I really loved being able to see all the different kinds of dolls there are and how much detail was put into each of them.

Some of the dolls had so much detail that it was amazing to think that someone hand painted all of them.

There were dolls from classic folktales, dolls that were more modern, and elaborate geisha dolls.

They have so many different dolls you can choose to paint as well!

The lady who worked in the shop was very kind and told us different techniques we could use while painting our dolls, and let us see some of the examples as we painted.

It was difficult to choose what colors I wanted to paint my doll and in the end I realized how difficult it must be to paint the kinds of dolls they sell. I hope one day I can paint another Hakata Doll and use the techniques I learned that day!

This week we visited a Japanese garden called Yuusentei.

It was a lovely sunny day, and the garden was green and beautiful.

We were very lucky to see two couples having their wedding photos taken at the gardens!

The brides were beautiful and it was nice to see them all dressed up in their lovely kimonos.

The walk around the garden was very peaceful, and we could hear the relaxing sound of the waterfall from all around the garden.

Hirose Sensei bought us some food to feed to the koi in the large pond.

You could get right up close to them, and a couple of the girls even patted them!

It was all fun until the fish made a big splash and Jessica got all wet…twice!

It was very funny.

After walking around the gardens we enjoyed a tea ceremony.

We didn’t actually get to see the green tea being made, but we practiced the words and rules of drinking tea at a tea ceremony, while overlooking the beautiful garden.

It was a wonderful and relaxing day!

——Susan

This week we went to the Hakata Folk Museum and Kushida Shrine.

At the museum we saw some displays of what life was like in old Hakata.

We learnt about the Hakata Yamakasa Festival which happens every year in July.

It was interesting to hear about the history of this festival, and to see the amount of time and effort that goes into preparing for it every year.

I am really happy to see such old traditions preserved, alive and well, in modern day Japan.

Also at the museum we got to try using the loom to make Hakata Ori textiles.

It was a very interesting experience, but I don’t think I’m very good at it!

Afterwards we walked across the street to the Kushida Shrine. We purified ourselves by washing our hands before we entered, then prayed. We practised all the correct techniques at school before we left which was very helpful. We also got Omikuji (fortunes). Mine was Very Lucky so I’m very happy!                    ―――susan

Our activity this week was to go to a place that makes plastic food for display in restaurant windows.

We were all able to create our own “Parfait” to take home with us.

This activity was so creative and so much fun!!
We got to choose the shape of our parfait cup, the flavour (colour) of the sauce in the bottom, and the toppings we wanted to put on (within our given budget).

There were so many toppings to choose from (which actually made making a decision quite difficult), and they all looked so real. It was quite incredible.

We helped to pour the “icecream” into our cups, then we got to decorate using our chosen toppings.
We were able to take photos with any of the items in the store which was very fun.
After we had all made our parfaits, we were treated to a live performance of how a few different foods are made.

The man used wax (nowadays they usually use plastic since the wax melts when the weather gets really hot) to create tempura, lettuce and a fried egg. Some of us even got to have a go at making a lettuce.
We were all disappointed when the activity was over – everyone wanted to do it again!!

We got to make our own food examples !

Here in Japan I see them in so many restaurants,

I always ask myself how people make these and today I finally got the answer.

We made our own Parfaits and they look so real.

The place in wich we made them was full of food examples,

from sweet candy, to fruits, sushi, vegetables, meat and seafood, everything looked so real.

I’m glad that I finally have my own Parfait example 🙂     ——Katie

Before going to Riki, I thought that it was just going to be a little fun.

When I went though, it was probably my favorite activity I’ve done so far.

The two owners of the shop were very funny and entertaining but were still very good at what they do.

They let me make the fake lettuce which was so amazing.

It was interesting to hear how they had come up with their own new techniques that no one else in the world had done before.

It made me have  new appreciation for the sample foods and made me really want to learn how to make more myself!          ———–Matthew

In addition to the extensive classroom lessons, NILS offers weekly Japanese cultural activities. It’s been a great way to get out of the classroom and use some of the Japanese we’ve learned in real-world scenarios while also learning about the unique culture of Fukuoka City.

This week we went to Hakata to paint the famous Hakata dolls. We visited a shop where artists intricately design and paint all shapes and sizes of Hakata dolls, ranging from cute kimono dressed women to masculine and aggressive looking sumo wrestlers.

After seeing how the Hakata dolls were painted we were able to pick our own Hakata doll and paint it with our own design— I painted an cute old man! It was a relaxing experience and a nice break from from the sometimes challenging languages lessons in the classrooms.

After we painted our dolls we were allowed to take our painted Hakata Dolls home after the activity. My family thought it was really cute and made sure to display it in our house. In addition to the learning about the cultural significance of Hakata Dolls, it was nice to bring home a souvenir from the class.

The cultural activities at NILS are enjoyable and I look forward to upcoming activities.

Our activity this week was to go to a Hakata Dolls shop and paint our own Hakata Doll.

We learnt the history of Hakata Dolls at school before we left for the shop.

That was really interesting. The shop was amazing and the dolls on display are real works of art.

We got to choose which doll shape we wanted to make, and then we sat down to paint them.

There was a huge selection of paint colors to choose from which was really great,but it was difficult to decide the best colors to use!

The painting was really enjoyable and relaxing – and it was great to get everyone else’s opinions if you were having trouble choosing a color or something.

Everyone’s finished dolls were really individual and it was great to have our very own doll to take home at the end of the session – a great reminder of a great day.