This weekend, I returned to one of my favourite spots: Shin-Maiko Beach. The nearest station is Shin-Maiko Station on the Meitetsu Line.

My hometown of Edmonton, Alberta is land locked. Being in Japan, easy access to the ocean is such a treat for me. Back home, I don’t have easy access to the ocean or beaches anywhere.

During my trips to the beach, I discovered the wonders of beach combing, and by extension- sea glass and sea pottery collecting. But, what is sea glass/sea pottery? It’s exactly as it sounds! Glass bottles, pottery, and fine porcelain end up in the oceans around the world. The ocean acts as a natural tumbler. So, by the time we find the broken pieces washed up to shore, the ocean would have softened the broken edges, and glass will have a beautiful frosted finish. 

Sea glass I found on this trip. The brown colour gives a pretty good indication that this used to be a beer bottle before.

Beach glass/beach pottery is the same concept, but it is found in freshwater environments such as lakes or rivers. After collecting, these pieces can be recycled into art such as jewelry, lamp fixtures, or even glass topped furniture. The possibilities are endless. 

Sea pottery I found on this trip. I’m not sure what these pieces used to be, but I’m fairly confident the second piece might be terracotta? 

By this point, I decided to put away my phone because I didn’t want to risk it going for a “swim”. *Laughs.*


This is my haul from this trip. It’s pretty small compared to my previous trips, but these pieces are gorgeous. Clockwise from “10:00”: a quartz rock, a possible terracotta piece with partially visible flower decoration, brown sea glass, a piece of sea pottery with a blue finish with a brown underside (pictured earlier), a tile, and a piece of porcelain. 

What I love about collecting sea glass and pottery is not just the art aspect, but the historical aspect too. Each fragment has a story. Where did it come from? How did it end up in the ocean? How far did the ocean currents carry them to where we collected them? A lot of these questions will likely remain unanswered, but we can look for clues in the pieces themselves to get some answers. 

Just kicking back and enjoying the atmosphere. 

I took some video from this trip that I hope to share with you soon. Over this last year or so, I have collected more sea glass/pottery than I know what to do with. I could potentially share some with you, or perhaps we could do a jewelry/craft workshop in the future. Just some food for thought. ♡

この写真は、フロリダ州のケネディ宇宙センターに初めて行った時のものです。最初は、どれくらいの広さなのか、どんなアトラクションがあるのか詳しく知らないうちに行ったので、バスのツアーで広いロケット発射場をいくつか回ることになりました。自分にもすべての英語がわかるわけではなかったので、生徒たちもきっとよくわからなかったと思います。また、訪れたときには回ってみたくなりました！

3先日、散歩をしていた時、とっても美しい景色に出会うことができました。

夕方、日が沈んで数分経ったと時に撮った写真です。

特に美しいと思ったのは、夕日の赤色と、青空のグラデーションです。空のグラデーションに加え、それが田んぼの水面にも写っている様子もなんとも言えません。

この水面も、もう数週間もすれば、稲が育ち、緑に埋め尽くされます。

それはそれで、稲が風になびき美しい景色が見られますね。

忙しい日々の中でも、移ろい行く季節を、ひとときひととき、楽しんで行きたいものです。

生徒の皆さんも、日常の中で綺麗な景色を見たら、ぜひ、紹介してくださいね。。

ありがとうございました。

鷲見

ようやく念願の夏休みが始まり、ワクワクが抑えられない子も多いと思います。

最近の小学校はコロナの関係で夏休みに学校のプールを使えないというところが多いようですね。

以前よりも泳げないという子たちが増えていると聞きました。

私が小学生のころ（１０年以上前）はある一定の期間は学校のプールに行って水泳するのが普通でした。暑い中ほぼ毎日学校まで歩いて行き、疲れ果ててまた歩いて帰るという、小学生だったからできることだなと感じています。

アメリカでは家にプールがあることが多く、学校でプールの授業は基本的にはありません。日本とは大きな違いで、驚く人も多いと思います。

熱中症に気をつけて楽しい思い出を作ってくださいね。

Hey y’all! 

As all of y’all know, I am finally going home to Texas. After almost three years, I am finally getting the chance to see my family. I’m actually kind of nervous about going home because I haven’t been around a lot of Americans in such a long time. I might even experience culture shock! Regardless, I am so excited to see everyone and eat Mexican food!  I have no idea what exactly I’m going to do over the course of a few weeks, but I know that I’m just lucky that I am getting this time with my family and friends. 

I’m sorry that I won’t be here for a few weeks, but thank you so much for understanding. I can’t wait to come back and tell y’all all about my trip!

See y’all in class! 

Here are some pictures of my friends and family!