KIRIN PLAZA OSAKA BEER SEMINAR

From Mar.6

This seminar is divided into four categories, covering everything you ever wanted to know about beer and more. Apart from Kirin Plaza Osaka's four main beers, there will be ale, stout, and lager from England, Germany, Ireland and Czech. It was in fact in 1842, in a brewery in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia that lager acquired its familiar golden colour. Before that, it was a dark liquid. You will learn that lagers brew longer than ale and is best drunk cooler than room temperature.

You will find that beer tasting is not unlike wine tasting. Colour, aroma, brewery and the year all play a large part in the taste of the beer. Similar to wine, there are certain foods that go well with certain beers and atmosphere too contributes to the enjoyment of this golden liquor. All the popular brews will be here, Pils and Weiss to name but two. Here's your chance to learn more about beer, through tasting, eating and partying, in Japanese.

• The 1st Part: The world of beer (Beer no mi-ryoku) March 6 and April 3, ¥1,200 • The 2nd Part: Beer tasting. March 13 and April 10, ¥1,200 • The 3rd Part: How to hold a beer party. March 20, ¥1,800
• The 4th Part: Dishes that go with beer. March 27, ¥3,000

Kirin Plaza, Shinsaibashi
Time: 14:00-16:30
Getting there: Namba Midosuji station exit #14, cross Ebisu bridge to the north. Reservations required: http://www.kirin.co.jp/kpo
Tel: 06-6212-6578

Honmaru Palace of Nijo Castle

Until Mar.14

Although Nijo Castle is open all year round, Honmaru Palace is open twice a year in spring and autumn. Originally built as a palace for Prince Katsura, it was taken from the Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds and moved to the present location in 1893-94. Strategically located behind an inner moat and surrounded by a wall, it is a castle within a castle. On the room partitions visitors can see pictures by artists of the Kano school, whose style of art was to paint expansive landscapes on the sliding doors of the room.

The study, kitchens and rooms in which dolls dressed in court costumes of the period are displayed are open to the public and a view of the lawn garden can be seen from the second floor. Listed as an Important Cultural Property has not stopped this palace from becoming fragile with age.

To avoid excessive wear and tear, residents of Japan as well as tourists should take this opportunity to enter inside these royal chambers. Nijo Castle was registered as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1994.

Honmaru Palace of Nijo Castle, Kyoto
Admission: ¥300/ ¥150. ¥600 includes entrance into Nijo castle.
Getting there: 5 Minutes from Nijo-Jyo station, Kyoto
Time: 9:00-16:00
Tel: 075-841-0096

The Children's Museum, Boston — in Kansai?

Mar.7

Junko Nakagawa — President of NPO Center — first came to know about the Children's Museum Boston, eight years ago. Established in 1913 in the capital city of the state of Massachusetts, today it is the third oldest museum founded for children. In the 1960's the hands-on learning program the museum introduced revolutionized the way children learn and broke the ancient rule that a museum was a place of silence and that learning took place by simply looking at objects usually on display behind a wall of glass.

To tell us more about this unique learning adventure for children and the philosophy of the museum is, Willamarie Moore. Before arriving at The Children's Museum in 1998, Moore worked with Boston's Asian Shelter and Advocacy Project, she has taught English and Japanese and has worked with the Global Environmental Forum in Tokyo.

As Manager of the East Asian Program of the museum, she has been invited from Boston as part of Nara NPO Plaza's long going 'International Understanding Program' for children. Ms. Moore's lecture in Japanese, will be followed by a presentation with speakers: Mr. Nakato from Okinawa, Mr. Hirata from Shiga, Mr. Machida from Kyoto and Mr Hirata, Nara City.

Mitsui Garden Hotel (2F)
Doors open: 12:30
Entry: Adult ¥1,500/¥1,000
Getting there: Behind JR Nara station
http://www1.neweb.ne.jp/wb/nara-npo/
Z/Fax: 0742-21-8211 (Mon,Thu,Sat)

Events compiled by Mylene Oishi

Kansai Event Listings