At all the conversation circles I’ve been to I often hear about this Japanese school known as “Japaneasy”. Listening to the impressions of the people I meet saying things like “It’s really good”, and “It’s not just good, very good” I began to wonder what’s so great about this place?
In order to discover this secret, I went to the conversation circle known as “Nihon mura”, which is run at Japaneasy.
At the reception I was greeted by the very friendly Japaneasy staff. Once past reception you’re given a piece of paper with your name written on it and a cup. At Nihon mura snacks and drinks are provided.
There are all sorts of Japanese people participating ranging from those on a working holiday to those with permanent residency. Aside from the Japanese there, half the people are Japaneasy students and half are people who have heard about Nihon mura through word of mouth. Two years ago, together with the opening of Japaneasy, Nihon mura began, and since then it’s become a popular event that has on average 50 participants.
Nihon mura is divided into 2 rooms; A room for relaxed chatting, and a room for study. In the chatting room, You can sit on the sofas and munch on snacks as you converse. Nothing is particularly fixed, so people relax and talk in a mixture of Japanese and English. Some people like to play with the cards and Japanese games that are at the school.
In the study room, conversations are carried out in groups of 5 or 6. Time is divided into 15mins of Japanese and 15mins of English, then after 30mins there is a seat rotation. There’s no set topic of discussion but on the tables there are magazine and newspaper cutouts. Should you run out of things to talk about you can use them to make conversation. The study room is quite popular, so if you don't go early all the seats will be taken quickly.
Sack（left）; university student from Tasmania, Mina（right）；Japaneasy principal
I spoke to one of the participants, Sack.
"Last year I found the school on the Internet and started the course for the Japanese language proficiency test. I also often come to the meetings to speak Japanese, and everytime is a lot of fun. The good thing about Nihon mura is it has structure. Because the teachers divide up the meeting properly, even people who are a little shy can rest easy and join in at Nihon mura. All the Japaneasy teachers are friendly, (see photo above) and you really get along well with the principal right(laughs). I think it’s good when people with an interest in Japanese come and try it out once. This is the place for you. "
Nihon mura is lively and is always full of laughter. And because it’s run at a school you can sense there are a lot of participants who want to diligently study Japanese and English. Part of Japaneasy’s interior décor includes pictures of Sakura flowers, and Japanese dolls. It’s very tranquil. The teachers at this school are friendly and you can enjoy a friendly conversation whilst learning a language.
This relaxed, friendly, lively atmosphere must be one of the reasons why Nihon mura and Japaneasy are so popular.
Nihon mura
Schedule: every 2nd and 4th Wednesday
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Fee: $4.00（includes drinks and snacks）
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Original article written by Writer Y
Translated by Garrick Low
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