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Today's Contents:
1. The first bits: SARS update, New Program Catalog & Course, Events, Travel destinations
2. Course information
3. Student Interview: Lim Ling Khim
4. In the News: "A Critic, Foodies, Manners and Language"
5. Things Japanese: Weddings (Part 2)
6. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies
7. Subscription Information
1. The first bits.
As of 2003/05/22 there have still been no confirmed reports of any SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) cases in Japan. Quarantine and immigration checks at Japanese airports are tighter than usual, especially of you are flying to Japan from Asian airports. We have recently made a temporary change to our admissions policy for those applicants living in Hong Kong, Taiwan and certain parts of China. For more details on this and regular updates on the situation, please take a look at Yamasa's own SARS updates page at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/sars.html. If you need any further information on the subject don't hesitate to contact admissions@yamasa.org.
What's happening with the homepage? : A complete overhaul basically. Should be done by the end of the month. The new program catalog is now online including our new "Refresher" course. Leveraging Yamasa's heavy investment in Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) technologies, the new customizable program is now available on-demand and unique in that it can be commenced on any weekday of the year. Also updated is the Location directory - check out our new much improved clickable maps of Hane-cho and the local area including the trains. We've also uploaded a new OCJS directory, start studying before you come!
(a) Things to do:
Kyu-do class: Kyu-do (archery) classes for beginners up to intermediate level will take place every Tuesday and Thursday 6:30pm - 8:30pm at Okazaki Chu Sogo Koen (central park) from June 6th to July 26th. The cost for the course, insurance and text is a very reasonable 6,000 Yen (bow and arrow rental is separate). For more information contact Mr. Ochiai at the 'Taiku kyokai' on (0564) 23-0803. The application deadline is Thursday May 26th.
Iai-do: If archery is not your cup of tea then why not try Iai-do, the art of swordmanship. A beginners class will take place every Wednesday, 7:00pm - 8:45pm at Okazaki Chu Sogo Koen Gym (central park) from June 4th to July 30th. The cost for the course, and accompanying text is 4,500 Yen. To apply send a postcard to:
Iai-do Beginner's Class,
c/o Okazaki PE Association,
7 Mutsuna
honmachi,
Okazaki 444
Please write your name, address, age and phone number on the postcard. For more information call (0564) 53-7644. The application deadline is May 26th.
Climb Mt Fuji: The annual pilgrimage to Japan's national icon has been pencilled in for the weekend of July 26th/27th. 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.
Summer Tour Schedule: Do you want to see a little bit more than Okazaki? Eager to get away for a day trip or weekend? Then some of the upcoming tours during May and June will be for you. These trips provide a great opportunity for you to visit locations much cheaper of the price that it would cost normally, with an experienced guide and door-to-door service:
May 31st - Day trip - to northern Nara, we visit Nara:
Kasuga Taisha,
Nara Park,
Nigatsudo,
Todaiji,
Neiraku
(Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on May 31st 0700, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
June 7th-8th - 1 night trip - A one night/two day meander along the
shores of Lake Biwa, includes gourmet dining, and the opportunity to visit some
of Japan's gems - including some places so far off the beaten track that
tourists never see them. Destinations include:
June 7th - Sekigahara,
Mount Ibuki, Hikone
Castle and Genkyu-en, Ohmi Hachiman
June 8th - the Merchant Houses
of Ohmi Hachiman, the fabulous canal meguri, Chomeiji.
(Cost: 18,800 Yen.
Departure from your accommodation on June 7th at 0700, return on June 8th by
1930. Includes all transport, all admission fees, accommodation.
Dinner/Breakfast. Does not include lunches.)
June 13th-15th - 2 night trip - takes us to Kobe, visiting the foreign
settlement and Chinatown, before heading on to the majestic white castle of
Himeji. We sample the nightlife, shopping and entertainment of Osaka.
Destinations include:
June 13th - to Kobe
June 14th - Kobe:
Kitano-cho, Nankin-machi, Himeji: Himeji Castle - to Osaka
June 15th -
Osaka: Dotomburi Arcade, Amerika Mura, Universal Studios Japan
(Cost:
23,100 Yen. Departure from Aoi Hall on June 13th at
1700, return on June 15th by 1930. Includes all transport, all admission fees,
accommodation. Dinner/Breakfast. Does not include lunches.)
