|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
yamasa.org / home / acjs / network / newsletter
/ - Tuition Tour Schedules  Ní thuigim thú |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| yamasa.org / home / acjs / network / newsletter
/ - Tuition Tour Schedules Ní thuigim thú |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
        |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Help us improve! Suggestion Box
|
| Previous |
Today's Contents:
1. The first bits: New admissions coordinator, New Program Catalog & Course, Spring Events, Travel destinations, OCJS Passwords, Free Japanese Classes
2. Course information
3. Student Interview: Heikki Ruuska
4. In the News: "Becoming Atom" - Humanoid Robots
5. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies
6. Subscription Information
1. The first bits.
After a year of service beyond the call of duty we say farewell to Shihkuei Huang (Peter) Admissions Coordinator extraodinaire, who is leaving to pursue a career in his native Taiwan. We all wish him the best for the future (and pending marriage!) and hope that he will back to visit sometime soon. As one member of the admissions team leave we welcome another. Patty Lo, who graduated from AJSP at the end of March, has studied at Yamasa for 2 years, passed level 1 of the Japanese Langauge Proficiency Test and can speak English, Mandarin, Taiwanese and of course Japanese, so is more than qualified to fill Shihkuei's shoes. Feel free to hassle Patty (when you can't find Declan!) with any questions or queries you might have.
New Program Catalog & Course: Also arriving with the new academic year is Yamasa's new online program catalog including a new "Refresher" course. Leveraging Yamasa's heavy investment in Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) technologies, the new customizable program is now available on-demand and unique in that it can be commenced on any weekday of the year.
(a) Things to do:
Matsudaira Spring Festival: On the 12th of April at 18:00 and 10:00 on the 13th there is a water-drawing ceremony at Matsudaira Toshogu shrine. The ceremony is held at a well where Ieyasu Tokugawa was bathed when he was born. Expect to see not only this but also fireworks and a parade of mikoshi floats.
Ski-ing - same day return: If you would like to take a day-trip to go ski-ing then the special offer that JR (Japan Railways) is running in conjuction with the small Ciao Ontake Snow Resort would be for you. From just 7,000 Yen you can get return travel from Nagoya station to the resort in Gifu Prefecture and a one day lift pass (ski hire and clothing is extra). You should be able to ski for about 6 or 7 hours. Check out http://www.ciao.co.jp for more information on prices and other deals available.
Spring Tour Schedule: Do you want to see a little bit more than Okazaki? Eager to get away for a day trip or weekend? Then some of the upcoming tours during April and May will be for you. These trips provide a great opportunity for you to visit locations much cheaper of the price that it would cost normally, with an experienced guide and door-to-door service:
April 18th-20th - 2 night trip - takes us to Kobe, where we visit the foreign settlement and Chinatown, before heading on to the majestic white castle of Himeji. We sample the nightlife, shopping and entertainment of Osaka. Destinations include
18th - to Kobe.
19th - Kobe: Kitano-cho, Nankin-machi, Himeji: Himeji Castle - to Osaka.
20th- Osaka: Dotomburi Arcade, Amerika Mura, Universal Studios Japan.
(Cost: 23,100 Yen. Departure from Aoi Hall on April 18th at 1700, return on April 20th by 1930. Includes all transport, all admission fees, accommodation. Dinner/Breakfast. Does not include lunches.)
April 26th - Day trip - to southern Nara, we visit Nara: Muroji, Horyuji, Yakushiji. (Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on April 26th at 0630, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
April 27th - Day trip - to northern Nara, we visit Nara: Kasuga Taisha, Nara Park, Nigatsudo, Todaiji, Neiraku. (Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on APR/27 at 0700, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
May 10th - Day trip - This is trip along the higashiyama hills of eastern Kyoto, up to the peak of Mount Hiei, where there aer no longer any warrior monks, but beautiful national treasures and a view to die for. Destinations include
Kyoto:
Sanjusangendo,
Kiyomizudera,
Mount Hiei, Lake Biwa
(Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on May 10th at 0630, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
May 11th - Day trip - We will meander from the Heian period to the Momoyama, visiting the locations of the Genji
Monogatari, spectacular Byoudoin and the castle and sake town of Fushimi. Destinations include
Kyoto:
Ishiyama-dera,
Uji:
Byodoin,
Ujigami Jinja, Fushimi Castle and Fushimi Inari Shrine
(Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on May 11th at 0630, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
May 17th - Day trip - A trip to the vast waters of Lake Biwa, including (a slightly expensive but worthwhile) cruise to the sacred island of Chikubu, beautiful Hikonejo and Genkyuen and the battlefield of Sekigahara. Destinations include
Sekigahara,
Hikone Castle and Genkyu-en, Lake Biwa Cruise,
Chikubu Island - Tsukubusuma-jinja and Hougon-ji
(Cost: 9,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on May 17th at 0630, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
May 18th - Day trip - A day trip into the remote mountains bordering Mie and Nara to visit Ninja country, taking in the highest castle walls in Japan, a former Ninja residence, an onsen and cable car to the mountain top of Gozaisho-dake. Destinations include
Iga-Ueno:
Ueno Castle,
Ninja Yashiki,
Gozaisho-dake,
Yunoyama Onsen
(Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on May 18th at 0630, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
May 31st - Day trip - to northern Nara, we visit Nara:
Kasuga Taisha,
Nara Park,
Nigatsudo,
Todaiji,
Neiraku
(Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation on May 31st 0700, return by 2030. Includes all transport, all admission fees. Does not include lunch.)
