The Golden Week starts on April 29^th in Japan. It is a succession of four national holidays within a week. With a schedule of this year, if you take paid time off and combine with weekends, you could make as long as 11 days holiday. The Golden Week is very popular time to travel. Popular foreign destinations for this season are Seoul (Korea), Honolulu (Hawaii), Guam, Bali (Indonesia), Taipei (Taiwan) and so on. Since Japan is an island country, you always have to fly or take boats to go aboard. In fact, the Japanese word for "foreign countries/abroad" is "kaigai" which is written with a combination of kanji character for "ocean (kai)" and "outside (gai)". I still feel a little strange when I can go to different countries on foot or by car.

Japanese translation

I read in the news that Japanese astronauts (Souichi Noguchi and Naoko Yamazeki) at the ISS (International Space Station) prepared and served sushi in space. Although some sushi rice was flying around because of zero gravity, they managed to make temakizushi (hand-rolled sushi) using tuna and prawns as toppings. Naoko Yamazaki was also wearing a pink kimono for the demonstration. Noguchi said that he would like to introduce Japanese culture as well as teaching science through his works. They shared the sushi with the other crew. I wonder what sushi tastes like in space?

Japanese translation

I like spring in Japan because of the beauty of cherry blossoms. Also, I like the excitement about the beginning of a new year that this season brings. Since the Japanese school year starts in April, you get to meet new friends, teachers, or you may start at a new school or a new job and so on. The entrance ceremony of a school is often held at the peak of the cherry blossom season. The coming year feels blessed by the appearance of cherry blossoms in full bloom. There are cherry blossom trees by the gates at my elementary school that welcome new students year after year.

Japanese translation

The Japanese school year starts in April. In this month the entrance ceremony is held everywhere for new students, kindergarten through to university. Japanese elementary school children traditionally wear a school bag called "randoseru". In the old days, the colors of the randoseru were generally black for boys and red for girls. Today there are many colors to choose from, up to 24 colors! Randoseru is kind of a symbol for children in grade one. It is cute to see them going to school with a randoseru that almost seems too big for their little bodies (they will use it for the next 6 years). I remember being so excited about my shinny red randoseru when I entered grade one. I used it every day until I graduated from elementary school.

Japanese translation