Toilet Time

When people think of Japan, they think of Bullet Trains, advanced mobile phones, quality cars, and cutting edge flat screen TVs. Of course, all these products are amazing and worthy of the praise heaped upon them. However, when people visit Japan for the first time, the biggest impression for many is that of the modern Japanese toilet. Japan is unrivalled in the field of toilet technology. Even Madonna recently stated that one of the things she likes most about Japan is the heated toilet seats. For a fuller history of the Japanese toilet, please click on this link.

Traditional Japanese toilets are little more than holes in the ground. However, over the past few decades, Western style toilets have become more and more common and are replacing their Japanese counterparts. As with most things adopted from the West, Japan has reinvented the Western toilet and tailored it to their own needs.

I must admit that I was initially taken aback by the complexity of the Japanised Western style toilet. Our current model has a wall mounted control unit with 18 different buttons which covers the basic range of toilet functions, from bidet to blow drying. If you are really feeling ambitious, you can open the control panel cover to access the other buttons, bringing the number of buttons to use up to 33. It goes without saying that the toilet opens, closes, and flushes automatically using inbuilt sensors.

Toilets made by Toto, the largest Japanese toilet manufacturer, have recently been in the news for catching fire. However, you'll be glad to know that my buttocks are unburnt and I am in no need of a trip to the plastic surgeon.

Recent developments in the world of Japanese toilets include memory card slots that enable you to play your favourite music whilst going about your business. Anyway, for those readers in the US and Europe, don't be surprised to find yourself sitting on a Toto toilet soon as they have ambitious plans to explore new markets.

Tokyo Life

As promised, here are some details about where we are living in Tokyo. We are now living about 30 minutes from the centre of Tokyo (on the semi express train). The area is called Higashimurayama and our local station is called Kumegawa. It's a great area to live in. There are lots of shops, supermarkets, restaurants, bars, parks, and other open spaces.

City living is still a bit of a shock to the system after living in the middle of nowhere for nearly 4 years. It's great to be able to do such simple things as shopping at any time of day and to have so many different ways to spend my time. It's fantastic to be able to choose what I want to do. I do miss a lot of things about Shimogo though and I'm lucky to have had the chance to see the two sides of Japan.

Unfortunately, I haven't slept well since our move which I think is due to the background noise of the local area. In Shimogo you could hear a pin drop, but in Tokyo, there's always a car driving past or people walking nearby. I'm sure I'll get used to the noise soon. I remember I had the same problem when I first lived in Tokyo (about 11 years ago). I used to be woken up by the musical bin lorry outside my tiny apartment, but after a few months, it ceased to bother me.

A particular annoyance at the moment is the noise caused by the local elections which are going on all round Japan. Every candidate seems to drive in a circuit around the local area in vans weighed down by massive speakers. All the candidates seem to do is repeat their names over and over again. It must be difficult for them to tell people their manifesto as they are constantly on the move. The candidate who has driven past our house the most is called Ishibashi. I think I've heard his name repeated at least 100 times today. Annoying, so he will not get my vote (if I were allowed to vote).

I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you this drawing showing a banner erected by General Douglas MacArthur's Japanese supporters in 1950. This banner was to display their support for him in a possible US presidential election race.

It is odd that our apartment in Tokyo is much bigger than our previous apartment in Shimogo. Tokyo is the one of the world's most densely populated cities where you would expect living areas to be small as space is scarce. Conversely, the Japanese countryside is in decline and there is an abundance of available space for housing. Therefore, I never really understood why most apartments I saw in the countryside were tiny. My theory is that apartment designs are fairly standard in Japan and are used both for rural and urban areas. It doesn't really make sense to use the same housing dimensions for both the countryside and city. If the Japanese nation want to preserve some sort of rural population, it would be common sense not to force people into living in rabbit hutches when there is no obvious need to do so. If the quality of life was better in the countryside, perhaps less people would want to leave. Here endith the lesson.
Here is a picture of our living room and our balcony. The living room is about the same size as our old apartment in Shimogo. It's nice to be able to sit on a sofa instead of the floor.

