HAJET Book Club: 1Q84 (Book 1 & 2) by Haruki Murakami ☆☆☆ Another book has been added to the Hyogo AJET Book Club’s Goodreads bookshelf: 1Q84. On a surprisingly sunny Sunday in June, some 17 book clubbers gathered, eager to share thoughts on one of many Murakami worlds. We took centre stage…
I am not a sport’s person. I’m a dog person, occasionally a cat person, but I definitely do not like sports. However, there’s an exception to every rule, and I have finally found a sport that I like. Love. Want to do over and over again, maybe even multiple times in one day. It…
Hello Hyogonians! We have come to the end of the temples with which I have any direct experience; I’d like to leave you with an overview of those temples that remain.  All ten of these temples were out of my reach either for timing or travel reasons. Some of them beckon spectacularly, and I…
Every year July is a very exciting month for many people in the new JET community, as it’s the month that the new JETs find out their placements. To the new JETs, welcome to one of the best, if not THE best, prefectures in Japan! I will go so far as to promise you that…
With rainy season all but over, it is now time to enjoy summer’s sunshine whether that is by heading to the beach or having a barbecue with friends. Of course, nothing quite says summer like an outdoor musical festival in the foothills of Mount Naeba in Niigata, Japan. Fuji Rock Festival, presented by Smash Corporation,…
Last month Common Sense Media came out with research detailing somber news; current American teenagers are reading far less than teenagers from previous decades. Although the reasons for such a decline are not completely clear, the study does point to advancements in technology as playing a substantial role. Lacking data to present a comprehensive…
  Leaving home for university coincided with my father discovering the entertainment possibilities of the Internet. Subsequently we have maintained a rather sweet father-daughter e-mail communication sharing YouTube videos, rugby match reports and location-related news articles. One such e-mail pinged into my inbox in February: a scanned clipping from the Times about Japanese research…
Dear Miss A Hart, I think I’ve finally reached my breaking point. I just cannot handle the attention I get anymore. If it’s not my “small†face or nose, it’s my curly hair or white skin. Seriously, I try to tan, I really do! I’m a total addict to self-tanning lotion at home,…
Most of us know the history, or at least the abridged version, of the Pacific Theater in World War II. Japan became increasingly militaristic in the 1920s and 1930s and went on to invade other parts of Asia before finally deciding to attack the United States at Pearl Harbor. In response, the Americans declared…