What ever happened to Astro Boy?

He became a Toshiba sales rep.

Would you like some meat with your fat?

Another enkai, this time with the staff of N JHS to celebrate the ending of the school year. This one was held in Chiya, a small town on the border of Okayama and Tottori Prefectures. Chiya is up in the mountains where temperatures are still in the negatives at night, and the ground is still covered with snow. It is famous for it's onsen, ski slope, and hotel complex.

On the menu was the usual sashimi, tempura (a whole flounder on a plate), raw octopus, shellfish, soup, vegetables, and shabu shabu. I love shabu shabu, but the amount of fat on the "famous" Chiya beef was incredibly offputting and I couldn't finish it.

Get on Board, Lil' Children...

Equinoctial Excursion

Japan is a country that bends nature to it's will, however events such as the changing of seasons and the equinoxes are celebrated and traditions adhered to. The week of an equinox is called Ohigan and during this week Buddhist ceremonies are held. On the day of the equinox most people go to the graveyards to clean the graves of their relatives and pray.

I went on a day trip to Matsue, a picturesque city in Shimane Prefecture on the coast of the sea of Japan.

The special thing about the castle in Matsue is that has never been ravaged by war or fire, so is original and dates back from 1611. No elevators inside!

Tourist attractions all appear to be half price for foreigners, so I visited a few museums, an original samurai house, and a museum celebrating the life and works of Lafcadio Hearn, a British writer and Japanophile who took the name Koizumi Yakumo. I lunched on the local specialty, soba noodles, in a beautiful restaurant looking out over a traditional garden complete with koi pond.

After this, I made my way to the end of a peninsula, past small fishing villages and moored squid fleets for my first glimpse of the Japan Sea.

G Day

The third year students of junior high school graduate on March 15th. On this day I was at N JHS, and was able to join in on the ceremony.

When I was at school, the last day involved defacing school uniforms, giving the teachers ridiculous awards (English Teacher Ms. Mollier got the Thelma award for scuttling about the school like Scooby Doo's Thelma), and a massive water, egg, and flour fight that started at school and ended at the beach nearby.

The Japanese graduation is completely different. When I arrived at school, I thanked the kamisama that I had chosen a black suit to wear (my pink top underneath was a little conspicuous however). Every single female teacher was wearing black. Nothing but black. The men were wearing what looked like their best black funeral suits, shirts, and ties. Now I know what the "black section" is for in the department store - graduations and funerals. I also noted that all of the women were wearing flowers and pearls.

The ceremony itself was a very solemn and somber affair. I entered the freezing cold gym to find the first and second year students (sitting in formation in the middle of the gym, and the teachers lined up along one wall. My seat was at the very end of the line, as befits my rank within the school(I was even placed after the school secretary). We stood and bowed as the VIPs entered and took their places along the opposite wall. These people included someone from the BOE, the local post master and police chief, and about five others I've not met before. The graduating students (all 11 of them) filed in to a military slow march played on the piano (I forget the correct name, but the words "Land of Hope and Glory" come to mind for some reason).First certificates were handed out, then the principal made a speech, followed by the speeches of three of the VIP's. Finally, a student from first, second, and third year made a speech. The special "graduation song" and the school song were sung, and then everyone filed out. The chairs, podiums, tables etc were stored away within minutes.

A weird observation - I noticed that all the women in the gym had their hands crossed right over left in their laps.

After the formalities, it was time to mess about.Here are the third years of N JHS, minus one, who was "setting her hair". Why did they feel the need to hide behind the desk?Oh, here she is! Hair set and all. This chick is cool. Every morning I say "Good morning everybody" and she replies "Good morning nice body".

As the third years prepared to leave school with their relatives, I was presented with a copy of the school year book, complete with a whole page dedicated to me! All the students had written messages. I was also handed a few letters from students which brought a wee tear to my eye.

I love this picture. It's a few of the first and second years saying goodbye to the graduating students.
The last picture I took of the graduates and relys. Check out the mountain!

FOOOOOOOOOOOD

I went to Ibara this weekend to partake of a hangi. It was BRILLIANT.

The food was delicious (and abundant - I never even looked at the dessert table), the company was fantastic (was able to speak at length with a lot of people including people I've not really had the opportunity to talk much to before), and the entertainment lasted until the early hours of the morning.

Need I mention the absolute carnage of "the morning after"? If only the Japanese film crew had stuck around for that.

Unfortunately the only photos I took were of the hangi itself and nothing that took place after...

Anticipation...Heads down bums up...FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

Basuketto Booru

Classes are winding down as exams are over and coursework is completed, so for lack of anything better to do, the whole of N JHS (all 25 students plus staff) headed to the gym for a day of short basketball matches. Nevermind that the gym was -2 degrees (colder than outside), or that hands were so cold they were blue, and everyones breath hung in the air.

With a blatant disregard for the rules, strategy, or even positions, we were off. During the game numerous injuries were sustained, including two blood noses, a sprained ankle, and a swollen face (caused by a ball to the eye).

Here is a random picture that is not very good.

Hina Matsuri

This weekend was Hina Matsuri, The Doll Festival, also known as Girls Festival. Traditionally this is held on March 3rd, but doll displays continued all weekend.

Niimi actually experienced an influx of tourists as people came to see the beautiful doll displays in the entrances and windows of the "historical district" of town. There was traditional koto music playing on the streets, and fake peach blossoms everywhere; it actually was kinda nice.

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera so wasn't able to take any of my own pictures.

To read more about the festival, and see some pictures, go here: http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa022501a.htm

NOMUnication

Every begining and ending in Japan is celebrated with a rediculous amount of eating and drinking, and the New Year is no exception.

I joined my colleages from I JHS for an enkai of stupendous proportions at a luxurious Japanese inn. Once the principal had finished his kanpai, or toast, we were served a full 12 courses by kneeling waitresses in kimono.

The meal included such things as sukiyaki, pickles, sashimi, vegetables, half a crab, tempura, soup, dumplings, and icecream. (That's real gold leaf!!)

We sat on tatami in places drawn by lottery. I was sitting next to a lady that works in the school kitchen who I had never met before. We were quickly drawn into a battle of cultural stereotypes.

She drew first blood with "You wear shoes inside, don't you?"
I retaliated with " It depends on the household. In my house, shoes are ok. But if I get new carpet, I might change the rules".
She considers this and came back at me with "Your main dish is bread, isn't it?"
"Actually, I eat more rice at home" I shot back.
She countered this with "You don't have baths, do you? Only showers".
I was getting angry. "Most houses have baths. My parents have a spa bath. When I was a kid I always had baths, but as I grew up I came to prefer showers; they're quicker."
We continued back and forth in this manner for some time until she drew out the big guns.
"There are a lot of sheep in New Zealand, aren't there?"
This is where I launched into a tirade, covering such thins as how bountiful and tasty New Zealands agricultural produce is, and how full of fat Japans meat is, and how full of steroids, fertilizers, and other chemicals Japans overprices fruit and vege is, and how Japans dairy products must be made from something other than milk (Especially the cream - I just can't understand it).

We were saved by the hot history teacher who came to pour us a drink. "Vicky Sensei, you are very strong. You have finished two bottles of beer and your face is not yet red". He says. I notice that he's completely toasted yet he's drinking beer from a tiny sake cup. "What are you doing?!" I shout. "Let me pour you a glass." I take the bottle from him and reach for the unused glass on my neighbours tray. When I turn back, I see he's toppled over backwards from a kneeling position and is now a giggling mess on the floor.

Sadly, there was no nijikai, or second stage to this event, as it was a school night. Probably a good thing as I don't think anyone would have turned up for work the next day if things had continued.