Visit to Fukuoka Tower
01/30/2012
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Students learning Japanese in the short term program visited Fukuoka Tower, and they enjoyed fantastic views from the tower. Here are a few comments in Japanese from them.
Gracie-san from the U.S., "It was beautiful and fascinating. I had a very good time."
Andrey-san from Russia, "I went to Fukuoka Tower today. It is a tall building, isn't it? It was a lot of fun."…
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Free Time on Weekend
01/25/2012
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Students learning Japanese in our short term program have no classes on weekend, so many of them visit other places for fun. A few of them went to Yanagawa City to enjoy "Kawa-kudari (川下り）" or Yanagawa Boat Tour. The boat tour of Yanagawa started in 1961. Well-known Donko-bune boat takes a slow trip through the ditches dug all through the town. The boat landing spot is a place associated with …
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Top 10 Japanese Surnames
01/20/2012
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Here is the list of the top 10 most commond Japanese surnames. It is said that more than 110,000 different surnames exist in Japanese. But roughly speaking, one out of every ten Japanese has a surname listed here.
1. 佐藤（さとう） Sato
2. 鈴木（すずき） Suzuki
3. 高橋（たかはし） Takahashi
4. 田中（たなか） Tanaka
5. 渡辺（わたなべ） Watanabe
6. 伊藤（いとう） Ito
7. 山本（やまもと） Yamamoto
8. 中村（なかむら） Nakamura
9. 小林（こばやし） Kobayashi
…
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New Year’s Greeting from Riat-san
01/18/2012
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We received a new year's greeting card from Mr. David Riat two weeks ago. But he also sent gifts to us, and we received them today. He sent each of NILS teacher a greeting message with a little quiz and Swiss chocolate. Whenever we receive such letters and messages from our previous students, it always reminds us of the time we spent together. We are very happy to have such experiences with th…
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A Happy New Year!
01/18/2012
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We received a New Year greeting letter from a student who learned Japanese in our school! He finished learning Japanese here and went back to Switzerland. He sent post cards for each of us with a little quiz as well as the letter. When we receive such letters and post cards, they always remind us of the time we spend with the students. We are very happy to have such experiences with students from …
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Quick Sightseeing in Fukuoka!
01/17/2012
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New students in our short term program has just started their lessons this week. We showed them aroung here. Apparently it is the first time they visit Fukuoka, so we show them how to take a bus and a train, shopping areas, delis, and so on. Plus Fukuoka tower, where you can have a grandstand view of Fukuoka City. Of course, it is not like the Empire State Building in New York City or the Eiff…
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New Year’s Greeting Card
01/14/2012
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We received some New Year's greeting cards from our students who finished their study at NILS in Japan. You can see the card Mr. David Riat from Swiss sent to us. He wrote "明けましておめでとうございます" which means "Happy New Year." He is still learning Japanese even after going back to his country. We are always very happy to hear from them.…
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成人の日 [Seijin-no-hi]
01/12/2012
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The second Monday of January is "Seijin no hi (Coming-of-Age Day)" which honors young people who have reached the age of 20 as new members of society. This day is a national holiday in Japan. Ceremonies are held in every city, town and village. Many women attend them wearing beautiful long-sleeved kimonos. In Japan, from the age of 20 onward, people have the right to vote, and they are also allowe…
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書初め [Kakizome]
01/06/2012
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"Kakizome (書初め）" is the first calligrapy writing of the new year. It is a traditional event usually held on January 2nd. People write auspicious words or phrases with a brush.
We did Kakizome on Ohashi Campus where students were learning Japanese in our short term program. One of the students, Gracie-san likes beautiful things, so she picked up a word "雪 (snow)." She has been learning Japanes…
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Happy New Year! [あけましておめでとう!]
01/04/2012
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Happy new year! We hope all of you will have a prosperous new year 2012.
We are all looking foward to meeting new students who want to learn Japanese at NI (LS!
*"明けましておめでとうございます (Akemashite omedeto gozaiasu)" means "Happy New Year."…
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