Author Archives: samonsado

Today was the graduation ceremony for the Middle School 3rd years. I was supposed to work at my Elementary School, but they understood that I was expected to attend so they were kind enough to give me the day off. On Friday, the teachers and students spent the morning preparing the gym for the ceremony.Continue reading “Graduation Day”

On Saturday, I tried my hand at snow shoeing. Many of the mountain roads are buried under a few feet of snow and are closed for the season. Some of the other teachers and I rented snow shoes and hiked our way up one of these roads in Ryotsu. Let me tell you, snow shoeingContinue reading “More Winter Sports and World Heritage News”

Here’s a quick lesson on Sado geography: it’s basically a microcosm of Japan. It’s a volcanic island with plains in the middle where the bulk of the population live. The Osado (Big Sado) and Kosado (Little Sado) mountains straddle the island and run across the length of the north and south portions. The mountains becomeContinue reading “Skiing”

On Sunday, I and some other English teachers were invited to come see a tea ceremony put on by the local cultural society here on Sado. I had heard of the tea ceremony, or sadō (long o, so phonetically distinct from the island I call home), but have never actually seen it. Well, I guessContinue reading “Tea Ceremony”

Monday was the holiday known as Seijin no Hi here in Japan, usually translated as Coming of Age Day. This is an important holiday in Japan. It is the day when one is traditionally considered to be an adult. Anyone who turned 20 recently or will be turning 20 soon dresses in nice clothing andContinue reading “Coming of Age Day”

My trip to Tokyo coincided with the annual football championship known as the Rice Bowl. Aside from the Canadian Football League’s championship Grey Cup, the Super Bowl of Canada (which I have also been to), this is probably the biggest American football game outside of the USA. My love of obscure sporting events got theContinue reading “Rice Bowl!”

This is my third time visiting Tokyo and it has also been the most exhausting. Perhaps it’s because I’m traveling by myself this time but the scale of the city feels overwhelming. Tokyo is just massive. Tokyo is kind of like a “city of cities.” It’s broken down into what is translated as “wards”. TheseContinue reading “New Years in Tokyo”

Snow is an annual occurrence on Sado. It starts in the mountains and then before long the interior plains are covered. This Christmas weekend we were powdered with a snow storm. Supposedly this is a little bit earlier than usual, as most snow falls in January and February, meaning this may be just a tasteContinue reading “White Christmas”

Before I got to Sado, the local Board of Education asked me if I was going to pack a lunch or get a school lunch everyday. I decided to go with the school lunch because it was less to think about and seemed like a good way to interact more with the students and teachers.Continue reading “School Lunches”

On my drive home on the highway I frequently passed by a sign pointing to “The Tomb of the Christian”. I was curious what it could be. It uses the more archaic spelling in Japanese of “Kirishitan” (キリシタン) derived from Portuguese “Cristão”. This is the word used to refer to early Japanese adherents of ChristianityContinue reading “The Tomb of the Christian”