Tag: backlog

Nagasaki Adventure [Day 2]

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Day two began with a fair amount of shrine and temple hopping, which I remember being very excited about. Since we started our journey on the north side of the city and started working our way down, we wanted to go ahead and hit the next thing, which was Temple Street, aka Tera-machi-dori. I’m quite enthusiastic about temples and shrines so I really enjoyed this walk even with it being a bit hot. By the end of it my accomplices were about “temple-d out,” and I was still ready to go! But it’s likely a good thing we cut it short with all the uphill slopes!

2013-10-13 12.28.27After completing our fair circuit of temples and shrines throughout the area, we started our route toward Chinatown by stopping to take in the Spectacles Bridge. While we were meandering through the area, an elderly man gifted his map to me, and directed my attention to a particular area of the stones in which a certain shape could be found. Can you find it in the picture at the beginning of this entry? I’m thinking so. :)

2013-10-13 13.02.25Afterward we made our way to Chinatown on the tram, which is a flat rate and something that many cities in Japan enjoy. Our main reason for stopping here was to have champon, a mixed seafood noodle dish, borrowed from Chinese cuisine. We popped into a fairly crowded and popular restaurant with good timing and grabbed a table, settling down to stuff ourselves with Chinese food. We circled the rest of Chinatown and found out – much to our disbelief – that Chinatown consisted of exactly one street! We were pretty surprised by this, given all the talk about it being Japan’s first Chinatown; we just had expected it to be a little more built out. But nonetheless, we made the circuit of shops and checked it off our to-do list!

Our last stop of the day was stopped Glover Garden, and the more general area of the Dutch Hollander slope leading up to it. We only stopped briefly at the garden because we were tired from all the walking, but it has a great view out onto the city of Nagasaki itself, so it’s no wonder the Glovers seized up that land immediately and built upon it.  The slope is a very cool area with many food stands and souvenir shops, but also some very cool jewelry stores further up the slope for those who are interested. I also bought a whole lot of omiyage in the form of castella cake from the souvenir shops. They have all kinds so I went kind of wild and picked a few to bring back to my schools.

We got back into town and decided that we were fairly ravenous, so we lighted upon this Italian place in the mall. The three of us had no idea, but the weekend we were there it happened to be romance/couples weekend or some such thing, which explained why we were unable to get a hotel, but the unforeseen plus was that we had a perfect view of a major spectacle of the event – fireworks! It was unexpected but great as we leisurely ate pizza and pasta, and drank wine. It was a pretty fun time.

Getting on the ferry home...
Catching the ferry home…

Then we Cybac’ed (one of the better, cleaner Cybac’s I’ve been in on both nights) it again and woke up at the crack of dawn the next day to hit the bus and catch the earliest ferry home. Once there we drove back into our placement city. Though it was a bit of a tiring excursion it was very worth it. And there’s still more stuff I’d like to do in Nagasaki!! It’s a great city.

Nagasaki Adventure [Day 1]

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During my first year here, in October 2013, a couple of friends and I seized the opportunity to visit Nagasaki over the course of a 3-day weekend. We took the passenger-only ferry from Reihoku over, and initially sat inside. It was an odd sensation; bobbing up and down amidst waves that you couldn’t see. Then we hopped on the bus and rode into town to start our adventure!

First we stopped at the Peace Park, taking in all the sculptures and artwork dedicated to the area throughout the years. Then we stopped by the Atomic Bomb Museum, walking and stopping through at various smaller parks and outdoor sights along the way. For example – shrines – of which there is no shortage in Nagasaki. There was an incredibly large set of old trees framing the front of a shrine I don’t remember the name of, so we stopped in briefly, then continued on our way to food at Amu Plaza, choosing to dine on the Indian food that’s all-too-rare in Amakusa.

After satiating our appetite and perhaps doing a little shopping, we headed to Mt. Inasa Ropeway, the bottom of which is located inside of Fuchi Shrine. We were good in our timing insofar as we went around 5 PM and ended up staying until sunset/dusk. Apparently Nagasaki ranks #5 on some lists of the best night views in Japan. It was really beautiful and totally worth stopping by. But if you decide to go get there early! There’s so many cameramen who set up to capture the sunset that it’s a little ridiculous. Inside there also happened to be a cool concert going on showcasing some various artists, mostly incorporating some traditional element into their performances.

