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Today's Contents:
1. The first bits: German language homepage online, Friendship party, travel destinations, red leaves, OCJS Passwords, Origami and free Japanese Classes.
2. Course information.
3. Student Interview: July Teh.
4. In the News: "Subsidizing Omiai" & "Otaru Onsen case decided"
5. Japan Guide: Ise Grand Shrines
6. About The Yamasa Institute for Japanese Studies.
7. Subscription Information.
1. The first bits.
Die Deutsche Version der Webseite des 'Aichi Center for Japanies Studies' ist aufgeschaltet. Besuchen Sie uns.
(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.
The full WINTER SCHEDULE and SPRING SCHEDULE for tours from January will be online by November 30th.
(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: July Teh (SILAC)
 |
| July Teh |
July, who is a permanent resident of Australia but was born in Indonesia, started on the SILAC program a week ago.
Jon: I know you've only been in the SILAC program for a week, but can you give me your impressions of it so far?
July: Really good. It's fast, but I covered some of the grammar we are studying now previously so the first few days have been like a review for me. I think that if I didn't know some of what am I studying it would be more difficult to keep up, but it's fine!
Jon: I see that there is only 3 people in your class at the moment. Do you find that the smaller class size helps you learn more quickly?
July: It's good because you have more chance to speak, more interaction, and the teacher gets more time to listen to each of us speak and can also spend more time with us on an individual basis.
Jon: How have you found the teaching faculty?
July: Helpful, kind, and they explain things clearly.
Jon: Where are you staying at the moment?
July: I'm staying with a host family in a town called Iida near Okazaki.
Jon: How long does it take you to get from the family's home to Yamasa?
July: It takes a total of about 40 minutes, which includes a 20 minute bus ride.
Jon: Are you finding the homestay a good experience?
July: Yeh, it's really good. The family....................
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/student_int_37.html
4. In the News: New articles
In this edition we have two more articles to help you practice. The first concerns the unusual step of using public funds to
support the "Omiai" industry - ie arranging marriages. Japan's
low birth rate and aging population is producing some interesting (perhaps weird) responses. The second is the widely
reported racial discrimination case involving an onsen in the Hokkaido town of Otaru. 
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. Japan Guide: Ise Grand Shrines
For anyone living in Japan or interested in Japanese culture, Ise Jingu is a must-visit. It is the most sacred shrine in Japan, with great spiritual and historical significance; in fact, some residents of Ise City will even tell you that every Japanese person knows of Ise Jingu, but not a lot of them have heard of Ise. The city of Ise, located in Mie prefecture, is about two hours from Nagoya. With a population of about 100,000, it isn't a very busy place; but with more than 6 million people visiting Ise Jingu every year, it can become very crowded, especially around holiday seasons. The busiest time of year is definitely oshougatsu (New Year's), when people gather from all over Japan to pray at Ise Jingu.
Ise Jingu is actually divided into two large shrine compounds, containing over one hundred and twenty smaller shrines in addition to the two major shrines: Naiku (Inner Shrine) and Geku (Outer Shrine). The Inner shrine enshrines the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, who is believed to be.......
Continued at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/mie/ise.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