エアリアルヨガ（キャロル先生)

                            Aerial Yoga

Last Sunday I went to an aerial yoga class in Musashi Sakai. I have been looking for more exercise classes to do since I moved here and have practiced yoga previously in Ireland. I thought aerial yoga would be perfect. Aerial yoga involves doing yoga poses from a hammock hanging from the ceiling. You are suspended in the air for many of the poses and have to hold the pose for a few minutes. It can be quite hard and sore on your skin. I definitely have some bruises to mark the occasion. The class lasted over an hour but the teacher was lovely and patient while I learned the moves. Luckily, there was a woman who helped to translate what the teacher was saying so I wasn’t too confused and it prevented me from injuring myself. At the end of the class, we were suspended upside down in the air, while relaxing music played in the background. Meditation was part of the class, which made me feel relaxed and at ease afterwards. I’ll make sure to go back again this Sunday as it is such good exercise. It will keep me busy on Sunday afternoons and help keep me fit at the same time.

ついに春が来た （ミーシャ先生)

Spring at last

 

Winter is finally over and I am very happy about that. The beauty about spring can be seen in nature. I love to see the Cherry blossoms as I travel around Tokyo. They are absolutely beautiful. I find it very relaxing to go to a park and just sit and relax around the beauty of nature. I am enjoying the fact that the weather is also better. Though it gets cold sometimes in the evenings, it is mostly warmer than the winter cold air.  I love Spring!

花見の季節 （キャロル先生)

This was my first time to see the sakura trees blooming in Japan. I managed to find time to visit four different areas in Tokyo that are famous for their great selection of sakura trees. The first park I visited was Inokashira Park. I had a picnic here with my friend and watched everyone enjoying themselves while eating and drinking. The cherry blossoms looked so pretty and I ended up taking so many photos of them. The second park I visited was Koganei Park, which is only a thirty minute walk from my house. I met some friends here during the spring break and we walked all around the park with our cherry flavored ice creams. We spent hours there chatting and people watching. Another park I visited was Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I brought my SLR camera with me to take close up photos of the flowers, as there were many different colored ones. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and I ate sushi and drank juice with my friend. The last area I visited was the beautiful Meguro River where sakura trees line either side of the river and it is lit up with lanterns at nighttime. I walked around here for an afternoon and night, eating the street food and taking photos. I have so many photos of the different types of cherry blossoms and am delighted I managed to visit so many different places. They turned Tokyo into a pretty wonderland colored in pink and white. Next year I hope to visit the areas I didn’t manage to see this year. It will be a shame when they are all

東京でのセント・パトリック・デイのお祝い（キャロル先生)

                        St. Patrick’s Day Festival

On the 17^th of March each year, St. Patrick’s Day festival is held. It is a day that commemorates the patron saint of Ireland. There are large parades held on this day around the world and lots of traditional Irish music events. This year, I celebrated with my friends in Tokyo and volunteered to help at the parade on Omotesando Street. It was Asia’s largest Irish event with 15,000 participants and 50,000 spectators. I held up the large banner with my friends at the front of the parade and helped to give out flyers. There were so many people taking part and watching the parade, it was a fantastic day. I was so surprised by how much effort Japanese people put into celebrating this Irish event. There was even an Irish festival held in Yoyogi Park with food stalls and Irish dancers. The celebrations went on into late that night. My friends and I even made it into The Tokyo Times newspaper! I will have to post this home to my family so they can see how big the celebrations are here in Tokyo.

東京でのスイミング （キャロル先生)

Swimming in Tokyo

Back home in Ireland, I used to swim as much as I could. I was a member of a lovely gym with a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. It was one of the most relaxing places to be. Swimming up and down with the flow of the water moving with me, no loud noises, the smell of the chlorine, it always managed to relax and clear my head.

Here in Tokyo, I’ve managed to go swimming three times since I have arrived, in three different swimming pools. Two were in Musashi-Sakai and the other in Mitaka. The experience was pleasant and some lovely women ended up chatting to me in the dressing rooms. Some were interested to know where I was from and wanted to practice their English and some wanted to show me how to use the facilities, which I greatly appreciated. Simple things like using the swimsuit dryer can be daunting when the instructions are in Japanese. I found people were so welcoming and accommodating which will allow me to swim to my heart’s content while living here in Tokyo.

草津旅行 （キャロル先生)

                                Trip to Kusatsu

I heard so much about Gunma that I really wanted to take a trip up there during the winter to see the snow and visit the many onsens scattered around the area. I decided to get a bus to Kusatsu, which is famous for its many onsens and hot springs. It was about a four hour journey to Kusatsu on a bus from Shinjuku. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was when I arrived.

I climbed the steep steps to the shrine in the center of the town but I was nervous because of the amount of snow and ice there was. It took me longer than I thought it would but was definitely worth it when I reached the top. Outside the bus station there was a foot bath waiting for visitors to take a dip in. I strolled around the main town and dipped my feet into a foot bath beside Yubatake hot spring. The water is said to have strong therapeutic and anti-bacterial powers. The steam from the water was amazing to look at and at night the whole area was lit up to give an eerie, spooky feel.

I went to an outdoor onsen with the surrounding snow covered hills staring at me as I relaxed in the hot water. It was so refreshing to get in and out of the water with the contrasting temperatures. I felt so relaxed afterwards and had some nice, hot food in the town. The next morning I visited one more onsen, this one was indoors and was situated in a big wooden building. There was an area to relax in afterwards whereby you could look at the whole town, it was really beautiful to see. It was a long journey back to Tokyo but I was so relaxed after my morning onsen that I slept for most of the journey home. I was especially pleased that the onsens were tattoo friendly too which really makes me want to visit Kusatsu again in the near future.

 

東京での雪体験 （ミーシャ先生)

It finally snowed in Tokyo! I have been hearing from my other friends in places like Nagasaki and Gifu about them experiencing snow for weeks now. I had given up hope that I would be able to share my experiences with them about snow in Tokyo. The snow wasn’t much but I was sure glad it was during the holiday so I could relax at home. I eventually took a stroll in my area to see how much of an impact the snow had and of course took a few pictures to savour the moment. It was a truly relaxing evening; I spent some time watching the snowflakes falling on the trees and forming the shape of the trees and other objects that they were falling on. I am glad I got to have that experience before winter ends.