Our current topic in S6 class is “seasonal events,” and this is something that I think is great for students to talk about.  Japan is famous for its various festivals and traditional events throughout the year, and giving students the opportunity to talk about their own culture in another language is very important.  Festivals in particular are very interesting to me and I wanted to experience one the first time I came to Japan.  Luckily, when I came to Japan for the first time in 2005, I was living in Kyoto.  That summer I experienced my first festival when I went to Gion Matsuri with some friends.  It was a lot of fun to see such a massive festival in person.  

When I asked my students about their favorite seasonal events, the answers were mostly about local festivals.  With Ogaki Festival having just happened, we got to talk about that and it sounded like a lot of fun.  A couple weeks ago, my neighborhood’s local festival also happened, and we had a great time.  Here’s a picture from that event.  What’s your favorite seasonal event?