Blog #5 Beautiful Stars (Eikou)

Happy New Year everybody!

This is Eikou

May this year be a great year to you all.

 

I went to Yaita Tochigi prefecture with my best friends to observe stars from 1/4/2014 to 1/5/2014.

Our plan was that we took the train from Shinjuku station to Yaita station which took about two hours and then we hired a car to reach the place where we observe the stars.

We arrived there evening on the fourth of January.
After we ate dinner, we started observing stars and we continued to observe it until the sun was about to rise.
Frankly speaking, it was a lot times more beautiful than I had expected. I actually couldn’t believe that the sky in Tokyo and in Tochigi is the same.

 

More specifically, I could see most of the famous stars that are said to be in the sky of the northern hemisphere. For example I could see Winter Triangle which consists of Orion, Canis Major and Canis Minor, the Orion Nebula and the Great Bear clearly.

However, it is a shame that I could take pictures of them because those stars don’t appear properly in photos for some reasons.

 

I absolutely had a great experience thorough the night. In addition, I learnt the names of stars in winter sky in the northern hemisphere.

I really hope to visit there again to see the different stars in different seasons if I have a chance

blog#5 returned to hometown (Yuna Kahara)

A Happy New Year! I hope this year will be a wonderful one for all of you.

What did you do during this winter vacation?　I went to Shanghai, which is my other hometown to see my grandparents from December 26 to January 2. Both Tokyo and Shanghai are my hometown.upon returning, I found many changes in China compared with five years ago such as air pollution, meal styles and the bigger gap between the rich and the poor. Of these changes, the most terrible was air pollution.

Many people may know by watching TV or reading newspaper, air pollution in China is especially serious compared with other countries. Many kinds of masks are now sold at convenient stores, street stalls and drugstores. One thing I was surprised was the sizes are very big!! Also, the colors are terrible. I think a white simple design is better than a colorful one.

There isn’t just one course of this pollution. Building new apartments, using non eco-friendly gasoline and industrial activities can be the causes, yet it is difficult to pointout clearly because air is always racing quickly across the sky. According to YOMIURI newspaper, PM2.5 raises the developing rate of lung cancer and bronchitis.

Though it is difficult to solve this problem soon, I hope many groups and the government will start to be more active in reducing environmental problems this year. I try to follow what is going on in the world by watching news frequently and learning new things. Also, try to do what I don't want to. A lot has changed this year!!

blog#5: Japanese history as a compulsory class in high school (Minori Tango)

 Happy new year, everyone!

I hope we all had a wonderful time during this winter holiday, and look forward to seeing you in class.

 During this holiday, I often went to my part time job which is working as a cram school teacher. I have been working there since April, but this season is extremely important for third year students who are taking entrance examinations for high schools or university. So, in this final blog, I would like to introduce one article which I read about in news paper, and attracted my attention.

 

 The article is about introducing a compulsory Japanese history class to high school in Japan. Currently, students must take a world history class, and are allowed to select one from geograohy or Japanese history. As a result, Japanese history comes to be slighted in high school. In reserch of the Ministry of education, 30~40% of students graduated from high school withiout studying Japanese history, however, as the world has been globlalized, the Ministry of education realized the need of bring up people who have a enough understanding of our own culture. Japanese hisory is going to be a compulsory subject in 2019 at the earliest.

 

 I agree with this upcoming revision. I mainly studied world history in high school. Furthermore, I went away from Japan to study English for a year, so I  have experienced many times when I realized my lack of knowledge of Japanese history in Gakushuin university. I think having an appropriate  knowledge of own history can be a huge weapon in a good way, especially when we communicate with people from other countries as it will help us to share accurate information, and try to understand each other's history. It will also raise our interest in our own country.

 

 This is just my opinion, but I would like to know if you agree with this change or not.

 

 Here is the article written in Japanese. It may be helpful for better understang of this topic.

 

 

The way of spending New Year holidays (Minami)

Happy New Year!
This is Minami. 

