◎It is always a great joy to study your homepage and also to find out what is happening in locations far and wide — from the reports of your faithful correspondents.  

 Here on the New England Highlands (in the State of New South Wales, Australia), the Autumn Season has arrived and the trees are displaying their seasonal colours ……. 

 

      
However, if we drive 180km westwards, down to the coast, we can still experience warm summer weather and go swimming / surfing in the ocean …….

 With our warmest Autumn Greeting to you and your Homepage Readers.

 
------------------Claus &  Michiko JEHNE, Armidale, NSW. Australia.
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◎Thank you for the beautiful photos and excellent English essay. I am happy to see the wild cherry bloom in your garden every year. You and Rumiko-san worked hard to send us the Home Page! I appreciate it very much.

April is the best time in Japan: Cherry blossoms and the beginning of the school year - one of the best times in their life for students who could get into the schools of their choice. ( I suppose  the education system in Japan has not changed much from my student years there – very tough entrance exams to good schoosl! I cannot forget April was the most cruel and depressing time for some of my friends who failed university entrance exams.)

 Our weather here at the foothills of Rocky Mountains are quite different from yours. Although yesterday's the temperature was close to 20C, overnight it went down to -6C and right now I am admiring the blizzard over the great prairie. This kind of drastic weather changes are quite common here and very entertaining to watch. I walk everyday for 30-60 minutes and only one spring sign I encountered was a single vivid yellow dandelion flower against the sunny fence. When you are enjoying millions of cherry blossoms, I a single flower.

 Please take care of yourself. Looking forward May Home Page.

   ------------------Haruyo Konishi Hazelton、Alberta, Canada -----------

AB, Canada

So good to get your update, and to see the wonderful cherry blossoms in full flower.  

It is especially good to see the cherry blossoms in your own fine garden.
I well remember being in your fine country as cherry blossoms were in flower.  One year you took us to Himaji Castle grounds, and we had a Cherry Blossom picnic  - with many other picnics happening around us.  

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I certainly DO remember the days in Kyoto, and when we experienced the beautiful cherry blossoms AND snow.  

I have such great memories of my trips to Sonoda Womens University and our visits to other areas in your beautiful countr

--------------Tom Gregg , Christchurch , New Zealand ----------------------------

◎Thank you for showing us the signs of spring in Japan. When I lived in the west coast of Canada, our spring was only 2-3 weeks behind yours. Now that I live in further interior , on the foothill of Rocky Mountains, the difference between your early spring and ours is remarkable.

Although the temperature is still fluctuating between -20C and 10C , and not a single  spring flower,  in early March I saw the first subtle sign of spring – softness in the color of the sky . On March 11, I saw the definite sign of spring from my living room window -hundreds of Canada geese on the snowy field. Although some people associate the arrival of spring with blooms of dandelions and the arrival of swallows, the people on Canadian prairies believe that the first sign of spring is the arrival of the Canada Geese.

I am very happy to see you are enjoying the day on Rokko. You look happy and energetic. You are a good role model to us seniors.

---------------------------- Haruyo Konishi Hazelton, Alberta, Canada ----------- 
44°

◎As always, thank you for your Homepage with the sign of Early Spring in the Kobe Area.

 There is not much to report from our country town of Armidale, except to say that we are planning a short trip to the South Island of New Zealand

 There we plan to visit the town of Akaroa (a former French Waling harbour), Hamner Springs (Onsens), Kaikoura (on the ocean) and the Kahurangi National Park near the town of Picton in the north.

 With our best wishes to all the Coffee Club members around the globe.

------------------ Claus & Michiko Jehne,  Armidale, NSW, Australia-------------  

Takeuchi sensei

I visit your website from time to time,always enjoy looking at your wonderful photos!
I was very happy to see the comments of my old friends when I met them in New Zealand and Australia.

I am now working at Otemae University in Hyogo.
I work in the Academic Affairs Department and international exchange center.

Otemae University is affiliated to a Japanese language school in Myanmar and has 10 Myanmarese students enrolled.
I visited Myanmar 3 years ago
Just before COVID-19and visited Yangon
University of Foreign Languages, among others.
I hope Myanmar will be at peace soon.

I hope you are doing well,Takeuchi sensei.
Also, kiwi and Aussie, please take care of yourselves.

If I have a chance, I would like to visit New Zealand and Australia.

---------------------Masayuki Kishimoto, Sanda, Hyogo Pref. Japan----------------


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 ru
Coffee Break
We are so happy that the cherry blossams beautifully open this year
We enjoyed the scene of the garden taken from the 2nd floor.
Our cherry tree is called Yamazakura and open the blossoms and leaves at the same time.

We found a spring orchid in full bioom. This is the first symbol of spring.

We had found some firtile shoots of horsetails on the promnade which we could not find during this spring.So they were so precious for us.



W
There is the symbol zone for the beginning of the housing complex where we live. We enjoyed beauty of cherry blossoms behind the statue of the girl named "HOPE"
We saw the cherry trees which had beauty boossoms on the sides of the way near the entrance of the park
Cherry Blossoms at Our Home

Japanese people appreciate cherry blossoms greatly. Since cherry blossoms remain in bloom only for a few days, we were formerly considered a reminder that this world is mutable and impermanent. During the cherry blossom season, newspapers provide sakuradayori (cherry blossom reports,) which can be a handy guide for the viewers in deciding when and where to enjoy beautiful cherry blossoms. When they bloom people go on a picnic. Sitting under the cherry trees, they enjoy the beauty of the blossoms

Cherry Blossoms at the ParKs
We are happy to live in the area where we can enjoy cherry blosssoms.

On 5 th April, we visited the park 'Fujiwarayama' and enjoyed the cherry blossoms .We met some families who looked happy to see the beauty of blossoms

We saw the white eyes sucking nectar from blossoms.
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White meadowswets were shining,

We were busy to follow rapid movement of a daurian redstart.
Next day we visited near park 'Gamaike' to enjoy cherry blossoms .We were happy to find the beauty of the cherry blosoms at the wellfare facility for the aged called Fujinosato where Tak stayed for 40 days in February and March , 2 years ago