Seiritsu International Educationtag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//22010-02-15T22:06:50ZMovable Type 3.33-jaFujiQ for youtag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2342010-02-15T22:01:11Z2010-02-15T22:06:50Z Recently, I spent one of my free days a...staff
Recently, I spent one of my free days at the amazing FujiQ Highland Park. I went together with two friends and it was really the best Amusement Park I have ever seen. There were two enormous and super fun roller coasters at the park. We rode each more times than I can count! Since it was so cold that day (well, cold by Tokyo standards) not that many people had gone out so we basically had the whole park to ourselves.
But really the best was hands down the horror house. It may have been the first horror house I've ever seen but I cant imagine anything being scarier! It was designed like a hospital and there were real actors playing sick and dying patients. Also it was real dark and since I am scared of the dark I felt like having a panic attack! But in the end, I survived and had a great time.
Sophie]]>
Sumo Tournamenttag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2332010-02-15T21:55:54Z2010-02-15T22:00:37Z On the 7th of February my host father a...staff
On the 7th of February my host father and I went to a Sumo Tournament. It was being held in Ryokoku, an area of Tokyo famous for sumo, which is about an hours drive away from my homestay. This instantly became a highlight of my time in Japan. The atmosphere was incredible!
It's a very traditional Japanese sport, however there are competitors from all corners of the globe. It cost 1000Yen each for our seats. People seated right at the front had to pay about 44000yen for their seats. We weren't seated too far away from the action, though so it was really fun to watch. I highly recommend sumo to anyone visiting Japan and I cant wait to check it out again!
Rodney]]>
Sayonara Nihon, Yokoso Finland!tag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2322010-01-29T00:35:40Z2010-01-29T00:41:54Z So, my exchange year has finally come t...staff
So, my exchange year has finally come to an end. I had lots of ups and downs, but I don’t regret coming here at all (even falling off a slide didn’t make it any worse). I think this year has changed me a lot in a good way, even though I still struggle with some of my old bad habits. But I certainly tried my best!
I guess I just wanted to thank everyone. It’s been lots (heaps) of fun! I wish I could see everyone again someday, but maybe it is just a dream.
I hope for everyone the best for the future and please remember to visit Finland!
Thanks for the memories.
- Ella]]>
My winter vacationtag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2312010-01-29T00:26:09Z2010-01-29T00:34:56Z For my whole new year/winter vacation...staff
For my whole new year/winter vacation, I was playing basketball with the entire 成立学園 (Seiritsu Gakuen) basketball team. For a couple of days, December 25th to December 28th, the basketball team had a “sleep over” at school, but I would have rather gone home than sleep in a cold classroom.
During those days we trained from 9 am to 12 am, had a 3 hour break and then trained until 7 pm. On the last day everyone had a nice lunch after an incredibly early practice, that started at 6:30 am. We talked about the last four days, school life, and exams. The lunch lasted for an hour and then everybody could finally go home and have a nice rest for the rest of the day, before training started again the next day.
-Wei]]>
Coming of Age Daytag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2302010-01-28T23:29:14Z2010-01-28T23:36:32Z On the twentieth year of a Japanese per...staff
On the twentieth year of a Japanese person's life they attend a "Coming of Age" celebration at the town hall of their place of birth. This occasion is on the second Monday of every January in Japan. Twenty is quite a big age for Japanese people as they're now considered adults. It entitles them to make adult decisions such as to vote, smoke (a big cultural habit in Japan), drink, or gamble (even though Casino's are illegal in Japan). I'm sure there are more benefits with being 20 but I am not quite sure what they are.
On the day, as I said, people go to their town hall and have a kind of ceremony celebrating the day. The Japanese 20 year olds attending the event dress up in Kimonos (both boy and girl kimonos are available). However in recent years many men have traded in the Kimono for a suit. This is obviously from the Western influence on Japan.
The picture attached to this blog is myself with 5 Kimono clad girls who generously allowed me to have a photo with them, all the girls on the day were dressed up really beautifully.
