Now that I’m more or less caught up with spring break, I can focus on other things. This year isn’t too bad. I’ve got one of the teachers asking for me to see if there’s an aikido place around Hiratsuka where I could learn. Hopefully enrolling in a course where I’d have to go would make me more likely to go. Rather than dithering about going to the gym because it’s raining and I hate going out in the rain because I can’t ride my bike. I’ve also taken on a couple of things to do in the evening. It’s good money, but I sometimes wonder if I’m stretching myself too thin. Fortunately, they’re not too frequent, so they shouldn’t eat up too much of my free time.
Last weekend Sayaka and I went to Kamakura for the Kamakura Festival. I think the festival is supposed to commemorate one of the rulers from back when Kamakura was the capital of Japan, but the modern festival didn’t get started until the 50s or 60s, probably as a way of drawing tourists, particularly foreigners, down from Tokyo and up from Yokosuka (where the US Navy base is). It certainly worked – I haven’t seen that many foreigners since I met Aaron’s friends and went walking around Akihabara and Shibuya. If I start becoming surprised at seeing westerners, does that make me more Japanese? I hope not.
Anyways, the main reason I went to this festival was to see the yabusame. I’ve mentioned it before, it’s basically Japanese horseback archery. The horses come charging down a path and the archers shoot at targets that, realistically, aren’t that far away. I don’t think ancient Japanese warriors hung around waiting for the archers to get three meters away just so they could get plugged by an arrow. They probably had pikes and things longer than that, come to think about it. It seems to be more ceremonial than anything. The targets are all trussed up with flowers hanging off the sides. It also makes sense to have a closer target, considering the huge crowds of people, as well as the large proportion of foreigners and their propensity for ignoring Japanese rules and wandering about where they don’t belong, like behind the target range.
The horses were fun to watch, and the riders, one in particular, urged their horses on really fast as they flew down the course. We were next to the second target, so we had a good view of them drawing the bow, but we couldn’t see around the barrier to see if they actually hit the target. From what I gathered, only one person missed. It’s pretty impressive that they did so well, especially in comparison to how I’d fare (I can’t even ride a horse), although with targets that close…
Afterwards, we found a little sausage shop and got a couple sausages and a really good Kamakura beer.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The new school year
We’re now into the second week of the school year. In previous years, at the other school system, I was moved around quite often, and had to visit four or five schools for a week or two at a time - and every six months, that set of schools changed. All this meant that I never really got to know the students very well, or see their progress in English, or just in general. In my second year there, I was moved back to one school that I’d taught at at the beginning of my first year. It was fun to see how the students had changed, and it was nice that some of them even remembered who I was.
At my current schools, I rotate between the same two elementary and two junior high schools. After teaching the sixth graders in elementary, who were acting like big shots over there, and seeing them as first-years in junior high, is rather humorous. They’re so meek and quiet now. It seems like the third-years have gotten bigger somehow, over the three-week spring vacation.
Adding to the mix, some teachers have changed schools. We have new teachers coming in to replace retiring ones, as well as some teachers who’ve reached their mandatory limit for teaching at one school (I think it’s nine years), and have been reassigned to the other school. So the vice principal at one junior high school became the principal at the other, both of the elementary principals moved, and nobody told me, so I nearly ran down one of the new principals, this tiny lady, who was making tea when I was trying to find some class materials. Just another day, I suppose.
At my current schools, I rotate between the same two elementary and two junior high schools. After teaching the sixth graders in elementary, who were acting like big shots over there, and seeing them as first-years in junior high, is rather humorous. They’re so meek and quiet now. It seems like the third-years have gotten bigger somehow, over the three-week spring vacation.
Adding to the mix, some teachers have changed schools. We have new teachers coming in to replace retiring ones, as well as some teachers who’ve reached their mandatory limit for teaching at one school (I think it’s nine years), and have been reassigned to the other school. So the vice principal at one junior high school became the principal at the other, both of the elementary principals moved, and nobody told me, so I nearly ran down one of the new principals, this tiny lady, who was making tea when I was trying to find some class materials. Just another day, I suppose.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Visit to Nagoya and Kani
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, so some recaps. I went to visit Ana and Damien in their new home in Kani City, in Gifu Prefecture at the end of March. It was good to see old friends again, and especially interesting to see another part of Japan. I’d pretty much assumed all of Japan looked more or less like Hiratsuka, with everything centered around a train station, and getting less dense the farther away you got. Kani’s not like that. There are two train stations, right next to one another, but they’re not near the center of the city. Really, Kani doesn’t seem to have any really defined center. There’s an older section, with narrow roads and old wooden buildings that probably was Kani back in the day, but the busiest places seemed to be the shopping centers located far away from the historic area.
