ZOOM Online

“I got 99 problems” and COVID19 ain’t one.

ONLINE lessons available now.

* Requires download and installation of the free business meeting/conference application ZOOM

https://zoom-kaigi.com/sumaho-zoom-touroku/

Feedback up to now has been positive:  “Fun”, “No stress”, “Better than I expected”

Call or email now to see what it’s all about.

– Perry –

Let’s Garden,… ing!

こんにちは、イクリプス英会話教室です。 夏も終わり、涼しい日々が増え、秋になってまいりました。 イクリプスでは教室カラーもハロウィンのオレンジが増えてきています。 冬になるとどうしてもカラーが無く気分的にも寒くなるので、花壇をリニューアル★ 少しずつですが、カラフルなお花が増えていく予定です。

イクリプスは小さなお子様から、大人の方までエイジレスで学べる英会話教室です。 レベルに合わせたグループレッスン、一対一のマンツーマンレッスン、セミプライベートのキッズレッスン、ビジネス、英検、TOEIC対策、これから留学する方、留学を終えて戻られた方など、さまざまなシュチュエーションに対応しております。 日系カナダ人講師のネイティブなEnglishで、本場の発音、リスニング力アップしませんか? 無料デモレッスンにぜひお越しください!

Spring Clean into Summer

Just a few updates:

I’ve been doing some teacher training on Thursday mornings with the fine staff at EGG Juku in Kemigawa.

They are a serious but friendly group that is focused on sharpening their English skills.

Our sessions are very productive (of course for me as well) and I think the students at EGG Juku are lucky to have such dedicated teachers.

Here is a link to their blog.

 

Also, I’m happy to report the reaction to recent changes of the layout at eclipse has been overwhelmingly positive.

I’ll continue to build and adapt to ensure that eclipse students are receiving the best possible experience.

 

Finally, thanks to Yusuke and Rumiko for making this possible – it was great to see Ryota Murata’s fight last weekend at the Ariake Colosseum.

It was a first to see live boxing and also the first time to visit that venue for both of us.

It was a not so happy split decision but the Olympic medalist displayed great class both in the bout and with his reaction to the result.  I hope he meets success as he moves forward with his boxing career.

Well, just around the corner lurks Rainy Season and the wonderful wet weather and humidity that it brings.  I hope you’re on schedule with countermeasures in your homes to keep things safe and dry.

Talk to you next time!

 

Kyoto of the World

Took a four day trip to Kyoto with my wife Yuko, little sister Mayumi and brother-in-law Gary last week.

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Can a stream of photos be cliche? Let me show you the ways.

The first three days were freakishly warm for late November.

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The last day was very windy and cold.  In fact, it snowed in Chiba the morning after we returned.

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This line took hours. The ramen was good so all’s well, I suppose.

We saw beautiful kimonos,

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and spectacular night illuminations.

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So many people. Could only describe it as a zoo.

It was the very middle of high season for autumn colours.

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No meaning, but the side profile reminds me of a lion.

Also, it was high season for tourists from all over.

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At first I thought they were trash receptacles; turns out they’re for plastic bags for visitors to carry their shoes.

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Not visible in these shots, but electrical outlets, display TV’s, (internet??) in and around most temples / shrines was off-putting.

It was easier than pie to get traditional looking shots.

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Eikan-do was so crowded.  Below, somehow, there are no people.

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This is an interesting shot but it really requires post production work.

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“Too bad it’s out of focus. Needs to be cropped and the washed out bits need to go.”

Everywhere you looked, the scenery was grand.

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A view from the backyard.

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A nice shot but a look at the waves of visitors immediately behind me might have been more interesting.

In summary, Kyoto was stunning in its beauty, the number of tourists packed into each attraction was staggering (literally), and the weather cooperated just enough to make it a very nice trip.

 

eclipse English Event and Beer Night

みなさんこんにちは。

稲毛海岸の英会話教室
イクリプスのPerry(ペリー フクダ)です。

Some special souls “gathered” at eclipse on Saturday night. (10/07/2016)

Or should I say ghouls?

We all said, uh, “Long time no see and Happy Hello-ween.”

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Packed in like the subway we were – but that didn’t matter because “Charming Tomoko” and “Beautiful Tomoko” were both in attendance.

Yes, they were Raiders coming to draw blood at the Lost Dojo.

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And draw blood they did!

We did games and activities in English; it was fun for everyone even though there were high levels and low.

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The 戦場カメラマン。 My Warrior Princess.