]]>
The New Years Day Walktag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2292010-01-21T03:35:57Z2010-01-21T03:41:58Z Every New Years Day my family and I emb...staff
Every New Years Day my family and I embark on a walk which is normally down to a beach near our beach house in New Zealand. However, this year as we were in Japan, we decided to go to the Meiji forest which is right next to Harajuku for a casual stroll as an escape from urban Tokyo life.
Little did we know that most of the Tokyo inhabitants would also choose to visit the Meiji forest on New Years Day as well. I would assume most of the Japanese went because of the temple that is there whereas we went for a nice stroll. Although our walk wasn’t quite as we expected, we still enjoyed the many food stalls that were out on display down the main street of Omotesando which neighbors the Meiji forest.
Liam]]>
Snow? In Seoul?!?tag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2282010-01-21T03:29:00Z2010-01-21T03:35:19Z Hello everyone, How was your winter vac...staff
Hello everyone, How was your winter vacation?
I had a special vacation in South Korea with my family.
it was only for 2 weeks because of the school vacation period but I was glad to see my family for the first time in 9 months. It was also the first time I saw my cousins in 2 years! I also spent one week in the countryside seeing my grandparents and one week in the capital city of Seoul.
I was also really surprised that I got to see snow because it doesn't snow in New Zealand (where I used to live) at all. It snowed in Korea, and the news said that it hadn't snowed like this in 103 years. Aren't I just lucky...
Anyway, I only have about 3 weeks left in Japan and I want to do as much as possible before I leave.
]]>
A disney New Yearstag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2262010-01-21T03:15:09Z2010-01-21T03:19:56ZOn New Year’s Day I didn’t do anything t...staff
On New Year’s Day I didn’t do anything that was traditional in Japan. However I did go to Disneyland with my sister. It was cold but we were more into the Disney spirit than most people.
Something funny happened when we got into the Monsters inc. ride, because it suddenly stopped. To be honest at that time it wasn’t funny at all because we waited in line to ride it for nearly two hours. At first we thought it was supposed to stop, but then the workers came and we had to go out. Everyone got a fast-pass ticket for another ride so it was fine in the end.
After Disneyland we went to Utsunomiya to my sister’s place and we started to watch videos. When it turned to midnight we made jokes about how we’ve been watching this video since last year and still haven’t finished it!
I can’t decide if I missed the traditional finnish New Year’s Day or not. It has lots of fireworks and junk food, but its no secret that I’m scared of those flashy lights in the night sky.
- Ella
A disney New Yearstag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2010:/contents//2.2272010-01-21T03:15:09Z2010-01-21T03:22:17Z On New Year’s Day I didn’t do anything ...staff
On New Year’s Day I didn’t do anything that was traditional in Japan. However I did go to Disneyland with my sister. It was cold but we were more into the Disney spirit than most people.
Something funny happened when we got into the Monsters inc. ride, because it suddenly stopped. To be honest at that time it wasn’t funny at all because we waited in line to ride it for nearly two hours. At first we thought it was supposed to stop, but then the workers came and we had to go out. Everyone got a fast-pass ticket for another ride so it was fine in the end.
After Disneyland we went to Utsunomiya to my sister’s place and we started to watch videos. When it turned to midnight we made jokes about how we’ve been watching this video since last year and still haven’t finished it!
I can’t decide if I missed the traditional finnish New Year’s Day or not. It has lots of fireworks and junk food, but its no secret that I’m scared of those flashy lights in the night sky.
- Ella
]]>
The Tri-Podtag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2009:/contents//2.2252009-12-08T02:57:52Z2009-12-09T00:25:58Z Myself Ryosuke Liam Hello everyone. ...staff
Myself
Ryosuke
Liam
Hello everyone. Today I wanted to blog about the Tripod. For those of you who are not quite certain what I'm referring and are imagining a camera stand; I'm sorry but you are incorrect. I'm referring a group of three, consisting of myself and my two best friends in Japan, Ryosuke and Liam. Together we make up the Tri-pod! If one leg breaks we all fall. I know its a bit of a corny reference but I think it is appropriate.
