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Today's Contents:
1. The first bits: Travel destinations, red leaves, OCJS Passwords, Origami and free Japanese Classes.
2. Course information.
3. Student Interview: Alejandro Silva.
4. In the News: "on the ground floor of hotels"
5. Japan Guide: Sekigahara.
6. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies.
7. Subscription Information.
1. The first bits.
(a) Things to do:
Korankei The most popular place in the area, the Autumn Leaf festival runs from November 1st to November 30th, with special lighting at night. To get there take a Meitetsu bus bound for Asuke from Higashi Okazaki station and get off at the Korankei stop. The bus ride takes around 1 hour depending on traffic. It often gets crowded at weekends.
Horaiji Another well known spot which is also close to the famous Yuya onsen. To get there take the JR Line to Toyohashi (25 minutes) and then change to the JR Iida line to Hon Nagashino station (1 hour). Finally, take the Toyohashi Tetsudo Bus to Horaiji (10 minutes).
Okazaki Higashi Koen A little closer, with no need to take a train or a bus, Okazaki's Higashi koen also has a zoo which is free and is good place to enjoy the Autumn leaves.
(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.
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) 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.
(d) 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
All of Yamasa's accommodation apart from the Student Village is full until the end of December unless there are cancellations and accommodation. Accommodation from January is available in nearly all areas except for Residence L. 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 January 24th - itinerary at: http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20030124.html Contact Admissions for details. There are still a number of places available - join a very small private tour: Includes Okutono Jinya, Toyota Kaikan, Hakuba valley, Skiing - Hakuba valley plus outdoor Onsen, Tokoname, Yoshihama Ningyou, Denpark, Atsuta Jingu, Tokugawa Art Museum, Tabata Jinja and 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 November 28th but accommodation is limited. Contact Admissions as soon as possible for information.
There are only a few places left on the Acceleration Format 1 and Format 2 programs from January.
3. Student Interview: Alejandro Silva (AIJP)
 |
| Alejandro Silva |
Alejandro from Venezuela, studied on the Acceleration program Spring quarter 2002, and decided to come back again and is currently in AIJP.
Jon: Second time around how is everything?
Alejandro: It's good, pretty much the same as last time. I am having fun and learning a lot.
J: How does the Acceleration program you were in when you were last here differ from the AIJP course you are in now?
A: The pace the programs move at is different. I actually miss Acceleration because I was able to learn so much in a short space of time. I've got used to AIJP now and it's getting quite difficult so I have to study fairly hard.
J: Why did you decide to come back to Yamasa again, rather than go to a different school in a different location?
A: I considered going somewhere else to study but I heard some bad stories about other schools in Japan from friends. Mainly because I knew what to expect - I knew what the accommodation and teaching was like. I was actually going to extend my last stay at Yamasa but I couldn't in the end because my visa wouldn't cover the period I wanted to stay on for.
J: How did you find out about Yamasa?
A: I had just graduated from university and was deciding between learning Chinese and Japanese. I sat in front of a computer and entered the words.................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_36.html
4. In the News: New article
In this edition we have another article to help you practice. 
This is from the online version of the Sankei Shimbun article regarding the increasing popularity of marketplaces on the ground floor of hotels and the language usage changes that this is encouraging.
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.
A full list of the "In the News" articles can be found at:
http://www.yamasa.org/ocjs/english/programs/in_the_news.html
5. Japan Guide: Sekigahara
Sekigahara is a small village in Gifu Prefecture, yet every Japanese person knows its name. Located in a strategic pass through which ancient Nakasendo highway passes on its way to Kyoto, in 1600 on September 15th, this quiet village was the scene of the greatest battle in Japanese history.
Two years had passed since the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His young son Hideyori was too young to rule, and the five regents who Toyotomi Hideyoshi had selected to protect his son, had soon divided into factions in pursuit of absolute power. The leaders of these two factions were Ishida Mitsunari, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. The leadup to the battle of Sekigahara began in the summer. In July, Tokugawa Ieyasu was.....
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/gifu/sekigahara.html
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
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.
(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