Tag Archive for: IJA Individual members

IJA Bounenkai End of Year Party 2023 | Photo Gallery

/in /by

On 30th November the IJA members and friends joined our annual Bounenkai End of the Year Party which was hosted at one of the most popular and authentic Japanese restaurants in Dublin – Daruma.

Hiro Ino, IJA Council, thanked the guests for their support to the association and invited everyone to enjoy themselves and celebrate the end of the year at Daruma. We were delighted that H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Japanese Ambassador to Ireland, and Ms. Keiko Nakata, Embassy of Japan, joined our Bounenkai celebrations. Ambassador Maruyama addressed event guests and wished everyone a wonderful evening.
Event guests were treated to a traditional Japanese Izakaya style dinner and had the opportunity to taste variety of Japanese sake.
We would like to thank everyone  – our individual and corporate members as well as friends and supporters who attended this event. We appreciate your continued support to the IJA throughout this year, and we are looking forward to many other occasions to meet in 2024!
A very big thanks goes to Hiro Ino, IJA Council, for his time, support and help to make this event such a great success, and the wonderful team at Daruma for hosting our event and making sure everyone had the best time during the evening.
Photos: Tsugumi Yamamoto, Kevin O’Neill

IJA Bounenkai End of Year Party 2021 | Photo Gallery

/in /by

On 2nd December the IJA members, friends, and supporters came together to celebrate and enjoy one of the most exciting cultural events and celebrations of the year – IJA Bounenkai End of Year Party with Sake reception and delicious Japanese dinner taking place at Yamamori Sushi, Dublin.

Eddie Hughes, IJA Council, welcomed everyone to the event and shared a message from Raymond Hegarty, IJA Chairperson:

Bounenkai – the Japanese traditional year end party is a way to close off the year with friends and colleagues and get ready to welcome a new year. The word Bounenkai literally means ‘a gathering to forget the year’ – to put the troubles of the year behind you and face the future.

This echoes traditional celebrations dating back to 16th century Japan, when the Samurai lords would gather in late December for a day of cultural activities such as writing and reciting poetry. In the evening they would celebrate with a large banquet.

We do not expect much poetry to be written tonight, but we do hope that you enjoy each other’s company at the sake reception and during the meal.

Thank you for supporting the IJA this year. I wish you all the best for this evening and for the end of the year. I look forward to seeing you all again in 2022. – Raymond Hegarty, IJA Chairperson

Colly Murray, RetroVino

Event guests had a wonderful opportunity to taste traditional Japanese Sake drinks, including premium Junmai Sake, accompanied by a short presentation on Sake history and culture by Colly Murray, RetroVino followed by a delicious dinner at Yamamori Sushi restaurant.
We would like to thank everyone  – our individual and corporate members as well as friends and supporters who attended this event. We appreciate your continued support to the IJA throughout this year.
A very big thanks goes to Colly Murray, RetroVino, for sharing his passion and knowledge about Japanese Sake, to Graham Ryan and his team, Yamamori Restaurants, for hosting our event and making sure everyone had the best time, and last but not least – to Eddie Hughes, IJA Council, for his time, support and help to make this event such a great success.
Note: Please note that during this event the IJA followed and complied with the health and safety recommendations and restaurant policy.
Photos: Eddie Hughes

Tag Archive for: IJA Individual members

IJA English Conversation Group

/in /by
We are pleased to invite you to join the ‘IJA English Language Conversation Group‘.
.
About the Group
The English Conversation Group was established in 2025, after the success of the Pilot Project in 2024. Weekly online meetings will be hosted via Zoom, providing an informal and casual environment for native Japanese speakers currently living in Ireland who want to practice and improve their English conversation skills, learn about Irish culture and lifestyle. This group will not serve as a formal language course but will provide participants with the opportunity to engage in conversations that enhance their language skills, boost confidence, and allow them to connect with fellow learners.
.
.
.
.
Who can join the Group?
This group is open to everyone, whether you are an IJA member or not:
* IJA Members: Individual and Corporate members, including corporate employees and their families, can join free of charge.
* Non-Members: Enjoy a free trial for three consecutive weeks. After this period, we kindly ask that you become a fully paid IJA member to continue participating in group chats.
* Age Requirement: Participation is limited to individuals aged 18+ only.
* Language Levels: All proficiency levels are welcome to join the chats.
.
Online meeting schedule
The English Conversation Group will convene on Tuesday evenings at 8 PM, with each session lasting one hour. Chats will be moderated by volunteer facilitators.
.
Join the team as a Volunteer! 
We are currently seeking several native English speakers to join our team of volunteer facilitators.  Volunteers will help to facilitate discussions, rather than serve as teachers. If you are available to attend and help facilitate at least 1 meeting a month (1 hour), we would love to hear from you! If you know a person outside the IJA network who could be the right fit for this role, please let them know about this project.
.
For more information and to register: info@ija.ie
.
.

話して、学んで、成長しよう：アイルランド在住日本人のための英会話グル

.

グループについて
昨年実施したパイロットプロジェクトの成功を受けて、この英会話グループが設立されました。週1回のオンラインミーティングをZoomで開催し、アイルランドに在住する日本語を母語とする方々が、英会話力を練習・向上させながら、アイルランドの文化や生活について学べる、カジュアルでリラックスした環境を提供します。

このグループは正式な語学コースではありませんが、参加者は会話を通じて英語力を高め、自信をつけ、学習仲間とつながることができます。

参加対象者
このグループはIJA会員・非会員を問わず、どなたでもご参加いただけます。

  • IJA会員：個人会員・法人会員（社員・ご家族を含む）は無料でご参加いただけます。
  • 非会員：最初の3週間は無料でお試しいただけます。それ以降も継続してご参加いただく場合は、IJA会員（有料）へのご登録をお願いしております。

※参加は18歳以上の方に限らせていただきます。
※英語レベルは問いません。どなたでもお気軽にご参加ください。

オンライン開催スケジュール
毎週火曜日の夜8時から1時間、Zoomにて開催予定です。会話はボランティアのファシリテーターが進行します。

参加方法
ご希望の方は info@ija.ie までご連絡ください。いただいたご連絡先はグループのメーリングリストに追加され、イベントリマインダーとZoomリンクをメールでお送りします。

皆さまのご参加を心よりお待ちしております！

.
.
.