Blogs from Hyogo, Japan, Asia - page 15

Hello everyone, Sunday was my day off and sticking to my plan o doing something new and interesting on my days off I decided to check out the onsens in Arima, which is about a 40 minute train ride from Kobe. Many of my students had told me that Arima is famous for its great hot springs and onsens, which are a huge part of Japanese culture. I knew instantly when I boarded the local train bound for the onsen that I was about to have an authentic Japanese experience as the entire train was full of Japanese people, of all ages, anxious to make their way to othe onsens for a day of relaxation. Not really knowing exactly where I was going after getting off the train I simply followed the crowd and eventually I ... read more

Hi Everyone, What a week its been! Tuesday was White Day here in Japan. Its an annual celebration that happens exactly one month after Valentine´s Day. Here, its predominantly the women who give men presents on Valentine´s Day in the hopes that their sentiments will be returned one month later on White Day. Sadly, as I was told this week by more than one disgruntled Japanese woman this is seldom the case. Apparently many guys here are all to willing to accept the gifts and then promptly end the relationship before White Day arrives. I did however see several stressed out men buying wilted flowers in 7-11, so I guess not all guys forget White Day! It was only a matter of time before it happened. Yesterday a small child, probably 2 years old cried ... read more

Instead of being boring and studious and staying home for the weekend (did I hear someone say something about midterms next week... midterms smidterms...) I ventured when no gaijin has gone before! Almost. There was an aussie girl last year... I visited a lovely family who live out in the countryside, outside Kobe. Kobe is a coastal city famous for Kobe Beef, just by the by. They feed their cows beer and give them massages and stuff. Then they charge a serious amount of money for the meat from these pampered cows. I'll have to get around to trying some, sometime, when I'm feeling rich... On saturday morning I packed my life (roughly, a passport, toothbrush and clean underwear) into a backpack and boarded a train to Sannomiya with Makiko, a local student from my university. ... read more

The last couple of days have been very busy as I´ve begun my teaching schedule. Its only been three days but I´ve already met many wonderful students who are eager to hear about Canada and practice their English. Yesterday I was assigned to Kikagowa school, which is located about 30 minutes from Kobe. The train ride was absolutely beautiful to my left was the sea and to the right was a great view of the mountains. Kikagowa is a small school with only 2 teachers working at it each day. As such I taught my first ever kids lesson, we learned all about sea creatures! The class consisted of 5 boys and one little girl, all were between 6-8years old.All in all it went really well, I taught them vocab words, we played some games and ... read more

I awoke, had a sauna and then Jumped on the train to Kobe. Its occured to me that I am familiar with most Japanese cities for the wrong reasons. Tokyo subway attacks, Osaka - wasnt that the general area of a massive mercury poisoning, and Kobe for the earthquake. Ah well. I arrived at Kobe railway station, which as it turns out isnt really where the action is. Infact the action in Kobe is centred to the north of Kobe Station around the Sannoymiya station area. So no sooner as I arrived was I back on the train (as it turns out an unnecessary step, the two stations are easy walking distance). Having now found my way to the correct station I went in search of accommodation. Kobe is very pretty as a city, and I ... read more