Learning Japanese in Sendai for Busy People

After looking around by myself, I finally broke down and asked somebody where to find some Japanese lessons. Most of the lessons I found by myself were in the daytime, and I can't make those (no matter how long of a lunch I would take).

I contacted the Sendai International Center since I really had no where else to turn.

I was surprised when I got the response:

MIA (Miyagi International Association) Japanese Course -  3 months long, classes are Tuesdays from 18:30 to 20:30, next course begins in January. Contact the Miyagi International Association to apply http://www.h5.dion.ne.jp/~mia/index.html 

Furisuku - Thursdays 18:00 to 20:00 and Sunday's 11:00 to 13:00. Classes held at Sendai International Center in the Koryu Corner. This class is a language exchange where you help Japanese participants with their English and they help you with your Japanese. It is a conversation class. Email furisuku-sendai@hotmail.co.jp to join.

Hands Japanese Classes - Japanese classes on Tuesday evenings at the Citizen Support Center. You can bring along what you would like to study. If you are interested let me know and I will try to find out more information.

Tohoku Fukushi University - Free Japanese classes on Saturday mornings from 10:30 to 12:00. You bring what you would like to study and they will help you with it. If you are interested email sigma3hukushi@yahoo.co.jp

Tutor - Come to the Koryu Corner at the Sendai International Center and inquire at the information counter about signing up for a tutor. The tutor is free but you must pay for their transportation plus pay for materials like textbooks etc. Also they give priority to those who have difficulty with everyday conversation. You decide with the tutor where the best place to meet is e.g. the International Center. The waiting list can be quite long, especially as it can be difficult to find a tutor that is available in the evenings so I recommend signing up for one as soon as possible.

Language Exchange - You can come to the Koryu Corner and leave a message on our bulletin board to say that you are looking for a language exchange partner i.e. you help someone with their English and they will help you with your Japanese. You work out all the details about when and where to meet with that person. There are many messages on the board at the moment posted by Japanese people looking for help with English so you should find a partner quickly.

I figured I'd share this information with anyone else in Sendai who is looking for lessons.

Thanks International Center!

Back to Ishinomaki

Ishinomaki is a fishing town / harbor / manufacturing area on the Miyagi Pacific Coast. It's not very far from Sendai, yet in the two years since I have been here, I have only been to Ishinomaki twice - once to visit newly found family and once for work.

I finally got a chance to get back this weekend, and I went to Saint (San?) Juan Bautista Park (サン　ファン　バウティスタ)　where a replica of the Date Maru (Japanese name for the ship) / Saint Juan Bautista (Spanish name) was built.

In the early 1990's, the Japanese set out to remake the Date Maru the same way it was originally built. The Japanese are admirably sticklers when it comes to recreating historical artifacts - see Yamagata Castle.

From what I can tell, they did a very good job. The ship is surprisingly small though. I'd hate to be on it for more than a few hours. The beds the crew slept on were probably too small for me to even curl up on.

I think that they should sail this ship across the Pacific and retrace the original voyage. I know it's been done, and maybe the ship isn't in tiptop condition after sitting in port for 15 years, but I think it would be interesting. (As long as I did not have to participate.)

Sendai-shi

One of my frequent visitors to my photo blog is a man named Abraham Lincoln. He always leaves comments talking about how much the city has changed since he was here after the war.

Well, he decided to start his own site called Sendai-shi. These are his pictures from fifty years ago from not only Sendai, but around Japan.

Check it out.

Campfire

I was out with my wife's friends and I was asked why I like Sendai/Tohoku. One answer I gave was that I like to see some hint of nature every once and a while. That was part of the difficulty of living in Tokyo for me. The occasional trip out to the country didn't cut it.

We then talked about going up into the mountains to spend the day around the fire and cook with the possibility of doing some actual camping.

I started talking about how excited I was to have a campfire again since it had been so long. Everyone's eyes at the table got big and I was peppered with questions about campfires.

I didn't get it, but in Japanese, the word campfire means bonfire - big bonfire. The Japanese word for campfire is takibi 焚火.

I hope when we go we'll have a takibi. I don't want to start a forest fire.

Iwate Koyo!

When I got my Nikon D80 the first thing I wanted to photograph was the cherry blossoms in the spring. The second was the autumn foliage. I got the camera at the end of July, so I'll have to wait for spring to get the cherry blossoms.

Since I'm living in Sendai, autumn comes earlier and with more of a vengeance than in Tokyo.

I often go to Iwate on family visits, and for the longest time I had heard that Hachimantai City was where the colors are the best.