JIAM

So we traveled by shinkansen for about 3 hours from Tokyo to the Japan International Academy of Municipalities (JIAM). The trips we great, and along the way we got an excellent, almost totally clear (which is very rare I`m told) view of Fuji San, which was great.

JIAM is located in the small town of Krasaki, which is part of Otsu. It is only a short walk from BiwaKo, Japans biggest lake, which provides much of the drinking water for Kyoto and Osaka.

Years ago black bass were released into the lake, and now are a major pest. there is a lot of recreational fishing in the lake, but the local don`t like the taste of the bass at all. Strangely similar to North Queensland where we have Tilapia, a major pest in our fresh water systems, which is widely eaten through out Southeast Asia and Africa, but the though of eating one would be quite repulsive to most Queensland's. Otsu is just over the hills from Kyoto, and not too from from Osaka and Nara also.

Whilst at JIAM I am studying Japanese language, so that I may have a basic conversational level to build upon when I move on to Saitama to undertake my traineeship. The classes provided are excelentand the facilities and life at JIAM, whilst very structured and scheduled, are great also. Getting to learn a bit about Japanese language and culture, and getting to know the other trainees here has been an excellent opportunity. While my language skills are progressing slowly, and we are still very much at a basic level, I will stay at for aprox. another month yet, so there is plenty of time for improvement. 日本語　とても　むずかしです。（Japanese is very difficult!!)

Also, I ducked into Osaka the other day and went to the 8 story camera store near the station there and picked up a camera, so I now have some of my own photos to show you. the one below is of the hills from my dorm window at JIAM