Blogs from Hyogo, Japan, Asia - page 4

We started the day with a well earned sleep in and slow bike ride to the shops. It was great to be away from the tourist hype. We rode our bikes from home to the busy shopping streets and malls, each mall branched off the main street withmore shops and more malls as far as your eye could see. We went to a large honya , book shop, where we bought a series of basic bilingual manga to bring home. Kate bought Doraemon, Riley bought the Tale of Genji and Lori bought a manga about a kuruta game we have played the last few nights. We rode to the shops to buy ingredients for a home cooked meal of bolognese and rice, yummy ! The girls watched a movie and ate chocolates and chips while the ... read more

Thursday’s mission was to head to Himeji on the Shinkansen. I was up earlier than Wednesday, but when I got to Kyoto station I had to wait almost an hour for the next train where I could reserve a seat. It was worth the wait though, because the rail pass allows me to reserve a seat in “Green” class, which is much nicer than the regular class, which is what I travelled in from Tokyo on Sunday. The trip took under an hour and I was in Himeji. Once again I started off with a trip to the tourist information centre. It was a bit more difficult to find than Hikone though, because Himeji station is much bigger. It was also signposted with a big question mark and looked like a fancy shop, so I walked ... read more

The shrine was cool but i love castles. I asked a local where i could find a castle nearby and surprisingly he took me to one that was only a block away from where we were. I was dumbfounded on how big the Himeji castle is. It would have been nice to be the lord who lived in there long ago. ... read more

Adelaide and Himeji are sister cities, and for more than 20 years there has been a teacher exchange program between them. In 2010 I taught EFL in Kotogaoka Senior High School. Here are some insights from this experience. Bu nen kai is the end of year staff dinner at wedding chapel, small room for 80 on 4th floor, complete with 10 courses, table service, and as much alcohol as could be drunk in 2 ½ hours. Buses picked us up and dropped us back at the station, seating was done by lot and the main entertainment was a Bingo game. Décor – European fantasy castle. The student counselor works here one day a month. She meets with parents and students in a small conference room in the suite of rooms where the Principal works. The students ... read more

Another Timewarp, precious details remind me of the similarities and differences between Japan and China. Schools are institutions that shape and mould future citizens. Teaching other peoples children is such a priviledge, and a way of getting to know so much about a country. Meet the kids from Kotogaoka Senior High School. Students regularly report that After School Clubs are their favorite part of school. Most kids are involved with one club, and will stay back until late, or come in early, and participate for hours on the weekends and holidays in their chosen Club Activity. Baseball, archery, softball, kendo, band, choir, cooking, athletics, and English are amongst the clubs run at the school. The kids always go to and from club in full school uniform, with fantastic aprons, sports gear and ... read more