aWa life

April 2016
# 309

Awa Shoku:
The Bowl Truth
About Tokushima
Ramen

TOPIA Staff
Farewell
Messages

Japanese Class
Field Trip
Challenge Tokushima
Art Festival 2016

1

Awa Life is a Monthly Publication of the Tokushima
Prefectural International Exchange Association

Cherry blossoms are coloring the city in pink little by little and it is really starting to feel like spring here
in Tokushima. There will be lots of cherry blossom festivals planned so if you have the chance, do checkthem out. Another big event to look out for is Hana Haru Festa (see the events section). They'll be lots ofamazing Awa Odori performances and delicious food stalls! On a side note, an apology from us, we said
that we would include part two of the Irodori interview in this issue, but it will be in the May issue instead.
For all of those who like writing, please feel free to submit an article to us at any point in time aboutbasically anything. There are a few limitations though, such as you can’t write about religion, politics,
commercial activities or businesses or anything that we deem inappropriate. But, other than that, we
would be more than happy to receive articles about anything and everything including but not limited
to, concerts, lectures, other events, culture, sports, community group information or anything cool that’s
happening in your local community. We highly appreaciate all of your articles and we love readingthem. So if that writing bug of yours is buzzing about, grab a pen or a computer and write and send
away! Please send all submissions to our email:awalife@gmail.com!
Tokushima Prefectural International
Exchange Association (TOPIA)			http://www.topia.ne.jp/
Clement Plaza 6F					topia@topia.ne.jp
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi				Tel: 088.656.3303
Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN			Fax: 088.652.0616
Download a PDF file of awa life or view the online version by going to TOPIA's website!

Your editors,
Till and Jenifer

Editors:
Jenifer Tanikawa & Till Dumke
Contributors This Month:
Naomi Fukumi, Yuri Ikegami, Naoko Miyamoto, Mari Fujimoto, Lance Kita,
Crystal Esquilin, HIROBA International, Kazue Inoue, Yoko Aoki, Staff at Bunka no Mori

2

Contents

Pg. 2-3:

Japanese Class Field Trip: Experiencing Japanese Culture

Pg. 3-5:

TOPIA Staff Farewell Messages

Pg. 6:

Awa Shoku: The Bowl Truth about Tokushima Ramen

Pg. 6-7:

Challenge Tokushima Art Festival 2016

Pg. 7-8:

HIROBA Japanese Cooking ClassPg. 8:

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

Pg. 9:

Japanese Lesson		Pg. 10-11: Events and Memoranda

Japanese Class Field Trip: Experiencing Japanese Culture
By Naomi FukumiOn January 19th, the students of TOPIA’s
Japanese class went on a field trip to ashrine nearby for their first shrine visit of the year,
a custom known as hatsumode in Japan. Before
heading out to the Ten Shrine, located at the footof Mt. Bizan, the students were taught temple
manners in theclassroom. After
their lesson,
13 students,t e a c h e r s ,supporters and
TOPIA staff
went off on theirfield trip. It was
really cold o n
the day of the
field trip and it
was snowing
on and off. For
Ellysa from theP hilippines, it
was her first time seeing snow and she happily
exclaimed, “This is just so much fun!”Once they were at the shrine, it was time toshowcase their newly learnt shrine etiquette,starting with purification of their hands and mouth

at the purification pavilion. Instead of just rinsing
their mouths, some accidentally swallowed it,
rousing chuckles from the others. After purifying
themselves, they headed to the hall of worship,
where they rang the bell, put some money inthe offering box and made a wish. They were
all earnestly
putting theirhands together
and making awish. I wonder
what they werewishing for.
The god oflearning andeducation isenshrined here
and there isa statue of acow called the“Cow of Wisdom” (named by Jakucho Setouchi, a Buddhist
nun from Tokushima) on the shrine grounds. The
belief behind the cow statue is, if you rub it, you’ll
become wiser. All of the students were rubbing
away at the cow’s head and nose in hopes ofgaining that extra bit of wisdom. I’m sure the cow

