School News

Our graduating students visited a shrine called, “Dazaifu-Tenmangu”, which is well-known as a place in where a god of study is, and prayed for their study success in the future. Not only our students, but also many Japanese students who would take the test for next school come here to get pass.

We had a graduation day on 5th March. Most of Japanese schools have entrance and graduation ceremonies in quite formal way. Everybody has to wear formal cloths such as suits. Our students are allowed to wear their own traditional formal cloths because they are all international students. They were given the graduation certificate each. There were messages from the principal, Ogori Mayer, and some guests. Student representatives from each side (graduating and junior students) made speeches. Then graduating students sang a song, as well as junior students in return.

 After the ceremony, we changed the venue. Graduated students, teachers, and some quests have a graduation party to finish the day! We had nice lunch, some performances which were mainly songs and dance. Students from each class said some words to us. Teachers also did a dance! All teachers who gave lessons to them said some farewell words. Finally, class teachers gave some presents for their students and said good-bye to them.

It was a moment which students and teachers meet each other for the last time. Most of them will go to another school in Japan. Some will go back to their own country for good. Wherever they go, we keep hoping they try to make their dreams come true at this time of the year.

As senior students who entered our school in 2017 were finishing our course, we hold this presentation event on 19th February. They need to discuss what to show by using Japanese language they have learned during their study period. Each class has their own presentation with a short play. On the day, most students remembered their dialogues for around 15 minutes which is quite good.

We invited police officers on May 12^th and hosted an information session for our new students. This event is designed to help our students experience their life in Japan as safely as possible. In addition to NILS, the entire community supports their wellbeing.

First, the students learned how to report emergencies by calling “110.” Then, they learned how to avoid being reported to the police. One of the officers talked about situations most commonly associated with trouble. For example, being too noisy in a dorm or apartment at night, or congregating in parking lots of supermarkets or convenience stores to party.

Next, another officer talked about traffic safety regarding bicycles. Our students come from many different countries, each of which have different traffic regulations.  Riding a bike is the primary method of transportation for our students to go to school and part-time jobs. I have listed some of the most important rules below.

1. Individuals must ride bicycles on the left lane like automobiles.
2. Individuals may not ride bicycles on sidewalks. (There are exceptions.)
3. Individuals must stop at the stop sign.
4. Individuals may not drink and ride a bicycle. The rules are the same as driving an automobile.

These are common sense rules; however, individuals can get seriously hurt or hurt others if they don’t follow these guidelines.  Last year, the Police began enforcing these rules against illegal bicycle riding, and the penalties and fines have become stricter. In particular, if you kill someone in a bicycle accident, you will be required to pay between 50 million yen to 100 million yen. Of course, if you follow rules, you will avoid these fines.

It is our mission to support our students so that they have the best educational experiences possible.

Yesterday (January 11) was Coming-of-Age Day.  It is the day to celebrate young people who have reached the age of 20.  In japan, the youths over 20 are regarded as adults, and from the age of 20 onwards, people have the right to vote, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.  Local cities and communities hold Coming-of-Age ceremonies for those young people throughout Japan.  Many young women traditionally wear gorgeous kimonos with long sleeves called furisode on this day.

This national holiday used to be January 15, but from the year 2000, it changed to the second Monday of January so that people can have a long weekend.

I had been to many parks and gardens, but so far, I have yet to experience having Matcha (Japanese green tea) in a garden. It is great that NILS had arranged a trip to Yusentei Park, a Chisen Kaiyu styled Japanese Garden in Fukuoka City, on 21 Oct. 2015.

We were fascinated by the huge size of the Koi (carp) when feeding them at the Shoinzukuri style pond. They were so close to us that we could even touch them.
There is a beautiful waterfall which enriches the pond, and also a nice spot for photo taking.

We moved on to the Ohiroma Hall, a 29msq (17.5 tatami mats) room facing the pond, to have our Matcha and Wagashi (Japanese confectionery). Sensei went through some basic etiquette on the tea ceremony with us before we enjoyed the Matcha and Wagashi. The Matcha was bitter but with the sweet taste of the Wagashi, it harmonized and balanced the taste… 美味しいですね。。。

After the Matcha, we lingered around the Ohiroma Hall, to enjoy the scenery and also photo taking. The water is so clear that we can see the koi swimming around clearly…
The scenery is really great and with the matcha and wagashi, it really calms one’s mind.
A very nice experience though but it is a pity that the leaves have yet to change colour, I believe it will definitely add more points to it.

