Goodbye Elementary Schools...

Over the past couple of weeks I've been doing my final visits to Shimogo's elementary school students. After some fun games, songs and activities we had our pictures taken together and said goodbye. It's a really sad time for me as I've really enjoyed working with all of these kids. 

Lots of the students had drawn me pictures or made me presents and I spent much of the lunch break signing my name and writing them all messages. I also played some games with them in the playground, exhausting myself one last time! 

Onsen Weekend!

Last weekend I went on a trip with Takashi, Yui and his son Taikei. We traveled to Yamagata prefecture, which is north of Fukushima, and stayed at a traditional onsen hotel. It was lovely to spend time with good friends and to relax for a while. After enjoying the baths we had a great meal, called shabu-shabu - thin strips of beef which are dipped in boiling water to cook before being dipped in sauce to eat. It was delicious.

The trip was to celebrate Taikei's 8th birthday as well as a get together before I leave next month. Taikei seemed to have a good birthday party and loved his present - Mario Cart for his Nintendo Wii. I received a lovely Seiko watch from Yui and Takashi as a goodbye present.

After leaving the onsen we went to buy some local cherries which are famous in Yamagata. These were delicious as they had just been picked. We then went to the cinema to see the new Indiana Jones film before heading back to Aizuwakamatsu.

On Saturday night I stayed at Yui's house for a BBQ and to see Yui's wife Hiromi and their daughter Kanon. It was lovely to see them both again and spend time with the whole family. I had a lovely evening. They'd even bought a cake for both Taikei's birthday and to say goodbye to me. I will see them again before I leave, but it was nice to spend some good time with them. Takashi, Yui, Hiromi, Kanon and Taikei are lovely people, I am going to be very sad to say goodbye to them in July but am confident that we'll be friends for a long time to come.

Climbing "San Bon Yari"

This weekend, Bryn and I climbed the tallest mountain in Shimogo, called 'San Bon Yari'. After setting out early we were thrilled to walk into the middle of between 10 and 20 'Nihonzaru' - Japanese monkeys. I've seen them once before, but this was my first time up close. They weren't too bothered to see us and even the babies seemed happy jumping branches while we watched.

After I led us up the wrong stretch of snow we ended up with one hell of a climb to the top. We were pretty relieved when we reached the path that runs along the ridge. From green summery trees down in Shimogo, we climbed through the late cherry blossoms and back to snow that remains stuck in the gullies.

I'm hoping to do some more hiking before the rainy season starts in June. Next I want to travel to Oze - a lake in the south-west corner of Minamaizu that crosses into the Nikko national park. There I can climb "Hiuchi dake", which is the tallest mountain in northern Japan.

Abbie and Scott's Wedding.

On 2nd May my sister, Abbie got married. It was a fantastic day. Abbie looked beautiful and I was absolutely thrilled for them both! 

Sakura!Every year in Japan, the cherry blossoms bring about a frenzy of parties called "hanami parties". I really enjoy these because the lack of pub beer gardens mean there are few opportunities for daytime beer drinking!

The cherry blossoms are really spectacular. Some of the best are the ones at Tsuruga-jo - the castle in Aizuwakamatsu. They don't stay very long at all so lots of people go at once to take photos.

Cherry blossoms are everywhere though. Outside my house and around the school there were loads. At school we skipped first period to go outside and take photos. Just a few days later, the trees were all green.

Kyoto and NaraMeredith and I used the national holiday in Japan, named Vernal Equinox Day, to make a long weekend and visit Kyoto and Nara. It's pretty far from Aizu but a nice break from the usual places. It's a completely different aspect of Japanese culture to where we live and is quite popular among foreign tourists due to the large number of temples and other attractions.

I was pleased to go back to Kyoto after visiting last year with Simon, Mary and John, but I was especially happy to see Nara. It is a very relaxed city with a large park and many temples. Deer wander around the park freely as they are believed to be messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion.

The most impressive sight there is Todai-ji - a temple which is reputedly the largest wooden building in the world. It houses a great bronze Buddha statue.

By Sunday we were quite tired and drained of cash after riding the shinkansen followed by the local train back to Aizu for about 6 hours, but it was nice to get away somewhere different.

Snowboarding!

Although this season has been slightly spoiled by my broken wrist, I have really enjoyed the times that I have managed to get out boarding. I feel like I've made a lot of progress and have really enjoyed the sociable aspect of it.
Breaking from their usual mountain (Bandai) we had a group of visitors from around the prefecture for a glorious weekend of Minamiaizu snowboarding. It got quite warm beforehand so although the weather was great the snow wasn't perfect, but it was altogether a lot of fun. The sun was so bright that we all ended up with sunburn and white goggle marks around our eyes! I'll miss snowboarding for a while, but am looking forward to going hiking once the snow melts.

Graduation!

Spring is the end of the school year here and schools across Japan have been having their graduation ceremonies. These are very impressive events with nothing to equal them in the UK. They are also extremely emotional days - for students, their parents and for the teachers, who often become more like surrogate parents. I was very sad since this year group were great. I've got to know them really well since I arrived and they've been very kind to me and fun to teach.

There is a lot of pomp and circumstance (including the actual piece of music by Elgar) which can all feel a bit over the top. But I think it is good that students have a proper send off to mark the end of this stage of their lives. I felt a bit pathetic being so sad, but for me it marks the beginning of the end, giving me a taste of the goodbyes that are to come in the next few months.

I noticed that the particularly good teachers were conveying a strong message to the students that they should concentrate on the future and not dwell on the past. In a town where students are reluctant to leave or aim high I think that this kind of reasoning is important. I find that parents are often overly sentimental about their children growing up and seem to want them to stay forever as elementary school students. Also the idea of aiming for the best high schools is often too ambitious for students, and it seems that many capable ones settle for the closer to home option. I was sad to say goodbye for personal reasons, but as their teacher I must admit I have a lot of respect for the kids who are anxious to move on to the next stage.

This is the gym set up for graduation. Next to the Japanese flag is the Shimogo town symbol.

Sapporo - yuki matsuri (snow festival).

The ship that got us there...

Clutching our hot-baileys!

Return to the UK! (via Spain)