Are there the more unique courses I introduce you today? Maybe yes, yes that is possible because there are tremendous numbers of race in a year, even its limited in Japan. After running, any foods seem to more delicious than not to run. In other words, running makes us to be able to eat foods more delicious. And today’s topic is “delicious marathon”.

“Sweets marathon”, this race is held many places in Japan. In this year, it was held in 7 prefectures: Tokyo, Aichi, Chiba, Osaka, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, and Fukuoka. The delicious thing in this race is ‘sweets’ in aid spot as its name suggests. The aids points provide sweets for runners and participants can be got the original sweets of the race. The quality of sweets seems to be high, because many sponsors are specialized by the region in where the race is held. For example, Akatsuki Sake Company which is well-known by the Sake ‘Dassai(獺祭)’ in Yamaguchi is listed in a sponsor of the race in that prefecture.

 

There might be not sweets lover, there are perfect race such a person. It’s Minami -Uonuma a gourmet marathon in Niigata prefecture. This race started the call of “Itadakimasu” and aid station supply Sake “Hakkai-zan（八海山）” in last 2km spot. In addition, after crossing the finish line, runner can be enjoying eating the rice as much as they likes. Minami-Uonuma is a famous rice centers in Japan, so the products such as Sake and rice is unbelievably delicious.

 

Like these races, there are many unique races in Japan. If you are a runner, don’t miss it!

Do you have any ideas how many world heritages are here in Japan? The answer is 18! Today, we would like to introduce some of them, super attractive points.

①Yakushima（屋久島）

Yakushima（屋久島） is one of the most famous world heritage in Japan.　It was registered in 1993 as a part of natural heritage.　Yakushima（屋久島）sometimes called “mysterious islands” because there are a lot of unknown animals and plants that only can grow with the full of nature. We can see and feel the nature of Yakushima（屋久島）to walk into the islands. But recently, it’s coming up as a serious problem that manners of tourists. We especially must pay attentions to protecting precious nature for the future of Japan.

 

②Kinkakuji（金閣寺）

The famous Golden shining Building in Kyoto（京都）, we call it “Kinkakuji（金閣寺）”. It was registered in 1994 as a part of cultural heritage. Not small amount of Japanese people are recognizing that this is the symbol of Kyoto（京都）’s culture and very proud of its beauty. Because of its fantastic view, Kinkakuji（金閣寺）often appears in the famous novels or paintings.

③Fujisan（富士山）; Mt.Fuji

In 2003, Fujisan（富士山） was finally registered as a part of cultural heritage. No need to say, Fujisan（富士山）is super famous one, and highest mountain in Japan. It is widely regarded as a Japanese symbol for a long time. Also people can climb Fujisan（富士山）, but sometimes trashes or water pollutions are in severe situation. If bad situation will continue for a long time, it is said that it might be deprived its registration in the future. We truly have to take care of it to keep Fujisan（富士山）’s clean!

So, what do you think about it? In Japan, we have a lot of attractive world heritages both in cultural one and natural one. Please enjoy visiting those places and feel their attractive points with your heart.

Which season do you choose as the best season to do sports? Most of Japanese people might choose autumn, because there are a famous phrase ‘Autumn is a nice season for sports(スポーツの秋)’ in Japanese. According to one explanation, the origin of this expression is back to Tokyo Olympic in1964, the sports day was established as holiday in this year. Today, I would like to introduce maniac like ‘traditional sports’ in Japan.

Speaking of Japanese traditional sports, you will associate such as Sumou(相撲), Kendou(剣道), Karate（空手）, or Judou(柔道). However, I am going to introduce Kemari(蹴鞠), Inu-Oimono(犬追物), and Takagari(鷹狩) in this time. For starters, introduce the meaning of these words, Kemari(蹴鞠) means ‘kick the ball’,  Inu-Oimono(犬追物) means ‘chasing a dog’, and Takagari(鷹狩) means ‘falconry’.

