Sakai City Life e-magazine - February/March 2015

8/9/2019 Sakai City Life e-magazine - February/March 2015

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Spring at Harvest Hill means strawber-

riesand lots of them! Get down toSakais premier agricultural leisure parkfor all you can eat strawberry pickingwith three types of strawberries, straw-berry based cooking classes, and more!

Fees apply and bookings are necessaryfor strawberry picking and sweet mak-ing. Strawberry picking at Harvest Hill isvery popular so its best to book early.Separate park entry fees also apply.Special low park entry fees are on offeruntil the end of Februaryso get inquick.

For details on how to book visitthe Harvest Hill website (in Japa-nese) or the City Life website.

Strawberry picking days:Every Tuesday, Thursday, Satur-day and Sunday from January toMay (excluding public holidays).

Strawberry picking time:11:00 (please register at the en-try gate by 10:45.)

*For weekend strawberry picking, allparticipants leave from Harvest Hill

together at 10:45 so please arrive andregister early.

Venues for strawberry picking:(Weekdays) the strawberry house in-side the park (in front of Jiyu Hiroba)

(Weekend) the strawberry house out-side the park (in an affiliated farm)

Numbers:(Weekdays)30 people(Weekend) 100 people*These numbers can change dependingon the readiness of the strawberry crop.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2015 EDITION

CITYLIFE

Safety at the Pump 2

Influenza & Norovirus 2

Chinese Story Time 2

Word Search 3

Sakai City Museum 4

Kenko Sakai Fair 5

Tax Rate Change 6

Inside this issue:

Message fromthe Editor

Happy New Year! -Itseems funny to be writ-ing that in January for anewsletter people wontread until February, butit cant be helped.

I hope all our readershad a great time overthe New Year break. Imyself escaped to the

warmth of the New Zea-land new year to spendtime with friends andfamily and head outtramping, cycling andso on.

Ive put in a Sakai wordsearch to keep youoccupied for a fewminutes on a rainy / still-too-cold-to-go-outsideday. Enjoy!

Felix

I t s Strawberry Time at Harvest Hil l !

1-L5-14-0045

March Strawberry

Picking* andStrawberry Tart Making

Make a pretty strawberry tartusing delicious, freshly har-vested strawberries.

Each participant gets to makeand take home a 15cm diame-ter tart.Cost: 2000 yen per personTime: 14:30- Numbers: 24

April May StrawberryPicking* and Strawberry

Yogurt Ice CreamMake strawberry yogurt ice

cream using real, freshlypicked strawberries.These make a great afternoonsnack, ready to be eaten assoon as theyre made.Cost: 1600 yen per person

Time: 14:30- Numbers: 36

May Strawberry Picking*and Strawberry Cream and

Scone MakingMake strawberry scones andstrawberry cream using deli-cious, freshly picked strawber-ries.

Each person makes 4 sconeswhich they can take home withthem. The strawberry creamcan only be tried at the class-room and not taken home.

Cost: 1800 yen per personTime: 10:30- Numbers: 36

Entry Fees MarNov Dec-Feb

Junior highschool adult

900 yen 500 yen

4 and up 500 yen 300 yen

3 and under free free

65 and over 600 yen 400 yen

Strawberry Picking Prices

Adults (junior highschool age and up)

1500 yen

Kids (4 and up) 1100 yen

Infants (1-3) 500 yen

Sweet making courses in-

clude one bag worth ofstrawberry picking (not all

you can eat).

Harvest Hill is open from

10:0017:00.

Free parking!

Phone: 072

-296

-9911

Sakai City Minami-ku Hachi-

gamineji 2405-1


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Every year in winter, influenza, andcontagious gastroenteritis, caused bynorovirus, spread rapidly within thecommunity. Both can be very seriousand caution is necessary.

Flu vaccinations, hand washing, gar-gling, room humidification and maskwearing can help you avoid catchinginfluenza.

To help prevent the spread of no-rovirus, avoid giving raw oysters tosmall children and the elderly. If no-rovirus is caught, clothing, flooring andfurniture contaminated with vomit ordiarrhea should be disinfected thor-oughly with chlorinated disinfectant.

Teaching staff and exchange studentsfrom Hagoromo International Universi-ty will be giving a reading of a chil-drens picture book in Chinese along

with a performance of the matouqin, atraditional Mongolian stringed instru-ment at the Otori Health and CultureCenter. The reading is primarily forchildren but adults are also welcometo attend by themselves.

