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Today's Contents:

1. 1. The first bits: Free Noh performances, Soccer World Cup warm-up matches, Mt. Fuji Trip, Asahi Brewery open day, Ofuro Bar work, Free Japanese Classes, Online Dictionary.
2. Course information.
3. Student Interview: Oded Shimoni (AIJP)
4. Japan Guide: Toba
5. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies
6. Subscription Information


1. The first bits.

(a) Things to do:

  • World Cup Soccer: With the Soccer World Cup less than a month away many of the teams participating in the competion will be arriving in Japan over the next few weeks. A number of these teams will have warm-up matches with local Japanese sides and other national teams in the run up to the start of the world's biggest sporting event on May 31st. The Toyota based J-league team Nagoya Grampus will be playing the Costan Rican national team on Tuesday May 21st at the Toyota stadium. Tickets for the match are 2,500 Yen and can be purchased in advance from the following convenience stores: Circle K, Lawson, and Family Mart.

  • Tahara Kite Matsuri: On the weekend of the 25th and 26th of May the Tahara Kite Festival will be held at Toyota Jidosha Kosei center (10 minutes by taxi from Mikawa Tahara station). The aim of the festival is to bring other team's kites down with your own. If you don't have your own kite or don't know how to make one there will be a free kite making class from 11:00am on the 25th.

    On Sunday the 26th the action begins at 9:00am at Hana-no-ki Hiroba with a kite-fighting contest that will continue throughout the day. To get there take the Meitetsu Nagoya Honsen to Toyohashi and then the Toyohashi Tetsudo's Atsumi-sen to Mikawa Tahara station. It's a 10 minute taxi ride from the station to Toyota Jidosha Kosei Center for the Saturday venue. Sunday's venue is a 15 minute walk north from the same station to Hana-no-ki Hiroba. For more information (in Japanese) call (05312) 3-3516.

  • Free Noh performances: Every month there are several Noh performances by the students at the Nagoya Noh Gakudo in the grounds of Nagoya castle. This month's dates are Sunday 12th of May 9:30am - 5:30pm and Saturday 25th 10:00am to 5:30pm. For more information call the Noh Gakudo (in Japanese) on (052) 231-0088.

  • Free Zen meditation classes: The Institute for Zen studies (Zen Kenkyujo) at Aichi Gakuin University offers Zen meditation classes once a month. Reservations are not required and English language pamphlets are available. Call (0561) 73-1111 (in Japanese) for more details.

  • Asahi Brewery open day: On Sunday the 19th of May, Asahi, the multi-national drinks company, will be having an open day of its brewery in Moriyama, Nagoya. As a thank you to all its customers, Asahi will open its doors to people young and old to give them the opportunity to see, amongst other things, the beer making process. Enjoy a drink (Asahi of course!) and a picnic in the grounds for free. Declan Murphy, who never refuses a free drink, will be leading a group that will leave from Aoi Hall at 10:00am on Sunday morning.

    If you would like to go, you can make your own way by taking the JR Chuo line to Shinmoriyama station. The factory is a 10 minute walk from the station and there will be signs pointing the way to go from the station. There are also shuttle buses directly from the train station to the factory. Alternatively, if you would like to join Declan and others from the beginning then make sure you come to Aoi Hall by 10:00am on Sunday morning. If you need any more information about the event please come to the International Office.

  • Free Japanese Classes! Okazaki International Association holds free Japanese lessons taught by volunteers to non-Japanese living in Okazaki. Every Saturday from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at Tatsumigaoka-kaikan (3rd Floor), a 10 minute walk from Higashi Okazaki Station to Higashi Myodaiji cho. And also every 2nd, 3rd and 4th Thursday and Sunday of the month in Aoi Hall at Yamasa from 10:00am - 12:00am. Call 0564-23-6644 for more details.

  • Climb Mt Fuji: The annual pilgrimage to Japan's national icon has been pencilled in for the weekend of July 27th/28th. The Mt. Fuji climb will be open to everyone and really is an experience of a lifetime. More details in the next issue of the Newsletter.

    (b) Ofuro bar - job opportunities:

    Yamasa's on-campus watering hole, the Ofuro bar, has finally been completed and we are currently looking for people to staff the bar for about 4 hours in the evenings from Monday to Saturday. Experience of working in a bar is an advantage and you must have some Japanese language ability. Please see Declan Murphy in the International Office for more information.

