End of Summer Bonfire Party

In late September, Parry hosted the first party in our area since he was entertaining some of his friends from the Nagoya area. It got a late start but turned out to be really fun. Since he lives in an apartment complex and things could get a bit loud with twenty people in a small space, we ended walking over to a nearby beach. It was really relaxing to just hang out by the beach, make a fire and roast marshmallows. Hopefully, there will be more bonfires next summer!

Tony stokes the bonfireEnjoying the late summer fun: beach, s`mores and bonfires

Chilling in Osaka

This is the Osaka subway and train system. It`s fun to navigate.
Because of the Madonna concert and the long weekend, I decided to spend some time exploring Osaka. It's the second largest city in Japan and is known for its food, down-to-earth citizens and its unique dialect called Kansai-ben. Leilani and I had originally booked into a cheap hotel near Tennoji but after hearing some not so savoury things about it, we quickly changed plans and decided to stay closer to America Mura and Shinsaibashi. Before the concert, we were able to explore some of the sights like ths shopping arcade in Shinsaibashi and Dotonburi, the entertainment district along the river. It was nice to just do some window shopping and get a Starbucks or two. We went into one of my favourite stores called Tokyu Hands. It's a great department store that stocks everything you need that you don't think you need.The crowds of Osaka near Dotonburi.Note the Glico ManA symbol of Osaka, Glico ManWith Hello Kitty at the Sanrio StoreThe shopping arcade in the dayShinsaibashi Shopping Arcade at night
After the concert, we set out to find El Pancho's which is a well-known Mexican restaurant in Osaka. My predecessor even left their business card for me. It was a little hard to find but we found it and had some margaritas and mexican food. It was really nice to get some international cuisine again.At El Pancho`s
How am I going to carry this all home?
The next day, we did more shopping and end up going past Rinku Town Premium outlets on the way back. It's very close to the airport and was a great place to pick up some items in hard to find sizes. I need to go back to Osaka and do some more exploring, there are not a lot of sights there but it's a big city and I've hardly reached the tip of the iceberg.

Tennon Daiko

Ususally most JET Programme participants get involved with some aspect of Japanese culture. Whether it be through sports, cooking, language or arts, most participants will at least attempt to find a hobby here. I was most interested in joining a taiko group. So, I asked around to see if there was a group in Gobo. At first, I was told there is none but I got a lead from another ALT in Tanabe. He put me in touch with Tennon Daiko and was able to attend one of their practices. This group has been practicing together for 20 years but a few of the members were born after the group was founded. At least 4 of the members are still in high school.

Tennon Daiko playing a Kobo piece
The drummers were fairly welcoming and wanted me to do a short self-introduction. They even had me start practicing right away. It was really challenging to play the taiko drums as you need a lot of strength and excellent hand-eye coordination to hit the drum in time and then have enough restraint so that you control the sound. A lot of athleticism is involved as well since you have to squat sometimes as you play the drum. I think this will be a challenging hobby especially since the practices are Saturday mornings! After watching the group tackle a piece by Kodo which is the most famous taiko group in all of Japan, I felt really motivated to give this a fair try.

Keitais!

AU Shop in Gobo
One of things I was most excited to get was my cell phone or keitai as they are called in Japanese. From what I can tell, the population is glued to their cell phones. Everyone seems to be playing with them on the trains and why not? The cell phones her are all fairly technologically advanced. People can send e-mails from them to regular PCs. The designs range from sleek to clunky. Everyone decks out their phone with charms and a variety of decorations. It`s an expression of your personality to some for sure. I still think the coolest function is the infared data exchange between the phones. It makes it so easy to give your number to someone and to share photos and videos between phones.
Anyways, I couldn`t get a cell phone immediately since I needed to have some ID like the foreign registration card or national health insurance card and my banking information. As soon as I got the national health insurance card at the end of August, Mac kindly took me to the local AU shop. There are three major cell phone companies here: AU, DoCoMo and Vodafone. In my area, I had a choice between AU and DoCoMo as they have the best reception. I had heard good things about AU so that was the clear choice. Ok, so now I just had to choose my phone. I decided to get one that has a music function, camera, video camera and an english menu. So, I ended up getting the Sony Ericsson Walkman phone in white. I really like it so far. Also, I ran into Sarah A. and her JTE at the store and wouldn`t you know but she also got the same phone in pink.
Sarah loves eating ice cream while texting on her keitai
Many ALTs said they would go with out a cell phone. Impossible I said. It`s a top priority in my opinion to stay connected. Especially since a lot of us are hardly ever at home. A few people like Parry eventually caved after two months and got one. But, I still know of a few people who have gone two or three years with out one. I still think the coolest function is the infared data exchange between the phones. It makes it so easy to give your number to someone and to share photos and videos between phones.Mesmerized by the infared functionExchanging data with Parry over dinner. He`s equally mesmerized.

