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//By Alistair Frothingham// It’s a snowy December in the year the Mayans predicted to be our last. Bundled in a black wool coat with buttons like wooden sabretooth tiger fangs, I breathe into a cheap blue-contrast-scale knitted scarf poorly hiding my cropped goatee. Marveled by the warmth I am afforded from purchases at a recycle … Continue reading
//By Bethany Barry Wiens// Wherever you go in Japan, there are specialties. Therefore, wherever you are in Japan, there will inevitably be festivals and celebrations of said specialties. For the town of Hinai in Northern Akita, that specialty is chicken. So it follows that once a year there is a festival celebrating the glory that … Continue reading
//By Judy Oyedele// Yuzawa City’s Innuko Matsuri is a must-see festival for the winter. Usually on a Saturday and Sunday (this year, it was held on February 8-9), the main attractions are the massive Akita dogs sculpted from snow. The festival is conveniently located just outside the Yuzawa train station doors, but there is a … Continue reading
//By Lynne Francis// In northern Akita Prefecture, there sits Lake Towada. This lake borders Akita and its northern neighbor, Aomori Prefecture. While the lake is covered in a misty haze in the winter, its south-eastern side hosts the Towada Winter Story Festival. Unlike other festivals that span a few days, this grand mix of a … Continue reading
//By Jessie Fast// One of the best things about small winter festivals in Akita is how a whole town will come together for the special occasion. A tradition becomes a testament to the unity of a community, usually tucked away somewhere off little used highways. One such festival is the 500-year-old giant Tug-of-War in Kariwano … Continue reading
//By Jessie Fast// There is perhaps nothing more terrifying for children than being confronted with their nightmares face-to-face. However, for children in Akita, that is exactly what happens at the Namahage Sedo Festival in Oga City. Namahage, Akita’s infamous demon-gods with daggers in hand and red or blue faces, are used by parents to scare … Continue reading
//By Jessie Fast// Title: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro The Plot: Kathy grows up in a strict, structured school called Hailsham somewhere in the English countryside. Along with her best friend Ruth, their friend Tommy, and others, the children live rather blissfully without much thought to the future besides what their guardians tell them … Continue reading
This is the third part of a five-part series. The first part can be found here, and the second here. //By Andrew Lewis// 6. Public Discourse The best thing about the internet is you can find anything you want, whenever you want it. The worst thing about the internet is that you can find anything … Continue reading
//By Lynne Francis// As ALTs, there comes a time when we all help our students with projects, papers, and speeches. However, very few of us get the chance to stand in the position of presenter rather than judge or coach. I, along with nine other contestants from six countries who currently live, study, or work … Continue reading
This is the second part in a five part series. The first part can be found here. //By Andrew Lewis// 8. News It was not so long ago that news anchors were wringing their hands about this new “web-log” thing, where irresponsible people without journalistic integrity could write and post an article about something in … Continue reading
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