Seiritsu International Education

This year's Japan Experience has finally wrapped up successfully with all the students on their way home or onto their next traveling location.

Here's Jordan with the Nakamura family about to see him off at Terminal 2.

Here's Lizzie (Sarah J.) attempting to check-in. Even though the check-in computers decided to 'check-out' the moment it was her turn to step up to the counter, after a bit of a wait she handed in her luggage and was ready to leave with boarding pass in hand!

Here's Bruce and Binita with the Hanai family, Mrs. Hanai and her son Hide. Bruce said he feels like he has a 'Japan Mama' now, which made Mrs. Hanai quite happy to hear. And Binita's Japanese sounded like a native when she thanked her hosts for being so kind to take her in.

As mentioned before, the Hanai's have hosted for us every year! And when we started, Hide spoke no English, but now he's almost fluent, as he said he's studying hard so that he can communicate as much as possible with the JE students each summer and help them have a better experience here.

Here's Sarah E. and Adele just about to go through security. It took them all of 10 seconds to check-in which was quite impressive!

Sorry, no picture of Kalani because she hasn't left Japan yet! She's now traveling to Kyoto to visit relatives there, and her hosts, The Ono's, are traveling with her to make sure she arrives safely. The Ono's will then be traveling onward to Osaka while Kalani stays in Kyoto. Mrs. Ono called me from Tokyo train station just as they were about to board the bullet train (shinkansen) simply to let me know all is well and for me to speak to Kalani one last time. I could tell she wants to stay in Tokyo, but she's going to have such a great experience in Kyoto that I hope we don't fade too fast into her memories...

The big departure board at Terminal 1. Every time I come here to see students off at the end of their visit, I always think where to would I like to travel... hmm...

The new Skyliner rapid express train just started running between Narita Airport and Tokyo in an amazing 39 minutes! Well, with everyone gone, it's back to Tokyo for me.

The students all gave us great feedback, and asked if in future a trip somewhere in Japan riding on the bullet train can be added in. To make the program run smoothly, the Seiritsu International staff actually start preparing for next year's Japan Experience program from September! We're thinking of the following improvements; beginning with the original 3 days in Narita learning about 'ancient Japan', then a bullet train ride to Hiroshima for a 3 day visit to see the famous Peace Memorial and the surrounding islands, followed by riding the bullet train back to Tokyo to spend 9 days with host families, to participate in cultural activities and to have a little more free time for students to explore extra places of personal interest.

No decisions yet, but this is what we'll start working on so please pass the word around!

At this time, I also want to send out a big 'thank you!' to all the student's parents and guardians for entrusting us with your precious children, or really I should be saying young adults, even though we are so far away in Japan.

And lastly, Bruce, Adele, Binita, Jordan, Sarah E, Sarah J./Lizzie and Kalani, you were all wonderful by being a great, cohesive, polite and positive group of people, so thanks! Each of you really made the program enjoyable for the staff, the Japanese students, and the host families! Don't be strangers, keep in touch. Japan is always here waiting for you!

Take care!
Richard & Nick

ps The DVD with pictures and video should be ready for mail-out by the end of September.

pss The International Office will be closed for summer holidays from August 10-29 so if you need to contact us, the office will be open from August 30.

writer: staff  date: 8:58 PM | Life at Seiritsu

It’s Day 9 already! Where to begin… but at the beginning! The students arrived a little earlier to prepare for the Higashi-Jujo Festival and today’s Sayonara Party.

As soon as thank you cards to each other and staff were scribbled on with happy feelings and little pictures, everyone put on ‘happi’ coats worn for Japanese festivals.

While a lead drum was pulled by local families through the back streets of the Higashi-Jujo area where Seiritsu is located, a large ‘mikoshi’ and kids ‘mikoshi’ portable shrines were heaved and hoed through the streets by enthusiastic revelers, from high school students to very energetic senior gentlemen.

The Japan Experience students did a wonderful job of lifting both mikoshi around the streets to much shouting and cheering, all designed to scare away the demons, call out to the gods, and to bless the homes it passes. At each rest stop during the two hour journey, groups of neighbors had already set up tables covered with fried chicken, sausages, cut up fruit and vegetables, not to mention huge coolers stocked with drinks chilling in ice.

The Seiritsu Kokusai Kyoikubu (International Department) staff Richard (left) and Nick (right)

Upon returning to the school, first to bless it, then walk the mikoshi around it before finally coming to a rest in front of its storage shed. But before it could finally be lowered, the revelers had to shake it madly and shout at the top of their lungs to prove they were good and done with the blessing of the area. As soon as it rested down, copious amounts of curry and rice was brought out of the school by even more neighbors and staff for everyone to eat, and of course refreshments were liberally passed around.

But no, that’s just the morning, because before the students could even finish their meals (as the mikoshi were late getting back), the kitchen staff had completed preparing for the Sayonara Party and the home stay families had gathered around the long tables. Principal Fukuda handed out the completion certificates, Binita received her stuffed Japanese cat award for winning yesterday’s "I Know Japan!" Contest and then everyone dug into lunch. The party ended with Jordan’s toothpick disappearing magic tricks, followed by all the students giving thank you speeches.

Being the last day the whole group was together, it was warm and touching, all too short, but like Nick said, ending on a high note is important. The students completed program questionnaires and their anonymous responses were glowing about the positive experiences they had during their stay which was comforting for our staff to hear.

Now everyone has gone back to their home stays for one last, enjoyable night. We’ll see everyone tomorrow at the airport at different times for a final good-bye, except for Kalani who’s going to visit relatives in Kyoto.

Final picture from our Soubetsu kai (Farewell Party or "sayonara party")

writer: staff  date: 3:52 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Day 8 started with quiet meditation in the school’s peaceful karate dojo with the high school club members, but being karate soon the students were all exploding with energy playing ‘karate tag’ with each other! As Richard Sensei led everyone through an introduction to punching and kicking, the Japanese students each paired up the JE10 kids for personal one-on-one instruction.

Taking a quiet moment to reflect before the karate lesson.

After finishing with our patented karate club memorial photo where everyone has to go from being lined up together to change positions with someone else by the time the cameraman says ‘San!’, we all gathered back at the meeting room for the Japan Experience’s annual ‘I Know Japan!’ contest.

Our American and Hong Kong representatives from the "I know Japan!" contest.

Each student represented their country, or in case of several students from the same country they picked their city or neighborhood as well. The rules are simple. First the teachers ask questions related to anything that has happened to the whole group, either something they experienced or learned. Then the students quickly write down their answers on a piece of paper and when a teacher says ‘Answers Up’, everyone holds up their answers for checking and comparison.

After 65 minutes of fierce competition, we finally had a winner. Here are some of the 80 or so questions asked;
-‘What was the name of the Japanese Inn we stayed in?’ (Kirinoya Inn)
-‘When did Japan become a modern country?’ (1868)
-‘How many times does the bullet train stop at school’s Akabane station? (none, it’s a trick question to see if everyone’s paying attention)
‘What are the words needed to complete this popular, Japan Experience-related phrase…
_____ ______ ______ not _____ ______ picture, _______ were ________ there!
(If you were not in the picture, you were not there!)

Congratulations to Binita who had the most answers correct!

Following the contest was another delicious lunch of yakisoba, beef chahan, salad and okinomiyaki, plus CAKE for dessert (which everyone still ate even after Jordan dropped it – 3 second rule!).

A painting of a sumo wrestler inside the Ryogoku train station.

The afternoon’s field trip started with a visit to the popular Sumo Museum inside the Rogoku kokugikan Sumo Arena. This year’s students quite enjoyed watched famous old matches of yokozuna, top ranked wrestlers, on a big television.

After buying lots of cool sumo stuff in the gift shop, it was just a short walk to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which is a massive modern building suspended in the sky yet inside it contains a huge areas depicting different eras in Tokyo’s history, from the ancient, to the pre-war to today. Always a big hit with the students, this year was no different as everyone wondered around checking out numerous cityscape models, geisha houses and bombing of Tokyo relics.

After that, we called it a day and the students had a few hours to explore the city accompanied by one of the long-term Seiritsu international students before heading back to their host families.

On the way to the Edo-Tokyo museum.

Tomorrow the schedule calls for participating in the Higashi-Jujo ward area matsuri (festival) and then the Sayonara Party!

Striking a pose in front of the sumo mural

writer: staff  date: 9:18 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Day 7 of JE10 started off with the ancient swashbuckling art of the sword, kendo! The Seiritsu Kendo Club, lead by 7th dan Sasaki Sensei, taught the students how to hold, swing, thrust, parry and most of all strike with commitment using the shinai, bamboo training sword. Bruce seemed the most impressed, wanting to start training in kendo immediately.

The kendo club members were kind enough to put on the sparring armor and allow the JE students to whack away at them as per Sasaki Sensei's instructions. But in the end everyone looked pretty happy, which might also be due to the fact the kendo dojo is air conditioned!

Up next was a hands-on lesson in Japanese taiko drumming with the local community group, the Higashi Ju-jo Ippon Taiko team. The JE10 students walked to the group's practice space nearby and they were led into a storm of furious drumming by the taiko team members.

Here's Sarah intently striking away, trying to stay in sync with everyone.

Jordan exclaimed taiko was his highlight of the program so far, also commenting he would like to search out a taiko group back in his home town in New Zealand.

After taiko everyone had a lunch of spaghetti, salad, fried chicken, rice with mixed vegetables and fruit jello for dessert.

Tottoro taking our tickets!

Then we were off to the world famous Studio Ghibli Museum, an absolute must-see location for everyone who comes to Tokyo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghibli_Museum

A refreshing blast of cold, misty air! Several of these fans were located at the museum.

While no one is this year's group is a serious otaku like last year, for sure the most amount of shopping done in one place so far has got to have been done today at the wondrous museum gift shop that seems to have something for everyone!

Tonight the students were going to visit a few different places on their own, then be back at their host families early to spend time with them as well.

Tomorrow we are having a karate lesson, followed by a quiz contest to see who has absorbed the most of Japan on the trip. In the afternoon we'll going to the Sumo Museum and then exploring the cavernous, hands-on Edo-Tokyo Museum.

writer: staff  date: 6:35 PM | Life at Seiritsu

It is already day 6 of this year's Japan Experience and we can hardly believe it has gone by so fast! Everyone is having a great time learning the ins and outs of Tokyo. Yesterday this year's participants got to taste the electronic district of Akihabara. Having checked out a maid cafe, visited more than a few shops, and spent some time at a game center, everyone felt that they had tried a good piece of what the area has to offer.

Today we got right back into gear with a Japanese history lesson, Origami lesson, and field trip to the youth districts of Shibuya and Harajuku.

As with previous years, Richard Sensei took everyone through a power point presentation on the important points of Japanese history from prehistoric to modern day. A big thanks to Richard Sensei for providing some perspective on the Japan of today.

After a half hour computer break the JE10 participants joined some of Seiritsu's junior high school students for a lesson in Origami (the Japanese art of folding paper into various animals and objects). As was expected, the junior high students were bursting with energy and extremely excited to be working with fellow students from other countries. Many of this year's participants were able to produce some beautiful Origami by the end of the lesson due to Seiritsu's art teacher, Yogo Sensei, providing a big helping hand.

After enjoying a great lunch provided by the school's chef, Mr. Akakura, everyone prepared to head out for the day's field trips. The first stop on the agenda was Shibuya, famous for having one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world and numerous skyscraper shopping centers. Our participants had a blast checking out cutting edge fashion and fighting their way through the crowds.

Next was Harajuku a major youth and young adult shopping district that is also beside with Yoyogi park and famous temple, Meiji Jingu. The students began by exploring Takeshita dori, a street well known for having the latest teen fashion. Following that was a stroll down Omotesando, a road which attracts a slightly older crowd to its more upscale cafes and shops. Our day ended here, but we look forward to seeing everyone again tomorrow!

writer: staff  date: 9:52 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Day 5 of the Japan Experience was another action filled day!

Also last night (day 4) everyone had another great evening with their respective home stay families;

-Jordan and his host family attended a lesson on Japanese fan making and produced some unique fans by the end.

-Kalani played the board game "life" but this time with a twist, it was all in Japanese.

-Bruce spent the evening working his way through an enormous dinner prepared by his host mother, Ms. Hanai.

-Adele and Sarah strolled through the interesting shopping and restaurant area near their house in Nishi Kawaguchi.

-Binita's host family researched her favorite Japanese idols and then tried to find them on TV and in magazines.

-Last and certainly not least Lizzy (Sarah J.,) attended a festival with her family where the focus was on transporting massive portable shrines known as Mikoshi.

Now here are the picture's from JE 10's Day 5 activities!

The first cultural session this morning was learning to converse in Japanese. Yano Sensei taught the intermediate level students and Richard Sensei led the beginner level students. Here's Richard Sensei's group learning about counting and buying.

Binita and Kalani went with Yano Sensei to talk about transportation in Kyoto, in Japanese of course. Specifically they talked about Kyoto and how to navigate the many overlapping systems of public transportation (buses, trains, taxis etc).

Everyone crowding around the takoyaki

From there the JE10 participants were off for our Japanese cooking lesson led by the same great team as last year, Kadowaki Sensei, Masuda Sensei, and Kohara Sensei. Today we made sushi pockets, rice, yakitori (skewered chicken and vegetables), and takoyaki (breaded and fried octopus balls). Everyone got to try their hand at preparing the food. A good time was had by all! Probably the biggest surprise was that the food that was just prepared was to become lunch! It was alright however as everything turned out to be delicious.

The JE10 group with their accomplishments at the end of the cooking lesson...

...and of course the food itself

Following a short break the group moving to Seiritsu's washitsu. A washitsu literally means a Japanese style room. It generally contains rice straw mats, sliding rice paper doors, and traditional decorations. Today we went to the washitsu to participate in chado (Japanese tea ceremony) led by Nakamura Sensei. The high school Chado Club had already practiced very hard to deliver the explanation and demonstration entirely in English for our participants! Then all the JE students enjoyed special sweets and trying the tea.

Nakamura sensei, the Chado instructor.

Sarah and Kalani partaking in the tea ceremony.

Finally, there was the highly anticipated field trip to Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics and anime district. Akihabara not only has a plethora of huge chain electronics stores, but also an incredible number of small shops catering to a seemingly infinite number of bizarre interests. Where else in the world can you find stores that specialize in all types of vintage cell phone parts or stove fan blades? Akihabara is most famous for its many anime and manga related stores and is considered to be the 'otaku' center of Tokyo.

An Akihabara "maid" advertising for her cafe.

The group in Akihabara with some friendly older gentleman who was kind enough to say hi!

writer: staff  date: 4:12 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Kalani with the manga version of herself. Drawn by Mr. Okura of Manga University

Yesterday, on Day 3 of the Japan Experience! 2010, the participants spent their first night with their home stay families. Upon arriving at Seiritsu this morning, everyone had lots of interesting things to discuss about their stay.

Just to give you a taste of a home stay experience, here are some of the activities the students enjoyed last night. Adele and Sarah went to a festival in Kawaguchi and watched a traditional dance performed by senior citizens in kimonos. Bruce was taken to a lively kaiten sushi (conveyer belt sushi) restaurant where you can either grab whatever looks good or shout out your order. Lizzie learned how to make origami and played with the kids in her home stay family. Jordan’s home stay family played cards with him until midnight! Binita and her home stay sister checked out a video rental store and settled on an anime called Prince of Tennis, of which they are both big fans! Kalani received a tour of a nearby river bank from her home stay family where there are many running tracks and sport’s fields.

Today during Day 4, JE10 participants began with our first Japanese conversation lesson! Today’s Japanese instructor was the always energetic Yano Sensei, a teacher at Seiritsu and Japan Experience program veteran. After a short break it was off for a Shodo lesson with another Seiritsu teacher, Maruo Sensei.

Shodo is the art of Japanese Calligraphy which involves drawing Kanji (the Chinese symbolic characters used in writing Japanese) in a very fluid and artistic manner. Maruo Sensei has trained for many years in Shodo and showed our students some excellent techniques to produce beautiful Kanji. Assisting Maruo Sensei were six high school members of the Shodo. Each student received several copies of their own art work, some made on huge pieces of paper!

We rounded off our day with an excellent Manga lesson taught by master artist Mr. Atsuhisa Okura and explained by Mr. Glenn Kardy from the Manga University (link). Manga University publishes manga-themed educational materials in several languages. Books teaching the Japanese writing system and how to draw Japanese cartoons are a part of their repertoire. Mr. Okura has been drawing manga for over 20 years, he has won many awards, including awards for his history of manga exposé published in Wired Magazine two years ago.

Everyone is looking forward to spending another night with their home stays and then coming back tomorrow for the next exciting day of the program!

writer: staff  date: 5:04 PM | Life at Seiritsu

We awoke to a slightly cooler morning, and again found breakfast already prepared by the friendly inn staff. Sweet omelettes, perfectly grilled salmon, rice, miso soup, pickles and juice all in copious amounts were soon devoured.

Then many pictures and signings in the guest book happened in a blur before the inn staff whisked us to the Keisei Narita train station and said good-bye.

From there we rode two trains into Tokyo central. The scenery was slowly changing from rice paddies and small villages to progressively more and more suburban buildings until finally we arrived, smack dab in the world’s biggest city!

Getting off at Okachimachi station in the old part of Tokyo, Mrs. Hanai and her university-aged son Hide met up with us to then guide us to the exquisitely elegant Suzunoya Kimono Shop. Several staff led by Narihara-san wrapped up our international student travelers in some unbelievable beautiful kimono, transforming the girls into delicate summer flowers, and the boys into impressive men oozing with aristocratic charm.

After many good-byes, we darted across the street to the upscale Matsuzakaya Department store’s 7th floor for a quick lunch where students could choose from spaghetti, cold noodles, hot noodles or a mix of Chinese noodle and seafood dishes.

From there we finally made it to the school by taking two trains for a short 20 minute ride. After a brief tour of the school and some time for the students to check their emails, the home stay families arrived at 3pm and we had our opening ceremony with the school’s Director, Mr. Fukuda, and the International Department Director Mr. Sono. Once quick introductions were done – each student did a fine job introducing themselves in Japanese! (we did a little practicing in the morning), we went over details of how to get to the school each day (home stays will all go with them tomorrow and come get them), and then it was time for the students to be on their way, off to their home stay’s homes and new adventures in Japan!

writer: staff  date: 3:57 PM | Life at Seiritsu

After a fit　full sleep, Katsumata-san and his staff at Kirinoya Japanese Inn had prepared a wonderfully large breakfast of sausages, egg, rice, miso soup, pickles and juice. Then the staff drove us to Buso No Mura Museum, which is a large property containing many feudal Japanese homes, stores and farm fields. It was a great chance for the students to experience ‘Old Japan’ before they entered Tokyo’s ‘New Japan’.

Here’s Bruce and Lizzie in mock samurai combat!

(We have two Sarah’s on this trip who both have Elizabeth as a middle name so Sarah J. volunteered to be called by her nickname Lizzie!)

After a refreshing lunch of summer season cold somen and udon noodles with vegetables, tempura and pork, we went back to Narita City and ventured around the wonderful temples and traditional stores on Omotesando Road.

Here are the students standing near Shinshoji Temple, one of the oldest in Japan!

Around 6pm everyone gathered back at the Japanese Inn for a wonderful dinner of fish, tempura, broiled chicken, rice, watermelon and miso soup, plus ice cream! After dinner we did a short hike to the very convenient ‘Japanese konbini’ or convenience store which sells almost everything, especially cool sweets and treats!

Goodies in hand we returned, and everyone hit the showers and hung out in their traditional Japanese tatami rooms putting an end to a hot, but wonderful day!

writer: staff  date: 3:55 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Yokoso Japan

We warmly welcome all the participants and we hope to have another great Japan Experience!

The participants of this year’s Japan Experience have finally arrived! This year we have students from The United States of America, Canada, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. Even though most have spent the better part of a day in transit, the energy level is very high and everyone is excited to finally experience the country they have dreamed of visiting for so long!

Our first dinner together at the Inn.

We will begin our Japan experience with a two night stay at a local Ryokan (Japanese Inn) in the city of Narita. Here we can take in historical sites and participate in traditional Japanese craft making at the local museum. For now however, everyone just has their mind on a good nights sleep!

See you again tomorrow.

writer: staff  date: 7:31 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Myself and Richie, on our last day of final exams.

Another month has passed and the summer holidays will finally begin this month. In all honesty I don't have any concrete plans for the summer but I have lots of ideas I am considering! Japan celebrates the coming of summer with fireworks. Lots and lots of fireworks. I'm thinking about going to watch some firework festivals with my host family.

Also, now that I have much more free time I'd like to take my martial arts training more seriously. Clearly, I'm a little indecisive but overall I expect this summer will be an interesting period of time here in Japan.

-Matti

writer: staff  date: 8:35 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Me with the Yellow Ranger! A character at Fuji Kyuu amusement park.

This month has been very busy since exams got started. But there is also good news, my sister has finally arrived in Japan! I went to many places with my sister, the first week of this month we went to Fujikyuu Highland amusement park together.

We had a lot of fun there. It is said that from the park you can see Mt. Fuji. This was our main reason for going to Fujikyuu; so we could play and view Mt.fuji at the same time. Unfortunately, since it is the rainy season it is constantly cloudy so we were not able to see the mountain. Also since my sister won't be in Japan for long, this was our only chance to go. But it was still a great time!

It was also my first time traveling so far away without planning out the route ahead of time! What I did was ask people at each station for directions until we reached our destination. The way back home was a tough one though, but we managed to get though.

-Richie

writer: staff  date: 8:25 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello to all the people out there. This is Richie a new foreign student at Seiritsu. I am from Thailand, from an area very close to Bangkok. I came to Japan because I want to be able to speak the Japanese language. I really want to be able to understand my parents when they speak in Japanese and also experience Japanese high school life.

writer: staff  date: 1:16 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Japan's climate is supposed to have five seasons per year. Although most people don't like to admit it, the whole of June is supposed to be non-stop rain. But where is this so called rainy season? This year, the rain didn't start until about one and a half weeks later then it was supposed to. Also, the really strong rain only lasted for about four or five days. Since then I have been eagerly watching the weather forecast everyday to check for downpours to see if I would finally get to use my umbrella. But nothing yet.