Time to Harvest

While riding my bike through the rice fields to work one morning, I noticed that one of the fields had been cleared. I thought "aha" it`s now getting into fall so it`s time to start the harvest. Around mid-September, the rice has matured to a golden brown and is ready to be reaped. After the fields have been cleared, the rice is then put into sheaves which bundles of the crop. Once the sheaves have been left in the field to dry, they are then stacked and burnt. Since I live in an area surrounded by rice fields, it is very interesting to monitor the progress of the harvest. I see the farmers out there working from early morning til late in the evening clearing their fields. Every farmer around here has a white truck to use to transport the crop. After the harvest has finished, most of the neighbourhoods will have festivals to thank the gods for this year`s bounty.

Rice fields behind my apartment. Notice the white farm trucks.
Ready to be clearedIn progressNewly made sheaves. Don`t they look like little teepees?Drying in the late summer sun

My First Car!

I was not expecting to get my first car ever in Japan but I did! Living in a more rural area and wanting to have a slightly easier time getting around made the idea of having a car more of a necessity than it ever was living in Vancouver. Originally, my plan was to wait for a while and then get one after the weather changed. But, one of my ALT co-workers, wanted to buy a new car so I could get his at a good price. So, I said OK and got a 1994 SE Vintage Sprinter. It is the same as a Corolla and was kept in good condition. Most ALTs have something resembling a k-car but I have a sedan which should be great for road trips.
Now, I just have to deal with driving on some narrow roads and on the wrong/other side of the road!

My "beautiful" car!
My car (middle) in front of my apartment building
P.S. I'm glad my car is not as small as this one!

First Weekend at "home"

This weekend was the first one since moving to Gobo where I have not been traveling. So, I made plans to attend a local event and explore my new surroundings a bit more.

So, Saturday night, Emi and I hit the local nightlife in Hidakagawa by attending a koto concert and tea ceremony. A group from Gobo including a husband and wife played several traditional songs on the koto. Some of the kids in attendance were a little restless to say the least.

Koto players in NakatsuPeek-a-boo!
After the concert ended, we moved to the main hall to enjoy the tea ceremony as performed by the Nakatsu tea ceremony club. I enjoyed the matcha and the sweets so I had seconds. I got to meet a few of the club members and make a few new friends. The event was planned to coincide with the full moon. Instead of seeing the man in the moon, Japanese people believe that there is a rabbit in the moon making mochi (gluteneous rice balls). So at the end of the night, Emi, myself along with some of the BOE and Community Centre staff are staring at the moon. Fun times!
Preparing the teaServing the tea in a kimonoEnjoying the yummy matcha
Sunday was also a good day or so it seemed. The weather was perfect for a bike ride to the local beach, Enjukuhama. So, armed with my camera, I headed there and took some shots. I stopped at the brand new Cafe Mew which overlooks the beach for lunch. It is a nice place to relax and enjoy the view. Pasta lunch at the cafe"Kawaii"!The view from the cafe
Then, I decided to ride up the hill to find "America Mura" which is really Canada Mura but that deserves a post of its own. So, as I get up part of the hill, I realize I have a flat tire. So, I see an elderly lady (obachan) and ask if she has a bike pump. I thank her and ride away only to discover a few moments later that my tire is flat again. So, I had to walk all the way from Mihama town to Gobo. I bought a new tire at a hardware store on the way home but don`t have the tools to install it! It was a hot day but I survived the 45 minute walk home. Now, if only my bike would work. I still need to use it while I wait for my car insurance to be sorted out.My bike called a "mama chari" has a flat tire!

Happy Birthday Emi!

Eventhough I have only known one of my co-workers for a month, I wanted to make sure we celebrated her birthday here at the BOE. Emi does all the translation work for us and she is a great person to have around. She has helped me out with everything I need to feel settled here in my town and work. No problem is too much for her for handle and she is one of the craftiest people I know! So, Mac, Ben and I chipped in to get her flowers and a really cool pop-up book. She loves pop-up books by Robert Sabuda but this one was of Winnie the Pooh.

