佐賀の英語教室Happy Balloons

I went to Nara Prefecture last week for sakura cherry blossom viewing. Although it was a bit early, I enjoyed seeing cherry blossoms which are just starting to bloom. One of the highlights of cherry blossom viewing in Nara is visiting World Heritage sites while enjoying the sight of cherry blossoms. Here are some pictures showing Horyu-ji Temple, a World Heritage site. I also visited Yoshino, another World Heritage site which is famous for cherry blossoms. This mountainous area is a place where  Shugendo religion is practiced. It mainly consists of ancient Japanese mountain worship and Buddhism. It looks too small to see in the picture above but in the middle is a Buddhist pagoda and a cherry tree in bloom. There are cherry trees ready to bloom on the mountain surface. If you are planning to go to Yoshino by train, Kintestu Line is convenient. From Kintetsu Nara Station, I changed trains twice; first at Yamato Saidai-ji and second at Kashihara Jingu Mae...

The gate of the Museum In addition to watching  Bunraku , there was one more thing I wanted to do in Osaka: to visit 司馬遼太郎記念館, Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum, in Higashi Osaka City. 司馬遼太郎, Shiba Ryotaro, (1923-1996) was a historical fiction writer who dealt with various themes not only about Japan but also Asia such as samurais maneuvering to gain power, Meiji Restoration, Russo-Japanese War and the establishment of Han Dynasty of China. His works are so popular that his historical view has influenced many Japanese. For this reason, he was sometimes criticized that he only wrote the bright side of history. Throughout his works, he had tried to discover what a human being is, focusing mainly on Japanese people. His experience as a solder in WWⅡ had him rethink about his people and country. He had to join the army when he was a university student. He was a tanker stationed at Tochigi Prefecture in preparation for America's attack on the mainland Japan. He asked his boss w...

Program poster at the Theater An earthquake with an intensity of six lower hit Osaka this morning around 8 am. I hope the damages won't be great. Let's be kind to each other to stay positive. Do you know Bunraku ? Bunraku is a Japanese traditional puppet play designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2003. Last week, I went to the National Bunraku Theater in Osaka to see an event for adult Bunraku beginners. In the first part, a rakugo story teller, Katsura Kaishi, led guests to explore basics: narrative, shamisen music, puppets and puppeteers. The latter part was a play  絵本太功記 尼崎の段 夕顔棚の段  (Ehon-taikoki  Amagasaki-no-dan & Yugaodana-no-dan). This play was first performed in 1799. It was a story about a samurai who killed his lord. He was strongly blamed by his mother who hoped to lighten his son's sin. The samurai had a son who was severely injured in the battle where he tried to help his father. The samurai finally accepted t...

Whenever I buy cakes, I always go to テテ（TeTe）, a cake shop in  Kono, Saga City. Their cakes are beautifully decorated and irresistibly tasty. The pastry chef trained in Spain and its official name Pasteleria TeTe is Spanish. They offer roll cakes, macarons etc. but what I love most is shortcakes. Last week, I bought cakes there. They prepared them in a box this way (see the below). Paper rings were taped on the box to prevent the cakes from moving. The clerk asked how long it took to bring them home and put an ice pack in the box accordingly. Left: モンブラン（Mont Blanc Cake), chestnut cream cake, 400 yen Middle: グロシージャ（ Guroshija) , black currant & chocolate cream cake, 360 yen Right: 利休 （Rikyuu) , maccha green tea cream cake, 360 yen The 8% consumption tax is added at the cashier. The cakes were not too sweet and the chef made the most of each ingredient. The shop is on the first floor of an apart...

                                                                                        Torii Gate, Ise Shrine Happy New Year 2018 ! I hope you all have enjoyed the new year holidays. For many Japanese, the new year day is to pray for good luck at shrines.               A bit early but last week, I went to Kifune Shrine in Kyoto and Ise Shrine in Mie prefectures. They are very famous, enshrining the god of water and the goddess of the sun respectively. Shrines ...

