Our July 2024 Photo of the Month comes from current JET Taylor Hamada (Kyoto, 2019-present) who took on an important role facilitating a sister-city exchange between Delray Beach, Florida and Miyazu-shi, Kyoto.

The extraordinary Gion Matsuri Festival in Kyoto resumed last year after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic and current JET Monica Narang was lucky enough to be smack dab in the middle of all the action.

Read about her experience attending one of the largest and most famous festivals in Japan last year in this AJET CONNECT article.

In June of 2024, Japan Society of Boston got to know Jake Lester (Tottori, 2017-2021) as he discussed his upcoming album about his experiences in Japan and the struggles of adjusting to life back in the US.

In this Senpai Spotlight, Jonathan Lucas (Shizuoka, 2016-2019), MICE Promotions Specialist & IGLTA 2024 Coordinator, Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau , explains how he got his start in the tourism industry.

USJETAA has partnered with the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (UPenn GSE) to offer scholarship opportunities to our JET alumni.

Collecting goshuin can be viewed as a modern-day personal pilgrimage throughout Japan, whether religious or sentimental. But goshuin represent more than just a mark or seal: they represent each individual spiritual connection between traditional pilgrimages and deities, and the bond between spiritual seekers to higher powers.

Learn more about goshuin in this article written by JET alum and professor Chloe Holm (Ehime, 2022-2023).

June’s Photo of the Month comes to us from JETAA Hawaii.

In June, we will read the short piece 夏釣日記 (Summer Fishing Journal) by essayist and fishing journalist Sato Koseki.