Now I am starting to ask myself, is this the effect of climate change hitting japan very hard or have I just been unluckily spared all of the heavy rain up until now? Only time will tell.

-Liam

writer: staff  date: 1:04 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Looking back on my time here, I would say I enjoy japan better then Germany. The people here are so friendly, even if sometimes it may only be their outer face. I also like the clean streets. It is impressive, that a city as big as Tokyo is cleaner then Berlin, which is far smaller.

And I love the fashion in Tokyo. It suits my taste then German fashion, since it is really cute and sometimes a little crazy. In Germany people would probably be too embarrassed to wear something like that. Also I will totally miss Karaoke and Purikura (booth photos). Those are really fun activities, and it really is a pity that we don't have them in Germany, at least not in this form.

If it wasn't for all the people I love, who are waiting for my return to Germany, I would love to do my full high school experience in japan and then go on to a Japanese university. But I guess that's going to remain a pipe dream.

-Sophie

writer: staff  date: 12:55 PM | Life at Seiritsu

I think there is something that I have started to enjoy in Japan lately. Before I honestly could have cared less but now something is different. What is it, you say? Its Karaoke. My first thoughts were "What is so fun about spending time in a smokey, smelly room and just singing in front a television?" But this surprisingly quite addictive. Hour after hour of singing and eventually you don't want to leave that smelly room anymore. Karaoke is a part of the modern Japanese culture, so everyone that still have not been to a Karaoke place, should at least go there once in their lifetime!

-Wei

writer: staff  date: 3:54 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hey its Fraser just posting in for the month. Its been a great month! Everything is going steady and swell. But the heat and humidity are killing me. I've already gotten a couple unfortunate sunburns but other then that I've been able to survive the heat better than I thought. As of now, I'm mostly planning intensively for summer holidays which are coming up soon. On my to-do list are things such as checking out some of the many summer festivals and farewell parties for friends returning to their countries. I can't wait for the summer holidays, they will definitely be a blast!

-Fraser

writer: staff  date: 3:43 PM | Life at Seiritsu

A picture from the roof of my home stay, with the corresponding heat waves.

Yes, Japan really is hot during the summer and we’re not even half-way yet! The heat is really getting to me and despite eating large amounts of ice cream and sleeping with the fan on. I still find it difficult to cope with. On a more positive note the summer break is getting nearer and nearer. The break should let me get used to the hot weather or otherwise I’ll be spending most of the time emptying the freezer...

-Matti

writer: staff  date: 3:40 PM | Life at Seiritsu

This month has been a very busy one. Many things have happened. For example, my sister came to Japan, Wei is leaving the school, I am changing to a new home stay and so on. Since Wei is leaving, I think it will be a bit lonely for me because we always talked to each other. But that just means I have to spend more time with my Japanese classmates, which is a good thing.

Changing home stays is the thing that I like the most because now I live near Disneyland and Disney Sea. Also this month is the start of Japan’s "rainy season" but it has hardly rained at all. Finally, our summer holiday is coming up and I’ve been planning what to do with my free time. (since I have yet to explore much of Tokyo!)

-Richie

writer: staff  date: 3:35 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Every year, in the beginning of May there is a 3-5 day Japanese holiday called Golden Week. I had a very good Golden Week, except for the fact that it was FAR to short. For starters I drove to the very South of Chiba prefecture with my host family. There was nothing there except sea, forest and lots of ramen shops to enjoy. I was really surprised that the Japanese sea was already the temperature of the German Baltic Sea during the hottest part of summer. We didn't go swimming, though, because I was a little sick. After wards we went to Kamogawa sea world, which was very beautiful but simply crammed with people. I really enjoyed the Whales and the walrus. Honestly I never imagined that they were THAT big. In my head they always seemed about the size of a sea lion.

-Sophie

writer: staff  date: 10:33 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello to everyone reading this. My name is Matti Julius Ketonen or just Matti. I came to Japan from Finland from just outside of a major city. I came to Japan due to my interest in martial arts and the Japanese language. My goal here is to understand the language and develop my skills as a martial artist. Japan is very different compared to where I come from, so this should be an interesting experience. I hope my year here will be successful and go without any accidents!

writer: staff  date: 9:55 AM | Life at Seiritsu

I spend my Spring vacation meeting up with friends basically every day. While we did ordinary things like going to karaoke and shopping most of the time, one day we went to Ueno zoo. I must say I was very disappointed. Ueno zoo is known for its fantastic Panda exhibit which lots of people talk about.

I was really looking forward to seeing a live Panda again but when I arrived I saw a bit sign at the gate that said there are no more Pandas (apparently the last one died not long ago). Least we could take our picture with a huge fake panda. We weren't in much of a mood to look at other animals after such a disappointment with the Pandas but we decided to walk around anyways since we were already there. We watched the monkeys, reptiles, zebras and pretty much everything else. It actually ended up being quite a bit of fun and the Panda problem has now become a big joke amongst my friends and I.

writer: staff  date: 3:22 PM | Life at Seiritsu

The spring vacation has been a looooong vacation. During the break I visited lots of places including Akabane, Ikebukuro, Hamamaccho, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Ueno (赤羽、池袋、浜松町、渋谷、新宿、原宿 and 上野 in Japanese). I have done a lot of tourism and bought a lot of gifts and items for myself.

But one special place that I went to in Ueno is the National Museum of Nature and Science. It was an interesting place that featured a lot exhibits of both the pre-modern era and today’s technology.

I have spent my vacation very meaningfully, and a new school year has started, so I will try my best to finish the rest of my stay in Japan successfully.

writer: staff  date: 3:19 PM | Life at Seiritsu

2nd year student sports day

Hello again, Fraser here. There are lots of fun cultural activities in Japan that I have enjoyed taking part in. However, my best experiences in Japan haven’t been the cultural aspects; it’s the changes in me. In a foreign country, you have to talk to people you wouldn’t normally want to be friends with. This my sound bad but you get to meet lots of new and different people this way. I have made a few great friends this way. Even if our interests are totally different, we have a similar mindset about many things.

writer: staff  date: 1:14 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Myself at the second from right at Ai's last day.

Almost two thirds of my time in Japan is now over and I would like to reflect a bit. I really enjoy Japan, and especially Tokyo, because there are so many things to do in your free-time. Even if you just meet up spontaneously with friends, you can always go to karaoke, go shopping, or do anything else that catches your fancy. I also like that the city has so many different sides. No matter where you go, you will always find a specialty shop or something new. Whether it’s the clothes people are wearing, the style of the buildings, or the staff of the shops, it never gets boring. Also, even if it sounds a little weird, I like all the attention you get from the locals. Back in your home country you are just an average person, but in Japan you are regarded as something exotic. Even in Tokyo where there are quite a few foreigners.

writer: staff  date: 1:05 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello, its Fraser again and I had a very enjoyable time last week. This past weekend a friend and I went up to Nagano to go snowboarding. It has been over a year since the last time I went. As you can probably imagine, I did a lot of falling in the beginning. However, after about an hour I found my groove again and remembered how to snowboard. That’s when I started hitting the jumps again. The feeling was incredible. If I could, I would go to the mountain every week, but I have to focus on my studies which are more important. I knew there would be snow up on the mountain but I was surprised to see snow for some odd reason. It has been a year since I've seen so much snow.

Getting there was extremely boring. Taking a bus that for 7 hours is never an enjoyable trip. This is especially annoying, because my friend and I took the late bus at 10pm, so we would arrive the next morning. This would allow us to snowboard to our heart's content but the catch was the bus would stop on occasion at a bus depot. This was to let people go to the washroom and let the drivers have a brief break. My friend and I would fall asleep then get woken up by a speaker phone and bright lights being turned on above our heads.

It was also unfortunate that I received a minor concussion. But I recovered quickly and I don’t regret trying the jump, because I believe in-order to learn we just have to keep trying and pick ourselves up when we fall.

-Ｆraser MacColl

writer: staff  date: 10:39 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 7:01 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 6:55 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 9:35 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 9:26 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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.

writer: staff  date: 8:29 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 12:35 PM | Life at Seiritsu

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.

writer: staff  date: 12:29 PM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 12:15 PM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 11:57 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 11:50 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 11:44 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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

writer: staff  date: 11:39 AM | Life at Seiritsu

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 :)

writer: staff  date: 11:34 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Greetings from Seiritsu Gakuen,

Its Nick Smith of the International Department here to announce the winners of the Halloween Scary Story Contest! This year I had my English Composition classes try to write the scariest stories they could think of. While they were too embarrassed to have their actual stories posted (too bad as they were really good) they did finally agree to at least have their picture taken.

Without further ado here are the winners...

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

writer: staff  date: 10:48 AM | Life at Seiritsu

On the 31st of October was Halloween. All though it is not usually celebrated in Japan, some of my friends and I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to have a little party (actually it was more like a gathering, only that some people were in costumes).

We first met up at Harajuku Station. From there, we went to buy our beloved ice cream stuffed crepes (I am kind of addicted to this stuff, but unfortunately it is too expensive to buy it more then once a month)! On the way there we were stared at by many people and we frequently heard "Kawaii" (cute) out of the many sounds. All though there were many foreigners in Harajuku that day (actually there are always a lot of foreigners in Harajuku), it seemed to be something special to see 2 Pikachus and a guy dressed as a character from One Piece walking around.

Afterward we went to Karaoke, which, as always, was fun. Especially since none of us can sing. But that's the best part about karaoke isn't it? We also took cute Purikura pictures. I really should buy less of those pictures or soon I will have no money and no space to put them!

Sophie

writer: staff  date: 12:11 PM | Life at Seiritsu

This month looks like sports month for all schools. Every week there are games to watch. The soccer and basketball games are the most interesting. Every Sunday, Ella and I went to watch the Seiritz soccer guys play and luckily, they won all their games. Next week they have a big game to advance closer to the finals.

I haven't been to the basketball games yet because last time I tried to go, I had a problem. By accident I printed out the wrong map and ended up somewhere completely different! It was still a fun experience but next time we will definitely print out the right map and go!
WE ARE SEIRITZ!

-Ai

writer: staff  date: 11:53 AM | Life at Seiritsu

After 6 Weeks in Japan I finally decided to join a Club: Volleyball! First of all, I have to admit, that I can't play Volleyball at all. So I need to practice hard to learn all the techniques.Although the training is hard for me, since I have not done sports in Germany for over half a year, training is very nice and fun.

I like the club members and the coach, they are all very friendly and also trying to help me out.
The only problem is that I was very tired last time, because I came home late after training and then I have to eat, do homework, take a bath etc. I usually don't end up in bed before 11 pm, and for me that is simply NOT enough sleep.

-Sophie

writer: staff  date: 1:19 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Now that I have been in Japan for around 6　weeks I have started to get the hang of it. In this short amount of time, I also joined Seiritsu's basketball ｃｌｕｂ. They train 6 days a week so I hardly have any free time anymore!

But playing with the basketball club is very fun. I got to know many new students from different classes. Even though the training is somewhat hard, it is still very fun, and I　even get to use my Japanese that I have learned in class!

-Wei

writer: staff  date: 1:14 PM | Life at Seiritsu

The funniest event happened a few weeks ago. My host sisters were training for their sports day for school. Many times I could hear Dokkoisho! Dokkoisho! Soran! Soran! Coming from the living room. The dancing was actually quite interesting and catchy when they performed at the sports day. Anyone else had enough of sōran bushi for a lifetime?

My home stay mother had been practicing for Taiko (drumming). She performed at a stage on Sunday. When Taiko is performed by many people it really sounds powerful, like thunder!

-Aki

writer: staff  date: 1:05 PM | Life at Seiritsu

I remember this moment like it was yesterday; it was my first day at school and Ryosuke (a boy in the international group) and I had left class early so that he could show me my way to the cafeteria. When walking in I smelt something like nothing before, a light yet powerful odor was wafting into my nose and I was immediately drawn to it. Upon approaching the counter I told Ryosuke to get me what he was getting and I was given some fried chicken, some shaved lettuce and some rice. Ryosuke put some mayonnaise and sauce onto his so I followed suit and we sat down to eat and at first glance it looked like nothing out of the ordinary, a bit of chicken and rice, what’s the big deal I asked myself, but my question was answered after I took my first bite…my life was never the same again.

It’s known to the Japanese as ‘Karagedon’ and its English translation is just chicken and rice but I have never before tasted something so nice from a school cafeteria and I have been to my fair share of schools so far in life. Costing a mere 250yen for a small and 400yen for a large, the Karagedon is easily worth every penny that I pay for it on a daily basis.
Karagedon provides me with the carbs and protein that I require before training and even though it isn’t the healthiest thing I could be eating before training, it doesn’t matter to me at all because at training I run off the fat that the meal may carry. No matter how much I eat of it, I can’t get enough! Whether it’s the way they fry the chicken, or the sauce that I add to the meal, every aspect of the Karagedon is perfect.

The taste is stuck in my mouth, I enjoy going to school more because I know that everyday there is my bowl of Karagedon waiting for me at 10.30 after periods 1 and 2, and Monday is even better because if I’m early to lunch I can get Karagedon then as well. To me it’s more than just a meal; it’s a way of life. Ryosuke said after 3years of eating Karagedon I’d get sick of it, but I know that after taking that first bite into that tender chicken back in June of this year, Karagedon and I have a long, prosperous relationship ahead.

Possibly the best thing about Karagedon is that I don’t experience it just once; I get to experience it everyday. People from back in New Zealand ask me what life and school is like in Japan compared to New Zealand and one of the first things that springs to my mind is how Karagedon beats any food from my old tuckshop in Auckland for taste and price. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, and eating my daily serving of Karagedon is definitely something that I will remember well after I have left Seiritsu.

-Liam Graham

writer: staff  date: 1:02 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Visiting the Fuji TV station is an interesting place to look around while you are in Japan because you can see for yourself what happens at the studios. It only costs 500 yen.
When you are at the globe, there is a fake news studio where you can stand and take pictures. It really looks like you are the news announcer.

Also there was a booklet where if you find 4 stamps, you get a present! I was really looking forward to the presents... but it was presents for kids.... like crayons and glue with Fuji TV's mascot on it... Anyway, its a great place to visit. I had lots of fun!

-Ai

writer: staff  date: 12:47 PM | Life at Seiritsu

I have to admit that I've been really into something lately, and what is it? Cupnoodles! People often ask what is my favorite food and this answer gets everyone to offer to make food for me from now on. Unfortunately this hasn't happened yet, though. I'm still hoping for some sukiyaki.

There are different kind of flavors, but I always buy the plain one. It may sound boring but the cashier in mini stop said that is the best flavor. Well, to tell you the truth, it might have been just a compliment, because I practically live in that mini stop with Ai. I wonder how much it would cost to rent a room there...

Also, coffee goes well with cupnoodles. Believe it or not!

-Ella

writer: staff  date: 12:20 PM | Life at Seiritsu

My two year cell phone contract with Softbank is nearly about to end and I will finally be able to get my new phone!! Two years has been a long wait, especially because everybody around me keeps changing to the newest phone out because cell phones are an extremely important part of fashion in Japan.

When I first came here I didn’t really care about which phone I got, but recently I think I am beginning to think like the “typical Japanese”. People change their phones at least once a year to the latest model I feel like I am being left behind.

Anyway in about another month and I will be able to catch up so I can’t wait.
iphone, here I come!!!
-Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 12:11 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Current international students beside the school's training ground which includes a rice paddy.

A few weeks ago as part of the school's 'Earth Project' to teach students about agriculture & ecology, our international group joined in with the school's rice harvest. Each year the school's first year students will plant rice in the spring and harvested it in early autumn, producing about 110kg.

Since Japan only has a 40% domestic food production rate, with 60% of all food imported from abroad, and the average age for farmers in Japan being 70 years old, there is a growing trend to teach young people about the benefits and importance of agriculture.

Each student had a certain amount they had to harvest, and since the school plot is not that large, waiting & finished students got to play soccer on the school's training fields.

The overall group from one day.

Eric from Italy making a new friend.

Here's what the fields looked like when they were flooded back before summer.

writer: staff  date: 1:08 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Taiko drums on the main stage at Seiritsu's annual culture fair.

On Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, the school held its 36th Annual Culture Fair (bunkai-sai). The purpose of the fair was to open the school to family and friends, letting them enjoy games, try fun food and see the many school clubs in action.

Classrooms were changed into a variety of interesting themes, with some that became mazes with temporary walls, some had floor-to-wall displays of art or calligraphy and some classrooms had all sorts of games and activities for guests. Several homerooms set up food stands selling things like choco-banana and yakitori, while on the main stage there were demonstrations by the karate club, dance club, taiko drumming group and cheerleaders. In the gym several exciting sport's games were played and in the school auditorium there was a live play, plus a string of student rock bands.

A classroom reorganized to show off displays of the school trip to Paris a few months back in June.

The pounding of rice to make sticky, white rice cakes (mochi), actually from rice grown and harvested by the students from the school's rice fields by the Washimiya soccer/baseball training ground. 110kg were produced starting from this year as part of the school's 'Earth Project' Awareness in conjunction with the school's National Geographic educational initiative.

One of the many food stands run by students!

The 9 foreign students also participated in the bunkasai by assisting with their homeroom's activities, while also getting a special shirt or jumper just for the occasion.

The International Department & English Conversation Club joined up in one room to run a fun fortune telling booth manned by Nick Sensei dressed as a fortune teller. This allowed visitors to practice their English, plus receive a unique fortune to discuss as well. The room also included a short video of the English Club interviewing foreign tourists in Tokyo, a gallery display of self-introduction posters made by the international students and a series of short films made by students as well. By the end of the two days, we had a large number of visitors so for sure we'll repeat this type of set-up next year, perhaps next time with the department's students taking turns being fortune tellers!

writer: staff  date: 3:15 PM | Life at Seiritsu

The first thing I noticed since I arrived was the vending machines. They are all over the place at Narita airport. Later when I came to my host family’s house I saw vending machines all over the city. The drinks are really cheap compared to Finland.

I spent my first day in Japan at a camp somewhere near a town called Nasu. The bus ride was really long and bumpy. After arriving at the camp, we got into our groups and got into our tents. In the morning we ate a Japanese breakfast and then headed off to Tokyo.

In Tokyo I got to ride the subway and it was really interesting to see all the lights and activity. Meeting my host family was great. My host family is really friendly and understands me quite well, even though my Japanese is at a beginner level. My new school seems nice and its not a long way from my home. I ride a bus every day to school and walk a bit. It is interesting to see lots of Japanese people walking to their jobs, and I mean LOTS of people.

Aki

writer: staff  date: 11:42 AM | Life at Seiritsu

I have been in Japan since the 22nd of August, but unfortunately I have not experienced that much of Japan yet. I`ve spent most of the time with other exchange students or English-speaking people. But still some things stick out, for example, the food! I have experienced it and found it to be very delicious as well as low in fat, which is very good for any girl I know! I love the food. My favorites up to now are Curry and Taiyaki.

Also very impressive are the many rules in Japan. For example on which side of the escalator you have to ride, depending on whether you just want to stand on it or walk. Actually, I think this is a pretty useful rule. Another thing I experienced, that foreigners are something very special in Japan.　 Everyone looks at me a little bit since I stand out. It is actually not bad, because the Japanese People are not rude with it, but still it feels kind of strange.

What I like the best so far about the Japanese style of living is the bath. It is quite relaxing to have a bath every evening. And at the same time it is very eco-friendly, because they do not use fresh water for every person. My host family, for example, even uses the same water after wards for doing the laundry.

-Sophie

writer: staff  date: 11:38 AM | Life at Seiritsu

はじめまして
I didn`t prepare much at all before I came to Japan. The first week here was quite interesting. Even though I haven`t had much time to explore yet, I am really enjoying my time at school.

The two things that struck me the most at the start were the vending machines and the toilet. There are vending machines EVERYWHERE, walk a 100 meters and you would see at least 2-3 vending machines. Also the toilets all are multifunction. They are not only for the big stuff and the small stuff, but have lots more features as well.

I`m really excited about school, and hope for a wonderful, unforgettable year in Japan.
よろしくおねがいします

-Wei

writer: staff  date: 11:30 AM | Life at Seiritsu

I arrived in Japan and went to school for only two weeks before the summer holidays began, and from what I had heard from teachers and friends, it gets reasonably hot Japan over the month and a half summer vacation. I’d just come from New Zealand where, in the summer, the weather would rarely go above 25 degrees. Thus when I was confronted by the Japanese summer it was something very new to me.

Since I’m in the soccer club at Seiritsu, I had training six days per week with Monday normally off. For the first 2weeks training was hard but the weather hadn’t quite heated up yet so I was pretty happy. I’d have training in the morning, then play a bit of PS3, watch some TV, and maybe drink the occasional Starbucks Java Chip venti frappacino in the afternoon. In the 3rd week for 10days we did two trainings a day and during these 10days I really felt the power and ferociousness of the Japanese sun. It was relentless in making sure that I felt like collapsing at the end of each day. Then after this we went back to single trainings a day for the remaining weeks which I was extremely happy about!

After experiencing such harsh and powerful heat and humidity, plus double trainings a day, you can start to appreciate the extreme fitness that the Japanese soccer players have and how hard it is to become accustomed to different weather. In New Zealand, when I would play soccer the temperature rarely snuck over 21degrees and the sky would most probably be overcast and I would easily last one game if not two. However, coming and starting to play in this summer in Japan, it was extremely hard for me to try and adjust to the new climate because I would tire out twice as fast when everybody else around me would seem to be fine. I knew it would be hard but not as hard as it turned out to be but now my body will be ready for next year and hopefully I won’t find it as hard as I did this summer!

Liam Graham

writer: staff  date: 7:08 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Yesterday was my first day back at school since the summer break and now I’m closing in on end of my school years at Seiritsu. I’ve just come back from the last “Japanese high school summer” I will ever experience and it was again an unforgettable one. Training under the forty degree sun was life threatening but I somehow managed to get over it. The soccer team has built me into a mind and body of steel and into a fighting machine so I am sure I will be strong enough to overcome anything that comes in the future. This summer however was a little different than the others.