Getting around by car was a unique change of pace. I rode in a car there more than I have in the past year in Hiratsuka. Damien commented that one reason he wanted to come to Japan was to escape having to drive everywhere. Now he drives 5 days a week to his schools. We drove out to a mountain to do some hiking and happened across a large group of mostly older Japanese folks, all of them out to view these little purple flowers that covered only a small area of the northern side of the hill. It was really odd since we’d rather expected it to be quiet and empty, only to be directed by people directing traffic viewing for small, purple flowers.
As far as sightseeing goes, we went to Inuyama Castle, the first time Ana had been on a train since she’d come to Japan. Inuyama is one of four or so original castles. All of the others had been burned down or bombed in the war and are concrete reproductions. Outside, you can’t really tell, but inside the difference is striking. Odawara Castle, near where I live, is a reproduction, and the interior is nice and wide, easy to access, with nice views from the windows. Inuyama feels old. Upon entering, the first thing you have to do is climb up a set of narrow, incredibly steep stairs into a confining room with nothing in it except another set of the same stairs leading to the castle. I don’t know the real purpose, but I’d guess it would be difficult for heavy, armored attackers to enter and move up the stairs. But my understanding is that Japanese castles were mainly for shows of power and keeping treasure and arms, so I’m not really sure.
The grounds of Inuyama are pretty, the castle’s perched on a hill over a river, giving you a fantastic view of the surrounding area. A good military vantage point, I suppose. Walking back we saw what I think is probably the prettiest tree I’ve ever seen. It was a cherry tree in full bloom in the garden of a little temple. It’s called shidarezakura, a kind of weeping-willow cherry tree.
While that was a beautiful tree, Inuyama has nothing on the grounds of Nagoya Castle. One of the guys in an English group I go to occasionally got his sister-in-law to show us around Nagoya. She took us on a walking tour to the castle. After walking a bit from the bustling station area, we walked about a block off the main thoroughfare and found a bunch of Meiji-era buildings and little, worn shrines. This area was a shopkeepers district back in the day. Coming upon the castle, it looks like it’s just a nice, peaceful pedestrian park, but once you get in the gates, you see the castle set back, peeking out through myriad cherry trees. That had to be one of the largest groupings of cherry trees I’ve seen, right up there with the famous Ueno Park area of Tokyo. One of the curious features was the moat. There wasn’t any water, it had long been drained and was covered with grass. The weird part was the deer in it. There was no visible way out, nor any noticeable water source or food, besides the Japanese tourists for whom feeding wild animals ranks up there as a pastime with baseball and eating anything they can put in their mouths.
Most of the castle and its gate towers were reconstructions, the originals were destroyed by Allied bombs. They did a remarkable job on the reconstruction, and the interior of the castle, while not very authentic, made a better museum than Inuyama did.
After the castle we headed to another random open-air mall, but a beautiful one with a roof that was essentially a giant glass oval with a pool on top. We had a coffee underneath it, then took the elevator up and watched the sun set. It wasn’t very high, but afforded us a good view of downtown and the taller landmarks nearby. It seems every major Japanese city has a large, orange and white radio tower modeled after the Eiffel Tower. Tokyo’s is the most famous, but Sapporo has one, as does Nagoya, even Hiratsuka has a smaller, gray version perched on top of Shonandaira mountain, that bizarre lump that I have to ride around to get to my schools every day.
After my friend, Toshiko left, the three of us had some greasy izakaya food and lots of beer and sake, a must whenever you’re in the party district of a city.