    (c) Online Kanji Dictionary now accessible:

    On Thursday 17th of January the programmers in the back office released the test version of Yamasa's OCJS Online Dictionary. This dictionary is published in English, Chinese (Traditional), Spanish, Korean, German and Czech and includes both a word dictionary and a Kanji dictionary in an online database. At the moment the only version you will be able to see is the test version, so the server will be very slow. It will give you a good idea of some of the resources that the OCJS project has been working on over the last 18 months, so if you have the time have a look at:

    http://www.yamasa.org/ocjs/kanjijiten/index.html

    (d) Radio Show:

    Radio Show

    Joseph Huang and teachers in FM Okazaki studio
    FM Okazaki

    Joseph Huang, who graduated from Yamasa recently, will continue his show on Monday nights from 9:30pm on FM Okazaki. If you would like to appear on the show or if you would like to request a song, make a dedication or send Joseph a message to be read out during his show please come to the International Office or fax Joseph directly on 0564 55-8764 (make sure you include his name and your own name on the fax).

    Streaming audio has now been restored. However due to the continued legal uncertainty concerning music copyright, we will not stream the audio whenever music is being played on the local airwaves (FM 76.3) - the only way we could restore the streaming audio during the talk and news components was to remove the background music which is popular in Japan. The URL for FM Okazaki is http://www.763.fm/live.html and you will need to download a player if you haven't already done so. Please note that music comprises about 1/3 of each program - if two songs are played consecutively then you may need to wait a few minutes before you can hear the station again.

    The programming of the station is a good way to practice your Japanese language listening skills. The program schedule for April to June is now online (in Japanese of course) in pdf format. Please note that it's a heavy file and will open inn a new window. You can download the document at http://64.56.185.232/pdf/fm0204_06.pdf

    (e) Jobs:

    A local company is interested in hiring a Japanese speaking foreigner with marketing experience to work as product manager handling a major project. The product range is from a major european manufacturer. The successful applicant should be degree qualified, fluent in English, have Japanese proficiency of upper intermediate or higher (equivalent of Level 2 minimum) and be committed to work for minimum of 2-3 years. For details contact Declan Murphy at the International Office.

    Recruitment ongoing for the following positions at Yamasa:

    see http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/careers.html for details and other vacancies, and contact careers@yamasa.org if you are interested in applying. Most are connected with web publishing and translation. Study Japanese for free in exchange for part-time work in the International Office. These are ongoing positions - we need people all year round, so please contact us if you are interested in positions later in the year as well.

    (f) Other bits:

    Jon Walden
    Admissions Coordinator, International Office
    The Yamasa Institute - Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
    1-2-1 Hanehigashimachi Okazaki
    Aichi Japan 444-0832

    Tel: +81 (0) 564 55 8111
    Fax: +81 (0) 564 55 8174 (admissions)
    Fax: +81 (0) 564 55 8113 (student affairs)
    Email: Admissions
    Email: newsletter@yamasa.org
    URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/
    URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/

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    2. Course Information

    Accommodation

    Until the middle of JulyVilla Studio Apartments 3 and 4 are full, Residence U and K are also full until July and Residence L is full until August 2002. There are a very limited number of rooms available in the Student Village, but we expect these to be filled within the next few weeks. Students applying for courses from May, June and July and wishing to stay in accommodation which is currently unavailable will be placed on a waiting list. There are usually some last-minute changes, so check with Admissions for information or see the availability file for details. Please note that accommodation is not reserved until we have recieved the tuition fees for your chosen course in full.

    Accommodation in apartments in the annexe of the Rec World Hotel (near Daijuji Temple) will be used whenever Yamasa's accommodation becomes full. The prices for the "1K-Single" and "2K-Shared" room options have been discounted and are now the same price as the Student Village. For more information on the apartments in the Rec World Hotel annexe, please see the following pages:

    http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/hotel.html (for accommodation description)
    http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/tankisei.html (for price list of accommodation)


    Message from Housing Office: Please also note that it is extremely important that you rank your accommodation preferences clearly. Upgrades are possible in the event of cancellations - so if your first preference is a single room in the village, select "Village single" as first choice, "Residence U" as your second choice and so on.


    Long-term Courses:

    Student Visa: Applications for October 2002: Applications are now being taken for the next student visa start date of October, the application deadline for which is June 20th 2002. If you need more information about these dates, please check the deadlines for the student visa listed in each course in the program catalogue. If you wish to apply for the October 2002 start please complete an application form online (see http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/apply.html for details) or contact Admissions for more information.