On top of soccer I had to prepare for my university studies. This was good in a way because when I couldn’t concentrate anymore with my studies I could switch to soccer and visa versa. University is going to be difficult to get into but if I don’t get in, I will probably to go back to New Zealand. Anyways, I have to go back to my studies now so ill talk to you later!! Wish me luck!!


Ryosuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 7:08 AM | Life at Seiritsu

My first and probably only summer vacation in Japan was not quite what I expected. Back in New Zealand, summer holidays were generally only 2 weeks long. I am not used to a vacation more than a month long. Since Seiritsu’s was such a long break I quickly went through my list of things to do. Also, because I am living in Saitama, it takes about an hour to get to Tokyo and the train pass for school had finished so I had difficulty making it to the main part of the city.

One place that I went in the holidays was Tobu Dobutsu Koen with Ella. It’s a zoo with an amusement park. It was not so big so there were not very many people (unlike Disney land) so we didn’t have to wait for so long. They had two big roller coasters and two small roller coasters. The roller coasters were the best part and we probably rode them about 25 times.

-Ai

writer: staff  date: 7:06 AM | Life at Seiritsu

A gloomy day at Tokyo's Narita Airport, sort of fitting to the mood of everyone going home.

On our last day, everyone went to the Narita airport at different times to catch their returning flights back to their home countries.

A big thanks goes out to all the teachers and instructors who ran our cultural activities - plus thanks goes out to the volunteer instructors too since we only arranged for one instructor per activity, but it seemed there was always 2 or 3 present who wanted to volunteer their time to make sure the students had a truly once-in-a-life experience.

A big thanks goes out to the host families for opening their homes and hearts to our students. This year especially very strong friendships were made that I predict will be long-lasting for sure.

It's great to report the annual completion questionnaires filled out by the students on the last day was again glowing with positive comments about how worthwhile and special they found the program - 'a dream come true' being mentioned often - plus they provided us with some good suggestions as well.

It's amazing to think how our program relies on so much modern technology, as Seiritsu High School is not 'just up the road by car' from all the students homes. We rely on international banking for collection of fees, international insurance for traveler's insurance, and modern airlines and airports for transportion of students to Japan (not like being shipwrecked in the days of old!). Then there is also the vast high-tech network trains and subways to get us around from host family homes to school to our daily field trip locations, plus there's the international telecommunications industry including the internet to talking to those back home.

Of course there is more that this, but the point here is we can't take for granted all we have access to simply to learn things like difficult origami - anyone remember how to fold Godzilla?!

Just a thought. Here below are some final pictures...

Deanna with her host family, the Teramura's. Jessica was also at their home, but she met her mother in Tokyo and they went to the airport with some friends.

M'Lissa at departures after having her home stay Mrs. Hanai bring her to the airport.

Sara left one day earlier, seen off by her host family the Takahashi's.

Vincent with his first home stay family the Iwasaki's. The son Ryu had to go on a study camp for our second week, so Vincent stayed with the Hanai's. Ryu hopes to be in the annual 2-week Seiritsu home stay group that goes to Vincent school in Berlin next March.

Vincent, Chelsea, Mrs. Hanai, her son Hidenori, and Eliza.

Vivian at the departure gate, all ready for a long, comfortable flight.

Sophia with her host family the Yoshioka's.

Chelsea and Vincent hug good-bye, but plans to meet again this time in Germany seemed to already be developing, since there was a German exchange student at Chelsea & Eliza's school last year that they have promised to visit after graduation, some more friends have been made.

writer: staff  date: 11:53 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Friday was the final day of group activities, starting with a morning Japanese lesson with Yano Sensei in which the students wrote out & practiced their short speeches (in Japanese!) for the afternoon's Farewell Lunch Party. That was followed by the 'I Know Japan!' Contest, the Farewell Party Lunch and finally the Wrap-Up meeting.

L-R M'Lissa, Jessica, Deanna and Sophia listening to Richard ask questions during the 'I Know Japan!' Contest, in which the contestants (JE09 students) have to write down the answer to each question and then hold their answers up at the same time for Richard and Nick to check. Questions were based on things the students experienced, from the serious (what is the significance of August 6th - the atomic bombing of Hiroshima), to the interesting (how many times is a tea ceremony bowl turned when being wiped - 3), to the silly (If you are standing in Akihabara with several bags full of manga what are you - otaku!)

Vincent with Principal Fukuda. Everyone received a completion certificate in Japanese.

The Farewell Lunch Party! Lots of food! Home stay families were also encouraged to attend.

Jessica making her final speech at the Farewell Lunch Party, dressed up in her recently bought cos-play costume. Each student gave the speech that they had practiced with Yano Sensei in the morning.

Our final group picture! Many happy faces. The students filled out a questionnaire as to what they thought about the program, and the answers were extremely positive, it seems everyone had a great time with a few extra suggestions.

Tomorrow there is a portable shrine carrying festival at the school so some of the students will participate. Then Sunday it's everyone out to the airport to head home. Everyone said they really wished they could have stayed longer, which I think is a sentiment shared by both the school and home stay families!

writer: staff  date: 11:45 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The JE09 group with the Higashi Ju-jo ippon taiko team.

The 12th day of the JE09 program was another exciting day filled with great activities both inside and outside of the school. Including our usual Japanese lesson, the group tried Taiko drumming, had a delicious lunch prepared by the school-chef Akakura-san, and took a field trip to Koiwa to learn how to make Soba noodles.

Taiko is a style of large Japanese drum typically performed in a large ensemble with several different types of drums and many drummers. Heavy on bass and with a thick resounding sound, Taiko drumming is a very physical and intense style of music. All the students got to try drumming and afterwards, the Higashi Ju-jo ippon daiko group performed for us.

Eliza with her tiny Taiko Sensei. Even though some of the members of the group were quite young, they still played the drums like professionals.

A trip to the Edo Handmade Soba School, taught by Mr. Masao Ito, was scheduled for the afternoon. Ito Sensei is a renowned chef and has taught techniques for making Soba around the world. He is now retired, and has converted his living room into a classroom to teach the art of making Soba noodles. With the right ingredients and plenty of help from Mr. Ito, everyone’s Soba was delicious!

Ito Sensei, showing how its done.

Jessica showing us the aftermath of kneading and rolling the soba dough

Deanna slicing her freshly prepared soba dough into edible noodles.

Everyone at Ito Sensei’s house having just devoured their handmade Soba.

Everyone outside the Edo Handmade Soba School just before saying goodbye!

writer: staff  date: 7:32 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The JE09 students with Okura Sensei at the end of manga class.

With Day 11 having come and gone, there are only four days left in the 2009 Japan Experience program. That doesn’t mean the fun is winding down however as Wednesday was loaded with great activities.

Yano Sensei kicked off the day with another great Japanese lesson covering everything food. The students learned about different kinds of food, how to discuss the flavor of various dishes, and how to convey their likes and dislikes.

Yano Sensei, preparing the students for the Japanese cooking lesson.

Our daily Japanese lesson was followed up with a short break then it was off to the 2nd Japanese cooking lesson. Last week’s cooking class was a big (not to mention tasty) hit and this week’s class looked to be no different. Kadowaki Sensei, Masuda Sensei, and Kohara Sensei led the group in making sukiyaki (mix of beef and vegetables cooked in broth) and fried eggplant. A delicious time was had by all.

Vincent and Sara preparing the eggplants for frying.

Chelsea, Eliza, M’Lissa, and Jessica enjoying their hard-won sukiyaki.

The JE09 group presented the three cooking teachers with a thank you note and complimentary bottle of maple syrup.

Next was the much anticipated Manga University class featuring a tutorial on how to draw comic characters. Manga University is known for its award-winning series of language books, Kanji de Manga, as well as many volumes teaching the method of drawing manga. Mr. Atsuhisa Okura, of MU, has been drawing manga for over 20 years and he was very patient, teaching the students the finer points of drawing manga. Okura Sensei left plenty of time at the end to critique the student’s artwork and draw personal pictures for everyone.

Okura Sensei showing how to draw characters in an action pose.

Sophia and Vincent trying their hand at what they just learned.

Jessica proudly showing off her newly purchased manga; personalized by none other than Okura Sensei, the author.

writer: staff  date: 8:06 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The JE09 students in front of the Sumo museum, practicing their Sumo techniques.

Welcome to Tuesday, day 10, of the 2009 Japan Experience program. Following our usual Japanese lesson, the day’s agenda included a visit to the Sumo Museum, a Chanko-nabe lunch, a tour of the Edo-Tokyo Museum, and a jaunt to Ginza.

In order to soak up some ancient Japanese culture, the JE09 group headed out to the town of Ryogoku. First was a quick stop at the small yet interesting Sumo Museum. Documenting some of the history of Sumo, the museum contains pictures of all the current and former Sumo Yokozunas (highest sumo rank).

Jessica and Chelsea getting ready for their Sumo match.

Afterwards it was a short walk to a delicious Chanko-nabe restaurant. Chanko-nabe is a popular meal extremely high in protein that is usually eaten by sumo wrestlers attempting to gain weight rapidly. It resembles ramen a little but tastes a hundred fold better!

Sara and Deanna ready to dive into their Chanko-Nabe

A close up of the Chanko-Nabe itself.

A short distance away from the restaurant is the Edo-Tokyo museum. Edo is a period in Japanese history ranging from about 1600-1870. The Edo-Tokyo museum documents this period as well as up to World War II reconstruction. It was a fascinating experience.

Having found the museum, everyone was excited to head inside.

The inside of the museum is extremely dark but behind the group, a model of Edo-Tokyo is visible.

Life size example of a typical Edo-Tokyo row house.

Finally, the day was rounded off with a trip to Ginza. Ginza is arguably the most expensive district in Tokyo. It was said that during the Japanese bubble economy that the land value of Ginza was higher than all of California. Actually shopping in Ginza could render almost anyone broke in a matter of minutes but it was certainly interesting to browse the merchandise.

One of the main streets of Ginza, loaded with high priced stores.

Eliza in awe of a square watermelon.

writer: staff  date: 7:25 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The JE09 group ready to embark on Harajuku's teen fashion street, Takeshita Dori.

Today, Day 9, kicked off the second week of the Japan Experience Program. Per usual, we had a full schedule including a Japanese lesson, a walk around of Sophia University, and a trip to Harajuku.

Sophia University held their annual ‘Open Campus’ today, and it was a chance for prospective students and anyone else to get an idea of what the school is like. Sophia University is distinguishable as one of the few Japanese Universities with a department that teaches entirely in English. For any of the Japan Experience participants interested in furthering their studies here, this was a great opportunity to get familiar with a Japanese University!

At one of the main gates to Sophia University.

Everyone at Sophia's main gate.

A short train ride later the JE team arrived in Harajuku. First on the list was to see the gorgeous Meiji shine. Surrounded by a beautiful forest, Meiji shrine was built to commemorate Emperor Meiji and his wife.

The Meiji Tori gate, marking the entrance to the grounds of the Meiji shrine.

The inner portion of the Meiji shrine where one can make a small donation and pray or pay their respects to the emperor.

Following the shine, we made our way to the Tokyo Design Academy to learn about the school. With two year specialty programs in visual and graphic design, illustration, manga, animation, interior design, display design, and crafts & accessories there is quite literally something for everyone.

The JE09 students at the end of the Tokyo Design academy tour. Some of them wished they didn't have to leave!

To round off the day, everyone got to explore Harajuku. With a wealth of reasonably prices youth clothing stores and interesting fashion accessories, Harajuku is certainly an easy place to spend a few hours (and a few yen).

writer: staff  date: 5:00 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Nakao Sensei giving her final Japanese lesson. Next week will start off with a new Sensei.

It is hard to believe the first week of the Japan Experience program is already over. Everyone has been having a blast trying new things and visiting different parts of Tokyo and Friday was no exception.

As usual we began our day with a Japanese lesson courtesy of Nakao Sensei and Richard Sensei. Following the lesson, the students filed into Seiritsu’s tatami (straw floor mat) room to take part in Chado. In English, Chado, is known as Japanese Tea Ceremony and it is a highly ritualized method of serving green tea. With the help of Yano Sensei and the Chado club, the group got to experience this ancient Japanese ceremony.

A member of the Chado club preparing the tea.

The JE09 students at the end of Chado. Pictured with Yano Sensei, the Chado club, and myself (Nick Sensei).

Next on the list was an excursion to the young, chic district of Shibuya. Known for its youthful clothing stores and rapidly changing fashion, Shibuya is the center of attention for those between their teen years and adulthood.

Everyone at Hachiko; the statue of a famous dog that waited at the station everyday for her owner, even after he passed away.

The group gathering at the end of the Shibuya excursion. The meeting place was the 109 building, a tower devoted entirely to women's fashion.

Rounding out the day was the much anticipated visit to Akihabara, the heart of the Japanese manga and anime culture. Many of this year's participants are big anime and manga fans. For them, the chance to get their hands on their favorite series was a large cause for excitement.

At the train station, getting ready to set out into Akihabara.

One of the main streets of Akihabara. The district itself is actually quite compact so tons of shops are jam-packed into a relatively small area.

writer: staff  date: 2:55 PM | Life at Seiritsu

At the time of this posting it is early Friday night and we have just finished another full day. The students had Japanese language lessons for beginners and intermediates in the morning, then a Japanese tea ceremony explanation by the tea ceremony club, and this was followed by an afternoon spent exploring the youth fashion district of Shibuya as well as Akiharaba’s Electronic Town, the otaku manga, anime, computer and game center of Tokyo.

The students are now with their home stay families for the weekend.

Pictures from today will be posted Monday morning (Japan time) along with some of the student’s stories about what they did over Saturday and Sunday.

writer: staff  date: 5:52 PM | Life at Seiritsu

The fun continued on day 5 of the 2009 Japan Experience program with introductions to Origami, Shodo, and Judo.

Origami is an ancient Japanese art form dating back to the Edo era. It involves using square, often highly decorated, pieces of paper and difficult folding techniques to create a beautiful figure. Our group tried their hands at boxes, cranes, boats, throwing stars, and a few other unique shapes. Under the careful eye of Seiritsu’s Art teacher, Yogo Sensei, the lesson was a huge success!

Sophia, Jessica, and Deanna working hard on their origami-in-progress.

The whole group with their completed origami. We made quite an array of different animals and shapes!

Shodo is a highly artistic form of writing the Japanese language using ink, brushes, and beautiful sweeping strokes. Shodo is referred to as Japanese Calligraphy. Seiritsu’s very own Shodo instructor, Maruo Sensei, led the students through the basics of Shodo with the support of the Shodo club. Having produced some excellent Kanji of their own, the JE participants each received an artistic rendition of their favorite kanji from Maruo Sensei himself!

Vivian and Sara powering through the delicate strokes of Shodo.

Everyone both holding, and standing underneath, their finished Kanji. Pictured with Maruo Sensei and the Shodo club.

After a short break and a Japanese history lesson led by Richard Sensei, the JE team was off to their Judo lesson. Judo, much like Karate, is a type of martial art. Judo revolves around flipping and throwing your opponent while, conversely, learning how to take a throw suffering the least amount of damage possible. Our group got the chance to learn both the hard way!

Richard Sensei's Japanese History lesson.

The JE team hearing about the philosophy behind Judo to prepare them for what they are about to learn.

Sophia, Jessica, and Eliza practicing rolls to simulate being thrown or knocked over. This exercise was to help learn how to minimize damage to the head during a fall.

writer: staff  date: 5:12 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Day 4 of the 2009 Japan Experience program was a full day, packed with exciting cultural activities. A morning Japanese lesson, a trip to Studio Ghibli, and a Karate lesson were all on the agenda. An impromptu visit to one of Shinjuku’s largest bookstores was also added in.

Studio Ghibli is a world renowned animation studio famous for films such as My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke. It is very much the Japanese equivalent of Disney movies in terms of popularity and appeal to kids. The Studio Ghibli museum sits on a small plot of land in Mitaka, and is loaded with amazing detail about the films. Unfortunately photography isn’t allowed inside the museum, it’s just something you’ll have to see for yourself!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghibli_Museum

After spending a few hours at Studo Ghibli, we made a brief stop at Kinokuniya books in Shinjuku to look at their English books. It has a huge selection of every type of book imaginable; including travel books, foreign volumes, comics, magazines etc.

The day was rounded off with an introduction to the martial art, Karate. Led by Kakiya Sensei and none other than Richard Sensei, the lesson proceeded with a fun warm up, basic kicking and punching techniques, and some sparring and self defense. Of course there was plenty of time for punching and kicking!

Our transportation from the train station to the Ghibli museum. Affectionately known as the 'neko' bus.

The Japan Experience team getting ready to enter the Ghibli museum.

Eliza and Chelsea, showing off their newly purchased books to Vincent.

Everyone performing the 'goaisatsu', a short ceremony before the start of a Karate session.

Jessica improving her punching speed with the Jump-Punch exercise.

M'Lissa unleashing a furious knee to the stomach on one of the Karate club members.

Richard Sensei, showing Deanna how its done.

Sophia practicing her self defense with one of the Karate club members.

writer: staff  date: 8:56 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The schedule for Day 3, Tuesday July 28, included a Japanese lesson in the morning, cooking class, and an excursion to the historical district of Asakusa.

Tuesday’s Japanese lesson, led by Nakao Sensei was the first of the program. Greetings and a thorough self introduction were the topics of the day. Everyone did great during their trial run at the end.

The cooking lesson was held by Kadowaki Sensei, Masuda Sensei, and Kohara Sensei. They had prepared a delicious menu for the students including sushi pockets, egg wrapped rice balls, miso soup, marinated yellowtail, and dango for dessert. Everyone had a lot of fun trying their hand at Japanese cooking and the food turned out great!

After lunch and a short break, it was off to the famous Asakusa district. Asakusa is known for its huge Buddhist temple, Sensō-ji. An enormous cauldron of incense burns at the base of the temple leading up to the entrance. Visitors can waft the smoke towards their heads to wish for wisdom, before heading inside the temple for a short prayer coupled with a small donation. There is also a long row of small specialty shops leading up to the temple. It is the perfect place to find interesting presents and souvenirs to bring home.

The whole group in Asakusa, underneath the famous Hozomon Lantern.

The Asakusa English Tourist Map

Chelsea, Eliza, M'Lissa, Jessica, and Sara enjoying the fruits of their Japanese cooking class.

The JE group together with Seiritsu's three amazing cooking teachers.

Nakao Sensei with the students after our first Japanese lesson. Nakao Sensei taught a typical Japanese greeting.

Sophia, Vivian, Deanna, and Vincent with their marinaded yellowtail, ready to dive into the cooking class.

writer: staff  date: 8:09 AM | Life at Seiritsu

For Day 2 on Monday, July 27, all the students arrived on time at 8:45am having been brought all the way to school by their respective home stay families who each taught the students how to use the trains or buses. We started with a brief welcome ceremony, which included short speeches from Principal Mr. Kohei Fukuda, the Vice-Principal Mr. Kurahara and from the school director, Mr. Yohei Fukuda. This was followed by a short orientation about the program, a tour of the school and then the students had some time to send emails off to family and friends from the computer lab.

While today’s original plan was to have separate Japanese language lessons for the beginners and intermediate level students, the Principal invited us all to the high school club’s baseball game at Jingu Stadium instead!

http://seiritsu.ac.jp/system/?p=5141

The 91st All-Japan National High School Baseball Tournament is on right now, with the qualifying tournament in Tokyo being broken up in to 2 blocks, an East Tokyo block of 145 school teams, and a West Tokyo block with about the same number. This is due to simply so many teams being in the largest city in the world. The two winning teams go on to Koshien in August, the famous stadium hosting all the winning teams from across the county. Monday’s game was special because it was the semi-finals for the East Tokyo block of which Seiritsu qualified, which is the first time for our team in the club’s history!

Everyone ready to watch the game!

Unfortunately the team lost 7-1, but the boys put up a great fight, with 133km/hr pitches, and about half the school’s 1100 students came out to cheer on the team. This was a great opportunity for the Japanese Experience participants to talk to and be around the Japanese students, even while they braved the warm weather and tried to pick up all the different team songs everyone was singing.

Deanna, Jessica, Sara stocking up on drinks at a ‘Konbini’ to survive the heat.

Sophia and Vincent, meeting up with a few Seiritsu students before the game

Eliza and Chelsea enjoying some 'Yakyu'

After the game, we came back to the school and with only 45 minutes left until our 5pm ‘kaisan’ time (break-up for the day) the students were again able to use the internet via the computer lab’s computers.

writer: staff  date: 7:50 AM | Life at Seiritsu

They traveled long distances from Europe, the Americas and Oceania. This year's Japan Experience participants finally arrived at Tokyo’s International Narita Airport yesterday, Sunday, July 26 and all seemed to have been in good spirits. Our nine students filtered into Narita Airport throughout the day, starting as early as 8am and wrapping up close to 7pm.

Seiritsu staff and home stay families met everyone at the airport, after which the students headed into the city with their respective hosts. Starting today, Monday, there were lots of great Japan Experience activities lined up which we will write about tomorrow morning since it is the end of the school day here in Tokyo.

A good view of the Narita tarmac and gates.

Eliza, Chelsea, Vivian, and M'Lissa all having just arrived.

Deanna, Jessica, and Sara staying in touch with the Western World in Seiritsu's computer lab.

Sophia and Vincent, just before our orientation!

writer: staff  date: 3:41 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Wessel with his home stay near Mt. Fuji.

Wessel from the Netherlands, and Dave from Canada, both finished their 10-month term at Seiritsu last month. Here are some pictures from their time in Japan. Recently we received from pictures from Wessel to share here on our blog.

Dave and Wessel receiving Farewell cards from the karate club.

Messages from each karate club member in the circles on their cards.

Wessel with his home room classmates.

Enjoying some time with Japanese and foreign friends.

writer: staff  date: 9:40 AM | Life at Seiritsu

This year's Japan Experience home stay begins on July 26, and we have students registered from Germany, Canada, America and Australia.

