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Today's Contents:
1. The first bits: Online Center for Japanese Studies (OCJS), Things To Do, Japanese Language Proficiency Test, discount train travel, Japanese Driving Licence.
2. Course information.
3. Staff Interview: Nana Hoshino.
4. Japan Guide: Ryoanji Temple.
5. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies.
6. Subscription Information.
Online Center for Japanese Studies.
The Online Center for Japanese Studies is up and running and can be accesssed at http://www.yamasa.org/ocjs/. Students who have studied (or are currently studying) at Yamasa from April 1st 2002 will be able to access the online school and kanji dictionary using your student I.D. number as your user name and your date of birth as your password. The date of birth will be 6 figures, for example, if you are born on the 4th of October 1969 then your password will be 691004.
If you have studied at Yamasa before the 31st of March 2002 or you have forgotten your student I.D. number, you should be able to access the online school now, using the forms provided. General access will be available from August 31st 2002.
Any questions regarding the Online Center for Japanese Studies (OCJS) can be sent to ocjs@yamasa.org. Replies sent to this address will take about 72 hours as project staff are currently working long hours organizing the release.
1. The first bits.
(a) Things to do:
(b) Important notice regarding driving licences:
The Japanese law regarding International Driving Licences (IDL) has changed recently (July 2002). People have been getting new IDLs sent to them from their home countries, this is now illegal. You may only use an IDL for the first 12 months you are in Japan, after this you must get a Japan licence or leave Japan for 3 months. This is regardless of the expiry date on your IDL. If you drive with a IDL after your first 12 months in Japan you are driving unlicenced and will not be covered by insurance.
(c) Japanese Language Proficiency Test application:
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test is held in December every year in Japan and applications are now being taken for students enrolling in a course at Yamasa, who will not be in Japan to complete an application in person. If you are going to be studying at Yamasa through December this year and would like Yamasa to apply on your behalf to take the test please contact admissions@yamasa.org stating which level of the test you would to apply for (1,2,3 or 4). Please note that it is not possible to take two exams, for example, Level 2 and Level 3. The deadline for applications to Yamasa is towards the end of August.
(d) Jobs:
| A local company is interested in hiring a Japanese speaking foreigner with marketing experience to work as product manager handling a major project. The product range is from a major european manufacturer. The successful applicant should be degree qualified, fluent in English, have Japanese proficiency of upper intermediate or higher (equivalent of Level 2 minimum) and be committed to work for minimum of 2-3 years. For details contact Declan Murphy at the International Office. |
Recruitment ongoing for the following positions at Yamasa:
see http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/careers.html for details and other vacancies, and contact careers@yamasa.org if you are interested in applying. Most are connected with web publishing and translation. Study Japanese for free in exchange for part-time work in the International Office. These are ongoing positions - we need people all year round, so please contact us if you are interested in positions later in the year as well.
(e) 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
Until the middle of September most of Yamasa's accommodation is full although there are some rooms available in the Student Village from this time. Accommodation from October is also becoming limited and homestay accommodation is full until the end of September. There are usually some last-minute changes, so check with Admissions for information or see the availability file for details. Please note that accommodation is not reserved until we have recieved the tuition fees for your chosen course in full.
Accommodation in apartments in the annexe of the Rec World Hotel (near Daijuji Temple) will be used whenever Yamasa's accommodation becomes full. The prices for the "1K-Single" and "2K-Shared" room options have been discounted and are now the same price as the Student Village. For more information on the apartments in the Rec World Hotel annexe, please see the following pages:
http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/hotel.html (for accommodation description)
http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/tankisei.html (for price list of accommodation)
Message from Housing Office: 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 for the October 2002 student visa have closed and we are now accepting applications for the April 2003 start. 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 April 2003 start please contact Admissions for more information.
Short-term courses:
| Discovery Tour starting on October 18th - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20021018.html Contact Admissions for details. There are still a few places available - join a very small private tour: There are still a number of places available - join a very small private tour: Includes Includes Okutono Jinya, Tsumago, Tenryu Gorge, Takisanji, Asuke, Nara - Todaiji, Nara Park, Obara Washi, Kii Peninsula, Kino Matsushima cruise, Ise Grand Shrines, Atsuta Jingu, Tokugawa Art Museum, Kyoto - Ryoanji, Nijo Castle, Kunizakari Sake, Tokoname, Yoshihama Ningyou, Denpark, Sekigahara battlefield site, Hikone Castle, Genkyo-en Garden, Lake Biwa cruise - Chichibu island, as well as many other locations. |
Other Discovery Tours all have vacancies - contact Admissions for further information. Tour dates for next year are available at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_dates.html
All SILAC programs have space from September 19th but accommodation is very limited. Contact Admissions as soon as possible for information.
The AIJP, AJSP, and Acceleration Format 1 and 2 programs are all full until January 2003.
3. Staff Interview: Nana Hoshino
 |
| Nana Hoshino |
Nana Hoshino works in student affairs alongside Yoko Hikosaka.
Jon: Can you tell me a little bit about what you do here at Yamasa?
Nana Hoshino A range of things. Dealing with students enquiries, producing documents, taking payments and so on.
J: Are you doing a similar job to Yoko Hikosaka?
H: Yes, pretty much. We work together doing similar things that are split between the two of us.
J: What were you doing before you started working at Yamasa?
H: I worked in a flower shop in Nagoya, and did some temp work in Okazaki.
J: Do you live in the area?
H: Yes, I live in Okazaki.
J: How long have you lived in Okazaki?
H: All my life.
J: What do you think of Okazaki as a city, compared with somewhere like Nagoya?
H: I think it's a very easy, comfortable place to live.
J: What do you do in your spare time?
H: I like to watch movies and go shopping.
J: And what kind of movies do you go and see?
H: Dramas and love stories; my favourite movie is..........................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/staff_int_23.html
4. Japan Guide: Ryoanji Temple
"What's so special about the garden at Ryoanji?" I asked him, naming the famous rock and sand garden in Kyoto's most brochured and pamphleted Zen temple.
"The spaces between the rocks," he replied, with his mouth full of toothpaste.
Alan Booth, Looking for the Lost.
In December 1994, this temple was designated as World Heritage by UNESCO. Ryoanji (Temple of the peaceful dragon) is in the northwest section of Kyoto, not far from Kinkakuji. This is a temple belonging to the Myoshinji school of the Rinzai branch of the Zen sect. The earliest temple recorded on this site dates from 983, though it was originally the estate of one of the branches of the Fujiwara family during the Heian period. After serving as the retirement home of an emperor it became a temple known as Tokudaiji (also referred to as Enryuji).
Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430-73), a military commander of the Muromachi Period (1336-1573) then built his estate on the ruins, but he was killed during..................................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/kyoto/ryoanji.html
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) 2002 The Yamasa Institute Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
1-2-1 Hanehigashi-machi
Okazaki Aichi Japan 444-0832
Tel: +81 (0) 564 55 8111 Fax: +81 (0) 564
55 8113
URL: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/
Email: Admissions