The Saga Charity Christmas Party is an annual event held in Saga city around Christmas time, with the aim of raising money for local charities and promoting international relations. This year will be the 22nd year the party has taken place; it was originally started by a group of foreigners living in Saga, along with some Japanese people, as a way of giving back to the Saga community. Today, the party is still run completely by volunteers – both Japanese people and foreigners living in and around Saga. The money we raise this year will be donated to the Seikaen Orphanage in Saga city, where it will be used for books, computers, sports supplies and other educational materials for the children. Last year we donated 500,000yen to the same orphanage, and to date the Party Project has raised and donated over 15million yen to various charities in and around Saga.
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Category Archives: Events
The Shikoku Field Day Event
By Lisa Cross, AJET Block 8 Representative.
Shikoku is comprised of four beautiful prefectures, Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi and Tokushima. Shikoku is home of the famous 88th temple of pilgrimage, a vibrant community spirit and its natural scenic beauty.
The Shikoku Field Day is the main Block Eight event of the year. The event is open to the entire block and beyond for the purpose of coming together and having lots of fun while forming and maintaining friendships. The event is also supported by all the prefectures on Shikoku.
The Field Day is a one-day (overnight optional) gathering of Shikoku-ites and their friends to play games more focused on fun than competition. The games followed by a barbecue will take place at Shikoku Saburo no Sato, in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, on the afternoon of Saturday, November 26th afterward; attendees can stay the night in a tent or a cottage and participate in the evening’s ongoing revelries, or head back home.
The event will give you the opportunity to relive some of your childhood memories. Remember when there was a time in our childhood when we didn’t play for results, there was no tournament bracket, no championship round, no record-keeping and sometimes there weren’t even any points. You just showed up, played hard, had lots of fun and went home.
Many of the day’s games are taken from the New Games Movement of the 1970s. No prior knowledge of the rules is required to participate. Exciting games may include; capture the flag, catch the dragon’s tail, bola, slaughter, caterpillar and rock-paper-scissors. In keeping with the spirit of the event, teams will be randomly determined on the day and distinguished by bandanas (provided), which will have the side effect of making participants look totally great. Awards will be given, but not all of them will be for winning. Some awards will have inherently magical properties.
Shikoku Field Day promises to be an exciting and unpredictable day to remember! Eat, drink, play, and be merry. Looking forward to a fun filled day!
IVG Presents – Tokyo Yamathon 2011
What is the Tokyo Yamathon?
The Tokyo Yamathon is a fundraising challenge where teams of three or four people compete to walk or run through Tokyo visiting all 29 stations of the famous JR Yamanote train line in under 12 hours. The Yamanote line is Japan’s busiest and most important commuter rail lines which circles the capital, travelling through Tokyo’s major districts as it goes. Our second Yamathon in April 2011 featured 355 people, 100 teams and an amazing 1,027,501 yen raised for Oxfam Japan’s relief efforts in Tohoku.
Who is IVG?
The IVG is a group of English-speaking volunteers who work together to support Oxfam Japan in their mission to find solutions to global poverty and injustice.
The IVG aims to create awareness within Japan about the issues that Oxfam deals with, and raises funds to support Oxfam’s work. We are an entirely volunteer-run group of people from all over the world with a desire to make a difference!
FAQ’s
Q. What is the Tokyo Yamathon?
A. The Yamathon is a physical and navigational challenge where teams of three or four people walk around the Yamanote line in under 12 hours. The Yamanote line is Japan’s busiest and most important commuter rail line which circles the capital and is famous around the world.
Q. Why should I get involved in this?
A. Ask yourself a question – do you honestly know Tokyo? This will be a fantastic opportunity to see all the sights in one day and to also check out new places: places where normally you would never think of going to. Think of starting out in the dew-kissed surroundings of Yoyogi Park in the morning and returning past the skyscrapers & neon lights of Shinjuku before arriving back at Harajuku at night.
This is a physical challenge in which, you will start together, stick together, and finish together as a team. This is also a fundraising event. 6,000 yen may not seem much to you. But it will mean a lot more to those who live in poverty around the world.
Q. Can our team run???
A. You can walk or run! Whichever! The faster you walk the quicker you can get to the after-party! All team members must finish together as a team.
See: http://www.tokyo-yamathon.
When: Saturday 19th November 2011
Meeting Time: 06:15
Starting time: 07:00
Meeting point: At the entrance of Yoyogi Park (2mins from Harajuku Station)
Donation to Oxfam Japan: 6,000 yen (+1000 yen for insurance) per team
2011 Iwamizawa International Mini Festival
Warm greetings from Iwamizawa, Hokkaido. With one of the highest concentrations of JET participants in Hokkaido, the Iwamizawa and many other JET participants living on the island along with their families and friends have been organising the Iwamizawa International Mini Festival for the past 5 years. The goal of this event is to foster awareness of Iwamizawa’s cultural diversity and is a logical extension of the JET Programme’s aim for local internationalisation. Every year, with an average of 250 people in attendance and it has become one of the most successful international events in the city.
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ALT Soccer Tournament
Sports Fans,
After a terrible month in Japan, and after much consideration, we have decided to go ahead as planned with June’s ALT Soccer Tournament in Nagano Prefecture. In light of everything that has happened in the last month it was a difficult decision to make. But we feel that the reasons and benefits of holding it outweigh the reasons for cancelling it. As a group we have the opportunity to raise a large amount of money for the relief effort and also help the people in towns not directly affected by the disaster who are struggling to make a living this year. Also, I’m sure for many of you it has been a tense time and we can think of nothing better than a good weekend together to let off some steam. We are just hoping that most of you are still in the country to respond to this message!
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