A picture of Sendai on an icy evening. Seems befitting since spring is finally coming through.

I joined the 6th grade class at Yokokura Elementary School for a science class on Marine life. The lecture was about as exciting as plankton, but the touching was a lot of fun. Starfish or hitode Sea cucumber or namako Crab or kani

I received a bento (lunch) box from students doing a home ec project today. It was a project designed to help students learn how to eat right and prepare food themselves. It was exciting to receive since I didn’t have to worry about fixing dinner. But as every contributing member of society knows: nothing is […]

Valentine’s Day in Japan differs from ours. Whereas typically men give chocolate to women or exchange gifts, in Japan it is only the women who give chocolate or homemade goods. You may think this sounds unfair, but a month later on White Day men give all the women who gave them something a gift back […]

Last night I enjoyed singing Karaoke with my friends Chihiro and Masanori. Masanori is my karaoke “sensei” which is Japanese for teacher. It’s hard o make out the restaurant in the background, but the place is called “In Seoul”, a well known watering hole in Kakuda.

This past month I’ve been working on an art project with the Junior High School students. I made a stamp. The Japanese word for stamp is “hanko” but they also have a special word for handmade stamps: “tenkoku” Mine says “harisu” which is how my name is pronounced in Japanese. The individual characters mean: to […]

Kakuda on a quiet Sunday morning.

This last Friday evening the Kakuda side of the Sister Cities Program hosted its annual dinner. I was honored to have been invited and enjoyed seeing everyone involved in the program many of which I have known for many years. Unfortunately I was unable to get a decent photo of the whole group.

Kakuda has concerts occasionally held at lunchtime. This one was held at the Kakuda Wellpark Center and featured the Irish Harp played by Mariko Tsukinowa.

The spring semester kicked off recently with a ceremony followed by a lunch with my coworkers. Japanese schools run on a trimester system the last of which begins in January and ends in March. A new school year will begin April 1st. Shown here is my lunch.

I showed up to work yesterday at city hall and found myself heading to kitago jidokan to help college volunteers who had come to play with the children. I ended up learning how to play Mancala the Japanese way. The board is also different.

Sendai has trees lit up every year down its main road. It’s called the ‘Illumination’ and is a main winter attraction of Sendai. It can be seen in the background. I am standing with my friend and jiji-center boss, Masanori.

I’m looking forward to my second Christmas in Kakuda and plan on updating the blog as Christmas gets underway. For now here is how Daiyama Park currently looks at night.

On Sunday I went to the annual Beethoven concert, which features a symphony and choir performance. Every year they perform Beethoven’s 9th and other various pieces. The audience sang “Silent Night” together in Japanese, something I never thought I’d do. “kiyoshiko no yoru” means silent night.

There was a Kakuda Walk that went to several different shrines and temples last weekend. It was nice to meet many people from the community, walk with them, and then eat lunch together. There was also a Kakuda Quiz which I unexpectedly won. Thanks to my coach Mouri Masanori for the superb preparation. usokoge “Don’t […]

I recently took a trip to Iwate and got to see the fall leaves. Today’s word is kouyou mini ikou yo which isn’t kakuda-ben, but is a befitting pun. I learned this from my friend Yuka Mouri. It means let’s go see the autumn leaves.

I recently had a party at my apartment with several of my friends. We ate okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes) and takoyaki (fried balls of octopus). It also happened to be my birthday. Today’s word is: ora which is a “redneck” way of saying “I”. Typically used by males residing in the country and occasionally by grandmothers.

I just returned home from a business trip to Akita-ken. I went to observe elementary and junior high school classes and discuss teaching methods. Akita is located on the other side of the country, on the Sea of Japan, and is renowned for two things: being very cold and having the best primary education in […]

Last weekend Kakuda held its annual Marathon on the bank of the Abukuma River, which runs through Kakuda. The event has grown over the years and this year had 2,300 runners. There are multiple events ranging from 2km all the way to a half marathon. The event included speeches of encouragement from Mayor Otomo and […]

Last week I went to a professional baseball game with the citizens of Kakuda. The Rakuten Eagles are Sendai’s baseball team and even though they lost it turned out to be a fun evening seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It was the second Eagles game I’ve been to. Last month I won tickets […]