For starters, let me explain a bit about my two great friends. Liam, the brains of the operation, is probably the smartest guy I know. He quite literally knows everything! He also plays soccer for Seiritsu's A-team, which is the school's elite team. Liam hails from New Zealand and after graduation in Japan, he hopes to go to Spain. Next we have Ryosuke, also from New Zealand but ethnically a Japanese. Growing up with Japanese parents while living in New Zealand, Ryosuke is bilingual English and Japanese. He also is soccer player at Seiritsu. Ryosuke is the Laughs of the operation as he is able to throw a smile on your face no matter what mood you're in.
These are my two best friends in Japan and together we make the TRI-POD!!!
-Fraser]]>
Lots to do in Tokyotag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2009:/contents//2.2242009-12-08T02:50:47Z2009-12-08T02:54:49Z In Tokyo you can always have fu...staff
In Tokyo you can always have fun in many ways. I like to explore and hang out in the city. In a city of about 12,790,000 inhabitants there is always something exciting to do. You can go shopping around Ginza and lose all of your money really fast or you could go to Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro for more decent prices.
One weekend two of my friends and I went to play pool. My two friends are Marcus, who is a student living in the same host family as me and his friend Sebastian. The entrance fee was fairly cheap and the place was really big. There must have been almost a hundred tables! It was really fun to play pool. There is definitely something for everyone in Tokyo, you just have to explore a bit.
-Aki]]>
Welcome Rodneytag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2009:/contents//2.2232009-12-08T02:44:16Z2009-12-09T00:28:28Z Pictured in the middle. はじめまして As the...staff
Pictured in the middle.
はじめまして
As the newest member of the Seiritsu Gakuen High School International Department I thought I should dedicate my first blog post to introducing myself. Like any good introduction, I'll you about myself. My name is Rodney James Bayliss and I have flown from my beautiful home town Perth, Australia to become Seiritsu`s newest member. Also to experience life and travel throughout Tokyo.
My usual high school day involves me waking up at the crack of dawn in the freezing Japanese winter weather. I walk to my bus which leaves at 7.03am, then arrive at the train station and pack in like a sardine into the train. I usually get to school just before 8.30am. School is really great, and I have already made a few pals really quickly, plus the students at Seiritsu treat me really well despite my lack of knowledge about the Japanese language. However, I am trying my best to learn more and more each day.
The holidays are coming up soon and that`s when the traveling will begin. I hope to go all throughout the greater Tokyo area and see and experience as much as I can. My time here in this amazing city is short so I hope to make the most of it!
-Rodney
]]>
Christmas Time in the Citytag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2009:/contents//2.2222009-12-08T02:39:26Z2009-12-08T02:42:16Z I’ve always experienced a traditional C...staff
I’ve always experienced a traditional Christmas since I was a kid but this will be the first time I’m spending it in a different way. At least my mom sent me chocolate calendars. If you don’t know what they are, good luck finding out. Just kidding! Everyday from December 1st until the 24th you open a lid on the calender and get a chocolate. Easy? Yes.
I don’t really mind breaking my Christmas tradition because it might be fun to hang out with my sister around Tokyo and see pretty lights everywhere (イルミネーション). Maybe we will get in the mood for strawberry cake and KFC. Looking forward to it!
- Ella
]]>
Purikuratag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2009:/contents//2.2212009-12-08T02:34:54Z2009-12-08T02:37:41Z If you come to Japan, the first thing t...staff
If you come to Japan, the first thing that you should do is go to the nearest game centre and find a big photo booth called PURIKURA (プリクラ). You can take 6 pictures and occasionally one or two bonus shots if you are lucky. Then you can decorate them with pretty stickers and pens. It is really popular for junior high and high school students but most people under the age of about 40 enjoy taking purikuras.