 

Kemari originally from China and it come to Japan around 600’s. This sport had become popular especially in higher society. This sport was mentioned also in Tenshou-Shikimoku(天正式目), which established the rules for Bushi class. The tradition of Kemari continues at shrine also in Today.

The next sport is Inu-Oimono, the player of this sports mount on a horse and chase dogs with a safety bow. It developed through Bushi’s practice of a bow. The history started Kamakura-era and continued to the Edo-era, however, its history stopped in the late Edo period because of Shorui-Awaremi-no-rei (ordinances of animal protection). This sport is completely lost through the change of society. Only the paints tell us its culture.

The last one is Takagari, this sports is not only in Japan also all over the world. In fact, the culture of Takagari is originally from continent of Asia, and flourished the culture as a play among high society in Japan. Takagari was a symbol of authority. Today, it separates many schools from Edo-era and it continues as one of the traditional sports of Japan.

Sports reflect the culture of society. If you have an interest in Japanese culture, please check its sports.

Have you ever used trains in Japan? For foreigner people, they are always surprised with the quality of it. Today we would like to introduce that Japanese train’s fantastic points here.

①Japanese train always arrives the station on time.

This is the greatest point I guess. To be surprise, it is not always so in the foreign countries. But in Japan, train is fully regarded as a reliable way of transportation.

②Variety of programs on TV monitors in Japanese train.

You can watch news, weather forecast and CM on the digital TV monitors in the train. To tell about Yamanote Line, it started from April in 2002. Cheers to the high technology!

③Perfect air conditioning systems in Japanese trains.

In summer, you can escape heat wave when getting into a train. Of course, same as winter. Recently, new types of trains are equipped with air conditioning systems with sensors to maintain the confortable in the trains.

④Women-only cars on Japanese train.

In Japan, all of trains have women-only cars. Especially during the very crowded time like morning rush, women-only cars are really confortable.

Did you find interesting points?　Enjoy your train life in Japan!!

【アルバイトの募集】
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半蔵門駅周辺に居住している、あるいは学校があるなどで、教室への交通の便がいい方。
・繁忙期は週2以上の勤務が可能な方。
・授業状況に応じてフレキシブルにシフトに入れる方。

If you are the person who is a very familiar with Japanese culture, you might know Furoshiki（風呂敷）. Furoshiki（風呂敷） is one of the fashionable item in Japanese traditional things, it get popular among travelers from foreign countries. It is just a cloth around 45cm square, however, it can be used in various scenes and has a long history.

The origin of Furoshiki（風呂敷） is around Heian（平安） period, actually Furoshiki（風呂敷） was called “Koromodsutsumi(古路毛都々美)” and it mainly wrap Kimono（着物） clothes. In subsequent years, the Koromodsutsumi（古路毛都々美) became to be used more like today’s Furoshiki(風呂敷). The name of Koromodsutsumi change to Furoshiki in Muromachi(室町) era, because people got use the Koromodsutsumi in the bathroom(It called Furo（風呂）in Japanese) to avoid mixing their clothes to others. The name of Furoshiki reflect this history. However, the name have not fixed to Furoshiki even in Edo(江戸) era, it got various usage in Japanese people life. Today’s various usage of Furoshiki came from the culture in Edo era.

There are not only various Furoshiki but also many books which explain the way to use of it. Furoshiki is used to wrap clothes, books, and wines. It is reasonable and fashionable item to get familiar with Japanese culture.

On the day of Halloween, Shibuya turns to be super CHAOS indeed. There is no “Trick or treat?” at all. Particularly in the place named Shibuya, Halloween is especially for adults’, not children’s

Sometimes, such a situation seems to be little bit strange compared with an American style because Halloween event is originally for the children.

The costumes or makeups are unbelievably high quality. Some people say that they prepare for the day about one month ago. They truly put their hearts into Halloween!

Please look at these pictures just above. Can you guess where? No need to say, it’s the famous scramble crossing in Shibuya. Of course, here is always crowded with rushing people in the ordinary days. But on the Halloween day, we even cannot move because of the people, people, and people there.

