Nobuhisa Yamada

December 7th was the very last game for Nobuhisa Yamada as an Urawa Reds player.


Although we were so disappointed at the crushing defeat against Cerezo Osaka on that day, most of them remained in the stadium to say thank you to 38-year-old defender.

Nobuhisa joined Urawa Reds in 1994, when I was the first grade of elementary school.


Since then, experiencing every position other than goal keeper, Nobuhisa has fascinated a lot of Urawa Reds fans for 20 years.


I'm not sure what he thinks now, but there's no doubt that Nobuhisa's legend is forever.





Anyway, luckily, I had an opportunity to meet and talk with him today.


Thank you, Nobuhisa!! ＼(≧▽≦)／

My Colombian Friend

I met Veronica from Colombia yesterday.


She was just what I had seen last year.


She's studied Japanese language at Shibuya Institute of Foreign Language after quitting her job in Colombia, which made me so surprised.


She looked fine and seemed to enjoy her present life, anyway.

Thank you for giving me some nice presents, Veronica!!


Have good days in Japan!!＼(^▽^)／

Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween, guys.


I had many times to be asked some treats by my students today.


And this is the treat for my family.

Italian Tomato's pumpkin pie!!


It tasted really good!! (^o^)

Nobuhisa Yamada's 500th Game

Thirty thousand fans applauded wildly when Urawa's Ironman Nobuhisa Yamada appeared on the pitch in the 77 minute in the yesterday match against Kashiwa Reysol.

Nobuhisa Yamada is the only player in Japan who has played in one club for more than 20 years, and it was his 500th game in J-League.


I hope he will keep on doing ever after and make more legends.

Congratulations!! ＼(≧▽≦)／

Yosuke's Wedding Party

My friend Yosuke has got married, and had a wedding party in Osaka today.

Not only Yosuke himself but also his bride seemed so happy, which made me happy as well.


Thank you for inviting me, Yosuke!!


Happy Ever After... ＼(^▽^)／

School Trip in Nagasaki

I visited Nagasaki and Fukuoka last week as a school trip.


I've been to Nagasaki before, but it was my very first time to take part in a school trip as a teacher.


Nagasaki's night view was really nice.

I had a lot of chance to talk with students and other teachers through four days, which was the most valuable thing for me.


Especially, the experience that some of my students and I took a ride on a fishing boat was fantastic!!


This is the photo I took on the fishing boat.

I was so impressed with the beautiful view of the evening sun and the lighthouse.


This experience must have been a great memory for students.




As a teacher, I can learn many things from this school trip.


I'd like to provide more dramatic classes at school from now on.

Shimi Married Sonoko

The wonderful wedding party of my friend Shimi and Sonoko was held at the Altavista Garden in Saitama City today.

I started working at Eikoh just after Shimi had left, so we couldn't share enough time in university days.


When we played football at Urawa West High School, however, he treated me as if I'd been a good old friend with him.


Shimi is a really nice guy.


Absolutely his bride is the happiest one in the world.





Happy Wedding to the best couple, Shimi and Sonoko!!


May your life together be full of kindness, understanding and laughter. ＼(^▽^)／

2020 Tokyo Olympic

Tokyo has been chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games ahead of Istanbul and Madrid.

Tokyo overcame fears of the dangers of radiation-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, crippled by the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster, about 250 kilometers northeast of the city to win the vote.


Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assured IOC members that the situation was under control.


He stressed "It has never done, and will never do, any damage to Tokyo."





I'm very proud that my country has been chosen.


And I hope this Olympic will help reconstruction of 2011 East Japan Earthquake.


Everybody in the world, please come and enjoy 2020 Tokyo Olympic!!

Suwayama-Sai

My new workplace Kawaguchi High School will hold its 50th festival on September 6 and 7.

Tomorrow is closed to the public, but please welcome on the second day.


→Access to Kawaguchi High School




Kawaguchi High School is famous for its Japanese calligraphy club, which was a model of the film "Shodo Girls."


And probably I'll be working with brass band club in the gym.


Come and enjoy students' performance on September 7!!

London Trip 2013

This was my first time to go abroad with my brother.


London I had wanted was just there as the same as last year.

In this trip, I visited Natural History Museum, London Aquarium, and Oxford, which was my very first place to study abroad.

 Natural History Museum 

London Aquarium 

Wadham College at Oxford, where I studied in the summer of high school 

It was a good vacation.


I'd like to tell students how wonderful England is in the following school term.

Dog "Lion" at Chinese Zoo

Zoos are great for teaching kids about the different sounds that animals make.


Horses go neigh, pigs go oink oink, and lions go woof...

Wait! A lion is not roaring but barking...!?



Turns out it was no lion, but just a Tibetan mastiff, a large, hairy breed of dog, looking out from a cage labeled "African Lion" in Luohe Zoo in central China's Henan province.

It's a dog!! lol


Apparently, officials in the zoo hoped that no one would notice when they decided to make the switch and send the enclosure's regular resident, an African lion, away to a breeding center.


