Saturday, 29 April 2006

Today we went out for lunch on our way into central Takasaki. We just picked a place at random and it was incredible. It was a traditional Japanese restaurant with little lockers by the front door for your shoes. The tables were in individual little rooms with sliding doors and rice paper window shades. It was all tatami mat floors and little chairs with no legs.

We managed to order a sashimi meal and a fish meal (to order say "sakana ok, sashimi ok") with chilled sake. The sake was the best I've tasted - kind of like champagne without the bubbles.

This is the lunch we ordered more by chance than by design.

Anyway, after eating all this we dragged our sorry, partially drunk arses down to the art gallery where we looked at a collection of 200 year old French political cartoons called Le Charivari. Because we can't read Japanese, we ended up half-translating the French captions. And my French is the result of one year at school when I was 13.

We then went and looked at Takasaki City Gallery that had a bunch of calligraphy and stuff (I'm such an art buff aren't I?). On the way there I patted a Golden Retriever that slobbered all over me thus disproving my theory that all dogs in Japan hate me.

We also went to the patisserie on the way home and bought some cakes. A very successful day all in all.

Friday, 28 April 2006

Today was the last day of work before Golden Week holidays. Golden Week is the time when Japanese people traditionally return to their family home and visit with their relatives so it's a pretty big deal. After work we all went out for dinner then we went to this huge amusement arcade called U-Para. They are open 24/7 and they charge you by the hour so all the games are free. They've got all manner of video games, pool tables, a small indoor soccer court, a basketball court, table tennis, darts etc. We played pool for a bit and then wandered upstairs and found the massage chairs which were awesome. They also had foot massager machines but they tickled like crazy.

Here's me two seconds before the tickling started and three seconds before I had to remove my feet.

Wednesday, 26 April 2006

The coffee situation in Japan is dire. No, really dire. I've been reduced to imbibing the next most addictive substance after crack.

Yes, I drink Blendy coffee. Firstly, it is not real coffee. It is a coffee flavoured beverage. Well, it tastes like a coffee-like flavoured beverage. When I first arrived, I drank a cup of Blendy and decided that I'd rather eat my own eyeballs. But it is strangely addictive. Now I think "Oh, I've got ten minutes before I have to leave for work - just enough time for another cup of Blendy!"

So how do you make Blendy? First you buy it in a big bottle at the shop. Then you pour some into a cup and nuke it for about 2.5 minutes (a trap for young players: if you heat it for three minutes it superheats and you are risking burns and deformity). Then you top it up with milk and it tastes foul. Lovely huh?

When Buster arrived in Japan, I made him a cup of Blendy to drink with his breakfast. He despised it. But now the tables have turned, and this very evening after dinner he said to me "how about a cup of Blendy and a biscuit?" So I've throughly corrupted the coffee purist.

But it gets worse. He is now also drinking vending machine coffee. Even I draw the line at hot coffee IN A CAN from a vending machine. It's just wrong. Wrong I tell you.

Here's Buster ruining his life in the fruitless pursuit of the perfect vending machine coffee. I know, pathetic isn't it? Let your glance take in the momentary look of hope on his face. Maybe, just maybe, this could be real coffee and not just the ultimately disappointing coffee flavoured beverage that is the reality of vending machines in Japan.

Sunday, 23 April 2006

Nothing much exciting has been happening this week. Just been working and getting to know all my kids at school.

Buster arrived for a short visit on Friday and caught the bus up to Takasaki from Narita airport late on Friday night. Next week is the Golden Week holiday so we are planning to visit Nikko and Tokyo and a few other places close to Takasaki.

On Sunday we went up to Kannonyama which is on a hill overlooking Takasaki. It's a huge big statue and you can climb up the inside to it's shoulders.

The huge statue at Kannonyama.

There's also a shrine and a temple right next to the statue where you can light insense and leave prayers.

Suse washing her hands at the temple.

Buster being a tourist (idiot).

We also visited a traditional dye factory where they make the dyes from different types of plants (which was kinda cool - some of the colours are incredible). To get to the dye factory we had to walk for miles and then cross a suspension bridge which was odd because it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere, not just 10 minutes out of central Takasaki.

Buster and Sensei Suse about to risk life and limb by crossing the suspension bridge.

Mark ("Buster") and Sensei Suse with the last of the cherry blossums at Kannonyama.