When: March 22nd(Sun) 11:00 12:00

Venue: Otori Health and Culture Cen-ter, 3F Meeting Room

The event is free and

no bookings are re-quired; participationis limited to the first50 people to arrive.

of the static electricity Be sure that you are pumping the

correct type of petrol Insert the nozzle as far as it will go

Pull the lever of the nozzle as far asit will go

If the petrol stops flowing, do not try

to force any more in

When you are finished, return the

nozzle securely to its original posi-

tion

Do not smoke, use a lighter or any

other naked flame anywhere near

the pumps

Do not fill other

containers

Follow the writ-

ten precautions.

In the past few years it has becomenormal to pump petrol for yourself at

the petrol station. There have, howev-

er, been a large number of fires

thought to have been caused by staticelectricity around cars petrol tanks

during fuelling.

Static electricity can cause the petrol

to catch fire when the tanks cap isopened as well as during and just

after pumping. Of particular concern is

when the nozzle cant be closed be-

cause of the fire, and grave injuries

result. When pumping petrol pleasefollow the below points:

Safety rules:

Ensure that your engine is turned

off and your brakes are firmly on

Only one person should pump the

petrol

Use anti-static sheets etc. to get rid

For many years the most commoncause of fires in Sakai has been arson(including suspected arson).

To help prevent arson, please payattention to the following points andwork together to create a city free ofarson, where arson is not tolerated orallowed to happen, and where even ifit does happen, it is successfullystopped from spreading.

Dont leave burnable materialsaround the outside of your house.

Always lock empty houses andsheds, etc.

Cover cars and bikes with fire-proofbody covers.

Ensure that the areas around build-ings are well lit.

Put rubbish out on the designatedday only.

188th View 21 Concert

Beware of Arson

Story Timein Chinese

PAGE TWO CITY LIFE

Safety at the Pump

Emergency NumbersRemember

These!

In the event of a fire or medical emer-gency please call 119. If you require

the police or there has been an acci-

dent, call 110.

Ambulances are free to use in Japan;

however, they are only for emergen-

cies, and must not be used in cases of

minor illness or injury.

Emergency calls can be made for freein public phone boxes:

1.Pick up the re-ceiver

2.Press the red

button

()

3.Dial 119 or 110 depending on the

nature of the emergency.

Influenza & Norovirus

In this seminar, Sakai Citys two resi-dent Coordinators for InternationalRelations (CIRs) will talk about their

countries (China and New Zealand)and explore with participants the con-cept of multiculturalism through agame. The seminar and game will beconducted in Japanese.The seminar will be held on March 1stfrom 14:00 to 17:00 at Sakai Interna-tional Plaza. Participation is freebutprior application is necessary (andlimited to the first 50 applications re-ceived so get in quick!). Participantsmust live, work or study in Sakai City.Applications can be made from Febru-ary 1stby phone, fax or email. Be sureto include your name, address, andphone number.Tel: 072-222-7343Email: [email protected]

CIR Seminar this March!

The 188th View21 Concert will beheld in the 21st Floor ObservationLobby at Sakai City Hall on Friday,February 13th from 12:10.

Warm yourself up in February withsome free piano music performed byone of Sakais up and coming youngartists, Tahara Nozomi.Pieces include: Claire de lune by Debussy Liebestraume No. 3 by Liszt And more!


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Back for another year, this popularexhibition is one of Sakais ongoingsister-friendship city exchange pro-grammes and features artwork by

preschoolers from Sakai, Wellingtonin New Zealand, Berkley in America,and Lianyungang in China.

Dont miss this great opportunity tosee a visual extravaganza in whichevery piece is a riot of creativity andindividuality.

The art will be on display from Febru-ary 25th(Wed) until February 27th(Fri,

Kozen Parks Bairin or plum grove isvery large at some 27,300 squaremetres and was planted over two

years, starting in 1984. Now it hassome 1,400 trees of 50 different vari-eties which flower from mid-Februaryto early March each year.

With Robai (wintersweet) trees blos-soming in early January, sanshuyu(Japanese cornelian cherry) blos-soming in mid-March, 700-odd cherrytrees breaking out in sakura in mid-April and the lotuses on Bozu Pondflowering in mid-August, the park canbe enjoyed all year round.

The park is also home to the Tajiha-yahime Shrine which is said to havefirst been built in the 6th century.

