特別ポスト: Places & Traces (Part 2)

Hello!

How are you? Here is another gathering up of your great writing over this year for a different collection about special places called Places & Traces. What do the special places in our lives mean to us, and what kinds of great memories do we have about them? 

You will again see that this is a Part 2 post. The first post I did for this kind of student writing was back in 2015 - like the Small Book of Big People collection, I haven't had any time to get back to posting examples of student writing for this until now. I'm just too busy! But I'm happy to get back to this and to show what students are able to do - and how well they can write. 

If you would like to see the first part of this from 2015, click on this link here. 

So let's take a look at these. Here's the first one! 

My best memory

My great memory is school trip to Australia two years ago. We went to Cairns. It was first time to go abroad, so I was excited and nervous. When we got to Australia, I felt strange. Because before we left Japan, it was winter. But we got to Australia, it was summer. It was very hot and humid.

First day of school trip, we went to zoo and botanical garden. There were a lot of animals and plants. Koalas were very cute. Then, we rode on a flying gondola. Since the bottom was transparent and its construction was simple, I was very scared. After we rode on it, we met our host family.

On the second and third days, we stayed at a host family’s house. There were many troubles. But thanks to many troubles, I could learn a lot of things, such as difference between Japanese culture and Australian culture. Third day, I had my 17^th birthday!

On the fourth day, we went to the Great Barrier Reef. When I saw it, I was so impressed, because the sky was blue, a brisk wind was blowing and sea was very clean and the surface of the sea sparkled in the sunlight. I had never seen such a beautiful sea. I was so enjoyed swimming. Then I went to shopping with my group. I bought many souvenirs for my family.

Last day, we boarded on airplane to Japan. When airplane took off, I felt sad. But at the same time I thought that I want to come here again.

My school trip was very fulfilling. So I will keep this memory forever. 

Travel really can make our lives and memories more meaningful. Let's look at this next one!

Memory of mine

One great memory of mine is school trip. When I was 17 years old, I went to Canada with my friends and teachers. It was my first time taking an airplane and going abroad. So I had a lot of anxiety and anticipation. It took about 9 hours to fly from Japan to Canada. We would stay in Victoria for three days and Vancouver for two days.

First, we went to Victoria by ferry. And we were divided into the group. My group did a home stay in Singla-husband and his wife, for three days. They were very sweet to up. They took us to many places. For example, large shopping center, the totem pole which is the highest in the world and the sea. Especially, Beacon Hill park is very memorable. There is the bronze statue of Terry Fox. He was a famous runner of the artificial log. I thought he was a really wonderful person. And I was inspired by these words, “Dreams are made possible if you try“.

Finally we went to Vancouver and stayed for two days with my friends. We enjoyed shopping and sightseeing there. There were many beautiful places. But I feel regret for not speaking English with many people. If I could speak more English, I would have had a lot more communicated. I learned from this school trip, “Don't be afraid of making mistakes.” I often said this words but I couldn't. So I want to study English hard and communicate with many people around the world.

That's another great one! Now here's another one: 

My best memory

My best memory is a school trip. I went to Okinawa prefecture when I was high school student. I stayed at a hotel for a night. The hotel was very gorgeous. There were pool and wedding hall in the hotel. But the hotel’s meal taste was bad. Especially, curry and rice. It was very cold.

I stayed at a pension for two nights. The pension’s staffs was very friendly. So I felt relieved. The pension’s meal was very good. For example, soki soba and sata andagi . They were very delicious. I helped to make it.

In Okinawa, I could have very rare experience. For example, I did diving and canoe. It was very interesting for me that I did there first time. The sea was very beautiful that I was impressed it. I went to Churaumi aquarium. The whale sharks were very big and great. There were sea turtles and rays. I saw it that I was very fun. I bought a lot of souvenirs. For example, Prawn rice cracker, Sea grapes, rare seasoning and Arthur figurines. I was able to spend much time with my friends. It was fun.

I could learn many things from this trip. For example, Okinawa’s history, about sea, fish, traditional and local people’s mind. Okinawa’s history and traditional were very important. We should tell there next generation. Because war was very sad, so I hope we didn’t have to occur war again. 

Indeed. Now sometimes, our most special places aren't so far away from us, like the next three about neighborhood places!

My hometown

My hometown is Asakusabashi. There is Asakusabashi in Taito ward, Tokyo prefecture. There are Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara in neighborhood and it is very convenient. I often go to there with my family or my friend on weekend. There are various shops in the neighborhood of my house. For example, a mall and a public bath a cheap candy shop. The grandma is very kind.

My grandmother runs the public bath at the neighborhood of my house. I go to there every day. My grandmother’s public bath was built in before the war. There suffered damage for the Tokyo blitzkrieg but there is it there without changing in old days. My grandmother becomes 80 years old. However, she has spirit so as to knock down a cockroach. An elderly person living in my hometown is very fine, because there are many people working as self-employed people from old days. For example, meat shop, Japanese snack shop and vegetable store.