June 21st-22nd - 1 night trip - This is an overnight trip to
Nara/Yoshino for those who were unable to visit in March (Indiana Jones, Part
II). We visit (and enter) a Kofun period tomb, and historic sites in the
isolated Yoshino region of Nara. Destinations include:
June 21st -
Asuka: Asuka-dera, Ishibutai-kofun, Takamatsuzuka-kofun, Yoshino: Kimpusenji,
Kimpu Jinja
June 22nd - Mount Koya
(Cost: 20,400 Yen. Departure
from your accommodation on June 21st at 0630, return on June 22nd by 1930.
Includes all transport, all admission fees, accommodation. Dinner/Breakfast.
Does not include lunches.)
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 0564-45-5778 for more details, or email yoshiaki_yamamoto@hotmail.com
Free Origami and Kimono Classes! On the first Friday of the month the Okazaki International Association also holds free paper folding classes in Aoi Hall at Yamasa frmo 3:30pm. On the third Friday of every month they hold a kimono class at 2:00pm in Aoi Hall where you can try on a Yukata.
(b) 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 the secure server. A big thank you to everyone who assisted, for full information on updates to the Online Center please click here.
(c) 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
If you are coming to Okazaki during the next few months, please visit the housing availability site, which has just been upgraded.
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: The next student visa 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:
| Tour destinations: The July 11th Discovery Tour visits a variety of destinations including Magome, Hiking the Nakasendo, Tsumago, Toson Memorial, Kyoto, Sekigahara, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Yokohama, Tokugawa Art Museum, Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, Asahi Beer Brewery Tour, Atsuta Jingu and many others. See http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery__20030711a.html for more information. |
Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact Admissions for further information. Tour dates for this year are available at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_dates.html
All extension programs have space from May 29th and academic programs have space from July.
3. Student Interview: Lim Ling Khim - SILAC
 |
| Lim Ling Khim |
Lim Ling Khim, a student from Brunei, kindly agreed to do the interview for this week's newsletter.
Patty: Thanks for agreeing to do the interview.
L: Oh sure, no problem.
P: I'll go straight into the questions. How did you find out about Yamasa?
L: I was browsing through the internet for a Japanese school, because I have studied Japanese before, and I wanted to pick up where I left off. Then I found Yamasa because it gives a lot of necessary information you need to study in Japan.
P: When did you come to Japan and why did you choose SILAC?
L: I came to Japan three weeks ago and I wanted to study short term, so I chose an 8 week SILAC program.
P: So, how do you like your classes?
L: Classes are alright, I can pick up Japanese fairly quickly.
P: Which part of studying do you find is the hardest?
L: Well, listening, reading, and writing are alright, but speaking is still not too good. I cannot speak very well probably because I don't speak as much Japanese as I should after classes finish.
P: How do you study?
L: Basically, I try to..............
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_46.html
4. In the News: New articles
In this edition we have another article to help you practice,
"A Critic, Foodies, Manners and Language"
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. Things Japanese: Weddings (Part 2)
Technically I have attended a Japanese wedding before, but just as one of the observers for my Japanese teacher's traditional-style ceremony, last May. However, this time, I was invited to my friend's wedding (first wedding in "Friends" category), ceremony and reception. Both the bride and the groom were Japanese people who I met two years ago in Yamaguchi Prefecture when I visited my friend from college years. They have been extremely friendly to me ever since and we managed to meet up whenever I had school breaks.
I received a formal invitation in mid-February, but knew about the wedding a few months before it took place. Since it was my first wedding invitation addressed to me for a Japanese wedding, I asked my Japanese teacher, who had attended a few weddings herself, to help me on what I should do to attend the wedding. First, she told me to cross out all the honorific headings that were addressed to me on the replying postcard. Then, she told me that the amount of money in the Goshugi for the reception is usually between..............
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/things_japanese_28.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.
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