Places to visit in Hyogo 7: 甲子園球場 (こうしえんきゅうじょう - koshien kyuujou - Koshien Baseball Stadium)

甲子園球場 - often known simply as 甲子園 (Koshien) - lies between 大阪 (おおさか - Osaka) and 神戸 (こうべ - Kobe), in a smaller city called 西宮 (にしのみや - Nishinomiya). It's one of the most famous stops on the 阪神 (はんしん - Hanshin) train line and perhaps best known as the home of the 阪神タイガーズ (Hanshin Tigers), who were originally the official team of 大阪 but are now embraced region-wide as the charming underdogs of professional 野球 (yakyuu - baseball). Despite a hit-and-miss track record and what could be a full-blown curse from beyond the grave, the 阪神タイガーズ have some of the most outrageously dedicated fans in the country. It's time to have a bit of a look at the colourful history of 甲子園, starting with yellow and black.

学校の生活その5：体育祭 (がっこうのせいかつその5：たいいくさい - gakkou no seikatsu sono go: taiikusai) - School Lifestyle 5: Sports Festival

Another major school event on the Japanese calendar is the 体育祭, similar in some respects to the sports/athletics carnivals we have at home. Like comparing school fetes with the 文化祭 (ぶんかさい - bunkasai - culture festival) though, the difference is really in the scale and level of commitment. Students and teachers spend weeks beforehand rehearsing to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Aside from the intricacy involved and pride in the event itself, this may be because some of the events are very dangerous; others are just rather strange. The ones that tick both boxes are probably the most fun of all!

文化祭、続き (ぶんかさい、つづき - bunkasai, tsuzuki) - Culture Festival, continued

Having enjoyed my other school's 文化祭 over the weekend, I thought I'd make a followup to the last Culture Festival post and share some of the photos with you. This one had a different focus with less emphasis on "indoorsy" cultural activities and cafes and more on hot food; a lot of the stalls braved the darkening skies, set up their outdoor griddles and got down to some hard-core food preparation. Despite the different take on things, it was no less fun this time around - in fact, their slogan for this year was "Create Fun". Did they manage to do it? See for yourself!

学校の生活その3：部活動 (がっこうのせいかつその３：ぶかつどう - gakkou no seikatsu sono san: bukatsudou) - School Lifestyle 3: Club activities

部活動, used interchangeably with 部活 (ぶかつ - bukatsu), are the "clubs" or "extracurricular" activities that Japan has developed a reputation for. 部活 are a massive part of school in Japan - the club you join has a huge impact on your time at school. It seems to have an even bigger impact on your time outside school though - depending on the individual school, most clubs officially run until 6pm every day (and unofficially, sometimes much longer). If that's not enough for you, there's Saturday training and morning practice in some cases as well - one student I spoke to gets up every morning at 5am for this! Bully for him, but I'm really not sure I could be that enthusiastic.

学校の生活その2：文化祭 (がっこうのせいかつその2：ぶんかさい - gakkou no seikatsu sono ni: bunkasai) - School Lifestyle 2: Culture Festival

The 文化祭, usually translated as "Culture Festival" or "School Festival" is a yearly event held at every high school in Japan and is probably the biggest one on the calendar. The teachers and students prepare months in advance and the time leading up to it is one of frenzied activity and anticipation. What's all the fuss about? Let's have a look and find out.

Welcome to the new 一年生 (いちねんせい - ichinensei - 1st years)!

As I mentioned a while ago, 春 (はる - haru - spring) is a time of new beginnings in Japan - April is the start of the new school year. Many public highschools here have strict entrance requirements which means that prospective students have to sit an exam and wait for the results to see if they got in. On the day, big posterboards are put up that list the numbers of the students who made the cut. For the ones who passed, this marks the beginning of a string of ceremonies and events to congratulate and welcome them to the school. It's been a very busy few weeks!

学校の生活その１：食堂 (がっこうのせいかつその１：しょくどう - gakkou no seikatsu sono ichi: shokudou) - School Lifestyle 1: Canteen

School life in Japan is different to that of Western Australia in many ways. In an attempt to try and capture some of these, I'm going to give you a tour of my two schools in a series of posts called 学校の生活. If you're planning to come over here on a school trip or exchange, hopefully this information will be particularly useful for you. Like all good things, this one starts with food. Have a look at the 食堂 (しょくどう - shokudou - canteen) menu and see what you think.