From now on, we just want to show you several pictures. They were taken in Shibuya on the Halloween day, and all of the costumes and makeup are full of ideas.

Have you ever seen this character on TV show? They turn to become the famous comedian called “Akemi-chan”. Good face expression, makeup, and costume.

No one doesn’t know this character we guess…yes, Pika-chu! All of their body and face are colored in yellow, Pika-chu color. Just amazing one!

Oh my god…there are uncountable Wallys! Here is no longer Shibuya, the world of “Where’s Wally?”!

Do you want to join Shibuya’s Halloween night?

As you might guess by the title, there are various seasonal foods in Japan. We have already introduced you the concept of Shokuyoku no Aki(食欲の秋) before, today, I would like you to know especially about Saury as seasonal food of autumn.

Saury is called “Sanma (秋刀魚)” in Japan, the letters represent autumn, blade, and fish respectively. As this letter express, autumn is the best season to taste sanma, in addition, their appearance is straight enough to look like blade. This fish have rich fat content, especially in this season, to overwinter. As a result, Sanma became popular dish in this season. People taste the fish grilled only with sault, and drop lemon, rime, Ponzu sauce, and soy sauce, on it.

Historically, this fish has been popular among Japanese people. On the evidence, there is not only Rakugo episode which contains Sanma in its title, but also many novels which write about Sanma in its story.

　

However, nowadays Sanma shortage causes price rise and it became a little bit expensive fish. This is the only problem of this food. I would like to try and eat Sanma until this season ends up.

Daytime with the sun become shorter, the wind become little bit getting cold, the tree become colorful from fresh green.　In Japan, we call it “Aki（秋）” Autumn in English.

We all of Japanese love “Aki（秋）” due to its many attractive points.　Today, we want to share those here.

【Shokuyoku no Aki（食欲の秋）/ Delicious food in Autumn】

In Autumn, we can enjoy a lot of delicious food.　Grapes, Matsutake（松茸）, Samma（さんま）,…… cannot count then down completely.　Since they are grown up under the plenty if sun lights in summer, all of autumn’s seasonal foods are good nourishing.　Actually, according to the survey, 76% of Japanese people gain weight during autumn.　Though we love autumn, at the same time, very complex feeling to it after finding such a fact.

【Dokusho no Aki（読書の秋）/ Reading books in Autumn】

Because of its confortable weather, autumn is the best season to read a book out side, under the blue sky. Surprisingly, more books will be published and sold in the book store in autumn compared to the other seasons.

【Sports no Aki（スポーツの秋）/ Doing sports in Autumn】

Sports festivals are always held in autumn, because of the great weather. It’s not too hot like summer, but not too cold like winter during this season.

As we mentioned a lot before, the autumn is the best for food, reading, and doing sports. Why don’t you enjoy Japanese autumn!!

Hi, this is Cosmos Japanese Language School! We are having calligraphy sessions on every Mondays 19:00-19:40.

Ms.Abe, professional calligrapher, will give you a session for free. Come and Join us!!

We have a message and some more detail information from Abe-sensei below!

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【Information of the “秋鳳 calligraphy salon”】

“秋鳳 calligraphy salon” is providing the place for foreign people to enjoy Japanese calligraphy.

You can choose your favorite letter(e.g.Kanji), and create your own original calligraphy art using a writing brush.

Since our session is in a small group, calligraphy-unfamiliar students are also welcoming.

Each of Japanese letter has their own meanings, so some students give the art to their friends as a present.

Of course, you can take a session with your family or friends!

＜fee＞

0 yen (will write your favorite 1 Kanji on the special material.)

＜schedule＞

every mondays 19:00-19:40

＜access＞

Glenpark Hanzomon 502, 　Kojimachi 2-12-1, Chiyoda, Tokyo

＜contact information＞

akemi.d.d.d@gmail.com

＜Blog＞

http://waka-1.blogspot.jp/

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Come and join us!!!