awa life
A monthly newsletter for international residents of Tokushima, produced
by TOPIA, the Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association.

"TOPPY"
January 2010 No. 234

happy new year!
おあ
めけ
でま
と し
う て
ご
ざ
い
ま
す
！

artwork by hisatoyo murasawa

inside awa life this monthwander-ful tabi - 15 years, scars remain - post-quake kobe - 3, 4
it's that time again- 5 ... letter from a judoka / tv schedule for january - 6
martin's manga corner - 7 ... letter from a judoka - part 2/ letter from suketo hoikuen - 8
japanese lesson - 9 ... memoranda - 10, 11, 12

awalife

Tokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association (TOPIA)
Clement Plaza 6F
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi
Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN
Tel: 088-656-3303
Fax: 088-652-0616
topia@topia.ne.jp
www.topia.ne.jp

is a monthly publication of the Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA).
Editors:
Andrew Dahms & Mario Dammann
Contributors This Month:
Andrew Dahms, Mario Dammann, Vivian
Herrmann, Kazue Inoue, Lance Kita, Yoko
Koyama, Hisatoyo Murasawa, and Martin O'Brien.

Download a PDF ﬁle of awa life or view theonline version by going to TOPIA's website!
www.topia.ne.jp/e_index.htm

from the editordear Awa Life readers, a Happy New Yearto you all! It feels like a long time since
I last spoke to you all, and especially soafter the New Year's holidays. What did
you get up to? Did you travel overseas or stayhere in Tokushima? If you stayed in Tokushimathen you might have found that New Year's
holiday can be a hard time to spend when you
haven't got any family to visit and the shops areclosed. But, it can also act as a a good time toreflect on the year that has passed and think
about the year to come.
Speaking of which, there is plenty in thismonth's Awa Life to help you reﬂect on the past
year and even more. This month, Lance Kita
writes to us about the 15th Anniversary of the
Awaji-Kobe Earthquake of 1995 and his first-hand account of the aftermath. We also takea look at the kanji of the year and some of the
popular catchphrases of 2009 in our usual yearend report. And following on from last monthis part two of the Diary of a Judoka in which
one of the members of the German Judo Teamto visit Tokushima last year gives us the blowby blow of their stay. A must-see for anyone
who has ever wondered what it is like to visit
Tokushima as part of an ofﬁcial delegation.
Well, here we are in 2010 with a whole newyear ahead of us. I hope you are all feelingrefrehsed after the holidays and are ready to try
and make some of those New Year's resolutions
come to life. Best of luck, and I'll see you once
again in the March issue of Awa Life.
Cheers, Andrew

say a little prayer - a temple visitor adds their fortune to the tree to pray for their luck tochange during hatsumoude - the ﬁrst trip to a temple/shrine of the year (photo by andrew dahms)-2-

15 years, scars remaink

ILLER QUAKE IN KOBE.
Just returned from ayear study/homestay in
Kobe, the newspaper
headline outside my college
dorm in Hawaii made my heartstop and thoughts race. Is myhost family or girlfriend stuckin their houses? Where are myfriends? Did everyone get out
in time?
This January 17 marks the
15th anniversary of the Great
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake（ hanshin awaji daishinsai- 阪神淡路大震災）. Though
the epicenter was located justnorth of Tokushima on Awaji
Island, over 99% of the 6,434
casualties were in Hyogo
Prefecture, mainly in the urban
residential areas of Kobe City.
Whole neighborhoods weredestroyed. Portions of theartificially built Port Islandliquefied and sections of theelevated Hanshin Expressway
toppled sideways.
Six months after thequake, I made a foray backby lance kita

bringing hope and light to tragedy: 2007 kobe luminarie

to my 'second hometown'. new house was untouched, in
What had been Sannomiya contrast to wood-and-tile roof
Station Building was now an neighborhoods like Nagata
open platform surrounded by （ 長 田 区 ）and Nada（ 灘 区 ）a cleared debris field. Ikuta which crumbled and went up
Shrine’s gate roof lay on the in ﬂames, claiming many lives.
Luckily, one trip I didn't
ground. Most of the tremors
were horizontal, leaving many h a v e t o m a k e w a s t o abuildings like the older City graveyard. My host family, myHall annex broken at their girlfriend's family, university
pivot point, only one floor staff, friends… everyone I knew
collapsed. My host family’s survived. Many extricatedwander-ful 'tabi' - 15 years, scars remain ... cont'd on page 4(left) before: collapsed middle section of sannomiya’s sogo department store, june 1995.
(right) after: rebuilt sogo department store, ca. 1997.

