Welcoming the 27th Toyama Cup Winner to Toyama

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon. The winner of the highest level is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government.

This year’s winner was a previous participant in last year’s Toyama Cup, Lucas Carmichael-Tanaka from Reed College. Thanks to relaxed Covid restrictions, he was able to come to Toyama during the last week of June.

An incoming JET Programme CIR within Toyama Prefecture, Lucas was able to meet with the staff and CIRs at the Prefectural Office’s International Affairs Division and its Director Hongo, as well as Director-General Hiroshima and Deputy Director-General Hayashi of the Civic Affairs, Culture & Environment Department. He even participated in a shoki-barai, or a workplace drinking party literally meant to drive away the heat of the summer.

As this was Lucas’s first time in Toyama, he was able to take in all the charms that we have to offer, visiting the Toyama City’s Prefectural Art Museum and Toyama Glass Art Museum, Yatsuo Town, Imizu City’s Kaiwomaru Park, Takaoka’s Nousaku Factory and Zuiryuji Temple along with the Takaoka Great Buddha and Amaharashi Coast, and even Himi City’s Banyagai market and footbath. Additionally, he visited Toyama’s World Heritage Site, Ainokura village in Gokayama. Having never been to Japan’s gassho-zukuri thatched-roof villages before, Lucas enjoyed a morning taking in the unique architecture and nature within the village and even made his own washi paper. Lucas was also able to take in the wondrous Tateyama Mountain Range on a day trip through the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route all the way to Kurobe Dam. A fan of Japan’s seafood, Lucas also had the opportunity to try Toyama Bay’s famed fish and pressed trout sushi (masu-zushi) during his stay.

Finally, Lucas visited Toyama University of International Studies, with which he has a connection going back to his time at Reed College. During the preparations for last year’s Oregon Cup English Presentation Contest, Lucas served remotely as an advisor for a team from TUINS that won the runner-up prize for their presentation. He was able to meet some team members in person during his student exchange session at the university, sharing his experiences learning Japanese and studying abroad in Japan and even fun facts about his life in the US and his plans for being on the JET Programme.

We wish Lucas the best of luck as he begins work as a CIR this summer and are looking forward to future Toyama Cups and Oregon Cups!

For more information, please visit: https://jaso.org/toyama-cup/

Welcoming the 24th and 26th Toyama Cup Winners to Toyama and the Oregon Cup English Presentation Contest

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon. The winner of the highest level is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government.

Rey Takahashi, left, and Ada Martin, right.

Due to COVID-19, the winner of the 24^th Toyama Cup was unable to visit Toyama in 2020, but this year, not only did the Prefecture welcome Rey Takahashi, the 24^th Toyama Cup winner, but also Ada Martin, the winner of the 26^th Toyama Cup from this year. Both Rey and Ada are seniors at Willamette University and, after finishing their Fall 2022 study abroad program at Tokyo International University, were able to visit Toyama for a week in mid-December.

Not only that, but the two were also able to attend Toyama Prefecture’s very first Oregon Cup English Presentation Contest. This hybrid contest, co-sponsored by Toyama Prefecture and Oregon State, allowed university students from Toyama to compete in teams to present on the theme of “Creating the Future with SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)”. However, leading up to the contest, each team also had one or two Oregon members joining in: students from universities in Oregon or Southern Washington were invited to connect with the teams online and advise them on their English and their presentations. In the end, 11 teams from the University of Toyama, Toyama University of International Studies, and Toyama Prefectural University, competed on the day of the contest, December 18, 2022. The judges were Consul Naoto Shigehisa from the Consular Office of Japan in Portland, Ms. Amanda Welker from Business Oregon, Ms. Masami Nishishiba from Portland State University, Ms. Kyoko Miyahara from the Toyama General Education Center, and Ms. Ayano Fujita from Apollo English Academy. The Gold Prize went to University of Toyama’s Team Battle Buddies for their presentation “Advancing Plastic Bottle Recycling-For Our Beautiful Oceans-“.

