Finally...

I'd been wondering where the winter snows had been. Last year it started snowing on November 12th, and didn't let up until the first week of March.....or was it April? Global Warming.

I thought I'd seen it all....

But I was wrong. Niimi still holds a few surprises.

Whilst entertaining an out-of-prefecture guest (who only lives an hour drive away so is more our neighbour than most Okayaman's) we ran into the criminal element.

After Bob Marleys and Last Samurais at the local izakaiya we felt like heading to the cosy snack bar down the road run by Mama-san and Master, but it was packed to the brim with smoking men on bar stools. Instead, we went around the corner to a snack bar called Rapisu for some karaoke madness.

The place was full of dodgy looking guys, and the hostess told us they were closed as she gestured us back towards the door. We were followed outside by Kobayashi-san, a tattood, white tracksuit-wearing hard arse who turned out to be the local Yakuza representative. Turns out we had walked into the local pachinko syndicate's end of year party. He insisted we join the party, and it didn't seem like such a good idea to turn him down.

Ensconced in a booth we ordered beer from the now helpful hostess and Kobayashi-san sat with us attempting to convey his thoughts and feelings on foreigners in Japanese. While others looked on incredulously, another man joined us executing a very obvious stretch-and-yawn followed by stares and secretive smiles.

The evening came to a close when an inexplicable fight broke out pushing us out onto the stairwell. The bar emptied and we made our excuses to leave. The strange staring guy sniffed me on his way past and attempted to put his arm around me. The guys in a fight started kicking the crap out of a car in the car park while someone slept on inside.

It ended bizarrely and all I have to say is I hope I have more of the same encounters. Grass roots internationalisation. Although maybe not with the local yaks.

Bully for you

The teachers are talking over my head again. Literally. Conversations pass right over my head from one side of the staff room to the other. Today the teachers are talking about ijime, or bullying.

This particular conversation relates to a female student somewhere in Okayama City who "urisuto suritto" as a result of ijime.

This is a topic that has been in the media a lot in the last few months. Japan has 12 year olds jumping off buildings and 14 year olds hanging themselves because they can't handle the pressure of school and the bullies that go with it. It has gotten to the point where school children are writing letters to the education minister warning that if something isn't done, they will kill themselves.

Have you ever heard the Japanese proverb "deru kugi wa utareru" or "the nail that sticks out must be hammered down"? In the homogeneous society of Japan, if you're different, you will be made to suffer because of it. You either fall into line or are bullied. In my small rural schools where the community is close knit and most families are not very well off, bullying does not occur; at least not to the point where someone would kill themselves because of it. I can't help but wonder if ALT's in the cities can see what's going on.

Sadly, the official response to bullying has been a long time coming. Apart from telling students to talk to someone who cares or who can help, very little has been done. Endless governmental discussions have agreed that something needs to be done, but have not yet figured out what.

Sad too is the fact that suicide is traditionally seen as an honourable way out of a situation if you feel there is nothing more you can do or if you have done all you can. How long will Japanese students remain this helpless?

See what the BBC has to say.

BEERBEERBEERBEERBEER

After being woken by The Most Obnoxious Alarm Clock On Earth TM, we headed to the station to meet up with the gang heading to the Kirin Beer Factory in Mantomi.

We were greeted at the station by a free shuttle car that dropped us at the factory door.

As the next tour group was full there was some miscommunication back and forth until the friendly staff decided to stick us in with the Japanese people. We filed out the back to the waiting bus and caused a bit of a stir as we sat on the fold out seats in the aisle. We headed to the bottling plant first to check out the machines (that weren't operating at the time) and watch some short videos.

Vasco had designs on this stein. Good luck tipping that over...From there we passed the strorage vats which can hold a rediculous amount of beer (the number of bottles per vat eludes me) and a tower of crates. In another part of the factory we were given the opportunity to taste a mixture of hops and barley called "wort" which is made before fermentation.

Back in the Kirin shop, Vasco and Faye try on some Kirin jackets.

