Blog#4: My Winter Vacation

 

     Happy new year!

     I’m sure you are enjoying your Oshogatsu.

     Today, let me show you about my Oshogatsu-vacation.

     As you know, I’m from Kyotango. Please look at a picture below. It isn’t in this winter, but sometimes Kyotango has a cold and strict winter. When we have a heavy snow, we are forced to work with snow shovels. It is very hard for every people, and sometimes dangerous because there are many elderly people in Kyotango.

    

 

     However, I always have a very warm winter at my home. I enjoy Christmas Party, New Year’s Eve and Oshogatsu. I also go skiing with my cousins. Every day I feel as if I were in a dream, so I would be very sad on the day when I have to go back to school.

     I especially want to tell you about my Oshogatsu. I think it is worth World Heritage.

     On the day, everyone in my family wears kimono and goes hatsumode to a shrine together. After that, we have Osechi-dinner. For me, it is the largest meal of the year. We have all traditional ingredients in Osechi. In addition, some original dishes would be there. Needless to say, they are very delicious. Certainly, the dinner is so special for everybody.

     After the dinner, we have time for entertainment. My (grandparents’) house has a small stage, and every person has to be on the stage at least once. Every year my brother and cousins play music, magic or monomane, but I’m not an entertainer, so I would talk about my previous year’s memories or new year’s hopes. What is the most interesting for me is my mother’s play. She is an accredited master of Hanayagi, Japanese dancing school, and she shows us her special dance on the stage. Every year I learn new things from her “old” traditional dance.

     I really want to show you a picture of my Oshogatsu, but I’m very sorry that I have no data. However, I’m sure that you understand how special my Oshogatsu is.

     I also hope you to enjoy winter in Kyotango. It might be a little cold, but you can have crabs, oysters and other delicious foods, and you can also be refreshed in hot springs. If there is snow, you can enjoy beautiful scenes and winter sports.

    However, I lastly think Oshogatsu is the most important event for Japanese people. I hope more strongly that you fully enjoy your own Oshogatsu.

    Thank you for reading out. See you next class!



 

 

Blog#3: My Favorite Place

     It is very hard for me to pick out one place as my favorite, however, I’ll introduce one where I think is the best.

     The place is Amanohashidate. You must have heard about it before, because I talked about in our communication class few weeks ago. Today, I’d like you to learn more in detail.

     As you know, Amanohashidate is one of Nihon-Sankei, the three most beautiful spots in Japan. Local people are trying to place their Amanohashidate in World Heritage. If it is realized, I will be happy, too.

     By the way, I’d like you to think about the word “Amanohashidate”. Can you see what it means? I’m going to explain about it.

     “Ama” means “Heaven”, “Hashi” means “a bridge”, and “Date(Tate)” means “to build”, so “Amanohasidate” means “a bridge leading to heaven”. Amanohashidate has an unique legend.　Tangonokunifudoki, which was compiled in 700s, tells us the story.

 “Long long time ago, there was a god named Izanaginomikoto. When he created Japan, he built a bridge between heaven and earth for his coming and going. But while he was sleeping, the bridge fell down. This is exactly how Amanohashidate was created.”

     Today, Amanohashidate is famous for matanozoki. It is very difficult to explain how to matanozoki. Please type matanozoki in search box and go on the image search. You will find how to do it at once.

     Anyway, when you do that, the view turns upside-down. The sea changes to the sky, and Amanohashidate becomes truly Amanohashidate!

     There are more and more ways to enjoy Amanohashidate. I’m very sorry I can’t write more. If you get interested in, please ask me anytime for more information. I will be so glad when you do that.

     Finally, I’ll put one picture. This is called Twilight-railroad. This scene appears only in the sunny evening. It must be very beautiful.

 

 

 

     You should visit Amanohashidate at least once, or even visit the website, “www.amanohashidate.jp/ ”,  for more beautiful pictures and further information. I’m very happy if you fully enjoy Amanohashidate!



Blog#1:Self Introduction

 My name is Taishi Saraki. I am 19 years old now. I'm from Kyotango city. It is located in the north of Kyoto prefecture. I left my hometown when I was 15, and I started my life in Kyoto city, where my high school was. Kyotango is completely countryside,and in contrast, Kyoto is a big city. There are a lot  of things that Kyotango doesn't have. They are very interesting and surprising. I had many precious experiences in high school days.
 My family is in Kyotango. Father,Mother and a younger brother. My brother is 14 and a junior high school student, and my parents both are high-school teachers. Father teaches Japanese and Mother does world-history. The two got married when they were working at the same school. A year after their marriage, I was born. They named me with a hope to be a person of great composure. I really like this name.
 Thanks to such parents, my childhood was full of words. When I was in the second grade, parents gave me a kanji-dictionary. When I was 10, I had an official exam of kanji (Kanken) for the first time.
 Until I graduate junior high school, I kept on taking Kanken and Eiken (an English exam like Kanken). These experiences extended my range of words.
 In this blog, also, I hope to use various words to express my ideas as clearly and effectively as I can.
 I will be glad if you enjoy reading this blog.