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: We are now accepting applications for the April 2003 student visa start. 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 April 2003 start please contact admissions@yamasa.org for more information.

Short-term courses:

Discovery Tour starting on January 24th - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20030124.html Contact admissions@yamasa.org for details. There are still a number of places available - join a very small private tour: Includes Okutono Jinya, Toyota Kaikan, Hakuba valley, Skiing - Hakuba valley plus outdoor Onsen, Tokoname, Yoshihama Ningyou, Denpark, Atsuta Jingu, Tokugawa Art Museum, Tabata Jinja and other locations.

Other Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact admissions@yamasa.org 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 December 12th but accommodation is limited. Contact admissions@yamasa.org as soon as possible for information.

Acceleration Format 1 and AIJP are both full for the Winter quarter beginning on January 7th. There are currently still places available on the Spring quarter beginning in April. Return to top of page

3. Student Interview: Christian Ramirez (AIJP)

Christian Ramirez

Christian, from Mexico, entered AIJP on a student visa in October this year.

Jon: Thank you for taking time out for this interview.
Christian: No problem.

J: How is everything going?
C: Fine, the course is good, interesting.

J: Are you finding the speed of the program okay?
C: For me that's a tricky question as people learn at different rates. I think it is normal, it's not fast and it's not slow.

J: How did you find Yamasa?
C: I asked my family in Mexico to search for some information on Japanese language schools but they weren't able to find any. So I searched the internet and found 5 or 6 schools. I contacted them all and got information from 3 or 4. The only school that kept in touch with me during this time was Yamasa.

J: The big question - why are you studying Japanese?
C: Well, I have a dream......................

Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_38.html

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4. In the News: New articles

In this edition we have two more articles to help you practice. The first concerns an Osakan boy entering the world of Bunraku. The second an article from the women's magazine "Style" extolling the virtues of speaking good Japanese - as a means to better English.

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.

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5. Japan Guide: Okutono Jinya

Okutono Jinya is a little difficult to get to, however combined with a visit to Asuke it gives a glimpse into life in rural areas of Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate. A Jinya was the name usually given to the headquarters (barracks) of a small landlord, or in the case of Takayama Jinya, of an administrative unit directly ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate from Edo.

Throughout the shogunate, the key currency unit was a measure of rice called koku (or goku depending on the reading) which was approximately 180 kilograms (396 pounds) of rice. The value of a feudal domain (and the taxes due from it) depended upon how much rice the domain could grow. Only a landlord with a domain exceeding 30,000 goku was allowed to build a castle (and only one per domain), and some landholdings were extremely large. Okutono Jinya was the headquarters of the Okutono branch of the important Ogyu Matsudaira family - one of the main relatives of the ancestral family of the Tokugawa. However the territory..........

Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/aichi/okutono_jinya.html

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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

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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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(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@yamasa.org