Free Japanese Classes! Okazaki International Association holds free Japanese lessons taught by volunteers to non-Japanese living in Okazaki. Every Saturday from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at Tatsumigaoka-kaikan (3rd Floor), a 10 minute walk from Higashi Okazaki Station to Higashi Myodaiji cho. And also every 2nd, 3rd and 4th Thursday and Sunday of the month in Aoi Hall at Yamasa from 10:00am - 12:00am. Call 0564-45-5778 for more details, or email yoshiaki_yamamoto@hotmail.com
Free Origami and Kimono Classes! On the first Friday of the month the Okazaki International Association also holds free paper folding classes in Aoi Hall at Yamasa frmo 3:30pm. On the third Friday of every month they hold a kimono class at 2:00pm in Aoi Hall where you can try on a Yukata.
(b) The Online Center:
The Online Center for Japanese Studies is up and running and can be accesssed at http://www.yamasa.org/ocjs/. Passwords can now be obtained through the secure server. A big thank you to everyone who assisted, for full information on updates to the Online Center please click here.
(c) Other bits:
Jon Walden
Admissions Coordinator, International Office
The
Yamasa Institute - Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
1-2-1 Hanehigashimachi
Okazaki
Aichi Japan 444-0832
Tel: +81 (0) 564 55 8111
Fax: +81
(0) 564 55 8174 (admissions)
Fax: +81 (0) 564 55 8113 (student
affairs)
Email: Admissions
Email: newsletter@yamasa.org
URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/
URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/
2. Course Information
Accommodation
If you are coming to Okazaki during the next few months, please visit the housing availability site, which has just been upgraded.
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:
Student Visa: Applications have now closed for the April 2003 student visa, and the next start date is October 2003, which we are now accepting application for. Please note that we will take into account a number of factors when considering a student visa application including age, academic background, nationality and so on - automatic acceptance of a student visa application is not guaranteed. If you need more information about dates, please check the deadlines for the student visa listed in each course in the program catalogue. If you wish to apply for the October 2003 start please contact Admissions for more information.
Short-term courses:
| Tour destinations: The May 16th Discovery Tour visits a variety of destinations including Magome, Hiking the Nakasendo, Tsumago, Toson Memorial, Sekigahara, Hikone Castle, Lake Biwa Cruise, Chikubu Island, Ueno Castle, Ninja Yashiki, Yunoyama Onsen, Toyota Kaikan, Toyota Motor Factory tour, Asuke, Horaiji-san (Hiking), Nagashino and many others. See http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery__20030516a.html for more information. |
Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact Admissions for further information. Tour dates for this year are available at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_dates.html
All SILAC start dates have space from April 17th but accommodation is becoming limited. Acceleration Format 1 and AIJP are both full until July and Acceleration Format 2 is full until September.
3. Student Interview: Heikki Ruuska - AIJP
 |
| Heikki Ruuska |
This week's interview was done by new admissions coordinator Patty Lo, and she caught up with someone she already knew, Heikki from Finland.
Patty: Thanks for taking the time to do the interview.
Heikki: No problem.
P: How long have you been in Japan now?
H: One year. I came to Japan in April 2002.
P: Of all the places you could have gone in the world, why did you choose Japan to study a foreign language?
H: (thinking)......Beacause it's interesting; so different from Finland. Other European countries and America are too similar. Ever since I was a child, I've always been interested in Asian culture. Another reason is that it's nice to be in a country with a high standard of living.
P: Which program are currently studying on?
H: AIJP.
P: When you first came to Yamasa which class were you in?
H: K class.
P: And I've seen from the new class lists that you're in A class. You've really progressed well! (Editor's note: classes run in alpahabetical order - A being the highest and Z (for example) being the lowest)
P: Which part of studying do you find is the hardest?
H: It has to be...............................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_44.html
4. In the News: New articles
In this edition we have another article to help you practice,
"Becoming Atom" - Humanoid Robots 
About "In the News": This section aims to help you improve your understanding of articles in contemporary Japanese print and web media. Articles are from a wide range of sources including business, fashion, music, lifestyle, entertainment, crime, politics, international relations and so on. All articles are printable, and are accompanied by streaming audio files of the article being read at normal speed by male and female native speakers. Furthermore there are questions from the OCJS faculty that will help you confirm your reading or listening comprehension skills. (If you are an advanced learner, you may wish to attempt the questions after first listening to the audio link only, and then read the article to test your listening comprehension skills).
In addition, by using the link generator of the OCJS online dictionary with its definitions and kanji animations, you can easily check the meaning of new words, and also the stroke order of any Kanji that are new for you. The titles of the links ARE NOT translations of the headline accompanying the article (we don't want to give beginner level students too many hints to the answers), but are indicative of the subject field.
5. ABOUT THE YAMASA INSTITUTE'S AICHI CENTER FOR JAPANESE STUDIES
The Yamasa Institute is committed to providing high-quality education in the Japanese language. We are a non-profit organization, a part of the Hattori Group. We are accredited by Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education - APJLE, accreditation number B302 - and "the only Institute in the Mikawa region with the appropriate programs, systems, curriculum and facilities required for quality Japanese language education" according to the Ministry of Justice. Further, in recognition of the excellent quality of our programs, we are in the top tier of 'Appropriately Authorized Japanese Language Education Institutes' - in fact, the only school in the Mikawa area with this prestigious recommendation. For full details see the accreditation section on the homepage at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/accreditation.html
6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
You are being sent this newsletter because at some time you contacted the Yamasa Institute's Aichi Center for Japanese Studies through email, or you contacted an internet-based Japanese language information service which forwarded your email to us. If you do not want to receive further issues of this newsletter, please send a message to unsubscribe@yamasa.org with the word "unsubscribe" in the title. We apologize for any inconvenience.
| C O M M U N I T Y M E M B E R S | |||
|
|||
www.yamasa.org content is created and maintained by
Declan Murphy and the students and
staff of the
Yamasa Institute's Multimedia Studio. This site is Yamasa - All rights reserved.
