On a sunny Saturday morning, our immersion Japanese seminar was a hands-on soba (buckwheat) noodle-making class. A soba-making demonstration by Shigeta Sensei who is a professional soba chef was followed by us trying our hand at making our very own soba. Soba is traditional Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour or wheat flour. They are served hot or cold with the most basic soba dish (zaru soba) consisting of cold soba noodles dipped in soya (tsuyu) sauce.

We were taught that soba noodles are best eaten in the ‘San-Tate’ way: ‘San’ meaning ‘three’ and ‘Tate’ a suffix representing the condition of ‘just done’. The three parts of ‘San Tate’ is ‘Hiki-Tate’ (using freshly ground flour), ‘Uchi-Tate’ (freshly kneaded and cut noodles) and finally ‘Yude-Tate’ (just boiled and ready to serve noodles).

Learning under the guidance of Shigeta Sensei	Christine (Hawaii) Mirium (England) and Zufendy(Indonesia) learning the rolling technique

Step One: Making the dough
We started by mixing wheat flour (komugi-ko) or buckwheat flour (soba-ko) with water to make the dough. Our chef explained that this is regarded as the most important part in of making soba. The correct portion of water to flour is required. Next, we knead the dough with our palms until there is no air remaining.

Step Two: Rolling the dough
Our next step was to roll the dough using a wooden rolling pin. Our instructor showed us the correct way of holding the pin and placing pressure when rolling to ensure evenly rolling the dough. Not as easy as it looks!

Step 3: Cutting the dough
After folding the dough in quarters, the final art of cutting the noodles was required. To cut a 2mm width consistently certainly required skill and after close guidance from our chef, our handmade soba noodles looked ready for boiling!
Now we are ready to make our very own soba at home, thanks to this practical and easy-to-follow soba-making class!

Mirium’s noodles cut and ready	Jerry (US) cutting the dough	Mirium judging the width for the thin noodles

Our weekend excursion was to Asakusa, home to Tokyo’s most impressive Senso-ji Temple, Five-story Pagoda, and Nakamise Dori. This excursion was eagerly anticipated by many of us who had also looked forward to venturing into old downtown Tokyo - where one can experience the ‘Old Edo’, its narrow back streets, old buildings and shops selling traditional Japanese items and food.

At the start of the Senso-ji Temple tour, we were given a fascinating history of the temple. Also called Asakusa Kannon, the temple was originally built in AD648 and is dedicated to the Buddhist goddess of mercy Kannon. Legend has it that 1400 years ago, in the 7th century, Asakusa’s fishermen, the Hinokuma brothers, found a gold statue of the Buddhist goddess. The village Chief Hajino Nakatomo took this as a sign and built a small temple dedicated to the goddess. The statue is now enshrined in the temple. Today, the temple stands as it was reconstructed back in 1923 after the Great Kanto Earthquake and during WWII.

The front of the temple is its main gate, Kaminari-mon. Here hangs the famous Kaminari-mon red lantern at the gate measuring 4 meters high, 3.4 meters in diameter and 670 kilograms in weight. Written on the lantern in kanji (Chinese characters) is kaminari (thunder) and mon (gate). We were told that this lantern was donated by the former president of Matsushita Electronics Company, Mr.Matsushita Konosuke. Our guide explained that Mr. Konosuke had pains in the knee that he recovered from after praying at the temple. At the bottom of the lantern are carved the letters Matsushita Denki. Believers pray for calm weather and good harvest.

Through the gate toward the temple we walked through Nakamise Dori, a 300 metre long street lined with small souvenir, food, sweet, clothes and toy shops. We decided to visit the temple first leaving the tempting shopping until later.

As we made our way inside the temple, incense burned in a large bronze burner placed in front of the temple’s main building. Smoke from the incense is believed to purify and heal the body. It was interesting to see some visitors wave the smoke onto their bodies and heads. As we walked up the steps toward the main hall, a queue of visitors lined up to pay their respects and pray. Our guide explained that you clap your hands twice and bow to show your respect before the shrine. Many devotees come to the temple to pray for good heath and fortune.

From the top of the main building you can see the Five Story Pagoda which lies to the left of the temple. The pagoda was built in 1973 and stands at 53.32 metres high. In the centre of the pagoda is a giant pillar made of Japanese cypress wood designed to withstand any earth tremors.

Now we understand why the Senso-ji Temple is a must see for Japanese visitors. The temple and its surroundings left such an impression on us all. It gave us a valuable insight into the Japanese religion which is such an intrinsic part of its people and way of life.

Furaijinmon – which means Wind, Thunder, God and Gate	Healing smoke from the bronze burner at Asakusa	Kaminarimon, the main gate

Japanese names on each of these lanterns	The main gate of Senso-temple	Asakusa Gojuno-tou

Learning to speak Japanese like any other language takes practice, practice and more practice! Indeed having a great teacher and friendly classmates makes the learning and practice easier. This holds true in our Elementary Conversation Japanese class. Our class has students from Switzerland , the USA , Germany , Mexico and other countries.

The international mix certainly makes such a difference as many of us use Japanese to communicate with each other in and out of the class. Our teacher, Emiko Hoshiai sensei, has taught foreign students Japanese for more than 9 years. It is evident from her lively way of teaching that she has a love for teaching us how to speak her language and learn about her culture.

