It is April now; time flies indeed… ４月です。月日の経つのは本当にはやいですね。。。 April means to us, people in New Zealand, Autumn. Most people in Japan would think of Spring; therefore, it is all about (maybe not all but) cherry blossom🌸. Also April is the beginning of an academic year. 4月は私たち、ニュージーランドの人にとって秋です。日本の多くの人たちにとっては春、そして、もちろん、桜です🌸！4月は学校の新しい年の始まりです。 All levels of schools and universities start their academic […]
Continue readingWanna study?
Trimester A will start next month at the University of Waikato. Are you, by any chance, interested in studying at the university this year? If you are but not sure where to start etc., why don’t you contact us and just ask? Asking a question (or two!) does not mean you have to enroll. It […]
Continue readingWork in a train
I read an article reporting an interesting experiment for the Shinkansen users (the article is written in Japanese). It is still at an experimental phase and you cannot have this service in every single Shinkansen. Apparently, some particular compartments of Shinkansen allow you to use the space a bit like your own office; wi-fi is […]
Continue readingSetsubun!
It is Setsubun today! 今日は節分[せつぶん]です! According to the Lunar Calendar, tomorrow, the 3rd of February, is the first day of Spring this year and this is called Risshun in Japanese. The day before Risshun is Setsubun and Japanese people have all sorts of rituals on Setsubun to welcome Spring . One of such rituals is […]
Continue readingCultural identity
Have you thought of your cultural identity? How important is it for you? I found the following article, which Crystal, a Waikato student, talked about her own precious experience in regard to her cultural identity. This is not about Japan or Japanese culture, but I thought I should share with you! https://www.asianz.org.nz/leadership/thailand-visit-inspires-search-for-cultural-identity/ 自分の文化的[ぶんかてき](= cultural)アイデンティティって考えたことがありますか。文化的アイデンティティは大切[たいせつ]だ(= important)と思いますか。今日、文化的アイデンティティについてのすばらしい記事[きじ](= […]
Continue readingSummer!
Japan has lately experienced heavy snow fall; particularly in the northern areas; many vehicles were stuck on snowy roads in the Hokuriku area. Hopefully, the situation will improve soon. It is summer in New Zealand and has been quite warm. The photo shows a plant called ‘Kyochikuto‘ in Japanese (I do not know what it […]
Continue readingTake a walk…
Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとうございます🎍 I am pretty sure many of you ate quite a lot over the end-of-year/new year holiday (I did, anyway…) I happened to find the following short video; this is a nice park located in Hamilton, New Zealand. If you want (or need!) to take a walk, this would be a nice […]
Continue readingWe wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year…
It is now December; time flies indeed… At the moment, we, people in New Zealand, are in a privileged situation; we have not had the COVID-19 community transmission for a while and been having a sort of normal life these days (the Government and Ministry of Health of course, constantly remind us that we should […]
Continue readingAugust 6th again
It is the 6th of August again; 75 years ago today, an atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, Japan. Due to COVID-19, the peace memorial ceremony, which is held in Hiroshima on the 6th of August every year, will be delivered in a smaller scale this year. No matter how big or small, we will […]
Continue readingUkiyoe 浮世絵
Hi everybody! How have you been? I hope you have been copying okay with this unprecedented situation. The situation in New Zealand regarding COVID-19 has been getting better and better. We now can go to all sorts of places. As you might have heard, the Ukiyoe exhibition has been on in Auckland. You can only […]
Continue reading