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Today's Contents:
1. 1. The first bits: Important notice, Mt. Fuji Trip, Asahi Brewery open day, Ofuro Bar work, Free Japanese Classes, Online Dictionary.
2. Course information.
3. Staff Interview: Saori Yamada (SILAC)
4. Things Japanese: World Cup Fever
5. Japan Guide: Asahi Brewery
6. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies
7. Subscription Information
1. The first bits.
(a) Important notice:
With the Soccer World Cup less than a week away there are some issues that people need to be aware of. With over 400,000 people expected to visit Japan for the World Cup there will be an extra strain put on travel services in and around Japan. If you are flying into Japan between now and the end of June then you might experience delays at customs and/or immigration. Checks at many airports, especially for flights originating from Europe, will be stricter than usual, with the Japanese police trying to prevent troublemakers from entering Japan and also to prevent any terrorist action during the tournament.
If you are a national of Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland or the UK (UK citizens) and are planning to extend your stay in Japan from the original 3 months you were given when you entered then you may have problems. Some students from these countries have recently been refused extensions to these short-term visas, with immigration authorities stating that their 'quota' is full. Whether this is true or not is debateable, however, please be aware that you might not be able to extend your visa whilst the World Cup is taking place. There should be no problems after July.
Travel within Japan from May 30th until June 30th may also be more difficult because of the numbers of fans travelling to games. Accommodation will be severly limited during this time as well, so if you plan to go sightseeing in any of Japan's major attractions make sure you book accommodation in advance. Although there are still thousands of tickets available for matches in Korea, 95 percent of tickets for matches in Japan have been sold, so don't expect to get tickets for any of the major games. The name of the ticket holder is printed on the ticket and the identity of the ticket holder will be checked when they enter the stadium so be wary of buying tickets from people who claim they have them available.
(b) Things to do:
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.
(c) 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.
(d) 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
(e) Radio Show:
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|
Joseph Huang and teachers in FM Okazaki studio |
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
(f) 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.
(g) 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/
2. Course Information
Accommodation
Until the beginning of AugustVilla Studio Apartments 3 and 4 are full, Residence U and K are also full until July and Residence L is full until August 2002. The Student Village, is also now full and the only accommodation available until August is in the Rec World Hotel. Students applying for courses from 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 August 23rd - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20020823.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 Includes Tokyo Disneyland, Goza beach, Tokyo, Ueno Koen, Goza fish market, Obara washi, Hamanako, Dogashima, Shimoda Bay, Minami Izu, Onsen and Gourmet: Seafood, Kyoto - Ryoanji, Nijo Castle, Kiyomizudera, Jishu Jinja, Ago Bay, Tenryu Gorge, Komagane-take, Mindscape museum as well as many other locations. 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 not available until August 8th, unless there are cancellations. Contact Admissions as soon as possible for information.
3. Staff Interview: Saori Yamada (Teacher - SILAC)
 |
| Saori Yamada |
This interview was done by Mun Jong-Gap a work study student from Korea who has been working in the International Office translating the English homepage to Korean for 9 months. Yamada Saori lives near Yamasa with her parents, grandfather, and younger brother.
Saori Yamada: Is this interview your last work for the International
Office?
Mun Jong-Gap: Well, sort of. I'll be finishing next month. I
am sorry to take up your valuable time with this interview.
Last year you
were my main teacher in the SILAC program and I was on your class for a month.
At that time I liked the lessons so much I didn't want to go up a class. Even
now I am missing my old classmates. Anyway, lets start the interview - what made
you decide to become a teacher?
Y: When I was a high school student,
I learned English. I think that however hard you learn foreign languages, it is
always difficult to understand them in detail. At that time, I asked myself how
much I knew about my mother language, Japanese, and thought that I didn't know
it as well as I should.
M: I see. Is the job you do here your first? When did you start
working at Yamasa?
Y: I started about 5 years ago, but stopped to go
to Germany for a year, so 4 years in total. Before starting teaching here,
I................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/staff_int_21.html
4. Things Japanese: World Cup Fever
It's been a long time coming - 6 years since the announcement that Japan would co-host the 2002 World Cup together with its pre-war colony and present economic rival South Korea but only recently has World Cup Fever begun to take hold. Blame baseball, worries about hooliganism, or the poor showing in recent friendlies by the Japanese national side but the enthusiasm and support that normally comes with the world's biggest sporting event has take its time to surface.
As teams like Italy, Argentina, England, Cameroon, Tunisia and so on arrive in Japan, the country has finally got in to the swing of things. You can't escape from the media blitz - radio, television and advertising all playing its part. Many of the small towns where the national teams are based are rolling out the red carpet for teams. Children in Kanagawa in eastern Japan are sampling Nigerian cuisine while residents of the remote village of Nakatsue in the south can now find Cameroon on the map, and are learning how to speak French to welcome the team. Children at one school are learning the Cameroon national anthem to play when the team arrives!
But even Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who showed off his soccer skills.......................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/things_japanese_25.html
5. Japan Guide: Asahi Brewery
There is something about beer. Where would the world be without it? In fact it is often argued that beer production was one of the key incentives that persuaded human beings to cease a nomadic existence and grow grain crops. Beer didn't arrive in Japan until much later, but it didn't take long to catch on and gradually displace sake consumption. Beer consumption in Japan is now massive, and enormous breweries such as the Asahi Brewing Co facility in Nagoya play a vital part in keeping the wheels of Japanese society running smoothly.
Brewing is of course a form of manufacturing, something that people in Aichi Prefecture have never been shy of saying they are pretty good at. The company was founded in Osaka in 1889 and the first Asahi beer was chugged in...................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/aichi/asahi_brewery.html
6. 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
7. 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.
(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
