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Today's Contents:
1. 1. The first bits: Okazaki Concert Hall Grand Opening, Pottery Festivals,
Ofuro Bar work, Trash recycling, Free Japanese Classes, Online Dictionary.
2. Course information.
3. Staff Interview: Yukiko Iijima (Housing Manager)
4. Japan Guide: Sapporo Snow Festival (Part 2)
5. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies
6. Subscription Information
1. The first bits.
A quick word from Declan:
Welcome to the 50th edition of the newsletter. Doesn't seem that long ago of course. Special thanks to Euan & Jon and of course to everyone who has participated in the interviews, contributed articles or images. By the time the 100th edition is emailed to the world sometime in 2004, the newsletter will also contain streaming media, interactive sections and more. Thank you for your support! Please let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions for improvements.
(a) Things to do:
(b) Okazaki Civic Center and Concert Hall:
Okazaki's new Civic Center, which was mentioned in the last issue of the Newsletter, is having its Spring Festival at the end of this month when there will be a variety of events taking place. From Saturday 27th to Monday 29th of April there will be a flea market where people will be able to bring along any unwanted items from home and sell them. Yamasa students are encouraged to do the same and items that are likely to sell well are those that are not often seen in Japan or things from your home country. It will be a good opportunity to meet Japanese and make money at the same time! The flea market will be open from 9:00am until 3:30pm and you will need to register to take part. Please come to the International Office and speak to Jon Walden or Tatsuya Kato to register to take part.
Also, at the same time as the flea market, there will be a restaurant full of a variety of dishes from around the world. The organizers of the festival are hoping that foreign residents in Okazaki will make an ethnic dish from their own country and bring it along to sell at the festival. All you need to do is bring yourself as the festival will provide all the facilities you require, including ovens, and ingredients. If you need special ingredients for the dish you are making then it is fine to purchase these beforehand and you will be refunded the cost (make sure you bring the receipt with you!) Again, please come to the International Office to register for this and for more information.
As well as the restaurant and the flea market over the three days there will be a concert, fashion show, anime, and many other events.
(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) Recycling of trash:
From January 14th 2002 Okazaki City government brought in new rules regarding the sorting and separation of trash. Okazaki had rules in place before this time to deal with recycling trash but since January the rules have become more detailed and it is now necessary to separate trash into a number of different types. The main categories are:
Other categories include large size trash such as furniture, hazardous waste
which includes fluorescent light tubes and batteries and household appliances
that require a recycling fee before they are disposed of (televisions,
refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners).
Please make sure that
you separate all your trash before you put it out and if you are unsure what
trash fits into which category or the recycling days then please ask for more
information at Student affairs. They also have copies of the Official guide to
reducing trash printed by Okazaki City government.
(e) 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
(f) New format Acceleration Program from April:
The new Acceleration program has proved very popular and Format 1 is full until October and Format 2 is full until the beginning of August. We are receiving applications on a daily basis so contact Admissions for the latest information on availability.
(g) 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
(h) 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.
(i) 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
During April to May Villa Studio Apartments 3 and 4 are full, Residence U and K are also full until June and Residence L is full until July 2002. There are a limited number of rooms available in the Student Village. Students applying for courses from April or May 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.
3. Staff Interview:Yukiko Iijima (Housing Coordinator)
 |
| Yukiko Iijima |
One of the first interviewees for the Newsletter was Kyoko Kurokawa. Now, 48 issues later, we interview the new Housing Coordinator, Yukiko Iijima, who is currently training with Kyoko until she leaves at the end of April.
Jon: What were you doing before you started at
Yamasa?
Yukiko: I had just returned from America after graduating from
Arizona State University. It was funny, I came home on the 7th of February and
had an interview two days later and started working a few weeks after
that!
J: What did you study at A.S.U.?
Y: Tourism. I studied
liberal arts before that but I got a scholarship from A.S.U. because my grades
were quite high.
J: How did you find America?
Y: I moved around a
lot!
J: Why?
Y: I first went to South Carolina because my
Uncle lived there and then I moved on to Idaho.
J: Was there any
reason that you moved from South Carolina to Idaho?
Y: I wanted a
change from the South to the North.
J: Okay, I'm a bit lost here. You
went to University in Arizona, but lived in South Carolina and
Idaho.
Y: That's right. I actually drove from Idaho to Arizona by
myself!
J: I know America has become safer than it used to be, but
wasn't that a little dangerous............
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/staff_int_20.html
4. Japan Guide: Sapporo Snow Festival (Part 2)
In the last newsletter, we published Declan's photo essay covering the Sapporo Snow Festival. This week, we cover the International Snow Statue Competition, which is one of the most interesting parts of the Festival. The competition attracts a wide range of participants, from expatriates to artists flying in specifically for the event. There are usually about 2 dozen teams from nearly as many countries.
To get a better idea of what the competition is all about, Declan thought it would be more interesting if we skipped the "officialese" and talked to some of the participants. It should be noted that while the event is a competition by name and is promoted as such by the organizers, amongst the "competitors" there is a good sense of camaraderie and cooperation.
Doing the rounds of the site, he met two members of the "Association of Australian Snow Sculpting", who were struggling (with many others) with the unseasonally warm air temperatures affecting the texture of the snow they were carving. They agreed to do an interview after....
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/hokkaido/snow_sculpture_tai kai.html
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
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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