Today, being January 26 marks Australia Day, the day when the British first fleet arrived at Sydney in 1788 and proclaimed British sovereignty. Japan and Australia have developed a healthy and rewarding friendship over the years and today they are strong partners in areas of trade, tourism and cultural exchange. Many young people from both [...]
Not many artists in any music genre are great enough or lucky enough to be known around the world, but jazz artists tend to be well received. If an artist is willing to work hard, tour hard, and be creative, they can achieve world renown in the jazz field. Kei Kobayashi is one such artist, [...]
With the end of January almost upon us, happy lunar new year greetings from Kyoto. I hope 2012 is off to a good start for the entire Smith’s community! 2011, while a period of learning for me at Smith’s Nagaokakyo (スミス 英会話 長岡京), finished up strong. This has carried into the new year and I [...]
No- not the British Broadcast Corporation. I am being featured on a profile piece on Biwako Broadcasting, the local cable network in Shiga prefecture. I thought some of my students and friends might like to catch it live. I don’t know if the channel is available everywhere in Japan or only in Shiga, but don’t [...]
The last few days of the year in Tokyo have been very beautiful with clear blue skies & the sun shining, of course it is still cold with temperatures –day time around 7C & night between 2-4C It’s the time of the year I like to get out and visits temples & shrines Last week [...]
During the second half of 2011 Smith’s School of Koenji had three getherings of students family & friends Two were held at Rainbow Koenji Minami & our year end party was held at ban-kan also in Koenji Minami http://ban-kan.com, each of them had 18 or more in attendance & we all had a very wonderful [...]
A leisurely 45 minute train ride on the Keihan line from Yodayobashi lies Fushimi Inari, Kyoto. Last Sunday, students from Smith’s School of English, Tsuruhashi went to visit this beautiful shrine. It was built in 711 and is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes [...]
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- [...]
Bad Behavior has blocked 388 access attempts in the last 7 days.