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My tasty steak dish~

After enjoying all we could for the first day, we set out to find a restaurant called Bronco, located in Nagasaki’s street arcade. I had read online that it was a Mexican and steak restaurant, thus my urge to go, but it turns out it is an exclusively steak restaurant. Though at first I was a little disappointed, it was a very good meal, and it proved worth the visit regardless of my initial impression from online. The shop is quite small and narrow, so it’s a bit awkward, and the food is tasty once you get your hands on it. It was a busy night there, it seemed.

A random koban, or police box, that we stumbled upon during our wanderings
A random koban, or police box, that we stumbled upon during our wanderings

A first for me with this trip was the unique experience of what I like to call Cybac’in’ it. Cybac is a particular net cafe franchise, where you can rent a space for 12 hours for a very cheap price. If you’re picky you can even purchase a shower or anything else on the menu you might need. The idea is that you browse the internet or use the computer during this space of time, but it the cheapest, though not necessarily most comfortable, alternative to paying for a hotel room! There’s no reservations though, so you have to be willing to live in the moment and be flexible regarding which space you stay in (a 1 person, 2 person, or family room).

That’s the end of Day 1! I have a lot in the backlog for now, so keep an eye out for Day 2, coming soon.

Local Bar: Ringside

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Ringside is a very unique local bar oriented a short jaunt from my own abode in my town. Both of the times I’ve been here have been in September each year, and I’ve quite enjoyed myself each time. The picture above is of myself (on the right) and some friends, with the bar’s owner. :)

It’s a fairly local setup run by an enterprising family that also owns the ice cream shop next door.  The atmosphere is fairly casual, with bar-goers usually imbibing the standard beers that the Japanese are so fond of. But the unique element of this particular bar is not necessarily its atmosphere or design, but the theme that it flaunts: all things wrestling.

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Here I am, in the blue mask this time, the first time being at Ringside with a group of ALT’s and the bar’s owner. Perhaps you noticed, but the women’s wrestling masks have a distinctly catty flair…

On both occasions I’ve hit this bar with a group of foreigners, we have drank and initially ended up in Mexican wrestling masks of the shiny variety. And that’s not where it begins or ends! The entire wall is filled with wrestling memorabilia, trophies, belts, all of it — from toys to autographed items, this bar screams “WRESTLINGGGGG!” And if you go into the women’s restroom, you’ll find yourself amid a sea of female wrestling paraphernalia. I’m assuming it’s likewise for the men’s, with male wrestling-related decor splashed across all walls.

2014-09-19 21.49.02Another interesting thing that I learned on my latest outing to Ringside is that aside from simply owning the next-door ice cream/gelato place, the man who owns both also makes his own uniquely flavored Japanese ice cream! We were able to try two of the flavors last time, takoyaki and onigiri, the English equivalent of octopus ball and rice ball. :)

If you are placed in Amakusa as a JET, you should definitely seize the opportunity to visit Ringside and perhaps their ice cream enterprise next door!

Ye Ol’ Bunkasai

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wpid-DSC_0288.jpgBoth years of my time thus far as an ALT, I’ve found time to attend one or two local high schools’ Culture Festivals, known in Japan as bunkasai.

Sadly, we don’t have one at our junior high for one simple reason: our school is huge! We have about 800 students, which ends up making seven classes of 40 kids each per grade. Trying to force this many kids to come up with a presentation/performance of some sort and decorate their classrooms would be a huge deal (if Sports Day is any indication), so I was able to go to some high school bunkasai instead!

2013-10-19 11.55.57This year and last, I went to the local technical high school, where they focus on electronic, mechanical, or engineering craft. Each class only had some minimal decorations, but some of the basic activities in each room were quite impressive (some not, of course – it really varies by class). Last year, they had remote control cars set up that would drive above the lines painted on the course, following them seamlessly. And this year one of the hits of the festival was a picture area that you could dress up in wigs and Halloween accessories at. Once they developed the picture you were invited to do rakugaki (graffiti) on them at your leisure, then have them laminated. It was like an at home version of purikura, or print club booths. Then there are several classrooms decorated with woodwork or art made by students as well.