NILS students in the Short-Term Program enjoyed one day trip to Kumamoto and Miyazaki last week.  We believe it was a great experience for them to enjoy our nature and ancient culture.

What a wonderful treat! Beautiful landscapes, fresh air, quiet, contemplative shrines in secluded parts of the countryside, mountains, rivers, and much more… including local wines. One of the best class outings, and one of the best trips out to the countryside I had during my stay in Japan.

Kumamoto prefecture is located at the center of the Kyushu Island, about 150 km south from Fukuoka city. Natural parks and nature preserves cover about 20 percent of the prefecture. The entire area is known for its scenic beauty.

We took a locally operated bus from near the Tenjin station in Fukuoka, which took us all the way to the center area of Kumamoto. A very confortable ride in an air-conditioned bus, with plenty of short stops on the way, to stretch our legs.

The further away from Fukuoka we were getting, the more beautiful and scenic the landscape was becoming. We were passing through small villages surrounded by countless, geometrically shaped rice fields, small vegetable and flower gardens. The bus began to climb higher and higher into the hills, and we found ourselves in a lush, green forest. The road was winding between steep volcanic mountain peaks covered in thick forest. Looking through the bus’s windows into the valleys below us, we could see small village houses, and countless terraces of rice fields hugging the steep mountainsides.

Around noontime, we arrived at one of the local farms, where we were treated to a wonderful buffet of freshly prepared food using local ingredients. What a great feast that was! There were about 20 different dishes to choose from, variety of teas, and delicious desserts. On the way out we could purchase preserves and other local products.

After lunch we were on our way again, this time to visit local shrines. We stopped at Heitate shrine, Amanoiwato shrine, and visited Takachiho Gorge with its picturesque waterfalls, bridges, and famous shrine. We had a chance to admire local architecture, peaceful locations of Shinto shrines secluded in remote areas, away from city noise. We had a chance to walk through the forest, over mountain rivers, into caves carved into the sides of a mountain that housed many small shrines. We also got a chance to witness some of the ceremonies, and had a guided tour of one of the shrines. At the end we were able to purchase some souvenirs, local foods, and locally made wines.

This adventure took almost entire day. In the late afternoon, we claimed back into our confortable bus and filled with great memories rode back to Fukuoka.

It was a very early time in the morning I had to set my alarm clock to go to the Yamakasa festival.

I arrived at my train station at 03:30, where they just opened the gate to enter. Only two colleges from school and one or two other people were waiting for the early train. And when it arrived, to my surprise, it was quite crowded. So NILS class wouldn’t be the only one heading to the festival.

Tired but really wondering how the festival would be we walked from Tenjin to near Hakata station where the festival took place. Even in these early hours the temperature was more than comfortable to wear shorts.

And then the festival started exactly at 04:58. It was a race between seven different male teams in the age from child to elderly men. Each team had to bring their float as fast as possible to the finish line; the float was carried by around ten people. Encouraged by all the visitors, they ran quite fast to end up as winners. Probably the refreshing water which was splashed from some people was a reason more trying to flee from that early shower.

The festival ended with a huge and heavy float carried by around 25 people. It was definitely worth to wake up at this unusual hour to see the race.

On Wednesday, Hirose sensei gave us a briefing on Yusentei Park and the proper way to drink matcha (traditional green tea) that is usually served during the traditional tea ceremony.

This was another wonderful example of Japanese culture and everyone embraced it wholeheartedly.

We made our way to the beautiful Yusentei Park which was erected in 1754 during the Edo period. This park and the beautiful summer home of Fukuoka’s most famous samurai and family, the Kuroda clan did not disappoint. The garden was the first traditional Japanese garden introduced in Fukuoka and the traditional tatami matted house was a joy to behold.

The class fed the koi fish in the very large pond that fronts the housed then proceeded to go inside the house.

We were able to examine the inside architecture closely and then had our matcha in the appropriate manner we were taught.

Another wonderful and educational outing.

Thanks Hirose sensei!

Yesterday’s activity making ramen and gyoza was so much fun.

I have eaten ramen and gyoza many times and I have previously only cooked the instant ramen and frozen gyoza. This was the first time making ramen and gyoza from scratch. After this experience, I want to buy a pasta maker.

Explanation for cooking ramen and gyoza was in Japanese and I could understand most of it, so it was a really good listening practice.

Yesterday, there were some middle school students on a field trip at the cooking school and I was able to speak to some of the students and teacher in Japanese. I was glad to get to practice speaking with people outside of my NILS classmates and teachers at the cooking school.

Overall, this was a very memorable experience.