In addition to the many cultural lessons and activities the students will participate in this year, we have also included Taiko Drumming! The local taiko group, who performs every year at the school fair, will bring their big & small drums and show us all about this ancient Japanese drumming art.

Daily reports will be posted each day during the program so please check back with us.

writer: staff  date: 9:36 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Hey my name is Liam Graham. I moved to Tokyo just a few days ago on June 28th. I came from Auckland, New Zealand with the sole aspiration of becoming a professional soccer player. I first became interested in Seiritsu through a soccer player I knew that had come here and also because my dad works in Tokyo.

The opportunity to come and play here was one that could not be turned down. I’ve come to school for two days and already I am enjoying the friendly and welcoming environment that Seiritsu offers. The food is great as well which I am very happy about!

-Liam

writer: staff  date: 9:14 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Since Japan’s summer is so hot you need to have either an air conditioner or a fan in nearly every room. Everyday after school I turn my fan on and feel saved when I hear that familiar “zoom zoom” sound. The thing I hate about it is that my hair goes into my eyes and all my papers on the table go flying around the room like crazy!

It sounds weird to say I’ve never actually used an air conditioner or a fan before. In Finland it’s so cold you only need to have a heater and in summer you just turn everything off. But luckily they’re really easy to use – except I can’t read Kanji so I just remember each button by color.

Maybe I’m becoming a fan fan nowadays?

- Ella

writer: staff  date: 9:09 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello everyone! It's starting to get really hot in Japan right now. I wonder what it will be like in the middle of summer. Today I want to tell you about my favorite drink. I have never even seen one like this back in New Zealand. It is called MELON SODA★. It is a green coloured liquid that tastes like melon (I think) but with soda! ㅇㅁㅇ I don't drink it a lot because I can't find it everywhere T^T. Even if I could find it, I wouldn't drink it a lot because it would cost me lots of money... >_<.

It is really weird because they have it at the fast food shops and restaurants but they don't sell it at big supermarkets. I have been wondering why and I still don't know. Regardless, it's still my favorite drink. What's your favorite drink???

-Ai

writer: staff  date: 8:52 AM | Life at Seiritsu

I am now three months into my last year at Seiritsu and the big thing for my year group is university. Everywhere I go now people are talking about what university they want to go to. Everybody wants to go to the top universities so they’re all working really hard. On top of this end of term exams are coming up next week so people are really starting to get serious with their work.

These next exams are important because these are the results we have to show the university when we apply to get in. Some people are getting so serious that they’re losing their humor too. They get angry at the smallest little jokes so I have to watch what I say to people. Anyway I better get studying too now so that I can get into a good university. See ya!!

-Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 8:46 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The thing I’ve become very familiar with here in Japan is... bandages. That’s right. Since I’m such a clumsy person I get hurt a lot, and that’s why I need to have a lot of bandages with me all the time. I buy them from drug stores and usually pick up the cheapest one. There are still differences between every store.

In every drug store they have cheap bandages, and the packet contains 100 of them. I’ve already tried 4 (so that means I’ve used over 300 bandages) different kind of bandages. Usually the color matches with my skin and those I don’t like, because I have to change them all the time, because the glue is so weak. The best ones are from where I live. I can just run over there in emergency, wohoo!

I’ve also tried these really big ones. I like the back side color of them - it’s sea green! But those I don’t need anymore, but they were kind of expensive, so I won’t miss using them.

Maybe I’ll become a bandage expert while living here and I can show off my knowledge about them when I go back to Finland. Yay!

- Ella

writer: staff  date: 1:56 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello everyone, It’s Ai again. Last week after having all of our tests, Ella and I went to Koshigaya Laketown in Saitama Prefecture which has the largest shopping centre complex in Japan called Aeon Laketown. We took the JR Musashino Line and while we were in the train, we were in the country side. I never thought that the biggest shopping mall in Japan would be in the country side.

When we arrived at our station, everything looked new, and I found out that Aeon Laketown was opened last year in October. It has over 550 shops and it is about a kilometer long with about 4 or 5 stories. It was the biggest shopping mall I have ever seen in my life. It had 2 buildings, one was called Kaze, meaning “wind” and the other was called Mori, meaning “forest" which were joined together.

Ella and I didn’t go around to all the shops because we didn't have enough time. Also, we got lost because it was so big it was like a maze. It could take me 3 or 4 days to get around everywhere but I am not so stupid as to try that. ^_^

Ai

writer: staff  date: 1:52 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Last Week at Seiritsu: What I can take away.

Well, for the EF trio (Poom excepted) it’s our last week here at Seiritsu.
It has definitely been an experience, not just going to Seiritsu and the various classes and our hodgepodge group of students, but also basing life around a high school schedule. It can be difficult, but it did keep us busy, working, and fully functional- Hey, we wanted to live a year as a Japanese High School student, and you know what? We did.

What I think I’ll take away the most from this experience is studying habits. It involves rigorous, non-stop studying, without letting my mind tell me that I’m tired. That’s pretty much the Japanese ‘way’. Other than that, I think I can take away things like Japanese hospitality. Their openness was a shock to me, and I never expected anything of the sort when I first arrived here, nor did I know how to respond to it; but now I do, and when I go back home, I will have new social skills to work with.

Well, I’m hoping for a great last week, saying bye to everyone, and flying off on a happy-high.
Thanks to all my readers, I hope you enjoyed my blog posts!

Bye!

- David Alexander

writer: staff  date: 1:41 PM | Life at Seiritsu

A great Japanese invention is the ICE BOX which is, in simple words “frozen juice”. Summer in Japan is super hot and humid and even just sitting around makes you tired. In a couple of months summer will be here and the only thing I can think of that can save me is the ice box. Ice box is great because it’s cheap, tasty, and easy to carry around.

I think that ice box will be really good because you can buy it with just one 100 yen coin. Back in New Zealand it would be like a one dollar ice cream, which you cannot find very often. When its forty degrees outside, the best thing to have is a nice cold icy drink with a fruity taste. Ice box is exactly that. This summer after every training I am really looking forward to walking home with friends while I'm holding an ice box in my left hand that is just waiting to be poured into my mouth.

Another good thing about it is the container that it is in. it fits perfectly into your palm and it is small enough to carry it around everywhere. Ice box is going to be the one thing that will help me survive this summer. Starting today I'm going to start saving money so I can buy one every day!

Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 1:38 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hey Everyone! This week is my last week at Seiritsu. My exchange year is coming to an end. I’m leaving Japan around the end of this month. It was a very cool year where I was able to experience the Japanese culture and even though it wasn’t always as easy, I’m very glad I went. I made a lot of super awesome friends, have visited many cool places and I even speak a little Japanese now.

I really want to thank all my friends, especially Ryosuke, David and Poom. I’m going to miss them a lot when I’m back in Holland. You guys are like my brothers from other mothers!!
Almost every weekend I hang out with my friends in Shibuya, Ikebukuro or some other cool and famous places. With the amazing train system in Tokyo it’s very easy to get around
My Japanese improved a lot since last year. I learned the most by just listening to other people talk. At first I had a lot of problems talking back, but after a couple of months I finally got it. Right now it’s pretty easy to have conversations so I have a lot more Japanese friends than before.

I also want to thank Richard, Nick and Lawrence for teaching me at this school. Even though I already graduated in Holland, I learned a lot of new things. Also I want to thank Richard and Lawrence for teaching me karate and taking me to the big karate tournaments. That was something that made my year here very special.
Ok that’s it for me. Thanks for reading!

Wess

writer: staff  date: 1:33 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello! My name is Nick Smith and I am the new International Department teacher at Seiritsu Gakuen. I am from the Washington DC area of the United States of America. I spent most of my life there and eventually graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science (Neurophysiology). Currently, I am responsible for the Math and Science education of the foreign students, as well as several English composition classes for Japanese students.

This year, Math will focus on advanced algebra as well as graphing various types of functions. The Science curriculum will revolve around Human Physiology for 3rd year students, and cell biology for the 2nd year students.

In addition to teaching, I love to travel and play Lacrosse. I’m looking forward to my experience with Seiritsu, and in my spare time I hope to find lots of interesting new places!

writer: staff  date: 2:06 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello, hello, Ella here. If you don't already know about me, I’m a Finnish girl who loves music and art. Not boring art, like paintings. And this is actually my first time writing on this site!

Well, I haven’t been here for a long time yet, but I have met some really interesting people. One of them is definitely the grandmother of my host family. It’s amazing how she can be really tough, but also kind at the same time. While I was sick for a few days she came to see how I was doing and made me food. She also speaks very clear Japanese so it is easy to understand what she’s saying.

Anyways, that wasn’t so interesting. The one thing that actually made me amazed was when I heard that during the war in 1945 when Allied bombers flew over Tokyo, she was on the balcony of her house with a gun shouting “Come if you dare!” It sounds so cool. Women have to defend themselves too! Way to go, granny.

Also, there is this one old traffic policeman. I see him everyday when I go to school. He is always talking to some little kids and he has received many drawings from them. He sounds pretty suspicious. Just joking. He might be a good old man.

I hope I will get to know more people and make lots of friends! : )

See you.

Ella

writer: staff  date: 2:38 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Have you ever met anyone who you thought had super-powers? Or acted like a machine, in body and mind? I think I have a theory about my host mom, Sakayori-san, because she sleeps less than 6 hours a day [Sometimes only 2 hours a day] and works like a madwoman.

My host mom owns a chain of Yoga studios and even instructs at the one on the second floor of their house. Not only does she manage all of the studios and the finance involved, but she takes care of most of the garden in the huge lot of land they own, which is a lot of work to do everyday.

That's just one of the few businesses she deals with. Nearly every weekend my host family throws a party for different groups of people, usually different Yoga groups. One weekend, my host parents decided to throw a party both Saturday and Sunday. The one on Saturday apparently ended at 3 am, I was already asleep by then. When I woke up for a glass of water at 6 am, I looked out the window and saw my host mom and host dad preparing for the next party. That means that they cleaned up after 3 am, and had less than 2 hours of sleep, only to wake up and start preparing for another party. When I met them outside later on, my host mother seemed both completely fine and normal. I think that counts as a superpower of sorts.

Other than being a business genius and Yoga instructor, she is also a 2nd Dan Black belt in Karate, and a world traveler, having been to a dozen countries and is still planning to visit more.

David

writer: staff  date: 2:36 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hey my name's Fraser and I would like to write about my host brother 他家 (Take).

Take is currently at a cram school out in Ikebukuro. If those reading this don't know what Ikebukuro is it's one center of Tokyo with tons of activities. The train station there is one of the main stations for transfering to other lines so it is a very handy place.

Like some of us though Take dislikes school. He is also 19 and he will turn 20 in October so he is definitely excited about being a full adult.

Since I came to Japan Take has always been nice to me and he has taken me out often. For a example he took me out around the time of my arrival, showed me around Ikebukuro and later we met up with his friends which was an enjoyable evening. Thanks to him I met a lot of new people and I now have a ton of new contacts in Japan. Now I just call up my new friends and go out and do whatever, but I will always try to drag my brother out with me. He was a little shy at the begininng but I could see that was natural because I was the stranger coming into his home to live for maybe the next 2 years.

I am very happy that I was put with my current host family or else I would have never met my new host brother. I have actually never had a brother before and I am happy to call him my brother.

Fraser

writer: staff  date: 2:10 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Ai's certificate for climbing up part of Tokyo Tower.

Hello everyone, my name is Ai. I have started my first year as a second year student at Seiritsu Gakuen. I came from New Zealand, but I was born in South Korea. During this year I hope I learn more about Japanese history, Japan's entertainment and of course Japanese. I have learnt Japanese for only 3 months and I am just starting to read some hiragana and katakana. I wish that I can read more than 100 Kanji at the end of my year in Japan!

I will never forget my first day in Japan. All students from Education First (EF exchange program) met at the Narita Airport after we arrived and when we were all together, we took the bus from Narita to a hotel in Shinagawa. It took about 3 hours. After arriving in our hotel, we had lunch and headed to Tokyo Tower. It was the first time that I went on the train!!! ... in Japan. When we arrived at Tokyo Tower, there was a really long, long line that we had to wait for to enter. While waiting, there was a monkey show next to the door, so all the students were watching and taking pictures.

Ai

writer: staff  date: 2:01 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hey everyone! Its really been a while since our last blog. The new school year has started and our long spring break is over. During my break I went out a lot with my friends. One of the best things I like to do when I go out is go to karaoke!

Ever since I came to Japan it took me around five months before I actually went singing with my friends. I always thought it would be embarrassing, but it’s so fun! I’ve learned that most of my friends aren’t that good at singing too, so it doesn’t matter. Now I go at least once a week.

Because karaoke is so popular here you can find it everywhere. It’s not expensive, usually around 140 yen per 30 minutes (high school student prices). Together with friends you rent a room (usually for one or two hours) that has a large TV, a singing machine, sofas, a small center table and then you can sing as much as you want. For a small amount of money you can also get a drink bar, which means you can drink as much as you want.

My Japanese is still not good enough to sing in Japanese, but it’s no problem. Karaoke rooms have almost every song in English too. I always sing “When I'm Gone” and “Stan” from Eminem and “Where Is the Love” from the Black Eyed Peas.

It’s for sure on my list of things I’m going to miss a lot when I leave Japan. For those of you who are planning to come to Japan, don’t hesitate to go. It’s a really great way to spend your time!!

Wessel

writer: staff  date: 1:55 PM | Life at Seiritsu

This time I will write about one of my interesting classes. It is calligraphy or shodo in Japanese. I and my friend usually study it once a week. This subject teaches you how make beautiful and correct Chinese characters, or kanji. What makes me like this class is the teacher, Mr. Maruo. He is very good in calligraphy and most calligraphy classes are taught by him at Seritsu.

When teaching he doesn't make student feel stress, as he teaches each student how to correct their brush strokes after every practice sheet is written on until we can do it all correct. In this class you must have brush, ink and paper. After we finish one practice sheet, he will check our work and he always gives comments to us in order to improve ourselves.

Calligraphy is a very interesting subject to learn. It makes you know a lot of kanji and makes you become stricter. This is due to the fact that in the beginning students must follow every stroke properly. They can't do any different style stroke on their own. At first it was a bit hard for me, but later on it makes me understand a bit more about Calligraphy. Don’t forget to try it if you have the opportunity.

Poom

writer: staff  date: 1:46 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Every morning at exactly seven fifty two am, at the very back of carriage number three, I see Mr. Yamada, as I ride the train to school. I have never actually talked to him, but on his left pocket on his suit he has a name tag with his company name “M. K.”, and his name YAMADA all in capital letters.

From my station to school is about forty minutes. As you know, trains in Japan are really crowded especially in the mornings so it is really difficult to get a seat. When I get on the train in the morning to go to school, he is always sitting to the left on the third seat from the corner. I always try to stand in front of his seat because I know that he gets off at the next station.

So if everything goes as planned, I only have to stay standing for 4 minutes and then have a nice sleep for about thirty minutes…well this was until last Wednesday. I’m not exactly sure where he went, but I think he catches a different train now. Maybe he get a new job…I'm not sure. I guess I have to find a new passenger to stand in front of now so that I don’t have to stand the whole journey from home to school!

Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 1:42 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Our newly renovated international study room - about half of it is in the picture.

From March to April, our smallish international study room was wided and sprouced up before our very eyes. With more floor space added by knocking out a wall, university style desks, new carpet, and a new air conditioner, the room is not only larger and nice, but also a more versitile space than before.

The international study room is located on the first floor of the Seiritsu Budojo. Budojo means martial arts hall, which holds a judo dojo and a kendo dojo.

And a wooden slide from the first to second floor.
Everyone who first comes to building always scratches their head when they see a kid's slide built in the Budojo.

There is a very good reason for it, which is not sliding down while practicing kendo slashes. The building used to be the old Seiritsu kindergarten, but when the beautiful new kindergarten was built across the street some years ago, the old building's classrooms were renovated into two dojo. However, the old front office was not needed and remained vacant until it became the international department's room a few years back.

Below are more pictures of the renovations.

writer: staff  date: 1:24 PM | Life at Seiritsu

l-r: Fraser, Wessel, Ryosuke, Poom, David, Ella, Ai

Seiritsu welcomes three new second year students - Ai, Ella and Fraser - to the International Department!

Our newest students truly do represent different parts of the world because Ai is from New Zealand via South Korea, Ella is from Finland and Fraser is from Canada. Ai and Ella are in the 10-month Education First program, whereas Fraser plans to study for 2 years at Seiritsu until he graduates.

Our previous EF students, David, Wessel and Poom, will be returning to their home countries in June, and Seiritsu will be welcoming 3 more students from the same program in September.

writer: staff  date: 1:14 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Berlin home stayer Misaki Arai

Seiritsu High School has a student exchange arrangement with GHO School in Berlin, Germany. Misaki Arai was one of two students from Seiritsu that went there this year from March 21 to April 4th during the Spring Break in Japan.

SG: Prior to going to Berlin, what were your impressions of Germany?
MA: My impressions of Germany were that the people would not be friendly, the food not delicious, but that Germans love football.

SG: Now what is your impression of Germany?
MA: The people there are very kind, they don’t sleep on the train when commuting like Japanese people, but that the food is so-so.

SG: Please tell us about your home stay.
MA: My home stay sister’s name was Sophia and she’s 17. She lives with her father and mother, but her older brother lives somewhere else. Sophia like Japanese things very much, she studies the Japanese language and she’s kind.

SG: What was the home stay house like?
MA: They had a big house with an electric stove for cooking in the kitchen, which we never see in Japan since Japanese use natural gas. Also it was interesting to see that the shower room and the bathtub room were separate.

SG: What language did you use there?
MA: Mainly I spoke English and a little Japanese. Sophia’s parents can’t speak English so Sophia and I spoke to each other in either English or Japanese and then she would translate for the parents when we were with them. Also Sophia spoke English very fast so sometimes I couldn’t follow it.

SG: How did you find the German high school? Different from a Japanese high school?
MA: Yes, very. There is much more freedom in a German school, as the students wear no uniforms, they can dye their hair any color and school finished at 2:30pm with no extra studies afterwards. I sat in on regular classes plus I participated with the volleyball club and the Japanese club. On the last day we made Japanese food, so I made curry rice and ramen noodles.

In the Japanese classes the Japanese language teachers are both native Japanese and native Germans, which I found interesting.

SG: What did you see in Berlin?
MA: I went to many museums in Berlin and in Dresden, plus I went to Leipzig to watch the German National Football Team beat the Liechtenstein National Football Team 4-0.

SG: What was the most interesting things you saw?
MA: The Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam was really beautiful, with a wide open estate around it. School was also fun, the students were very funny and the senior students in Grade 13 who liked manga and anime were real otaku. It was interesting to see the different school events when students wear different clothing. There was Bad Taste Day, Pajama Day, 80’s Day plus Ladies & Gentlemen Day. Each time students came to school dressed up in that day’s theme, which would never happen in Japan.

SG: Where there some things you didn’t like about the school?
MA: The students only have a very short break time for lunch, so they just eat while walking to the next class.

SG: Was there any German food that you liked?
MA: The German Donor was delicious!

SG: Would you like to go back to Germany?
MA: Yes, I would like to see more of the country, like Frankfurt, which is famous for sightseeing. But I’ve also invited Sophia to come visit me in Japan so hopefully I can show her my country too.

writer: staff  date: 1:11 PM | Life at Seiritsu

On Wednesday, April 8, 2009, the school welcomed over 400 new first year students!

Students arrived at school around 9am with their parents and gathered in their new homerooms.
At 10am, there was a school entrance ceremony, 'Nyugaku-shiki', in the gymnasium, which included speeches from the Principal and student class representatives, plus the introduction of the teachers in the first year program.

After the ceremony, the students returned to their homerooms to receive textbooks and yearly schedules, plus prepare for the four day Orientation trip all first years went on from April 9th.

The school administration, students and parents all bow at the beginning of the ceremony.

First year students in their new homeroom, with their parents watching from the back.

Saijo Sensei speaking to his homeroom. It says 'School Entrance, Congradulations' on the blackboard behind him.

Several of the sport's clubs were out in the front courtyard drumming up interest in the new students to come join their club. The girl's kata team demonstrating their skills, which got them to the High School National Karate Championships last month.

The cheerleading club putting on a show as the students and parents were leaving.

writer: staff  date: 10:09 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Honda's ASIMO ready to put on a show.

Hey everyone! Been a while. I`m going to be talking a bit about Japanese technology.
A lot of people seem to hold the stereotype that the Japanese have a lot of advanced technology and the truth is, they do.

In the labs of researchers all of Japan, they're making robots that not only clean your house but serve you food and do the dishes afterward. They're also putting these robots in super-sleek and neat looking cars to calm you down while you drive if you become tense and angry.

Of course, some movies bring up the idea of pool-cleaning robots that might try to take over the world, but thankfully these products aren't being produced for the market. You could imagine I`d want to be bringing back a lot of awesome high-tech toys back home although I'm not sure how my parents would feel about that...

One of the most well-known robots ever to come out of Japan is Honda's ASIMO. With prototypes dating back to 1986, ASIMO debuted in 2000 with the most recent version unveiled in 2005. This amazing robot is now capable of social and physical interaction, greeting and following people, sensing movement, be directed by voice commands or the natural movements of human beings, and even recognizing faces! It is basically making the first real steps towards an anthropomorphic robot!

Unfortunately, the technology seen in everyday life is not the same as that in the high-tech research world, other than a few gadgets here and there (including the Japanese toilets). As I see it, the professional world of technology is the one that is more advanced and should be the one associated with the 'Advanced technology' stereotype people have of Japan.

Anyway, I think robotics are possibly the coolest thing to go into as far as science goes. Imagine meeting someone and telling them that, `Yes, I am the key to showing the world what we once thought was science fiction.`. In Japan, they do a whole lot of advances in robotics that seem to stump the imagination of even Leonardo da Vinci's Mechanical Knight.

That`s it for now.

And remember:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
(ed- That is the first of three robot rules applied to any robotic creature in writer and inventor Isaac Asimov's stories. It is perhaps most well known as one of the rules governing the robots in the movie "I, Robot", a 2004 film based off a collection of short stories of the same name written by Asimov in the 1940s.)

