In addition to the extensive classroom lessons, NILS offers weekly Japanese cultural activities. It’s been a great way to get out of the classroom and use some of the Japanese we’ve learned in real-world scenarios while also learning about the unique culture of Fukuoka City.

This week we went to Hakata to paint the famous Hakata dolls. We visited a shop where artists intricately design and paint all shapes and sizes of Hakata dolls, ranging from cute kimono dressed women to masculine and aggressive looking sumo wrestlers.

After seeing how the Hakata dolls were painted we were able to pick our own Hakata doll and paint it with our own design— I painted an cute old man! It was a relaxing experience and a nice break from from the sometimes challenging languages lessons in the classrooms.

After we painted our dolls we were allowed to take our painted Hakata Dolls home after the activity. My family thought it was really cute and made sure to display it in our house. In addition to the learning about the cultural significance of Hakata Dolls, it was nice to bring home a souvenir from the class.

The cultural activities at NILS are enjoyable and I look forward to upcoming activities.

Our activity this week was to go to a Hakata Dolls shop and paint our own Hakata Doll.

We learnt the history of Hakata Dolls at school before we left for the shop.

That was really interesting. The shop was amazing and the dolls on display are real works of art.

We got to choose which doll shape we wanted to make, and then we sat down to paint them.

There was a huge selection of paint colors to choose from which was really great,but it was difficult to decide the best colors to use!

The painting was really enjoyable and relaxing – and it was great to get everyone else’s opinions if you were having trouble choosing a color or something.

Everyone’s finished dolls were really individual and it was great to have our very own doll to take home at the end of the session – a great reminder of a great day.

This is my very first time that I visit Japan, so I was even more exited for attending my very first school activity at NILS.

For this weeks activity Hirosei-sensei took me to Dazaifu to see the ”Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine”.

First we had to pass a short street filled with tourits (mostly from Korea and China) and wich was surounded by many little souvenir shops.

When we reached the Tenmangu Shrine I was impressed by it’s beauty.

The Tenmangu Shrine is sacred to the memory of Michizane Sugawara wich is also known as ”the god of learning”.

I learned a lot about Michizane Sugawaras life story that day. We also visited the Kyushu National Museum wich I found very interesting.

At the end of the trip we got some mochi [japanese rice cake] (it was still warm wich made it even more delicous than it already was!) and with it a cup of Matcha [japanese green tea] (also very delicous!).

My first activity with Hirosei-sensei was great, I like to learn more about japanese traditions and culture, so I’m already exited for the up coming activitys.

—-Katie

This weeks school activity was Hanami.

Hanami litterally means “flower viewing”. Ever year around this time the cherry blossom trees start blooming, there are different kind of cherry flowers, they can have different shapes and the colors may vary from white to a dark pink (I always thought all the cherry flowers look the same).

We went to the Ohoori park, wich is a beautiful park with a sea, to watch the cherry blossom.

For hanami a lot of people meet and do a picnic while watching the cherry blossom, usally they gather with theyr family or friends to celebrate hanami. Sadly the cherry blossom trees only bloom for 1-2 weeks and than fall of, but that is what makes them so special.

Another thing that I really liked was that there were a lot of food stalls at the Ohoori park, they had all kind of interesting foods. I got to try yakitori, taiyaki, hanami dango and my teacher was even so nice and shared her takoyaki with me so that I could have a try of them. Everything was so delicious !!!

My very first Hanami was a great experience, I got to eat delicious japanese festival food and watched the pretty cherry blossom trees.

-Katie

This weekly activity, cooking Ramen and Gyouza, was really fun!

I got to sit down with 7 other people and we all got our hands dirty making the dough for the gyouza and ramen noodles.

I was surprised with how much I could understand, with a little help from Hirose sensei.

The end result was really delicious too and I’d love to do something like this again.

Please watch this video if you are interested.

Students learning Japanese language in Short Program went to ROBOSQUARE this week.

Q: What did you do in this week’s activity?

A: I visit the ROBOSQUARE and Fukuoka Tower in MOMOCHI.

Q: What kind of place is MOMOCHI?

A: It is an area close to the sea and one of the most expertise areas to live on in Fukuoka. It is very attractive to tourists, especially because of the Fukuoka Tower.

Q: How was the Fukuoka tower?

A: It was very nice to be able to see Fukuoka from such a height. It offered a completely new way to experience the Fukuoka city.

Q: How was the ROBOSQUARE?

A: The ROVOSQURE was very interesting, though smaller than I had anticipated. I liked the diversity of robots for different uses and the stuff was also very friendly and helpful.

Q: What Kind of robot did you see? Which one did you like the most?

A: There were numerous kinds of robots that were intended for various darks. Some were meant for entertainment purpose or as a pet-substitute, others had therapeutic or security functions, I was most impressed by PARO, the seal-robot meant to improve elderly people’s quality of life through the affectionate interaction with the robot.

Students learning Japanese language in Winter Program enjoyed calligraphy this week.

Q: You have arrived in Fukuoka a few days ago.  Is this your first time to visit Japan?

A: No, I went to Japan last year.

Q: Today’s activity is calligraphy.  Have you ever tried it?

A: No, I have never done this before.

Q: I think writing with brush is difficult.  Did you write well?

A: It was very hard at first, but with practice, I got better.

Q: What word did you write and why did you choose it?

A: 「幸福」 Happiness.  I want to have this to remember this happy I was here.

Q: Did you try it again?

A: Yes, it was fun and I would love to do it again!

NILS students taking short term program visited Yusentei Koen Park to enjoy traditional Japanese garden and tea ceremony.  Even Japanese people don’t experience tea ceremony so often, so it must be a good opportunity for our students.

“We visited Yusentei Koen to see a beautiful traditional Japanese Garden.  Visiting Japanese Gardens was not the first time.  I have been to Japanese gardens in Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo and at home in Vancouver. Regardless I always love visiting them.  (Regarding tea ceremony) I love Matcha (Japanese green tea) and find tea ceremony relaxing, so I enjoyed it a lot.  It was nice to have Hirose Sensei there as she knew tea ceremony so well.”  —Maksym-san, from Canada

“We went to the Yusentei Park and had traditional Japanese tea while looking at gorgeous Japanese garden.  We also fed a lot of fish which lives in the park’s pond.  It wasn’t my first time to visit Japanese gardens, but the fact that we got to enjoy tea and feed some fish was unique.  It is a nice place to sit for a while and enjoy a cup of tea.”  —Marek-san, from Canada.

We are so happy that all of our students learning Japanese at NILS enjoy every week’s activity here in Fukuoka!