Merry Christmas!!

 It is December 25th. Christmas is an event that is celebrated world-wide. Here in Sendai, trees on Jozenji-Street decorated with lights have been a winter feature for the last two decades. These days, more people enjoy decorating their whole houses as though competing with each other to have the most gorgeous decorations.

Common Christmas cake in Japan

 For good or bad, Christmas is not very much recognized as a holy and religious event in Japan. Therefore, many people take this event as an occasion to truly have fun: while people in Christian countries spend time with family and eat homemade dishes including turkey  on Dec 25, the Japanese (especially the youth) party with close friends, have various drinks, including alcohol, and eat the indispensable Christmas cake.

 Since the winter vacation is for two weeks, not all international students visit their hometown, so they try to plan events where people can share time and food together. The outside is cold, so let’s stay warm and active. Enjoy the holiday season.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Jozenji-Street in Sendai

Photo exhibition for recovery assist

 When the Great East Japan Earthquake happened in March 2011, many volunteers from all over Japan immediately moved to the affected areas to help disaster victims in various ways. They came under the spotlight by performing debris disposal and other labor, and reconstruction could not be conducted without their help.

 People who used to live within 10 km from the nuclear power plant managed to move away from there and are now living as evacuees, but some of them had to leave their lovely pets against their will. On the street, abandoned animals such as cats and dogs wander around and wait for their owners to come back. So a rescue crew for animals is working hard to save pets on the street, and to find their owners.
 The name of the Fukushima-based crew is “Nyander Guard.” Their activities are supported by volunteers and relief aid, and one of their essential jobs is to tell others outside the affected area about their activities and organize fund-raising events. From December 21 to 25, they will hold a photo exhibition of cats that members of the crew documented under the title "Don't forget about us." The situation of animals is easily ignored by the media, so this is a rare chance to know about one of on-going activities for recovery. You can visit the gallery on the 5th floor of the AER Building, just north of Sendai Station. Items for fund-raising will be on sale. 

 Sendai is a major city where you come across events that assist the recovery from the Earthquake.

Ingredients for hometown dishes

 Recently, traditional Japanese food was added to the World Heritage list. Many international students at Tohoku University eventually come to enjoy various Japanese dishes, and try to cook them later. However, it is natural that they miss special foods from their hometowns once in a while. Since there are more than 10,000 foreigners in Sendai (according to the statistics published by the City of Sendai), there are multiple places where you can buy imported items here. You can even buy vegetarian food in Sendai too!

Jupiter

 The first shop we'll introduce is Jupiter, on the first floor of Sendai Station. This is basically a coffee specialty store, but it goes beyond that. The cheese section and sweets area are especially well-stocked, and there are many products imported from Europe. You can also find various dried goods, some of which are originally made by the shop. You can find not just dried fruits such as mango, raisins and tomatoes, but also dried ginger and sour plums.

 The second shop is Satoh Shoukai (Satoh & Co., Ltd. in English, サトー商会 in Japanese). 

 This shop is suitable for halal food eaters, and Muslim students often purchase halal chicken at this shop. It specializes in goods for use by professionals, so all goods come in large portions at low prices. You can find lots of frozen food with a long shelf life there.

Satoh Shokai

 The last shop is KALDI which you can find at two places in Sendai. This is also a coffee specialty shop, but it also has interesting spices, condiments and seasonings necessary for Asian dishes. Indian curry and Chinese dishes can be perfectly cooked if you buy a full set of ingredients there.

 There is a shop with imported items close to University House Sanjo (where 1^st and 2^nd-year students reside), but why don’t you occasionally go out and shop downtown to enjoy a change of pace?

KALDI

Fund-raising by international students for the Philippines

The sight of the aftermath in the Philippines broke our heart. When looking at the images of people suffering after the typhoon, we grieve the fact that countless people suddenly lost everything, and that there is no food, clean water or medicine at all.

In Sendai, international students at Tohoku University decided to make a collective effort for them: they stood on the street and raised money for the Philippines. In fact, various companies and foundations in Sendai are working on raising funds for repairing typhoon damage in the Philippines. Having experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Sendai City Office also raised money in November, and sent it through the Japan Red Cross Society. We cannot ignore the disaster victims!