-David

writer: staff  date: 2:25 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Weekends in Japan are something to look forward to... well, it is for me anyway because it’s a chance for me to go into Tokyo. Central Tokyo is great both during the day and at night because it is where everybody goes to have fun.

During the day there are many shops to go to and you can find pretty much anything you want. There are many private shops which well interesting toys or rare collectibles, and there are also many nice brand-name shops for people who are looking for nice clothes or accessories.

Tokyo is also a place where many interesting people come to, like the cos-players. These are people who dress like manga or anime characters and hang out in very trendy areas like Harajuku. For them, dressed-up is their “normal” clothing style.

Tokyo at night is even better because it has all the things you can do during the day, plus it has all of the flashing lights. When you have nothing to do, watching the lights is a good way to make time go by while you can relax and just think of something nice. The one different thing about the night maybe is that most of the people normally at work or in school during the day are also out, so you can meet more Japanese and foreign people who are also looking to make new friends.

-Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 1:52 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Alright, Japanese music... Where to begin?

When I first came here I didn't really like it. I didn't understand the lyrics and most songs sounded like the music from the eighties and nineties. Then I found out that a lot of songs are actually remakes, so that makes kind of sense in a way.

Also, unlike most Japanese people, I'm not really into boy bands. All those boy bands... I'm not saying it's crazy, but yeah, sometimes it's just crazy. So now, five months later, I still don't understand the lyrics, but I learned to appreciate it a little more. Some songs are not as bad as I thought they were, to be honest.

I really like Japanese stuff and I love hip-hop music, so I thought, "Why not find some good Japanese hip-hop?" This was actually harder than I thought it would be. I already knew a few rappers but I can't really say I liked them. I would just laugh at the “cool” Engurish (Japanese English) they would put in somewhere random in their lyrics. After a long search I finally found a few good "classics". The beats are just awesome (I love beats) and there is just a good vibe.

Although not all Japanese rap is super good, I really like Japanese rappers. They are not as shy as some Japanese people and they are not as "crazy" as the dressed-up lolita from Harajuku, for example (no offense). They are just cool and I found out they are fun to hang out with because I actually met a few during the last couple of months and always enjoy listening to their freestyle raps. They’re just having fun.

My all time favorite Japanese rap song is "Koko Tokyo" (This is Tokyo) by Aquarius featuring S-word, Big-O and Dabo. You can look it up on Youtube if you want. It's about how confusing and stressful Tokyo can be, without really being negative about it. I think it's a really good song because it's very recognizable for many people here.

But enough about J-pop and J-Hip-Hop, let's talk about my favorite super-addictive drink. Van Houten Chocolate Strawberry Milk is just pure awesomeness in a half liter pack. Unlike melon pan, I just don't get sick of it buying it everyday. I actually don't like chocolate milk that much, nor am I a big fan of strawberry milk, but a mix of these two makes me feel happy inside.

When you drink it, it’s cold. Then you taste this sweet, somewhat strong and yet soft chocolate taste and after you swallow it, you have a delicious and fresh aftertaste in your mouth. I just love it and it's already on my list of things I will miss when I go back to my own country.

Aight! Thanks for reading and keep safe!
Until next time!

Wess

writer: staff  date: 2:31 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Sometimes trains are so full, the station staff have to push people into them...

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about how to survive the rush hour trains.

In Japan, almost everyone takes the train so during rush hour, everyone needs to take the train at the same time and that can be a real problem because there is not enough space for everyone. So the inside of the train is very crowded with people. Here are some things that can help you have a smoother ride:

First of all, the best position in the train when it is crowded is in a seat but finding one is hard.

The second is where two cars of the train are connected. Sometimes I see tall people and they look a little bit more comfortable.

You might also want to wear a hygiene mask because sometimes you are very close to a person who is sick, so you might be able to catch a cold anytime.

If you have any bags, the rule is you can't carry with your bag on your shoulders. You have to always keep your bag in front of you. It’s the rule.

Also, you can't talk on the phone because it disturbs the others

Follow these pieces of advice and you will feel more comfortable with the train when you come visit.

writer: staff  date: 2:14 PM | Life at Seiritsu

New Zealand U-17 vs Chile U-18. Can you spot Dylan on the starting line?

On January 12th I arrived back from my holiday in New Zealand which started on December 23rd. My holiday in New Zealand was mostly spent in a small place on the North Island called Whangamata. During the holidays this place is a very popular area for people to go because of its wonderful beach and small but spacious atmosphere.

My days in Whangamata mostly consisted of going to the beach around midday after sleeping-in and swimming and sunbathing until around 4 o’clock. After this I would go for a run to keep the fitness up and then relax until bedtime.

A good thing about Whangamata during the new year period is there are bands down at the surf club every night which makes sure that there is always something to do no matter what time of the day it is, as these bands run until 11 or 12 o’clock every night. During the day there are surfing and boogie board competitions on for all levels so anyone can enter.

My time in Whangamata will never be forgotten especially coming back from a hard working country like Japan and then having that experience will make it unforgettable. My plans for next year are the same and I will be counting down the days until I can return.

While I was in New Zealand I also had the chance to train and play for the NZ Under-17 National Team where we had a one week training camp which included two games against Chile Under-18 National Team. I was a starting member in both games but we lost the games 1-0 and 3-0 though we put up a good fight against a team that was a year older than us. Now I am just waiting to hear the final squad that will be named to play in the U-17 world cup in 2009. Crossing my fingers!

By Dylan Windust

writer: staff  date: 2:11 PM | Life at Seiritsu

A common sight in Harajuku.
Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Long time no see everyone! This time I’m going to talk a bit about something I saw a lot of during my winter break.

Many people have different forms of expressing themselves. For some it’s poetry, for other it’s drawing, and for the Harajuku teens, it’s dressing up.

Having spent most of my Winter break in Harajuku and Shibuya, I got to see a lot of these `Harajuku Teens`. These are people usually from ages 16 to 28 that dress up in gothic-style or outrageous rainbow colored clothing. Basically they try and look as original as they can according to their own tastes. This is their way of expressing themselves, by wearing their art. Each piece is picked carefully for best effect, usually coming from the various Harajuku shops that actually specialize this type of clothing.

You can find these Harajuku kids almost anywhere in Harajuku, as it’s not that big. They seem to spend most of their time by the main bridge next to Harajuku station that lead into the Meiji-jingu Shrine. They also usually come together on Sundays.

If you can’t find them there, they are probably in shops or roaming about, and some of them don’t mind having pictures taken of them and rather enjoy the attention, but ask before you snap a shot.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

- Dave

writer: staff  date: 2:26 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Yokohama's Cosmo Clock at night.
Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Hi everyone. My winter break was a bit boring but one interesting thing I did was I went to Yokahama with my Thai friends.

There, we rode the Cosmo Clock, a large ferris wheel. We waited in line for almost one hour. It is very famous because it is a very romantic ferris wheel and is very popular among young couples. The ferris wheel is a part of the Minato-mirai amusement park. It is 344ft and was the tallest ferris wheel in the world when it was built in 1989. From the top you can see Rainbow Bridge, a large suspension bridge across Tokyo Bay. It was a very picturesque view for everyone.

They also have good service at the ferris wheel. They will take your photo and you can buy it after your ride. I recommend going there in evening because the ferris wheel has very colorful lights as well. For any one who coming to Yokohama I highly recommend riding the Cosmo Clock.

Yokohama also has a biggest China town in Japan. You can find almost every type of Chinese food here and it was very interesting. The mascot for Yokohama is panda and there were many panda toys and dolls for sale.

From Tokyo the easiest way to go to Yokohama is to take JR Keihin-tohoku train line, which takes about an hour from central Tokyo. I found that Yokohama had better architecture than Tokyo which makes it a very nice area to live in.

-Poom

writer: staff  date: 2:09 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hey everyone! Vacation is over and today is our first day at school since a long time. It’s nice to see everyone again, but to be honest I wouldn’t mind to have an extra week free. I really enjoyed my vacation, especially January 1st.

We didn’t do much at New Years Eve, just watched a lot of boy bands singing on a huge stage. (Boy bands are extremely popular here).

The next day we woke up early to go to my host mom’s father’s grave to clean it. It was a nice experience because it’s really Japanese to do such a thing. After a few hours back at home, we all went to my host grandmother’s house, where the whole family gathered. It was a lot of fun and everyone was very nice to me. The whole day I ate and drink so much that even I was impressed. We also played bingo (haha) and I won a few prizes. I really want to spend more time with my cousins, they are awesome. I felt great after that day, like I was really part of the Yamada family.

Now that my Japanese is improving I can finally talk with my host family more and I'm becoming a lot closer to them. I’m sure it will be sad when I have to go back to Holland. I'm almost at the half-way point of my stay here, time really flies.

I think it will be so different when I go back home. I thought my city was crowed, but it’s nothing compared to Tokyo. There are almost twice as much people here in Tokyo than in my whole country. Yeah, that’s a lot.

Ok the period is almost over. We have a break now. I can’t wait to have some fried chicken at the school café, its been a long time...

Wessel

writer: staff  date: 1:44 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Ryoji Matsushita crossing the finish line.

Every year on January 1st in Japan, they have a big marathon known as the New Year Ekiden.

Students from twenty different universities, which are part of the Inter-University Athletic Union of Kanto, participate in this event. The two day run from Otemachi to Hakone and back has now become one of the most important and popular events for New Year's Day, and over one million people come to the race course to cheer the runners on.

Personally, I only like to watch the last spurt of the runners at the finish line because watching the whole race would take up two whole days. However, Japanese people love this event because it is a good way for people to come together with friends and also make new friends.

The ekiden first started in 1920 and it has now become one of the traditions of Japanese culture.

This year Ryoji Matsushita of Fujitsu won the race.

-Ryosuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 1:32 PM | Life at Seiritsu

A display in a shrine depicting the coming of the Year of the Ox.

With the 2008 come and gone, it's time now to look forward to 2009, the Year of the Ox.

Based off the Chinese 12-year astrological zodiac, different animals are associated with different years of birth. It is believed, like in Western astrology and its constellations, that these animals influence a person's character and personality. Oxen include those born in 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, and of course, 2009.

It is believed that Oxen are:
Dependable, calm, methodical, patient, hardworking, ambitious, conventional, steady, modest, logical, resolute, and tenacious.

However, they can at times also be:
Stubborn, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, or demanding.

Besides that though, there are lots of things in Japan related to the coming of the new year. For starters, houses are cleaned thoroughly (susuharai, or soot-sweeping) to prepare the house for the new year but, more importantly, to symbolize the cleaning of the spirit to start the year anew.

Of course, the new year wouldn't be a new year without food and there are various traditional Japanese dishes prepared for the holiday season. Most common of all is mochi which is steamed rice pounded into cakes. It is often made before the new year and eaten at the beginning of January. Often times, two mounds of mochi are made into a decoration known as kagami mochi with a bitter orange on top to symbolize longevity.

Other ceremonies around Japan include the midnight tolling of large bells, a tradition known as joya-no-kane, at various Buddhist temples across Japan. Struck with a large wooden log-cum-mallet on the outside of the bell, the bell is struck 108 times in order to rid people of the 108 sins that Buddhists believe are found in man. Particularly famous is Kyoto's Chion-in Temple which houses one of the largest bells in the world at 74 tons.

Lastly, new year's traditions are topped off with New Year's cards (nengajo) mailed to friends and family as well as otoshidama, small colourful envelopes with money given to children similar to Chinese Red Envelopes.

With all that happening, it's no wonder that the New Year is one of the busiest times in Japan. And everyone at the Seiritsu International Department hopes that you had a safe and happy holiday season as well!

Happy 2009!

writer: staff  date: 8:53 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Wessel (L) and David (R) practice their shodo (Japanese calligraphy) skills.

All the students contributed different kanji. The Japanese use a stamp known as a hanko as their signature, and all the Japanese students "signed" their kanji with their small red stamp.

On the bottom row, you can find David, Wessel, and Poom's kanji.
David's, on the bottom right, says 星, hoshi meaning star.
Wessel's, in the centre, says 花, hana meaning flower.
Poom's, on the left, says 寿, kotobuki meaning longevity.

Our three EF international students Wessel, David and Poom have been learning Japanese calligraphy (shodo) once a week from Maruo-Sensei, a master calligrapher. At the final class before the winter break, all the students got to write different kanji together on large pieces of paper for display in the school. Here you can see Wessel and David practicing in the shodo room, as well as the final results, with Maruo-Sensei’s avant-garde style of kanji (and some English!) at the top of each sheet.

writer: staff  date: 9:36 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The 36th Japan Cup Karatedo Kata Champions
Male- Takashi Katada (L)
Female - Nao Morooka (R)

The exciting semi-final match between Ko Matsuhisa (red) and Ryutaro Araga (blue). Matsuhisa went on to claim first place.

Hey everyone, time for a quick review of the 36th All-Japan National Karate Championships that Wessel and I went to recently.

This tournament, compared to the WKF Karate World Championships that we also attended, had a different kind of intensity. The competitors fought with a more “drive-forward” approach than some of the athletes in the WKF Worlds, and as a result of that there were a few more injuries including two knock outs. This also happened because competitors represent their home prefectures and just as everyone wants to win for their country, so too do these people for their own hometown.

The match that was the most exciting for me was the semifinals with Ko Matsuhisa and Ryutaro Araga. The fight started off slow with a few exchanges here and there and Araga making many advances and feints using his front leg, but nothing really exciting happened. Until the halfway point, Araga slowly built up to his 4 point lead over Matsuhisa. Suddenly, Matsuhisa scored an ura-mawashi (reverse roundhouse kick) to score 3 points and close the gap. After that, he scored another point with a kizami zuki (front jab), and tied the score with 10 seconds left. Matsuhisa then managed to get in another kizami zuki at the buzzer to win the nail-biting match. That neither got hurt during the tough fight shows just how much control these top level fighters have.

Another thing I really liked was the men and women’s demos. They got a lot of “ohh”s and “ahh”s from the audience, including us. We filmed both of them entirely and I’ll try and find a way to upload them onto my karate channel on YouTube.

Unfortunately, Wessel and I were so drawn into the matches that we didn’t think of pulling out the camera for those… Shows what good camera men we are. We did manage to get this snapshot of Matsuhisa and Araga though.

- Dave

writer: staff  date: 9:06 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Hey everyone, what’s up?

December 17th was my birthday and I turned 18! Wow I’m old. I still remember thinking about how cool and old 18 year old people are when I was still a kid… haha! If I was in Holland right now, I would be an official adult and I actually feel like one!

It has been three months and a half already since I came to Japan. So much has happened so fast and I’m really used to the life here now. Like EF (the exchange program that I’m with) always says, “It’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s different”. I totally agree with it. I’m really enjoying my time here, but sometimes it gets really difficult and you just have a bad day. But that happens to everyone everywhere and I just have to accept it.

At the start of this month I moved, together with my home stay family, to a bigger house. Nice, I love bigger houses! I don’t have to share a room with the two brothers anymore, only with the oldest brother. I can also study better at home now, which I think is the best improvement.

Right now I’m focusing on training (karate, karate, karate). It’s winter break now, by the way. We have lots of free time and I’m planning to spend it well. Although it sounds weird, I think I will go to school a lot. At school I can train with the karate club and maybe study at the computer room after. There are a lot of people coming to school during the vacation, so it’s actually pretty common here.

Next to training I also want to do more fun stuff in Tokyo. There are so many cool things to see and do here and I believe I haven’t even seen half of it. But it doesn’t always have to be, like, going to a super big temple or go shopping at an awesome neighborhood. I also like to just relax at a nice coffee shop and just watch the thousands of people that are walking by.

To conclude this somewhat random post, I’d like to say that I’m really glad that I came here. I think this is one of the biggest events in my life so far. I learned so many things about life and people. In Japan everything seems so familiar, but it also has many strange sides. This is what makes it really cool, but once again sometimes difficult as well. Ok! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next post! (Well… I kind of won’t see you but… you know what I mean)

Jaa-na (see you),

(The cool and old 18 year old) Wessel!

writer: staff  date: 8:44 AM | Life at Seiritsu

(L to R) Richard, Wessel, and David in front of the Nippon Budokan.

Wessel and I were lucky enough to go to the 19th World Karate Championships, an all-styles tournament. We were able to see the best fighters watch them fight and study their moves as well as see them take the stand and receive their medals. For me, it was less of a show and a bit more about studying kumite.

I noticed how much some fighters attack in comparison to the most successful fighters, and how they only attack when they have a sure target or know their opponent well enough to win in an exchange of attacks. It was also fun to cheer for my country and I got a few Japanese fans next to me to start shouting "CANADA!".

Wessel and I have gone to a lot karate related events and we’re starting to get noticed more often at events. We're also starting to notice who is more active than others or who is famous in the karate community. I hope to continue this sport when I go back to Canada and hopefully make a good name for myself someday too. Attending all of these events has probably helped me in doing so.

- David

writer: staff  date: 1:34 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Wessel (R) with 2008 World Karate Championship double gold medalist, Rafael Aghayev (Azerbaijan, left).

On November 16, Dave and I went to the 19th World Karate Championships in the Nippon Budokan and were able the see the best fighters in the world. We were very lucky to get a chance to go, since the championship is held all over the world and it is only the second time it’s the tournament has been held in Japan.

We arrived at the Budokan around 8:30am and went home around 7:30pm. It was a really long day, but really cool.

A thing that I really liked about the tournament was that the competitors were sitting on the normal seats. Dave and I just sat down somewhere and apparently we were sitting very close to a famous karate competitor from Azerbaijan. A lot of people went to him to take pictures and get autographs. I had no idea who he was, so at first I didn’t do anything.

When I saw him fight I understood what makes in so good. After he got into the finals for -70 kilograms and beat a famous Japanese fighter in semi-finals, I asked him to sign my happy elephant notebook (which I use to study my kanji and math). After he won the finals for -70kg I got a really great picture with him.

It was a really cool day and I'm so glad that I went!

-Wessel

writer: staff  date: 1:17 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Jason with his dad at the airport.

Hi everyone. It's Jason Davidson writing to you from Melbourne, Australia. I have been back in Melbourne since Thursday November, 6, 2008 for a knee operation. I flew out of Japan on the Wednesday before and arrived into Melbourne on the following morning. I went straight from the airport to a private hospital and that afternoon I underwent surgery on my right knee.

My injury happened the previous week during training when I tried to dribble my opponent. My boot stuck into the ground with my full weight on my knee and experienced a crunch when I turned. I knew immediately something was wrong as I twisted my knee. Usually I run out the pain, but this time I knew instantly it was a lot more serious as the pain persisted and it became unbearable.

I have had a niggling knee problem for a while and my coaches and doctor were aware of it. So when I fronted them with this new injury and explained what had happened they immediately knew I had done something more serious to it as well.

Once I arrived at the hospital I was introduced to knee specialist Mr David Young who wanted to see the MRI scans taken from Japan. I was told that I had seriously torn and damaged my internal meniscus (cartilage in the knee) which needed surgery straight away.The operation went for an hour and I had to stay in hospital recovering for a week. Mr Young has told me that the surgery went smoothly and he removed my cartilage and also explained that I was required to stay on crutches and have no weight on my knee for another 3 weeks and then start my rehabilitation for another 6 to 8 weeks before seeing him again.

Hopefully I can get back into the same peak condition as I was in before this injury occurred within that time. My father chose to have my operation in Melbourne with Mr Young, who is the National Football Team and Australian Olympic Team surgeon and he has also operated on both my father's knee's in the past. He knows my and our family history and we wanted Mr Young do the operation as we feel he is one of the best knee surgeons in Australia. Another reason for having the operation here in Melbourne is that he offered to operate straight away and I have my family supporting me during this difficult time and my rehabilitation would be less stressful.

I am not stepping on the leg at the moment but my knee feels very weak and strange. My rehabilitation will require swimming, exercises and build up to walking to running and a lot of weight training to build the muscle tissue around my knee over time. I expect to be well and truly ready to return in the new year which is what Mr Young has predicted if all goes well.

I am so frustrated now that I am not playing and training now, as it is a huge part of my life style in Tokyo, but I also understand that injuries are part of the game and to keep focussed and positive for when I return on the field, the most important thing now is to have a proper rehabilitation program in place and work hard on it.

I have also sent some photo's of me arriving in Melbourne with my dad and some shots of me in hospital before and after the operation as well as some pic's of my knee!!

Jason Davidson

Jason post-operation.

Jason's knee after the surgery.

writer: staff  date: 1:03 PM | Life at Seiritsu

L to R: David, Richard, Oliva Sensei, Lawrence, and Wessel.

On November 9, the really famous karate coach Antonio Oliva Seba Sensei held two kumite (fighting) seminars somewhere in Saitama, the prefecture north Tokyo. There was a morning session for kids and an afternoon session for adults. Richard organized it and Dave and I had a chance to go to both of them.

Some athletes from the Hungarian team and a really good fighter from Latvia (who got second place in the junior world championships and is the same age as Dave and me) helped Oliva Sensei to explain his teachings.

They are here in Japan because the week after the seminar the world championships were held.
We trained all day long with short breaks in between and I really learned a lot. Not any new awesome kick techniques or anything, but more about karate, myself and the things you should keep an eye out for while sparring.

-Wes

writer: staff  date: 12:52 PM | Life at Seiritsu

In my month full of Karate, I was able to attend my first karate seminar, hosted by Oliva Sensei, one of the greatest kumite coaches in the world. I took a lot from it- a few new drills and some key pointers to remember during kumite that were especially important for me.

I really needed this seminar, considering kumite isn’t really my strong point. It was also really great to see some of the people that Wessel and I have already met from past tournaments, as well as being able to meet people from the Shiramizu karate club, the dojo affiliated with the internship program Richard runs.

I think that was one of the best parts of the seminar for me was getting a chance to fight other people. So far I have only really done kumite against the others in my club, and because the Seiritsu club isn’t that big, it’s hard to get a lot of variation. Besides karate, I got to see the country side of Japan. Overall it was a pretty good day.

-David

writer: staff  date: 12:41 PM | Life at Seiritsu

A Seiritsu student carries some of the team's gear to the game.