It is the time for balloons! Saga International Balloon Fiesta 2017 will be held in Saga City from this Wednesday, November 1 for five days. I believe many are looking forward to beautiful hot air balloons in the sky but if you would like to enjoy a bit more of Saga's local charm, Karatsu Kunchi Festival in Karatsu City from Thursday, November 2 to Saturday, November 4 can be your choice. It is a festival of the Karatsu Shrine which started in the 17th century. In the festival 14 floats decorated with samurai armor, lions and fish etc. go around the city. All the floats gather at Otabisho  on West Beach on November 3 as its climax. Karatsu City is not so far from Saga City and can go by train easily. Though trains will be crowded, I strongly recommend using trains because they are fast without traffic jams. Here is my suggested itinerary on N...

Enjoying Japanese food is one of the highlights of visiting Japan, isn't it? Nakamura（那かむら）in the Yume Town Saga shopping mall is perfect for those who want to enjoy tempura reasonably. To make customers enjoy crunchy tempura, the restaurant serves each tempura every time it is deep fried. Menus are written in both English and Japanese. I recommend Variety Set B, 896 yen tax included. While waiting for tempura, customers can pick pickled radish and Japanese apricot flavored  enoki mushroom from containers on the table. Rice, sauce, miso soup, tea and a rectangle plate are on the tray. On the plate, there are pink rock salt, lemon flavored salt to eat with tempuras, along with grated radish and ginger to put into the sauce. Chopsticks are in a wooden box on the table. Free refills on rice. Dipping tempura in the sauce is a common way to eat but with salt is also delicious....

A Japanese snack Caal （カール）has been loved since its debut in 1968 but from this August, it will be sold only in western Japan. It is made from corn and the name comes from its curly figure.                                                                                                                                       This is shocking news for many including me. I remember I used to buy it for school excursions. According to the maker, Meiji, it is mainly due to declining sales of Caal since the 1990s as potato chips have taken over it.                               ...

1月の中ばを過ぎましたが、2017年の初投稿なので・・・ あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願い申し上げます☆ 読者のみなさま、年末年始はどう過ごされましたか？ 私は韓国へ行ってきました（写真は世界遺産、水原華城の行宮）。 通訳ガイドの資格をもっているので、勉強のために旅行者目線でいろいろ見てきました。 海外旅行では、食もお楽しみのひとつですよね。 というわけで、地元ならではの食を求めて行ってみたお店はこちら↓ 水原にある名物のカルビで有名な焼き肉店　カボジョン ソウルで干し鱈のスープ一筋の　武橋洞プゴグッチッ ソウルの創業40年になる老舗ホテル　ホテルプラザ内 The Lounge のアフタヌーンティー 感想をひとことでいうと、期待外れ。 カボジョンは・・・ お肉好きの方にはいいかもしれませんが、日本のやわらかい肉になれている私には堅すぎ。 メニューは韓国語のみで、注文の品にご飯が含まれているか尋ねても英語も日本語も通じず。 言葉の問題なのか店員さんが勝手に焼いていくので、ゆっくり食事ができませんでした。 武橋洞プゴグッチッは・・・ 超うすあじのスープ。塩漬けの小エビで自分なりの味つけに。テーブルわきの漬物三種は食べ放題。ご飯はついてきます。メニューは干し鱈のスープしかないので、席につくとでてきます。14時ごろ行きましたが、店内はサラリーマン、OLさんたち＋観光客でほぼ満席でした。タクシーの運転手さんが食べ方を教えてくれましたが、お店の人は教えるのがめんどうという感じでした。 THE　Loungeは・・・ 食材は高級なものでしたが、サンドウィッチがべチャッっとしていたり、ウェイトレスさんが何も言わずに品物を運んできてさっさと行ってしまうなど、一流ホテルにしてはもの足りませんでした。もちろん笑顔もなし。 困ったこと、疑問に思ったことばかり書きましたが、電車で席を譲ってもらったり、駅でちがう乗り場にいた私をわざわざ正しい乗り場に連れて行ってくれた＆なぜかお餅をくれた親切な方々にも出会いました。 今回の体験は、インバウンドとよばれる外国人による日本旅行対策に役立つかもしれません。 JINTO（日本政府観光局）による2016年11月までの外国人旅行者の推測値は、前年同時期より22.4％増の...