Sunday, 16 April 2006

Today Megan, Nick and I went to Tokyo to look at new laptops. We caught the train down which took a little over an hour and a half. We went to Electric Town and prowled around the computer stores for a bit and then we went to a huge bookshop that had an ok English language section. I got a little excited and spent the equivalent of about $230. The good news is that the bookshop can post you stuff (free of charge) that you’ve bought so my new books will arrive on Tuesday – hooray!

Megan and Nick on the train.

Luv Machines - not what you might think.

After the bookshop we walked to Tokyo’s tallest building and went up to the observatory. And it’s pretty damn high. And Tokyo is pretty immense. It’s hard to express how fecking big it is – but you pretty much can’t see the end of it. Unfortunately the weather was pretty crappy so we couldn’t see Mt Fuji from the observatory.

Where Mt Fuji should be (it's probably still there to be honest).

We had lunch at an English-style pub (except they showed you to your table and then bought you drinks – so essentially it was just the décor that was English-style) and caught that Shinkensen home (which is the bullet train). It costs twice as much as the regular train but gets you there in half the time. And I got to pat a little Dachshund-in-a-bag at the ticket office.

Friday, 14 April 2006

Today Saori and I were together again but I had the blondest day in history. At the beginning of the lesson we are meant to hand out the new textbooks to the kids but I totally forgot to do so for my D class. And the boss was there. Good one Suse.

After work I picked the girls up and we went to Thai night at Odessa which means that you can order Thai food until 11pm. Our beautiful Japanese co-workers joined us which was a lot of fun. Yukari and I (being the sober ones) played darts so appallingly that one of the boys (Adam) came over and gave us a two minute tutorial. And I’ve got to say that Yukari has the makings of an excellent dart player.

Saturday, 15 April 2006

Today I did some washing and cleaning stuff and then I went shopping – on my own. I bought two pairs of Chuck Taylors (one pair are dark pink, light pink and white and the other pair are navy, orange and white) at the shoe shop just down the road. Then I went to Bic Camera which is a big electronics store near my work. I bought a spare battery for my camera and I got a bunch of my favourite photos printed out for my notice board. I didn’t know how to work the photo machine (what with it being in Japanese and all) so I wakarimasen’ed the lady who worked there and she showed me how to do it. Then I went to the supermarket and bought some sashimi for dinner.

But I think I’m actually turning Japanese. At most of the big shops they have parking attendants whose job it is to direct the incoming cars to available parking spots and to move the cars leaving the car park in an orderly fashion. I’m now so used to being directed in a car park that when I went to Humpty Dumpty (a shop full of little gorgeous things) and realized that they had no parking attendant I had a momentary panic and thought “Oh God – where do I park, where do I park?

I called Sarah when I got home and then we all spent the rest of the afternoon all lying under the doona watching a british TV show called Brass Eye and eating Violet Crumbles. An afternoon well spent all in all.

Thursday, 13 April 2006

Today I’m meant to be teaching with the new Japanese teacher but they haven’t found one yet so I’m teaching with the boss today. It was a bit boring though because I only had one class – an EPC2 class with five students. So for the rest of the afternoon I wrote up name tags and read this dreadful biography of Maria Montesorri. On the bright side, I didn’t get lost going home.

Wednesday, 12 April 2006

Today I was at a school in the next town – about 40 minutes away – with Saori again. After yesterdays navigatory disaster, I wrote down the directions on the back of my hand as we drove there, much to Saori’s amusement. So here they are:

Turn left at Yamada
Turn right at Carnival Buffet onto Route 27
Turn right onto Route 104
Turn left at the Flying Garden and the 7-11
Turn left at the greenhouses and the radio tower

Tuesday, 11 April 2006

Today I was at a school about 15 minutes from the office and my teaching partner was Saori. She’s really good and the kids all love her. Unfortunately the way to the school is a bit twisty and turny so I consequently got lost coming home. Honestly, everything looks different at night and in the rain. But I eventually found my way home just in time to meet Megan at Cainz. I bought a double futon, bed linen and a quilt so that when I have guests we don’t all have to squish into my bed.

Sunday, 9 April 2006

I slept in this morning and after lunch I drove over to Megan’s and we all went to a Hanamai party by the river. Hanamai is basically a party to admire the Cherry Blossums but most people just get drunk. It was freezing cold and the wind was horrific. I wore my leather jacket and Megan loaned me a pair of gloves.

