(1) The first bits:

(a) Student Visas: All applications for the student visa for the April 2006 have closed. Successful applicants will receive their notification at the end of February. Please be patient until then, the delay is not due to Yamasa but due to the Immigration Bureau. Unsuccessful applicants are welcome to re-apply. For those who missed out this time, please note that the next deadline is in May (for October start). Please note that a student visa is only required if you want to study for 6 months or more. If you plan to enroll for 3 months or less there are many choices including AIJP, AJSP, Acceleration, Discovery and SILAC.

(b) Accommodation shortages and Yamamoto House: As explained in the previous edition of the newsletter, due to an on-going accommodation shortage we have obtained a 5 year lease for a building to be called Yamamoto House.

The building is currently being renovated to meet Yamasa's specifications. There will be 11 private study bedrooms, each with refrigerator, TV, desk, broadband internet connection, bed, shelving etc. All to have natural light, airconditioning & heating. The remaining facilities (kitchen, 2 showers with private changing areas, 3 toilets, recreation room etc) are shared. As the building will be the closest accommodation to Yamasa's campus (6 minutes walk) and the station (4 minutes walk), at this stage it is intended to become a female only dormitory. Full details will be published in the next newsletter. For the time being, have a peak at the Yamamoto House Photogallery

(c) Ekiden: In Japan there's a popular (and increasingly traditional) road race called Ekiden. These are held throughout the country, with the most famous being a 2 day 215 kilometer (134 miles) 10-person relay known as the Hakone Ekiden. The Okazaki Ekiden will be held on Sunday January 15th. It is basically a middle/long distance relay race, except that instead of batons the team members pass a strip of fabric called tasuki, which is ordinarily used to tie back long kimono sleeves. The Okazaki Ekiden covers about 30 kilometers, with each team member running about 3 kilometers before handing over the sash to the next runner. Its a big community event and a good opportunity to meet some people.

Yamasa is interested in entering a team. If you are fit enough to run 3 kilometers with a dash of panache while wearing a sash, please head to the Student Services office in the Yamasa II building and ask for Tsuzuki-bucho, who is organising the team. I'm planning to watch you all run by, but naturally all participants will receive 1 free beer in Zig Zag afterwards, which will be open on this Sunday as part of the fun (you don't need to run to the bar to confirm that you were a participant).

(d) Japanese Language Proficiency Test: The JLPT has come and gone (thankfully) and with it the stress levels. Even though the results will not be known for a few months, congratulations to all of you. Next JLPT is 3rd December 2006, so only 352 days until the next one

(e) Study Japanese in Sapporo: As explained in the previous edition of the newsletter, we are now accepting applications for a limited range of Japanese programs in Sapporo. The Hokkaido Center for Japanese Studies pages have the (gradually growing) detail, but the short version is that we will be including the first opportunity to study Japanese in two locations, regardless of whether you are enrolling in a short course (summer or winter), or from October 2006, long term studies with a student visa.

(f) Skiing/Snowboarding: Also, please keep January 20-22, February 18, and March 3-5 free if you want to go skiing or snowboarding in Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture. Ski, snowboard, or try throwing snowballs at me. Retaliation is guaranteed. All details now online.

(g) Weekend optional tours: Skiing & snowboarding, cultural sites etc dominate the winter options. From snow monkeys to powder snow, hellraising Tokyo and Kyoto nightlife to studious Toyota motor factory tours. I have been able to add several additional tours to the winter quarter. Cheaper than independent travel by train, with door to door service and a guide. If you are not careful, you can even learn stuff. For all information, prices etc and reservations please peruse the Weekend Tour Index.

The reservations & payments system is available online, but if you prefer to pay cash or by bank transfer, please contact Yamamoto-san in the Student Services office (ground floor, Yamasa II building).

(h) Okazaki City Guide Yamasa's online guide to Okazaki City is about to become suddenly out of date, as with every other publication about Okazaki. On January 1st the town of Nukata is going to be absorbed by Okazaki, increasing the area covered by Okazaki to 387 square kilometers, but fortunately adding only 10,000 or so new inhabitants. Fortunately this won't mean much more sprawl, as Nukata is primarily heavily forested mountain areas too steep for construction. Nukata was historically part of Okazaki anyway.

The online edition of the guidebook is currently being updated by Chris Resnik (AIJP, B class) to make it easier to use, as the previous design was a bit of a rush job. Originally a print publication, our intention is to develop the best guide to Okazaki. If you are looking for a place to do karate, eat succulent delights, visit a Jodo, Zen or any other kind of Buddhist temple in Okazaki, find the perfect souvenir, find out much it costs to send a box full of dictionaries/texts/notes etc home by air economy post at the end of your course, discover which festivals are when, book a hotel for your parents or friends coming to visit you, find out where you can get the perfect pint of Guinness when the student bar is closed on a Monday night, read up on how to open a bank account or find a good camera shop, and so on and so forth, have a good look. English and German editions at the moment. Suggestions for improvements are always welcome.

(i) Bar renovations The renovations of Zig Zag, our on-campus bar have been completed, sort of, after much trial and error (in the much regretted abscence of Scottish super-carpenter Nolan Doherty). The second counter (smoking section) contains the wine cellar, whiskey selection and humidor. The bar now has Hoegaarden White on tap, and with the kitchen done also the food returns in January, also with a new menu.

(j) Other bits:

• Make a little bit of money by writing articles for the newsletter. See the contributions page for details.
• Find a course: see the program catalog.
• Contact Admissions if you have any questions.
• See below for information regarding course deadlines.

The Editor
Yamasa News
The Yamasa Institute - Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
1-2-1 Hanehigashimachi Okazaki
Aichi Japan 444-0832

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(2) Course Information

Accommodation

If you are coming to Okazaki during the next few months, please visit the housing availability file (Opens new window).

Message from Yukiko Iijima (Housing Officer): Please also note that it is extremely important that you rank your accommodation preferences clearly. Upgrades are possible in the event of cancellations - so if your first preference is a single room in the village, select "Village single" as first choice, "Residence U" as your second choice and so on.

Long-term Courses:

Applications for April Student Visa intake: Admissions for long term visas for April 2006 are closing soon due to the selection process and the limited number of visas we are allocated by the Immigration Bureau for April. To download application forms click here.

Short-term courses:

All Extension programs have space from January 5th. For Academic programs, the next available start date for AIJP, AJSP and Acceleration Format 1 is April 5th 2006. For applicants for 1 academic quarter only, using a short term tankitaizai (tourist) or other appropriate visa, applications close February 22nd.