3Japanese Class Field Trip
be enjoying her red bean paste filled rice cake,despite not normally being a big fan of the redbean paste.

will help them learn Japanese even quicker now.
After paying our respects at the shrine, we
headed to a store that sells and serves Japanese
confectionary. One of their well-known products isthe “taki no yaki-mochi”, which is basically a flat
rice cake filled with a thin layer of red bean pasteand both sides are grilled. So, we took a little
break at this store and had some of these grilled
rice cakes and zenzai (rice cake served with redbean) along with some matcha green tea. On theway to the store, we actually stopped by to geta sip of the natural spring water called kinryosuithat comes out of the foot of Mt. Bizan. This wateris also used to make the taki no yaki-mochi andthe matcha. From inside the store, you can lookout onto the Japanese-style garden. What makes
it Japanese is the combination of the Shiraito
Falls, the dainty yellow flax flowers said to been
given by Wenceslau de Moraes, a Portuguese
writer, the bamboo and the shrubs that adorn thegarden. With such a beautiful sight in front of us,
the already delicious sweets tasted even moredelectable. Even Alla from Ukraine, seemed to

We finished up the field trip nicely with a full belly.
Vlad from Ukraine said, “I enjoyed everything we
did today.” Zhejie Chen who only just arrived inJapan five days ago commented with a big smile, “I
had a lot of fun.” This was a great chance for the
students to get out of the classroom to experience
Japanese culture first-hand and it helped bringeveryone a bit closer. After completing my first
visit to a shrine for the year, I feel like I’m readyfor a fresh new start of the year. Whether it bework or school, let’s all work hard to make it agood year!

TOPIA Staff Farewell Messages

W

By Yuri Ikegami, Naoko Miyamoto, Mari Fujimoto

ith the start of April comes the start of a
new work and school year. This is one of
the most bittersweet times of the year as we will
be welcoming many new people, but we will also
be saying goodbye to those we have worked
alongside with for the past few years or to those
who we went to school with. For us at TOPIA, wewill be saying goodbye to three staff members
who have been with us for the past year or more.
Thank you so much for everything that you havecontributed during your time at TOPIA and yourpresence will be greatly missed! We wish you
nothing but the best for your future! Please readon for messages from the three who are leaving.

4

Thank You, Everyone!
By Yuri IkegamiIhave been working at TOPIA for the past
four and a half years and I have learned somuch from this valuable experience. I reallywant to thank everyone who gave me guidance
throughout my time here from the bottom of myheart, thank you.

Watching all of the students attending TOPIA’s
Japanese classes, every time I was blown away
by how quickly they improved and it made me
really realize the importance of being ready andwilling to learn no matter what stage in your life
and to keep challenging yourself.

Through this job, I’ve
had many different
questions asked
about all sorts ofthings related to living
in Japan. With thelimited knowledge
I had, I did my best
to try to gain more
information bycontacting various
network organizations
for advice to comeup with the most useful answer. Through myinteractions with foreign tourists from all aroundthe world, I was able to rediscover some of thethings that makes Japan and Tokushima sogreat. Every time I felt like I was able to truly
communicate with the tourist, it brought me sucha big sense of joy.

I also had the chance
to help create things
like tourism pamphlets,
a disaster prevention
handbook andJapanese teachingmaterials. I thoroughly enjoyed being apart of it and want tothank all the staff andJapanese teachers at
TOPIA for giving mesuch an opportunity.
A beginning and an end, meeting people andsaying goodbye to people, happiness andsadness. All of these words contradict each other,but because they both exist, it isn’t all so bad toexperience all of these. All of your smiles meant
the world to me, so thank you!

Completing My One Year Internship at TOPIA
By Naoko Miyamoto

S

ince April, I have been working at TOPIA
as an intern and I was put in charge ofdispatching International Understanding Support
instructors, coordinating the work experience
visits, planning and execution of the International
Understanding Support Forum, acting as aliaison between TOPIA and the participants of
the Japanese Speech Contest and teaching the
beginner Japanese classes at TOPIA. And ofcourse, as TOPIA is also a tourist information
center, I had the opportunity to give information
on tourism in Tokushima to the visitors.
During my internship, I learned a lot of things,
but one of the first things I learnt was throughwatching the other staff interact with the visitors.
They made sure that the visitors received all theinformation they needed and helped them until
they were fully ready to leave on their trip. Whatparticularly stood out; however, was the fact thatno matter how uncertain the tourists were when
they first entered TOPIA, they all left with a big
bright smile on their faces. Watching them smileand thank my coworkers made me realize, what
visitors appreciate most is a warm and heartfelt
customer service. This also made me reassess
my position as a teacher. Just as it is important
to help tourists until they are fully content, it
is important to help students until they fully
understand.

5

Furthermore, the people at TOPIA truly create agreat team. Whenever any of the staff member
have a question or need help, they are always
ready to help. They’ve definitely helped me whengiving out tourist information and with my generalwork duties. When I had to make important
decisions in regards to my work duties, they gaveme great advice during meetings and helpedme quickly ease into this new workplace. It isprecisely because TOPIA has such a supportive
work environment that even a newbie like me
who came as an intern felt like part of a staff
member. This made me realize the importanceof maintaining communication with the otherteachers, no matter how busy we became.
What I learned from all the people I met throughmy internship is, all of the knowledge andexperience that people gain will affect how that
person thinks and will change how they see theworld, and that in turn will be reflected in the
person’s words and actions. This really made me
want to experience as much as I can and to keep

Farewell Messages

broadening my mind.
I have learned and gained so many invaluable
skills from my one year internship at TOPIA andeverything I have gained here will be invaluable in
my work as a teacher. I really do hope that I cantake what I learned here and use it at the schools.
I will continue to keep challenging myself and be
ready to learn something new each and everyday. Thank you so much for everything for the
past year.

Eternally GratefulAs flowers begin to bloom, I am overcome witha sense of sadness and loneliness watching
the time fly right on by with each blooming flower.
These words are from one of my favorite songs
and this is exactly how I feel right now. It felt likethe last three years I spent at TOPIA flew righton by. When I first started working at TOPIA, I
was completely lost and didn’t know what to do
and I probably did more harm than good, butwith the support ofeveryone here, now
I’m completely used
to my work here andthere are no more
moments of panic.
I have gained somany invaluable exp e riences thro ugh
my work at TOPIA,
including everything

By Mari Fujimotofrom the chance to help out at the Japanese
Speech Contest to being able to dance in the Awa
Dance Festival as part of the Arasowa-ren dancetroupe. Working here gave me the opportunity
to meet many people from around the world andfrom these encounters I’ve learned so much.
Every single moment I spent with everyone here
at TOPIA was enjoyable and there wasn’t a single
day where someone didn’t make me laugh.
I really do hope that
I can carry on thememories I made withall the people I met
during the last three
years and the multitude
of experience I gained
into the future. Thankyou for everything, I
am eternally grateful.

Awa Shoku: The Bowl Truth about Tokushima Ramen
By Lance KitaThe recent “regional ramen” boom has brought
Tokushima Ramen into the spotlight. In a
recent poll, the top four restaurants that people
would recommend to their friends were all ramen
shops. Here are some tips and facts about thishearty bowl of noodles.
1. It wasn’t always “Tokushima Ramen.”
Before the war, Chinese vendors set up street
stalls and sold noodles called Chuka soba
( 中華そば ), literally “Chinese noodles.” Even
now, most ramen shops will list “chuka soba”
on their menu. “Tokushima Ramen” was used
after the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum
featured Inotani’s noodles as a guest shop.
2. Pick your soup color.
Ramen soups are composed of a tare ( タレ )(the flavoring, like a sauce) blended with a broth/stock. Tokushima ramen is basically a shoyutonkotsu soup, meaning a soy sauce tarewith a cloudy tonkotsu broth made by boilingpork bones for hours. There are three general
types: a light (white) soup found in the
Komatsushima area; a medium (red/yellow)
soup found in many Chinese restaurants andolder shops; and a dark (brown/black) soupwith an intensely salty yet sweet edge.

6

3. Meat me on top!
What sets Tokushima apart from otherregions are the strips of thinly sliced pork
belly stewed in the tare sauce (like beef ricebowls) that adorn the top. If you want lotsof that, order niku-iri ( 肉入り , with meat).
However, some come with the standard
char siu ( チャーシュー roast pork). Other
common toppings you’ll see are bean
sprouts, menma (pickled bamboo shoots),and green onions.
4. To egg or not to egg?
Recently, Tokushima ramen is often seen
with a raw egg. This is a new trend, andmany veteran shops don’t have eggs at all oroffer ni-tamago ( 煮 玉 子 ), eggs soft-boiled
in the tare sauce until sepia-stained. If you do
get a raw egg, many people like to add justthe yolk, and run the meat or noodles throughit, sukiyaki-style.
Want to test out your newfound knowledge?
Explore the Tokushima Ramen Expo at the Hana
Haru Festa on April 16-17, where ramen shops
from all over the prefecture will be gathered at
Aibahama Park. Happy ramen-hunting, everyone!

Three major types of Tokushima ramen soups: a white broth from Komatsushima, old-fashioned red/yellow broth, anddark rich brown/black.

I chose the optional ni-tamago, a softboiled egg cooked in the rich taresauce, for my white broth ramen.

Old-fashioned red/yellow type ramen
is piled with meat, and no egg.

Dark broth is salty yet sweet.
Because of the strong flavor, many
people order plain rice as a side dish.

Challenge Tokushima Art Festival 2016

By Jenifer Tanikawa (Interview with Crystal Esquilin)T

he Challenge Tokushima Art Festival 2016
took place earlier this year in January at theTokushima Modern Art Museum in Bunka ano Mori.
The aim of this event is to find and support up-andcoming artists and performers in Tokushima. The

event is separated into two parts: performance andexhibition and we had the chance to talk to one ofthe participating artist, Crystal Esquilin, about her
experience with the event and about the work she
created for this event.

7

Why did you decide to participate in this art festival?
I first heard about Challenge Tokushima Art
Festival from an art teacher at my local school
who was last year’s grand prize winner.
How long have you beencreating art?
I have been creating art semiprofessionally for the last four
years or so, creating things
such as logos, character
designs and illustrations forcontests, galleries and small
businesses.
How would you describe yourart style usually?
My usual art style is pen andink illustrations usually createdin a comic or cartoon style.
For this festival in particular,
why did you choose thisparticular art medium? (Postcard and water color). Why did
you choose Tokushima as the
subject?
Water color not being my strong point I wanted
work on improving my landscape painting ability. I
chose the theme of Tokushima scenery because
I found great beauty while traveling aroundthe prefecture, I felt water colors were the best

Challenge Tokushima
medium to capture the feeling of the scenery.
Overall, how was this experience?
Overall, the ease of working with the museum
staff and creating works
was quite fun and exciting;h o w e v e r, b a l a n c i n g b o t hwork and painting proved to
be incredibly difficult. The
art festival was a wonderfulexperience and I recommend
more people try out for it in theupcoming year!
What sort of art will you becreating in the future?
In the future I would like tocontinue working in watercolor
as well as working on a smallerscale. I would also like tofurther enhance my portraitureskills too. So much to do!
I would like to thank theTokushima Bunka no Mori
M o d e r n A r t M u s e u m s t a ff
as well as Ms. Shino, whoworked very hard assisting me and other English
speaking artists with interpretation and translation.
Thank you so much Crystal and we are looking
forward to seeing more art from you! Check out
her profile at: Seelio.com/cesquilin

HIROBA Japanese Cooking Class: Temakizushi (Hand-rolled Sushi)

By HIROBA International

Ingredients (3 Servings)
Sushi Rice
Rice (2-go or 300g), Water (300g), Kombu
seaweed (5 cm long strip)
Vinegar Mixture
Vinegar (50cc), Sugar (2 Tbsp), Salt (1 Tsp)
Roasted nori seaweed (7.5 large sheets cut into
30 pieces), Paper Fan
Rolled Omelet
Egg (3), (A) Dashi stock (3 Tbsp), (A) Sugar (1Tbsp), (A) Light soy sauce (2/3 Tsp), Oil (2 Tsp),
Paper towel for spreading the oil

Cucumber (1/3), Tuna (1 small can), Mayonnaise(2-3 Tbsp), Radish sprouts (1/3 of a pack),
Imitation crab (12 sticks), Pickled plums (23), Bonito flakes (as needed), Soy sauce (asneeded), Avocado (1/2), Wasabi (as needed),
Lettuce, Sashimi (as desired)
Making the Sushi Rice
1. 30 minutes before you cook the rice, wash andlet it drain. Cook the rice with the same amount ofwater as the rice and with the kombu. After it finishes

8Japanese Cooking Class
cooking, let sit for a while. Mix the vinegar mixture
into the rice, making sure not to squish the rice. Usea paper fan to cool the rice down while mixing (thiswill help give shine to the rice).
2. Cut the large nori sheets into 4 even pieces
and lightly grill each side.
Rolled Omelet
1. Lightly beat the egg. Add A and lightly beat again.
2. Heat up a rolled omelet pan over the stoveand lightly brush with oil. Remove the pan fromthe heat and press the bottom of the pan onto a
wet towel. Return the pan to the stove (set heat
to medium heat) and pour one third of the egg
mixture into the pan. Even spread the mixture
across the pan and once it is half cooked, start
rolling the egg with a pair of chopsticks. Push therolled up egg onto one side of the pan. Lightly
brush oil onto the empty part of the pan and pourthe egg mixture into the pan. Repeat the same
steps as before. Once cooked, cut the omelet inhalf lengthwise, then cut into 1 cm wide strips.
Other Ingredients to Prepare
Wash cucumber then pour some salt onto the
cucumber and wash again. Cut the cucumber into
8mm strips; Mix the tuna flakes with mayonnaise;
Wash and cut off the roots off the radish sprouts;
Cut the imitation crab strips in half; Remove thepit from the pickled plums and cut up the plum.
Mix some dried bonito flakes and soy sauce into
the plum paste; Remove the pit and skin of the
avocado. Cut into 6 wedges.
Once all of the ingredients are prepared, spreada thin layer of rice onto the nori and add any
ingredient of your choice then roll up and enjoy!

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

By Kazue Inoue (Center for Early Childhood Education and Care SUKETO NAKAYOSHI)T

his month, there was a seminar for child care
workers on the topic of “A Child’s Sensitive
Mind”. Through developments in brain science,
we now know that there is a critical period in thedevelopment of a child’s brain (a period of time
where they are most susceptible to the stimuli
around them). So, in other words, there is a
critical period during which certain skills are bestdeveloped. Emotional suppression (patience) andlanguage development is most affected during theages of 0-2. Number concept development andsocial skills are most affected at the ages of 2-3.
Through this seminar I learned the importance of
having your child interact with as many people aspossible and have them experience as much as
they can when they are younger.
April is perfect for outdoor excursions. Why
not take advantage of this and take your childoutdoors so they can meet
people and experience newthings. A lot of child-friendly
facilities have opened up
lately, such as nur ser yschools, kindergartens,

childcare support centers and other childcare
centers, so if you are interested, please inquire
about it at your local municipal office.
＊＊ This Month’s Craft ＊＊Handkerchief Game
Directions
1. Spread out a handkerchief and fold all of theedges into the center.
2. Grab the handkerchief from the middle and lift up.
3. Hold the handkerchief together in the other
hand and fix the shape of it to look more like abanana.
4. Just like in the picture below, peel each layer ofthe handkerchief and it will look like banana peels.
*You can create many different shapes with a single
handkerchief. For example, you can fold it in threeand make a sandwich or roll it up to make a sword.

9Japanese Lesson

By Yoko Aoki「～ば よかった（です）」 [= the ～ば -forms (conditional forms) ＋ よかった（です）]～ば よかった（です）means I wish I had done or I should（not）have done something. You can use it
to describe an alternative course of action you, to your great regret, did not take.
Examples:<Situation 1> You are on a trip. You forgot to bring a camera.
もく。I wish I had brought a camera.
カメラを持って来ればよかった（です）< Situation 2> You ate too much and you are not feeling well.
た。I should not have eaten too much.
たくさん食べなければよかった（です）

Now let’s take a look at how to form the ～ば -forms (conditional forms)
Verbs in the affirmative:
Drop the final –u and add –eba.
た

た

み

み

食べる（taber-u）→ 食べれば（taber-eba） ／ 見る（mir-u）→ 見れば（mir-eba）
いい行く（ik-u）→ 行けば（ik-eba）

		する（sur-u）→ すれば（sur-eba）

よよ／ 読む（yom-u）→ 読めば（yom-eba）
くく／ 来る（kur-u）→ 来れば（kur-eba）

Verbs in the negative:
Drop the final い and add ければ .
た

食べなければ

行かない

→

しない

→

い

  

た

→

食べない

Examples:みみ／見ない → 見なければ行かなければ／読まない →

しなければ／来ない → 来なければ

い

よ
こ

よ

読まなければこ<Situation 3> You didn’t do well on your test.
べんきょう

べんきょう

（もっと勉 強 する）→

もっと勉 強 すればよかった（です）。

<Situation 4> You went to the party but you couldn’t enjoy it.
ここ（来ない）→ 来なければよかった（です）。
Exercise: Express your regret using ～ばよかった（です）.
1. Situation: You were late for class.
はやお（もっと早く起きる）→
2. Situation: You went to a restaurant but it was closed for a holiday.
しら（＊調べておく）→
しら＊調べる = to look into＊～ておく = The te-form of a verb plus the helping verb おく describes an action
performed in preparation for something.
3. Situation: You can’t help thinking about your ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend.
かれ かのじょわか（＊彼 / 彼女と別れない）→
かれ かのじょわか＊彼 / 彼女と別れる = to break up with him/her
Reference：『げんきⅡ』（The Japan Times）
1. もっと早く起きればよかった（です）。 2. 調べておけばよかった（です）。 3. 彼 / 彼女と別れなければよかった（です）。
Answers

はやおしらかれかのじょ わかEvents & Memoranda

10Tokushima Prefecture 2016 Japanese Speech Contest
Apply Now!

1. PURPOSE

True internationalisation cannot be achieved without first coming in touch withother cultures and ways of life, fostering a sense of international awarenessand gaining mutual understanding with people of the world to create a society
in which we can all work and live together in harmony. This speech contest
seeks to give a voice to the international residents of Tokushima Prefectureand engage them in a dialogue to further discourse on cross-cultural
understanding and fostering multiculturalism.

2. DATE & PLACE				

July 10, 2016 (Sunday), 13:30 - 16:30
Awagin Hall (Tokushima Prefecture Kyodo Bunka Kaikan)
Small Hall (5F)

3.

Only foreign residents whose native language is not Japanese are eligible toapply.
(However, foreign residents who have had over three years of compulsory
education in Japan and those who have previously won the Grand Prizeor the Tokushima Prefectural Assembly's Chairman of the Federation ofInternational Exchange Assembly Members Award are not eligible to apply.

ELIGIBILITY

		

4.

SELECTION

Application will be open to all foreign residents of Tokushima Prefecturethat fulfil the eligibility requirements. We will ask all applicants to submit an
outline of their speech (between 400-800 words), and after reviewing all of
the applications, roughly 10 or so applicants will be chosen to proceed to thefinal contest.

5.

THEME

The topic is left to your discretion, but it should relate to the event's purposeof fostering cross-cultural understanding and multiculturalism.

6.

LENGTH

Speeches should be no more than 6 minutes in length.

◆ Grand Prize --- one person (Prize: 50,000 yen gift certificate)◆ The Tokushima Prefectural Assembly's Federation of International
Exchange Assembly Members Chairman’s Award --- one person
		(Prize: 30,000 yen gift certificate)◆ Runner Up Awards --- two people (Prize: 30,000 yen gift certificate)◆ Special Awards --- to be decided (Prize: 10,000 yen gift certificate)◆ Special Effort Award --- to be decided (Prize: 5,000 yen gift certificate)						*All participants will receive a participation award.
7.

AWARDS

8.

HOW TO APPLY

9. DEADLINE		Please fill out the application form available at TOPIA and mail it to the above
address or fax it to the above number. Alternatively, you may submit yourapplication in person.
May 17, 2016 (Tuesday)
Applications must be turned in by 17:00.

10. WHERE TO APPLY Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association. (TOPIA)〒 770-0831 1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi, Tokushima City,
Clement Plaza 6F
TEL: 088-656-3303 FAX: 088-652-0616
E-mail: coordinator2@topia.ne.jp

11 Events & Memoranda
Become an International Understanding Support Lecturer!
国際理解支援講師募集！

Content: Talk in Japanese to Japanese people
about your country's culture: music, dance,
clothing, food, scenery, events, children's
play and so on.
Date & Time: Depends on the request from aschool or an organization (Weekdays, 3-4
hours, including travel time).
Place: All over Tokushima Prefecture
Remuneration: About 4,000 yen or more andtransportation expenses.
Contact Information:
Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange
Association (TOPIA)
TEL: 088-656-3303
E-mail: coordinator3@topia.ne.jp〒 770-0831
1-61 Terashima Honcho-Nishi, Tokushima
City, Clement Plaza 6F

内容： 自国の文化（音楽、踊り、衣装、食べ物、風景、行事、遊びなど）や、日本の印象などについて、日本の児童・生徒や大人に日本語で話す。
日時： 学校や一般団体の希望日（平日 3 ～ 4 時間、往復時間含む）場所： 徳島県内
謝礼： 約 4,000 円～、 交通費：有り
お問合せ：
TEL: 088-656-3303
E-mail: coordinator3@topia.ne.jp〒 770-0831
徳島市寺島本町西 1-61
クレメントプラザ６Ｆ
徳島県国際交流協会（TOPIA）

Hana Haru Festa! 2016
はな・はる・フェスタ 2016
You’ll have the chance to see famous Awa Odori
dance troupes perform on both the indoor andoutdoor stages at this event. There will also be
many other fun things to look forward to suchas the Gourmet Street, where you can try someof Tokushima’s best cuisines, lots of on-stage
events, workshops where you can try your handat local traditional crafts and more!
When: April 16-17 (Sat-Sun)
Where: Around Tokushima City including Aibahama
Park and Shinmachi Boardwalk
Admission Fee: Free
Info: Hana Haru Festa Organizing Committee
TEL: 088-655-7331

阿波おどり有名連の豪華競演を屋内外でたっぷりとご覧いただけるほか、徳島のおいしいものが並ぶグルメストリートや、ステージイベント、伝統文化の体験コーナーなど、楽しいイベントが目白
押しです！
開催期間：4 月 16 日（土）・17 日（日）開 催 地： 徳 島 市 藍 場 浜 公 園、 し ん ま ち ボ ー ド
ウォークほか
入場料：無料
問合せ：はな・はる・フェスタ実行委員会事務局
TEL: 088-655-7331

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 isavailable in English and Japanese. Please note that although every effort will be made, we may not beable to deal with all cases.
Everyday, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Tel: 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)