The best part of the day was that I saw the local branch of the Japan Hawk Society (or whatever they’re called). I asked the guy if I could have my photo taken with him and the hawk and he nodded and smiled. So I stood next to him while Megan got the camera out. His friend saw what I was doing and took his glove off and put it on my arm and then they sat the hawk on my arm. All these Japanese people were laughing at the crazy gaijin but then they all started lining up to have their photo taken too. The hawk was huge with an enormous beak and the most incredible talons. It was fantastic.

When everyone at the party was good and drunk, we started to play soccer which was fun. Eventually I trailed home because I was cold and tired.

Saturday, 8 April 2006

I slept in this morning until about 9am and then I went out for walk. I went further than I usually go – I went as far as the 100 Yen shop which is about a 3km round trip. Then I did some washing which is really exciting and I bet you are glad that I shared that. I also bought a new hairdryer from Cainz. I visited the pet section again and saw that they have baby squirrels or chipmunks (I’m not sure which) that you can buy as pets. They’ve also got little mouse-like things but without tails. I want one.

Megan came over to my house and I followed her in my car to her house. So now I can get to work, to the supermarket and to Megan’s house. Megan and Nick (her sweetheart) live in the same block of flats as Sarah’s boyfriend, Kevin. So I picked up Sarah, Megan and then Emily (who lives about half way between me and Megan) and we went to a party at a friend of theirs – another Sara, but this one is Canadian. Her boyfriend is a kiwi so had quite a bit of Australian and NZ music so we commandeered the stereo and bored everyone else to tears. We didn’t end up leaving there until about 3am.

Monday, 10 April 2006

Today was my first day with the kids. My classes went pretty well, and generally speaking, the kids are really good. The littlest of them is about 4 and the oldest is about 11. Yukari was my teaching partner today (although the company calls the Japanese teachers Japanese Assistants). Yukari is great with the little kids although she has only been with the company two weeks longer than me. She was really nervous I think, but then we had fun. She assists me in two classes with the small kids and then she teaches three of the six afternoon classes on her own. My school today was at Tobu which I think means Head Office. So all I had to do was walk to the building next door for my classes. It was also freezing cold and wet so the whole standing outside the building and greeting the parents was no fun at all.

I still don’t have internet access but Nobuko sent away the form for me so it can’t be much longer – can it?

Friday, 7 April 2006

Today was another beautiful day and I went for my walk a bit earlier. I also went down the side streets and had a lovely time terrifying all the small school children. Because the footpaths are so narrow, they all walk to school in a line and they are so damn cute. Of course they all stared at the crazy gaijin and then when I looked at them, they all stared at the ground and grabbed each others hands. Ahh, it was fun.

At work we sorted text books for the kids and then the boss took us out to lunch at an Italian restaurant. I had a delicious smoked chicken pizza and a lycee and soda drink followed by chocolate something. We then did a practice run through of the three lessons I’ll be doing on Monday. I even had to practice greeting pretend parents and Sarah was my student. If I have any students like Sarah, I’m going to put Ritalin in the water.

After work I was too knackered to do anything exciting so I just went home and ate steamed veges and sashimi before collapsing into bed.

Thursday, 6 April 2006

Today I went for a walk along the main road near my house. I swear I can feel myself getting fatter by the minute here. Everyone eats so much. When we go out for lunch, I only ever eat half of what’s on my plate but I’m still stuffed full. We had lunch at a French restaurant today and it was truly divine. I had the sea bream followed by a crème brulee and a café au lait. I was dubious at first, my fears were unfounded – it was real coffee. And real bread with our meals. Not this squishy, sweet white stuff that the Japanese call bread. And the whole meal cost about $13.50. Which is insanely cheap.

I spent most of the day learning more songs for the kids. Today I learnt “I can count to five”, “Up, down, turn around and jump” and “Good morning, my name is Benny”. Buster thinks it is hilarious that I have the worst singing voice ever and here I am torturing Japanese children with it for a living.

After work, Megan and I went to the supermarket but we couldn’t find any sultanas. I soo miss sultanas. I’ve told Buster to bring some when he comes to visit. We did manage to get some more edamame though. Then she took me to the 100 Yen shop which was awesome. I bought a pencil case, some coloured pens and some little dishes for soy sauce and wasabi when I have sashimi. After that we went to Cainz Home and she bought a folding table for her new apartment.

Wednesday, 5 April 2006

I was going to go for a walk this morning because I seem to be eating so much I think I need damage control. But all my fine intentions went out the window because it was bucketing down outside. There go all the Cherry Blossums.