How did you spend during the vacation?
I usually have a relaxed New Year holidays with my family every year. 
Probably many Japanese people spend the New Year in the similar way as I do.

I have heard a story; in Japan, people usually spend a Christmas day with their boyfriends/girlfriends and spend the New Year with their family, while people in Europe and north America spend a Christmas day with their family and spend the New Year with their boyfriends/girlfriends.
I am interested in custom difference like this, so I did a brief research on the New Year custom in the world.

<Keywords>
Japan: osechi, shrine and temple, gift
China: gyoza, gift, the lunar New Year
Korea: zoni, the lunar new Year
USA: firework, countdown, party
UK: firework, party
Austria: new year concert, firework
Australia: firework, barbecue

I understand that Asian people celebrate the New Year calmly and people in other countries do merrily (among the countries above).
Which way of celebrating the New Year do you like? I like the Japanese way.
Also, if you know other customs in foreign countries, please let me know them.


Minami

blog#5: last blog of NZenB 2013 class (Mayuko)

Hi! Happy new year everyone!
How was your 2013?

2013 was a memorable year for me because there were a lot of changes in my life.  The most significant change is that I start to go to Gakushuin University. Being college student is freer than being high school student. However, at the same time, I have to be more responsible for my attitude and behavior. In 2014, I will turn 20 years old, which means that I will be part of adult world. More changes may happen in 2014.

Anyway, I could end up 2013 and start 2014 in very good way.

I went 増上寺(Zoujou temple) which is located by Tokyo tower for count down event with my best friend. There were a lot of people around the area and most of them were foreigners.

「3.2.1…. Happy new year!!!!」

I could see Tokyo tower’s light up turned 2014!

I wished my hope and luck for this year at Zoujou temple as 初詣(hatsumoude- first pray at temple/shrine in new year). After that, me and my friend were enjoyed food stand, 除夜の鐘(jyoyanokane) which is a bell in temple and many new years event.    

They brought me very fresh and clean feelings. It was good way to start bland New Year!

What did you do on new years eve/ new years day?

I wish 2014 would be full of happiness for every body! 

Which One is More Important for You, Family or Money (Koichi Saito)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
This is Koichi. I'm looking forward to seeing you all in next class.

In this winter vacation, I came back to my hometown, Hakodate, Hokkaido. As I hadn't seen my family since August, I was really happy to meet them; however, I stayed there for only three days, from 31 December to 2nd January. The reason why I couldn't stay my hometown so long time is that the manager of the book store where I work didn't allow me to be absent from my part time job more than three days.

Then I'd like to ask you a question. Which one is more important, family or money.

For me, my family is much more important for me them money; therefore, I was terribly shocked when I had to come back to Tokyo. I suppose it would be almost impossible in Japan to take a long vacation after I will be hired. But, I hope I spend a good vacation with my family in my future.

Blog #4: The comeback of a tradition - kaya (Koichi Saito)

A traditional thing which has made a comeback I choose is a kaya (蚊帳). This is an item that prevent us from mosquitoes. As kaya is made from a net, mosquitoes cannot go through it; therefore, we wouldn't be bitten by them. From this picture, we can know people in edo era used it as well.

In the old days, most of all houses in Japan had it. It was a kind of a symbol of summer in Japan. Without using a fun or an air conditioner, we can feel cool because the wind blow through the kaya. It has made a comeback especially in kindergartens in Japan. When children take naps, they entered it and sleep.

The reason why kaya is making a comeback is connected to the environmental problems, such as global warming. Using air conditioner needs lots of energy, and in order to produce the energy, CO2 is emitted. To stop this bad spiral, using "eco-item" is promoted by the government. I think this is the biggest reason why kindergartens started to use this production. Also, it's good for the children. In the kaya, the children can sleep well, a teacher said. It is a win-win solution for both the government and the kindergartens

I totally agree with this comeback. We don't rely on the electronic devices too much. The people in old ages were able to spend their life without them. They made efforts and invention in order to live more comfortably. We have to learn this way of thinking from them.