kaiWA language exchange

会WA for March 2010: Thu 11th and 25th

The fortnightly Japanese-English conversation exchange 会WA (kaiWA) is back for the new decade.

The event is hosted and organised by the JET Program Alumni Association of WA, and is a great chance to practise your English or Japanese, or to learn more about going to teach English in Japan on the JET program.

JETAAWA asks for a gold coin donation for participation (and, as JETAAWA is non-profit, that money all goes back into your body in food form during the evening).

会WA is held at 43 Below (formerly known as the Bar on Barracks) on the corner of Hay and Barrack Sts in Perth city every second Thursday.

It starts from 5:30 pm and will run until everyone gets sick of each other (usually about 8:30/9), so don’t worry if you can’t be there spot on the start time.

Catastrophe, Ritual, and Renewal in Japan, 1923-1957

On Tuesday, December 15 from 10am to 12:45pm, the Hyogo Cultural Centre is hosting a Murdoch University seminar entitled Catastrophe, Ritual, and Renewal in Japan, 1923-1957. It’s free, and those who would like to pre-order an obento to have for lunch following the seminar, are welcome to do so for just $10.

Please RSVP to reserve your seat by Thursday, December 10 by calling 9385 9002 or email hyogo@iinet.net.au.

The flyer is available here.

KaiWA language exchange

Next 会WA: Thu 29 January 2009

The fortnightly Japanese-English conversation exchange 会WA (kaiWA) is back for 09.

The event is hosted and organised by the JET Program Alumni Association of WA, and is a great chance to practise your English or Japanese, or to learn more about going to teach English in Japan on the JET program.

For those who need a refresher, see our article on the inaugural event.

JETAAWA asks for a gold coin donation for participation (and, as JETAAWA is non-profit, that money all goes back into your body in food form during the evening).

会WA is held at 43 Below (formerly known as the Bar on Barracks) on the corner of Hay and Barrack Sts in Perth city every second Thursday – the next edition is 29 January 2009, and thereafter 12 Feb, 26 Feb etc etc.

It starts from 5:30 pm and will run until everyone gets sick of each other (usually about 8:30/9), so don’t worry if you can’t be there spot on the start time.

Japanese movie: Antenna

Tonight (Fri Jan 9 2009) on SBS, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Antenna is screening from 10:55 pm. It’s based on a novel by Randy Taguchi.

Yuichiro, a postgraduate student of philosophy, had a little sister called Marie who disappeared 15 years ago. His uncle killed himself after Marie’s disappearance, and his father also died some years later.

News of a kidnapped girl found after nine years stirs up the remaining members of Yuichiro’s family. When he returns to his family home to support his mother and brother, he discovers how his mother has coped with the loss of her daughter. Yuichiro, on the other hand, resorts to inflicting physical pain on himself. When he meets Naomi, a dominatrix, he continues his study on sadomasochistic experience as a means of coping with personal pain.

This film was screened at the 2003 Venice Film Festival and Ryo Kase received Best Actor at the Japanese Professional Movie Awards.

Not one to show the kids, but sounds like it might be worth a look! Subtitled in English.

Death and Rebirth

No, not us.
But it is nice to be back – happy new year to everybody!

Tonight, Monday 5 Jan 09, from 1am (i.e. Tuesday morning), our friends at SBS are showing the cult Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion”: Death and Rebirth.

Evangelion: Death, the first part of the film, is a digest of clips from the first 24 episodes of the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion) (1995). It covers the fight against the invading giant robots known as Angels. The only defence against them is the NERV organisation’s EVAs, giant biomechanical robots piloted by humans.

Evangelion: Rebirth reveals why humanity and the Angels cannot co-exist: the Angels were not aliens but failed attempts by the organisation SEELE (German for “soul”) to move humanity onto a higher plane of evolution by subsuming all individual souls into one giant soul – a plan known as the Human Instrumentality Project.

It’s dubbed into English.

会WA Japanese-English exchange

Next 会WA: Thu 11 December 2008

The fortnightly Japanese-English conversation exchange 会WA (kaiWA) is still going strong. This week will be the last week before we take holidays over xmas / NY!! You can be sure we will be back bigger and better in 09.

The event is hosted and organised by the JET Program Alumni Association of WA, and is a great chance to practise your English or Japanese, or to learn more about going to teach English in Japan on the JET program.