Sometimes the Japanese are so weird. In the bathrooms at work, we have heated toilet seats which sounds a bit strange until you’ve tried them. It’s so nice on a freezing cold day. But then they don’t have hot water at the sink so you have to wash your hands in this freezing, practically glacial water. And then there are no hand towels (you are meant to bring your own) but if you are lucky there might be a hand blow dryer. Well, I don’t really mean lucky because they are not heated so you get blown away by an artic wind and your hands nearly drop off from frost bite.

For lunch we went to an Indian restaurant that was ok. You don’t actually order a bunch of naans to share, you get one each with your meal. And they are massively, huge. It’s so strange, tiny weeny cars and huge naan bread – how can they co-exist in such harmony?

Tuesday, 4 April 2006

Today is a beautiful day. It’s warm enough that I’ve opened the balcony sliding doors and I can hear the birds chirping and the neighbours chickens clucking to themselves. Last night I was woken up by another small earthquake. It only lasted about 20 seconds but it’s strange to go from totally asleep to wide awake to totally asleep again. Buster woke me up again this morning when he called. I’m so looking forward to getting my broadband on then we can have breakfast together on Skype.

I had a kitchen disaster this morning when I burnt the toast. Ok, I burnt two pieces of toast. Ok, I actually set fire to the first bit and then subsequently burnt the replacement piece. But the tea tasted good.

I did a couple of practice lessons today with some of the others acting like naughty little kids. For lunch we went to the Take Out Kitchen and then took our lunch to the park to look at the Cherry Blossums. Parks in Japan are a bit strange – they don’t actually have any grass. Most of the ground is a weird gravelly dirt mix – even under the swings and other playground equipment. There were a bunch of kids playing and one little girl was riding a unicycle around.

I also got my car today. It’s a tiny, weeny little three door white car called a “Minica”. Seriously, that’s the type of car. I think it’s a Mitsubishi. So I got to drive home from work all on my own. It doesn’t have a cd player or even a cigarette lighter so I’ve bought a tape convertor thing for the ipod.

Monday, 3 April 2006

Today was my first day at work but we are doing training and prep stuff this week so we don’t actually have any kids yet. I spent the morning with the boss going through things and trying not to freeze. It was so windy that even though I wore my Mary Tyler Moore / Skinned Yak coat - I was still cold.

Sunday, 2 April 2006

This morning I was rudely awoken by the phone ringing. It’s pretty disorientating to wake up with no idea where you are, realize that the phone is ringing and then realize that you’ve got to get down the damn ladder before the phone stops ringing (because I can’t figure out the answering machine). So, if you phone me here in Japan and I don’t answer, please call again in case I just haven’t made it down the ladder in time.

It was a bit cooler than Saturday so I watched a movie while wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. Then I went for a walk around my neighbourhood. I found my way around the block ok which is harder than you might think because there are so many little alleys that all look the same that it’s easy to get lost. I saw a Beagle, a tabby cat, a Shibu Inu and a puppy of indeterminate breed. Then I walked down the main road about ten minutes and went to a big shop that is like the bastard child of K Mart and Bunnings. They have a little garden centre out the front so I wasn’t sure how to get in the damn shop. After lurking in the carpark for a minute or two, I followed some people to where the entrance was. My mission was to secure coat hangers and a pair of slippers. I wandered about for a couple of minutes then I heard a dog barking and found that they had a pet section! There was a little Corgi and a Maltese cross and a Dachshund and a bunch of miscellaneous kittens which were exceedingly cute.

But I had a task to complete so I tore myself away from the little furry ones and went in search of the coat hangers. I got sidetracked briefly by some lovely little lacquered bowls that are perfect for miso but eventually found the coat hangers I needed. Now slippers - a search which was to prove ultimately disappointing. They only had slippers with the covered toe, none that actually had a back to them so they probably wouldn’t actually keep my feet that warm. And seeing it was 13 degrees this morning in the lounge room, I think I need slippers that keep my feet warm. I successfully negotiated the cashier and even counted out the right change and got rid of all my 10 yen coins with a minimum fuss.

On my way home I noticed a shop on the other side of the road that looked like it might sell slippers but I couldn’t figure out how to press the button to get a walk signal to cross the road so slippers will have to wait to another day.

I got home just as it started to rain and had salmon sashimi and miso soup for lunch while watching Walk the Line.