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“The nail that sticks up gets hammered down”. Still don’t know if I really understand that.

Things got scary for the finish as we transitioned to a Halloween theme.

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Good things come to those who wait??

We finished off the evening at Mihama Base, a Inagekaigan’s ‘beer boutique’.

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It was a spooky, good night.  Really great to see everyone from FESS again, and so glad things basically went smoothly.

Thanks to everyone who came, and look forward to doing it again sometime!

イクリプスでは、日系カナダ人講師がネイティヴな英語でお子様の英会話はもちろん、大人の方の英会話(日常英会話からビジネス英会話)、英検対策も対応しております。
秋に向けて、何かにチャレンジしたいみなさん、英会話はいかがですか?
無料デモレッスンも随時受け付けてます。
千葉県千葉市美浜区の稲毛海岸でお待ちしております。

Fly Me to the Moon, Let Me Play Among the Stars

みなさんこんにちは。

稲毛海岸の英会話教室
イクリプスのPerry(ペリー フクダ)です。

Another powerful typhoon a few days ago,  this one fizzling out before it reached us.

typhoon-2

Is that an, ahem, *wardrobe malfunction??

It’s becoming the repetitive theme this year.  Rain,wind, storms.

Carrying on in the theme of the year (repetition), here are more animals for you.

 

“How did it come to this?” – Kings, that Once Were.

Nonchalantly crammed on to this makeshift brown pedestal.

Well, not exactly conceived to inspire whimsical images of rolling dunes of the Sahara is it, this display.

Considering the price tags, these things would be firmly secured behind glass barriers, at least in Vancouver.

(Save your clams or crack out the Platinum Card if you want to take one home.)

Some still get the Royal Treatment.

Some still get The Royal Treatment.

Speaking of The Royal Treatment and animals, one particularly special animal was just here in town for a few days, Dad!

Which meant we got the chance to visit Haneda International Airport for the first time, basically.

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Autumn, along with the 2020 (!) Olympics was on display.

Not sure if it was temporary or permanent, but there was a huge traditional wooden bridge and Samurai sword fights forming an enclave of sorts in the otherwise modern facility.

No kidding, it was massive.

No kidding, it was massive.

Of course I wanted in on the action!

Of course I wanted in on the action.

Seemed only fitting to have something traditional for lunch.

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If not for my massive head, you might get a better idea of the actual size of that bowl.

Meet the Dad.

Did the school pass inspection I wonder?

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Smiling, that’s a good sign.

A few days goes by very quickly these days, so it seemed very soon that he had to leave for his next destination, Thailand.

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Says he’ll be back in a year or two.

Well, looking forward to next time.

And with that, we’ll see you next time!

 

イクリプスでは、日系カナダ人講師がネイティヴな英語でお子様の英会話はもちろん、大人の方の英会話(日常英会話からビジネス英会話)、英検対策も対応しております。
秋に向けて、何かにチャレンジしたいみなさん、英会話はいかがですか?
無料デモレッスンも随時受け付けてます。
千葉県千葉市美浜区の稲毛海岸でお待ちしております。

Animals, they’re all over the place!

みなさんこんにちは。

稲毛海岸の英会話教室
イクリプスのPerry(ペリー フクダ)です。

The calendar says “September”, but the weather shouts “summer”.

Sometimes the heat makes us a little crazy.

ニャップル。

ニャップル。

A gag recycled from my facebook.   Nobody laughed the first time, so not sure why I posted it here again.

Slow news day I guess.  Summer going to be slower than others.

 

Oh now I remember, we’re talking about animals today.

A few weeks ago, I learned about the Japanese idiom 狐の嫁入り .   Straight translation “a fox’s wedding”

It means “sun shower” which in my mind requires further translation.

 

Translated further it means: rain and sun at the same time (my understanding).

Here it is:

A fox, getting married today it would seem.

A fox is getting married today apparently.

Many cultures around the world believe fox characteristics are cunning, tricky, sly.

In Canadian culture foxes are mainly seen as sexy, good looking, attractive (a little sly too, of course)

Is she a fox, or a fox? How about him?

Is she a fox, or a fox? How about him?

As you may know, I have a pet cat at home.  He’s a very cool cat and I love him.

 

How are cats represented in pop culture then?

It does seem difficult to truly capture “cat” within the medium of novelty goods.

Feast your eyes on that.

I mean, they’re just cats!

Cute for sure, and they look like cats.  But to capture the essence of “cat”?