Getting there:Address: 2-3 Miyayama-dai, Minami-ku, Sakai

Ride the Semboku Rapid Railway toIzumigaoka Station and then catcheither a number 2 or a number 12Nankai Bus and get offat the Miyayama-daistop.

Entry to the park is free.

Car parking is availableat three car parks.

Between Mid-Februaryand Mid-April, parking

will cost 500 yen forregular cars and 1000yen for minibuses. Ex-tra parking space willbe made available dur-ing the plum and sa-kura blossom viewingseasons.

Enquiries:

Izumigaoka Park Of-fice(TEL) 072-291-1800

16:00) in the entrance hall of the CityHall Honkan. Viewing is free and nobookings are required.

Please direct any enquiries to theSakai Sister Friendship City Associa-tion Secretariat at Sakai InternationalPlaza: (TEL) 072-340-1090

Kozen Park

PAGE THREE

Sakai Word Search

Find the seventeen words related to Sakai hidden in the grid.

They go up, down, left to right, right to left, and diagonally.

Sakai Sister Friendship City Preschoolers Art Exchange Exhibition

Y X I N C E N S E K O F U N R

U L I G H T H O U S E B A I F

E Z Y Y O I W A G A S H I N Q

N A N S H U J I S F M A M T U

M C A S E N N O R I K Y U O K

I M K A U D O T E M P L E K M

N I A S H F S R N I S H I U O

A H H B I C Y C L E T N Q T A

M A D G Q Q R N A N B A N E T

I R H F T E A C E R E M O N Y

O A C C X Y K E X R U K F N I

X F X I S A K A I Y O I C O P

T

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E

U

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F

K J S N K N I V E S U A U Y M

N L P D X O O M S D H H Z O K

BICYCLE

INCENSE

KITA

KNIVES

KOFUN

LIGHTHOUSE

MIHARA

MINAMIMOAT

MUSEUM

NAKA

NANBAN

NANSHUJI

NINTOKU-

TENNO-RYO

NISHI

SAKAI

SEN-NO-RIKYU

TEA CEREMONYTEMPLE

WAGASHI



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February 7thand 8th(Sat/Sun), 2015

Sakais flagship traditional industry,knife-making has its own festival: theSakai Hamono Matsuri. With the likesof knives, ikebana scissors, and gar-dening scissors for sale, live e-tsukeknife handle attaching and knife forg-ing demonstrations, and a knife clinic,

this event has it all. Enjoy perusingthe arrayed knives for one thats rightfor you, and have your own knifesharpened by an expert (fees apply,numbers limited).

The matsuri will be held in the SakaiIndustrial Promotion Center at 183-5Nagasone-cho, Kita-ku. Entry is free.

Public transport: venue is 5 minutesfrom Nakamozu Station on theMidosuji Subway line and the NankaiKoya Line.

(TEL) 072-233-0118 (Federation ofSakai Cutlery Commerce and IndustryAssociations)

The 28thSakai Hamono Matsuri

PAGE FOUR CITY LIFE

The Sakai City Museum is located in

Daisen Park. It holds thematic exhibi-

tions in addition to its general exhibi-

tion on the history and culture of Sa-

kai.

Japan the Mysterious The Japanof Old Western Map

On display from January 24thto March15th.

To the people of old Europe, Japanwas a mysterious and exotic land.Marco Polo, a Venetian adventureractive in the 13thand 14thcenturies,introduced Japan to Europeans asCipangu, a land of gold; his tales of itswealth impressing many.The Sakai City Museum possesses alarge collection of western maps cre-

ated during this period of east-west

contact. This exhibition will introduce30 western works from the collectionwhich best show Europeans impres-

What s on at Sakai C i ty Museum?

sions of Sakai. Through them learnhow the West viewed the East andhow Sakai seemed to them.

Venue: 1stfloor Exhibition Area

Ancient Thai Pottery III: Masterpiec-es of The Ayutthaya Dynasty and

MyanmarOn display from March 21st(Sat) toApril 19th(Sun)

This private collection, last displayedin 2013, is centered on porcelain fromAyutthaya Dynasty Thailand (1351 1767) and from neighbouringMyan-mar.

The exhibition will also showcase Thaiand Burmese porcelain discovered inSakai and Osaka and provide expla-nation of the history of trade and ex-

change between Sakai and Thailand.