Opening the book...Suhara Sensei and Kacho admiring the bookMac, Ben, me and Emi

The Shi

After spending about two and half weeks in the greater Gobo area, I was starting to get cabin fever. Shirahama was great and I was enjoying meeting all of the ALTs but I wanted to go shopping, have a Starbucks and hang out. So, I grabbed fellow ALT Sarah and we went off to explore the big city, Wakayama one evening. I had checked the Starbucks website and found that there was a store out in a mall called Garden Park. After checking their website, it looked like I hit pay dirt because one of my favourite Japanese chains, Muji, has a location there, too! The local train costs about 1000 yen and takes an hour to get up to the shi. Then, we had to navigate the bus system and eventually we found ourselves at Garden Park. Unfortunately for Sarah, there were no stores for clothes and swimsuit shopping but we both enjoyed our Starbucks and browsing Muji's food section. On our way back to the train, we stopped for food at this great little Indian restaurant run by a family from Pakistan. It is in a really convenient location and I definitely glad to see that I could still enjoy some international cuisine in Wakayama. Even as we get more settled into our rural lifestyles, it's nice to know there is a city to escape to every once in a while.

One of my favourite Japanese chain stores
Always smart to get yourself 'stranded' on an island with a Starbucks! according to my friend, C.
Sarah and her Pakistani new friend; Delicious South Asian cuisine

First Cooking Attempt

For those of you who know me in Japan, you know that I don`t cook much. My standard line is that it is easier and cheaper to eat out. For those of you who knew me pre-Japan, you know that I rarely cooked because of living at home and going out to dine at Vancouver`s great selection of restaurants. But upon arrival, I did try my hand at cooking. My first attempt at cooking in the hallway that doubles as a kitchen in my apartment is pictured above. It was inspired by a trip to Evergreen Supermarket in Gobo because it was there that I spotted a green thai curry mix. So, I threw in some chicken and eggplants and then fired up the rice cooker. In less than an hour, I had a dinner!

Susami

On the first full weekend we had free in Japan, my orientation group, Group B, decided to get together at Sara`s place in Susami. Susami was a very central meeting point between our placements that ranged from Arida to Nachi-Katsura. I met up with Parry and Quinn on the train and we headed south. We were greeted by a summer downpour but it was really exciting to be reunited with all of our new friends. We headed to a nice little restaurant just outside of the station and got a chance to catch up on the first two weeks at our placements.

Tony, me, Lily, Ryan, Justin, Kate, Sara, Quinn, Parry in Susami(l to r)

After catching up, we went to Sara`s apartment which is really a house! She is very lucky to have a nice big place to spread out and make herself comfortable. Plus, she had enough room to house us for the night. After checking out her place, we wandered over to the grocery store to collect snacks and finally it was time to hit the beach! For some of us (ahem, Parry!), it was our first time to ever go to the beach. Too bad none of us were scuba diving since Susami`s claim to fame seems to be an underwater mailbox.
I decided to wander around a bit snapping photos of this ocean side town. Here are a few of my favourite shots from this fishing village.

Party in Minabe!

During the summer vacation, JETs are often at their BOE postings as schools are out for the summer. Lessons are prepared, Japanese is studied and paperwork is filed. But, often times, we end up chatting with one another in our office. One chat centred around Mac was saying how he was going to a party in town about half an hour south of Gobo called Minabe at a fellow JETs house. Boldly, I begged my way into the party seeing as how I am new and it is good to meet people in the area. I managed to get Mac to drive the other newbies in Hidaka-gun, Sarah and Parry as well. The meeting point was good 'ol Roman City (the central point between Hidaka, Mihama and Hidakagawa). On the drive down, I got to see more of Gobo and drive south on the highway here for the first time.

We ended up in a pretty little town famous for umeboshi (plums) and at Chris' cute apartment in Minabegawa. Turns out he was hosting a 25th Birthday Party for one of his local friends, Daisuke. Aside from Chris, the only JETs I met were on their way out of Japan. We met Melissa and Mark, a departing JET couple and Andrew, an honourary JET. As is usual in summer parties here, there is a lot of BBQ and Beverages to go around resulting in some crazy party photos. And now, crazy party photos for you to enjoy!