs after even my hand if I move exaggeratedly. Though I like looking her funny behavior, I became happiest when I look her sleeping.





A cat usually sleeps with its body curled up. However she often sleeps with her body stretched. It is very fun for me.

She makes me happy, whenever I go to grandmother's home.

Blog#7: Ohedo onsen monogatari

  Hello, I'm Kyoko Hasegawa. This time, I'll tell you my memory of this summer vacation. I went to Ohedo Onsen Monogatari in Daiba last month with my friends. In this place, you can enjoy taking a hot spring bath, foot bath and shopping. In very wide sparing bath, there are various temperature bathes, open-air bath and sauna. Besides, around footbath, which is in like a garden of the building, there are sandbath, stone sauna and fish therapy. I took only a footboth this time, but you can also enjoy them if we pay some money. Inside of the building, various traditional stores are located in a line and I become mysterious feeling as if I come to a Japanese ennichi or festival.

 I enjoyed many things there, but the point I was most pleased was that I could enter the building wearing a yukata. I could choose a favorite yukaga from some kinds and I walked around there wearing the yukata. It was very interesting for me and made me become feeling which I went back an old era.
  If you have some interests by reading this blog, I recommend going there. You can relux and enjoy talking with your friends long time taking very confortable bathes.

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*You can take a bus for Ohedo Onsen Monogatari from Sinagawa station at free.