(b) Discount Rail, Universal Studios and Disneyland Tickets:

Travel in Japan can be expensive, but if you plan your schedule well you can save a fortune with the seishun ju-hachi kippu. This is on sale again from February 20th to March 31st for use between March 1st and April 10th. The ticket costs 11,500 Yen and can be used on all JR lines throughout Japan, over a five day period or for five separate one day trips. The ticket can be purchased from your local JR ticket office.

JR hasn't stopped with the ju-hachi kippu but is also providing discounts on the entry fee and travel from Nagoya (by Shinkansen!) to Universal Studios Japan (USJ) and Tokyo Disneyland. The higaeri holiday kippu for USJ is available on weekends and national holidays - the price of the ticket is 12,900 Yen and includes return travel from Nagoya and entrance fee to USJ. The tickets for Tokyo Disneyland/Disneysea cost from 24,980 Yen for a one day pass and return travel on either the kodama or hikari shinkansens. It is recommended that reservations are made in advance. The tickets for both these these theme-parks can be purchased from all major travel agencies or at Nagoya station's midori-no-madoguchi.

(c) Ski-ing:

There is still time to get some skiing in before the season ends and one of the cheapest ways is to take advantage of the special offer that JR (Japan Raliways) is running in conjuction with Ciao Ontake Snow Resort would be for you. For just 6,000 Yen you can get return travel from Nagoya to the resort in Gifu Prefecture and a full day's ski pass and free 2 hour ski or snowboard lesson. Check out http://www.ciao.co.jp for more information on prices and other deals available. Having been there in January, I can recommend this resort as it was easy to get to and efficiently run. Beware, however, if you are an absolute beginner there are no drag lifts for access to the nursery slopes.

(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) 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@yamasa.org for the latest information on availability.

(f) Radio Show:

Joseph Huang and teachers in FM Okazaki studio

Joseph Huang has decided to continue for at least another 3 months as DJ and FM Okazaki are currently looking for a female to co-host with Joseph (AIJP) on his show on Monday evenings. If you are currently a student at Yamasa and have a good level of conversational Japanese (around Level 2 of the JLPT) then there may be an opportunity for you to be a co-host from April. If you would like to appear on it let the FM Okazaki staff know as soon as possible.

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).

(g) Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) lessons:

Nowadays most Japanese people use pencils, pens and often computers to write letters and documents. But the art of shodo (calligraphy), where an ink-dipped brush is used to create Chinese kanji and Japanese kana characters, remains a traditional part of Japan's culture. If you would like to learn more about shodo then come to the Student Village every Monday night at 7.00pm - 8.00pm where Kato Erina sensei will be taking a shodo lesson. There is no fee (if you would like to buy a shodo writing set then this can be purchased for 1,500 Yen) and anybody is welcome to join. Please come to the International Office before Thursday if you wish to register to take part.

(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:

• Director of Studies for the Online Center
• Japanese teachers for the Online Center (2 positions filled, 1 remaining)
• Video Editing, Streaming media and multimedia developer

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:

• Make money by writing articles for the newsletter. See the contributions page for details.
• Find a course: see the program catalog.
• Contact admissions@yamasa.org if you have any questions.
• See below for information regarding course deadlines.

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@yamasa.org
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

From 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 March 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@yamasa.org 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: