A unique way of teaching Japanese language to foreigners

It seems as if the thermometers in Japan recently are reluctant to rise more than 10deg C. Yesterday the iGoogle weather gadget was showing -1 deg C at midnight and as per the reports on Sunday a cold air wave is supposed to hit Japan that will lead to low temperatures. It has been snowing at the surrounding prefectures of Tokyo. Tokyo remained at low temperatures with cold wind at times.

Recently, I used to watch the weather reports in NHK after I learned the basic words and phrases being used in a weather report from Mana Suzuki-Sensei. Ever since there were reports of cold air wave thwarted the life in Europe and Northern America , Japan was also expecting similar climatic pattern this year. Japan Meteorological Agency had warned of strong winds and heavy snow and high waves, specially along the coast of the Sea of Japan that will continue through Monday. As per the weather reports a strong cold air mass and freezing cold pattern continues to stay around Japan.

From the third week of December and after the Japanese language proficiency test, Mana Suzuki-Sensei changed the style of teaching Japanese language from the conventional way of following a book. I experience her way of teaching Japanese very useful when students get many chances to hear and practice daily life conversations. It is almost impossible for fresh foreigners to follow announcements at public places and also words used at public places in day to day life in Japan.

Cherry blossom! When Sakura flowers perfume the morning sun

For many days I have been thinking of making a post on cherry blossom and the O-hanami festival. At Tokyo part of Japan, the Sakura flowers started blossoming during the early days of April. We were invited to join the O-hanami party that was held at the sakura garden in front of the Yasukuni shrine with the whole family. That was an enlivening event for all of us to socialize with Japanese people.

O-hanami party is conducted at the cherry blossom occasion in Japan. Look at the flowers, drink O-sake (Japanese alcohol), eat and praise the beauty of Sakura flowers are the general activities being done during the O-hanami party. There may be variations in the mode of the parties being conducted. The concept is to praise the magnificence of Sakura flowers. The view of Sakura trees with full of light pink Sakura flowers is really a feast to the eyes. So appealing are the views that even while rushing to the office, it is hard to avoid taking a moment and look at those glamorous bunches of flowers.

Why, even this post is motivated by the alluring sceneries that had caught in the eyes after the start of cherry blossom in Tokyo. The period of end of winter season and the start of spring is marked with the blossoming of sakura flowers. Sakura flower is synonymous to the Japan in one sense. For an outsider like me, Japan could be symbolized to Mount Fuji, Sakura, and Hiroshima-Nagasaki – the three most striking things that come to the mind at first while referring to Japan.

For ages unknown, the sakura has been the most affectionate and adorable for Japanese people. Let me borrow from Nitobe Inazo-san’s ‘Bushido’, to best represent the feelings of Japanese people towards Sakura flowers; “The Yamato spirit is not a tame, tender plant, but a wild – in the sense of natural – growth; it is indigenous to the soil’

The Sakura trees in Komatsugawa garden near to our apartment were leafless till the end of March. Now all of them have turned to look like light pink clouds hanging from the branches. People started come out of the home and spend their leisure at the garden. Children play with the falling flower petals. The chirping sounds of birds are back to the garden.

The most thrilling experience after the O-hanami party was to meet Mrs. Akie Abe, the former first lady of Japan (2006-2007), who is a popular and prominent figure in Japanese political and public life. We were really lucky to have a group family photo with Abe-san. I do not intend to post the group photo before getting her written permission to do so. We were wondering, compared to India, how freely a known personality like Mrs. Abe could walk on the road in Tokyo!

This post may be incomplete without the following lines (again excerpts from ‘Bushido’) by Motoori Norinaga, the famous poet of Edo period;

                                    Isles of blest Japan!

                                            Should your Yamato spirit

                                    Strangers seek to scan,

                                           Say-scenting morn’s sunlit air,

                                           Blows the cherry wild and fair!

Arakawa River, Nakagawa river and Barbecue square in Komatsugawa

Narcissus would love to spend times unlimited on the bank of this river Arakawa where we used to spend evenings on weekends whenever possible. Though little bit embroidered with Boeotian mythological hero’s passion to his own reflections, the beauty of Arakawa river banks offers more or equal attraction to the residents in Komatsugawa.

The barbecue square built on Arakawa river bank is an ideal meeting place for many of the locals here in Komatsugawa. Nakagawa River is another river flowing parallel to the Arakawa River. Two rivers flow parallel and an aerial bridge going exactly at the middle of the rivers from Funaboribashi bridge to connect to the national highway makes the whole scenery stimulating.

The entrance to the Barbecue square is towards the Komatsugawa play ground. There was a professional acrobat who was performing his skills on unicycle with multiple pieces of juggling clubs. Clad in professional gymnastic dress, he was not reluctant to wish passers-by. My daughter was surprised and keen to watch his performance and insisted to stay there more. The older gymnast, when reached near to us did not forget to wave his hand and touch my daughter’s hands. She was thrilled literally. The week-end evenings at Komatsugawa play ground give more opportunity to mingle with the local community.



The barbecue square is a well maintained place, where visitors also take care not to spoil the beauty of the nature. The garden is with many trees and beautiful flowers. White, Yellow, Pink and Blue flowers in a mix of green leaves and the light blue sky at the top of this part of the earth, with a dome at the mouth of Arakawa river presents euphoric days out of the concrete walls.




The life in flats, that also in the midst of a jungle of concrete buildings has been a new thing for us. Being come from a place where transformation of lives from the feudal persuades to the industrialized one is still at a confused stage, we had not been with negligible stress due to a sudden change. Transformation from single family houses to multi-dwelling apartment, where we may never meet neighbors for the whole stay in Japan is something a new experience for my mother too.


The Arakawa River and the Nakagawa River flowing to Tokyo bay with a long stretch of river bank with vetiver grass is rich with eco-system. We could see small frogs while walking on the road near to the river bank. I told my daughter the story of a frog that waited on the river bank for his friend to come from a far away village on a rainy day. Spending time with kids is a good way of reducing everyday stress. The stories are never real and kids never want them to be real. The colorful stories will deviate from the original story and mix with many local additives. She was happy to walk with me on the road parallel to the stretch of vetiver grass.


We never felt come back home. The days are becoming longer in Japan again. Sun is yet to set at the horizons of the land of rising sun. Thousands of boats might have carried loads of wood and food through this river from far away places to Tokyo. Arakawa River might have seen years of human transformation and making of one of the most intelligent society in this part of the earth. Still Arakawa River flows silently. That is the way of Samurais – rich in knowledge and thoughts but still silent!

A day out listening to the murmurs of sakura leaves in Komatsugawa Park

The weather was good with moderately warm environment. The shadows played hide and seek game with the light. The shadows were dark grey in color…..shadows everywhere in all cases are colorless. Shadows may have nothing to do with dreams. With leaves of sakura trees and maple leaves immerse in dreams with tantalizing murmur, the Komatsugawa Park looked more pleasant.

We could see ants and centipedes crawling. That was one fine Saturday we decided to eat out at the Komatsugawa Park. There were Japanese people sitting on the wooden benches in the park. Eating out is a common thing in Japan. Holidays are more enjoyable when all family members relax under the shadow of trees with small kids playing nearby.

The life in Japan is calm and quite. For senior citizens, Japanese government will take care of all medical expenses. They also get pension from government for their daily living. Ward offices will pay money for small children. Children below the age of 3 get 10,000 Yen per month from the ward office. Children above the age of 3 get 5,000 Yen per month till the age of 15. Many of our friends in Japan will buy toys and new dresses for their kids with this money. The money will be credited to the bank account of head of the family once in every four months.

Our children stopped when they saw a cat on the park. They insisted me to take snaps. The cats in Japan are also disciplined well. He posed for us! A grandma walking near to us stopped and watched us. She looked keen and expressed surprise by seeing our daughters.

