School Assemblies

I like Pride Day. We all gather in the gym, share school news and sit respectfully. In general, I think LPES does a good job quieting down quickly and sitting while keeping hands to ourselves. The Japanese have school assemblies too. They all gather in the gym but the way they sit and behave is a bit different. Each student has an assigned seat in neat rows. This is the high school assembly. This is the middle school assembly. Check out this short video of the entire elementary school bowing then sitting. You are looking at 730 students, almost twice the size of LPES. The teacher says one word and the kids are silent and still. No whispering. They sit on their knees with their hands on their laps. No quiet goofing around.
How do they learn this? The teaching begins very early. I visited a kindergarten. This is what their assembly looked like. When a child was wandering a teacher brought him back. When a child wasn't sitting in a straight line the teacher picked her up and moved her. At the elementary school, we were treated to a musical performance featuring the entire sixth grade. Since there was no formal music teacher at this school a classroom teacher was asked to do the job. .When they were on stage I surveyed the quiet crowd and saw what the kids on stage left behind - shoes and recorder cases. I enjoyed the respectful assembly groups in Japan. To earn KenYen read this artice about the most common way to sit in Japan. If you look at the photos you'll see most kids are sitting this way.

Milk Cartons

The Japanese are very into recycling. Mr. Reed and student counsel would be proud! They may want to consider the following.

I ate lunch my new friend Yumi and her fifth grade class. When I went to throw my empty milk carton in the trash, Yumi started to chirp at me in Japanese. Clearly I was doing something wrong and she gave me a lesson on recycling.

First we rinsed out the milk carton.


Then we unfolded it. She pointed to this sign showing me what to do. We didn't do the scissor part. We just ripped it.
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We stacked them neatly on the bin - well except for me. I wanted to show you what a nice job I did unfolding the cart. Don't worry I put it back in the bin when I was done taking this picture. Sloppiness doesn't go over so well in Japan.


Later in the school lobby I found this waiting to be pick up.


There are many ways Japanese schools reduce waste. I hope we can use some of their ideas.

To earn KenYen earn more about school life in Japan. In what ways is school different than LPES?

We Will Never be Hungry

You and I are a good team. When we take trips together I know I can count on you to try new things. You and I know that when we try something new, even if it is strange or unusual, we get a better understanding of the way life is in different places. I sure am glad you and I are hanging out together…. Are you hungry? My stomach is growling too. Let’s get some breakfast. Although we could have cereal, eggs or sausage, we’ll have the Japanese breakfast. We have a sense of adventure. You, my friend, are brave. Natto, a popular Japanese breakfast food, is fermented soybeans. I agree. It is slimy and sticky and smelly. Oh, thanks. I’ll take a small bite. Hummm…. Interesting. It’s lunch time. Let’s look at the plastic food in the windows. Nothing catches my fancy but I’m up for sushi. Does that sound ok to you? Good. Don’t forget to wash your hands on the wet towel then neatly fold it in front of you. No napkins here. At this restaurant, just pick up the dish with the food that interests you. We’ll pay by the plate when we are finished.

You took a plate of squid. If I weren’t allergic I’d choose that too.

May I prepare some green tea for you? First I’ll put in the green tea powder.

Now I’ll add the hot water. Drink your green tea plain. No sugar. No milk.

I’d like a sweet treat. Let’s head to that tea house.I have no clue what this is. You and I are always game for new things so I’m trying it.

Your order is very cute. Thanks for offering me one. Buddha’s head is very yummy and filled with a sweet red bean paste.

At this restaurant we take off our shoes at the door and sit at a low table on tatami mats.

There is not a word of English on the menu. Hummmm…....you have a good idea! Let’s point at the skewered sticks called yakitori in the case and hope for the best.

Our pork and chicken yakitori came with some side dishe -soft tofu, prawns (you can have that. I'm allergic.)and the smallest cucumber - ever- with squid.


Will you take a picture of all of us and our sweet waitress? I hope she had as much fun as we did!


I’m full. I need to go to bed. Good night.

I'm on a Dragon Hunt

I’ve been on a dragon hunt. If you are one of the kiddos who always asks Mrs. Waldmann if "Dragonology" is in the library be sure to keep reading! Dragons are considered mythical creatures in Japanese culture. I’ve been finding them at many temples and shrines in Japan. I've started a collection. Here are a few in my collection.




When we found ourselves at the Sensoji Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo, there was a big crowd and paper lanterns lining the streets. We asked what was going on.


Holy guacamole! What great luck! It was the Golden Dragon Festival celebrating the shrine’s anniversary! This was a big deal. This was one of the few times the interior of the temple was open to the public. The streets were lined with women selling these yellow flowers to put on the altar.


In my opinion though, what was going on outside the temple was much more interesting.

First we saw the kiddos from the shrine preschool.

Then they wheeled out this cart with beautiful ladies handing out candy. Some of the women played flutes and some a guitar-like instrument.


But look - in the distance....