Hi everyone its Ryosuke again. Today is our first day back to school since our three day weekend. Even though school was off, we had soccer games on two of the three days we had off.

This weekend's schedule was quite hard because we played some of the best teams in Japan. Our first game was against Ryukei Kashiwa which is last year's National High School Champion. This is the team that won the Inter-High tournament.

The next day was training and we had to make sure that we were in good condition for our next and more important game, which was against the youth team Omiya Artija. Against this team we were supposed to be playing the B-team, but because we had won our last two games against them, they decided to bring in half of their A-team.

These guys were huge and basically adults. Not one player in our team was that big and there were about five or six of them bigger than all of us. After the exhausting ninety minute game, we lost and it was time to face the wrath of the coaches... or so I thought. But our coach was in a good mood and in the end, all was well.

Hopefully we win our next game so that we don’t even have to worry about the coaches mood.

Ryousuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 12:31 PM | Life at Seiritsu

(L to R)- Rui, Yuka, and Yukiko strut their stuff in Team Kata.

One of the many kumite matches throughout the day.

The entire club (and their trophies) at the end of the Kita-ku Tournamnt.

Hey everyone, it’s been a while since the last update. This time around I’ll be talking about the recent karate tournaments that the Seiritsu karate club have been participating in.

I went to a total of 3 tournaments in the past two weeks, all of them in Tokyo. Two official tournaments and one city tournament. The karate club attended all three and did fairly well.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a karate tournament, other than seeing a lot of dogis and black belts. I was surprised to see that there are a few kata [predetermined move sets, where the competitor has to execute a series of techniques with utmost precision.] that were much more popular than others. I got to see some kata that really left me in awe, as well as some kumite [sparring] that literally made my jaw drop.

A few things did shock me besides the actual event were the energetic, always ready and always helping competitors doing everything from preparing to cleaning at the end. These type of things would rarely happen in Quebec...

The tournaments made me to want to train a lot harder than usual; it gave me a certain hunger to do karate, more so than before. Since the first tournament I’ve been waking up as early as 5:30 AM and heading to the school dojo for an hour of morning practice. So I’ve been getting 3 hours a day... (Counting the 2 hours I do after school.)

Besides that, the tournaments were good for the bonding of the club. Wessel and I got to talk with the team a lot more, help out and make some jokes here and there as the weeks went by. Since the first tournament, I think we’ve been getting closer as friends and as a unit.

I should also add that some of our club members won some awards from these competitions. Congratulations to Yuka, for getting Top 8 in individual women's kumite and then 4th in another individual women’s kumite the following week. I’d also like to congratulate Ryota-Sempai, Shun-Sempai and Carl for their winnings in the Kita-ku (North-region of Tokyo) tournament as well.

Anyhow, that’s all for this time. Thanks for reading everyone.

David

writer: staff  date: 12:22 PM | Life at Seiritsu

The team gathers after a practice.

Hey everyone its Dylan again.

It is Tuesday now and I have just finished a 3 day weekend. Monday was a public holiday but instead of having a day off, we had a game. On Saturday we traveled two hours by bus to Maebashi Gakuen. This is one of the best high school soccer teams in Japan and unfortunately Seiritsu lost 1-0 from a goal that came in the second half.

On Sunday we had a game at our home ground against Yokohama FC which is a second division J-League club. This team was very good at keeping the ball as their first touch was very good but unfortunately for them, they did not have the strength or speed and we beat them 4-0. On Monday we played against Ryukei Kashiwa which is also one of the best high schools in Japan and, as a matter of fact, Ryukei Kashiwa won the National High School Soccer competition in 2007. But this year they were not so lucky and have already been knocked out of the Tokyo competition in a game that went to penalties.

This meant that all the 3rd years from Ryukei left the school as they have nothing left to stay for (ed- Third year students often take their last 6 months off from club activities to focus on studying for university entrance exams). So the Seiritsu B-1 team (1st years) played against the best of the 1st and 2nd years from Ryukei. It was a tight game but they were a lot more physically stronger and bigger than us and we went down 2-1.

Despite all that, I had a great 3 day weekend and I cant wait until the next!

By Dylan Windust

writer: staff  date: 12:17 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hmmm...... what to pick...

Hi everyone, this is Poom.

This time I'm writing about what I like from Japanese convenience stores. It’s a bit different from my country’s convenience store. In Japan every convenience stores must have a restroom inside but in Thailand, some do not. The most interesting for me in convenience store is oden. Oden is a popular Japanese dish where various foods are cooked in a broth. It is even tastier if you eat in while it's hot and put some karashi (mustard) on it.

Most of 7-Eleven stores in Japan sell oden. It's kept simmering in the big pot, waiting for customers to buy some. First time I saw, I was impressed by the way the convenience store sell oden to customers. Customers can choose whatever they want to eat and pay the price by what was picked from the pot. Everything looks delicious!! First time I tasted it, it was very nice, especially because I ate it while it still hot.

I always go buy some oden if I feel hungry at home because it’s easy and delicious. I hope everyone gets a chance to try some oden.

Poom

writer: staff  date: 12:10 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Wess' got mail!

Oss! This is Wessel (oras the Japanese say it; besseru). A lot happened this month. I got a new phone and now I’m mailing a lot of my new Japanese friends almost everyday.

One thing I really like about this is because it’s cheap. It’s only 300 yen ($3/ 2.40 euros) a month for unlimited emailing and SMS text messaging. In Holland it would cost me a lot more and I wouldn’t really use it anyways.

For me talking in Japanese is still difficult. I can ask questions, but I don’t really understand the answers. But when I’m emailing, I have more time to look up words. This way I also learn a lot.
It’s also good for reading and writing. I don’t really have problems with hiragana (Japanese alphabet) and katakana (Japanese alphabet for foreign words and names) anymore and I’m actually learning new kanji (Chinese characters).

I’m glad I’m finally part of the Japanese phone community (literally everyone here has one) and I wish it was like this in Holland as well.

Matane!

Wess

writer: staff  date: 12:07 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Jason and his bandages.

Hi everyone, I've had a very busy schedule since my last blog.

Everything was going well until two Fridays ago, when I injured my knee quite severely. I am returned back to Australia last Wednesday (Nov 5) to get an operation on my knee. I will also be doing my rehab in Australia so it might be a while till my next blog.

It was very bad timing for me to get injured because, as you might know, we have one of the most important games of this year this following Saturday. Although I will not play, I hope that my teammates can pull off a victory and make it to the Tokyo finals. If they make the finals and win, then they will go to the Nationals. If the make that then I will be able to rejoin the team and hopefully get some game time. For the meantime, I am just worrying about getting through the operation and having a good a speedy recovery.

That’s all from me this time around. I will be heading home to Australia tomorrow so it might be a while till my next blog.

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 12:01 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Jason looks for a teammate to pass to.

Hey everyone, it’s Jason again. Today was the first day back at school after a nice one week Autumn Break. As usual, although I had no school my soccer schedule doubled. In one week we played four games and trained twice leaving us with only one whole day off. Indeed it sounds and it was hard but it is all in preparation for the tournament we are currently in. The tournament is our last and most important. We are currently in quarter finals of our region, and if we can win our region then we will move onto the All-Japan cup. This is where only one or two teams from each region participate to see which team is the best team in Japan.

My prediction is that we might be able to go to the all Japan Cup but I think it really depends on how we are on the day of the game and how focused we are about winning. For the older players this is their last major tournament so everyone is very serious. Hopefully all the hard work we have put in can pay off.

That's all for me this blog, but I will keep you updated on how we go through the tournament. Hopefully my next blog will be about how we made the All Japan Cup.

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 7:11 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The Windusts (From R to L): Michael, Dylan, Brooke, and Sharon.

Hey everyone! I just finished my Autumn Break and at the start of it, my parents arrived at Narita airport where I picked them up and headed to our apartment in Urawa. It is my parents' first time in Japan and they were quite shocked by some of the culture difference between Japan and New Zealand.

One of the shocks they overcame was how packed the trains were in the morning and night and we experienced having to push onto the train one night on the way back from Tokyo. My mum and dad were also shocked at how tough the training and games when they watched me. Even though I had told them all about it, they only really believed it when they saw with their own eyes the type of training we do.

My parents have traveled quite a bit but the food in Japan still gave them a bit of a shock. On the menu were things like rare horse meat and sometimes you even had to cook your own meal in the restaurant which they had never experienced before. (Even I had never seen rare horse meat on a menu).

But overall, my parents have enjoyed Japan though I think there are still few more interesting traditions or experiences for them to find out about before they can say they have see everything.

By Dylan Windust

writer: staff  date: 9:34 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Ryosuke's jersey went unworn since he was injured, but it's ready for his comeback.

Today is our first day back to school since the Autumn break. Even though the break was only for one week, it was good because it gave me time to refresh my mind and make a new start.

During the one week, six of the days were training and games and then we had the full day off at the end. But I was injured so I couldn’t play in any of my games though I still went down to all of the games to cheer my team on.

Every day when there would be a game, there would be about three games during that day, and I would have to either video the game or be a linesman. It was my first time doing either of these things and both were much, much harder than I expected. To be honest, they were nearly as hard as playing in the actual game!

Watching my team play everyday was difficult because I wanted to play very badly. While I watched them play, I noticed what I was doing well in games and also what I was doing not so well. But just watching every day was not very fun however, seeing what I need parts of my game I need to improve has motivated me even more.

Starting today, I am playing again and I am really looking forward to trying out what I have learned in the last week.

-Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 9:28 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Hello! This year's Seiritsu school festival was on 27 October. Everyone in school pitched in to do their job to make school festival be one of the best ever. In my class I helped sell the Japanese dessert called dangou.

It was a very nice experience to do activity with everyone in the class. We spent about 3 days preparing everything we needed. In school festival day, I was very impressed with how well everything went. My friends David and Wessel performed in a karate demo with their friends from the karate clubs. It was very interesting. The school festival ended at about 15:00. after that me and my friends had dinner at ikebukuro.

-Poom Noynart

writer: staff  date: 12:57 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Wessel and David line up with the Seiritsu Karate Club for the Bunkasai demo.

Wessel and his homeroom, 2F.

Hi everyone! Last week there was a big bunkasai (cultural festival) at Seiritsu and it was really fun! In Japan, school festivals are really common. Before the actual festival, the classes planned a fun activity with their home room teacher. This could be anything from selling food to running a small maze in the classroom or exhibiting things they've made. During the preparation, the festival itself and the after party I spent a lot of time with the Japanese students and I made a lot of new friends.

Three days before the festival all the classes started to decorate the whole school including the classrooms. There was a lot of work to do and I did my best to help out. I was in my own homeroom class (2F) and but I didn’t even know what we were doing at the festival, only that our class was called “Wessel & The Happy Friends Factory”… right.

Later I found out that my class would be selling pancakes (called hot cakes here) and our setting was a "happy friends factory". Therefore, we made a lot of pipes made of bottles and aluminum, covered the walls with black paper and painted a really big logo, "2Factory". I also cut small dolphins and small circles out of colorful cloth, but those were for the stairways and hallways to several classrooms (including ours).

Not everything worked out well. For example we covered the whole floor with small pieces of cardboard and topped that with newspapers. This took us about two whole days, but unfortunately after we painted it black it didn’t really look good, so we had to throw it away.

During the preparation, I didn’t stay in the classroom all day. I also walked around with Poom and Dave to see what the other classes were making. We had time to “talk” with other students (which was really fun to do).

On the day of the festival I woke up earlier than usual so I could be at school around 8am. We still had about two hours before the public would come, so we had enough time to finish everything. For the festival, everyone in my class wore the same black overalls with our logo in gold on our backs. My home room teacher gave it to me for free (all my classmates were jealous). Although it’s a little bit too big (It says 6L!!) I am really glad I have it. It’s a great souvenir.

During the festival I walked around, saw a lot of cool shows from several school clubs and got free waffles and pancakes. I also watched the last part of a really exciting basketball game (Seiritsu won!) and performed some karate moves with the karate club, which David and I took part in. The festival was finished around three o’clock and we had to clean everything up. When there wasn’t much to do in my class I helped with taking down the festival tents outside.

After the festival some classmates and I went to a restaurant near the school. It was really fun and I made some really good friends. They taught me lots of new Japanese words and we talked about manga and many other things.

I think that the bunkasai was a great experience and I hope there will be something like this again this year.

-Wessel Jansen

writer: staff  date: 12:43 PM | Life at Seiritsu

David (punching) taking part in a sparring drill during the Seiritsu Karate Club's Bunkasai demo.

Hello readers! In this update I’m going to inform you about the Bunkasai here at Seiritsu and what it was like for a foreign student, such as myself, to take part in it.

My homeroom class, 2-H, went up one floor from our normal classroom and prepared a separate room for the Bunkasai. We had about a whole week to prepare for the festival. My homeroom decided on a making waffles, calling our "restaurant" Tomommy’s waffles, named after my homeroom teacher (Mr. Tomomi Udagawa).

I thought this was a pretty good idea, if only I had some maple syrup! We also used the preparation time to decorate the room. We painted, bonded, taped, and put up all sorts of decorations to make it seem like a brick room with picnic-draped tables with pink and red hearts plastered around the room.

We all worked really hard, and during the preparation time I really got to know my classmates. I knew they were friendly, despite the shocked faces they had on my first day, but they were really getting into the conversation and trying to get to know me. It seems like everyone in the class is really close and friendly to each other, so I really didn’t feel out of place being talked to by so many different people. I also learned most of their names, nicknames and what school clubs they are in and what they like. Surprisingly I found out I have a lot in common with them, such as music, shows, activities, and so on.

Helping out for the preparation was probably the best time to make new friends and for me to really integrate myself into the group. Now every class we have together seems really fun, especially since we know we can joke with each other and say funny things while knowing what’s good to say or not. It really feels like I know them. It also helped my Japanese improve a lot and, I’m starting to learn at a much faster pace.

The Bunkasai itself was very busy, but with the help of my teachers and classmates I was able to always find out what I was doing. When I had some free time, some of the other foreign students and I went around and bought snacks, spent time talking with some of the other Japanese students and visitors, and also helped out around the school, doing whatever we could do.

Wessel and I participated in a Karate demonstration, which was really good. We got to show a little bit of what we learned and get some good shots of us in action. This was pretty important to me, as my host dad and host sister were standing by watching. After that, I guided them around the school and showed them all the different classrooms and what they were doing. Bam, Poom’s Thai friend from another school in Japan, also came to see and we toured the Bunkasai together most of the time.

After the Bunkasai was over, I spent about 2 hours cleaning around the room, putting things back, tearing things down and recycling everything we had put up for future use in other festivals and activities. We spent another hour sitting about, talking about the festival and talking with each other. In that time, I also got to know some other students from neighboring classrooms and even some members of the basketball team that were with Poom. After all of this, about twenty of my homeroom classmates and I met at a Shabu Shabu (Shabu shabu is raw meat that you cook yourself in a boiler at your table) restaurant for dinner. We all sat down at three or four different tables in the same small room and continued to discover more about each other- I might be repeating myself, but really, there is so much to talk about when you’re from the other side of the world, as well as so much to ask.

I have to say, the Bunkasai is probably going to be one of my biggest highlights of my EF year abroad. That week of preparation, the festival and dinner with my homeroom really brought everything together for me. Now I don’t feel so estranged and I feel more like a regular student here. But that’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

-David Alexander

writer: staff  date: 12:28 PM | Life at Seiritsu

The fireworks from Jason's eyes.

Hi everyone, it’s my first day back at school and it feels a little weird to tell you the truth.I have been on summer holidays for almost two months and what a great time I have had. I have experienced two summers already in Japan and this year’s summer vacation would be the most enjoyable, eye opening and enjoyable out of the three.

This year’s summer vacation would be by far the most enjoyable, because this year I am a 2nd year student which means that I have much more time than last year when I was a 1st year student. This year I think the biggest difference was that I was having more fun than my previous two years because I went with my friends to the local park and lit fireworks for the first time in my life. In Australia I had never experienced the joy of fireworks because they are illegal whereas in Japan fireworks are legal.

This summer is my third one in Japan. It has been very different in many ways to my previous summers. I think because my Japanese has improved I have been able to communicate with Japanese people better which has led me to going out more and experience Japan life differently.

After seeing some of the most beautiful things in Japan during my summer holidays, I can really say that summer has really opened my eyes to how beautiful Japan really is. The most amazing thing I saw would have had to been Mt Fuji when I went to a soccer game in Shizouka, where Mt Fuji is located. I can still remember the day like it was yesterday. It was the first time I had seen it on a clear blue sky and it didn’t disappoint. Most of my time in Japan has really just been around Tokyo, so it was really good to witness some of Japan’s beauties.

All in all I had a great summer not just on the field playing soccer but off the field with my friends. This summer I even got a nice tan even though the weather during training was stinking hot, I can’t complain. We Australians love getting a nice dark tan during summer, so I was glad that I could keep that tradition going this summer in Japan.

-Jason

writer: staff  date: 8:37 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Hard training and good sleep go hand in hand.

Today is my first day back at school after the summer break. In my summer vacation I experienced a mixture of fun, physically hard work and a few weird experiences. The summer break gave me time to appreciate the time that I had off and to deal with whatever the coaches throw at me when I didn’t.

The time that I had off during the summer break was great. I appreciate the time I have off in Japan much more as there is not much of it. In my spare time I either went into Tokyo with some friends or relaxed and got some rest from the previous day of training and in preparation for the next.

The 6 day period of summer vacation when I had double training was a time I will never forget. It was the hardest, physically and mentally, that I have ever worked in my life. In the morning training started at 9 o’clock and this training was usually only running. We would usually do one or two 3-kilometer races and then either four 750m sprints or sometimes ten 300m sprints. After this the next training started at 1 o’clock and this was a normal training which is also quite tough.

I experienced a couple of odd times as well during the time when we traveled away for trips twice for four days each. It was very different to the camps I went on New Zealand as you sleep on mattresses on the floor; you are forced to eat all of the food on the plates given and 3 bowls of rice or you are not allowed to play in the game and you also shower naked with the whole team. This is something I have experienced a little on the WYNRS NZ Japan tours but not to this extent.

Overall, my summer vacation was enjoyable but at the same time I would not want to do it again. I experienced some strange things that would be crazy in any other country but Japan. But overall I think the summer break has strengthened me as a person and I will never forget the Japanese summer of 2008.

By Dylan Windust

writer: staff  date: 8:32 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Ryosuke in his soccer jersey.

Hi everyone. It’s my first day back at school since the summer holidays and what a blast it was. It felt like there was more free time these holidays too and it was great. During the holidays I had a lot of experiences, mainly of excitement, depression, and hard work.

A lot of things this summer were exciting. A great feeling is when you have just finished a hard training and are getting changed ready to go out afterward. The feeling that you have done everything that you could do for that day, and that you have accomplished something cannot be beat by any other emotion. Another exciting thing for me was going to my soccer games. It was great thinking about what sort of goal I would score that day,, or how many people I would be able to dribble before I lose the ball.

However, if the game didn’t go very well, then I would be taken over by depression which would usually ruin the rest of my day. When we played against Keisei high school, the first half went really well and we were winning 1-0. In the second half everyone became tired and nobody could move anymore. We ended up losing 1-7 and the coach got really angry. I don’t think I have ever seen him that angry before! After two halves of forty minutes my team had to do fifty 100-meter sprints. When I got home that night I fell asleep right away and didn’t wake up till 10 in the next morning.

Most of the things during summer was hard work and although I was expecting things to be difficult, I wasn’t expecting things to be that hard. Running around for three hours under the hot scorching 38 degree sun was very tiring especially since I did it almost every day.

In the end everything turned out great and was worth the hard work, and although there were many ups and downs, I enjoyed these holidays more than any before. I can't wait until the next holidays!

-Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 9:24 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Dylan playing for the New Zealand Central United Team at the 2007 Nike Cup World Finals in England.

In the months that I have been in Japan so far I have found out a lot about the differences between NZ and Japanese soccer. There are many differences and ups and downs about the two as they are completely different. The main differences are the speed of the Japanese game, the competition in the trainings and the games every day and weekend.

New Zealand style of soccer is a lot different to Japanese as the game as it is a lot slower and you have a lot more time on the ball to think. In Japan whenever you get the ball you are pressured so you have to think before you get the ball. The fitness of the other Japanese players as well keeps the game fast for the full game as Japanese football relies a lot on fitness. If you are not fit enough then it is a lot harder to get the ball which makes it a lot harder to play well.

As you probably know there are around 127 million people living in Japan so there are so many people playing soccer. In New Zealand there is only 4 million people which makes it hard for there to be much competition. New Zealand has a unique style of playing, but it is not developed enough yet to be able to compete at a world-class level. As there are so many people in Japan it makes the competition level a lot harder which makes improving much easier compared to New Zealand since in Japan you are playing at a high level every day plus on weekends.

Dylan in his Seiritsu dorm room!

There are many differences between Japanese and NZ soccer, advantages and disadvantages. Both have a unique style and for the last 8 years I have been learning about the NZ style. Now it is time for me to move on to learning about a new advanced way to improve my soccer level.

Dylan Windust

writer: staff  date: 12:27 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Jason and another student who won some running races this summer, holding their winner's certificates!

Hi everyone, it seems like it's been quite some time since my previous blog. It’s the start of July and summer holidays are just around the corner. There will be a lot going on this summer. On the soccer pitch we will have extra games and trainings and off the pitch I will have more time to hang out with my Japanese and foreign friends. Some of these things I am looking forward to (and some of them I am not).

There are many enjoyable things that I experienced during summer last year which I am looking forward to do again. On the pitch I can’t wait to play in the summer games and go on the soccer camps. Off the pitch I can’t wait to get a nice tan, just hang out and relax with my friends.

Although there are many enjoyable things about summer, there are some things that I am not looking forward to. For example, on the pitch I am not looking forward to the double training sessions in 30-35 degree heat we have and getting burnt while having them.

Even though there are some things about summer that I am not looking forward to, all in all I think this summer will be great and I can’t wait for it. Hopefully I will have as much fun as I did with me Japanese friends last year!