First, we had a quick recap on our previous lesson. Here, Hoshiai sensei goes round the class asking each of us questions and listening to our responses as she corrects our pronunciation or grammar. Many of us enjoy this method of review as we have the opportunity to learn from one another by listening to someone else's response, anticipating the answer and repeating quietly any questions or answers given by our teacher. When we start a new topic such as today's lesson which is aimed at enabling us to talk about our weekend and how we enjoyed it, Hoshiai sensei gives us sufficient time to practice the new words, and learn the basic grammar before we are given activities to do in groups or pairs. She makes the class fun and enjoyable as she is always expressive in the way she presents the class. The atmosphere in our class is warm and friendly which is very important as we do not feel embarrassed in making mistakes. After all as she always says, making mistakes is part of learning. She uses our textbook as a guide and introduction to the topic, and complements our word-building and overall learning by giving us many other examples and exercises not listed in the book. In the past four weeks of being in Japan , it is such a confidence booster when we know that what we learn in class is put to good use when we are out and about in Tokyo . Domo arigato gozaimasu Hoshiai sensei!

Our lively Emiko sensei	Joelle (US) and Kazmin (UK) reading the text they are about to discuss	Dela (Mexico) and Jaipha (Thailand) conversing during their role-play exercise

Andras (Swiss) answering the questions asked by Oleinov regarding what he did last weekend	Emiko sensei listing the the new vocabulary

Emiko sensei goes around the class offering her corrections on pronunciation or grammar	Kiyam (Brasil), Joshua (US) and Jaipha

One of the fascinating cultural aspects of the land of the rising sun, is the gentle art of Japanese tea ceremony. A group of six of us experienced the traditional chakai (tea meeting). Our accomodating and skilled practitioner Nakamura-san greeted us when we arrived at the tea house. She led us to a small stone basin of water and insructed us to wash our hands and rinse our mouths, a cleansing ritual. We then removed our shoes and entered the tea room. We were served sweets on kaishi (japanese paper).

Nakamura-san wore a traiditional kimono and took her place behind a tana (bamboo shelf). Seated in seiza position, she performed the Ryu-rei ceremony at a special table before us. The implements used include a natsume (tea caddy), chasen (tea whisk), chawan (tea bowl) iron kama (pot) and hishaku (ladle). First she carefully cleaned the implements following a strict ritual and then measured the right amount of matcha (green tea powder) adding hot water and whisking the tea according to set movements. We watched the precision in which our hostess carried out each step and the intricate movements she made during this process.

Serving the tea entailed a ritual in itself, starting with the guest of honour. The guest of honour exchanges bows with the second guest, raises the bowl, takes a sip and says the perscribed phrase. The bowl is then passed to the next guest with a bow and the ritual followed until everyone has sipped from the bowl. We felt so relaxed in this tranquil setting. The observed principles of the tea ceremony namely wa (harmony), kei (respect), sei (purity) and jaku (tranquility) were evident throughout this unforgettable cultural experience.

Kristine (US) washes her hands before entering the ceremonial room	Dustin (US) using the Japanese dipper

Takahashi sensei demonstrating traditional Japanese tea ceremony	Dustin (US) receiving the tea in the appropriate way with both hands	Kristine (US) and Zufendy (Indonesia) sampling the Japanese sweets

Charlie (Netherlands), Jennifer (US), Kristine (US) and Zufendy (Indonesia) sipping the green tea	Our WLE group in front of the Hie-shrine

The Yasukuni Shrine was built in 1869 by order of the Meiji Emperor to commemorate victims of the Boshin War and was named Tokyo Shokonsa. In 1879, this Shinto shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja (peaceful country shrine), and is the resting place of Japanese soldiers killed between 1853 and 1945. The shrine’s function is to perform shinto rites to provide the resting place for the ‘kami’ (spirits) of the Japanese soldiers including women and children.

Saki barrels

The Yushukan Museum

Browsing through the many tea shops around Tokyo has turned into a favourite pastime for some of us. If you are looking for some matcha tea then pop into Masudaen Tea Shop located just a 2 minute walk from the Asakusa subway station. Masudaen Tea Shop specializes in green tea and has been operating since 1867.

A vast array of tea sold at the shop	Takana-san, the owner of the shop	Gift boxes for sale

As part of the Langugage Exchange Partner(LEP) Program our students meet with local Japanese students every week to exchange conversation, fun and cultural insights. This week our WLE students had a chance to meet with native Japanese speakers in the WLE office. A few hours were spent sharing experiences about getting around in Tokyo and they also learned some new restaurant and food phrases.

Jennifer (US) and Chika (Japan) sharing a laugh	Christopher (Canada), Tomoko, Yuko and Tomomi (all Japan) chatting at the social gathering	The group getting to know each other at the WLE Tokyo office

Country of Residence: Singapore

Q: Is this your first study abroad experience?
A: Yes.

Q: What motivated you to come to Japan?
I had worked in Melbourne, Australia in retail management and in Singapore as an events planner. I was interested in learning Japanese and perhaps working in Japan.

Q: Did the language studies meet your expectations?
A: I am definitely improving in my Japanese daily. My teachers are energetic and they use interactive teaching styles. I started as a total beginner, and now after 3 months in the program, I am conversing in Japanese and getting around the city. Also, learning with people from other countries is a great way to learn.

Q: How is your accommodation?
A: My host family is excellent. The host mother is very professional. She has been a host for 8 years in the home-stay program and is very accommodating.

Q: Tell us about a few memorable experiences while you were studying abroad.
A: The Japanese cultural activities such as the tea ceremony, making soba noodles and wind chimes have been fun and informative. We were learning by doing and this made it interesting and enjoyable.

Q: Will you go back to this country again?
A: Yes definitely. I hope to be able to work here.

Q: What advice/tips would you give to others who plan to come and study in this location?
A: Enjoy yourself. Learn to speak – a lot of people are afraid to make mistakes. Every one has a different style of learning. I do not like memorizing, so I learn by doing. I learn by making mistakes and speaking as much as possible. I have a real interest in learning about the Japanese people and understanding their way of thinking. That is important if you want to successfully learn the language and work or do business in Japan.