9 Nov 2017

Doki Doki Festival 2017 to support Aid For Japan

by | posted in: Events, Fundraising |

Doki Doki – The Manchester Japanese Festival is an annual event held in Manchester celebrating both traditional and modern Japanese culture.

The organisers of the event have once again selected Aid For Japan as their charity of choice for this year’s festival.

Akemi Solloway will be a guest at Doki Doki to talk about Aid For Japan. She will also be part of a panel (alongside Sumie Kent, Angela Davies and Helena Gaudekova) discussing aspects of traditional Japanese culture and also giving a lecture about bushido.

Genki Gear, producers of a range of T-Shirts popular at conventions, will also be producing a very special shirt for Doki Doki with proceeds going to Aid For Japan.

Doki Doki, which takes place on Saturday 12th November, will feature a wealth of events and guests which includes a furisode demonstration, martial arts display and cosplay competition.

The event will also be screening a series of Japanese films and anime titles. Music will also feature at the event in the form of enka singer Akari Mochizuki and a taiko performance from Thunderdrummers.

Doki Doki takes place on Saturday 11th November at Sugden Sports Centre, Manchester. Tickets from £10 via http://www.dokidokifestival.com/register

http://dokidokifestival.com
http://www.akemisolloway.com
http://genkigear.co.uk/
30 Oct 2017

Charity Event: Japanese Tea Ceremony

by | posted in: Events, Fundraising |

Japanese cultural lecturer, Akemi Solloway Tanaka, will explain the history and philosophy of the Japanese Tea ceremony dating from 15th century. She will teach you how to eat Japanese sweets and drink powdered tea (Macha). Akemi’s introduction can be found here: www.akemisolloway.com

All the proceeds will be donated to Aid for Japan (www.aidforjapan.co.uk), a charity that supports orphans of the 2011 Japanese Tsunami.

Venue:
Flat 1
73 Randolph Avenue
London W9 1DW

Date:
Wednesday 29th November 2017
14:00-15:30

Tickets:
£30 per person

Booking is required as there is only room for 20 people to attend this event.

To book, please send an e-mail to info@aidforjapan.co.uk.

After confirming availability, please transfer £30 to this bank account:

Barclays bank “Aid For Japan”
Sort code: 20-72-17
Account No: 33018458
2 Sep 2017

Ojiya Study Abroad

by | posted in: Fundraising, News |

This summer, one of Akemi’s students visited Japan and helped to raise funds for Aid For Japan

Ojiya Study Abroad is a non-profit organisation aimed at helping international people learn the Japanese language and learn about Japanese culture on a small budget. OSA is fully supported by the City of Ojiya and offers individuals the opportunity to study in a more traditional Japanese environment.

As one of Akemi Solloway’s language students, Sam Stocker was deeply concerned by the plight of the orphans from the 2011 tragedy. Wanting to lend assistance to Aid For Japan, Sam was linked up to Ojiya Study Abroad and decided to combine both ideas together.

Sam set off in July for Ojiya and charted his adventures via his blog (https://ojiyastudyabroadsamstocker.wordpress.com/) which covered everything that happened during the month he spent in Japan.

Among the schools that Sam visited, Higashiyama Elementary School is located in one of the more picturesque areas of Ojiya. It’s a small school with only 22 students. As they were learning English, Sam helped the students with their language studies.

Sam also visited a middle school in central Ojiya and had the opportunity to look at the Japanese education system in more detail. “The school system was quite a bit different as expected” recalls Sam, “each lesson was only 45 minutes long, and there were 10-minute breaks between each lesson”.

While Sam spent a lot of time helping with classes, he also found time to explore Japanese culture. This included visits to an onsen, feeding koi and going to festivals. There was also lots of opportunities to enjoy tasty Japanese food.

Sadly, Sam’s trip abroad had to come to an end sometime. But the good news is that he managed to raise 11,000 yen for Aid For Japan during his time in Japan.

Aid For Japan extends its grateful thanks to Sam Stocker and also to Ojiya Study Abroad.

You can read all about Sam’s adventures on his blog: https://ojiyastudyabroadsamstocker.wordpress.com/

More details on Ojiya Study Abroad: https://www.ojiyastudyabroad.com/
15 Aug 2017

Maria in the UK

by | posted in: Events, News |

Part of Aid For Japan’s mission is to reach out to some of the orphans from the tragic events of 2011. While the charity aims to connect with these children through the annual summer residential courses, it’s also beneficial for the orphans to visit the UK when the charity can arrange it.

For children that have lost their parents, this is an important step that not only broadens their view of the world but also reminds them that the world remembers them.

This year saw Maria making the journey from Japan. Maria is one of the children that Aid For Japan has supported since the early days of the charity (as seen in this special TV coverage).

At the end of July, Maria arrived in the UK to spend a break assisted by Aid For Japan and its team of volunteers. The first port of call was the Asian Wellness, Yoga & Vegan Festival in Richmond. The event featured yoga sessions, Tai Chi and Qi Gong classes while Aid For Japan staged origami and calligraphy demonstrations for enthusiastic attendees.

Maria was very tired by the afternoon, but perked up for a special evening welcome party staged at Tokyo Diner in London’s China Town.

One of Maria’s dreams was to travel on the Eurostar, so regular charity volunteer Angela and interpreter Shiori took Maria to London’s St Pancreas station for a trip to Brussels. During the journey, Maria took time to catch up on her science homework while the train zipped to its Belgian destination.

Arriving in Brussels, Maria enjoyed a walk around the main square – and tucked into a treat of a cone of strawberries dipped in chocolate. Belgium is world-renowned for its chocolate, something which Maria got to sample first-hand by visits to some of the city’s best chocolate shops.

After lunch, Maria enjoyed some of the rich culture of Brussels, which includes the ornate facade of the Town Hall and the visually stunning Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. Meanwhile, the famous Manneken Pis (a statue of a little boy peeing) raised some giggles.

After her adventures in the UK and Belgium, Maria returned to Japan, but sent a message back to her UK friends: “It was a good memory this summer. I really appreciate your kindness”.

Maria, like so many of the orphans of the 2011 earthquake/tsunami, is faced with the memories of that tragic event on a daily basis. Having the opportunity to enjoy a few days in a different environment, which brings them happier memories, is an important step in the road to recovery.

Aid For Japan extends its gratitude to all those that have helped with activities this summer, including the host families and special thanks to Angela Shaffer.

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