Venue: 1stfloor Exhibition Area

Spot DisplaysAncient Tools Quiz Spot ExhibitionFrom January 20thto March 8th

This exhibition displays in quiz formatthe tools used long ago that the muse-

um has collected and introduces thechanges in the tools through the agesand the changes in li festyle that theybrought about.

Venue: 1stfloor Exhibition Area SpotDisplay Corner

Opening Hours

Open Tuesday-Sunday9:30-17:15 (enter by

16:30)

Closed

Mondays (except public holidays)

Year-end and New Year Holidays

Contact museum for detailsTEL:072-245-6201)

Admission Museum Entry only

Adults 200 yen

University/senior high students100 yen

Elementary/junior high students50 yen

Discounts apply for groups (20 persons or more). Junior

high school students and elementary pupils attending

schools or living in Sakai, as well as foreign exchangestudents with suitable identification are admitted for free.


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Theme: Nutrition and Diet Balancing

your diet and maintaining ahealthy bodyweight

When: March 1st, 2015, 10:00 16:00

Where: Sakai City Industrial Promo-tion Center, Event Hall

The event is free and no booking isnecessary to attend.

Stage Programme (See table)

Booth Area Health related booths set up by

the organizers and other organi-

zations

Theme corners (education,health check)

Other There will also be agricultural

produce for sale and a solar caron display, as well as chances toride in mini-solar cars and a ministeam-train, and more.

FY2014 Kenko Sakai 21 Health Fair

PAGE FIVE

10:00 Opening ceremony

10:15 Opening performance (Houju

Gakuen Kindergarten

10:40 Musical performance by Ko-

yama Atsushi (vegetable flute expert)Watch this vegetable flute expert makeinstruments out of your favourite vegeta-bles and then perform with them.

11:15 Exercise with Sakamoto Yuno

from m-wellnet.org.Ms Sakamoto will instruct the audiencein Radio Exercise and exercises thatcan be performed while seated.

12:00 Break

13:00 Movie Alices Delicious Revo-

lution (presented by NHK Enterprise)A cooking programme about Alice Wa-

ters, owner of the world-

famous ChezPanisse restaurant in California andrenowned as the chef who spread theidea of slow food around the world andstarted the delicious revolution.

14:15

Lecture by Yonekura Harumi

(home cooking researcher)Happiness starts in the kitchen: whyevery meal is important

15:50 Finish

Free Confidential Consultation Ser-vice for Foreign Residents

Is there something you want to know?

Something thats troubling you? Donthesitate to come in and get advice.

Volunteer interpreters will be on handif needed to help you consult withexperts on life in Japan, tax, visa sta-tus, parenting issues, education andmore.

Date/Time:April 15th(Wed) 13:30 17:00 (reception open until 16:30)

Venue: Sakai City International Plaza(1-4-24 Nakakawara-machi, Sakai-ku)

Interpretation will be available for thefollowing languages: English, Chi-

nese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese,Vietnamese, Thai and Tagalog.

Application: Prior application is notstrictly necessary. However, if youfeel you may need an interpreter,please try to apply as early as possi-ble.

TEL: 072-228-7499 FAX: 072-340-1091 Email: [email protected]

Consultation Service

Sofia Sakai Planetarium and Observatory: Schedule to March 31st

Time Programme

11:00 12 Constellation Race

12:00 Hey, whats that in thesky?

13:30 Norman the Snowman Kita no Kuni no Aurora

14:30 Northern Lights Sympho-ny

15:30 Sora ni utau Singing un-der the Starry Sky

Weekends, public holidays, and win-ter and spring school holidays up toMarch 31st

Weekdays up to March 31st

14:30 Norman the Snowman Kita no Kuni no Aurora

15:30 Northern Lights Sympho-ny

Viewing Prices for Planetarium Programmes, Aro-ma Therapy, Starlight Reading etc.

Price

IndividualGroup Price(20people or more)

Single Session TicketGeneral

510

yen

400

yen

Ages 4 through juniorhigh school

250

yen

200

yen

Duo Ticket TwoSession Ticket

General 810yen 640yen


400yen 320yen

Triple Ticket ThreeSession Ticket

General 1220yen 970yen


600

yen

480

yen

Duo and Triple tickets cannot be used at screenings starting after 18:00. People with disability or rehabilitation certification (plus one caregiver) and Sakai

residents 65 years of age and over are eligible for

free entry (with ID).