The Toyama Cup winners Rey and Ada were invited as special guests to the contest, along with Vice Governor Mika Yokota and President Akihiro Kitamura of the Toyama America-Japan Society. While President Kitamura awarded the Toyama America-Japan Society Award to University of Toyama’s Team Normal People for their presentation “Make it Normal,” Rey and Ada gave feedback to all of the participating teams and even had a chance to interact with the students during the break. Of course, they were also able to meet and speak with Vice Governor Yokota and President Kitamura, the latter of whom visited Oregon during last August’s friendship visit.

Vice Governor Yokota and President Akihiro Kitamura, left, with Rey and Ada.

After their appearance at the Oregon Cup, Ada and Rey visited the Toyama Glass Art Museum, and the following day, came to the Toyama Prefectural Office to pay a courtesy visit to Director-General Hiroshima, who also participated in the Oregon visit.

Rey and Ada were also taken to various tourist spots around the prefecture, including Iwasehama and the Toyama Prefectural Art Museum in Toyama City, Yatsuo Town, the wood-carving Inami Town along with Zuisenji Temple, and the Takaoka Great Buddha and Zuiryuji Temple in Takaoka City. While in Takaoka, they were also able to visit Nousaku Factory and even challenge themselves to a hands-on cast-metal workshop where they made and engraved their own tin plates.

However, since Rey and Ada arrived right at the start of a multi-day snowstorm, they were able to see Toyama in an entirely new light as part of western Japan’s yukiguni, or snow country. On the fourth day of their visit, they traveled to Gokayama and were able to see Toyama’s World Heritage Site blanketed in white. Both Rey and Ada were glad to have been able to come in winter and see the snow for themselves and even made a snowman.

One of the visit’s highlights was a river cruise through the Shogawa Gorge. While famous sites such as Tateyama and Kurobe Gorge are closed off in winter due to snow, Tonami City offers a year-round river boat running down the Shogawa River, complete with indoor seats that have heating for the winter months. The snow-covered mountains surrounding the river’s rich green waters put both winners in mind of Oregon more than anywhere else in Toyama. In Rey’s words, it was truly a “gorge-ous” experience.

Finally, since Ada and Rey are both JET Programme hopefuls, their last full day in Toyama had them accompany the Toyama Prefecture CIRs to a local high school visit, where they introduced Oregon in English and listened and gave feedback to student-made English presentations along with the CIRs. They were also able to meet two Toyama ALTs and hear about their expertise. We wish them all the best in their efforts to become JETs.

Now that all of the Toyama Cup winners have finally made it to the prefecture, we are excited to welcome next year’s winners and beyond, as well as to work together with Oregon for another successful Oregon Cup!

For more information, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

Congratulations to the winner of the 26th annual Toyama Cup!

On Saturday, April 23^rd, Toyama Prefecture and the Japan-America Society of Oregon held the 26^th annual Toyama Cup. The speech contest was held online for the third year in a row, and Oregon or Southwest Washington-based students from the University of Oregon, Pacific University, Lewis & Clark College, Reed College, and Willamette University participated this year. The speech topics included theater, biculturalism, V-Tubing, the four seasons, and the upper division winner, Ada Martin from Willamette University, spoke on environmentalism and her experience with the recycling culture in Japan. Her interest in wanting to share Japan’s system of trash sorting and recycling to those in foreign countries showed through clearly in her speech, and we hope to welcome her to Toyama soon and share even more about life in Toyama and Japan as a whole. Congratulations to Ada and to all the other participants of the 26^th Toyama Cup!

In addition to the competition, Toyama Prefectural JET Programme participants, including two former ALTs from Oregon, introduced their favorite parts of the prefecture, their experience on JET, and how they were able to use their Japanese to secure jobs in Japan. Finally, a networking session between contest participants, JETs, and members of the community from both sides allowed for a discussion on furthering the Toyama-Oregon relationship.

Every year, Toyama Hot News publishes an issue about the winner’s stay in Toyama, and we will do the same this year! For more information about the Toyama Cup, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

The winner of the 25th Toyama Cup visited Toyama Prefecture

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon and SW Washington. The winner of the highest level is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the past two Toyama Cups have been held online, and we are still waiting to welcome our 24^th Toyama Cup winner to Toyama. However, Tanner Yokoki, the winner of this year’s Toyama Cup, was able to travel to Toyama from his current home in Tokyo after the lifting of the most recent state of emergency. Originally from Hawaii, Tanner, a recent Pacific University graduate, received a job offer this fall from a company in Japan. Before his new position began, he stayed in Toyama Prefecture for a week in mid-October.

