Lifestyle Consultations Case ① - Secret Recording

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   A few days ago a woman from Southeast Asia living in Kochi City visited KIA to inform us that her domestic problem with his husband had solved after about an hour talk in their house on the previous day.

   I was very surprised that she had recorded all the conversations they made on her mobile phone. Most of the sounds in it were his voice in a broad tosa dialect accent and a disgruntled tone. She was still poor at arguing in Japanese and was scared of his angry voice. 

Shimanto Taisho ‘Ayu’ Festival

fishing with flaming torches

   This festival is locally run by townspeople, featuring the fish ‘ayu’ – one of the natural blessing provided by the Shimanto River. So come along and experience delectable Ayu-based cuisine. Plus, you can’t miss the nearby demonstration of traditional fishing methods – including fishing with flaming torches!

Nagashi Sōmen

   Nagashi Sōmen, “flowing noodles,” is a summer favorite in Japan. Sōmen are very thin, white noodles made from wheat flour. They are usually served cold during the summer months.

Daimonji-no-Okuribi (Great Bonfire Event), Shimanto City

   An annual Obon event representative of the summer in the Masaki area of Shimanto City. This is an event unusual in the whole of Japan, where giant, burning 大 kanji can be seen and enjoyed by everyone.

Yosakoi Festival － A secret of a happy married life

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   The season of the Yosakoi Festival this year is just around the corner, which is held from 9 to 12 in every August in Kochi City. This year 191 teams are participating in the festival.

NIA NIHONGO SHABERIBA !! (Learn Japanese)

   The second season will start on 7th Septenber.

   Let’s speak in Japanese with us !!

   You can enjoy talking and Japanese cultural activities.

Date and Time: every Wednesday 19:00～21:00

Place: NISSYO FUKUSHI KOORYUU CENTER (2207 Tamura Nankoku city)

Expenses: 100yen per 1 time

Application and Questions: 090-4332-7652 Tomonaga

   Please see NIA (Nankoku International Association) Blog

Otsuna Festival

   This is a tug-of-war festival that sees a giant rope 80m in length, weighing 1t and with a circumference of 1.8m, tugged East-West across the city. There will be various events like a Yosakoi dance, mochi throwing, a beer garden, and a tug-of-war tournament.

Ice Cream and Ice Crin

   Talking of summer, everyone loves to have a cooling ice cream, don’t they? Have you ever heard of “ICE CRIN”? It is one of the local specialties in Kochi. However, what is the difference between “ice cream” and “ice crin”? “Ice crin” looks similar to “ice cream”…so I looked it up.

One-Coin Lunch Heaven: the Lunch Passport

If you’re like me and eat out for lunch often, you have probably fallen into a routine and go to the same places everyday, thinking the whole time, there’s gotta be some cool new places to check out. My lunch hour world was turned upside down when I found this:

the Lunch Passport.

Manga Koshien

   Koshien is a baseball stadium situated in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Pref, and is holy ground for all Japan’s high school baseball players. Schools compete twice annually at regional preliminary games for the privilege to play at this hallowed stadium. The word has been co-opted by Kochi for the Manga Koshien – which is a competition for high school cartoonists. Teams compete for the national manga championship once a year. 

Campsite ⑥－Kinone Fureai no Mori

This campsite is in a virgin forest, which is unusual in Japan. There are mountains of 1800m in height like West Japan’s highest peak, Mt. Ishizuchi surrounding the campsite. So if you like mountain climbing, this location will be excellent for you.

Campsite ⑤－Yasuda River Campsite

This campsite is located on the banks of the Yasuda River. If you like fishing and cycling, this is the one for you! Of course, you can also swim in the river.

Campsite ④－Yutorisuto Park Otoyo

This is good for people who prefer a cooler summer. When it is a fine day, you can see very beautiful scenery, but the mountain weather can be very changeable. There is also a herb garden.

Campsite ③－Kawarakko

This campsite is located by the crystal clear Shimanto River, on which you can canoe. You can rent mountain bike and camping equipment, so it is no problem if you forget something.

Campsite ②－Tomarotto

This is an auto-campsite located on a hill overlooking the Pacific. You can swim, snorkel, fish and surf in the Pacific Ocean and canoe in the Shimanto River.

Campsite ①－Otsuki Ecology Campsite

This campground is located on the Otsuki coast and is famous for its coral reefs. There is camping equipment for rent. You can also take sea kayak and snorkeling lessons.