Since I have been in Japan, I have probably taken about 20 pictures and I have over a hundred digital ones in my phone. It is only 300 or 400 yen depending on where you go.
They are fun to do :)
]]>
Halloween Scary Stories!tag:www.seiritsu-int.com,2009:/contents//2.2202009-11-17T01:48:15Z2009-12-09T00:35:41ZGreetings from Seiritsu Gakuen, Its Nick...staff
From front to back (with their English names of course) Lennon, Patty, GoTooDa, and Sally. Congratulations!!!
And thanks for all the other submissions. There wasn't a poorly written one in the bunch!
-Nick]]>
Recently, I spent one of my free days at the amazing FujiQ Highland Park. I went together with two friends and it was really the best Amusement Park I have ever seen. There were two enormous and super fun roller coasters at the park. We rode each more times than I can count! Since it was so cold that day (well, cold by Tokyo standards) not that many people had gone out so we basically had the whole park to ourselves.
But really the best was hands down the horror house. It may have been the first horror house I've ever seen but I cant imagine anything being scarier! It was designed like a hospital and there were real actors playing sick and dying patients. Also it was real dark and since I am scared of the dark I felt like having a panic attack! But in the end, I survived and had a great time.
Sophie]]>
On the 7th of February my host father and I went to a Sumo Tournament. It was being held in Ryokoku, an area of Tokyo famous for sumo, which is about an hours drive away from my homestay. This instantly became a highlight of my time in Japan. The atmosphere was incredible!
It's a very traditional Japanese sport, however there are competitors from all corners of the globe. It cost 1000Yen each for our seats. People seated right at the front had to pay about 44000yen for their seats. We weren't seated too far away from the action, though so it was really fun to watch. I highly recommend sumo to anyone visiting Japan and I cant wait to check it out again!
Rodney]]>
For my whole new year/winter vacation, I was playing basketball with the entire 成立学園 (Seiritsu Gakuen) basketball team. For a couple of days, December 25th to December 28th, the basketball team had a “sleep over” at school, but I would have rather gone home than sleep in a cold classroom.
During those days we trained from 9 am to 12 am, had a 3 hour break and then trained until 7 pm. On the last day everyone had a nice lunch after an incredibly early practice, that started at 6:30 am. We talked about the last four days, school life, and exams. The lunch lasted for an hour and then everybody could finally go home and have a nice rest for the rest of the day, before training started again the next day.
-Wei]]>
On the twentieth year of a Japanese person's life they attend a "Coming of Age" celebration at the town hall of their place of birth. This occasion is on the second Monday of every January in Japan. Twenty is quite a big age for Japanese people as they're now considered adults. It entitles them to make adult decisions such as to vote, smoke (a big cultural habit in Japan), drink, or gamble (even though Casino's are illegal in Japan). I'm sure there are more benefits with being 20 but I am not quite sure what they are.
On the day, as I said, people go to their town hall and have a kind of ceremony celebrating the day. The Japanese 20 year olds attending the event dress up in Kimonos (both boy and girl kimonos are available). However in recent years many men have traded in the Kimono for a suit. This is obviously from the Western influence on Japan.
The picture attached to this blog is myself with 5 Kimono clad girls who generously allowed me to have a photo with them, all the girls on the day were dressed up really beautifully.
]]>
Every New Years Day my family and I embark on a walk which is normally down to a beach near our beach house in New Zealand. However, this year as we were in Japan, we decided to go to the Meiji forest which is right next to Harajuku for a casual stroll as an escape from urban Tokyo life.
Little did we know that most of the Tokyo inhabitants would also choose to visit the Meiji forest on New Years Day as well. I would assume most of the Japanese went because of the temple that is there whereas we went for a nice stroll. Although our walk wasn’t quite as we expected, we still enjoyed the many food stalls that were out on display down the main street of Omotesando which neighbors the Meiji forest.
Liam]]>
Hello everyone, How was your winter vacation?