After exploring the beautiful art museums of Toyama City, Tanner paid a courtesy visit to the Director-General at the Prefectural Office. Over the next few days, he set off to various sites around the prefecture that showcase Toyama’s natural and historical beauty, such as Kurobe City, Yatsuo Town, Gokayama, the Kurobe Alpine Route, Takaoka City, and Amaharashi.

Tanner also participated in an online English Chat with students from Toyama Prefectural University. With a passion for utilizing technology and social media to connect to the world, Tanner was able to document his experience throughout the prefecture and has stated his intention to use his footage to create a vlog (video blog) he will share on his social media platforms. He hopes to get people from abroad interested in Toyama Prefecture, saying “you need to experience Toyama yourself, instead of just having it be told to you, to truly understand its appeal”.

We hope that Tanner’s experience will drive exchange between Toyama and Oregon, and we look forward to welcoming both last year’s and next year’s speech contest winners in the future! For more information, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

The 25th Toyama Cup Japanese Speech Contest

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon and SW Washington. The winner of the highest level contest is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government. This year’s Toyama Cup will once again be held online, which means that subscribers to the Toyama Hot News newsletter can watch the event live and support Toyama-Oregon friendship no matter where they are! Sign up at the following link:

Japan-America Society of Oregon – 日本語スピーチコンテスト「第２5回富山カップ」視聴申し込み (wildapricot.org)

Date: April 24 2021 from 4pm to 7pm (Oregon Time)

Location: Online using zoom

Spaces: 15

Every year, Toyama Hot News publishes an issue about the winner’s stay in Toyama, and we will do the same this year! For more information about the Toyama Cup, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

The 24th Toyama Cup Japanese Speech Contest

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon and SW Washington. The winner of the highest level contest is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government. This year’s Toyama Cup will be held online, which means that subscribers to the Toyama Hot News newsletter can watch the event live and support Toyama-Oregon friendship no matter where they are! More information below:
Toyama Cup

Date/Time: Sat. November 21st at 4 p.m. (PST) (Sun. Nov. 22nd at 9 a.m. in Japan)

Location: Online (zoom)

Every year, Toyama Hot News publishes an issue about the winner’s stay in Toyama, and we will do the same this year! For more information about the Toyama Cup, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

The winner of the 23rd Toyama Cup visited Toyama!

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon and SW Washington. The winner of the highest level contest is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government.

Lewis and Clark College’s Ronan Hall won this year’s Toyama Cup and stayed in Toyama Prefecture for a week in early July. She paid a courtesy visit to the Director-General before embarking on a trip that showed her some of the beautiful sites of our prefecture.

She visited the Kurobe Gorge and Gokayama, but also got to interact with students at Toyama Prefectural University, and even participated in a summer festival in the neighborhood where she was staying with her host family.

We hope that Ronan’s experience will drive exchange between Toyama and Oregon, and we look forward to welcoming the next speech contest winner!

For more information, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

The Oregon Booth at the JET World Festival 2019 and the 23rd Toyama Cup

Originally written for the Vol.12-No.5 edition (March 22, 2019) of the Toyama Hot News e-newsletter.

The Oregon Booth at the JET World Festival 2019

Every year, Toyama Prefecture Coordinators for International Relations organize the JET World Festival, a festival focusing on international exchange and multicultural understanding, with the help of Assistant Language Teachers working in the prefecture. For its 24^th edition, this year’s festival was held on February 17^th at the Toyama International Conference Center.

The festival featured a stage with cultural performances, and international café with tea and snacks, a kids’ corner, a multicultural experience workshop area, and most of all, the international booths, where volunteers introduced the diverse places they are from. This year’s international booths once again featured the Oregon booth, where Corvallis-native and 4^th year ALT Anthony proudly showcased his home state to the over 700 visitors. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce Oregon, Toyama Prefecture’s sister state, to residents here.

The families and students who came to the booth learned about how Toyama and Oregon both have active outdoor scenes and magnificent natural environments, with Anthony introducing many of the beautiful sights through pamphlets, maps, and the “Only Slightly Exaggerated” video from Travel Oregon. He also talked about the thriving craft beer industry in Oregon, and contrasted it with how that industry is growing here in Toyama.

