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!

England and the London Olympics 2012

I left Ireland to fly to Manchester and was met at the airport by my friends above with their lovely sign. It was a great welcome back after a year away. The London Olympics had taken over and everyone was very excited about how well Team GB were doing. My friends below was getting everyone into the spirit of the Olympics.

We had a BBQ while everyone watched the Olympics. We were very excited to watch Mo Farah, who won the 10,000 meter race because it was unexpected. We also enjoyed seeing Jessica Ennis, who won the woman's Heptathlon.      

The next day I went to London to visit friends there. Below is the view of London from Hampstead Heath, which is one of the highest points in London.  Hampstead Heath is a popular park for runners in London. I spent the day relaxing with friend in the park and it was good to catch up with my friends.

The next day we went to Hyde Park to watch the Triathlon. The London Tube (subway) was very busy and I missed the big trains that they have in Japan. This is my friend and I squeezed in beside the windows, but we thought it was very funny.

Hyde Park was very busy and we could not find space near the roads, so we went to watch the Triathlon on big screens in the center of the park. I was very exciting because two of the leaders were brothers from Great Britain. Alistair Brownlee won gold and his brother Jonathan Brownlee won bronze and all of Hyde Park was electric in excitement for them. 

After the Triathlon we watch the parade for the changing of the guard near Green Park, on their way to Buckingham Palace.

The next day I went to Brighton, which is a seaside town south of London. Brighton Pier is famous and has been there for over 100 years. There are theme park rides and arcade games on the pier.

This is my two friends and I before going onto the pier.

These are views from the pier.

Brighton has a lot of independent shops, which can usually be found on the Lanes. This is a cute sweet shop we passed, which looks like an old sweet shop and they sold sweets by the pound in weight. They also had sweets from around the world.

This is a view of Brighton and the Pier at night from my friends flat, he is very lucky to have a place near the sea and very high up.

I wasn't able to go to the Olympic Park because I didn't have a ticket but i got very excited when we passed it in the car. This is a picture of Olympic Park from the motorway.

However, I was able to attend the women's Olympic Basketball at the O2 Arena. My friend worked for the Olympic Torch Relay and was able to get some tickets. He was very nice to give me one.

This is my friend Joe and I at the semi-final of the women's Olympic Basketball 2012. It was an amazing experience and the atmosphere in the arena was spectacular. Thanks Joe for the ticket!

The game was between France and Russia and France won. They went on to play America in the final but were beaten but they still won silver overall. It was an amazing experience for me and a lovely end to my trip in England.  

The next day I flew back to Japan, I was sad to leave my friends and family but excited to start my second year in Japan.

Visiting Ireland

 Recently I took a trip home, I spent one week in Ireland and one week in England.  In this entry I will tell you about my trip to Ireland. I was strange arriving back in Ireland because I wasn't expecting everything to feel so different. I had always considered Ireland to be rugged and hilly but after being in Japan my first thought was how flat it seemed.

On my first day back it was my friends wedding and it was a beautiful day. It meant that I could spend the whole day with my brothers. This is us below squeezed into my mums car.

 This is my friend and her husband, I was so happy to be able to attend her wedding because I didn't think I could get back from Japan for it.

 It was a great day because I could spend it with my family (below) and friends (above).

 The rest of my time in Ireland was spent visiting my grandparents and young cousins. One of my cousins was born while I have been in Japan so I was very excited to meet him. He is so cute and always smiling.

 I have quite a large extended family so it is important for me to try and see everyone because I am only home once a year. This is me and my two youngest cousins playing.

 I then went to England to visit friends and try to see the Olympics in London.

School Festival

 Recently we had our school festival and it was a brilliant event. I was surprised to see how much work the students put into it and that they do most of the work.I love this idea to put picture in the steps of the stairs.

 Our English club put together a small presentation about the UK and parents seem very interested. I had an interesting conversation with one couple who had been to the UK. These are the two English club members who organised everyone; they worked so hard.

 My favourite room was the science room. They had so many interesting animals, but I was sad because I could not read all the information about them. I loved the Axolotl, I have never seen one before but they are so funny. I'd like to have one as a pet one day.

 The science teacher explained that this frog (below) is from Africa and it a really small black nails. Its looks so strange but I liked it.

 This was an interesting game. You have to try and catch a goldfish by scooping it into your pot but the paddle you use to scoop is made from paper so it breaks easily. I was really good fun but I didn't keep the goldfish.

 A student told me that this species of fish is really old and it eats other fish, which I found out later when I saw it enjoying a meal. I know what happens to the goldfish that aren't taken home by students!

 

 There was a lot of artwork around the school, which was really nice to see. Each homeroom decorated their room and served food and drinks. I really liked that Alice in Wonderland theme in the picture below. 

 

There was also Calligraphy and flower arranging. I was able to try calligraphy and I loved it, so I hope to be able to start practicing it. However, I will need to learn some more Kanji first.

 

 There were so many music events as well. In one very warm room there was a stage for bands. I only had time to see a few but they were great. I was surprised at the number of bands the school has, especially girl bands.

I particularly enjoyed the school orchestras' performance. I have some movies of them but unfortunately they won't upload and I can't understand why. So here is a photo instead, there were so many but I think I got everyone in.

 At the end the girls and boys in third year had a gender swap and catwalk style show. It was very funny and a lot of the boys made very pretty girls.