In Hachioji City, you can try dishes from cuisines around the world. The other day, I had dal bhat at the Nepalese restaurant Naoya, a five-minute walk from school next to Hachioji Central Library. “Daal” means bean soup and “bhaat” means rice, so it’s like a Japanese set meal. Although Nepal is famous for curry, the dal bhat was not spicy at all and had a gentle flavor 😊 I was happy to finally try this dish, which a student introduced to me a few years ago ✨ For dessert, I tried ras malai (cottage cheese dumplings soaked in honey) for the first time and was surprised by how sweet it was! In Hachioji City, you can eat dishes from all over the world. The other day, I ate dal bhat at the Nepalese restaurant Naoya, located a five-minute walk from school alongside Hachioji Central Library. Daal means bean soup and bhaat means rice, similar to a set meal in Japan. Nepal is known for its curries, but the dal bhat was not spicy at all and had a mild taste 😊 I was glad to finally eat this dish that a student introduced to me several years ago ✨ For dessert, I tried ras malai (cottage cheese dumplings dipped in syrup) for the first time and was surprised at how sweet it was (laughs).

Japan has a deep rooted cultural heritage and the ethnicities of this country is versatile and beautiful. When my foreigner friends wore those vibrant and gorgeous kimonos they got so much appreciation from the people around them that was overwhelming. And yes it was also my first hand experience as a photographer too.. On that day we enjoyed a lot.

Cherry blossom camp 🌸 in a secret place Circus TC× cherry blossoms are a great match 🌿⛺️ When it comes to the outdoors in Japan, it's cherry blossoms, isn't it? ☺️ I want to go there again next year. ✨

Camping in the great outdoors was 🏕️ a quiet and calming time

[English/Japanese] Hachioji has a market called the Hachioji General Wholesale Center. You can find rare fish and other items there. A shop specializing in halal foodstuffs is also available, making shopping convenient for international students. The school plans to visit this market as a field trip. Hachioji City has a market called the Hachioji Sogo Oroshiuri Center. Here, rare fish and similar items are sold. There is also a specialty store for halal ingredients, which is convenient for international students to shop at. The school plans to visit as an educational excursion.

It is a local festival that heralds the arrival of summer. On this day, all the citizens stand at the front and look forward to the arrival of the mikoshi.

Had a nice relaxing golden week and to finish it off I saw some carp streamers billowing in the wind at some park along the river near Kita-senju. Had some really nice weather the past couple days too, which was great. Hope everyone had a nice holiday/vacation!

[English/Japanese] May 5th is Children's Day. On Children's Day, people decorate the outside with fish called koinobori, or carp streamers. Koinobori are decorations that express wishes for children’s growth and success in life. The Asakawa River in Nishi-Hachioji is decorated with many koinobori carp streamers. The carp streamers flowing over the river are beautiful and very moving. It takes about 25 minutes to walk from the school, which is a bit far, but be sure to go and see them. May 5th is Children's Day. On this day, people display koinobori, fish-shaped carp decorations, outside. Koinobori are meant to wish for children’s growth and advancement in life. At the Asakawa River in Nishi-Hachioji, an event displays many koinobori. The stream of carp flying above the river is beautiful and very moving. It takes about 25 minutes on foot from the school; it’s a little far, but please go and see them.

At "Kokaigawa Fureai Park" in Ibaraki Kenshimotsuma City, Mt. Tsukuba, where as many as 2 million charley poppies bloom from mid to late May, and the poppy field are superb, and the Kokai River is in the background, so morning fog is easy to appear.

A 300-year-old ginkgo tree at Kotokuji Temple in Akiruno City, Tokyo

Goshawks in Koganei Park. It is less than 20 minutes from the nearest station of the JR Chuo Line to Shinjuku, and although there are many users, there is a rich nature.

[English/Japanese] The Takao Komakino Garden is a 15-minute walk from Takao Station, the station next to Nishi-Hachioji Station where the school is located. Visitors can enjoy traditional Japanese gardens such as a karesansui dry landscape garden and ponds with Nishikigoi (Nishikigoi carp). The school plans to visit the garden in early summer as a field trip. This is Takao Komakino Garden, a 15-minute walk from Takao Station, the station adjacent to Nishi-Hachioji Station where the school is located. You can enjoy traditional Japanese gardens, including a karesansui dry landscape and ponds home to Nishikigoi carp. The school intends to visit as an early-summer field trip.

Went to Rikugien Gardens over the weekend! The weather was really nice and the flowers were beautiful. I was hoping to see the yukitsuri, but unfortunately they'd already been taken down. We bought some bikes recently so we decided to ride them to the park. It's been really nice to get a bit of a leg workout in instead of riding trains all the time. It was only about 25-30 minutes too and we were able to avoid all of the packed trains and get some fresh air. I was pretty happy that we got to see the popular view from the top of the hill 3rd photo. I've seen many photos of it before and finally was able to see it for myself. I never knew that the park had turtles in the pond either, so that was pretty cool to see. There were a bunch swimming all over the pond, sitting on rocks, etc. We managed to spot a crane as well, but it was in a spot were we couldn't really take a good photo of it so I decided to pass and just admire it without a photo. We stopped for a short break at one of the small cafes inside the park and got a quick snack. I'm not a fan of manju, but my girlfriend likes them so she got a coffee and one sakura manju. She seemed to like it, but decided to take off the flower from the top as she didn't want to eat the petals. The melon soda float was nice too. Definitely a nice place to visit and hoping to visit again in the fall to see the leaves after they've changed color.

Photographing the light trail of the Romance car speeding through the cherry blossom trees at Yamakita Station

It is a nemophila in the land of Kurihama flowers in Kanagawa Prefecture. The night dew was shining in the morning sun.