Anthony is one of the 5 ALTs from Oregon who are currently working in Toyama Prefecture through the JET Programme. Friendly relations with Oregon began in 1991 and since 1997, 42 JET Programme participants from Oregon have worked in schools and government around the prefecture.

Learn more about the Toyama JET World Festival here: https://toyamazing.wordpress.com/

The 23^rd Toyama Cup Japanese Speech Contest

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon and SW Washington. The winner of the highest level contest is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government. Every year, Toyama Hot News publishes an issue about the winner’s stay in Toyama, and we will do the same this year! For more information about the Toyama Cup, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

The 2018 Toyama Cup Japanese Speech Contest

Originally written for the Vol.12-No.2 edition (June 18, 2018) of the Toyama Hot News e-newsletter.

The Toyama Cup is a Japanese speech contest held every year in Portland in cooperation with JASO (the Japan-America Society of Oregon) to recognize the fruits of Oregon students’ Japanese studies. It first began in 1996, commemorating the 5^th anniversary of the sister-state relationship between Toyama and Oregon. Jack Glenn from Willamette University won the Grand Prize for this year’s 22^nd Toyama Cup, held on April 22^nd. His prize includes a week-long trip to Toyama where he will visit the many sites that make our beautiful prefecture famous. Jack will be coming in July, and join the many other Grand Prize winners who have made the trip from Oregon to Toyama over the years, continuing to build the bridge of friendship between our two regions. We look for new participants every year so if you happen to know someone who would be interested, encourage them to apply next year! For more information, please visit the JASO website here.

Opportunity for students of Japanese: Toyama Cup Japanese Speech Contest

（日本語版は英語版の下にあります）

Every year, in conjunction with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture sponsors a Japanese language speech contest for college and university students in the state of Oregon. The Toyama Cup Japanese Speech Contest first began in 1996, commemorating the 5^th anniversary of the sister-state relationship between Toyama and Oregon. Students who compete will not only improve their Japanese and public speaking abilities, but also stand to win prizes, with the grand-prize winner getting an all-expenses-paid trip to Toyama Prefecture! The winner will spend a week enjoying the beautiful scenery and wonderful food of Toyama, as well as meeting locals and taking part in a variety of hands-on experiences. See JASO’s webpage for more details and information about how to register.

In order to give prospective participants an idea of what to expect, I am sharing the experiences of Lauren Inaba, the 2015 winner below. I hope that this serves as an inspiration and reminder; the next winner could be you!

I was able to tour the Nanto area with Lauren and Anya, the Russian winner of the Vladivostok Japanese Speech Contest, during their stay in Toyama this past September. We had a wonderful time visiting Zuisenji Temple, making our own Japanese paper, seeing the historic villages of Gokayama, and making our own toasted rice crackers! I asked Lauren to send me a review of her experience after her trip… Here it is!

How was the speech contest?

I entered the speech contest for the second time after my study abroad. The first time I had competed in the speech contest it was in a different division and it was more about the experience of doing a speech contest. This time I was more interested in hearing everyone else’s speeches. My speech was about one of my own experiences in Japan; I knew I wanted to speak about an experience that made me laugh, and have fun with the speech – I didn’t want to be serious the entire time if I didn’t have to be. I chose to speak about my first time at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, during the beginning of my study abroad. In short, I made a cultural mistake and got scolded by an older Japanese lady, who had mistaken me for a Japanese girl from Japan. It caused me to wonder about how differently the situation might have turned out if she had instead thought of me as a foreigner, and what it would have been like if I were a male.

First impression of Toyama

My first impression was when I saw the Toyama station on my first day. For some reason I had expected a smaller station and figured Toyama would be more country than city. However, what stuck out most in my trip to Toyama were my interactions with everyone and the conversations we had. Sometimes it was about differences between Vladivostok, Toyama, and Oregon, other times it was about topics such as the pros and cons of having the appearance of a foreigner in Japan compared to having the appearance of a Japanese.