Getting around by car was a unique change of pace. I rode in a car there more than I have in the past year in Hiratsuka. Damien commented that one reason he wanted to come to Japan was to escape having to drive everywhere. Now he drives 5 days a week to his schools. We drove out to a mountain to do some hiking and happened across a large group of mostly older Japanese folks, all of them out to view these little purple flowers that covered only a small area of the northern side of the hill. It was really odd since we’d rather expected it to be quiet and empty, only to be directed by people directing traffic viewing for small, purple flowers.
As far as sightseeing goes, we went to Inuyama Castle, the first time Ana had been on a train since she’d come to Japan. Inuyama is one of four or so original castles. All of the others had been burned down or bombed in the war and are concrete reproductions. Outside, you can’t really tell, but inside the difference is striking. Odawara Castle, near where I live, is a reproduction, and the interior is nice and wide, easy to access, with nice views from the windows. Inuyama feels old. Upon entering, the first thing you have to do is climb up a set of narrow, incredibly steep stairs into a confining room with nothing in it except another set of the same stairs leading to the castle. I don’t know the real purpose, but I’d guess it would be difficult for heavy, armored attackers to enter and move up the stairs. But my understanding is that Japanese castles were mainly for shows of power and keeping treasure and arms, so I’m not really sure.
The grounds of Inuyama are pretty, the castle’s perched on a hill over a river, giving you a fantastic view of the surrounding area. A good military vantage point, I suppose. Walking back we saw what I think is probably the prettiest tree I’ve ever seen. It was a cherry tree in full bloom in the garden of a little temple. It’s called shidarezakura, a kind of weeping-willow cherry tree.
While that was a beautiful tree, Inuyama has nothing on the grounds of Nagoya Castle. One of the guys in an English group I go to occasionally got his sister-in-law to show us around Nagoya. She took us on a walking tour to the castle. After walking a bit from the bustling station area, we walked about a block off the main thoroughfare and found a bunch of Meiji-era buildings and little, worn shrines. This area was a shopkeepers district back in the day. Coming upon the castle, it looks like it’s just a nice, peaceful pedestrian park, but once you get in the gates, you see the castle set back, peeking out through myriad cherry trees. That had to be one of the largest groupings of cherry trees I’ve seen, right up there with the famous Ueno Park area of Tokyo. One of the curious features was the moat. There wasn’t any water, it had long been drained and was covered with grass. The weird part was the deer in it. There was no visible way out, nor any noticeable water source or food, besides the Japanese tourists for whom feeding wild animals ranks up there as a pastime with baseball and eating anything they can put in their mouths.
Most of the castle and its gate towers were reconstructions, the originals were destroyed by Allied bombs. They did a remarkable job on the reconstruction, and the interior of the castle, while not very authentic, made a better museum than Inuyama did.
After the castle we headed to another random open-air mall, but a beautiful one with a roof that was essentially a giant glass oval with a pool on top. We had a coffee underneath it, then took the elevator up and watched the sun set. It wasn’t very high, but afforded us a good view of downtown and the taller landmarks nearby. It seems every major Japanese city has a large, orange and white radio tower modeled after the Eiffel Tower. Tokyo’s is the most famous, but Sapporo has one, as does Nagoya, even Hiratsuka has a smaller, gray version perched on top of Shonandaira mountain, that bizarre lump that I have to ride around to get to my schools every day.
After my friend, Toshiko left, the three of us had some greasy izakaya food and lots of beer and sake, a must whenever you’re in the party district of a city.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Meguri Max!
Well, I've got some things to write about my spring vacation, but I'm still recovering and exhausted, so I don't feel like writing much. Instead, I'll show you a bizarre Japanese game. Here's the game's own explanation:
(from Rock, Paper, Scissors, video by GameTrailers)
I'm the Mekuri Master, the Skirt-Flip King. The name isn't their idea... It's mine. I'm a man who was born to lift skirts. You think any so-called "rules" are gonna stop me? When classes get out, I race through the corridors like a fearsome wind, flipping, flipping, flipping up girls' skirts and letting the whole world know that I am the Mekuri Master!Basically, you're some pervert running through a school hall flipping girls skirts. It's harder than it sounds (oh, I kill me!). You can even select the type of panties the girls have. For those of you unwilling to play, here's a video for ya:
(from Rock, Paper, Scissors, video by GameTrailers)
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