Friday, December 2, 2011

Kagawa Prefecture's 8th Henro Pilgrimage Experience for Foreign Residents/Visitors



On October 29, 2011, we started off Kagawa Prefecture's 8th Henro Pilgrimage Experience for Foreign Residents and Visitors with a visit to the beautiful Honen-ike Dam in Kanonji.  This is a wonderful piece of Taisho period (1912-1926) architecture.  

Monday, August 15, 2011

Sakaide Summer Festival 2011


This is the third year that we have been bringing international residents to participate in the annual Sakaide Summer Festival, and once again we enjoyed all of the spectacle, sweat, tears, muscle-ache, and excitement of hefting a two-ton taikodai (enormous, traditional Japanese festival float) in the air and maneuvering it throughout the Sakaide Station Square.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Kagawa Prefecture's 7th Henro Pilgrimage Experience for Foreign Residents/Visitors


On May 14, 2011, Kagawa Prefecture held its 7th Henro Pilgrimage Experience for Foreign Residents and Visitors in the western part of the prefecture.  We walked 15.1 km between Daikoji (Temple No. 67) and Kannonji/Jinnein (Temples Nos. 68 & 69, the only temples located together in one location).  The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the nature, history, and exercise from our day on the Henro Path.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Every Little Bit Counts - Volunteering at Second Hand





 On Saturday April 23rd, K-FUN took nine volunteers to Second Hand to help them prepare their all important quarterly newsletter.  The newsletter goes out to more than 4,500 organizations and individuals throughout Japan, keeping them updated on how they can help this Takamatsu-based non-profit organization continue to help victims of the Eastern Japan Earthquake and developing communities in Cambodia.

Be sure to read our previous article about what Second Hand is doing to help the people of northeastern Japan deal with recovering from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. 

Second Hand is active with lots of events in Takamatsu (including their "Retro Fair" from April 25 through May 7, 2011) and Marugame (including a booth at the Marugame Castle Festival on May 3 and May 4, 2011).   If you want to know how you can volunteer with Second Hand, then check out their homepage, send them and e-mail or give them a call at the following:

Homepage: http://2nd-hand.main.jp/
E-mail : jimukyoku2hand@yahoo.co.jp
TEL:  087-861-9928

Monday, April 11, 2011

Acting Locally, Making a Difference Right Now: Second Hand Helping Tohoku


Second Hand is an non-profit organization that provides sustainable development assistance to Cambodia via its Japanese second hand stores and fund-raising efforts, and its headquarters are located right here in Takamatsu, Kagawa.  They are currently putting a massive focus on helping the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami.  Below is a three-point outline of what they are doing and how you can help:

Second Hand Homepage:
http://2nd-hand.main.jp/index.php?English

Second Hand Tohoku Disaster Relief Blog:
http://nposecondhand.wordpress.com/

 





Contents of this Article:
1.  Donation Drives
2.  Cash for Work Project – How You Can Contribute
3.  Volunteers Needed!!!
4.  Outline of Relief Activities

Monday, April 4, 2011

Poems from the 4th Kagawa English Haiku Event!


We held the 4th Kagawa English Haiku Gathering at Ritsurin Garden’s Kikugetsutei Tea House on Sunday March 27, 2011.  Five local Japanese residents and 14 international residents from 9 different countries (including the U.K., Bangladesh, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, etc.) participated.

Under the instruction of Fumiko Hara-sensei, Vice-President of the Kagawa Branch of the Haiku Poet’s Association, everyone challenged themselves to write beautiful haiku poems.  This was the largest English Haiku Gathering yet to be held in Kagawa, and the atmosphere truly had an international feel to it.  Below you can find all of the haiku that was composed in the serene space of the Tea House – please enjoy!

平成23年3月27日、栗林公園の掬月亭で第4回英語の俳句会を行い、イギリス、バングラデシュ、ベトナム、ジンバブエなど9カ国から14名の県在住外国人と5名の県民が参加しました。

俳人協会香川県支部副支部長の原文子先生の指導をいただきながら、全員で英語による俳句づくりにチャレンジしました。これまでで参加者数最大で、とても国際的な顔ぶれでした。句会の素晴らしい作品を掲載しますので、是非ご覧ください。

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Must Read Article About Japanese Earthquake, Heroism, and Suffering - English translation in text



Original article, with photo, can be found here:
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/news/110329/lcl11032913240000-n1.htm

English Translation:

East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami:
Female Worker Gives Life Broadcasting Emergency Information Until the Last Second
- Mother of the young woman, who was making preparations for her upcoming wedding ceremony: “She gave everything for us.”-

March 29, 2011   13:19

She single-mindedly continued to broadcast evacuation information, telling people to evacuate to higher ground and escape the incoming tsunami wave that followed the massive quake that shook the town.  Miki Endo (24) was the civil servant in charge of Disaster Information Broadcasting in Miyagi Prefecture’s Minami Sanriku, one of the towns devastated by the tsunami that followed the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.  Her whereabouts are still unknown.  “She always gave her all, in whatever she was doing.  But to give her life like this...,” her mother’s voice trembles with sorrow and regret.  Ms. Endo had been making preparations for her wedding ceremony this autumn.