I drove about in a dog today
by joostay
This was my day. How was yours?
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: japan, japanese, photography, teaching, travel
Category Archives: Kindergarten Life
Spring Update 2017 / IKIMASHO!
by joostay
When I first started this blog in March 2012, it was more a collection of daily photos – a diary for myself more than anything – of all the new things I was seeing and doing in Tokyo. As the years went on, these daily things of course became (somewhat) normal to me and so IKIMASHO! matured (is that the right word?) into a site with more specific articles about traditional festivals, certain neighbourhoods in the city and other stuff […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Kindergarten Life • Tags: design, japan, justin egli, living in japan, photography, Teaching in Japan, tokyo, travel, travel writer, writing
Setsubun at a Japanese Kindergarten
by joostay
Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! / Demons out! Luck in!
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: 2017, asia, blog, educatin, festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, school, setsubun, teaching english, tradition, traditional, travel, writing
UNDOKAI! DRAWINGS FROM SPORTS DAY IN A JAPANESE KINDERGARTEN
by joostay
A few weeks back was my school’s undokai, or Sports Day. It’s always a big, big deal for the parents – with families usually queuing outside the gates of the school from 6am in order to get the best viewing spot. The day consists of all the usual stuff you would expect, such as races and relays – but also lots of gymnastic and music performances that the kids have been practicing for about two months prior. As is the […]
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, cute, drawings, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, photography, sports day, tokyo, travel
LUNCH TIME IN A JAPANESE KINDERGARTEN: HYPER KAWAII BENTOS!
by joostay
❤ ハイパーかわいいです！❤ While some schools offer kyushoku (prepared school lunches), my school is primarily bento-based – ie. the kids bring in their own packed lunch made by their parents that morning. These Japanese bentos are usually pretty healthy and super cute – with the kids all having little chopstick sets and table cloths featuring their favourite cartoon characters.
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kindergarten, photography, school, teaching, tefl, travel
IKIMASHO! Randomness from Space & beyond…
by joostay
It’s been a week since I last wrote anything on here, but if you follow IKIMASHO! on Facebook you’ll have read that I’ve been super busy in work. Right now is ‘Summer School’ for our kindergarten students, a special programme where they do two full days of games and learning with us. This year’s theme is ‘Space Adventure’ and so we’re making rocket crafts, playing games featuring aliens and learning about stars, astronauts and other space-related stuff. It’s completely different from the normal […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, blogging, CREATIVITY, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kindergarten, tokyo, writing
Full Moons & Full Stomachs
by joostay
Ahhh, Blogger’s Guilt… I wonder if anyone else gets it or just me? In the same way that if I go a week without the gym, if I don’t post at least once a week on here I get edgy. Amazingly, I’ve been running IKIMASHO! for four years now – with an average of two posts a week. But now with more writing gigs for other magazines and publications – as well as kindergartening full time – I’m busier than ever. And so, a […]
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo, Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, blog, daily life, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, photography, tokyo, video
Spring is nearly here, finally.
by joostay
This was the last week of the school year in Japan. One of my four-year old kids drew me this. I had previously told her mum I was from Northern Ireland, and religious/political flag squabbles aside, fair play to her for even knowing what part of the world it is in. Coming from Northern Ireland, it’s always very difficult to explain to people about my country – some don’t even know it exists. And I’m not just talking about Japanese […]
Categories: Kindergarten Life, Uncategorized • Tags: asia, blog, japan, justin egli, kindergarten, photography, TEACHER, teaching, tokyo, travel
Tōryanse / 通りゃんせ
by joostay
Let me pass. Let me pass.
How a sinister-sounding children’s tune can help you cross the road in Japan.
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Kindergarten Life • Tags: culture, japan, justin egli, kids, lullaby, school, tokyo, tradional music
