A Weekend in the Izu

At the weekend myself and some other English teachers were invited by the Izu City Association for Friendship Relations to go to Shuzenji. They wanted us to experience Japanese culture by taking part in a Taiko Drum workshop and Onigiri making. It was a fantastic day and I'd like to thank everyone who organised the event. 

Everyone who took part in the workshop

Anna who helped organise the event with the boys from the Taiko group

 We were taught Taiko by students of the Taiko club at Izu Sogo High School. They were all brilliant teachers and we all had lots of fun learning from them. They performed for us a few times and I was really impressed. They were so energetic and cheerful in their performance that it was inspiring.

My friend and I with our sensei's

 Then we were taught how to make onigiri which was interesting because I have never been able to make perfectly shaped onigiri before. I was quite proud of my final one and it was tasty! We had a choice of fillings, which were Bonito (fish flakes), Umeboshi (sour plum) or Spinach Gomaae (sesame seed). My favourite was the Bonito.

 Afterwards, some friends and I went to Kawazu to see the cherry blossoms. The blossoms flower here a lot earlier than anywhere else in Shizuoka and there are so many that there is a festival. The blossoms were very pretty and the trees lined the river for about 2.5km. The weather was very hot and it felt like Spring was finally here!

 My friends and I enjoying the Spring weather.

 All the food was delicious and nearly everything was Sakura flavoured. I thought that the Sakura ice-cream was too sweet but the mochi was delightful. There were three types, plain, green tea and sakura. (below)

Although the strawberry filled one was definitely the best!

I was a great first cherry blossoms viewing festival but I want to see many more. I think it might be my favourite Japanese festival, but really there are so many it's impossible to choose.

Blossoms at night

Jogasaki Coast/Izu Peninsula

The first week that I arrived in Shizuoka Prefecture, I met some really nice Japanese people. I was really excited because I came to Japan to be able to meet Japanese people and hang out with them. Luckily, the ones I met are really nice. I've been able to go out to eat with Japanese people and be the only foreign person there. I feel really lucky because I think most ALTs primarily hang out with native English speakers. This weekend, I was invited to go to the Izu Peninsula. The other ALT, who leaves in Gotemba and teaches in Oyama, also came. We went to Jogasaki Coast. Here, the rock formations and sea are breath taking. We had to walk over a foot bridge to get to the rocks, and it was really scary. We also found this really cool outdoor hot spring. It was right by the sea, and we could watch people skimboard the waves as we soaked our feet.

As always...here are some pictures.