This year was a bit different, as a fellow ALT was invited to play with the brass band during the performance section of the program, which was held downstairs in an open, airy room. Promptly afterward, just as the year before, students began performing cross-dressing renditions of several well-known pop songs at the time.

2014-10-18 13.04.21I also decided to drop by the other local high school for the latter half of the afternoon, where unfortunately things seemed to be wrapping up. One class had decided to do a tapioca cafe, which looked great but a teacher said they had already finished selling for the day. Another group, however, had made a maze in their class, which was actually a bit tricky despite the limited space! The theme was a haunted house, but it was a rather cute, pastel haunted house in my mind. :) Their main program, ongoing in the gym, consisted of several teachers and students executing unique musical performances. Several of them were quite good, but their brass band was absolutely fantastic at the end and completely stole the show.

After attending the high school cultural festivals, I’ll be honest – I kind of wish my base school had one of its own!

Sotsugyoshiki (卒業式), or Graduation

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This is just a quick post I’ve had on the back burner since experiencing it last year. I haven’t got any photos to commemorate the experience, just impressions that I’d like to share.

This year and last year I was required to join the graduation ceremony at my base school, as most ALT’s are. At my school, we all come to the school on Sunday for the ceremony and take Monday off instead.

Only one school year, the junior high school third years, graduate, so this day is really all about them and the homeroom teachers they’ve spent all year with. Because it’s a special event, some teachers dress in full kimono, which comes out looking very stylish and fancy on the female teachers who’ve opted to do so; I haven’t seen any male homeroom teachers fully kimono up yet.

As is often the case in Japan, there are several required practices leading up to the actual event, during which the third years practice walking into the gymnasium in good time as well as standing up and sitting down in perfect time when required. They also have to sing a song of goodbye at the conclusion of the ceremony.

But the third years aren’t the only ones who have to work. The first and second years have to attend as well, all of them sitting in the back, applauding all seven classes as they walk in the gym single-file, continuously clapping. The teachers have to do this too, and I will testify that it can really tire out the hands.

Another aspect of this particular ceremony is that there are a whole lot of speeches being made, which always puts us behind schedule. It would perhaps be better if each speaker kept it brief, but instead each tends to plug on for at least 7-12 minutes. I know that if you try hard on your speech you’d like to read it, but at events like these, most people are tuning out anyway, so I feel that one should keep that in mind when preparing a speech and keep it to around 5 minutes. That way we could eat the bento’s we ordered when they are still warm…

One of my takeaways from this event is that it is relatively cut and dry. One representative goes to the stage and receives their class’s diplomas/certificates, so there isn’t that personal satisfaction in walking across the stage oneself. It’s a rather formulaic ceremony, perhaps for the sake of ceremony. And really what the kids are looking forward to most is likely the last class they have with their homeroom teacher, or tannin (担任). There they share some last moments and give their teachers flowers, thanking them for the entire year. As ALT’s we get a little bit of this on the last class day, depending on the teacher(s) we work with. My teacher got the kids all together and took a picture of us in each class, putting it together as a card for me from each. My teacher from last year made the kids each write a little card, then put them together on a large piece of paper and gave them to me at the end of the last class. This personal interaction is more meaningful than the official ceremony for me as an outsider, but I know that the homeroom teachers felt more accomplishment on behalf of the kids. I had one moment of emotional instability for a class that I really enjoyed because they were bright and motivated, even without knowing the answers all the time, but for the most part I was able to watch the ceremony without undue emotional stress.

All in all, it’s a positive aspect of school life that I think a lot of kids need and look forward to in order to be able to leave junior high and make the transition to high school. It’s another aspect of Japanese school life to experience as an ALT, and it gave me a little time to reflect on my own junior high school experience for sure. It’s interesting to think that I didn’t have a JHS graduation, if I remember correctly. The big graduation hurrahs in the US are high school and university, which worked for me! I’m certainly more than satisfied with my experience of them both, as well as these Japanese ceremonies as a teacher.