Is this "cat"?

You could easily exchange these cute cats for any other poker faced creature for the same effect.  Or could you.

For emphasis, here are some birds, literally.

I can literally use "literally" the way I like, since it's my blog.

I can use “literally” any way I like since it’s literally my blog.

OK on to more even more complicated animals then.

The kind humans of Omotesando hold an annual parade of sorts that I knew nothing about until a few weeks ago.

The internet reveals that it’s called the Harajuku Omotesando Genki Matsuri Super Yosakoi Festival

Catchy.

Large groups from all over the country (of between 40 and 200?) with beautiful costumes and big smiles come together to perform their highly choreographed routines, set to blaring traditional music from huge sound trucks (plastered with advertising from corporate sponsors) leading the way.

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The costumes are fantastic.

Each group is followed by a man waving a flag for the group.

There is a distinct stylistic sensibility behind the waving.

There was some kind of stylistic sensibility behind all this waving, at least that's how it looked to me.

Had to watch out for those trees, power lines and traffic signals.  Sometimes actual people too.

So, humans can really put on a great show.

How does that compare to our animal friends?

Animal Show on Youtube

Oh China.

Not a bad watch really but well, I guess I hope the animal and human performers have decent union packages.

イクリプスでは、日系カナダ人講師がネイティヴな英語でお子様の英会話はもちろん、大人の方の英会話(日常英会話からビジネス英会話)、英検対策も対応しております。
夏休みに向けて、この夏何かにチャレンジしたいみなさん、英会話はいかがですか?
無料デモレッスンも随時受け付けてます。
千葉県千葉市美浜区の稲毛海岸でお待ちしております。

Are RIO on the same page here?

みなさんこんにちは。

稲毛海岸の英会話教室
イクリプスのPerry(ペリー フクダ)です。

Well the Olympics are done.  Safe to say Rio did a fantastic job with this version of the Summer Games?

さてリオオリンピックも終わりましたね。

リオでの安全な夏のゲームの開催も素晴らしい出来だったと思いませんか?

Sweet bumper sticker on that Ferrari.

Sweet bumper sticker on that Ferrari.

Japan made a splash in the medal count as well as a splashy appearance in the closing ceremonies, the prime minister making his statement disguised as perhaps the most famous modern Japanese cultural export.

日本は獲得メダル数に並んで、閉会式の演出においてあっといわせました。

マリオに変装した総理大臣の登場や、現代日本のポップカルチャーが現れましたね。

We all know who the King of Splashy is. "Can you believe it? Not a single call. My agent's pissed."

“Can you believe it?  Not a single call.  My agent’s pissed.”

The world got a glimpse of the future and the past at the same time with a spectacular display of cutting edge technology and iconic cultural images.  Well at least the world that has TV’s.

世界は、最新技術と象徴的文化のイメージの素晴らしい表示で、同時に将来と過去を垣間見ました。 少なくとも、世界はテレビをとても持っています。

Meanwhile, people in Japan carried on with their usual lives, spending time with friends and family, enjoying summer events like beach BBQ’s or camping trips, or traveling around famous spots in the country or overseas.

一方、日本の人々は普通の日常を過ごしていました。友人や家族とともに時間を過ごしたり、ビーチでBBQ、キャンプ旅行のように、様々な夏のイベントを楽しんでいたり、海外へ旅行したりなど楽しんでいました。

Not necessarily in that order, for me at least.

Not necessarily in that order, for me at least.

Who are we kidding.  Summer’s all about homework!

One family at least made a trip to the 5th station on Mt. Fuji, from where they brought me this:

あるご家族の皆さんは富士山の五合目まで行った時のお土産を持ってきてくれました。

Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want one too.

Tell me you don’t want one too.

It’s a pen!  It’s a samurai!

Remember this guy? He was always one of my favorites, actually.

Remember this guy?
He was always one of my favorites, actually.

What more could you ask for?  Obviously, I’m super happy to now own a samurai character as well as a new pen since you can never have too many of those, but there’s more.

あまり他のお店で見たこともないこの珍しいサムライペンがとても好きです。

(Made in?) Japan + Pen = ジャペン don't cha know. Stick that in your homework and pipe it. Or something like that.

(Made in?) Japan + Pen = ジャペン (JAPEN)
Stick that in your homework and pipe it. Or something like that.

The manufacturers of this particular trinket decided to top things off with a (not so subtle?) DAJARE.

If you like, please leave your favorite examples of DAJARE in the comment section below.

