
The calligraphy activity
- 06/18/2015

Shodou
- 06/16/2015

Dazaifu and Kyushu National Museum
- 06/14/2015
The shrine
- 06/12/2015
The trip to the Shrine was a very interesting and personally rewarding.
I was a bit uncomfortable at first because I wasn’t a follower of Shinto, but when I found out praying at the shrine was optional; I was very excited to go!
The gardens and grounds around the shrine were very immaculate.
There were countless gardens around the temple that I couldn’t get enough pictures of.
I personally loved all the water gardens with the flowers in bloom.
There were also many Koi ponds around, which are commonly associated with Japanese culture.
After the shrine visit, we went to the Kyushu National Museum.
There weren’t only Japanese artifacts there, but artifacts from all over the world including the Middle East. I was particularly surprised seeing Persian artifacts like carpets and jars in the museum.
The only thing I really didn’t like about the museum was that photos weren’t allowed. I understand that they’re rules, but I know I have friends and family that would have loved to see photos! Their rule is so strict that you can’t even have your phone/camera out while in or near the exhibit. It was dark, so I was using my phone for light to read the pamphlet, and I was told to put it away, even though I was just sitting down on a bench by the restroom, nowhere near the exhibit artifacts.
Overall though, no matter what your background is, you will enjoy sightseeing at this temple, and maybe find some neat souvenirs at the Museum gift shop!
-Ashton Zadeh
Dazaifu Tenmangu
- 06/09/2015
The Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine trip was a lot of fun.
It was rainy in the morning but by the time we got there it was just overcast which meant it wasn’t that busy which was nice.
First thing we did was wash our hands.
It was good to learn the proper method. It is important to learn these little cultural facts as it helps connect us more to the language.
After properly washing our hands we entered the shrine to pray for success in studying.
Dazaifu Tenmangu is a shrine for the god of knowledge so it is particularly good for praying for success in learning.
I didn’t know which coins were the best to donate at shrines so it was nice to find out that you should use 5 or 50 yen coins due to the hole in the middle.That way you can see through them into the future.
After praying we walked over to collect a fortune.
I only managed to get an average luck fortune.
Despite that I know my luck was good as next we made our way to the Kyushu National History Museum.
The museum was hosting an exhibit about different Asian cultures as well as Japan’s history with its Asian neighbors.
My favorite part was the room with all the katanas.
I have always been interested in katana swordsmithing and it was cool to learn some of the history behind the best of Japans swordsmiths.Overall the museum was an excellent place to visit. It has a lot of beautiful pieces with great explanations and supplemental material.
No trip to Dazaifu Tenmangu would be complete though with some umegaemochi and macha tea. So we made our way to the main street near the station and stopped in a nice looking restaurant to try some. We were not disappointed. The mocha was warm and delicious and the macha was cool and refreshing.
Definitely the best way to end the trip.
I had a lot of fun and look forward to the next activity.
Washi making#2
- 06/04/2015
In this week’s school activity at NILS Language School, we got to make traditional Japanese paper crafting. It’s called Washidzukuri.
The actual process of making the paper is complicated and takes a lot of time.
We only got to make the easy part.
First we could choose what kind of crafting we wanted to do, you could choose between fans, name cards, bookmarks etc.
I decided to make the bookmarks.
After going through the process of creating the paper base we got to pick different kind of dried flowers and grasses to decorate our paper swath.
After we were done decorating, everything had to dry, while it did, we walked around the building and looked at beautiful traditional Japanese handicrafts.
I’m very happy with my finished bookmarks, I think they’ll make a very nice souvenir for my family.
I’m glad that I not only learned about Japanese paper making, but also got to experience it myself.
Hakata Ningyou
- 06/01/2015
Our first activity was painting Hakata dolls.
This was my second time doing this activity and it was more fun than last year!
There were different options for dolls this time and they were all very interesting.
We also were able to interact with other people as there were others shopping for dolls and one person even asked us for our opinion.
I think my favorite part of the activities is learning more about Japanese culture and the Hakata Dolls are always very cool to hear about their history and why they are important.
Yusentei park
- 05/29/2015
The Yusentei Park is a traditional Japanese garden/park.
It has a big pond with Kois in it.
We got to feed them and some pigeons and even pet the Kois.
After enjoying the beautiful garden we drunk Matcha tea and got Japanese candy.
It was so delicious!!!
At the park were also wedding couples who made pictures while wearing beautiful Japanese style clothing.
Ramen and Gyouza
- 05/26/2015
For this week’s school activity I was especially exited, because we got to make our own Ramen and Gyouza!
I’ve eaten Ramen here in Japan a lot of times, but never made it myself.
The day before the activity Hirose-sensei taught us about the different kinds of Ramen that exist and how to make Ramen and Gyouza.
The day of the activity we went to “child kitchen” and got to make our own Ramen and Gyouza.
It was very interesting to see the process of how Ramen and Gyouza are made (and it was fun too).
The best part was of course when we got to eat our self-made food.
Delicious!
Hakata Machiya
- 05/23/2015
Our teacher took us on a trip to the Hakata Folk Museum where we got to see different displays of Hakata throughout the years.
It was interesting to see the displays of miniature towns and scenes.
There was so much detail in every one of them and you could tell how much effort was put into each.
We also got to watch a video about the Hakata Yamakasa festival.
It showed us how they build the shrines each year and all of the hard work that everyone puts in to making them.
The festival looks very difficult and requires a lot of commitment, but everyone works together to make it possible which I think says a lot about Japan in general.
After visiting the museum we walked to the Kushida Shrine.
The shrine is very beautiful and after visiting the museum I think we all appreciated it a little bit more.