The balcony will be used for beer drinking during the summer. Clara loves her new room, even if it is a bit on the small side. She makes me knock on the door every time I want to enter. Yuki is really happy that she has a large kitchen to work in and is over the moon that our bath is double the size of the one we had in Shimogo. Our living conditions have certainly taken a turn for the better. Of course the natural environment is nothing compared to Shimogo, but the general balance of things does seem to be better.
We have basically finished organising the apartment. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place today when our telephone was finally installed. We have no plans for the weekend, but if we do anything interesting, I'll let you know.

I'll try and do another update soon, perhaps about our new space age toilet. Until then.

Primary School

Clara had her entrance ceremony for primary school on Friday the 6th of April. Her new school is called Higashi Hagiyama Elementary School and her class teacher is called Kumiko Sakurai. Sakurai sensei seems to be very nice and she smiled at all her new students right through the ceremony. Some of the other teachers looked quite harsh, so Clara has been lucky.

Class sizes in Japan can be up to 40 students. However, as the total number of new students at Clara's school amounted to 83, they had to be divided into 3 classes. Clara is now student number 19 in class 1-3. Every student has a number. I'm much happier that Clara is in a class with 28 students rather than in a class of 40, for obvious reasons.It was excellent to see the cherry blossoms all around the school building and a great photo opportunity.

One thing that I didn't like was some minor criticism directed at Clara's new teacher from some of the other parents. They were complaining that she was speaking too quietly. She was obviously nervous having 28 new students in front of her and over 30 parents looking on. I just thought that the first day of class was when the teacher deserved a bit of support, as opposed to some fairly audible criticism. Parent power is really strong in Japan - too strong.Anyway, I am optimistic that Clara will be happy in her new school and make lots of friends. The boy who sits beside her seems to be a real character so it will be interesting to see how they get on. I'm expecting a lot of interesting stories from Clara.

For the next 2 weeks, Clara will attend school from 8am to 11am. We are worried about her walking to and from school alone but I guess that's all part of growing up. Good luck Clara! Please follow this link if you wish to see more pictures of Clara's first day at school.

I will try and do a new blog soon to tell you about our apartment in Tokyo.

Cherry Blossom

This photo shows the street outside our flat. The street looks a lot nicer at this time of year because the cherry trees are in full bloom. We are lucky enough to have cherry trees outside our balcony.

Before I came to Japan, I did not really understand the fuss about cherry blossom season. However, after living here a few years, I find myself also getting excited about this time of year.

At cherry blossom time, even the drabbest of streets can look pretty. Japanese people love to have hanami parties and various festivals are held around the country. When the TV weather forecast is given, there are also special maps which show the advance of the cherry blossom front from Okinawa in the south to Hokkaido in the north.

Unfortunately, at any one location, the blossom only lasts for about 1 week. After that, the petals fall like large snowflakes and the streets become drab once again.

On Friday, we all attended the opening ceremony at Clara's new primary school. The school grounds had an abundance of cherry trees and they added a bit of colour to her first day at school. More on this in my next posting.

Shimogo Nursery School Graduation

I suppose that one of the reasons we stayed in Shimogo so long was for the benefit of Clara. Yuki and I realised that Shimogo was the best place for her to develop in her most formative years. Shimogo has benefited Clara immensely and the care and attention given to her at nursery school has been incredible. Her time at Shimogo Nursery School could not have been bettered at any nursery school in Scotland. She has learnt so much and has had the perfect preparation for primary school. It's ironic that my best and worst memories of Shimogo are both related to Shimogo Nursery School.The worst memory was in February 2006, on a Monday afternoon. I was sitting in the Board of Education when a message came across the town PA system in Japanese. I didn't understand the message, but when I looked at the faces of my colleagues who also had children at the nursery school, I knew something was terribly wrong. It turned out that some of the students had been buried by snow which had slid off the school roof. My colleagues and I rushed down to the nursery school to help dig out the kids. The first came out unconscious and was resuscitated. The second came out about 2 minutes later and died. I didn't mention it on my blog at the time because it was just too raw to write about. Snow related accidents are common throughout rural Japan.Because the excellence of the nursey school was pivotal for us staying in Shimogo for as long as we did, it was fitting that one of our last jobs was to attend the graduation ceremony. I knew that the the ceremony marked the end of our time in Shimogo and was therefore expecting it to be the most emotional time for us during our protracted farewells.

