Hello, I am Yoshi Tanaka from NILS Japanese language school.
March has come, and it is getting warmer little by little. But the students who come from warmer climate country say, “It is till cold, sensei. When will spring come?” However, we can feel spring is on the horizon in Fukuoka. Ume 梅 (Asian plum) is in bloom now, for example.
Students learning Japanese in the short term program visited Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine this week to enjoy seeing the ume trees. The shrine is famous for its 6,000 ume trees, and one tree known as Tobiume 飛梅 stands directly to the right of honden 本殿 or the main shrine.
They also enjoyed “umegae mochi 梅ヶ枝餅,” a specialty of Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. It is sweet rice cake and a generous heap of sweet bean paste is covered with a covered with a layer of thin hot mochi toasted on an iron plate.
When you visit Fukuoka, you should make sure to try umegae mochi.



Liel-san from Israel wrote a short comment about her tirp to Dazaifu.
“The activity was very good. Ms. Shimogawa’s explanation was clear and very inetereting. The place was very beautiful and lively. Finally, I’ve seen Japanese culture from inside!
とてもおもしろかった。そしてたのしかった！ありがとうございました！　　リエル”

March 9th News, from NILS Japanese langauge school.