Japan Foundation E-Learning Website: Minato

These past few weeks have been very challenging for educators and students alike with the rapid changing situation all around the world. As our daily lives have been altered to staying at home and learning/working through remote methods, we want to help by sharing JF resources that everyone can use for free!

We have an Japanese e-learning website called Minato (https://minato-jf.jp/) . You can register for free, take different courses and brush up on your Japanese skills! We hope that we are able to help students improve on their Japanese and expand their knowledge as much as possible!

There so many other resources and helpful resources on our website: https://www.jflalc.org/ so please feel free to take a look!

Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) Season!

It's quickly already the beginning of March! I hope everyone has been having a wonderful school year and in Japan, the school year ends in March and begins in April. Generally, this is the timing where cherry blossoms bloom and many Japanese people have festivities and activities to enjoy the cherry blossom season! According to Japan Guide (https://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/), cherry blossoms are going to bloom around end of March (3/22-3/30) for Tokyo. Hokkaido generally blooms later in April as it's much colder and up north. As sakura trees blossom and fall out so quickly, it's beautified in various forms of entertainment and in food. There are so many songs, even children songs about sakura trees blossoming and shedding their pedals. It's shows how beauty is ever so temporary and we continue to long for it every year. Here is the video for a traditional Japanese children's song. It's called Sakura Sakura.

A lot of Japanese songs are closely related to seasons and a great way to introduce Japanese learners to understand how all four seasons are a big part of Japanese culture.

Happy New Year!

新年あけましておめでとうございます。Happy New Year! 

I hope everyone had a nice time off to enjoy with their family and friends. New Years in Japan has many traditions that are different from traditions here in the states. New Years is longer and more of a family event in Japan. There's traditional New Years food such as おせち料理 (osechi ryori) and traditional Japanese games that family and friends play! Some games that get played are like karuta. Karuta is a card game where one reads the card and others have to grab the matching proverb/picture. There is another older form of karuta called 百人一首 (hyakunin isshu, one hundred poets, one poem each). It is a more challenging kind of card game and Japanese people grow up learning how to play. It's a great way to learn how to read Japanese and know how it sounds like.

If you'd like to read about 百人一首, click Here !

Let's have another wonderful 2020!

End of the Year!

Photo from: Toshikoshi Soba Recipe

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful wrap up to 2019! It's been a great honor to be a part of JFLA family for half a year so far and I am looking forward to 2020 and being able to participate/improve advocacy ideas for Japanese teachers and students.

Whenever the end of the year comes for me, I think of toshikoshi soba. Toshikoshi is passing the year/year-crossing in Japanese and written as 年越し. Soba is そば and it's buckwheat noodles. It's usually eaten end of the year as the noodles symbolizes longevity and breaking free from the past. It's a nice way to start the new year and this time around, the year will be 2020! Looking forward for more ways to connect to Japan and hopefully, finding more and more wonderful things to showcase on this blog to share to everyone :). 来年もよろしくお願いします！

2019 Kanji of the Year!

I hope everyone is having a great wrap up for this year! 2019 is hastily coming to an end and before we know it, it'll be 2020 and start of a new decade! It's exciting to be in a time where technology and accessibility is readily available to study and be exposed to Japan and the Japanese language anytime and anywhere! I hope The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles continues to connect teachers and students to Japan and we hope to continue to do so for 2020.

Yesterday, there was news that mentioned the kanji 'Rei' from Reiwa, was chosen as 2019 kanji of the year! We were able to witness the change in era this year and see the excitement towards the new era. The video and more details of previous kanji of the year is listed on the link below!


https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/12/national/rei-reiwa-era-name-japan-kanji-year/#.XfKHLehKiM8

Thinking of a kanji for yourself to sum up your year is a fun and great activity to look back at what you accomplished for the year and see what kanji you have learned so far!

I hope everyone has a great holiday season and a great remainder of 2019 :).

The 33rd Colorado/Wyoming Japanese Speech Contest

The 33rd Colorado/Wyoming Japanese Speech Contest took place last week! Congratulations to all of the participants who were in the Speech Contest!

There are many Speech Contest that takes place all over the United States to demonstrate and show the students' Japanese levels to not only their teachers but to others who are observing. Many students have their own individual topics and ideas they would like to share and speech contest is one of the ways to share!

More information/photos:
https://cjlea.weebly.com/

2019 AUSTIN AKI MATSURI 秋まつり

Austin, Texas is having an awesome akimatsuri this upcoming Sunday, November 17th from 1PM to 5PM at Zilker Botanical Garden. There will be many displays of Japanese culture/performances so it'll be a wonderful event to attend. It's free admission with regular garden admission.

More details:
https://do512.com/events/2019/11/17/2019-austin-aki-matsuri-jasga-s-13th-annual-japan-fall-festival-tickets

Japan in November!

Happy November and I hope everyone had a nice Halloween/October season. Although there was the typhoon in Kanto region and forest fires in Los Angeles, the weather is relatively nice/calm for November. JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization) has a wonderful page that showcases weather changes and places to visit! It's a great resource for teachers to speak with their students on where they would like to visit in Japan, what's considered an important aspect of fall, and how to prepare for changing weather. https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/november/

Flood Recovery Manual After Typhoon Hagibis

Recently in mid-October, Kanto-area was hit with one of the most devastating typhoon since 60 years ago in the 1950s. As Japan is becoming more and more globalized, articles such as Japan Times have pointed out how there is a necessity in having a free guide in providing recommended steps for recovery. The article is posted below but we will also provide the link to the free manual below. I think these resources are great for teachers to discuss among students and to understand how these disasters are really close to us more than ever.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/24/national/flood-recovery-manual-typhoon-hagibis/

http://blog.canpan.info/shintsuna/img/RECOVERING_FROM_A_FLOOD_DISASTER.pdf

Hinoki Cup Roadshow!

There is a great roadshow starting from October until February of next year in Michigan that connects students with bilingual business professionals within the classroom! It's a great opportunity for students to gain knowledge of ways they could further develop/expand on their bilingual skills! further information is listed below.

4th Japan Festival in Windsor

There is a Japan Festival at Windsor High School that is happening on Sunday, 10/6/2019 (12PM to 3PM)! It's a free event so people are welcome to come and enjoy this festival! Further information is listed here: https://eventful.com/windsor_co/events/4th-japan-festival-/E0-001-130386862-6

JET Program information for Students

There is a JET Information Session at Villanova University that is coming up this Friday, September 27th, 2019! This is a great opportunity for students to learn more about this wonderful opportunity! Please look at the flyer for further information.

Accepting Applications for 2020 Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP)

2020 Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) is now accepting applications for High School sophomores, juniors, and seniors! It'll be a great opportunity for students to interact with other high school students across the United States and Japan. Please check out the link to apply and learn more about the program: http://reischauerscholars.org . Application deadline is October 15, 2019. We wish the applying students luck with the program!