Congratulations, Hiroshima JETs! National AJET has announced the winners of its 2010 Awards, and the Wide Island View has been named Best Online Resource of 2010. Three cheers to all of you! The Wide Island View would not be what it is without your contributions.

The Best Online Resource Award was given to “the AJET Group that provides the most outstanding online services to its members, including websites, online magazines, bulletin boards, forums, or any other kind of online medium. Points of consideration include readership, content, design, reliability, regularity and educational resources.”

We’ve all learned a lot from the Wide Island View over the past year. There was that creepy article last October about the stinky Japanese Bigfoot living in the hills of Saijo. And who can forget the account of what it’s like to eat dolphin? From a first-hand account about one JET’s stay in a Japanese hospital, to articles with everything you need to know about getting your Japanese driver’s license and scooter license, file your American taxes, and get married in Japan, Hiroshima JETs did an outstanding job sharing their experiences to help others living in Japan. We picked up some really great advice about everything from climbing Mt. Fuji to making goya chanpuru. And these are all just a few examples of all the great writing Hiroshima JETs have done this year.

We’ve been thrilled with the growth of the Wide Island View this year, transforming from a PDF publication to a website attracting some 7,500 visitors and 25,000 page views per month. With the introduction of the Wide Island’s new Forum and Teaching Materials section, we expect traffic to continue growing with time. Please spread the word about the Wide Island to all your friends!

Minasan Omedetou Gozaimasu!

We’d also like to offer a hearty congratulations to the other National AJET Award winners:

AJET Chapter Award: Nara AJET

AJET Service Award: Lauren Wetherington, Dawn Adams, Jonathon Ealey, Jooree Ahn, Byrony Dunlop, Jen Park, Adam Tsai, Natalee Oslen, Jesse Welty, Tonya Kneff, Rebecca Carrington, Ryan Bedford, Samantha Scupp, Kevin Mitchel, Daniel Patterson, Justin Elavathil, Andrew Heffernan, Pooja Dadhania, Carol Holland, Mark Griffiths

Internationalization Award: Shimane Student Exchange Program

Best Charity Event Award: Nagano AJET Thanksgiving Talent Auction raised ¥18,000for the World Food Program. Kumamoto AJET Valentines Day Talent Auction raised ¥213,000for Quisqueya International Organization for Freedom & Development Haiti.

Best Sports Event: Tajima Ultimate Frisbee

Best Publication Award: The Nagazasshi

Best Inter-Prefectural Event/ Project: Nara & Mie Masquerade Ball / Block Mixer

Special Interest Group (SIG) Award: Smile Kids Japan

Gail Meadows

Gail, a Hiroshima-ken JET based in Hiroshima city, is Editor of the Wide Island View. Besides managing the Wide Island, she blogs about her various exploits in Japan and contributes regularly to JetWit.