You are invited to join ‘Visit Japan – Endless Discoveries’ webinar on Wednesday, 2nd March at 7 PM. This event is organised on behalf of Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO).
Learn about Japan and what this fascinating country has to offer, get useful travel tips if you are planning a trip to Japan, and be in with a chance to win FANTASTIC PRIZES!
Date: Wednesday, 2nd March 2022
Time: 7 PM
Online: Zoom – link will be sent to all registered participants
GUEST SPEAKERS:
Darina Slattery
Owner and Managing Director Unique Japan Tours
Darina is an Alumni of the University of Ulster and the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin. She holds an MA in International Marketing and a BA in Business with Japanese. After studying in Japan, Darina developed expertise in Japanese culture, language and traditions. She has lived and traveled extensively throughout Japan. Darina has forged strong cultural relationships and has been the Chairperson of the Ireland Japan Association 2009-2011 & 2016-2020
Paul Murphy
RTE Journalist
A fluent Japanese speaker, his journalism career started in Tokyo in 1998, where he worked as a writer, copy editor for Mainichi Daily News. He worked for the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun in their Tokyo office. And he was also an English teacher at the Asia University in Musashi Sakai.
Siobhan O’Carroll
Teacher and former JET participant
Siobhan holds a BA in History and English Literature and a Postgraduate Masters in Education from DCU. Previous to this she obtained a degree in Environmental Management from DIT. She lived in Japan for a decade and a half where she passed level two Japanese proficiency from The Japan foundation. Whilst there she was employed as a travel consultant and taught English. On return to Ireland, she instructed Transition year and Leaving Certificate Japanese in a variety of Irish schools. She became a Failte Ireland approved tour guide on return and since then she has enjoyed sharing the beauty of Ireland.
Ronan McCarthy
former JET participant
I grew up in Dublin and went to Trinity College, where I studied Business, Economics and Social Studies (BESS). After graduating I joined the JET program. I lived in Yamagata City. I was a JET in 5-chu for 2 years. I also worked for our local TV station, presenting an intercultural communications show for 3 years. I worked full time at the TV station for my third year. Our show, called Hello Yamagata interviewed foreigners who lived in rural Japan. The show started locally on Yamagata TV but was soon taken up by the Tohoku cable network and eventually went national on NHK. This meant I travelled to every prefecture in Japan learning about each regions food, festivals, dialect and history. It was an amazing three years in my life and I would be honored to tell other Irish people of the fun, adventure, tranquility and modernity that can be experienced in Japan.
Stephen Whelan
former JET participant
I studied History and Politics in college, but specialised in International Relations at MA level. I have worked in universities in Ireland supporting student organisations and community engagement programmes. I also worked as an Irish diplomat. I was lucky enough to spend two wonderful years at Sophia University. When I first went to Tokyo, I did not speak any Japanese and life was difficult. I studied at Gaidai and settled in quickly before moving to Sophia formally. Living in Tokyo was a very new and exciting experience. I very much consider it a second home. I am a person that loves nature, hiking and running. Taking one day trips was always good fun. I visited too many places to name (for example, Kamakura, running from Takao to Jinba etc.). I had always wanted to see a different part of Japan, and JET gave me the chance to return and experience life outside of a big city. Tokushima has a fascinating history and is famous Aizome (traditional indigo dying) and the Awa Odori.
Eddie Hughes
Eddie lived in Japan for 6 years and revisited for multiple business trips. He met the Emperor Akihito twice in the Imperial Palace and the High Priest twice in ISE Jingu. He also enjoyed Kyoto and Nara and so many other places from Hokkaido to a Okinawa. He is a passionate lover of Japanese food sushi and sashima and is a keen festival goer.
To register for this event, please click below!