For details on the schedule for Aroma Therapy, Plane-tarium for Adults and Starlight Reading, please see theCity Life website or the Sofia Sakai website (in Japa-

nese): http://sofia-sakai.jp/planetarium/index.html

http://sofia-sakai.jp/planetarium/index.htmlhttp://sofia-sakai.jp/planetarium/index.htmlhttp://sofia-sakai.jp/planetarium/index.htmlhttp://sofia-sakai.jp/planetarium/index.htmlhttp://sofia-sakai.jp/planetarium/index.html


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Please call the Public Sanitation Divisionon 072-228-7429 if you have any ques-tions.

Please be aware that theres a city-wideban on smoking and littering on streetsand roads in Sakai, and that theres anawareness raising campaign being held inthe areas around major stations in city.

In particular, the areas in front of SakaiHigashi Station and Sakai Station, aroundthe Sakai City Office, and along Oshoji St.have been designated as a smoke-freezoneif youre caught smoking or litter-ing, you could face a 1,000 fineeven if

youre riding a bike or scooter at the time!

Lets all work together as a city to makeSakai a safe and comfortable community,free from litter and second-hand smoke!

Smoking and Littering Ban on Sakai Streets

Declarations of Municipal andPrefectural Tax

This is an important procedure whichprovides the basis for the calculation oftaxes in 2015 and also enables taxpay-ers to be issued with tax certificatessuch as Proof of Income and Proof ofPayment of Tax.

Who needs to make a municipal andprefectural tax declaration?Anyone who had an address within Sa-kai City as at 1 January, 2015 and whoreceived income between 1 January and31 December, 2014, excluding:

anyone whose place of employmentautomatically informs the municipalgovernment of their earnings, and

anyone who informs the national taxoffice of his/her income individually.

If you had no income in 2014, but stillwant to receive a Proof of Income cer-tificate, please make a declaration.

Declarationperiod:16 February to16 March,weekdays,

9:0017:15

Necessary Items:Personal seal (inkan), something thatcan prove your earnings (income taxwithholding slip, etc.), statement of earn-ings, payment receipts of national healthinsurance premium, proof of deductionof life insurance premium, receipts formedical treatment.

http://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/e

nglish/visitors/newsletter/ind

ex.html

PAGE SIX CITY LIFE

Tax Rate Change for Three andFour-wheeled Vehicles

From the start of fiscal year 2015 (i.e.April 2015), the tax rate for three-andfour wheeled light vehicles will be in-creasing by 50%. In the case of passen-ger and private vehicles with four ormore wheels, the rate will increase from7,200 yen to 10,800 yen.

The new tax rate must be paid by peo-ple who buy new vehicles inspected onor after April 1stthis year. From FY2016, cars for which 13 years havepassed since they were first inspectedwill face a rate of the new tax rate plus

City Life provides English

speaking residents and

visitors with information

about daily life and events

in Sakai.

Published by the Interna-tional Division, Sakai City

Government, 3-1 Mina-

mikawara-machi, Sakai-ku,

Sakai, Osaka 590-0078

Tel:072-222-7343

Fax:072-228-7900

This issue was compiled byFelix Campbell, Coordina-

tor of International Rela-

tions. Published on the 1stof every second month.

Pick up your next copy of

City Life from the 6 thfloor of

Sakai City Hall or from:

Ward Offices

Libraries

Sakai City Museum

Public health centres

Public gyms

Cultural halls

Foreigners living in Sakai

are eligible for f ree delivery.

Please email us with yourname and address.

If you would like to give

feedback or contribute

something to City Life

(event information, hints for

living in Japan, recipes etc.)

please contact Felix at:

[email protected]

Readers can now sign up

to be sent the link to eachnew City Life as it becomes

available online. Use the

QR Code above or the linkon the City Life homepage

to go to the registration

websitethe registration

process is all in Japanese

but there is an English

guide on the page.

Office Phone Fax

Sakai Ward City Tax Office

(for declaration enquiries)

Sakai Ward City Tax Office

(for vehicle tax)

072-228-7410

072-228-7446072-228-7766

Naka Ward City Tax Office 072-270-8185 072-270-8102

Higashi Ward City Tax

Office072-287-8104 072-287-8115

Nishi Ward City Tax Office 072-275-1905 072-275-1917

Minami Ward City Tax

Office072-290-1804 072-290-1816

Kita Ward City Tax Office 072-258-6714 072-258-6822

Mihara Ward City Tax Office 072-363-9317 072-361-1889

Tax Declarations and Tax Changes

Sakai City Life e-magazine - February/March 2015

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