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| yamasa.org / home / acjs / network / newsletter
/ - Tuition Tour Schedules Ní thuigim thú |
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Today's Contents:
1. The first bits: Bowling Tournament, Ski-ing, Winter travel destinations, OCJS Passwords, Origami and free Japanese Classes.
2. Course information.
3. Student Interview: Ya-Ching Xu.
4. In the News: "Changing Garaigo"
5. Japan Guide: Heian Jingu.
6. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies.
7. Subscription Information.
1. The first bits.
Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2003, I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year! In 2003 we hope to continue to expand the Newsletter to include more information, and interesting features about Yamasa, studying Japanese and what is happening in and around Okazaki.
Strange things happened to the Yamasa II building late last year - for a while it looked as though the artist Christo had paid a visit. The building is just over ten years old now and a few running repairs (especially to the roof) were needed. As you can see from the before, during, and after photos, it all looks shiny and new as again, albeit a bit like a man in a two toned suit...........
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Winter Sports:
It's that time of year again when many of us take to the slopes on snowboards and skis for the annual break a leg/arm competition. January and February are of course the best times of year to go ski-ing or snowboarding in Nagano or Gifu prefectures and there are a number of trips coming up over the next few months which will let you take advantage of Japan's excellent ski resorts.
Last year's ski trips were a great success and a small group will be travelling to the resort of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture again this Winter. This mountain village has fantastic snow conditions and hosted the downhill events during the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. On the 24th of January we visit Tsugaike Kohgen (Hakuba Valley) and on the 25th there is Skiing or Snowboarding in Happo One and the 26th is Skiing or Snowboarding at Tsugaike followed by a visit to Matsumoto Castle - one of only four original castles in Japan (Inuyama, Nijo and Hikone being the others) listed as National Treasures.
The cost of the trip is 31,800 Yen and this includes:
(Doesn't include: Ski equipment hire, meals on Friday evening or lunches or Sunday lift pass).
The tour will be leaving on Friday 24th January at 2pm from Aoi Hall and
returning on Sunday evening (26th).
Other dates for ski trips to Hakuba this season are:
Please come to the International Office in Aoi Hall for more information on ski equipment hire prices and to make reservations/payments. Places are limited for all dates and are allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis, so make sure you book early!
If you would prefer to take a day-trip to go ski-ing then the special offer that JR (Japan Railways) is running in conjuction with the small Ciao Ontake Snow Resort would be for you. From just 7,000 Yen you can get return travel from Nagoya station to the resort in Gifu Prefecture and a one day lift pass (ski hire and clothing is extra). You should be able to ski for about 6 or 7 hours. Check out http://www.ciao.co.jp for more information on prices and other deals available.
(c) The Online Center:
The Online Center for Japanese Studies is up and running and can be accesssed at http://www.yamasa.org/ocjs/. Passwords can now be obtained through our new secure server. A big thank you to everyone who assisted, for full information on updates to the Online Center please click here.
(d) 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
Accommodation is available in nearly all areas except for Residence L until March. 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 received the full tuition fees for your chosen course.
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 Yukiko Iijima (Housing Officer): 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 have now closed for the April 2003 student visa, and the next start date is October 2003, which we are now accepting application for. Please note that we will take into account a number of factors when considering a student visa application including age, academic background, nationality and so on - automatic acceptance of a student visa application is not guaranteed. If you need more information about 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 2003 start please contact Admissions for more information.
Short-term courses:
| Discovery Tour starting on February 21st - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20030221.html Contact Admissions for details. There are still a number of places available - join a very small private tour: Includes Lake Shoujiko, Narusawa Ice Cave, Fugaku Wind Cave, Mount Fuji viewing, Shiraito-no-taki waterfalls, Skiing - Hakuba valley plus outdoor Onsen, Skiing - Norikura Onsen, Yoshihama Ningyou, Tokugawa Art Museum, Tabata Jinja, Okutono Jinya, Toyota Kaikan, Kyoto - Sannen-zaka & Ninnen-zaka walk, Kiyomizudera, Jishu Jinja and 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 start dates have space from February 6th but accommodation is becoming limited. Contact Admissions as soon as possible for information.
Acceleration Format 1 and AIJP are both full until April. Places are becoming limited for both these program from April. Return to top of page
3. Student Interview: Ya-Ching Xu (SILAC / Semi-Private)
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| Ya-Ching Xu |
Xu,Ya-Chin (Jessica), from Taiwan, has been taking semi-private lessons at Yamasa since the middle of December. As a fellow Taiwanese and the fact that we both live in the Yamasa Villas, I decided to interview her for this week's newsletter. I caught up with her inside her classroom just after she finished her morning lessons.
Huang: Hello, Jessica, how are you? How's everything going?
Jessica: Everything's fine.
H: Right, I'm going to get straight down to the questions. Firstly, I would like to know what is the main reason which motivated you to study in Japan?
J: Two years ago, I had a tour to Hokkaido with a colleague and stayed with a Japanese family. My colleague was the secretary in my previous company. And as she had finished her bachelors degree in Japan, she could speak very fluently with the host family. This is what motivated me to learn Japanese.
H: Is this time your first experience to study abroad?
J: No, I used to attend a language course in Iowa, USA and then spent 2 years in Australia for my masters degree.
H: It sounds like you have a lot of experience studying overseas. How do you find it studying at Yamasa?
P: So far, so good. I have got used to the life here. Basically, there is not much difference between.....................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_39.html
4. In the News: New articles
In this edition we have another article to help you practice. It is from the Chunichi Shinbun about changing some commonly used
gairaigo back to Kanji. 
About "In the News": This section aims to help you improve your understanding of articles in contemporary Japanese print and web media. Articles are from a wide range of sources including business, fashion, music, lifestyle, entertainment, crime, politics, international relations and so on. All articles are printable, and are accompanied by streaming audio files of the article being read at normal speed by male and female native speakers. Furthermore there are questions from the OCJS faculty that will help you confirm your reading or listening comprehension skills. (If you are an advanced learner, you may wish to attempt the questions after first listening to the audio link only, and then read the article to test your listening comprehension skills).
In addition, by using the link generator of the OCJS online dictionary with its definitions and kanji animations, you can easily check the meaning of new words, and also the stroke order of any Kanji that are new for you. The titles of the links ARE NOT translations of the headline accompanying the article (we don't want to give beginner level students too many hints to the answers), but are indicative of the subject field.
5. Japan Guide: Heian Jingu
Today's Kyoto is well known for its stunningly beautiful Buddhist temple architecture, but aside from its religious significance it also was the center of political power, housing the Imperial Family from 794 to 1867. During the Meiji period the imperial house moved its permanant residence to Tokyo, leaving an emptiness in the hearts of the people of Kyoto. To make up for this great loss in the hearts of the people of Kyoto in 1895, in celebration of the 1,100 anniversary of Kyoto, the city constructed Heian Jingu. The shrine is a scaled down replica of the Daigoku-den (Palace of the Hall of State) of the original capital.
There were two areas where the building of the 2/3 scale recreation of the Daigoku-den was to be placed. The first was on the plot of land the palace originally occupied, just north of Nijo Castle. The final decision however placed the project in the.........
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/kyoto/heian_jingu.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) 2003 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
