The US president Obama had a short visit in Japan last week. I read that Japanese publishers and English schools consider Obama's speeches as great material for English studies. I thought you might be able to learn something from Japanese translations of his speeches. Here is the beginning of the speech he made in Tokyo:

"It is wonderful to be back in Japan. Some of you may be aware that when I was a young boy, my mother brought me to Kamakura, where I looked up at that centuries-old symbol of peace and tranquility -- the great bronze Amida Buddha. And as a child, I was more focused on the matcha ice cream. And I want to thank Prime Minister Hatoyama for sharing some of those memories with more ice cream last night at dinner. Thank you very much. But I have never forgotten the warmth and the hospitality that the Japanese people showed a young American far from home."

By the way, I love matcha (green tea) ice cream, too! "Obama's matcha ice cream" might be selling soon in Kamakura.
Japanese translation

I haven't been able to find time for reading these days, unless I am on vacation, but I did recently read "1Q84", the latest novel by Haruki Murakami. He is my favorite Japanese author. I was waiting to read this novel for a long time. It is said the title is inspired by George Orwell's "1984", as the pronunciation of Japanese number 9 is same as the English letter Q. Despite the other temptations that usually keep me away from reading, I just couldn't put the book down. As I enjoyed it very much, I almost didn't want to finish it. Even though there are so many other forms of entertainment available today, it reminded me how one can still be very entertained by a book.
Japanese translation

The Japanese autumn is celebrated with many delicious foods. Autumn is referred to as the season for appetite (shokuyou no aki). There is also a word for popular fall foods, which is "Aki no mikaku". They include chestnuts, pine mushroom, pike mackerel, persimmons, Japanese sweet potatoes, Japanese pears and so on. I miss all of them when I am away from Japan, but I especially crave chestnuts during this season. I like chestnut rice and various sweets made with chestnuts. In North America, there are not many dishes with chestnuts. Do you eat chestnuts in your country, if so, how do you eat them?
Japanese translation

The Japanese have adopted many Western customs (Christmas, Valentine's Day etc.). Since Halloween was not widely known when I was little, I didn't have any Halloween experiences in my childhood. I liked wearing fancy dresses, just like many other girls, and I would have enjoyed the opportunities to dress up as a princess very much. Halloween is becoming more popular nowadays, probably more for commercial reasons. You see many Halloween candies and chocolates sold at stores. Halloween special events are promoted at Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan (in Osaka). Unfortunately, I don't think many people have a chance to make Jack-O-Lanterns (kabocha-chouchin), because the big orange pumpkins in North America are not commonly grown in Japan (though I found some for sale on the Internet!). Japanese translation

My last name, "Abe", is quite common in Japan. It is ranked as 23rd among a hundred thousand Japanese surnames . In North America, I am often called "Abe" like Abraham, but in Japanese it is pronounced as "a-be." There was the Prime Minister Abe a few years ago, though the kanji characters for his name were different from mine. I didn't like my last name much when I was young because it is too ordinary. However, I liked the fact that I was usually the first on the name list at school. (The Japanese alphabet order goes as "a, i, u, e, o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko..., therefore unless there are names like "Aoki" or "Aihara," "Abe" would be the first. )
Japanese translation

Have you started learning Japanese writing? If you are new to Japanese, I recommend you learn hiragana first. Once you've mastered hiragana, you might want to learn katakana next. Katakana has 46 characters, like hiragana. It is mainly used to write foreign names, the names of foreign places and words of foreign origin. Therefore your name is likely to be written using katakana in Japan. I think it would be fun to be able to write your name in Japanese. There are various Japanese sites that allow you to download free katakana worksheets. I like the, "Kids Nifty" site, as it has cute pictures to make studying fun. It is also pretty easy to follow the instructions, even if you can't read Japanese. I have also updated my katakana lessons. Enjoy studying katakana!
Japanese translation

The second Monday in October (the 12th in 2009) is Japan's national holiday, "Sports Day." It was established to commemorate the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which opened on October 10. Many schools held a "Field Day" around this time, which includes various physical events. Some common events are the 100 meters relay, tug of war, mock cavalry battle and so on. The children are usually divided into two teams: red and white (the children all have red and white reversible gymnastics caps). "Field Day" is a fun event for the entire family. Some parents get up early to reserve a space at school grounds so that they can get a good view of their children. Moms are also busy making special bento lunch boxes for the family.
Japanese translation

Although September is not cool yet in Japan, I feel autumn has arrived when I hear the sounds of insects in the evening. Compared to the piercing sound of cicadas in summer, many fall insects have such a nice soothing chirp. Fall insects include, "suzumushi (bell-ring insect)," "koorogi (cricket)" "kutsuwamushi (giant katydid)" and so on. There is a children song called, "mushi no koe", which is cute. I wasn't crazy about insects when I was little, but collecting insects (a beetle and a stag beetle are popular ones) is a fun activity for kids, especially for boys.
Japanese translation

Sweet potato picking is a favorite outdoor activity for Japanese children in fall. Sweet potatoes are called, "satsumaimo" and the color of the skin is reddish purple. Many kindergartens organize sweet potato picking as a school outing during this season. There are various children books that have an "imohori" theme. One of my favorite books is "Ookina Ookina Oimo (The Great Big Potato)". Simple yet humorous pictures are drawn with only one color, which is the color of the sweet potato. The book shows how wonderful and wild a child's imagination is. It would be nice to be as imaginative as an adult.
Japanese translation

The Japanese consume many fish in their daily diet. There are also various snacks that have a seafood flavor. Even some sweets have a fish influence. "Taiyaki" is a fish-shaped snack filled with red bean paste (sometimes a custard or chocolate filling inside). It was first introduced in 1909, and it is still very popular today. You can easily find it anywhere in Japan, especially at food courts and Japanese festivals. I love freshly baked taiyaki. "Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun (Swim! Taikyaki!)" is a 1975 Japanese hit single. The song is kind of dark and is described as a satire of the overworked Japanese businessman. However, the catchy melody stuck with children, and became a surprise mega-hit. It sold more than 4.5 million copies, and remains the largest-selling Japanese single of all time.
Japanese translation