June 2 - 6
Tokyo Conference for Renewing JETs

For all JETs who renewed their contract for a second year, the Japanese government invited us to a conference for more training, some motivation, and a chance to see Tokyo some more. Half of the renewing JETs were sent to Kobe the previous week, and the rest of us were sent to Tokyo this week.

There are a lot of pictures for the conference and my sight-seeing afterwards, so I put the pictures on the pictures page. Go here to see them. It's worth a look! :D

June 7
Asahikawa Grand Music Parade Festival

This year marks the 71st Anniversary of the Asahikawa Grand Music Parade Festival, which features marching bands, baton twirlers and color guards of every age.
The quality of the music was pretty impressive, and I especially enjoyed the bands that hand a color guard dance show to go with their music.
Twirlin' Away	Ryoun High School had an impressive show
They all wore long, silky robes...	...and did a routine with these noisemakers
Ryoun	Ryoun
Asahikawa Commercial High was soon after (Asahikawa Shogyo Koko)	It is one of my favorite schools to visit.
Dancing...	...followed by the band
Kyoukusho is a nickname for that school	Marukatsu Department Store even had a band
Japanese Self Defense Force Band

June 23 - 25
Hokkaido Educational Institute

The Douken, or the Hokkaido Educational Institute, is located in Ebetsu, just outside of Sapporo. District Board of Education ALTs are sometimes invited to attend and take part in conferences and training sessions held by the Douken. I attended and helped present in a Junior High School English teaching seminar.

There is a dormitory built into the educational institute, so I ended up staying there. I had a lot of free time in the evening, which was OK, since it let me finish my copy of Harry Potter 5! :D

June 28

The Kamikawa Shrine held a Noh play this evening at an outdoor theater. Noh is a very old, traditional style of Japanese theater. You can think of it as a "14th century musical."
The Kamikawa Shrine is a very beautiful shrine built on the top of a hill at Kaguraoka park. There were a ton of people there to see it. The tickets to the show were around $70 (US), but they had invited foreign residents and visitors to attend for free. The play itself was a little long and boring, but that's only because I couldn't understand what they were saying. However, aside from that the costumes and music were beautiful and it was an overall interesting experience.
The torii entrance to the shrine, which winds up the hill	Kamikawa Jinja (Kamikawa Shrine)
One member of the group	telling a story with a spear
It was quite impressive to watch	I'm not sure what this instrument is called
You can't see it, but he's beating a drum	The outdoor theater
Entering from stage right	One of the fires
This person was the ghost of a warrior	I apologize for the bluriness
The ghost leaving	Jonathon at The Den afterwards