-3-

wander-ful tabi: 15 years, scars remain ... cont'd from page 3
themselves from their houses
and trudged along the train
tracks to the nearest major
station in winter weather with
only a blanket around them.
Kobe's post-quake
resilience was nothing short ofremarkable. Salarymen waited
in two-hour lines for commuterbuses that temporarily replacedt h e t ra i n s a n d m o n o ra i l s .
Blue sheets could be seenfrom every roof as people got
their lives back in order. One
professor took three months
to reorganize hundreds ofvideotapes that flew off his
shelves and through his shoji
doors. Take the highway bus
to Osaka or drive the Coastline
Expressway （Wangan-sen 湾 岸 線 ）and you'll see rowsof colorful modern apartmentbuildings built over the burntout port neighborhoods. Kobe
continues to be a vibrant urban
area with a renewed sense ofcommunity and rebuilt spirit.
I f yo u v i s i t Ko b e , wa l kstraight south from Sannomiya
Station past the truncatedCity Hall Annex to Higashiyuenchi（ 東 遊 園 地 ）. The
southeast corner of the parkis the Earthquake Memorial,a terraced area of brick andgrass designed to look likecracked ground. With the roarof the fountain overhead, you
can pay your respects in around underground room withthe list of the casualties. The
park hosts the Kobe Luminarie（神戸ルミナリエ）, an annual
lights display first started in
1995 to uplift the spirits of
Kobe's residents, which is
now visited by more than 3.6(above) Entrance to earthquake memorial, higashi-yuenchi(below) list of quake casualties at earthquake memorial, higashi-yuenchi

million visitors over a twelve
day period every December.
Further south, you can walkalong the eastern edge of
Meriken Park（ メ リ ケ ン パ ーク ）where chunks of sidewalk
and tilted lampposts have beenleft untouched to serve as amemorial and a testament to
the quake's power.
With most of the city
rebuilt there is little tangible-4-

evidence of the damage left,
but one image of my postquake trip symbolizes what thepeople of Kobe went through.
Peering around the corner of a
shopping arcade in downtown
Sannomiya, I saw an old man
calmly pedaling his bike along
an asphalt-ﬁlled crack running
down the entire length of the
sidewalk. Life goes on, but thescars remain.

it's that time againtby andrew dahms

he year 2009 may bepast and gone, but there
still remain a few things
to wrap up. Namely, thekanji of the year and the runof catch phrases for 2009.ou
should have plenty of reasons
why. For those who want toknow the reasons this kanji
was chosen, let's take a look at
the details.

A Matter of Statistics
This year there was a total of
161,365 votes for the Kanji of
the Year. The kanji for 'new'stole top position at 14,093
and was followed by 'medicine'(kusuri/yaku - 薬 ) in second
place at 10,184 votes. Runners
up included the kanji for'politics' (sei - 政 ) at 5,365
votes, 'illness' (byou - 病 ) at
5,329 votes, and 'reformation'(kai/aratameru/aratamaru- 改 ) at 4,711 votes.
There are a lot of reasonsthat point to shin being the
Kanji of the Year. First andforemost for is the change inpolitical parties in this year's
election in Japan, leading to
new political leadership, newpolicy and a new direction forJapan. It also marks the year
in which Barack Obama waselected as president, signallinga big change for the U.S. andworld politics.
Another use for the word
shin is found in swine flu.
In Japanese it is known as a'new strain' (shingata - 新型 )of influenza, and the spreadof swine flu has been a big
concern for many countries
this year.
Another local reason
was the introduction of new
systems such as the lay judge