    Short-term courses:

    Discovery Tour starting on June 14th - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20020614.html Contact Admissions for details. There are still a few places available - join a very small private tour: There are still a number of places available - join a very small private tour: Includes Denpark, Tsumago, Nakasendo route, Magome, Toson Memorial, Obara washi, Hamanako, Dogashima, Shimoda Bay, Minami Izu, Onsen and Gourmet: Seafood, Kyoto - Ryoanji, Nijo Castle, Kiyomizudera, Jishu Jinja, Mt Fuji, Nara, Tenryu Gorge, Komagane-take, Minami Shinshu Brewery as well as many other locations.

    Other Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact Admissions for further information. Tour dates for next year are available at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_dates.html

    All SILAC programs have space but accommodation is very limited. Contact Admissions as soon as possible for information.

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    3. Student Interview: Oded Shimoni (AIJP)

    Oded Shimoni
    Oded Shimoni

    Oded Shimoni entered AIJP in April this year.

    Jon: Oded, I'd like to interview you for this weeks Newsletter.
    Oded: Of course, no problem.

    J: How is everything going so far? Have you settled in okay?
    O: Everything's going great and I've settled in fine.

    J: I know you were staying in Tokyo for some time before you came to Yamasa but how does Okazaki compare with Tokyo?
    O: I think Okazaki is a typical Japanese city. It has everything you need and is cheaper to live in than the big cities like Osaka or Tokyo. If you're looking for concerts, night clubs, department stores, etc, then Nagoya is only a 600 Yen train ride away. And you can always go to Tokyo by Shinkansen - if you have the money!

    J: Whilst you were in Tokyo you were studying Japanese. What did you find were the main differences between where you studied and Yamasa?
    O: My previous school and Yamasa are very different. I was studying Japanese in an office in a huge skyscraper, where the course has less teaching hours and I had to take the train every day which I didn't enjoy very much. I'm amazed at the variety of students at Yamasa coming from so many different countries. At the school in Tokyo most of the student were Chinese, but this wasn't a problem. Yamasa provides accommodation for you and Jon, you take care of business.
    J: Thank you.......Now how is the accommodation you are staying in?
    O: Good. A little expensive for me, but Residence U is much bigger than the apartment I lived in Tokyo. The garbage rules are............

    Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_27.html

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    4. Japan Guide: Toba City

    This is a small coastal city that most tourist guides advise you to miss. It has become something of a tourist circus, and if you haven't learnt any Japanese or history then it is difficult to understand the attraction of Toba to Japanese. It is a maritime port - Toba was the last place of refuge from storms for junks or boats sailing to Edo (Tokyo) from Mikawa (Okazaki) or Ise Bay (Nagoya). Sake from places like Kunizakari, and pottery from Tokoname, were transhippped via Toba. Old merchant's houses and the graves of seamen are common. The 20th century brought progress in.....

    Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/mie/toba.html

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    5. ABOUT THE YAMASA INSTITUTE'S AICHI CENTER FOR JAPANESE STUDIES

    The Yamasa Institute is committed to providing high-quality education in the Japanese language. We are a non-profit organization, a part of the Hattori Group. We are accredited by Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education - APJLE, accreditation number B302 - and "the only Institute in the Mikawa region with the appropriate programs, systems, curriculum and facilities required for quality Japanese language education" according to the Ministry of Justice. Further, in recognition of the excellent quality of our programs, we are in the top tier of 'Appropriately Authorized Japanese Language Education Institutes' - in fact, the only school in the Mikawa area with this prestigious recommendation. For full details see the accreditation section on the homepage at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/accreditation.html

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    6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

    You are being sent this newsletter because at some time you contacted the Yamasa Institute's Aichi Center for Japanese Studies through email, or you contacted an internet-based Japanese language information service which forwarded your email to us. If you do not want to receive further issues of this newsletter, please send a message to unsubscribe@yamasa.org with the word "unsubscribe" in the title. We apologize for any inconvenience.

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    (c) 2002 The Yamasa Institute Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
    1-2-1 Hanehigashi-machi Okazaki Aichi Japan 444-0832
    Tel: +81 (0) 564 55 8111 Fax: +81 (0) 564 55 8113
    URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/
    Email: Admissions