I also experienced my first Japanese earthquake at about 9pm. It was only tiny and if I hadn’t been watching a dvd, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

Saturday, 1 April 2006

I was woken up early by a fecking rooster. Who the hell has a rooster? Rooster, if you are reading this, be warned that your days are numbered.

I called Buster (previously mentioned as “The New Boyfriend” – keep up folks) and I called my mum to let them know that I hadn’t fallen off the face of the earth. I spent the morning unpacking my stuff and then Sarah called me at about 12pm to let me know the lunch plan. Megan and Sarah picked me up and we met Emily at a little restaurant where you get a bowl of stuff, they crack an egg into it, you mix it up and then cook it like an omeletey-pancake thing on the hotplate in the middle of the table. We got four different types and they were so yummy.

The girls also gave me a little gift bag full of wonderful wee things to welcome me to Takasaki.

My Gift Bag.

After lunch we went to a big electronics store and I bought a couple of convertor plugs and a speaker thing with an Ipod dock which is fantastic even if it did cost an arm and a leg because now I don’t need a stereo and it charges the Ipod while playing it. Hooray!

We went out to a girls night dinner at a restaurant near Takasaki Station with a bunch of other Gaijin and some Japanese friends. We ate mostly western food but it was fun getting to know the other girls. After dinner we went down to Odessa which is the bar that the girls and most of their friends frequent. I met even more new people but have to admit that I was fading fast. Megan felt sorry for me and gave me a ride home at about midnight just as I was turning pumpkiny.

Friday, 31 March 2006

So I arrived at Narita Airport at 7.30am and practically whizzed through immigration and customs. They didn’t ask me any questions or even ask to look in my back pack, so while I certainly looked disheveled, I must still have had an aura of honesty. I managed to pick up my unaccompanied bag without too much trouble, if you call spending an hour traipsing around the cargo part of the airport a trouble-free experience. Actually, it was ok and everybody was helpful even if they only had limited English, which, let’s face it, is still more than my Japanese.

I even managed to get on the right bus to Takasaki. They let you put one bag in the baggage compartment of the bus but I had to take my backpack on the bus with me. So I lugged it up the stairs and tried to lift it up onto the overhead baggage shelf but I just got the giggles because it was so heavy. There was a young Japanese couple in the seat across the aisle and the guy asked me if I wanted help getting my bag up and then I realized that it was actually too wide to fit in the gap. I said thanks for the offer and then went to sit down and promptly whacked my head on the ceiling. After that stylish introduction to Japan, I just left my backpack on the floor and rested my feet on it. Then the battery ran out on the Ipod. Damn thing. I wish I could describe the view of Tokyo from the bus but frankly I was so knackered that I went to sleep almost straight away.

My new boss, Carl, met me at Takasaki Station and drove me straight to my new apartment. I’ve moved into Megan’s old apartment because she has moved in with her sweetheart, Kevin. Wait, wait, wait. You guys know Megan? No? Ok, Sarah, Megan and Emily are the girls that I’ll be working with for the next year. All three are from Brisbane and both Sarah and Megan have signed up for another year in Takasaki. The apartment’s pretty small but nowhere near as cupboard-like as I had expected. I have a kitchen and dining room in one and a lounge room through a big sliding door. The tiny, submarine-style toilet and bathroom are off one side of the kitchen and the bedroom is up in a loft and only accessible by ladder. And when I say ladder, I mean ladder. Not just a couple of rungs but nine of them - I swear I get vertigo from halfway up.

This is the lounge room in my apartment.

And this is how big it is if you stand at the window.

After dropping my stuff off, Carl took me to the supermarket to buy some supplies. It wasn’t as bad as I feared and I even bought the same jam and the same instant miso soup that we have at home. They have so much stuff already prepared that I’m frankly surprised that anyone cooks. I bought bread, butter, jam, instant miso soup, edamame, miso paste, salmon sashimi, tea, milk, salad and some diet coke. The shopping list of champions. The only thing I really need help to identify was the low fat milk because they don’t have pictures of skinny cows on the cartons.

After I got back to the apartment I had a shower and went to bed at 6pm.

So, here I am in Japan

Ok, a brief word.

I'm here in Japan and I am teaching English to kids aged 3 to 12 years old. I work at a small juku (or a cram school) here in Takasaki which is in Gunma Prefecture. I've been here about three weeks and my internet access has only just started working.

So, here we go I guess.