SHIN

Readings:
shin/atarashii/arata/nii/sara
Meaning:
New/to start over.
Examples:New Year (shinnen - 新 年 )New work (shinsaku - 新作 )system and tax breaks fordrivers of environmentallyfriendly cars.
Kanji no Hi
Enough about the kanji itself
though. Just exactly how did
all this business began, and forwhat reason is this ceremony
held each year.
Well, the Kanji of the Year(kotoshi no kanji - 今 年 の漢字 ) is a single kanji that ischosen to best represent thetrends in the past year, bothin Japan and globally. The
Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing
Foundation releases a list of

the most appropriate kanji torepresent the year, and thenthese are voted on by thegeneral public. When all the
votes are in, the results are
released on Kanji Day (kanjino hi - 漢 字 の 日 ), which is
December 12.
On this day, the Kanji of theYear is presented to the public
at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto by
being written onto one huge
piece of paper with a giantbrush. Talk about pressure you would certainly want to'brush' up on your calligraphyskills before trying your handat that.s

Catch me if You Can
As usual, the top catch phrases of the year 2009 were chosen
this December 1, representing phrases from all forms of media
and exposure.
No1: Lurking in similar grounds to the Kanji of the Year can befound this year's top-ringer - 政権交代 , a change of government.
No2: Kodomo Tencho ( 子ども店長 ) taken from a successful
series of adds in which a child plays the head of a store
selling Toyota cars.
No3: Jigyo shiwake ( 事 業 仕 訳 ). A method of dividing publicprojects according to need and effect.
No4. Shingata Inﬂuenza ( 新型インフルエンザ ). Also straying
not far from the kanji of the year is this term coined torefer to the epidemic of swine ﬂu that occured this year.

-5-letter from a judoka - part 2

by vivian herrmann
member of the judoka group
visit in october 20091979) was attending. He told
us that Judo is about the big
and strong fighting spirit.
Further he said, that we should
always pursue our goals. While
talking about his Judo life andhis impressive achievements,
he also trained us. After that
we had a few Randoris (freestyle practice or sparring).
Having finished the training
we were invited to a party by
the TJA with a huge buffet.
We had time to make friends
w i t h t he Japanese teens.
For the last part of the party
we had to climb the stage,
where we were introduced
and got asked a few questions
about the training. But thed a y w a s n ’ t o v e r y e t . We
went to our second training
with other male fighters. It
was exhausting, because theJapanese were heavy andstrong, but also enjoyablebecause they did theirbest to be good sparring
p a r t n e r s fo r u s g i r l s . Fo r
instance, at ground randori,
two girls fought against
one boy - everyone, thecoaches included, enjoyedthis very much. After thesecond training we went to arestaurant to have Japanese
beef steak and a plentiful
salad bar. At around 8pm wearrived totally exhausted in
our hotel.

October 8: Dear Diary, agood night's sleep later, wellrested, we woke up andalmost all of us have had agood breakfast. That followed
we could enjoy our freetime.
After a copius lunch we had
a little bit of time to do some
shopping, before going by taxi
to the Prefectural Office tovisit the Governor who greeted
us with a speech. He wore
a Judogi! After coming backto the hotel we visited Mt.
Bizan by riding the ropeway
up to the top. Arriving there
we were stunned by theb re a t h t a k i n g v i e w. A fe w
minutes later though, it
started raining. We took thenext ropeway back down,
walked to the hotel (because
the rain stopped) and haddinner. We also enjoyed ourfree time afterwards.
October 10: Dear Diary! This
morning we met at 8:30 in
the lobby of our hotel, where
we would start to go to thetraining. We were allowed
to train with the Tokushima
Judo Association (aprox. 100
people). As a special guest, Mr.
Katsuki (Judo world champion,letter from a judoka - part 3 ... cont'd in next awalife

tv schedule for january
DateFri. 01
Sat. 02
Sun. 03
Sun. 03
Mon. 04
Fri. 15
Sun. 17
Fri. 22Sun. 24
Fri. 29

Time
01:35
01:20
21:00
01:34
02:20
21:00
21:00
21:00
21:00
21:00

Channel
6 - ABC
1 - Shikoku
6 - ABC
6 - ABC
8 - Kansai
1 - Shikoku
6 - ABC
1 - Shikoku
6 - ABC
1 - Yomiuri

NationUSA - 2002
USA - 1999
USA - 2007
USA - 2003
USA - 2001
USA - 2006
USA - 2005
USA - 1992
USA - 2003
USA - 2006

-6-

Title
About Schmidt
Notting Hill
Die Hard 4.0
Big FishHannibal
The Devil Wears Prada
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Sister Act
Lara Croft Tomb Raider
Eragonmartin's manga corner
Title:
Manga-ka:
Publisher:First published:
No of volumes:fOishinbo ( 美味しんぼ )Tetsu Kariya & Akira Hanasaki
Shogakkokan
1983
102

ood is a common topic
in manga. The genre is
known as gurume mangaor 'gourmet' manga. In
this column I have previously
revie wed a manga in t his
genre; Gokudou Meshi by
Ts u c h i ya m a S h i g e r u . T h i smonth's review features oneof the most well received
gurume manga of all time the Oishinbo series.
Oishinbo means 'gourmet'
in Japanese. Its success ispossibly due to the scope of
its ambition, in that the series
exhaustively covers the main
constituents of Japanese foodculture. For example, one of
the books is entitled the Joyof Rice, and the entire comicis devoted to garnering aappreciation in the reader forthe role of rice in Japaneseculture. Other issues are
devoted to such things as Sakeand the Izakaya. Unusually
enough for a gurume manga,
Oishinbo has been translated
and popularly received byfans outside Japan, perhaps
because it is at ﬁrst glance anintroduction to things that one
might associate with Japanesefood culture.
The series begins in a
newspaper ofﬁce known as the
Tozai News. As part of their
100th anniversary celebrations
the publishers commission thecreation of the Ultimate Menu.
The person charged withcarrying out this formidable
task is the junior journalist

Yamaoka Shiro. Yamaoka is notexactly a model employee, but
his deep knowledge of foodallows him to complete thetask when he has a mind forit. In the Joy of Rice, Yamaoka
delves in to the aspect of rice
as a part of the Japanese dietand its inﬂuence in society.
Some of my favourite
chapters in the Joy of Rice
include Brown Rice vs.
White Rice, where Yamaoka
overturns certain myths about
the supposed benefits ofgenmai or unpolished rice,which is upheld as a more
austere version of white rice as
the untouched husk is meant
to provide more vitamins andminerals and is thus healthier.
In this chapter Yamaoka gets
into a dispute with the headof a woman's Judo team who
has been forcing the members
to eat only brown rice. He
explains that unfortunately thepesticides and antibiotics fromfertiliser gather in the outerskin and are then ingested
into the system. According toOishinbo, the polished white
rice is much healthier.
Some of the chapters aremostly informative, another ofwhich is "Live Rice" in which
Yamaoka helps a colleague
prepare the perfect rice dishfor her mother-in-law. He
identifies why previous efforts
at cooking rice dishes havebeen coming out ﬂops. Namely,
the lack of consideration given
to storing the rice can lead-7-

by martin o'brien

to it being too dry and thus
cracking during cooking. This isbecause some parts of the ricegrain absorb water at a quicker
rate. Hence the importance ofproper storage and preparationin achieving a decent bowl ofrice.
Sometimes the drama takes
precedent over the foodie facts.
In Matsutake, Rice of the Sea
we are introduced to Kyogoku
Mantaro and Kiyotani Ginko,
both of which are wealthy men
involved in various projects
with the Art and Culture
Department. Mantaro is a
wealthy business man andfriend with the reneowned
artist Kiyotani Ginko. The
two have a dispute overwhose hometown specialty is
the best, and Ginko annoys
Mantaro by telling him thatthe matsutake mushroomsof the mountain are no matchfor the matsutake of thesea. Mantaro's annoyance issuddenly interrupted when
Ginko falls down and loses his
memory, but Ginko is happily
restored to his own self whenh i s w i fe b r i n g s h i m s o m ematsutake of the sea, which
is not mushroom but abalone
shellﬁsh that bears an uncanny
resemblance to matsutake
when properly prepared,
despite its aquatic origin.
Oishinbo provides a variety
of different themes and story
lines that entertain as wellas inform, and there are a
multitude available. The series
which started in 1983, in now
running into 102 collectedissues and has sold over 100
million copies worldwide. Its
one of the seminal mangas
that attracts all palates.

daily disaster preparations

w

There is no guaranteethat a disaster isgoing to happen when
you and your family
and friends are all together at
the same place. What would
you do if a large-scale disaster
happened and everyone wasseparated? How would you
get in touch to see if thoseimportant to you are ok? Would
you call them? If everyone
calls at the same time thesystem becomes overloaded,so phone companies often
limit access to making personalcalls in times like this. This
is why it is so difficult to getthrough when a disasteroccurs. So, then what would
you do? Some families mayplace a pen and paper in theiremergency kits, and decide ona place in town where they canleave messages. This way, if a
disaster occurs and everyone
becomes separated, membersof the family simply need tosigns such as these can be seen in streets near you to show you where to ﬁnd
the nearest evacuation centre

go to the designated spot andread a message there tellingthem where the writer is. Thisis especially useful for whena certain member may beforced to go to an evactuationc e n t e r, b u t c a n l e a v e amessage before they go to
let their family know whereto find them. Another handy
tip is to make sure to carry a
photo of the members of yourfamily at all times. If you havebecome separated, you can
use the photo to ask of their
whereabouts. You can also

letter from suketo hoikuenhappy New Year! I wish
you all the best ofhappiness for the year
to come. This month weare going to talk about toilet
training for young children.

1: Timing
At a year and a half of age,children respond well topraise. And at two years anda half they become easy torationalise with, and theseappear to be easy ages atwhich to start training. The
time between these can be alittle difficult, but double yourpraise and try different tactics

tokushima prefectural
disaster centerand it should work.

2: Methods
Take them to the toilet as soon
as they need to go. Get themto sit on the toilet or potty
at times when they might belikely to go, such as after anap. Show them an example.
3: How to Succeed
Decorate the toilet and makeit a fun place for your childto be. Use the same words topraise them, right from when
they were a new-born. Keep asmile on your face and maketraining fun. Remember that it-8-

try using public telephones tosee if you can get in contact
with them. * Settle on a way
to get in contact in time of adisaster. * Learn where you
can ﬁnd public phones in yourneighbourhood * Always carrysome change you can use inpublic phones * Use the phonedisaster message board on (call171)
Translated with permission
from the Tokushima Prefectural
Disaster Center Homepage:a n s h i n . p re f. t o k u s h i m a . j p /normal/disaster_center/by kazue inoue
suketo hoikuen staff

is impossible to succeed fromthe offset, so be patient andgive your child time.
This Month's Toy
Let's try making a popular toy
for the New Year Holidays inJapan - a spinning top.
1: Cut out a circle from somecardboard or a milk carton.
2: Decorate it with the colourof your choice.
3: Make a hole in the middle
an run a toothpick throughit.
You can play by spinning the
top using your thumb andindex finger.

japanese lessont

by yoko koyama

his month let's take a look at the dialect of Tokushima - Awa-ben. How many phrases do you
know?

(1) How many of the following Awa-ben phrases do you recognise?
① せこい② ほなけんど③ たっすい④ おなかがおきる
⑥

かんまん

⑩

しんだい

⑦

ほなけん

どう し

いぬ（動詞）（verb） ⑨

⑧

⑤

めぐ

いける

く

こたえ（
、
Answers）①苦しい（painful）②そうだけど（
yes, but...）③つまらない（boring）
かんたん
こわ
簡単 (easy) ④おなかがいっぱいになる（to be full）⑤壊す（to destroy）⑥かまわない（doesn't
かえ
つか）⑦だから（）⑧帰る（matterつか
because...
go home/return）⑨だいじょうぶ（to be ok）⑩疲
れる / 疲れた（to get/be tired）
How many did you get right?
あわべん
たつじん
★
８～ 10 ＊＊＊ 阿波弁の達人です！
★

You're an Awa-ben master!
あ わ べんつう
４～７＊＊＊ なかなかの阿波弁通です！

★

You know your Awa-ben quite well!
じ もと
ひと
はな
あ わ べんおぼ
０～３＊＊＊ 地元の人と話して阿波弁を覚えよう！
Talk to some of the locals and learn more Awa-ben!

(2) Now have a try at these phrases! How would you say them in English?
①「なにたべよん？」
きょ う

がっこう

②「今日は学校いかなんだん？」③「いけるん？」「いける、いける。
」
なに

た

きょ う

がっこう

い

こたえ（Answers）①何を食べているの？ (What are you eating?) ②今日は学校に行かなかったの？ (You didn't go to school today?)（～なかった→～なんだ）③だいじょうぶ？だいじょ
うぶ、だいじょうぶ。
（to be ok）（Can also be used to be mean 'able to go' [somewhere]）(3) Last of all, let's try making the following expressions into Awa-ben.
なに①「何をしているの？」
た

す

くる

②「おなかがいっぱいになった？」「うん、食べ過ぎて苦しい。」
ねえ

けいたい

さわ

い

③「どうしよう、お姉ちゃんの携帯こわしちゃった。」「だから、触るなって言ったのに。」
こたえ（Answers）①なにしよん？（している→しよる）（What are you doing?）②おなた
すかおきた？うん食べ過ぎてせこい（"Are you full?" "Yeah, I ate too much so I don't feel so
ねえ
けいたい
お姉
ちゃんの携
帯めいでしもた（こわす→めぐ / ちゃった→しても（う）
well"）③どうしよう、さわ
た ／ほなけん、触ったらあかんっていうたのに（"Oh no, I broke my sister's cell phone!""Well I said not to touch it, didn't I?"）-9-

memoranda

Japanese Cooking
Class

日本料理教室冬の日本料理の作り方を勉強しましょう！参加したい方
は e-mail や電話で名前、国籍、連絡先（メールアドレス

Learn how to cook Japanese Dishes for winter: steamed
egg hotchpotch, sushi rolls, etc. Please send an e-mailまたは電話番号）を知らせてください。エプロンを持参

or call if you want to participate. Tell us your name,

してください。日本人で一緒に料理を作って下さる方もnationality and contact information (e-mail or telephone).

歓迎です。

Please don't forget to bring an apron!
When: Sunday, January 24 from 10:00-13:00
Where: Uchimachi Community Center, near the
700 yen (for ingredients)

Info:

HIROBA International Takako Yamada

1 月 24 日（日）、10:00 ～ 13:00

場所：

内町コミュニティーセンター（徳島市内の市役所の近く）

Tokushima City Hall
Cost:

日時：

材料費： 700 円
問合せ： 国際交流懇話会 HIROBA の山田多佳子まで

E-mail: welcometotokushima@yahoo.co.jp

メール： welcometotokushima@yahoo.co.jp

Tel:

電話：

090-2787-3597

Fax: 088-652-4846

Momote Omato
Archery

090-2787-3597

ファックス： 088-652-4846

百手神事（お的）
古来より王子神社に伝わる魔よけの祭りです。10 人の射Each year this event is held to ward off bad luck for the

手が裃姿で的に矢を射ます。

coming year. An archer ﬁres ten arrows into a target in adisplay of traditional archery.

日時：

1 月 10 日（月）8:00 ～終日

When: Monday, January 10

場所：

8:00 - evening
Where: Kawatayama Elementary School, Yamakawa-cho,
Yoshinogawa City
Cost:

Free!

Info:

Call the Yoshinogawa City Commerce and川田山小学校、
吉野川市山川長

入場料： 無量！
問合せ： 吉野川市商工観光課まで
電話 0883-22-2226

Tourism Division at 0883-22-2226.

Omato Archery

お的A display of traditional archery to ward off bad luck for the

悪魔除け・五穀豊穣を祈って行う催しで、270 年前の宝永

coming year.

2 年、徳川将軍綱吉の頃から始められました。

When: Sunday, January 10

日時：1 月 10 日（日）

Free!

場所：

八幡神社、阿波市

Call the Awa City Commerce and Tourism

入場料： 無量！

Division at 0883-35-7875

問合せ： 阿波市商工観光課まで

Where: The Hachiman Shrine in Awa City
Cost:
Info:

電話 0883-35-7875-10-

memoranda
Sagicho

左義長

Come and see as all the decorations from the end of new

毎年 1 月 15 日の早朝、正月の飾りものを燃やして無病息and new year festivities are burned in a huge bonﬁre to

災や豊漁や豊作・家内安全を祈願します。

ward off bad luck for the coming year.

日時：

1 月 15 日（金）、5:00 ～ 6:00

Where: Nishi no Hama, Mugi-cho

場所：

牟岐町、西の浜

Cost:

Free!

入場料： 無量！

Info:Call the Mugi-cho Industry and Construction

問合せ： 牟岐町産業建設課まで

When: Friday, January 15, 5:00-6:00

Division at 0884-72-3420

電話 0884-72-3420

Japanese Lessons
at Suketo Hoikuen

助任保育園の日本語教室

When: Every Thursday, 11:00 - 12:00

日時：

毎週木曜日、11:00 ～ 12:00

Cost:

Free for nursery students!