Ashikaga Flower Park "Light Red Bridge" wisteria flowers illuminated at night Japan. Tochigi. Ashikaga City.

It is a place of relaxation for citizens, a park where the atmosphere of satoyama remains. At this time of year, when the Astragalus field is in full bloom, many bees fly around. It is a nostalgic scenery of Japan that I want to keep forever.

It is a place of relaxation for citizens, a park where the atmosphere of satoyama remains. At this time of year, when the Astragalus field is in full bloom, many bees fly around. It is a nostalgic scenery of Japan that I want to keep forever.

Ashikaga Flower Park "Daichofuji" illuminated at night Japan. Tochigi. Ashikaga City. 2022.04.20

Ashikaga Flower Park "Pale red shelf" illuminated at night Japan. Tochigi. Ashikaga City. 2022.04.20

Gundam Factory in Yokohama This photo was taken with the night view of Yokohama in the background.

Nemophila field at Hitachinaka Seaside Park in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture Nemophila spreads all over the small hill, and it is a very Instagrammable spot. Now there are nemophila fields all over the country, but this is the pioneer and the largest area.

Spring in Tokyo is a symbol of Japan I unintentionally released the shutter, the spring-colored city of Shibuya The pink nature of the city is still beautiful to look at. Location: Sakurazaka, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

This photo was taken in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. The Yae cherry blossoms next to the teahouse stood out and were beautiful.

Found a nice izakaya in Kanda today. The name is Kakuuchi Inagaki 角打 いながき. I think that's the reading for the kanji at least... The place had a really nice atmosphere and some really good food at very reasonable prices. I ordered the Saba no Shioyaki さばの塩焼き, salt grilled mackerel and it was really tasty and only cost 750 yen as well. Definitely a nice place to drop by for some after work drinks with a friend or coworker or just for lunch like I did. It seems like they serve nikomi and oden later at night as well, so if you like that I definitely recommend it.

[Englsh／日本語] Hachioji, where our school is located, is a city with a deep history. Here you can experience a variety of traditional cultures. Two students are holding kuruma ningyo (carriage dolls). School events offer experiences that let students engage with Hachioji’s culture as well as Japan’s. Hachioji City, where our school is located, is a historic town. Here you can experience many traditional cultures. The two students are holding “Kuruma Dolls.” School events provide opportunities to experience not only Japanese culture but also the culture of Hachioji.

Was nice weather over the weekend so I did a little exploring. Found this nice little temple near the Sumida River called Hozoin Temple 寳蔵院 in Arakawa. I wasn't sure where exactly I was allowed to go inside the temple, and I didn't have much time anyways, so I just took a peak through the gates and snapped a photo. It was a really quaint place and apparently it has some landscape paintings and itabi tablets. From what I saw, it looked like there was a garden across the ground. Maybe a rock garden or something of the sort, I wasn't able to get a good look at it though. The area around the temple was the hunting grounds of the Tokugawa Shogunate as well it seems. Pretty amazing to imagine there was enough greenery in the area to hunt in the past. Also managed to stop by a nice udon/soba restaurant for lunch. It was called Sunaba 砂場 I believe. I ordered the kamo duck nanban udon and it tasted great. Haven't had duck in a while, but it's always a treat. The lady taking orders was really nice as well. Overall a great place!

Akebonoyama Agricultural Park in Chiba Prefecture.

【English／日本語】 These are cherry blossoms at Shinshoin, a temple in Nishi-Hachioji. This temple was founded by the daughter of the famous warlord Shingen Takeda. Unlike ordinary temples, it features feminine decorations and a very glamorous atmosphere. Our school visits once a year. Before the visit, students study in class the tragic love story for which this temple was built. There are many historical buildings near the school. Nishi-Hachioji can be said to offer an excellent environment for learning Japanese. These are the cherry blossoms at Shinshoin, a temple in Nishi-Hachioji. This temple was founded by the daughter of the famous warlord Shingen Takeda. Unlike ordinary temples, it has decorations that feel feminine and is very ornate. Our school visits once a year. Before the visit, students learn in class about the tragic love story that led to the temple's founding. There are many historical buildings near the school. Nishi-Hachioji can be said to be a very good environment for studying Japanese.

Decided to go back to Gyoda again this weekend. We had such a good time last time we went we decided we wanted to check out the cherry blossoms this spring. Managed to visit some really nice places. We originally wanted to use the rental bicycles that they have in front of the station but we got there past noon and all of them were taken unfortunately. Fortunately for us, it ended up getting a bit colder later on so it actually worked out. We got lucky as there was a really convenient sightseeing bus that rolled through the station to all of the major places in the city every 45 minutes or so. We checked out the cherry blossoms at Gyoda Castle and they had the Hanachozu 花手水, pots of flowers floating in water. We were able to see a few of these throughout the city which was nice. They also had traditional umbrellas on display in a few areas around the castle which was really pretty. After Gyoda Castle we visited the Sakitama Burial Mounds which had some really beautiful views of the cherry blossoms. There was also a flock of herons flying around the area but I wasn't able to get a very good photo of any of them. Luckily we got some great photos of the cherry blossoms and the main mound and had a really enjoyable time. We also stopped by Suijo Park and there were some food stalls in the area, but we got there when everything was just about closed so we only got to see a few of the vendors. We managed to get a really tasty lemonade and a latte though. Both tasted really good. Surprisingly there were a lot of cosplayers at the park. We probably saw like 20-30 people cosplaying using the bridges and cherry blossoms in the area. On the way back to the station we managed saw this river during the bus ride and so we backtracked a little bit after getting to the station about 5 minutes walking and got to enjoy some really phenomenal views of the cherry blossoms along the river. There were hardly any people there as well, surprisingly. Overall it was a really awesome time!