First Posts by Students of Tosa Joshi Girls’ Junior and Senior High School

   Students of Tosa Joshi Girls’ Junior and Senior High School, one of the two female junior and senior high schools in Kochi, showed interest in posting to TW Blog. They belong to ESS Club of the high school and learn English for speech contests and STEP tests every day.

   Here are their first posts for the blog.

Blood, Candlelight and Yakisoba - Ekin Festival in Akaoka

How often does one get the chance to enjoy art bathed in candlelight whilst eating yakisoba washed down with beer? Once a year in Kochi's Akaoka Town, that is!

Tosa Tea ④

How to drink Tosa-cha

   It takes more than simply pouring hot water on tea leaves to make delicious tea. Tea Advisors at Tosa-Cha Café teach customers how to brew Tosa tea for optimum scent and flavour. It is required to pass a certification course with the Nihoncha (Japanese tea) Instructor Association to gain the title of Tea Advisor. The Association also offers certification courses to become a tea instructor, a step above an advisor and something like the sommelier of tea. Unlike wine, however, Tosa-cha is not served with your meal. You will get simpler teas with your meal as the more sophisticated ones are to be savoured on its own or with dessert.

Tosa Tea ③

Tea in Kochi

   What do you think of when you hear “Japanese tea?” Matcha, or powdered green tea, will probably come to mind first, though regular green tea is more commonly consumed in Japan. Yet, with the availability of a wide range of good bottled teas and tea bags, fewer and fewer people—especially those of the younger generation—are making green tea in kyūsu, or Japanese teapots. In particular, Kochi’s green tea consumption is relatively low compared to other prefectures, and many Kochi natives are unaware of the award-winning teas being produced in their own prefecture.

Tosa Tea ②

    In April, we went to visit the Ikegawa Tea Cooperative in Niyodogawa Town to talk to them about the tea industry in Kochi.

Sprinklers are used to prevent frost build-up in winter,
and the lines over the plantations are used to run a black tarp
along that protects the new leaves before a harvest.

Tosa Tea ①

   Have you ever seen the steep rows of tea plantations on the side of the mountains of Tosa? The clumps of deep green leaves packed close together like caterpillars hugging the mountain? A lot of tea is produced in Kochi, and one of the main areas where tea plantations can be readily seen is Niyodogawa Town, some hour and a half up the mountain from Kochi City. Tosa Tea, or Tosa-cha, is one of the main produce of the town, and for this edition of the Tosa Wave, Steven Yuen and Lisa Yasutake went to investigate and report on the source of Tosa-cha in Niyodogawa and made a visit to a café in Kochi City that helps to promote the local tea.

Summer Retreat in Kochi ④－Tengu Kogen

Let’s get out of the scorching town and up to the highland resort in the sky!

Summer Retreat in Kochi ③－Ryuga Caves

Ryuga-dō (Ryuga Caves) is a natural work of art that has been created over 175 million years. When you visit the limestone cave, it takes you to an unknown world. You might feel as if another space has spread over the cave.  

Summer Retreat in Kochi ②－Nakatsu Gorge

It was a muggy day. Along with my family, we went to Yu-no-mori hot spring in Niyodogawa Town, about an hour’s ride from Ino Interchange. Its open-air bath made of maki timber from Niyodogawa was infused with the smell of wood.

Preparing for the Nankai Earthquake ①

Be aware of how safe the places you spend a lot of time in are, such as your home and your workplace.

Lifestyle Information① - Lifestyle Consultations for Foreigners Living in Kochi

KIA has set up regular lifestyle consultations in English and Chinese for foreigners living in Kochi.

My introduction to Kochi

Expat Column 15
BY Mark Johnson, Hidaka Village, ALT from USA

When I first got to Kochi in August of 2009 I was dazed in a state of constant wonderment. I had lived in Tokyo before, but this was something entirely different. The roads here were windy and narrow with no sidewalks, the mountains were visible over the building tops wherever you went, people spoke with a dialect I hadn't studied. It was like coming to Japan for the first time all over again, except this time I liked it!

Kinkon Tosanikki ②

A series of four-panel comics appears in the evening edition of the local Kochi Shimbun newspaper.

Summer Retreat in Kochi ①－ Take a soak in the river

   If you are one of those people who sit at home with the air conditioner on during your days off, I would really recommend you go on a special summer retreat. You can find a lot of clean rivers everywhere in Kochi such as the Kagami River running in Kochi City, Niyodo River through Ino and other towns, and Shimanto River through the western part of Kochi. Go out to these rivers to soak, rather than swim, like bathing in a bathtub.