Winter is here! What is the one thing guaranteed to drag us out from under our warm toasty kotatsu? Why, snowboarding and skiing, of course! Did you know that next to Hokkaido, the Gunma-Niigata-Nagano region has the best ski resorts in all of Japan? Gunma, banzai!

Hi, friends! As school starts back up and the days grow shorter, I wanted to share a guide about one of Gunma’s best features: autumn leaves!

Located in the northwest of Gunma, the Agatsuma District is very easy to miss on a map. You may have even driven through it on your way to Nagano Prefecture or Minakami without realizing it. But doing so would be a mistake. You’d be surprised at the awesome things to be found within this hidden cabbage.

Twice a year, hundreds of thousands of Japanese-studying hopefuls apply for the ever-challenging Japanese language self-evaluation test—the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

When I first arrived in Japan last year, I was so anxious about so many things, I thought I’d resolve into a puddle of nerves and that’d be that. But, here I am, still in a more-or-less solid state of matter and keen on easing any apprehensions Gunma’s newcomers might have about self introductions (jiko shōkai).

A reality for many coming to Japan—even in Gunma, which boasts the highest number of cars per capita in mainland Japan—is that a bicycle becomes one’s main form of transportation.

If you are interested in getting outside this summer and breathing in some fresh mountain air, testing your strength and being adventurous, why not try climbing Mt. Myogi?

You know that phrase “just like riding a bike?” I suppose the creator of this phrase found riding bikes to be the most natural thing in the world; even after not riding their bike for a long time, he or she could remember everything the second they started pedaling. Well, I envy them.

So we have entered into the new fiscal year, which means that some changes were made to your staff. This, in turn, means that sometime in April, the staff that has left will come back one day to have an official ceremony to say goodbye to the students, and then you will be asked to attend the Kansougeikai, a “Welcome Goodbye Party”.

My first year on JET, as I followed the other teachers to the school gym for graduation, I was filled with anticipation and excitement.  I was eager to celebrate my students’ accomplishments and the completion of an important step in their education. Hours later I was stiff, cold, and a little confused about what I had just witnessed.