Clara seemed composed and confident throughout the whole affair, but cracked when she was had to say goodbye to her teacher in the school foyer. That set Yuki and I off.

However, as I have said in the previous post, we are sure to visit Shimogo many times in the future and Clara will be able to maintain the friendships she has made.

The Big Move

We were slowly building up for our move to Tokyo over a long period of time. Unessential items were slowly migrated to our new flat in Tokyo and other non essential items were gradually being boxed up or thrown away. Initially I thought that we had little to take with us to Tokyo but it turned out that we had much more than we realised.

Clara was a star. She rarely complained when we packed or threw away her clothes or toys. She proved very useful to have around and revelled in the cleaning duties. A perfect little helper!

On the afternoon of our move, it slowly became busier outside our flat as neighbours and friends realised that the time of our departure was close. That made us feel like we had truly became part of the local community and made our departure a bit special.

In the end, all our belongings managed to fit inside the truck, but there was no margin for error. Clara seemed unperturbed by all the activity and played with her friends right up to the very last minute.In between the packing, Yuki and I had to attend Clara's nursery school graduation ceremony. I knew this would be the most difficult event for us to attend and it proved to be quite emotional for us all. More on this in the next posting.

Goodbye Parties

Hello all. I'm sorry that it has been a long time since I have updated the blog. It took a long time to arrange our internet connection in Tokyo. A very frustrating experience, especially when you consider we are now living in the world's largest city where many things are cutting edge and super efficient.

Here are a couple of pictures from a couple of the goodbye parties in Shimogo. I went to quite a few parties in my final 2 weeks but only took the camera to a couple of them.

Many people went out of their way to make our last few weeks in Shimogo memorable. A great way to end our stay in Shimogo and say goodbye to all the people who have become good friends. Happy memories. Things ended on a high as I realised that I wasn't saying my final farewells. I am certain to visit Shimogo many times in the future for skiing, cycling, and partying.

Patience

Hi All

Sorry but you'll have to wait a bit longer for the next update. Our home PC should be up and running by Monday or Tuesday. Updates will be about :
Shimogo goodbye parties
Clara's graduation
Moving from Shimogo to Tokyo

Bye
Kane

Graduation Time

It is graduation time in Japan and is really does not feel like 1 year since my last graduation ceremony at Shimogo JHS. I think that graduation ceremonies in Japanese schools are carbon copies of each other with only small details that differ.

Most students took their high school entrance examinations on the 8th March. Graduation from JHS was yesterday (13th March) and the results of the high school entrance examinations were published today. All the students at Arakai JHS managed to pass their entrance examinations for the high schools of their choice. I'm not surprised that they all passed as they hardly ever made mistakes in class. A clever group of students. Many of the students visited school today to confirm their success at the entrance examinations. Then they all did a tour of the staff room and thanked all the teachers individually for the care and education they received over the last 3 years. They all looked happy and there was a distinct air of triumph and satisfaction within the staff room today.

At my most recent visit to my other school, Hisawa JHS, there was a school event held in honour of the soon to graduate 3rd grade students. The 1st and 2nd grade students, and teachers took part in a couple of plays and sang a few songs to wish the departing students luck in their future endeavors. There was also a slide show documenting the 3 years that the students spent at school and video messages made by all the students and teachers.

I took part in singing a couple of songs which are popular around graduation time. One song was called Okuru Kotoba and the other was called Nagori Yuki. I practiced hard for my part in these songs but my singing was really disastrous! I listened to the songs many times on CD but when it was time to sing on stage, the accompanying guitar sounded completely different and it was impossible for me to sing the words in the correct time to the music.

Because I have been in Arakai JHS for nearly 2 weeks, it meant that I missed the Hisawa JHS ceremony. It was a shame not to see them graduate but I don't have the same attachment to the students as I had at Shimogo JHS.

Anyway, yesterday was graduation day at both the schools I work at. I went to the ceremony at Arakai JHS and prepared myself for the flood of tears which is obligatory at graduation time. I was trying to decide whether I would wear my kilt with all its accoutrements or whether I would wear a suit and tie for the event. In the end, I opted for the suit. I'm sure the kilt would have been a big hit but I really did not want any attention and tried to blend into the background as much as possible.

