Speed King

Last week (Friday 22nd Sept) I had to attend a 2 hour road safety lecture before I could renew my Japanese driving license which I have held for the last 3 years. Although I did not understand much of the lecture, the messages seemed similar to those in Britain. Wear a seatbelt, don't drink and drive, don't drive whilst talking on the phone, watch your speed............no problem to an excellent driver like myself.

Tuesday started as an ordinary day. Got up. Had breakfast. Showered. Drove to school. Just after crossing a bridge in the next town called Tajima, I was signalled to pull over by two policemen wearing high vis clothing and holding luminous yellow batons. Oh dear......looks like I've just been caught speeding. Damm! I wasn't very happy to be caught but I guess it was only matter of time.

The speed limit for that section of road was 50km/h - they clocked me doing 75km/h and I consider that speed to be rather fortunate. Japanese speed limits are ridiculously low and everyone breaks them by at least 10km/h. It's an unwritten rule that everyone can drive 10km/h over the speed limit without chance of being stopped by the police. I was unlucky. I was driving a new route so I did not have the local knowledge that would have saved me. I was also at a disadvantage in not knowing that the police were cracking down on speeders this week.

I parked up my car, gave them my license, and was then told to sit in a police van (with 5 other speed kings) to answer some questions and complete the paperwork. The policeman was very apologetic when he handed me the ¥18,000 fine (90 quid). Ouch!!

I don't feel any malice towards the policemen who stopped me. They were really friendly and polite and I realise they were only doing their jobs. Hopefully I won't have to speak to them again.

A Beautiful Day

Today was an exceptionally beautiful day in Shimogo. The weather was perfect and it reminded me of my summer holidays when I was growing up on the Isle of Skye. I took advantage of the weather and cycled up my favourite mountain along with my new camera (despite its size and weight).

The mountains were lovely and peaceful and the sky was blue with some scattered clouds. Towards the top of the mountain, it started to get cold - a sure sign that we are now in autumn.

I usually enjoy the scenery and peacefulness of the mountains the most but today was certainly the exception. When I returned to Shimogo, I decided to take a cycle through the nearby rice fields as it was obvious by the high level of activity that the locals had started to harvest the rice. The fields looked lovely in the sun and it was really interesting to see the farmers going about their business. I'd like spend a day helping someone harvesting their rice so that I can have a greater understanding of what is involved in harvesting rice in Japan.Hopefully there will be many more autumn days like today. I really do not feel like going to work tomorrow - I want to get outside again and enjoy the beautiful weather as much as possible.

Arakai JHS and Hisawa JHS

My new job involves me rotating between two junior high schools every 2 weeks. The schools are called Arakai JHS and Hisawa JHS. There is really not much to tell to be honest. The job I am doing is very similar to the job I had at Shimogo JHS, although I seem to be slightly busier.

The schools are both very small with approximately 70 students in each. The students seem to be generally much quieter than I was used to in Shimogo JHS although they all seem really nice. I hope I can get them to come out of their shells a bit more.

Although the students in the schools are very similar, the teachers in each school are very different. In one school the teachers seem really happy and relaxed whilst the other school staff room feels like a library. Teachers rarely talk to each other, and if they do so, it is in whispers. That school feels like a library.

I guess I will be fairly happy to work at these schools for the next 7 months - it's not long and there will be different events that will break the monotony. I also have quite a lot of elementary school visits which I have come to really enjoy.

British Hills

I cycled to a place called British Hills today - only about 60km of cycling but quite difficult as the place is at quite a high altitude. British Hills is a recreation of a British country village with a castle, pub, and other British style houses. The weather even felt British, due to the altitude. I am very impressed with British Hills as all the buildings look authentic and they organise a large number of British themed events throughout the year. All the staff speak English and many come from Britain.

I've been to British Hills many times - the place always seems busy and the guests and visitors always seem to have a good time. I visited British Hills 3 times with my old school (Shimogo JHS) and the students all seemed to benefit from the experience. The school trips typically lasted 3 days and the students were able to take part in different classes and activities that gave them a good idea on the British way of life.

Of course, every time I have visited British Hills, I've gone straight to the pub to take part in the very popular British tradition of getting drunk.

Despite the cold and windy conditions at British Hills, the rest of the cycling journey took place in clear weather with a temperature of about 30C. I was pretty exhausted when I reached Shimogo and stopped off at a new(ish) cafe called Doronko for a beer. Doronko is great because it serves my favourite Japanese beer called Yebisu. After the 60km cycle in hot conditions, the beer was fantastic!! Work at my new schools has been okay so far - I'll try and post a blog later in the week with my thoughts and photos.