The Komatsugawa Park is just less than one minute walking distance from our apartment. In fact the apartments name itself is Komatsugawa Park Mansion. Japanese gardens and public parks are well known for the maintenance and cleanliness. The visitors to the park with their pets, mostly dogs take care to collect the fecal droppings from their pets in a plastic bag and carry it along with them! The public discipline and regard to the law and order is at highest value in Japan.

The dogs in Japan are well cherished by their masters. Most of the dog lovers treat their pets more or the same way as their kids! Sometimes they will be carried to public places on a stroller with all kind of royal attention! The grandma looked astonishingly on us also carried her dog. The dog was silent even after seeing the cat. The scene reminded me of the Japanese lessons we had at OVTA in which the life of a dog was described. The dog in that story was jealous of the cat that was lazy and desired to be at master’s home everyday without doing any work.

The climate has been favorable for a full day out with kids. The coming weeks will witness much rain compared to the foregone days. After the rain Japan will be hot. While walking back to home, we saw the cat still watching on the birds sitting on the bushes. Cats pay more attention and concentration in each and every action than us. As we stepped back home, the sakura leaves whispered to bushes and the cat was still listening to it.

Snowfall in Japan - exquisite and mysterious as the name Yuki

Today it is 4 degree Celsius now in Tokyo, but feels like less than 1 degree. Snow fall is predicted in the midnight in Tokyo. When Balasan conveyed this message that snowfall is predicted in the midnight, I remembered the 3rd February 2008. Almost more than one year now. It was on my fourth day in Japan, I saw the first snow fall.

I was staying in Day nice hotel in Koto-ku. Day nice hotel is near to the Monzen-nakacho Tozai line exit. Initially for around 5 days I stayed in Day nice hotel before moving into the apartment. Balasan invited to visit his home on 3rd February 2008. When I got ready and came down to make a phone call to him, I saw the pure white cotton like snow falling on the road. Balasan told it is snow rain in Higashi Ojima too. The snowfall was there in the whole Tokyo. We could not meet, but I could witness the snowfall for the first time.

Our program got cancelled as it was difficult to go out. The temperature was too low and walking outside was really difficult. It was the first time in life I witnessed a snowfall. When I visited Switzerland and went up all the way near to the Alps mountain on April 1996 also I missed the snowfall. It remained a desire in me to enjoy the snowfall.

On the fourth day in Japan I could watch and enjoy the snow fall. I went outside and walked on the road here and there without any purpose only to experience the snowfall. There were children playing on the road with full body covered with jackets. Their face was only visible and they were fully clad with sweaters and jackets. Small bushes on the roadside were fully covered with snow. Top of the buildings got entirely covered with snow and it looked amazing!

In Japanese language, snow is Yuki. It is a lovely name for many Japanese women too. Yuki – beautiful and mysterious like snow…pure and white in heart….Yuki gave poets in Japan enough food for imagination.

Snow is rare in Tokyo, but a common at the northern prefectures of Japan. The heavy snow area of Japan is probably the Hokaido. Visiting Hokaido is till now realized for me, while many of my friends visited there they say it is a place to see and enjoy. Japan is a land of snow. Japan due to her proximity to the Siberia get the colder wind.

The climate reports say the heavy snowfalls of Japan's snow country are caused by moisture-laden clouds bumping up against the mountains along the backbone of Honshū and releasing their moisture under the influence of easterly winds blowing off the continent or down from Siberia. As a result, the region includes some of the world's snowiest spots at the same latitudes, as well as the northern hemisphere's southern-most ski resorts.

Life does not come to a standstill due to snowfall. Nobody stops walking or take a leave in the name of snowfall. The life continues just in the normal way in most of the cases. If the snowfall is too heavy and disrupts the rail transportation, then it becomes a trouble. I could see even old people walking on the road which was filled with snow. Ward authority staff were engaged in removing the snow from the road which blocked the vehicle movement.

Even though I could not take the snaps of last year snowfall, Balasan had taken some nice photos. The date on the photos says the snow remained on the 4th morning also. I requested him those photos to share them here.