In my hometown, the festival is prosperous too. The festival is held in June. It is full of many tourists every year. My mother very like it. She is missing when it becomes the festival. She carries a miniature shrine on her shoulder all day. It is the town which my hometown has vigor, and it is very livable. I love the place.

Now, this one: 

Jounuma Park

My favorite place is Jounuma Park. Jounuma Park is the whole area surrounding Jounuma which is a lake in Tatebayashi, Gunma. There are parks children play, and playgrounds young people exercise there. It has been loved by local people for a long time.

I visited there for the first time when I became a high school student. It was very quiet and abundant in nature. When I stepped into there, a scene of the lake spread before me, and when I strained my ears, the sounds of plants swayed in the breeze and little birds’ chirps were heard. I remember it was so fantastic that I had been there for about six hours. Since then, Jōnuma Park has been my favorite place.

Jounuma Park is such a peaceful place, but in spring, it is crowded with a large number of visitors every year. One reason for that is “Koinobori-no-Sato Festival” which is held in late March – the early part of May. This is an event more than five thousand of carp-shaped streamers are put up in five places in the city. This became popular at a stretch by having been recognized its number as World Heritage in 2005. The scene is really powerful and people are overwhelmed. Another reason is “Azalea Festival” which is held in April – the early part of May. This is an event that fifty varieties and about ten thousand azaleas are in full bloom in a park in the city. The park is dyed their bright red and pink, and it is very beautiful. Maybe you notice to know the periods when each event is being held, but in April - May, you can see a collaboration between carp-shaped streamers and azaleas. It’s so wonderful that I can’t express it in words. It’s not too hot in spring, so please visit there once.

I dropped by there after school almost every day when I was a high school student. I sometimes visit on weekends even now. I sit on a chair in the park, and close my eyes, then I just stay still until idle thoughts in my mind are disappeared. I become relaxed and positive feelings. Everyone needs inner peace of mind. Without it, you damaged both your mind and body. Jounuma Park gave it me.

Tatebayashi is the countryside and Jounuma Park is only one of the parks in such a place. There is no attractive facility. However, all of the park is special for me, and nothing is more precious than it. I could be always what I really is there. Do you have such a place? I believe Jounuma Park has become my starting point.

Hakkeizima Sea Paradise

I’m going to write about Hakkeizima Sea Paradise. Last summer, I went there. It is an interesting place. I remember it was so hot because I went there around the middle of August. It lies in Yokohama in Kanagawa. Every year, it is visited by a lot of people. The number is about 4,500,000. Especially, that is crowded with families in summer vacation. I think it is a place that children and adults can enjoy. The cast distributes a lot of balloons that children like, and there is a spot that everyone can play in the water. You can see the sea, and feel sea’s smell from there because Kanagawa prefecture is next to The Pacific Ocean. By the way, do you know this place? It is an amusement park that is constituted by an attraction, a shopping mall, and an aquarium. As I have said above, it is very popular by children. But in addition to the children, it is visited by husband and wife, and many couples. I’m living in Higashi-Matsuyama now. It takes me 2 hours to go there by the train. It’s so far. If I leave the house early in the morning, I am in time for opening of the park. It is already full of visitors at about 9:00a.m. It is like Tokyo Disney Land.

After having arrived there, I got on the roller coaster first. There was a long of the line. I was surprised. I waited for a turn for middle long time under the hot weather. I was all of a sweat and my heart was pounding. The name of the roller coaster is the Leviathan. This is the meaning called a huge animal coming out to the Old Testament. The picture is very scary. Because speed was fast, it felt like a body floated to me when it made nose dive. The water splashed on the way, too. There was thrill and was fun. This was impressive for me. The aquarium had a calm atmosphere unlike an attraction. Because there was cool, and it was dark I was healed. There seems to be 700 kinds of fish. The place has the most beautiful tunnel. It called the Aquatube which a fish swam close. There is projection mapping that project a picture on the heat. After enjoy an attraction and aquarium, I ate an ice cream because I was hungry. It’s yummy. I like ice cream very much. Around the 8 o’clock p.m., a lot of fireworks were displayed with music. It was very beautiful and colorful. Many people watched and took pictures. The time was about 15 minutes. It’s short, but I felt summer. In the shopping mall, I bought cute straps.

Hakkeizima Sea Paradise is an interesting place to be able to enjoy enough during a day. I want to go this summer if I have time. A BBQ and the fishing are possible there, too. A few years ago, I often went fishing with my father, and my brother. So I like fishing. I wasn’t able to do them last year. It is one of the place that I want to recommend if there is the person who is worrying where you go to in this summer. Everyone can enjoy if you go with a friend, or a lover. I have not seen such as amusement park in Saitama. Therefore I felt charm. You must visit this place.

Wonderful! Comment on these in the comments section at the bottom of the post, and look for the Places & Traces Part 3 post to come after this.  

Have fun! 

Image: Personal photograph. All rights reserved.