Over the last five or so years I’ve often been asked why I live in Japan when Australia is such a beautiful country with many clean beaches & mountain retreats close at hand. In addition it has a climate that encourages outdoor activities including a large variety of sport such as golf, tennis, cricket, soccer, [...]
Today and tomorrow two of Tokyo’s most popular festivals will take place -the Samba festival in Asakusa and the Awa Odori festival here in Koenji -the second largest street dancing festival in Japan. Koenji yesterday had a feeling of expectation about it as the locals (me included) wandered around watching the final preparations being made [...]
It is now more than a week since 20 of us gathered to party with fellow Smith’s School of English- Koenji students at our favourite local haunt – izakaya Don Bei. This was the first time that we had our usual Sunday night June party on a Saturday night in July. A decision that turned [...]
One of my students when asked about her weekend said that she had spent her time in Suginami Ku talking with friends and acquaintances about the need to have a worldwide ban of nuclear weapons. In August 2006 a proposal was presented to the United Nations by Daisuku Ikeda in which he spoke of “people [...]
An often asked question at Smith’s School of English Koenji (スミス英会話高円寺) is “ How many words are in the English language?”, which is similar to asking the question “How many metres are in a piece of string?” Throughout the world there are over 6500 languages spoken, yet only about 1000 of them have a dictionary [...]
One of my passions is Japanese history and I am amazed that the majority of the student’s at Smith’s School of English in Koenji (スミス英会話高円寺) do not share my fervour, in fact they are astonished that I know so much about times gone by. I have learnt about Japan’s past simply by visiting temples and [...]
Honmonji is located in Ikegami and it is set high on a hill so that it seems that it will be a daunting task to reach the top because when you approach it you are confronted by some 350 plus steps that must be negotiated, but don’t let that turn you away because if you [...]
They say that turkeys, geese, and pigs are fattened for Christmas which is fine but those who eat them are fattened for the New Year. If you like to watch what you eat, then here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies. [...]
I took advantage of the wonderful fine weather last Sunday and on the spur of the moment headed off to see the 29th running of the Japan Cup – a famous international invitational horse race. I have fond memories of attending the first running of the Japan Cup (1981) and winning quite a lot when [...]
Honmonji Temple, in Ikegami, was established by Nichiren (the founder of Nichiren Buddhism) in 1274. It sits on top of a hill some 350 odd steps from street level. There is however an elevator that you can use to reach the top or alternatively you can attain it via a road way. I used the [...]
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