It's a dragon... get out of the way!


It's the Golden Dragon.

What a perfect addition to my collection.

I appreciate your consideration. Thank you for your vote.

Vending machines are very popular in Japan. It is reported that there is one vending machine for every 23 people. You can do many things using vending machines.
You can get some ice cream.

You can recharge a battery.

It is how you buy a subway ticket.

Is it raining? Get an umbrella.

However, the most common vending machine sells drinks. I walked past this vending machine today.

I am unsure which is the best choice. All three drinks look interesting – and I have no clue what they are!!!!

Choice A - maybe a green tea?

Choice B - it sure looks cold and "special"!

Choice C - don't let the name fool you. It might be really good.


So - friends, students, colleagues and family this is where you come in. Please decide for me by voting in the poll to the right. I will close the voting in a few days, walk to machine, insert the yen and drink whichever you choose. I appreciate your consideration and thank you for your vote.

Pop Quiz

The trip coordinator, and new friend, Kumiko-san gave me some stamps. These are not the kind of stamps Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Harder and Mrs. Roscoe like - these are postage stamps! Kumiko-san tore these off letters mailed to her. In addition to being colorful and beautiful, they contain images of things important to Japanese culture. Notice that each one has the word Nippon. This is Japanese for Japan and is pronounced “Nee-hon”

I have several questions for you about these stamps. You will need to work as a family team to figure out the answers. One KenYen for each correct answer. Yup, you can earn 6 KenYen with this post.

Just to set the mood, imagine me singing the Jeopardy! theme in Japanese. (It sounds exactly like the Jeopardy! theme in English.)

Ready? Set? GO!

Stamp number "ichi"

This stamp shows a pagoda behind cherry tree blossoms. The Japanese government gave 3,000 cherry trees to the U.S. as a gift in 1912. Where are they planted?

Stamp number "ni"

In the heart of Tokyo is the Tokyo tower. It was built in 1953 and is copies after the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Although it is used as a broadcasting relay tower it has an observation deck so see a great view of the city. Which is taller, the Eiffel or Tokyo tower and by how much.

Stamp number "san"

On the left is a red torii, an entry gate to a temple, shrine or sacred place. On the right are several bright green leaves that are turning yellow, orange and red. It is unlikely you will find these trees growing Monument because they much prefer moist soil. What sort of tree is it?

Stamp number "shi"

If you’ve been earning KenYen this one is easy. What is the name of this bridge and why is it famous?

Stamp number "yon"

This is the Japanese bullet train. It’s the fastest train in the world. How fast does it go?

Stamp number "go"

Look in the background first. There is Mount Fuji. If you had to guess, what type of apples are in the foreground?

Just in time. The Jeopardy! theme ended. Nicely done.

The Quest for a Kennedy Kimono

Yukiko and Nick Niishi-san and Noriko and Joe Hirayama-san used to live in Delaware, my home state. When Miss G was born they sent a small kimono. She loved it and wore it for three Halloweens. In this picture Miss G is three. The word kimono means 'clothing’ and generally it refers to traditional Japanese clothes. Japanese wear clothes like we do every day. They save kimonos for special occasions. This was our waitress. This woman wore a kimono to show us a “kabuki” dance. There are no pockets in a kimono. Do you see how she held her fan? Although different, men wear kimono too. This man explained “kyogen”, traditional Japanese theater. Kids wear kimonos. I saw these little ones at a shrine. They were there for a special ceremony for three and five year olds. Do you notice the little girl is holding her fan the same way? Her sleeves are very long. Long sleeves means "not married". Shorter sleeves means "married." Sumo wrestlers wear them. These big guys were on their way to a national wrestling match. They were on our plane flying from Tokyo to Saga. And Kennedys wear them too! This is me! Yukiko Nishii-san is a professional kimono wrapper and a kimono wrapping teacher. I asked her and Noriko Hirayama-san to help me find a kimono. I want to bring one back to the U.S. They took me to this store.

Arrigato Nick-san for taking pictures. The ladies and I were waaaaaayyyyyy too busy talking to think about taking pictures! I had lots of choices but I think I found two perfect Kennedy kimonos. What do you think? Later in the afternoon we went to Nishii-san’s house for a kimono wrapping lesson. First, I put on my kimono left side over right. Next, I had to adjust the fabric so it was the correct length and not dragging all over the floor. The final step was putting on the obi, a wide fabric belt. This was the hardest part. No zippers. No snaps. No buttons or clips. Tying an obi is all about folding. Thank goodness Yukiko-san gave me a book to take home with me. Nishii-san wore this beautiful formal style kimono to her son's wedding. Would you like to watch her wrap it? Me too! It starts with white kimono under dressing. Now she puts on the outer kimono.
Then she folds and wraps around the obi.
She completes the obi paying attention to details.
Finishing touches.

Yukiko and Nick Niishi-san and Noriko Hirayama-san, thank you for being such good friends and sharing a wonderful day!

To earn KenYen design your own kimono!