Finally we are given coupons for two free drinks, our choice of products made at the factory, including chuhai, lager beer, and dark beer. Sadly the Kirin pilsner is not made in Okayama. Kanpai!At the end of our beer experience, we headed up the train line one stop to try out Pizza King, world famous in Wake, and it was good.It turns out that you can do this tour in English, but must book before hand. Also, there is a bigger and better Kirin factory somewhere near Kobe which also has a bus shaped like a beer can.

I'll have to do it again sometime.

A Very JET Christmas

The Okayama JETs are a charitable bunch, supporting a womens shelter in Okayama City (surprisingly, the only one in the whole Chugoku Region), and interacting with Shintenchi Childrens Home.

This Saturday, about 50 JETs and others showed up, along with Mr and Mrs Claus to spread the joy of Christmas to children who don't really understand Christmas, what with Japan being predominantly Buddhist and Shinto.

The event started with high energy games, such as running in a circle (there was a point to it, but I didn't see it), piggy back gladiator, tag, and petty theft (of santa hats, among other things). We also had arts and crafts on offer.The introduction of Twister proved to be more popular with the foreigners than the kids.Is that beard real? The age old question of children confronted with Santa transcends cultures.Time for presents rolled around, and Mr and Mrs Claus did the honours.

Soon, there was wrapping paper everywhere, excited kids running around with toys, and you ran the risk of tripping over remote controlled cars or being hit on the head with remote controlled helicopters.

A few christmas carols later, and we were heading into town for some shopping, mooching about, and catching up before an Indian curry for dinner.

My night was enlivened by the practice of kombini drinking - buying alcoholic beverages in convenience stores and drinking them in transit. My classiest moment came when I skipped out of the Indian restaurant briefly whilst waiting for my meal to grab a cheap drink.

The night then continued with Aussie Bar, where a Kiwi bar tender bearing his name on his t-shirt ("Mars Story") mixed unusual drinks for us, played music on request, and some not on request (OMC's How Bizzare, and What's The Time Mr Wolf by I forget who) while punters created a circular card table using some green carpet and a barrel.

The night ended in Seto at Chez Li where the s**t was well and truly shot till about 3am.

Finding Purpose in Life

Exam Hell

Where've I been the last week? Living like a hermit while trying to cram for the JLPT. I joined hundreds of foreigners in Takamatsu on the island of Shikoku for the exam, and managed to squeeze in some sightseeing and merrymaking in the process.

After a train ride over the Seto Ohashi I arrived to find Takamatsu was getting it's Christmas on in style.

After an early night I had the opportunity to see Ritsuren Park, one of Takamatsu's main attractions. Bizarrely enough, it's not one of Japans "Top Three" most beautiful parks. Despite the waning autumn colours, I still found it beautiful enough.

Whilst wandering the miles of covered shopping arcades, the weather closed in, and by the time others arrived in the city, I had run out of arcades and was soaked in a sudden deluge. After umbrellas were purchased for all, we headed back out into the rain to find that while the rain had petered out, the wind had picked up, and within minutes a couple of strong gusts had mangled a few of the umbrellas beyond repair. A group of Japanese walked past bedraggled but laughing one mans umbrella literally in pieces.

Soba was on the menu for lunch as one of Takamatsu's specialties. The soba maker obliged the snap happy visitors by rolling out some defrosted soba dough to make noodles. As it was AIDS week, I was given a brochure on aids (why is that guy looking down the other guys pants?) and a condom as I walked the street. Yeah, I opened it to see what kind of size it was.

In one of the arcades we found a kitchen supply store. This super size caldron with super size spoons was plastered with pictures of cats.
After chilling at the hotel and having a few drinks, we met some locals and went to the local Indian restaurant for curry.
An advertisement for the Haneda Airport train in the elevator at the hotel.

After an early night, we joined hordes of foreigners on the train to the testing centre, endured five tedious hours of tests, most of the time taken up by repetitious explanations of the rules and red and yellow card systems, and froze our arses off waiting for the train back to the city.For a bit of a change, some of us took the hour long ferry back to Uno Port in Tamano. The ferry was fitted out in 70's kitsch decor, had a frozen food vending machine, and gambling machines that children were playing on.

Here is Onigashima, the island where Okayama's own Momotaro defeated the Oni.

From there, just a long bus ride and two hour train ride and I was home.