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Today's Contents:

1. The first bits: Travel destinations, Things To Do, OCJS passwords, San-san-san Kippu.
2. Course information.
3. Student Interview: Gisele Hirata.
4. In the News: "A target of 10% men", and "How to become a Nihongobijin?"
5. Japan Guide: Asuke Castle
6. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies.
7. Subscription Information.

1. The first bits.

(a) Things to do:

  • Nagoya City Marathon: On the 23rd of November the Nagoya marathon (actually just a half marathon) will take place. Applications to take part will be accepted until 31st of October, with a participation fee of 3,500 Yen. Applications are available from DoCoMo shops and branches of Circle K convenience store. All those who sign up will receive a free marathon t-shirt as a souvenir. Call (052) 972-3262 for more information (in Japanese).

  • Turkish exhibition: Okazaki Mindscape Museum of Arts is holding a special exhibition of Turkey, it's civilization and arts. A collection taken from the Sadberk Hanim Art Museum in Instanbul is currently open until October 20th. The museum will be open from 10:00am - 6:00pm everyday except Monday when it is closed. Entry fee is 1,000 Yen.

  • Okazaki Festa 2002: On the weekend of October 19th and 20th there will be a street fair and market taking place in downtown Okazaki near Higashi Okazaki train station and Okazaki castle. The Festa will be from 10:00am to 5:00pm on both days and will contain flea markets and live musical performances. amongst other things.

  • 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 0564-23-6644 for more details.

    (b) Travel:

    The full tour schedule for Autumn is online. There are day trips as well as overnight runs to various locations throughout the region. Each trip is offering at a lower cost than trains and other transport options, some are "well beaten paths", but many destinations are included that are difficult to get to by public transport and frequently missed by foreign visitors to Japan.

  • The next available tour is a 2 day trip on October 19/20 - Boating in Tenryu Gorge, Cable car into alps at Komagane-take, Minami Shinshu Brewery, Onsen hotel, Magome, Toson Memorial, hiking on the historic Nakasendo route, Tsumago, Paper making at Obara-washi. (Cost: 19,800 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation OCT/19 at 0800, return OCT/20 at 1830. Includes all transport, all admission fees, dinner/accommodation/breakfast. Does not include lunches.)

  • The tour following this is again a 2 day trip, this time to Kyoto on October 26/27. Destinations will include Uji - Byoudoin (Phoenix Pavilion), Ujigami Jinja, Kyoto - Kinkaku-ji, Yasaka Jinja, Gion, Pontocho on the 26th and Kyoto - Sannen-zaka & Ninnen-zaka walk, Kiyomizudera, Jishu Jinja, Ryoan-ji, Nijo Castle, Nijo Jinya on the 27th. (Cost: 19,800 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation OCT/26 at 0800, return OCT/27 at 1830. Includes all transport, all admission fees, dinner/accommodation/breakfast. Does not include lunches.)

  • On November 2nd there is a one day trip to Tokoname to make ceramics with a master potter, and a walking tour of historic kiln district. Make your own beer mug or sake cups! (Cost: 6,600 yen including tax. Departure from your accommodation NOV/02 at 0800, return at 1800. Includes all transport, instruction, clay & glazes, and lunch.)

    Please check the schedule for more details. Space is limited, for bookings/inquiries please go to the Student Services office, Level 1, Yamasa II Building.

    (c) San-san-san kippu:

    Meitetsu, Kintetsu and Nankai railways are offering a new discount rail ticket until October 31st. This ticket can be used over 3 consecutive days until October 31st and enables to go as far as places such as Kyoto, Osaka and Wakayama. A 'regular' ticket (trains only) costs 5,000 Yen and a 'wide' ticket, which includes unlimited use of trains, buses and ferries run by the 3 companies, costs 6,000 Yen. These tickets can be bought from most Meitestu, Kintestu or Nankai ticket offices.

    (d) The long awaited 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 our new secure server. A big thank you to everyone who assisted, for full information on updates to the Online Center please click here.

    (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/

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    2. Course Information

    Accommodation

    All of Yamasa's accommodation is full until the beginning of November unless there are cancellations and accommodation from December is now extremely limited. 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 received the full tuition fees for your chosen course.

    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 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: We are now accepting applications for the April 2003 student visa 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 November 15th - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20021115.html Contact Admissions for details. There are still a number of places available - join a very small private tour: Includes Kunizakari Sake, Tokoname, Yoshihama Ningyou, Denpark. Nara - Yakushi-ji, Horyu-ji, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Kofuku-ji, Nara Park, Todai-ji, Isuien Garden and Neiraku Museum. Tokugawa Art Museum, Asahi Brewery company, Tabata Jinja, Toyota Kaikan, Toyota Motor Factory tour, Asuke/Kourankei village and 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 start dates have space from October 17th but accommodation is very limited. Contact Admissions as soon as possible for information.

    The AIJP, AJSP, and Acceleration Format 1 programs are full until January 2003.

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    3. Student Interview: Gisele Hirata (SILAC)

    Gisele Hirata
    Gisele Hirata

    Gisele, from Brazil, has been in Japan for 1 and half years and started in the SILAC program recently. She is also working in the International Office translating the homepage from English to Portuguese.

    Jon: Do you have time for an interview for this weeks newsletter?
    Gisele: Yeh, sure.

    J: How is the course going?
    G: It's intensive - I think my listening skills have improved a lot but I still don't feel comfortable speaking yet.

    J: Do you find you have enough time to study after class, whilst also working in the International Office?
    G: It's no problem. I'm actually quite lazy and don't like to study so if I wasn't working I would probably be doing something else.
    J: So you can keep up with the pace of the program?
    G:Well, if you don't study at home, or don't do your homework you will probably fall behind. I find that if I don't prepare for the lessons on the next day, I get a bit lost in class.

    J: How did you find Yamasa?
    G: In June I went to the Nagoya International Center and saw some leaflets that had information about Yamasa. I got further contact information from a friend and then I came and visited the school in June.

    J: What were you doing before you enrolled in the SILAC program?
    G: I was working in Kariya, a city about 15 kilometers from Okazaki.
    J: And what kind of job were you doing?
    G: I was working in a factory that.............................

    Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_35.html

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    4. In the News: Two new articles

    In this edition we have two new articles from popular magazines. ganbatte!

    The first is "A target of 10% men", and for those up to a real challenge, try the second - "How to become a Nihongobijin?"

    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 below 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.

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    5. Japan Guide: Asuke Castle

    If you are tired of seeing Japan's ferro-concrete castle reconstructions, and have visited the historic 4 original castles designated as national treasures (Himeji in Hyogo, Inuyama in Aichi, Matsumoto in Nagano, and Nijo in Kyoto), then its time to pay a visit to Asuke, just north of Okazaki. Asuke castle is more of a frontier fort and border post than the white walled tourist traps you may be used to.

    Asuke castle is located on the top of a small mountain called "Mayumi" (elevation is only 301 meters/980 feet) and can be accessed via the hanging cliffs that spread in all directions. "Mayumi" mountain (which means bow) was considered strategic terrain in the Asuke valley - which can be seen dotted with rows of houses far below. For this reason Asuke castle is also.....

    Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/aichi/asukejou.html

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    6. 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

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    7. 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.

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    (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