Yamagata Prefecture

03/09/2021

🍕Zao Liza Restaurant – Pizza-Making and Indoor Camping⛰

🌻Hello hello! In June, while the Coordinators for International Relations were visiting the Bodaira Athelete Village for the latest issue of Face to Face, we decided to stop by the Zao Liza Restaurant to have lunch by making our own pizza!

🍕The head chef, Mr. Inoue, taught us the basics of rolling out the dough and topping placement so that we can make a delicious pizza. The type of pizza we made did not involve throwing dough up into the air like the movies, but it was pretty fun seeing how thin we can roll the dough out to be!

📈After decorating our pizza, the pizza was taken to a wood fire oven to bake to perfection. After about 10 minutes, we received our freshly-baked thin-crust pizza, which we munched on around the indoor camping gear! 10/10 delicious lunch.

⛺The Zao Liza Restaurant is usually bustling with people during the ski season, but the foot traffic decreases significantly during the summer months. Inside the restaurant area, there’s a giant tent, some camping chairs and tables, and décor set up to create a fun indoor camping experience. The weather is pleasant and you’re surrounded by the quiet buzzing of nature – the perfect environment to chill, chat, or even do remote work! We’re also going into autumn colors season now, so come up and enjoy Zao in all its seasonal beauty!

🚠The restaurant is just minutes away from the Zao Karita Lift, which will take you up to the beautiful Okama crater. I highly recommend going on the lift – there were swarms of dragonflies flying around so it feels like you’re the main character of a cinematic masterpiece!

蔵王ライザワールド

Zao Liza Restaurant: http://www.zaoliza.co.jp/ensmmr/restaurant/
Zao Karita Lift: http://www.zaoliza.co.jp/ensmmr/trekking/kattalift.html

25/05/2021

Hello again everyone!
In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are still doing our best to continue promoting international exchange here in Yamagata, using online alternatives!

Last Friday, our Coordinator for International Relations, Alice, held an online language exchange with students from our local Yamagata University, and high school pupils from her home country, the UK!

A few weeks ago, Alice got in touch with her high school Japanese teacher, Mrs Browning, to try and set up an online event, and it finally came to fruition on Friday. It was great fun connecting students from across the world, and was a brilliant opportunity for language learners on both sides to practice their Japanese and English skills with native speakers. It was also the first time Alice and Mrs Browning had spoken in about 5 years, so there was a lot to catch up on!

We hope to continue this event on a monthly basis, and perhaps get some local high school students involved, too!

Thanks to everyone who took part!

20/05/2021

Hello everyone! We hope everyone has been enjoying the warmer temperatures recently! 🌞

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on here in Yamagata, we are constantly looking for new ways to promote international exchange in this new age of social distancing and online interaction.

One of our Prefectural Coordinators for International Relations, Alice, who is originally from the UK, featured this week on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, promoting Yamagata Prefecture and her favourite tourist spots. She is the first to feature in a new series highlighting the international exchange efforts of women in the prefecture. Girl power! 🙋🏼‍♀️

If any of you have a WeChat account and are interested, feel free to scan the QR code below to read the full article. Or, why not send the link to any friends and family in China to share the magic of Yamagata with them too! 🏔🌄✨

01/05/2021

There was a 6.6 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture around 10:27 this morning. It was level 4 in the Murayama region and level 3 in other parts of Yamagata. There are no tsunami warnings.

30/04/2021

【Resources for English-Speaking Clinics/Hospitals】

Hello all! Hope the start of Golden Week is bringing lots of excitement and much-needed rest! Just wanted to share some resources for those looking for english-speaking clinics and hospitals, which have been posted on the Association for International Relations in Yamagata (AIRY) website! AIRY also has free consultation services for foreign residents of Yamagata in English, Korean, Tagalog, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, and Japanese so please feel free to reach out if you need any assistance or support!

https://www.airyamagata.org/2021/04/30/english-speaking-clinics-and-hospitals/

Stay safe over the long break!