For those who need a refresher, see our article on the inaugural event.

JETAAWA asks for a gold coin donation for participation (and, as JETAAWA is non-profit, that money all goes back into your body in food form during the evening).

会WA is held at 43 Below (formerly known as the Bar on Barracks) on the corner of Hay and Barrack Sts in Perth city every second Thursday – the next edition is 11 December 2008, and thereafter it will be sometime in Jan 09.

It starts from 5:30 pm and will run until everyone gets sick of each other (usually about 8:30/9), so don’t worry if you can’t be there spot on the start time.

Tales of an Osaka Love Thief

On Thursday 27 November 2008 (early Friday morning) from 12:55 am, SBS is rescreening Tales of an Osaka Love Thief, a very interesting inside look at host bars in Japan, the people who work there, and their clients. It’s a side of Japan that most people have not had full-on contact with, and the ultimate ambiguity of this great doco is fitting. Subtitles in English.

Stylish Café Rakkyo is a host club in Minami, Osaka. Its owner Issei is reputedly the best-earning host in the area. He has many clients willing to pay sometimes thousands of dollars in one visit. The clients seek to be entertained and even to fall in love. But sometimes the boys’ attachments to particular clients gets in the way of their earnings. The strain of their work takes its emotional toll and the top hosts confess they cannot fall in love even if they want to.

kaiWA conversation

Next 会WA: Thu 16 October 2008

The fortnightly Japanese-English conversation exchange 会WA (kaiWA) has been hugely popular of late, with over 40 people showing up some weeks!

The event is hosted and organised by the JET Program Alumni Association of WA, and is a great chance to practise your English or Japanese, or to learn more about going to teach English in Japan on the JET program.

For those who need a refresher, see our article on the inaugural event.

JETAAWA asks for a gold coin donation for participation (and, as JETAAWA is non-profit, that money all goes back into your body in food form during the evening).

会WA is held at 43 Below (formerly known as the Bar on Barracks) on the corner of Hay and Barrack Sts in Perth city every second Thursday – the next edition is 16 October 2008, and thereafter it will be 30 Oct, 13 Nov… and so on.

It starts from 5:30 pm and will run until everyone gets sick of each other (usually about 8:30/9), so don’t worry if you can’t be there spot on the start time.

The Outdoor Room: Japanese garden

For anybody who watches Channel 7’s The Outdoor Room from 6:30pm on Sundays, you’ll know they apparently plan their backyard renovations by sending Jamie Durie to overseas countries and having him check out local art and architecture.

The next episode (which, according to the website, is Sunday October 12, rather than this Sunday, October 5) features a Japanese garden makeover. Check it out and get some ideas for your own garden. All I want is a nice roten-buro!

There will apparently be a recipe for tuna tataki with soba noodles and wasabi dressing too (as if you needed it).

Tea Ceremony Demonstration & Course

Free demonstration

On Tuesday, September 23 from 10:30am to 12:30pm, a Japanese Tea Ceremony (Sado) demonstration by Certified Sado Instructor of the Omotesenke School, Ms Soka Yoshiko Okamoto (Perth Hoseikai), will take place at the classroom at the Consulate-General of Japan in Perth. Ms Okamoto will introduce the history of Japanese Tea Ceremony, as well as some basic information about the traditional form of culture in easy to understand terms.

A simplified version of Japanese Tea Ceremony that enables anyone to enjoy tea in their own home using basic tea equipment will also be demonstrated. Admission is free and advance bookings are not required, so please invite your friends and come along to the demonstration.

Introductory course

Ms Okamoto will also conduct a Japanese Tea Ceremony Introductory Course at the Consulate-General of Japan in Perth (sponsored by the Australia-Japan Society WA), featuring a simplified version of Tea Ceremony. Due to tea equipment restraints, lessons are only able to accommodate four participants. If a large number of applications are received, four applicants will be drawn at random.

The lessons will take place on October 21, 28, November 4, 11 and 18 (five lessons in total, each taking place from 10:30am to 12:30pm). A course fee of $115 applies to each participant. Upon notification, each participant will be required to forward their payment by cheque to the Australia-Japan Society WA before the first lesson.

If you have any enquiries as to the demonstration, please call the Consulate General of Japan in Perth (9480 1800). Questions as to the sado course should be to Emmanuel from AJSWA (9384 8048).