First Round of the Speech Contest

 The first round of the Shizuoka speech contest was this weekend. It was my first time to attend a speech contest as Gotemba Minami had two contestants entered. They were Kana Serizawa, a second year student and Kanako Aoyama, a third year student.

 The girls worked on their speeches over the summer vacation and we practiced pronunciation and giving a speech in September. Even though we had practiced it was a very nerve racking experience. However, there was nothing to worry about as both girls gave brilliant speeches and I was very proud. They had both worked so hard and it showed by how well they spoke on the day.

 Unfortunately they both couldn't be winners but I am proud to say that Kanako achieved second place. I was ecstatic for her as all the speeches were so good and I enjoyed listening to them all. She will now move forward to compete against finalist from other areas of Shizuoka.  

Mastuzaki Taiko Drum Festival

This weekend, I went to the Taiko drum festival in Mastuzaki. I had heard that the drum festival in Mastuzaki was famous for being very good and I wasn't disappointed, it was brilliant. I arrived early evening to watch the sunset, dip my toes in the sea and watch all the drums being arranged on the stage.

 After the sun had gone, fires and bamboo lanterns were lit along the beach and the drumming began. There are some videos below, sorry for my shaky camera work and some of the video's wouldn't upload for some reason. Hope you enjoy the ones that did! 

 Some groups also used the Japanese flute, which has a beautiful sound and seemed to create an eerie atmosphere.

The next morning, we decided to enjoy the sea and we all went snorkeling along the west Izu coast. This was my first time on this side of the Izu and I loved it. The landscape was so rugged and it was perfect for snorkeling. There were a lot of little bright blue fish, some black and white angelfish and I saw an eel too!   

 After lunch, my friend took us to a waterfall that he had found. The water was so refreshing after being in the sea.

 On the way home, we were rewarded with a great view of Fuji-san over the sea. Perfect ending!