This was a ‘Fun and Fellowship’ night with a ‘Going Japanese’ theme. We welcomed out International Scholar, Risa Matsui. Risa is studying at Monash University.

She is 23 yrs old, and is enjoying her stay in Australia. We had several speakers giving a presentation on their experiences visiting Japan.

The first was Roger Lough, who travelled to Japan in November 2022. He showed some great photo’s and some of the unique sights in Japan He was particularly impressed with the beautiful gardens and was intrigued to see that the trees were being covered to protect them from the expected snow. He visited the city of Nagasaki on the South Island. It is a small city of about half a million people, and as we know where the atomic bomb was dropped during WW2. They are many memorials, and it was interesting to learn that the bomb was dropped on the wrong side of the island, so the mountains protected the industrial area, but sadly not the civilian people who lived there.

17km offshore there is a deserted island named ‘warship island, which is actually a disused coal mine which was used in the James Bond film “Skyfall”. Roger was particularly intrigued with Japanese toilets.

They have an operating panel that does just about everything, but it is particularly difficult to actually find the ‘flush’ button.

Other interesting facts… not allowed to talk in the elevator, or to bring Ice Cream in the elevator either. But because of all the amazing sights and sounds, Roger loved Japan.

Next speaker up was Sue Mills who task was to present a culinary tour Of Japan.

Sue and her sister travelled there with Don and Glyn Kerley, and Chris and Jenny George. Their first attempt was a fast food place, but getting a table for 6 was difficult, as they are mostly quite small tables. There were no menu’s in English which was quite a challenge but Sue assured us that the Beer was excellent, and the Tempura was fantastic. Sue also found that Japanese spaghetti was really nice and thought Jenny George was really brave when she tried cabbage
and noodles on a hot plate for breakfast. It was very hot! Cook your own BBQ was a hit as was Ice Cream with Gold to finish the meal. By the time Sue had finished her description of the food delights we were all eagerly awaiting our meal to arrive. 

Next speaker was Bev Leishman. Bev went to Japan in 2017 during the Cherry Blossom time, and given her
interest in gardens, Bev was talking about all the wonderful gardens and scenery she came across, She stayed at a traditional Japanese Inn and indulged in a Hot Springs bathtub experience, which she won’t forget for a while, All clothes off, no shoes, and realized how difficult it can be to get up from a futon as one reaches their more mature years,

What struck Bev were the beautiful gardens. Trees are revered in Japan, especially old one’s. In some areas deer wander the streets. Most of the beautiful gardens are in the grounds of temples, and the monls tend to them. There are very few gardens in private homes, as the houses are crowded together and there is no space. Explains the  development of Bonsai, as that does not take up too much space.

The locals love to have a picnic under the blossoms and sit and enjoy the outdoors, Autumn is also a season
when everyone goes to admire the colourful trees. The Japanese are very proud of their environment.

Bev saw an 1100 year old Ginko Baloba tree which was amazing, and in the countryside the pomegranates
are also very colourful and attractive. Chair for the evening was Angela who circulated a quiz of Japanese
phrases, and words etc for everyone to identify the meaning. It was surprising how many we actually knew. The question was asked, “What is the best time to visit Japan” and the advice was April and November, The
worst time is July because it’s too hot, but up North is OK then.