And, the dog-for-cat swap wasn't the only attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of zoo patrons: two coypu rodents in a snake's cage, a white fox in a leopard's den, and another domestic dog in a wolf pen. 

The regular residents in snake cage will be sorrow when they notice their dissimilar replacements. 

I'd like to visit such a ridiculous fake zoo if possible. 

There we'll see zookeepers in a cage with the sign "Gorilla" on its gate.

68 Years On

Japan marks 68th anniversary after war with two bomb attacks.

However, we Japan still face some crucial issues among Asian neighbors.


It's because we gradually forget the past crime and pass the buck to others.


"War is evil." That's the common sense.


Then we need to think "why it happened" much more deeply, share the ideas to prevent any war and cooperate with each other for world peace.


Never Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa again.


I'd like to pray for the souls of dead and apologize deeply for Japan's past atrocity.






Here is the famous photo and explanation quoted from an English textbook of Japan's high school.

This photograph was taken by an American photojournalist, Joe O’Donnell, in Nagasaki in 1945.


He recently spoke to a Japanese interviewer about this picture.


"I saw a boy about ten years old walking by. He was carrying a baby on his back. In those days in Japan, we often saw children playing with their little brothers or sisters on their backs, but this boy was clearly different. I could see that he had come to this place for a serious reason. He was wearing no shoes. His face was hard. The little head was tipped back as if the baby were fast asleep.


"The boy stood there for five or ten minutes. The men in white masks walked over to him and quietly began to take off the rope that was holding the baby. That is when I saw that the baby was already dead. The men held the body by the hands and feet and placed it on the fire.


"The boy stood there straight without moving, watching the flames. He was biting his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood. The flame burned low like the sun going down. The boy turned around and walked silently away." 

I wish I can see many kids' smile in the next 10 years, 20 years, and forever always. 

First Fireworks at Urawa Reds Game

When it comes to a fireworks display, you go to Sumida River? Or Arakawa River?


No!! Come to Saitama Stadium!!


On Saturday night, red fireworks exploded in the sky above Saitama Stadium to celebrate Urawa Reds 2-0 lead over Sanfrecce Hiroshima during halftime.

It was a bit hard to see them from my seat...


You can go to Urawa Reds Official Facebook page to see fireworks.
→https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=616784231675659&set=vb.366946266659458&type=2&theater




The game was really good that Shinzo Koroki added another in the 55th minute to give Urawa Reds a 3-1 win, pushing home side into third spot in the J-League.


And happily, Omiya Ardija fell to fourth after a 1-0 defeat against Kashima Antlers!!


Yeehah!! In your face!! ＼(≧▽≦)／

Shinzo Koroki scored 2 goals.  

Genki Haraguchi scored the second. 

The screen was suddenly off due to the power line trouble. 

"We Make J-League More Excited! We're the Leader of J-League Always!!" 

There were only forty thousand fans despite the remarkable game.


All come together in Saitama Stadium this summer, and sing "We're Diamonds"!!


Fireworks are calling you on August 17th and 31st as well!!


Please do not hesitate to visit the stadium if you've never been there before.

Link: For Urawa Reds Beginners (only in Japanese)

Japan wins East Asian Cup 2013

Yoichiro Kakitani completed a brace with a dramatic winner as Japan won its first East Asian Cup title by beating host South Korea 2-1 in Sunday's tournament finale.

Kakitani gave Japan the lead in the 25th minute, receiving a pass from Toshihiro Aoyama and beating South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong for his second goal of the tournament. 

The hosts leveled in the 33rd on Yun Il-lok's strike from the top of the area past Japan's keeper Shusaku Nishikawa. 

Kakitani scored again in the first minute of stoppage time, picking up a loose ball after Jung could only parry a shot from Genki Haraguchi. 

Urawa Reds trio also did a good job throughout the competition. 

Behind the victory, there was a disgusting battle outside the pitch between Japan and South Korea. 

In the early part of the game, the Red Devils, a group of South Korean football supporters, hung a banner that read, "There is no future for people who have forgotten their past." 

The message was apparently aimed at Japan's reluctance to acknowledge its militaristic and colonial past. 

Along with the obviously political statement, large banners of two anti-Japan heroes were also displayed. 

Korean independence activist An Jung-geun who assassinated Japan's first Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi in 1909, as well as Admiral Yi Sun-shin, leader of a successful naval campaign against their colonizers in the late 16th century. 

But there was a nasty point in Japan side, as well. 

Some Japanese fans waved the Rising Sun Flag, which many South Koreans consider a symbol of Japan's past militarism and imperialism. 

The two countries were also at the center of a diplomatic row at the 2012 London Olympics when footballer Park Jong-woo held up a sign referring to a territorial dispute while celebrating South Korea's 2-0 win over Japan in the bronze medal game in August. 

These crucial issues should have been kicked out of the football field, and I hope the two nations will come closer to each other in the near future. 

Then, I'd like to admire South Korea's goal was really fantastic!!