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 12:14 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hi everyone. It’s Jason again and it’s been a while since I have written my last blog post. Many things have changed but life is still going on a usual in Japan. Today’s topic is about my favorite food from a convenience store. Convenience stores are located nearly on every block in Japan. They are very handy for people on the move, which is pretty much everyone in this country. My favorite convenience store food would definitely be onigiri. An onigiri is a rice ball that has something inside of it and is then covered with a strip of dried seaweed. My favorite onigiri would definitely be the tuna onigiri. There are many types of onigiri and, depending on what is inside of them, they are different prices. Most are cheap and are a great snack for busy people. If you ever visit Japan you will see that onigiri are a part of Japanese life. You will always see someone eating them or buying them every day, including me!

By Jason

writer: staff  date: 10:47 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The food in Japan that has me hooked is a type of bread that they sell at the convenience store. It’s called Melon-pan. Whenever I go to a convenience store I have to keep myself from buying this delicious bread. But sometimes I treat myself to it as I cannot hold back for too long. This tasty bread has sugar on the outside and white bread on the inside that tastes like it was made on that day. The brand of this bread it called Yamazaki Melon-pan. At some points in the day, I have cravings for it and I swear I would walk for half an hour just to reach this Melon-pan. If you taste this it you will be amazed by its rich, crunchy, sugary outside and its soft chewy inside. When you take a bite of the bread, the sugar will dissolve onto your taste buds and the dough will melt in your mouth. I thought heaven only came when you died but I thought wrong. I hope someday you have a chance to taste this wonderful creation called Melon-pan. I highly recommend it to anyone living on earth.

By Dylan Windust

writer: staff  date: 12:55 PM | Life at Seiritsu

After every training there is always one food that I must eat at the convenience store and that is the juicy chicken from MiniStop, the best chicken that you will get any where in the world!! In my opinion, it is even better than KFC! I love it because of the crispy coating, the juicy meat and the extremely cheap price.
The golden coating is never soggy, always crispy and when you bite into it the flavor bursts out and you are instantly sent to heaven.
After the crunchy coating comes the meat which is super juicy and the taste lasts in your mouth for a long, long time. The flavor fills your mouth and your mouth asks for more.
You would think that something as nice as this would cost a fortune but it only costs 125 yen. And if you buy three, you can get them all for 300 yen! Usually I buy three and spend the train ride home enjoying the delicious snack.

-Ryosuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 12:24 PM | Life at Seiritsu

A Seiritsu player makes a dash for it...!

Hi everyone, posting my monthly report on how life in Japan is going. It’s middle of winter and its freezing. Coming from down under, this is the first time I have ever experienced a cold winter like this. In Australia during winter all the sports players wear tights even though it’s only 10 degrees. Although here in Japan its 0 degrees and even lower, no one wears tights and so I decided to ask around to see if we were allowed to wear them. I received the same answer from both my coaches and teammates. That was not wearing tights makes us mentally stronger, that tights don’t look appropriate with our uniforms and that they are unnecessary because it’s not even that cold.

Our coaches really believe that not wearing tights during winter will make us mentally stronger, therefore making us better players. This theory I think is a little too harsh because it freezing!!! But as many foreigners that have lived in Japan will tell you, “rules are rules and they don’t change them for no one”.

The coaches also said no because they thought that wearing our own tights with the team uniform didn’t look appropriate. It all comes down to opinions and the coach’s opinions are the ones that count. I personally think they look quite good with our uniforms.
After asking the coaches a number of times, they still told us that we weren’t allowed to wear tights. Again, they gave us reasons for why they said no and even said that tights were unnecessary because it wasn’t even cold enough to use them. Not cold??? It’s minus 0 degrees!!!

All in all I must say, after training almost for half a winter without tights I do believe that without the tights all of the players have become a lot more mentally stronger, including me.

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 11:32 AM | Life at Seiritsu

It was a freezing cold winter Tuesday morning when I woke up and stared out at of my bedroom window to see a scene of pure white snow. This was my first experience of snow since I came to Japan and I was extremely excited. Feeling as if it was Christmas all over again, I rushed outside forgetting I had to get ready for school. After calming down a little I started eating breakfast and thought about the train that I had to catch for school. Because it was snowing, the trains would probably be delayed, packed and uncomfortable. I like Japanese winters but from what I’ve heard, the trains are terrible.

While I was walking towards the station I had a feeling that my train was going to be delayed. Most of the ground was covered in snow and the parts which weren’t covered were frozen. Sure enough when I got to the station at 7:40am, the loud speaker announced that the 7:24am train was coming in another ten minutes.

Ten minutes later when the train arrived I had to make the biggest decision of my life! This was to either get on the train, or wait for the next one. The problem was that this train was packed and had the most people I had ever seen on a train before. On every one-square-meter of floor there were at least 10 people. This was because the trains were delayed and people who would catch three different trains were all on this one train.

I had no choice…if I didn’t get on this train, I would probably be late for school. This was not a good decision as it was the most uncomfortable train ride ever. After a vicious wrestling match with a rather large woman, I somehow managed to secure myself a comfortable spot in the corner of the carriage. Listening to my ipod I waited patiently for the call for my stop…I was counting down the stations…7…6…5…, when a huge man dressed in black suddenly appeared in front of me. He smelled terribly of cigarettes. My hands were in my pockets and because there were so many people on the train, I couldn’t move my hands to block my nose. 4 stations, 3…2…1...

Getting off the train was like another round of the wrestling match. I was pushed, tugged and hit at least 5 times, but as I walked out of the station I thought about the ride. It was a good experience, sort of funny even. I was able to go to school with a smile on my face =)

By Ryosuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 11:28 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Jason, as snug as a bug in a rug!

Hi everyone, it’s Jason again! It’s been a long time since my last post. Lots of interesting things has happened since my experience of picking potatoes. We have just come back to school from our winter holiday break and what a break it was. I spent most of my free time when I was at home under my home stay’s kotatsu (a table with an electric heater underneath covered by a quilt).

It’s terrific because in a drafty, cold Japanese home, you can eat, sleep and watch TV while seating inside the kotatsu.

Can you imagine seating in a nice warm area where your feet are toasty, and you are relaxed while eating, well you pretty much are imagining a kotatsu. I spent all my meals eating in the kotatsu located in the living room. It felt like I was a king.

After a hard training session there is nothing better then coming home and having a nice snooze inside the warm kotatsu. It feels like heaven especially because it’s so cold here in Japan right now. Japanese homes are drafty because they are built for summer when the house needs more air movement to reduce the repressive humidity. But the problem is in winter it’s absolutely freezing and that’s where the kotatsu comes into play.

Watching TV while laying down in the kotatsu I believe beats going out to the movies. However, there is only one problem with watching a DVD at home while seating in the kotatsu and that is trying to stay awake during the movie because it’s so cozy.

All in all I had only five whole days off training during my winter holidays because of my busy soccer schedule and in those five days I didn’t do nothing spectacular, but seating down, relaxing inside the kotatsu. Really it was better than going out with friends and having fun. The biggest problem is if you ever get inside a kotatsu, it’s so hard to leave!

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 8:17 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Ryosuke in the snowy mountains with his ever present soccer ball...

About two weeks ago I went to Nagoya City to visit my dad during the soccer club’s New Years break. Nagoya is about a two hour ride on a bullet train from Tokyo and it is famous for having very unique foods which I was looking forward to a new experience.

Dads’ house is way up in the mountains in Okazaki City (near Nagoya) and there are supposed to be wild boars roaming the forest.

Having the break was awesome!!! I can’t even remember the last time we had two days off in a row from soccer training let alone five.

The bullet train ride from Tokyo seemed really short and for some reason I was quite tired. I even slept when the train passed the great Mt. Fuji and I thought I lost a once in a lifetime experience to see it. (Luckily I stayed awake on the ride home). After that exhausting two hour ride I changed to a local train and stayed on it for yet another half an hour upon finally arriving at Nagoya station. Then it was a thirty minute car-ride and from there on, where the scenery changed from buildings to trees, trees, and more trees.

In the mountains there were wild boar footprints of all sizes and many rumors that on the neighboring mountain there were occasionally sightings of bears. I never got to see any wild animals while I was there and am sort of glad I didn’t have to be engaged in a running race with a screaming pig with tusks!!

Although I was looking forward to the new food ‘Nagoya style’, I only eat traditional New Year’s dishes, called osechiryouri, which everyone eats in Japan. I thought I would be able to eat something different but guess what!? During the five days, four was spent eating osechiryouri which I have been eaten every year New Years, and then I had to leave on the fifth! (guess I’ll have to wait until next year)

Overall it was a great, relaxing five days of spending time with family…and…I got $350 richer! (There is a Japanese tradition called otoshidama where relatives give money to younger relatives on New Year’s Day). I’m sure I will go back next year!

Ryosuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 8:11 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The entrance to the pathway to Hikawa Shrine in Omiya Park. During the first 3 days of January, this 1km pathway is lined with food stalls which are kept busy by the 2 million people who come to pray at the shrine.

People lined up to the main shrine gate.

2008 is the Year of the Rat as per the Chinese calendar.

Many people lined up to pray in front of the main Hikawa Shrine building. This scene is common at all shrines all over Japan.

New Years is the biggest event in Japan, sort of lasting several days into the first few days of January. Below is a great article from the Japan Times English newspaper about new year's customs here in old Nippon. Pretty much everything written in this article one experiences in Japan for sure.

Sights, sounds and tastes of new year in Japan
By MARK SCHREIBER
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20080103a1.html

Don't be surprised if you've noticed an unusual proliferation of rodents lately. Today marks the start of a nezumi-doshi, or Year of the Rat, the first in the order of 12 celestial animals of the Chinese zodiac.

In 2008, toshi-otoko and toshi-onna, men and women who were born in the year of the rat, will be turning age 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and so on.

When marking the occasion, however, nezumi is never written using the Chinese character for rat, but instead with the same kanji as ko (as in kodomo, child), which in this case is pronounced "ne."

According to the ancient Chinese sexagenary (60-year) cycle, 2008 will be a tsuchi-no-e-ne, (year of the "earth-rat"), superseding hi-no-to-i (year of the fire-boar).

The New Year is a time to celebrate renewal, and you can expect to encounter numerous terms incorporating shin (new), such as shin-nen (new year) and hatsu (first), as in hatsu-mode (visit to a shrine at the New Year).

Of course, preparations have already been under way well before. On Omisoka (December 31) people rush to complete their osoji (big end-of-the-year cleanup). New Year's Day is referred to as ganjitsu or gantan. Gan means "original" or "first." The characters for jitsu (meaning sun and day) and tan are almost the same, except the latter adds one stroke beneath it to represent the sun above the horizon at dawn. Jan. 1 is also a public holiday, and buses and street cars display the Japanese Hinomaru flag.

If you go anywhere aboard public transport, you may see people, many dressed in kimono, returning from hatsu-mode carrying a white arrow, a talisman called a hamaya, which is used to ward off demons and protect households during the year.

Most decorations, while rooted in Shinto traditions, have become a social custom detached from religious overtones. Kadomatsu (gate pine) that flank the entrances of buildings or homes provide a short-term abode for the spirits. Assembled, in the most elaborate cases, using shochiku-bai — the alternate kun readings for matsu, take and ume (pine, bamboo and plum) — these are removed on Jan. 7.

The ornaments affixed to doors and car radiators are called shimekazari. Traditionally sold by tobishoku (scaffolding workers), they incorporate a shimenawa, a straw rope that serves as a Shinto symbol of purity.

From Dec. 28 or 29, two slabs of mochi (cakes of glutinous rice) topped with a small bitter orange, called a daidai, a homonymn for the word that means "generations," are placed on home altars. These kagami mochi, which look something like a headless snowman, are customarily cut up and eaten around the second weekend in January.

If you visit a Japanese home, you might see children receiving otoshidama, monetary gifts from relatives, close friends and neighbors. The colorful small envelopes into which money is inserted are called pochibukuro.

This occasion certainly wouldn't be the same without nengajo New Year's greeting cards, some 400 million of which are sent each year. The postal service hires some 210,000 part-timers to deliver them on Jan. 1.

While "Hotaru no Hikari" (light of the fireflies, as "Auld Lang Syne" is called in Japanese) has been around since the 1880s, Japanese people are more likely to associate New Year's Eve with popular songs on the NHK program "Kohaku Utagassen." The famous Red vs. White Song Competition has been broadcast annually since 1951 (originally via radio, and on TV from 1963).
Then from 11:45 p.m., NHK shifts to the solemn tolling of the "Joya-no-Kane," the bell that marks the passing of the year. This is usually broadcast from the Chion-in temple in Kyoto, where the huge 74-ton tsuri-gane (hanging bell), cast in 1636, is sounded 108 times, symbolically driving out the 108 bonno (evil passions or earthly desires).

New Year's foods, called osechi ryori, a tradition dating back to the Heian Era (794-1185), are served from a three-tiered lacquered box (oju). The various items, all of which have some symbolic meaning, include date-maki (rolled omelet); kohaku kamaboko (red and white fish sausage); kurikinton (a mashed mixture of sweet potatoes and chestnuts); and konbu maki (rolled sea vegetable). Eaten cold and rather sweet to the palate, these are definitely an acquired taste. Other seasonal foods and beverages include toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles consumed on New Year's Eve), ozoni (vegetable soup with rice cakes) and otoso (a special spiced rice wine).

Finally, on this auspicious day, I'd like to say, "Minasama, akemashite omedeto gozaimasu (Happy New Year, everybody)!" and "Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu (please treat me favorably in the year ahead)."

writer: staff  date: 8:49 AM | Life at Seiritsu

We all know that the Japanese think really highly of foreigners. This is displayed during normal, everyday life and I found that it was also happening on the soccer pitch. There are a countless number of ‘stolen’ English words that the Japanese use.

When I first came to Japan, this was an extremely funny experience for me because I came from an English speaking country where the pronunciation was…lets just say very different. Many English words are used incorrectly in Japan. For example, words such as abauto (about) are used in soccer when a coach wants to tell his team that they are playing indecisively.

The amusing thing is that these incorrect words and sentences are even used in advertisements where everyone can see them! Last year, when I went to an ‘all you can eat buffet’ there was a label near the curry table saying ‘curay’. This is because the Japanese have what is called romaji which changes the Japanese pronunciation directly into the English alphabet. There are many funny things like this but I guess that it doesn’t matter too much because not many people can spot these mistakes, but still…hilarious!!

Shooto (shoot – telling someone to shoot), naisu (nice – when someone has played well), naisu torai (nice try – when someone misses an attempt at goal), nai-shoo (nice shot – after a well constructed shot), are also some of the words I hear everyday during soccer training, and struggle to not laugh about.

I will keep in touch, but right now got to go to my next training. I’m looking forward to it too. I wonder how many Janglish (Japanese-English) words I’m going to hear today……

Ryosuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 2:40 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Seiritsu students working the school farm beside our training ground in Washinomiya.

On Monday October 29th classes 1A and 1C went to a sweet potato field for an excursion. The field was across the road from our training facilities which was great because that’s only 15 minutes away from my house.

Some girls showing off their bounty.

The weather set the tone of how the day was going to turn out. For the last few days leading up to the excursion the weather was terrible, non stop rain. But guess what, the weather was incredible, blue skies and not a cloud in sight as we picked lots of potatos.

A Japanese grasshopper, called a 'batta'.

Jason with the fruits, um, vegetables of his labour...!

My favorite part of the day was when my friend and I made a bet to see who could find the largest sweet potato. We both found quite big ones, but they both seemed to be the same size. Although deep down I think that his one was bigger, please don’t tell him, hahaha. In the end I persuaded one of our friends to say that they seemed the same size hence it was a draw. All and all the day was great fun.

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 8:17 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The J.League is recognized as the professional soccer league in Japan. It has two divisions, J1 and J2. J1 is the top league where the big money is made, whereas J2 is more of a feeding league for J1, but there are still good players in J2 (J2 clubs tend to be in smaller city centers, with each team’s goal to build up their infrastructure and J2 game successes so they may be promoted to J1). The J1 division has been going for 15 years where as the J2 division was only recently created in 1999.

With the creation of the J.League, an improvement in overall soccer standards and support for soccer throughout Japan nationwide has been on the rise. There are 18 teams in J1 division and 13 teams in J2 division. I will be going to the J1 team Albirex Niigata next year.

Albirex Niigata was originally part of the J2 division when it was first formed in 1999. After 2 years of coming close to being promoted into the J1 division (2001, 2002) in the year in 2003 they won the J2 Division and they were promoted. They are currently 7th in J1 and are they 1 point off 6th place. They have an amazing fan support base with an average of 40,000 fans at every home game and they also have set records for attendance (single game 100,000+ & 600,000+ for a season).

Next year when I join, I am really looking forward to the challenge of pro soccer. The facilities are amazing; top grass and artificial pitches, weight rooms, stretch rooms, you name it they've got it. I will be living in the dormitory which is right on the training ground. Being given such an opportunity to go pro straight after graduating has been a dream come true, so I am going to work my hardest in the next year and hopefully be able to break into the starting team. Who knows, you might see me on TV in the near future.

Michael Fitzgerald

writer: staff  date: 9:28 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The amazing weather this year with record breaking highs was a perfect time to be relaxing at the beach indulging yourself with big lunches, maybe putting on a few pounds before coming back to school. This was the summer for some...

But for the soccer boys and myself, it was all about school club training and the hopes of being able to pass our university trails or for other pro trails.

This summer has been the quickest of my life. We trained almost everyday of the summer break. Throughout the break we had 3 camps, the first of the camps was held at the SG training ground and consisted of 2 –a-day trainings going for 4 days.

The next camp was 10 days long all on the road which included a tournament; we won the tournament in which we participated, a memory which I won’t forget.

The last of the camps was again on the road, but this was only for 3 days, and it also went well, a lot of team bonding and helped in strengthening all ready strong team.

We also won Tokyo’s T-League with no losses throughout the whole season and only one draw, so pretty good on paper.

I myself went away to Niigata, to try out for the Albirex Niigata pro team. I must have done something right while I was there as am signing my pro contract this week! This is an out of this world experience and I am just so happy, I would like to thank all the people that have helped, the school Seiritsu, the coaches, Wynrs (my New Zealand soccer club), my family and especially mum and dad, without them none of this would have been possible.

This summer has been filled with more than I would have ever expected! I came to Japan 3 years ago and I wanted to do well in my soccer and school, so now I can say that I have almost completed my 3 years with no regrets about being here! I am now looking forward to the future!

Michael

writer: staff  date: 3:00 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Dylan getting the handle of 'peacing' every picture!

Hi, my name is Dylan (from New Zealand) and I have come to Seiritsu Gakuen for soccer trials to try to be accepted to come back next in the year 2008 for 3 years.

I am here for 3 weeks and while I am at Seiritsu I will train and play with the first year team. I love the lifestyle in Japan because everyone works as hard as they can so the competition and soccer level is very high.

School finishes at 12.30, apart from Monday when it finishes at 3.30. When school finishes at 12.30 we go to the grounds and train and Tuesday training is physical training so it is very hard work. At the moment it is very hot so it has been hard to acclimatize to the heat, especially when you are playing soccer in it. Your fitness level has to be very high. I hope to come to Seiritsu Gakuen next year a take the next step into the long road of becoming a professional soccer player.

While I am here I stay in the soccer player dormitory, where Michael Fitzgerald and a lot of other 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students live. There are 2 people to quite a small room, but it is quite good to have a room mate to talk to. The dormitory is at the grounds, which is also very handy because it is easy to train by yourself and there is a weights room and balls you can use as well. Training will usually run for around 3 hours, sometimes more sometimes less.

Hopefully I will come back to Japan next year and be a part of the amazing experience!

Dylan

writer: staff  date: 2:31 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Ryosuke scanning for his name in a pro-soccer magazine... a few years early!

Hello everyone. Hope everything is going well. Recently we’ve had our summer holidays and boy was it hot! Here in Japan everyone trains and studies real hard even during the holidays! (not something I’m used to). People who do club sports have training nearly everyday, and the other people have extra lessons at school. Summer here is pretty much the same as normal school days.

I’ve just survived two weeks of double training under the hot scorching heat of a 40 degree sun. As obvious as it sounds, double training is when we have two, 2-3 hour trainings in one day. The first training started at 8:30am and the next started from 12:30pm. This was an unforgettable experience for me as back in New Zealand we would never have trained for 3 hours, let alone twice in one day! Although this was both physically and mentally exhausting, I know that it was worth all the hard work as I believe that this is why the Japanese are so fit and can concentrate for so long both on and off the pitch.

I’m finally getting used to the lifestyle here and I’m sure I will not regret the hard work of this summer.

Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 2:30 PM | Life at Seiritsu

By wearing a J.LEAGUE team jersey, Jason is balancing his soccer dreams perhaps...

Hi guys. It’s been a will since my last post. Everything is going fine.

Just survived the Seiritsu summer holiday’s soccer program. We were off school for about 2 months and in those 2 months I became the fittest I have ever been in my life!

We played a lot of games and trained twice a day. It was a very hard schedule but it’s all the hard work that is going towards my dream of becoming a pro soccer player. I thought that the coaches pushed us hard during normal season when we have school, but the summer holidays were at another level.

The most memorable thing that we did was training twice a day in 35+ degree heat. Even some days it reached the ridiculous temperature of 40 degrees! I know that in Australia if it was anywhere near that kind of weather we definitely wouldn’t be training or even go out of our house. But this is Japan, where when they make a commitment to something they stick by it. That’s why Japan has the second largest economy in the world, after the US.

That’s all from me this month; I will keep you posted about life in Seiritsu High.

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 2:25 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Ryosuke getting his train groove going...

Thank someone special upstairs because trains in Japan come at accurate times! Because my train to school every day comes at exactly 7:39am and gets me to the station near school at precisely 8:07am, I have time to quickly stop at the convenience store, walk at a normal pace while talking to my friends, get to school on time, and even have time for a second breakfast just before class!

Imagine if the train came 5 minutes late…this could alter my whole morning; instead of my usual course of two ham and egg sandwiches and a drink, I might not be able to finish my second sandwich…I can’t study on a empty stomach! So thank you very much ‘train god’, Japan, and everyone who works for JR (Japan Rail) for making my morning everyday a whole lot more enjoyable!

