Bilingual Blog - Rachel Leng

Clam Digging
潮干狩り

June 4, 2018

May and June are the most popular months of the year to go clam digging (潮干狩り, shiohigari ) in Japan. You may think that clam digging itself is not so special, but “clam digging” is seriously an important keyword in Japanese society and history! I was very surprised by the extent to which the Japanese people love clam digging as a family activity! It also appears to get significant news coverage every year.

日本では、5月と6月が潮干狩りの季節ですね。日本人が家族と一緒に潮干狩りに行くはとても人気のある娯楽ですね。

初めて聞いた時、貝を掘ることはそれほど特別な活動ではないと思うかもしれませんが、日本の社会や歴史の中で「潮干狩り」は重要なキーワードらしいですね！また、今まで、毎年ニューズになっているそうです。私は、日本人が「潮干狩り」を楽しむことに驚きした！

Tiger Kingdom Thailand
[虎の王国]　タイガーキングダム・プーケット

June 1, 2018

皆様、虎と一緒に写真を撮ったことがありますか？猫のような虎に会ったことがありますか？タイに虎と直接戯れることができる夢のようなスポットがあるのはご存知でしょうか。プーケットにある「Tiger　Kingdom・タイガーキングダム」（虎の王国）という観光スポットです。そこでは、虎と一緒の珍しい写真が取れます。

Sumo Practice at Musashigawa-beya
武蔵川部屋の朝稽古

June 1, 2018

To the Japanese, sumo is not merely a popular wrestling sport, it has long been performed ritually at festivals since ancient times. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from Shinto. Life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association, and tickets to sumo tournaments are pricey and often sold out. This is one of the reasons why, besides watching sumo matches on TV, we usually have few occasions to enter the world of sumo.

日本人にとって、相撲はとても大事なスポーツですね。皆様、自分自身で、直接お相撲さんに会ったことがありますか？先日、私は武蔵川部屋に行く機会がありました！朝稽古を見学に行きました。素晴らしい経験でした！

Disaster Preparedness Drill
防災訓練

May 25, 2018

The island nation lies along the western edge of the Ring of Fire, making it one of the most tectonically active places on Earth, with as much as 10% of the world’s volcanic activity!

Most local Japanese have practiced various disaster drills (for earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) since their childhood years. Foreigners like myself who have never grown up with the frequent risk of earthquakes, however, have to take extra measures to get familiar with what to do in the case of a disaster in Tokyo. Recently I took part in my office building’s earthquake drill and also a Disaster Preparedness Drill for Foreign Residents government sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

2017 Harvard Prize Book Awards at Junten High School
順天高校の2017年度ハーバード・プライズ・ブック授与式

May 18, 2018

Junten High School has been awarding Harvard Prize Books annually since 2014. This year, there were many contenders for the Prize. The final winner selected was Mr. Takeru Ohmura　(大村武尊), who has demonstrated great persistence and determination in pursuing his passion for studying hospitality.

順天高校では２０１４年度から実施していて今回は４人目の受賞者を選出しました。今年の受賞者は大村武尊君です。

ArtBar
アートバー

May 11, 2018

Went to the ArtBar studio in Daikanyama recently for a painting session on “Greek Islands: Santorini”! Painting themes change every session~ The philosophy of “Paint & Sip” is brought to Tokyo from New York and emphasizes having fun painting while sipping wine. Free flow wine, soft drinks, and snacks are included in the lesson fee! (Although you are allowed to bring your own wine as well, which is what I did~) I have not painted for a very long time since art class in school and was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to complete a full painting in 2 hours, but it turned out alright (or so I think – check out the photos)!

Spring Yakuzen Medicinal Cuisine
春の薬膳料理

April 27, 2018

Last October, I attended an Autumn Yakuzen Cooking Class and wrote about it in a post on 「薬膳教室 Yakuzen Cooking Class」(Japanese only). Had the chance to go for another class at Hills Yakuzen to learn more about medicinal cuisine for the Spring season!

去年の１０月ごろ、一旦薬膳料理の教室に行ってきました。その経験で、「薬膳教室 Yakuzen Cooking Class」について、書きました。健康に役立つ漢方の知恵を、手軽な薬膳料理で取り入れてみたかったので、薬膳料理教室にとても興味があります。そして、ヒルズ薬膳の教室では、初心者にも嬉しい薬膳の基礎知識から、簡単な薬膳レシピや薬膳理論解説まで教えてくれました！

Ohanami 2018: Kimono experience & Chidorigafuchi Boat お花見２０１８：
着物体験と千鳥ヶ淵のボート

April 20, 2018

Some of you might have heard of Japan’s ohanami (お花見, ‘flower viewing’) season before. Basically, hanami refers to the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, primarily sakura (cherry blossoms). Unique to Japan, ‘hanami’ season is so much more than simply viewing flowers, it really becomes a huge, lively event for gatherings, outdoor parties, picnics, drinking, and marks the arrival of Spring. From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan (except for the island of Okinawa, where they bloom in February). Hanami customs in modern Japan mainly involves going to a park for an outdoor picnic beneath the sakura trees during daytime or at night (called yozakura (夜桜, “night sakura”). As the blossoms only last a week or two, there is a certain beauty to taking a moment (or several days) to appreciate their transient beauty amidst a hectic schedule (usually, the peak of hanami takes place during the end of March to early April in Tokyo, which coincides exactly with the change of fiscal years in Japan).

お花見は、主に桜の花を鑑賞し、春の訪れを喜ぶ日本古来の風習ですね。その花は春の一時期にある地域で一斉に咲き競い、わずか2週間足らずで散るため、日本人の季節感を形成する重要な風物となっていますね。可憐な花の美しさが開花期間の短さ、散り際の潔さによりいっそう印象づけられ、しばしば人の命の儚さになぞらえると思います。そのためか古来より、桜は人を狂わせるといわれることもあるらしいですよね。

Spring Luncheon at Singapore Embassy in Tokyo
シンガポール大使館での春昼食

April 13, 2018

I was the emcee for a Spring Festival Luncheon Celebration held at the Embassy of Singapore in Tokyo. The event brought together the Singaporean community living in Japan, and also helped promote Japan-Singapore cultural exchange and interaction.

シンガポール大使館でシンガポール風の春祭り昼食会を行いました。このイベントは、在日シンガポール人のコミュニティを結集させ、シンガポールと日本の文化交流を奨励するものです。私は、司会進行を務めさせていただきました～☆

Aoki Sake Brewery Tour
青木酒造酒蔵見学

April 7, 2018

Recently had the opportunity to attend an exclusive brewery tour at Aoki Sake Brewery (http://aokishuzou.co.jp/), a small Brewery in Ibaraki Prefecture about an hour away from Tokyo. Ms. Chisa Aoki, the 9th generation family member continuing the brewery business gave us the tour of the premises and brewery process. (FYI, the Japan Sake and Sochu Makers Association has a great step-by-step explanation of the basic sake brewing process.) It was fascinating to see the actual process from start with milling and steaming the rice to finish with bottling!

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