On the third and fourth of June each year, Akiota Town (where I live) holds a Frog Festival in Kake. A couple of weeks before I’d heard about this event, the rice fields next to where I lived had been invaded by an army of frogs, so many and so loud that my family could hear them on Skype! The town logo is also a frog, so it seemed to make sense that – of course – there would also be a Frog Festival.

Behind every video is a story. This video was shot at the hanami party in Senkoji, Onomichi in April 2011. Hanami is a beautiful time in Japan when people get together to eat, drink, and gaze at the natural beauty of the newly-bloomed cherry blossoms.

One visit a month to the orphanage does wonders. The anticipation that builds up from one visit to the next is dumbfounding. I’ll have kids not pay attention in class just to ask me when we are coming back and what we’re going to be doing. That right there is how I know we are making at least a bit of a difference. There’s expectations there, excitement. There’s a lot that we can’t do for these kids, but by giving a little time and a little effort we give them at least one bright spot every few weeks.

Top ten tips picked up by a JET who attended the 2011 Conference for Returning JETs.

Yuki Gassen is a sport that takes place in Japan. The game is like a combination of capture the flag and paintball. The goal is to either capture the other team’s flag, get the other team out by hitting them with snowballs, or by having more members than the other team when time expires.

Been looking for a chance to show off your photos and show others the weird, strange, and/or funny photos you’ve taken around Hiroshima? Let’s eat finger food and bask in the funny things we encounter every day while living here.

In the first week of October Hiroshima AJET set out to Otoyo, Kochi in Shikoku for a whitewater rafting experience! This was our first big trip out of the prefecture this year, brought to us by the amazing new leaders of AJET: Myia, Brandon, Alex, and Jennie.

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.”

Attention all JETs! National AJET is currently holding elections for new block leaders to represent regions around Japan. There are three candidates campaigning to be the National AJET representative for Block 9, which includes Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi prefectures. The three candidates are Jonathan Fisher of Hiroshima Prefecture, Erin McBride of Shimane Prefecture, and Kholofelo Nkoe of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Votes can be cast now through Feb. 26.

Our adopted hometown’s holiday illumination certainly has it’s own quirky charm, but if it’s an elegant and classy display you’re looking for, look no further than Kobe. Perhaps you’ve seen the ubiquitous advertisements for Kobe’s annual Luminarie in train stations. While not billed specifically as a Christmas display — it ran Dec. 3 to 14 this year – this winter illumination is sure to put you in the holiday spirit. For 12 days each December, the lights commemorate Kobe’s rebirth following the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which devastated the city in January 1995. The installation, donated by the Italian government and created by an Italian designer, is made up of a series of arches with lights arranged to resemble a kind of cathedral. Seen from afar, these arches combine into a long tunnel of light that indeed is quite admirable and unlike any other lights display I’ve seen.