Ryosuke Yano

writer: staff  date: 2:30 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Michael holds his and 3 other's Suica cards, ninja style...

Suica… touch… buta bom beep! and you’re on your way. You are probably thinking what the heck is this guy talking about, what is Suica? Well for those of you who have not yet had the chance to experience the convenience of a Suica magnetic train card, I urge you to come to Japan just for it. It is a debit card that you can program your monthly train pass on, load up with extra cash to purchase things and then simply use by swiping it over scanners whether at the station gate or at a store normally in the station.

Suica is the most convenient card I have come across, as it is a train card which can also be used with the bus, on subway, at convenience stores, and vending machines, basically everywhere. In New Zealand this is unheard of because there we have a different card for every little thing.

The great thing about Suica is that instead of having the hassle of opening your wallet and looking for the change to pay for what you want to buy, by using your Suica you don’t even have to open you wallet. It’s just touch the card to a scanner and go. So as long as you have money on your Suica you are always on the go. And that’s the way we do it in Japan. Buta bom beep SUICA!

Michael

writer: staff  date: 2:26 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Konchi wa, hi it’s been a long time since I last wrote to the website. Since then a lot has changed in the school and also my own personal life. As this being my last school year at Seiritsu it is amazing to see the transformation in the school’s international center and the change from New Zealand country boy to Tokyo city boy.

Firstly the school’s international center and its prestige, from not really having a formal study room, we now have a private room fitted with a state of the art computer, air conditioner for those plus 40 degree days, and 2 teachers (Richard and Cathy) who teach at a maximum 3 students; myself, Ryosuke and Jason. This is almost unheard of as most classes have at least 30 students in other schools, so not only are we getting to play soccer everyday, but we are getting a top education as well. The number of students as I earlier mentioned has tripled this year (3) so the international center now has a place on the map in Seiritsu and I am sure it will only continue to strive forward and grow.

Personally so far this year I have found it a lot easier to communicate not just on a surface level, but I’m really being able to talk in Japanese to the teachers, coaches and even team mates and letting them know what I truly think. This of course is built on awesome relationships where I know that I can trust the guys and the teachers, plus I don’t have to worry about being wrong. That is why this year I have found that the rate I am learning Japanese and the respect gained from others has grown the most.

In saying this I have found my last year to be by far the most enjoyable and can see this by how quickly it seems to be passing me by, I’m sure that there is still a lot of character building to take place from here on in and that I will take it in my stride and ride this last year out with no regrets what so ever.

Michael

writer: staff  date: 10:27 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Jason with a map detailing the prefectures and regions of Japan.

Hello everyone, It’s me Jason again. It’s been a while since I have written a post. I have been great. I have finally started my journey as a Seiritsu High School student and I must say that it has been great.

As you know this is my second year in Japan, my first year was spent at a local junior high school and this year I have started at the Seiritsu high school. I have already made many friends and I am enjoying their company everyday.

When I first started at Seiritsu I felt like any other normal kid would, shy about making new friends, but as the days went by I realized that Seiritsu is a really friendly environment. So if you are scared about making friends please believe me when I say that it is the last thing that should be on your mind because it is the easiest thing to do.

When I first came to Japan, the first six months were very difficult for me to catch a train by myself because I didn’t know how to read the signs. Although as the year went by and my Japanese level improved I must say that I could start to catch the train pretty much anywhere. After a while I started to remember the kanji for all the stations around the area, and also most stations have the English letters for the Japanese words on place signs, which makes it much easier to understand.

Although I have been here in Japan for one year I am still finding it very difficult to use the Japanese style 'deep-squat' toilets, soooo I avoid them. Thank goodness for western ones...

The Japanese can be very flexible, and sit on the floor for long periods. The way they can stretch their legs at bent angles, which is just their comfortable sitting position, is too awkward for me.

That’s all for me this month, I will keep updating you during the year with fresh information.

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 2:41 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Hi Everyone!!

My name is Ryosuke Yano. I am Japanese but was brought up in New Zealand and I have recently come back to Japan to find out more about the Japanese way of life. I have just joined the Seiritsu soccer club and I am starting off as a first year student. Although I have only been here for a few months, I have found many differences between Japan and New Zealand including culture, food and the most difficult of them all…language. Japan for me has been a major culture shock and isn’t quite Home-Sweet-Home.

Everybody in Japan does everything to perfection. At first it was hard to adjust because everything just seemed to be “rushed”. However this made me realize how much could be done in one day, one month or one year. Back in New Zealand there were 365 days per year. In Japan there are only 24hours in a day, 30 days in a month and 365 days in a year and there is so much to do!!

Club sports are also very different. Club in Japan is very important and the competition is very intense. With school soccer in New Zealand I only trained two or three times a week and played one game on either a Saturday or Sunday. Since I’ve come back to Japan I haven’t had one break which has been longer than two days. Everyone in Japan is ultra fit and the reason is that we train five or six times a week and have at least one game at the weekend (usually two). We play our sport over twice as much as we did in New Zealand and I am definitely getting better and fitter at a much quicker rate.

Language is the hardest of all to adjust to. Here in Japan they have what they call keigo. This is the way that they talk towards senior people to show respect. It is probably not much of a difference to the Japanese people but to us it is like a whole new language (obviously a little exaggerated, but really it’s really different). The rules for keigo are hard to learn and being brought up in another country, we will only find out about these rules once we break them, but the Japanese do understand our situation and they will forgive as long as you don’t make the same mistake twice.

Japan is very enjoyable as long as you try your best in everything. People will trust and respect you just for putting an effort in and giving 100% every time. Overall I am enjoying Japan and am confident to say that I know this experience will get better.

Ryosuke

writer: staff  date: 2:23 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Now that our English website will try to stay current with our many club's results, here's some background information on high school sport's events in Japan.

The Kanto Championships is mentioned often in sport’s club results, because all teams in all sports are competing at their city level tournaments to qualify for their respective sport’s Kanto Regional Championships. At the Kanto event, teams are normally trying to qualify for the All-Japan National Championships for their sports. Sometimes Kanto Championships are held twice a year, once being just an extra event to help prepare for the other Kanto Championships used to qualify for Nationals later in the year.

For example, there may be a spring Tokyo tournament to qualify for the summer Kanto championships, but that is as far as it goes, whereas the fall Tokyo tournament will be the qualifier for the winter Kanto Championships, which is in turn the actual National's qualifier.

The Kanto region is a geographical area in the middle, east part of Honshu, the largest island in Japan. The region encompasses seven prefectures within the Greater Tokyo Area: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kanto plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders. (Wikipedia)

Other than the All-Japan National Championships for each sport, there is an even more high-profile multi-sporting event called the "Inter-High’’, kind of a mini Olympic Games for high school sports. It is held in one prefecture each year in summer. There is heavy media coverage of Inter-High games, with many student athletes becoming famous if they win their respective divisions.

The Inter-High is very exciting to attend, as one city fills up with athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and spectators for each of their own sports from all over Japan, plus loads of media, thereby everyone is bumping into each other all over town, creating a fun, festive atmosphere.

Some of the larger team sports, like baseball and soccer, also have separate skill divisions and popular tournament leagues, some which are broadcast on television.

writer: staff  date: 9:25 AM | Life at Seiritsu

In the month of March this year, Canadian Junior National Karate Team member Sarah Lee came for a two week visit to Japan for the first time. During the first week she worked out with our co-ed karate club. The students were very happy to get some exposure to a different style of karate kumite movement, more circular and fluid than the straight on Japanese dive-in style.

Everyone seemed to get along well, and a trip to Mos Burger on the last day was included so Sarah could try a messier (perhaps more delicious than MacDonalds) hamburger.

writer: staff  date: 8:35 AM | Life at Seiritsu

Michael with his soccer dormitory buddies...

Since being in Japan I have had many obstacles to over come; Japanese food, communal recreational-center style showers, the different soccer style, but the most difficult of all for me would have to be the language. I can say that my Japanese has come on leaps and bounds from when I first arrived.

Firstly you all may think it is easy because I am immersed in the culture so I’m surrounded by the language 24/7, but it also comes down to the awesome group the boys on the team. These guys have been a big help, as they have taught me the Japanese style of playing soccer to going out to town for a simple meal. I have had many good times with them and find I can relax and be myself around them. This fact makes it a lot easier to learn the language as I’m not worried about making mistakes.

For example, the first time I went out with the boys after a game to get a bite to eat, they said to me in Japanese they would pay for me, but I didn’t really understand what they said. They had a good laugh as I was pointing at the menu and then trying to read it in English to the blanked-face waiter. But they helped out which made it a bit easier, and I was happily surprised when they didn’t let me pay. This small gesture of putting up with my lack of language skills at first actually helped me come out of my shell and make little attempts at doing more things. Improvement comes a lot faster when you are having fun and you can relax around new friends. They always help me out when I make mistakes, and actually for their amusement, they sometimes help me make mistakes too.

I can say now that the language barrier, which looked to be unbreakable, has cracked in many places thanks to the great bunch of friends I have made here.

Michael Fitzgerald

writer: staff  date: 9:25 AM | Life at Seiritsu

The ever smiling Mr. Akakura, Seiritsu's cafeteria boss and head cook.

Hi, Michael here clocking in for the in month. I have been back for 1 month now and I have had the chance to get back into the swing of things here, i.e. training and school. These are the 2 things which my life revolves around almost everyday of every week. I thought this month instead of just talking about how I am doing, for a change I am going to give you an inside look at what you will have definitely never seen and probably never heard of before in relation to Japan. If you thought Japanese only ate sushi think again...

The morning break cafeteria rush.

This story starts on my first day here at school. You would expect the students to be well mannered, respectful and so on, and most of them are including me. But when they hear the school bell ring for the lunch break it is like a fire alarm in their heads as they race off to the cafeteria.

Normally you think they are probably lining up getting some sushi or rice bowls, but it is the total opposite. The line-up is like a scrum in rugby pushing from every side, a survival of the fittest (a bit of an exaggeration but I think you get the point). And what is it all for...

...but the scrumptious, most delicious fried chicken you have ever laid your hands on, just like the famous KFC. So after they get their chicken it’s not over because they then drown it in mayonnaise!!! At first I thought what they are doing something crazy. But now speaking with 2 years almost under my belt I can say once you have tried it there is no going back. The chicken just melts in your mouth. YUMMY!!!

That’s all from me this month, just keeping you up to date with the facts. An amazing school, top quality coaching staff and ground for soccer and food which you just can’t get enough of.

Michael Fitzgerald

writer: staff  date: 11:01 AM | Life at Seiritsu

(Mr. Yohei Fukuda, Director of Seiritsu, and Jason, by the blossoming cherry trees at the Seiritsu training ground).

Jason Davidson came to Japan in March 2006 to enter the Seiritsu soccer academy called Zebra, which Seiritsu established for elementary and junior high school students. For one year Jason has attended Washimiya Junior High School near the Seiritsu training ground, where he is learning the Japanese language and culture as he prepares to enter Seiritsu’s high school student athlete program for April 2007. He plans to graduate from Seiritsu after completing the regular three years.

Hi everyone. My name is Jason Davidson. I am fifteen years old. I have been living in Japan, in the Seiritsu dormitory, now for almost a year. I came to Japan last year to attend and play soccer at Seiritsu. I came one year in advance of actually entering the high school so I could learn and experience the Japanese culture. The main reason I wanted to learn about the Japanese culture was because I am part Japanese. My grandmother is from Hiroshima. I have found that Japan is a very unique country. There are so many reasons why it is a unique country, but the main three are it is so clean, safe and group orientated. So far it has been a very enjoyable experience.

This year because I am not at the high school yet I have been training with the Seiritsu Zebra under-15 team. It was very hard for me at the start to adapt to the soccer over here in Japan because they were so fit. The reason why they are so fit is because the Zebra team trains five times a week and plays multiple games on Saturday and Sunday. This is a totally different schedule back home in Australia. In Australia I would only train two days a week and play a game on Sunday. That’s why your soccer improves dramatically here. I think my soccer has improved. It has improved because the Seiritsu coaching staff are excellent coaches. Most of them were pro soccer players so they know what they are talking about. The second reason is because I am just simply training triple of what I was doing back home in Australia.

There is also one more bonus that I get coming to Japan and attending Seiritsu. That is that while I am pursuing my dream of becoming a pro soccer player, I also can get an education. My dad and mum always told me that without an education you will never get anywhere in this world. This is why Seiritsu is a very unique high school. There is no school that I know of in Australia that does this kind of thing.

That’s all from me for this month. I am just keeping you updated with all the info. It’s an awesome school with awesome soccer staff and awesome teachers.

Jason Davidson

writer: staff  date: 9:11 AM | Life at Seiritsu

International student Michael Fitzgerald sends in his thoughts since his return from visiting home in New Zealand over the winter break.

The start of a new year in Japan has come so quickly I can’t believe it...I have so many new goals for the year, but so little time as it seems. I am coming to the last year of my scholarship at Seiritsu and I’m thinking where did my first 2 years go??? I think this is credit to the school and the soccer level here, being fully involved day in, day out, with studies and training. It has been (and still is) an experience of a life time.

I must admit it wasn’t easy at first having to learn the language and adapting to a new culture, even a new playing style for soccer, but I can definitely now call Japan a home away from home. For sure I am truly enjoying the soccer.

Michael with Togashi Sensei at the Great Buddha in Kamakura during his first year at Seiritsu.

My second school year is coming to an end this March, with one more year to go, but I was back in New Zealand over the winter break recently. For sure it was awesome to be home, nothing like mum’s cooking and having talks with dad about how Manchester United is going to beat Tottenham, plus playing soccer with my brother, just joking around. Back in Japan I’m living the dream of getting to play soccer everyday on immaculate grounds and who knows, maybe the chance to even go pro. I’m looking forward to seeing what this last year holds for me. I can only see achievement ahead of me and I’m looking at heading for it at full speed.

Michael Fitzgerald

writer: staff  date: 6:09 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Unkan Hyousei is a winter expression meaning 'the clouds are cold and the ice is clean', written by Murou Sensei, seen above with a visiting junior high school student.

Every civilization has a system of beautiful calligraphic practice, and in Japan it is called ‘shodo’. Here at Seiritsu, we have our own special shodo room, and more importantly, our own resident shodo master, Maruo Osamu Sensei. For 30 years, Maruo Sensei (who goes by Maruo Renshi in the shodo world) has guided the writing hands of our students, while he himself has become a renowned calligrapher, displaying his work often at galleries and calligraphy events, adjudicating competitions and sometimes producing pieces for the Mainichi Shinbun (‘Everyday Newspaper’), one of the largest newspapers in Japan.

The Japanese written language is partly made up of Chinese characters imported around 500AD, in Japanese called ‘kanji’. The other parts of the Japanese writing system, the separate hiragana and katakana syllabary scripts, are also derived from kanji. So when anything is written with a brush and ink on paper, it becomes shodo. To understand the art of shodo, one must first have a simple understanding of kanji.

Kanji are Chinese writing logograms, used to visually represent a meaning, similar to numbers. Kanji are normally pared up with other kanji or Japanese syllabary script to make words and individual kanji can be quite complex being made up of several kanji shrunken and put together, or common kanji elements combined.

There are 1945 individual ‘common kanji’ (jyoyo) taught to students, each school grade from elementary school to high school learning a certain set amount. Regular day use of kanji requires probably between 2000-3000 when technical kanji and odd kanji used for some personal names are counted. While there are said to be some 50,000+ kanji in Chinese, the maximum tested at the highest level of the Kanji Kentei (official) test in Japan is 6000. Of course, tens of thousands of words are made when individual kanji are paired together.

Japan inherited the different styles of shodo from China as well, and even today from a young age Japanese are taught to write with a brush. In the shodo world, there are block styles for engraved seals, square styles for printing, semi-cursive styles for ease of writing and cursive styles that can actually be almost unreadable.

Definitely shodo is an art form that has many variations, sometimes even avant-garde, and there are some ancient, profound guidelines to follow when writing, but here are some academic examples of the basics; the proper way one must hold the brush is upright, one must alignment the center of their body to the paper to provide balance, when writing attempt to create a right-side rising slope, try to fit all kanji into an imaginary pentagon shape, and make sure to keep the top and bottom of each kanji proportional to each other. The finished product is said to portray the writer’s awareness to what they are doing, a snapshot of their spirit at that moment, revealing their confidence, or lack of it, and of course the level of their overall skill.

There are many shodo associations in Japan which offer monthly grade tests. Also here at Seiritsu, we have a shodo club, carefully watched over by Maruo Sensei, so keep an eye on this space for a shodo club posting soon.

The two scanned pages are Maruo Sensei’s samples for what I have to practice this month. I thought the second one with all the notes explaining the proper shodo basics one must know to be quite visually interesting. Those little memos scattered all over the sheet state things like ‘thick line’, ‘thin line’, ‘rise to the right’, ‘this space small’, ‘this space same as above’, etc, with the numbers signifying the stroke orders.

As for now, I will tell you my favorite moment when I have my shodo lesson once a week with Maruo Sensei. For one month I only practice a short phrase over and over, one sheet at a time, and each time I finish a sheet Maruo Sensei corrects it with red ink and then I try again. Well, the part I enjoy the most, other than being finally told I’ve ‘nailed’ it (which is not often) and that I can move on to the next phrase, are those times when he praises me for what I thought he would for sure say is a mistake. In those very rare moments, he explains it is obvious I was very conscious of the stroke when I made it. One with the brush, or simple luck, well, only time will tell.

If you visit our school, inevitability Maruo Sensei will whisk you off to the shodo room to let you try making your own characters with a brush, even if you’ve never studied Japanese before. The results are always interesting, and you get to take home a unique souvenir…

RM

writer: staff  date: 3:33 PM | Life at Seiritsu

The first thing that you notice when you talk to Maika Hamada (3-L class, 18yrs) is how awake and curious she is. To have passed the entrance exams to Keio University, one of the top 5 universities in Japan, she would have to be.

Maika was born in Ibaraki, about 3 hours by bullet train from Tokyo. She attended a Protestant kindergarten and once acted as Mary in a Christmas school play. She took piano lessons, but she was unfortunately bullied in elementary school and then again in junior high school by jealous students for perhaps studying hard.

A turning point in her young life was when her family moved to Moscow due to her father’s work from when she was 13 to 15 years old. The first thing she thought when she saw the Russian written language was, ‘is this really how they write?’ But she studied Russian diligently along with Japanese and English at an international school, where she met other students from many different countries.

Her Russian piano teacher left a strong impression on her, stating she played the piano too technically and that she had to put real emotion into her playing if she wanted to improve.

It took Maika about 12 months to become conversational in Russian and she still talks to friends she made in Russian over the phone from time to time. Russian pancakes (belini) are her favorite Russian food, small crepes she likes to top with sour cream and ikura (salmon roe).

The family moved back to Japan settling in Saitama, just north of Tokyo, and she passed the high school entrance tests to come to Seiritsu. She has enjoyed her time here and has made good friends plus never been bullied, while her hobbies have been continuing to learn Russian, drawing illustrations of people, and making sweets at home.

At Keio University, she has been accepted into the Comprehensive Policy department. But she is going to also try to pass the entrance exams for the Keio Law department and the Waseda University Politics and Economic department as well. I did mention she’s very curious right?

Her dream job is to be a foreign movie buyer, bringing foreign films to Japan. Her favorite film is the aristocratic love story ‘Onegin’ released in 1999, based on the Alexander Pushkin novel ‘Eugene Onegin’.

When asked what she wants foreigners to know about Japan, one thing is that not all Japanese are small, which was what Russians always asked her. The second is that Japanese are able to balance the separate religions of Buddhism and Shinto, both having their peaceful place in Japan.

Maika feels that while in Japan being shy is considered by some to be beautiful, and what one doesn’t say is just as important as what one does say, she would like to see Japanese people express themselves more. If Japanese want to be understood abroad, they need to speak up. As for Maika, she doesn’t seem to have a problem with that, and for sure Keio is happy to have her curious nature from next April.

RM

writer: staff  date: 4:29 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Konichiwa, Talofa, Hello, my name is Michael James Fitzgerald; I am a second year student at Seiritsu High School in Japan. I am here on a three year scholarship for soccer and I am currently in my second year. I came to Japan from New Zealand, Auckland. In coming to Japan I have had many challenges such as; language, food, and style of soccer. From these challenges I have received many benefits not just soccer wise but, in my life skills and I am very thankful to Seiritsu for this.

Soccer life in Japan is very hard in all aspects on the field and off the field. In saying this it’s hard but very enjoyable; the level of play in all aspects speed, technique etc is so much higher than New Zealand that I can truly say that I have improved on my game a lot more than I would have if had stayed in New Zealand. The coaches are a great bunch of guys, all of them previously coming from Pro Clubs (Jef United, Urawa Reds) which means they have a great understanding of the game plus they have been to the top so know what is required to get there. The grounds are amazing; running course, weight room, top condition grass pitch, training pitch, tennis courts everything you could ask for.

I live in the dorm which is at the grounds; it is 40 minutes away from school. We wake up at 6am and all go have breakfast together, then we’re usually out of the dorm by 7am for the train. We get back at about 1:30pm for a 2:30pm training and usually after finishing, we each do personal training and weights, we all get in at around 7:30pm. We are allowed to eat dinner from 6:30pm so that is all set up for us. Lights out at 11pm every night. Really this is a schedule which I have learnt to live by and manage all daily things like washing cleaning etc.

School starts just like normal at 8:30am then we (the sports class) finish at 12:30pm and head to the ground for training. On Monday we have a full day of school as there is no training so we finish at 3:30pm. I take a variety of subjects art; cooking, calligraphy, english, karate, and of course japanese. My japanese has improved over the year and a half and I now find it easy to communicate. The school is amazing, the teachers all very willing to lend a hand. The food is awesome and the other good thing is it’s very reasonable in price. So I can say really loving the school life.

Coming to Japan has been probably the biggest decision I have made and am glad I made it, it has not only helped in my soccer and my dreamof becoming a pro soccer player, but has given me skills which will always be of use to me.

writer: staff  date: 1:33 PM | Life at Seiritsu