Here are a few resources if you are in need of English-speaking clinics and hospitals while in Yamagata Prefecture. If you would like assistance in confirming English-speaking hospitals/clinics, phone interpretation, or any other daily life issues, we at AIRY do provide the services free-of-charge s...

10/04/2021

On April 9th, the State of Emergency placed under Yamagata City was extended for two weeks until April 25th.

The State of Emergency placed under Sagae City will be lifted on April 11th as planned and the COVID-19 Alert Level lowered to Level 4.

03/04/2021

【Japanese Classes in Yamagata Prefecture】

Hello everyone! With the snow melted/melting and the sun shining, it's time to start up learning Japanese again!

There are Japanese classes offered throughout the Prefecture thanks to the hard work of both local municipalities and volunteer organizations, and a list of them can be found in the attached post or at the bottom of this post. The attached image is for FREE Beginner Japanese Classes by Yamagata Prefecture and hosted by the Assosiation for International Relations in Yamagata (AIRY). They are run by the two prefectural Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs) who also happen to run this page!

If you are interested, please do send us an email! We love meeting new people and helping each other improve our Japanese levels 🌱🌿🌳🌸

List of Japanaese Classes: https://www.airyamagata.org/english/japaneseclasses/

【English Below】
日本語（にほんご）　教室（きょうしつ）の　お知（し）らせです～！

日本語（にほんご）　の　勉強（べんきょう）に　興味（きょうみ）が　ありますか？
AIRY　ウェブサイトに　日本語（にほんご）　教室（きょうしつ）　の　情報（じょうほう）　が　たくさん　あります。　ぜひ　見（み）てください！

ウェブサイト：https://www.airyamagata.org/japaneseclasses/

A notice on Japanese classes!

If you're interested in learning Japanese, our website offers information on many of the Japanese classes offered around Yamagata Prefecture (including the Japanese class in the image above!). Please take a look if you are interested!

Link: https://www.airyamagata.org/english/japaneseclasses/



#日本語教室
#日本語支援

31/03/2021

Calling all sake lovers and rock music fans!

Tatenokawa Brewery, in Yamagata's very own Sakata City, has recently released a collaboration with none other than rock legends the Foo Fighters. The band decided to come out with their own brew of Japanese sake, under the name 'Hansho' (Midnight), to celebrate the release of their tenth album last month. Two versions are available: Hansho Ao (blue) and Hansho Gin (silver), both coming in funky metallic bottles.

We never thought we'd see the day that little old Yamagata would get noticed by Dave Grohl himself, but miracles do happen!

Have a read of the article below for more details, and check out the Tatenokawa website to order a bottle of this hardcore sake!
https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007247565

https://shop.tatenokawa.com/shopbrand/ff/

27/03/2021

The COVID-19 Alert Level for Sagae City is now Level 5. Sagae City has been placed under a State of Emergency from March 27th until April 11th. More detailed english information will follow in the next few days.

23/03/2021

**Yamagata City State of Emergency Declaration**

Owing to the recent rapid increase in COVID-19 cases within Yamagata Prefecture, Yamagata City has been put under a State of Emergency from now until 11th April.

Please consult the documents below for details.

Stay safe everyone!

20/03/2021

There was an earthquake around 18:10 tonight with an epicenter off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture. It is estimated to be level 3 in Shonai region and level 4 in Mogami, Murayama, and Okitama regions on the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale. There are currently no tsunami warnings for Yamagata Prefecture.

08/03/2021

Hello everyone!
Happy International Women’s Day! 👸🏻👸🏾👸🏼

We’d like to take today to celebrate all of the brilliant women here in Yamagata, and who better to focus on than our very own Prefectural Governor, Yoshimura Mieko?

Yoshimura-San is one of just two female prefectural governors in the whole of Japan! (The only other female governor is Tokyo’s Koike Yuriko). Yoshimura-San has just begun her fourth consecutive term as Governor of Yamagata. Under her governance, Yamagata Prefecture has climbed up from 31st to 8th place in Japan’s national ranking of the happiest prefectures.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is . Let’s encourage more women and girls to challenge gender stereotypes and pursue roles in leadership and politics, just like Yoshimura-San!