東京でのセント・パトリック・デイのお祝い（キャロル先生)

 

                        St. Patrick’s Day Festival

On the 17^th of March each year, St. Patrick’s Day festival is held. It is a day that commemorates the patron saint of Ireland. There are large parades held on this day around the world and lots of traditional Irish music events. This year, I celebrated with my friends in Tokyo and volunteered to help at the parade on Omotesando Street. It was Asia’s largest Irish event with 15,000 participants and 50,000 spectators. I held up the large banner with my friends at the front of the parade and helped to give out flyers. There were so many people taking part and watching the parade, it was a fantastic day. I was so surprised by how much effort Japanese people put into celebrating this Irish event. There was even an Irish festival held in Yoyogi Park with food stalls and Irish dancers. The celebrations went on into late that night. My friends and I even made it into The Tokyo Times newspaper! I will have to post this home to my family so they can see how big the celebrations are here in Tokyo.

東京でのスイミング （キャロル先生)

 

Swimming in Tokyo

Back home in Ireland, I used to swim as much as I could. I was a member of a lovely gym with a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. It was one of the most relaxing places to be. Swimming up and down with the flow of the water moving with me, no loud noises, the smell of the chlorine, it always managed to relax and clear my head.

Here in Tokyo, I’ve managed to go swimming three times since I have arrived, in three different swimming pools. Two were in Musashi-Sakai and the other in Mitaka. The experience was pleasant and some lovely women ended up chatting to me in the dressing rooms. Some were interested to know where I was from and wanted to practice their English and some wanted to show me how to use the facilities, which I greatly appreciated. Simple things like using the swimsuit dryer can be daunting when the instructions are in Japanese. I found people were so welcoming and accommodating which will allow me to swim to my heart’s content while living here in Tokyo.

草津旅行 （キャロル先生)

                                Trip to Kusatsu

I heard so much about Gunma that I really wanted to take a trip up there during the winter to see the snow and visit the many onsens scattered around the area. I decided to get a bus to Kusatsu, which is famous for its many onsens and hot springs. It was about a four hour journey to Kusatsu on a bus from Shinjuku. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was when I arrived.

I climbed the steep steps to the shrine in the center of the town but I was nervous because of the amount of snow and ice there was. It took me longer than I thought it would but was definitely worth it when I reached the top. Outside the bus station there was a foot bath waiting for visitors to take a dip in. I strolled around the main town and dipped my feet into a foot bath beside Yubatake hot spring. The water is said to have strong therapeutic and anti-bacterial powers. The steam from the water was amazing to look at and at night the whole area was lit up to give an eerie, spooky feel.

I went to an outdoor onsen with the surrounding snow covered hills staring at me as I relaxed in the hot water. It was so refreshing to get in and out of the water with the contrasting temperatures. I felt so relaxed afterwards and had some nice, hot food in the town. The next morning I visited one more onsen, this one was indoors and was situated in a big wooden building. There was an area to relax in afterwards whereby you could look at the whole town, it was really beautiful to see. It was a long journey back to Tokyo but I was so relaxed after my morning onsen that I slept for most of the journey home. I was especially pleased that the onsens were tattoo friendly too which really makes me want to visit Kusatsu again in the near future.

東京での雪体験 （ミーシャ先生)

 

It finally snowed in Tokyo! I have been hearing from my other friends in places like Nagasaki and Gifu about them experiencing snow for weeks now. I had given up hope that I would be able to share my experiences with them about snow in Tokyo. The snow wasn’t much but I was sure glad it was during the holiday so I could relax at home. I eventually took a stroll in my area to see how much of an impact the snow had and of course took a few pictures to savour the moment. It was a truly relaxing evening; I spent some time watching the snowflakes falling on the trees and forming the shape of the trees and other objects that they were falling on. I am glad I got to have that experience before winter ends.

家で過ごす創作タイム （ミーシャ先生)

 

The days go by very quickly and I actually don’t mind as I miss the warm days. The cold weather does give me solitude as I am keen on spending productive time alone as that is when I get to accomplish more. Consequently, I was able to write a second book. Unlike the first book, which was about mastering English, this second one is a novel. I figure since the cold weather has me running home immediately after work then I would use that time to do what I love. I love that being in Japan has allowed me to grow and develop in ways I never thought possible. I love that this one-year experience provides inspiration for future endeavours.

大月への日帰り旅 （キャロル先生)

 Day Trip to Otsuki

Otsuki is on the way to Mt. Fuji and only a short distance from my home in Musashi-Sakai. I had a free day yesterday and decided to visit some sites there and hopefully catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. I was lucky as the weather was good, it was sunny, the sky was clear and I was excited to explore the area, I decided to visit two main sites, Saruhashi or ‘monkey bridge’ as it is known as and Mt. Iwadono. The bridge was very pretty and had lovely artwork on blocks lined up along the sides of it. There were wooden steps on the lower part of the bridge, which were apparently created to replicate monkeys holding hands to form a bridge back in the 7^th century. The view below was of clear turquoise water and high cliffs on each side. I sat by the rocks and had some fried chicken in the afternoon sun. The rush of the water below sounded relaxing and I sat there for some time taking it all in.

I then took a bus for about ten minutes to Mt. Iwadono. It was early evening at this stage and I knew I wouldn’t have time to climb the whole mountain but I did climb a small part of it and was delighted to see Mt. Fuji in the distance, glaring over the scattered houses and neighborhoods below. I sat on a bench while admiring the view and as I sat, I felt so lucky to be in that place at that moment on a Tuesday evening, when this time last year it was all so different. Mt. Fuji is really magnificent to see. It makes me feel humble and grateful which nature tends to do. I finished off my day with some ramen from a lovely restaurant near the train station. My aim now is to go back to Mt. Iwadono and climb it to the very top. Apparently it’s not a difficult climb which is great news for me as I’m not the best at mountain climbing. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a taste for mountain climbing and it will become my new pastime.  

冬休み （ミーシャ先生)

 

Winter Holidays

 

It is amazing how quickly time has passed. Just a few months ago, I was disembarking from an airplane feeling very uncertain about everything. Since then, five months have passed and I am experiencing my first winter holidays away from home. The winter holidays have been a very quiet yet relaxing one as I spent most of my time hiding away from the cold. I still tried to do some sightseeing and enjoy New Year’s holiday festivities. I was hoping to experience snow but no such luck. I am still hoping and waiting for that opportunity as there are a few weeks of winter left. Since it keeps getting colder and colder, I am hoping for snow.