I was aware that Japan is full of historic and beautiful places to see, and Toyama is no exception. Tateyama was breathtakingly beautiful, and I was able to compare the giant cedar trees to the giant redwood trees in Oregon. During my visit to Gokayama, I was impressed by the uniqueness of the gassho-style houses, and that it is the only World Heritage site in Japan that is maintaining not only a historically and culturally significant place but a lifestyle – people still live within the houses in the village and have been maintaining them, changing the thatching every twenty years. I became interested in doing things one could only do in Toyama, so I tried the white shrimp, the masuzushi, and even a bit of Toyama sake.

What was the highlight of the trip?

I have a hard time picking one highlight as I felt that there was a highlight from each day of my trip. I did enjoy spending a day with the students just walking around, talking and relaxing at Kansui Park after shopping in Toyama city. I am very glad I chose to do a home-stay during the trip. I had done a home-stay before, but talking until late into the night with my host mother about anything out of the blue and watching the news in the morning with my host father when I woke up too early were priceless moments to me.

日本語を学んでいる方：チャンス！富山カップ日本語スピーチコンテスト

毎年、オレゴン州の日米協会と協力して、富山県はオレゴン州の大学生のため日本語スピーチコンテストを主催しています。富山県とオレゴン州の姉妹関係5周年の1996年から行われています。大学生にとっては、日本語能力とパブリックスピーキングを磨く機会だけではなく、素敵な賞品も獲得できるチャンスです。優勝者は、すべての経費無料で、一週間富山県の旅を楽しんでいただけます！富山の雄大な自然や美味しい食べ物、フレンドリーな人々、面白い体験が待っているので、ぜひスピーチコンテストに挑戦してみてください！スピーチコンテストの申込み方法などの詳細は、JASOのＨＰにてご覧ください。

スピーチコンテストがどのようなものか知っていただくため、2015年の優勝者ローレン・イナバさんの経験を皆様に報告します。今年、富山へ来たのはローレンさんでしたが、来年の優勝者はあなたかもしれません！？

私はローレンさんとロシア・ウラジオストク日本語スピーチコンテストの優勝者であるアンナさんとともに一日を過ごしました。富山県の名所瑞泉寺と世界遺産の五箇山合掌造り集落、和紙すき体験とせんべい焼き体験も楽しみました！ローレンさんの旅が終わった後、スピーチコンテストや富山の印象について、聞いてみました。

スピーチコンテストは、いかがでしたか？

留学をする前にも一度参加しましたが、留学を経てレベルの高い部門に再度応募しました。一度目はいい経験として、今回はほかの参加者のスピーチを聞くことにより興味を持ちました。私のスピーチは日本での経験話でしたが、重いテーマではなく、面白いものと決め、スピーチを楽しむことにしました。結果として、北野天満宮へ初めて行ったときの話をしました。要約すると、私は文化的に礼儀正しくないことを思わずやってしまい、日本人のおばさんに叱られたのです。そのおばさんは私が日本人と勘違いしていたようだったが、もし私が外国人だと分かっていたら、もし、私が男の人だったら、叱られなかったのではないかと、考えさせられました。

富山の初印象

私の初めての印象は富山駅でした。
富山はもっと田舎だと思っていたので、大きく、そして新しい駅に少しびっくりしました。また、富山でもっとも印象深かったのは、出会った人とその人との会話です。富山やオレゴン州、ウラジオストクの違いなど、色々と話し合いました。また、日本で生活すると、日系やアジア系の人は外国人と思われないこともあるようですが、そのメリットとデメリットについても、興味深い話を色々と行いました。

日本では歴史的で自然が豊富なところが多くあることは知っていましたが、富山も負けていません。立山は本当に綺麗で、大きな杉がオレゴン州の大きなレッドウッドを思い出させてくれました。五箇山では、独特な合掌造り集落に感動しました。人がまだこの世界遺産で生活を営み、屋根のかやを新しくする等、その歴史や文化を守り続けているのです。富山でしか味わえないものも食べたいと思い、白エビやますずし、富山の日本酒も堪能しました。

旅のハイライトは？

毎日ハイライトがあったので、一つに選ぶことはできません。富山の高校・大学生との買い物、散策、環水公園で話したことは楽しかったです。ホームステイもとてもよかったです。ホームステイは初めてではなかったのですが、ホストマザーと夜遅くまでお話ししたり、ホストファザーと朝のニュースを見たりするのは、素敵な経験でした。