My school has just finished another school year here in Tokyo. Continuing the tradition of capturing moments throughout the year, I have compiled more memories here.

Tamiko Performance

I will start with a demonstration that was done earlier in the year at the other school campus. The previous year, we had a few people come in to give a demonstration of “Tamiko,” a traditional drumming performance. To be honest, it was rather simple, repetitive, and not that engaging. This year, however, a group of young students were brought in, and the performance was definitely more exciting than last time. 

Student Work

As a teacher, it’s always amusing to see what students write as their responses to an assignment.

Acrostic Poems

A Child’s Honesty

Kabuki Field Trip

In May, another cultural field trip was to go to a nearby university to learn about Kabuki and see a demonstration.

I was able to record some of the performers (it was actually a long time there for the kids), but unfortunately, I had to do it from behind all of the students using the zoom feature on my camera phone. My apologies for the lower quality.

Student Quotes

Throughout this year, I heard a number of interesting and amusing quotes, so I tried to collect some along the way.

Joshua: “I like your jacket because it’s fancy. When the principal fires you, you can be a rock star.”

Meliha (with her friends during our after-school creative writing club): “Now I understand why you get angry. You are so right about getting mad.” (This was regarding her and her friends’ behavior.). 

A primary-aged student (not ours) walking by the school in December: “Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day…” 

Federico (after completing his WIDA speaking test): “Do you want to see my underwear?” (No, no, I don’t.). 

Me: “What word starts with ‘F’ that means to pay attention?” Anastasiia (thinking she knows the answer): “Fuck?” (This one really threw me off during our lesson.).

Street Food

While out walking around the Tsukiji Fish Market area, a friend and I decided to try what looked like a griddle-pressed seafood item that looked like it was made of Styrofoam. You place your order by selecting the option you want from what looks like a vending machine that spits out your ticket number. We chose the octopus. The white part was a flour mixture that felt like it disintegrated once in your mouth. It was OK, but I’m not sure I will go back to have more.

Airport Bathroom

This year, Tokyo’s Haneda Airport topped the list of the cleanest airports in the world. The Japanese seem to take pride in terms of cleanliness and order, so this doesn’t really surprise me. While in the bathroom, I looked at the numerous toilet options listed on the wall, including flushing pressure and “privacy” music that can be played to drown out any unpleasant noises one may make.

Sights

“Shrine On, Shrine Off”

Local Celebration

The most recent thing I saw in June was while on my way back home from school. I heard what sounded like a flute of some kind and some drums. It wasn’t constant, so I wasn’t sure what it was. I finally saw a group of kids and parents walking along, with some of them playing what looked like traditional instruments and holding up a drum as if it were a float in a parade. Since it is common here to have celebrations for the beginning of summer in June, all I can guess is that this has something to do with it. 

While I was originally planning to visit Osaka for the first time and see Himeji Castle, as well as visit Nara, I decided to postpone this trip until (perhaps) March of next year in order to save money. Besides, I have other upcoming trips to plan for and carry out.