I had a special vacation in South Korea with my family.
it was only for 2 weeks because of the school vacation period but I was glad to see my family for the first time in 9 months. It was also the first time I saw my cousins in 2 years! I also spent one week in the countryside seeing my grandparents and one week in the capital city of Seoul.
I was also really surprised that I got to see snow because it doesn't snow in New Zealand (where I used to live) at all. It snowed in Korea, and the news said that it hadn't snowed like this in 103 years. Aren't I just lucky...
Anyway, I only have about 3 weeks left in Japan and I want to do as much as possible before I leave.
]]>
On New Year’s Day I didn’t do anything that was traditional in Japan. However I did go to Disneyland with my sister. It was cold but we were more into the Disney spirit than most people.
Something funny happened when we got into the Monsters inc. ride, because it suddenly stopped. To be honest at that time it wasn’t funny at all because we waited in line to ride it for nearly two hours. At first we thought it was supposed to stop, but then the workers came and we had to go out. Everyone got a fast-pass ticket for another ride so it was fine in the end.
After Disneyland we went to Utsunomiya to my sister’s place and we started to watch videos. When it turned to midnight we made jokes about how we’ve been watching this video since last year and still haven’t finished it!
I can’t decide if I missed the traditional finnish New Year’s Day or not. It has lots of fireworks and junk food, but its no secret that I’m scared of those flashy lights in the night sky.
- Ella
]]>
Myself
In Tokyo you can always have fun in many ways. I like to explore and hang out in the city. In a city of about 12,790,000 inhabitants there is always something exciting to do. You can go shopping around Ginza and lose all of your money really fast or you could go to Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro for more decent prices.
One weekend two of my friends and I went to play pool. My two friends are Marcus, who is a student living in the same host family as me and his friend Sebastian. The entrance fee was fairly cheap and the place was really big. There must have been almost a hundred tables! It was really fun to play pool. There is definitely something for everyone in Tokyo, you just have to explore a bit.
-Aki]]>
Pictured in the middle.
はじめまして
As the newest member of the Seiritsu Gakuen High School International Department I thought I should dedicate my first blog post to introducing myself. Like any good introduction, I'll you about myself. My name is Rodney James Bayliss and I have flown from my beautiful home town Perth, Australia to become Seiritsu`s newest member. Also to experience life and travel throughout Tokyo.
My usual high school day involves me waking up at the crack of dawn in the freezing Japanese winter weather. I walk to my bus which leaves at 7.03am, then arrive at the train station and pack in like a sardine into the train. I usually get to school just before 8.30am. School is really great, and I have already made a few pals really quickly, plus the students at Seiritsu treat me really well despite my lack of knowledge about the Japanese language. However, I am trying my best to learn more and more each day.
The holidays are coming up soon and that`s when the traveling will begin. I hope to go all throughout the greater Tokyo area and see and experience as much as I can. My time here in this amazing city is short so I hope to make the most of it!
-Rodney
]]>
I’ve always experienced a traditional Christmas since I was a kid but this will be the first time I’m spending it in a different way. At least my mom sent me chocolate calendars. If you don’t know what they are, good luck finding out. Just kidding! Everyday from December 1st until the 24th you open a lid on the calender and get a chocolate. Easy? Yes.
I don’t really mind breaking my Christmas tradition because it might be fun to hang out with my sister around Tokyo and see pretty lights everywhere (イルミネーション). Maybe we will get in the mood for strawberry cake and KFC. Looking forward to it!
- Ella
]]>
If you come to Japan, the first thing that you should do is go to the nearest game centre and find a big photo booth called PURIKURA (プリクラ). You can take 6 pictures and occasionally one or two bonus shots if you are lucky. Then you can decorate them with pretty stickers and pens. It is really popular for junior high and high school students but most people under the age of about 40 enjoy taking purikuras.
Since I have been in Japan, I have probably taken about 20 pictures and I have over a hundred digital ones in my phone. It is only 300 or 400 yen depending on where you go.
They are fun to do :)
]]>