生産した会社のちょっとしたダジャレが。。。

もしあなたのオススメのダジャレがありましたらコメント欄へどうぞ。

イクリプスでは、日系カナダ人講師がネイティヴな英語でお子様の英会話はもちろん、大人の方の英会話(日常英会話からビジネス英会話)、英検対策も対応しております。
夏休みに向けて、この夏何かにチャレンジしたいみなさん、英会話はいかがですか?
無料デモレッスンも随時受け付けてます。
千葉県千葉市美浜区の稲毛海岸でお待ちしております。

 

One Step Forward, Two More Forward

みなさんこんにちは。

稲毛海岸の英会話教室
イクリプスのPerry(ペリー フクダ)です。

Walking for physical health.  Walking to clear your mind.  Walking for adventure.  Walking for communication and healthy relationships.  Walking for work.  Walking for a cause.

健康の為、頭の中をスッキリさせる為、冒険に出る為、コミュニケーションを図る為、仕事の為、チャリティーの為。

ウォーキングには様々な理由がありますね。

My sign: I SLEPT PAST NOON AND ATE FRUIT PANCAKES

My sign: I SLEPT PAST NOON AND ATE FRUIT PANCAKES

For most of us, walking is the first major accomplishment we make as babies and then one of the most natural things we can do.

私たちにとって、生まれてから初めて達成感を味わえるものは赤ちゃんの時に初めて歩いた時であって、とても自然な行動です。

But everyone knows walking takes time, at least when you don’t have somewhere you must go.  And we’re all short on time.  Right?

でも、みなさんも知っている通り、ウォーキングには時間が必要ですね。そして私たちにはそんな時間もなかなか無い現代です。

There must be a way to go faster!

Make haste!  Haste we must make!

I’ve been walking around random places almost every day lately with Yuko, my wife.  Not so far, not so fast, usually at night, but sometimes in the daytime.  An hour here, a half hour there, once in a while maybe more than a few hours.

私は最近ナイトウォーキングを妻と行くようになりました。遠くもなく、早く歩く事もなく夜な夜な歩いてます。たまに日中に歩く事もありますよ。数十分の時もあれば、数時間かけて歩いてるときもあります。

It's lonely at the top?

How long you been up there?

It quickly becomes clear that when you’re walking to get somewhere rather than walking for just walking, you miss mostly everything.

あなたが何かに向かって歩いている時はそこに向かう事ばかりで、歩いている時に何かを見落としてることが沢山あります。

So glad you stopped to flash that thing in my eye, really.

Thanks for flashing that thing in my eye.

The other day we were in Tokyo at Hibiya Park and were surprised to see so many people still playing Pokemon.

先日、私たちは日比谷公園を歩いてた時に、公園内で沢山の人達がポケモンGOをやっているのを見て驚きました。

Yes it was surprising (I thought that would have been done by now) but we also found a path in the park lined with tall sunflowers.  I’d forgotten that sunflowers grew that high.

本当にビックリ!(もう流行りは終わったかと思ってたので。。。)私たちはそんなポケモンマスターを発見しつつ、公園内でヒマワリが並んで咲いているのを見つけました。その時まで私はヒマワリってこんなに背が高く育つという事を忘れていました。

But honestly what else could you call them?

Honestly, could you call them anything else?

Walking longer distances is easy too if you’ve got suitable shoes and enough time.  It’s also nice if there’s an interesting café for a pit stop along the way.

時間とスニーカーがあればどんなに長いウォーキングもとても簡単だと思います。歩いている途中で素敵なカフェを見つけるのもいいですね。

If only my conversational ability matched this elegant ambiance

If only I could match this cafe’s most elegant ambiance with equal conversational skills.

So I reckon making time to walk around a bit is the best and easiest thing we can do to feel happy.

私たちにとってウォーキングはとても簡単に幸せを感じる事が出来る事かもしれません。

That’s the deal though, a day is 24 hours no more no less.

Perspective is everything?

There’s a whole wide world out there somewhere, I swear.

In the end is missing a bit of TV really that big a sacrifice?

イクリプスでは、日系カナダ人講師がネイティヴな英語でお子様の英会話はもちろん、大人の方の英会話(日常英会話からビジネス英会話)、英検対策も対応しております。
夏休みに向けて、この夏何かにチャレンジしたいみなさん、英会話はいかがですか?
無料デモレッスンも随時受け付けてます。
千葉県千葉市美浜区の稲毛海岸でお待ちしております。