March ends and April begins. The cherry blossoms are usually expected around this time. In Otsu and all around the southern part of Lake Biwa, they have just started to open. Full bloom in Kyoto and southern Shiga is predicted for Saturday the 4th of April. This week, and especially this weekend, is the best […]
HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2011
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! Another fantastic Halloween at Smith’s school of English in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture. Our 4th annual Halloween party was held this Saturday, with pizza, snacks, pumpkins, jack-o-lantern carving, games, Halloween videos and more. Check out a few of the jack-o-lanterns that our students carved below. Students came in a variety of creative costumes- […]
A Warm Welcome
In January of 2010 I was asked about joining the local volunteer fire corps, and having been a POC (Paid on Call) firefighter in Canada for 5 years, I was excited to learn about Japanese firefighting techniques and fire corps SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). Plus I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet […]