Hello everyone! and nice to meet you here.

My name is Ko, also one of AIESEC team members.
This is my first writing so I'm introducing myself simply.

I’m called kaku-san (格さん). Because this character 格 is read by many ways ‘kaku’, ‘itaru’and ‘ko’. So you can call me kaku-san.
I’m a second year student at Kyoto University to study chemistry.
I’ m not from Kyoto but Wakayama, where is to the south of Kyoto.
It has one of the most beautiful beach called ‘shirara-hama’. So many people visit there every summer to swimming or diving.


Today as the main point I want ask some questions about your country.
Firstly, do you often see many Japanese things in your countries? Please pick up some of them. As for me, the other day I found a company called NIPPO on the internet. It seems to a bridge between Japanese and polish, serving a translation of some European languages especially Polish. And yesterday I went you an Indian curry restaurant near my university. We often visit it because we can eat delicious Indian dishes which native Indians cook.
Secondly, what effect do they make on your countries? If they affect something badly, we have to know as members of Japan Team. When my team members except me went to Malaysia in this summer, they learned that some Japanese movies didn’t fit their culture and religion and not affect them very well.
Lastly, what of Japan do you like most and do you want to lean more in Japan?We’ll help you as good as possible.

Thank you for reading to my awkward article and sorry
p.s.
To Monika
At your birthday we’ll have a party after your finishing work. Please make the time free.
To Manish
Nice to meet you. We’re looking forward the day when you come here to Japan.

こんばんわ EVERYONE! :)

At the beginning… I’m sorry that I haven’t been writing anything here lately but it’s just so many things happening that I simply didn’t have time for it. But I will try to do my best in the future! :)

Thank you all for such a warm welcome! I’m really happy that I could meet you all! Before my arrival to Japan I was worried about feeling alone here or missing my friends very much, but as for now I didn’t have time for it. You are really taking good care about me… poor gaijin :) But I don’t feel like a stranger here. You are very nice to me and very helpful! I would really like to thank you for all your help, I wouldn’t do anything here without you! :)

Mayako – I would really like to hear that song :)

Shiori – How far is Hiroshima from Kyoto? Is it easy to get there? I heard about that torii gate standing in the sea, I guess it looks really amazing!

Kobayann – I think that you shouldn’t ask anyone if he likes Japanese food… it’s so delicious that it should be obvious that everyone likes it :) Well I have to admit that I don’t like it… I love it! :) I tried sushi in Poland (as it’s the only Japanese food that is served in Poland) and I also made once sushi in Japan :) and I like it very much (both making and eating) :) Unfortunately in Poland we don’t have so many fish as in Japan, so our sushi options are limited. About nato – I haven’t tried yet but I heard about it. I have to try it because I’m curious if I like it or not. What else could you recommend to try from your cuisine? I like trying something new :)

Yuka – I always new about existence of Aikido but after reading your post I found it really interesting. How long have you been learning it? I would really like to see how it looks (and also I would like to try it) :) So I look forward to seeing you. You will be my Aikido sensei :)

Mayuka – I know about Machiya a little bit. I’m still learning about it, however I already guide tourists visiting Tondaya through it :) But I would like to know more about it as it’s very interesting. I would like to know how other Machiya looks like, is there many differences. For example I heard that tea ceremony room that is in Tondaya wasn’t typical for Machiya. I would like to know what is inside typical Machiya.

And finally… Manish :) We all really look forward to seeing you in Kyoto! Prepare for meeting here a lot of amazing people. I think that LC in Kyoto is the best of all AIESEC Local Commitees! :)

Once again thank you for everything AIESEC members :) I look forward to seeing you soon!

Roads of Kyoto City

Hi, i'm mayako!
This is the first time i write to this blog.
Monika and Manish do you enjoy this blog?
Please comment anywhere freely.

This time, i write about the roads of Kyoto.

In the center of Kyoto City, the form of the roads is squares.
This form is have its origin in the urbun planning of Heian-Kyo.
Do you know Heian-Kyo?
It's the name of the capital of Japan in 7~8 century.
Today's most of the big roads in the center of the Kyoto City
were originally the roads of Heiankyo.

Because most of the roads go south to north or east to west,
you can describe a spot by the names of two roads.
So, if you remember the names of main roads,
you will be able to walk to anywhere you want.

There are so many roads that there is a song to remember the name and the order of the roads.
If you want to sing the song, i'll tell you!
So please ask me.

Thank you.

About Miyazima.

Hello! I am Shiori, one of the member of the aiesec in Kyoto.

Monika and Manish, do you know Hiroshima? In fact, Hiroshima is my hometown. So, I would like to write a little about Hiroshima.

Hiroshima is famous for the two World Heritages, the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Miyazima(宮島). Today I talk about the Miyazima.

Miyazima is most beautiful in this season, autum. There are a lot of maple trees(もみじ) and all of them turn red. The landscape impresses you very deeply. Also, the torii(鳥居) which is very big and red and stands in the sea, and the Itsukushima Shrine(厳島神社) are beautiful, too. I recommend you to see the torii with the rising sun or the evening sun. You are attracted more deeply.

Momizi Manjus(もみじ饅頭), maple-shaped buns, are popular sweets in Hiroshima, especially in Miyazima. Most of the visiters buy it for themselves, family, or friends. There are a lot of shops selling them and they have various fillings. The most popular one is a bean-jam. Also custard, chocolate cream, cream cheese, and so on are filled in them. In fact, there are also the fried ones and the ones with soft and raw coating. All of them are very tasty.

If you want to hear more about Miyazima and Hiroshima, do not hesitate to ask me.

Thank you for reading! Good bye!

JAPNESE FOOD

Hello,everyone! Welcome to Japan Monika!

I am Youhei Kobayashi , one of aiesec team members. My nickname is Kobayann, so, please call me this nick name .

Monika and Manish ,do you like Japanese food? I think that you two do not know about Japanese food well,so ,today I would like to taik about Japanese food.

One o the most famous Japanese food is sushi(寿司）,I think.this food is very popular in the world,so maybe you know it. Have you ever eaten it? If you have already eaten it, please tell me about it! What kind of fish do you like, etc.

I like a sea urchin ,uni .Its taste is so good! If you have not eaten it, you shold try!!

Second,do you know natto(納豆)? This is one of yhe most famous Japanese food ,too.
Many foreigners I know say that they are not good at natto. But, this is healthy and good taste.
So ,you should try this food too. It would be an important experience to understand Japanese
culture,I think.


If you are interested in Japanese food,please tell me!!

thank you for reading . see you!

From Manish!

Konnichiwa to all the members of IKUTA SANKI KOGYO reading this blog and all the aiesec in Kyoto members. So today finally after a long time I am writing the blog and today I would like to discuss about India Japan culture and industrial relations…

In December 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan culminated in the signing of the "Joint Statement Towards Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership". Japan has funded many infrastructure projects in India, most notably the Delhi Metro subway system. Indian applicants were welcomed in 2006 to the JET Program. Also, in the year 2007, the Japanese Self Defence Forces took part in a naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, known as Malabar 2007, which also involved the naval forces of India, Australia, Singapore and the United States. The year 2007 was also declared "India-Japan Friendship Year."

As far as the CNC machinery market is considered the major players in India market are Okuma and Mazak and there is a huge demand of latest high tech Japanese machineries in India. Recently we were taught about ASIMO in our robotics classesJ

2 days back Kawasaki launched the ninja bike in India and it’s the best bike in India at the moment.

Political relations between the two nations have remained warm since India's independence. Japanese companies, such as Sony, Toyota, and Honda, have manufacturing facilities in India, and with the growth of the Indian economy, India is a big market for Japanese firms. Japanese firms were, in fact, some of the first firms to invest in India. The most prominent Japanese company to have an investment in India is automobiles giant Suzuki, which is in partnership with Indian automobiles company Maruti Suzuki, the largest car manufacturer in India.

Cultural exchanges between India and Japan began early in the 6th century with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan from India. The Indian monk Bodhisena arrived in Japan in 736 to spread Buddhism, and would remain in Japan until his death in 760. Buddhism and the intrinsically-linked Indian culture had a great impact on Japanese culture, still felt today, and resulted in a natural sense of amicability between the two nations.

As a result of the link of Buddhism between India and Japan, monks and scholars often embarked on voyages between the two nations. One of the most famous Japanese travelers to the Indian subcontinent was Tenjiku Tokubei (1612-1692), named after Tenjiku ("Heavenly Abode"), the Japanese name for India.

Further cultural exchange occurred during the mid-late 20th century through Asian cinema, with Indian cinema and Japanese cinema both experiencing "golden age" during the 1950s and 1960s. Indian films by Guru Dutt and Rajinikanth were influential in Japan, and Japanese films by Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu were likewise influential in India

Okay guys then see ya soon in another blog! I hope you were not bored by such a long blog!Thanks a lot for reading it! have a great week ahead!

What Is AIKIDO?

Hello everyone! And, welcome to Japan, Monika!

I am Yuka, one of the aiesec team members. I also belong to an Aikido circle.

I want Monika and Manish to know more about Japanese culture, so today, I would like to introduce Aikido to you.

Aikido is a kind of martial arts made in Japan. Aikido is one type of Kung fu, my chinese friend said. However, it is said that Morihei Ueshiba made Aikido about 80 years ago. He is very big person. I hear that he had even avoid a bullet in a war.(It is a legend... unbelievable!)
The most characteristic point of this sport is that there are no games. That means, there is no winners as well as no losers.
Aikido is known as the art of self-defence(護身術). This is because everyone including the young or the elderly, men or women can do it. Power is unnecessary. Instead of that, we use 気 ("ki" or "qi"), which is a kind of power that is not made from muscles. I'm sorry, I can't fully explain it^^; If you want to know, please ask me. I try to explain it. (To tell the truth, I haven't understood it yet...It is very difficult.)
People says it is effective to practice Aikido to protect ourselves from strangers, but many teachers of Aikido says that if we really want to protect ourselves, running away is more important! Please remember that.

If you are interested in Aikido, please talk to me! It is very fun to play Aikido. I think I can teach you Aikido a little. A little...

Thank you for reading! See you^^*

DEAR MONIKA

HI MONIKA !
This is MAYUKA, one of JAPAN team members.

I have two qusetions for you.
We will have an event in November. In that event, we will learn about MACHIYA which is Japanese traditional house and which now you live in.
In order to decide the plan of the event, please answer the questions.

1. Do you know about MACHIYA?(anything is OK)

2. What part of MACHIYA do you want to learn?(history, structure, how to use etc...)

I'm really looking forward to seeing you :)
I'm happy to hear you will come to our meeting tomorrow!
However, a typhoon is approacing to Japan so our meeting and party are parhaps postponed.
Now I'm afraid that.

And I'm sorry I don't write English well :(
If you cannot understand my English, please ask me ;)
I'm glad to answer your question.

See you *

Mayuka

Our Study Tour

In summer vacation, we went to Malaysia as NPO's members.
The aim for this tour was "how Japanese cultures are spread in other country".
We visited two Japanese organizations in Kuala Lumpur, and we got a big amount of information....

By the way, I'm writing this article for fun, so I don't want to say about such studying situations. ^w^

So, this time, I'm going to talk about how we enjoyed our tour!

This was the first place we visited in Malaysia for dinner.^_^
As almost all dishes were spicy, these are really good taste!!

This was our hotel's breakfast.(Buffet Style)
Don't you see these are expensive!? In fact, YENs are expensive compared with MRs.
But, I didn't imagine such many dishes...(wow!)

This is called PETRONAS Twin Towers　built by Korean and Japanese in cooperation.
And more details, French organization made "the sky bridge" on 41 and 42 floors between tower1 (built by Japanese) and tower 2 (built by Korean).
These were so big that I changed my scale value.

Next was Sentral Market.(the word "Sentral" is not my fault)

...What I notice was...this place is for visitor!!

Like Japanese, Korean, or American, the people who are from developed countries often visit here...
I wanted to visit more local places as my study.(￣△￣||)

This was the first day of our visit, and I'll stop writing here.
I hope other Japan members follow me.:-D

See you in the other Article!!!

Yosuke

konnbanwa everyone.

HI ATSUSHI, i am really glad to know that you liked my blog.:-)thanks.

i cant wait too to come to japan its like a dream come true for me. i am really looking forward to learn it but due to very busy schedule i find hard to get time .

anyways congrats that you have joined aiesec in your freshman.i am sure you would love it and enjoy the most out of it:-)and good luck for your studies too. .yes india is very cultural diverse country.26 prefectures..every prefecture has different people,different language,food,climate,topograpahy,festivals etc...there are more than 126 languages in india,more than 11 different religions...and many more such interesting facts:-) thats why there is so much tourism in india..and you can see lots of japanese tourists here:-) i am so happy india-japan do well..

oh yes i certainly know SUZUKI,it was the first company in india in automobiles started way back in 80,s and now suzuki has 60% market share of indian autmobile sector.recently suzuki is planning to invest 2 billion yen on expansion of its site.in 80s indian primeminister invited suzuki to india to the business since then it has been the favourite car in indian industry...suzuki is merged with maruti in india and they have joined venture operations since years.:-) \m/ viva suzuki:-) oh yeah recently tata motors from india has made the world cheapest car..called as tata nano and price tag is 220000 yen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Nano
you can check the above link for further information.

here education in schools and college is in english so students can surely speak english but not every citizen.national language is hindi... oh yes i will coming in december:-)) i am so excited..i guess i will be bringing lots of warm clothes..does it snow in kyoto? btw my friends, i wanted to share this festival from my city with you.its called navaratri.in this festival thousands of people dance after the songs of god whole nit for 9 days..in traditionals dresses.you can please check the videos on the links:-) i hope this might amaze you.

p.s i am attaching few videos of navratri .you can have look them when you are free.. btw you can skip forward the videos a bit so you get complete look of stadium:-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBoi42Pojl0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGnInHPXno8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhWu50m03bc

( check the end of this video to look at crowd and stadium) also it would be great if other EP and team member would come up with such blogs describing about culture and living of their country.. domo arigato, manish, email- manishmirani*rocketmail.com [pls note*=@] please feel free to email me.i would love to communicate with EP,s and team members:-)

Two questions from Haruna to Monika

1, Is studying Japanese running well?
You know, Mrs.Tanaka Mineko thinks it's very important to be able to speak
Japanese
in internship.
I'm glad if I can get specifical informaton about your studying

Ans....Firstly my Japanese is better now. I have classes once or twice a week, it depends on
when Hiroshi-san have time for it. I'm taking private lessons and Hiroshi
knows what I'll be doing in Japan so he's trying to help me with my language
skills. I'm learning some grammar, vocabulary and we practise some dialogues
as well. He also tells me a bit about living in Japan and some habits.
However, I'm still worried about my language level, even if it's better now
I know that it's not good enough to communicate without any problems. I know
that the beginning of my internship will be difficult but I also know that I
will be able to improve my Japanese well while working and living in Japan.
I'm still working on that but in 2 or 3 months it's very hard to make big
progress in such a difficult language. Although, I'm sure that after a while
in Japan my Japanese will be much better. The reason I know that is the fact
that I really want to learn your language and I think that is the most
important thing in succeeding.


2, what are you doing for the internship?
I mean, for example, studying Japanese culture and so on.


Ans..... I have to say that I'm trying to prepare as
good as I can before my arrival. As I wrote before, Hiroshi-san is teaching
me not only language but also a bit about culture. What's more I'm reading a
lot about your country. I'm looking some information on websites, I'm
reading some books, I'm visiting Manggha Museum (it's The Center of Japanese
Art and Technology and it's located in Krakow). I'm trying to widen my
knowledge about Japanese culture, traditions. I'm reading stories of Polish
people who already have been to Japan and their experiences and advices. I'm
also trying to know more about your geography, about Kyoto, about kimonos
(it's very interesting for me). Also I really enjoyed those informations
about Tonda-ya, which Hiro send me. I'm reading about your lifestyle. I know
that our cultures are very different and some of my behavior can be
misunderstood in Japan but I hope that because of my preparations there will
be very less situations like that.

konnichiwa everyone

This manish here..an EP from baroda,india.i will be coming to kyoto in december ,keeping my fingers crossed:-))..really cant wait for this exciting moment..since my childhood i have been very passionate about japanese culture and inot only japanese culture interests me but even japanese technologies especially in automotives and industrial engineering.i am so glad that aiesec has given me the opportunity for this.i am really very much thankful to my aiesec kyoto and my TN manager.

india and japan have very good relations and intercultural exchanges since decades.we have lots of japanese institutions in india teaching japanese languages.we have 4 japanese embassy in india probably max than anywhere else..we have many institutes which teach IKEBANA the japanese way of arranging flowers.as far as technology is concerned suzuki has very big operations in india since more than 30 years .also there many such japanese companies in india in various technologies.at the same time indian culture and tourist spots attracts alot of japanese tourist in india.i am happy that there is such great bond between india and japan:-))

i would love to make friends with other EPs and team members from kyoto.
long live everyone,
manish

P.S - i like naruto too:-))

The Answer Yosuke's question

Hello, I'm Haruna!!

Monika tried to answer Yosuke's question on this blog, but she wasn't able to do it.
That's why I post her answer instead of her.

FROM Monika

Hello!
Firstly - Thanks for inviting me to this blog. I'm very happy that I can
help with creating it.
Second of all I want to answer your questions, Yosuke-san. Maybe saying that my friends knows a lot about Japan was too big words but for sure they know much more than the regular polish citizen. I can start with the fact that they know some Japanese words, of course not many but some, and it's really exciting for them as they are able to say something in Japanese. Nowadays East Asia is becoming more and more popular in Poland and people want to know more about it as its completly different from our country, language, culture, etc. However its still something unusual to study its languages. That's why my friends are really interesed in some news that I can tell them. It's usually some issues that my Japanese sensei tells during classes. It's hard to tell right now, what exectly it is. As an example I can say that in Poland many people are affraid to try sushi as they think that's raw fish and some rise. Many of my friends or members of my family are really surprised when they hear that sushi doesn't have to consist a RAW fish. As a curiosity I can say that one of popular polish dish is made mainly from raw beef and unboiled egg. And it ok for them to eat a plate of raw meat but they have some doubts when it comes to really small
piece of raw fish :) Many of my friends have already tried sushi and really liked it. Now when I want to eat some, I'll always find someone who will go with me :)

First questions to Monika

Akashi-san, thank you for making this blog!
I really appriciate it.
I asked Monika first questions and she answered it.
I'm looking forward to communicate with her and to understand her idea about Japan through this blog.


1.How about studying Japanese?? Does it go smoothly?

1. Since I rememeber I wanted to learn Japanese, but in my hometown there weren't any possiblity to do it. But when I moved to Krakow I was looking for some good course. When I started learning it was a great pleasure for me because I were finally doing something that I wanted for a really long time.
Basic grammar, vocabulary, hiragana and katakana were easy for me. Although I often hear from people that they think it's impossible to learn that language or it's just too difficult because you have to start from the beginning - from the alphabet (and it's more than one) :) I really like foreign languages so maybe that's why it's easier for me, and it's my> passion as well. For those who don't really care about Japan and it's heritage - learning its language would be much more harder. However I had a doubth once. It was the time when we strated to learn kanji :) It was too
diffucult for me, I couldn't understand the different ways of reading and meaning while talking about one sign. I even thought about quiting as it was too hard for me. But I think that deep inside I knew I would never leave it :) I still have problems with kanji, and I know that it's really impossible to learn them all but I believe I can learn sufficient amount to use Japanese without too many problems (of course it's a long way ahead of me).
I just want to improve my Japanese and some day I hope my skills will be good even if it would cost me very hard work. I'm learning also some other european languages and I can say that Japanese is much more difficult but it's also much more interesting and challenging :)

2.How will you tell people Japanese culture that you will learn in the internship??

2. This one is really not easy... My friends already knows a lot about
Japan, they know that it's my passion and sometimes I tell them something about your country. I know that they are also excited about my internship and after I'll be back in Poland they would really like to hear what it's like there :) I will tell them a lot about my experience and about everything I've learnt there. I'm not sure what exactly I will learn, but eg. If I learn how to cook some Japanese dish, that's sure that I'll cook it for my friends :) I'm really happy that my passion is interesting for other people and they want to know more about it, so I'm sure I'll have a lot of talking here after my internship in Japan :)

How to use this Blog

It is just a communication tool with you.

Whatever you want, you can write.

Whatever you feel, you can write.

And of course, you can comment to other EPs' thread.

Take it easy to talk about whatever you want!

...anyway, everyone can come to this blog.

Please don't be so silly that you say inappropriate things in public.

Then, have a fun with us!

ブログ新設しました

ジャパンチームおよびEPとの交流用、インプリ用ブログを開設完了しました。

For Japan team and communicating with EPs, we had made this new blog. Then we can tell EPs what we think about Japan.

これから、みんなでどんどん更新していくわけですが、僕自身が三日坊主なんで、どこまでできるかは僕次第だったりします。

As we all write many from now, because I'm a lazy man, it's up to me how we can continue.

この記事は一番最初なので全部英訳もしていますが、基本的に会話は英語になるでしょう。

Since this is the first article, I write this in Japanese and English, though, basically we have to write an article in English.

じゃぁ、みんなで頑張って更新していきましょうね～☆

Then, we'll start the blog!