Info:

Call TOPIA at

金額：

託児付き（無料）

088-656-3303

問合せ： トピアまで
電話 088-656-3303

Multicultural
Forum

多文化共生
フォーラム開催

TOPIA held the Multicultural Festival in January andこのたび当協会では、「多文化共生」をテーマとしたフォー

November this year. The next step is a forum about

ラムを開催します。講師として（財）とよなか国際交流

Multiculturalism in January. The lecturer will be Ms.

協会

Yukari Enoi from the Toyonaka International Exchange

事業課長 榎井 縁氏をお呼びして「日本における多文化共生の課題と今後の展望について」として講演してAssociation. She will talk about "The task of Multicultural

いただく予定です。

Symbiosis in Japan and the outlook from now on."

日程等は次のとおりです。
When: Thursday, January 21 2010
from 14:30-16:40

日時：

Where: TOPIA - meeting room

14:30 ～ 16:40（予定）

Lecturer: Yukari Enoi from the Toyonaka International
Exchange Association
Cost:

Free!

Info:

Call TOPIA at 088-656-3303

2010 年 1 月 21 日（木）場所： （財）徳島県国際交流協会

会議室

講師：（財）とよなか国際交流協会事業課長 榎井 縁氏

参加費：無料
申し込み・問い合わせ：（財）徳島県国際交流協会

Application via telephone or fax or Email:Fax:

088-652-0616

電話：088-656-3303 FAX：088-652-0616

Email:

coordinator3@topia.ne.jp (Ms. Kasai)

メール：coordinator3@topia.ne.jp ( 笠井 )Multiculturalism in the Neighborhood -「多文化共生のまちづくり」パネル展開催

Panel Exhibition

日時：2010 年 1 月 16 日（土）～ 1 月 24 日（日）When: Saturday, January 16 to Sunday, January 24

場所 : クレメントプラザ 4F

Where: Clement Plaza 4F (Clement Hiroba)
Cost:

参加費：無料

Free!

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クレメント広場

memoranda

Taisan Temple
Chikara Mochi

大山寺の
力餅

Come and see as participates compete to see who can carry

正月の初会式の行事として毎年 1 月第 3 日曜日に大山寺境

largy barrles of pounded rice the farthest! Men carry 169kg

内で行われます。男 169kg・女 50kg の餅をかつぎ、歩いた

and women 50kg! This is a traditional event of the temple

距離を競います。見物する方も思わず力が入る名物行事でthat is held every third Sunday in January.

す。

When: Sunday, January 17
Where: Taisan Temple in Kamiita, Itano-gun

日時：1 月 17 日（日）

Cost:

Free!

場所：

大山寺、板野郡上板町

Call the temple at

入場料： 無量！

088-694-5525

問合せ： 大山寺まで

Info:

電話 088-694-5525

All Shikoku
Snowball Fight

国際雪合戦
四国大会

It may be too late to join, but why not come and cheer

大人から子供まで、雪があれば誰でも雪合戦をやったこと

on the teams of the Shikoku International Snowball Fight.

があると思います。この雪合戦は、日本雪合戦連盟公認のThis competition, held as a sport with strict rules on

大会で公式ルールに則りスポーツとして開催しています。

snowball fighting, is the deciding match for the Shikoku

このため、北海道で開催している昭和新山国際雪合戦の四representative in the national competition!

国ブロック予選も兼ねています。

When: Saturday, January 30, and Sunday, January 31
9:00-17:00
Where: The grounds of the Iyashi no Onsen-kyo in the Iya

日時：1 月 30 日（土）、1 月 31 日（日）、9:00-17:00

場所：

いやしの温泉郷グランド

Valley.

入場料： 無量！

Cost:

Free!

Info:

Call the Miyoshi City Tourism Division at

問合せ： 三好市観光課まで
電話 0883-72-7620

0883-72-7620

Counselling Service at TOPIA
トピアの相談窓口

TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all foreign residents to help with issues involving accidents, working conditions, housing, visas, international marriage, and more. Counselling is available in English and Japanese.
Please note that although every effort will be made, we may not be able to deal with all cases.
Monday to Friday, 10:00 - 16:30
Tel. 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)

人権守って輝く明日-12-