As expected, the ceremony was quite moving but the British stiff upper lip came into play and I think I was the only person (out of about 150 people) who managed not to shed a tear. It was touch and go, but I managed to keep the Ice Man facade throughout. I was called an Ice Man by a previous teacher at Shimogo JHS because I have managed to keep a solid composure at previous graduation ceremonies. I don't think it was meant as a compliment.......but I liked it anyway.

Anyway, the sequence of events was much the same as last year at Shimogo JHS. At the start of the ceremony, everyone stood and sang the Kimigayo (the Japanese National Anthem) to the sound of snow sliding off the gymnasium roof. We have had as much snow over the past few days as we've had over the course of the whole winter. It seems like that anyway.

After the Kimigayo, the students were onto the stage in alphabetical order to receive their graduation certificates from the Principal of the school. Some of the students looked shell shocked and bewildered that they would no longer be students at the school. Their home room teacher called out their names when from the class attendance book when it was their turn to go up onto the stage. When the last student was called, the teacher closed the book for the last time.

Perhaps the most moving part of the ceremony was when the 3rd grade student president (Naoki) made a speech on behalf of his fellow students. He found it really hard to compose himself and cried a lot. This set off everyone else which meant that there were 78 students, 20 teachers and about 100 parents all blubbing at the same time. I very nearly joined in but took some photographs to distract myself.

The tears soon changed to smiles as the students left school for the last time. Another great bunch of students that I have had the pleasure of meeting in my time in rural Japan. I can't overemphasise how great the students have been during my time here.

In the evening, there was the graduation party which all the parents and teachers attended. It was a pretty good evening although I've felt really tired today and even managed a quick nap at my desk. I think I drank a lot of beer but am not sure exactly how much. It's really hard to tell how much you are drinking at Japanese parties because you drink from really small glasses that are constantly refilled by the people around you. Japanese parties can be really fun and a bit crazy at times. Various performances are arranged and that usually means people making complete fools of themselves in front of a large audience. I was coerced into wearing a pink bunny rabbit costume! No comments on this please!

I have been cycling a few times recently and I was hoping to cycle a bit more before our move to Tokyo. Any further thoughts of cycling have been clearly annihilated by the heavy snow which has fallen over the past few days. We plan to move on the 24th March, immediately after Clara's graduation ceremony at nursery school. Only 10 more days in Shimogo. Our move will create plenty of challenges for us, but it is time to move on.

I plan to join a gym in Tokyo called Rondo which is about 5 minutes walk from the flat. I'm aiming to do a lot of swimming and climbing as I am keen to get fit again. I'm thinking about doing the Tokyo Marathon next year but that all depends on the ratio of time spent in the gym and pub. There is also a nearby cycling route although it can't be as nice as the places I used to cycle to in Shimogo.

We have LOTS of parties to attend over the next 10 days. I'll try and do another post or two before we leave Shimogo.

Professor Yoshimura

Professor Sakuji Yoshimura visited Hisawa JHS today to give a 2 hour talk about his career as an Egyptologist and to explain what sparked his interest in Egypt when he was a young boy.

As well as talking to the students from Hisawa JHS, there was also a live link up with other schools in the local area so as many students as possible could benefit from his visit and have the chance to ask the Professor some questions. Judging by how many students wanted to ask a question, they were very interested in his life and work.

Professor Yoshimura is a household name in Japan and his visit to our school was eagerly awaited. There were TV cameras from about 5 stations and a host of newspaper reporters and cameramen. As you can see, his visit made it on to the TV.

Professor Yoshimura has fame comparable to that of Sir Patrick Moore in Britain. He's a household name and an international authority in his field. I managed to understand portions of his talk and I was really pleased to see such a positive reaction to him from the students.An interesting 2 hours at school and one which I shall always remember when I see Professor Yoshimura on TV in the future.

Gremlins, Guns, and Greensleeves

The week has passed quickly and has been fairly enjoyable. Classes have been fun and I have managed to get a lot of things done.

Today (Friday) proved to be an amusing day for a couple of reasons. Firstly, an Associate Professor (with the obligatory tweed jacket) visited Hisawa JHS to watch a live online English lesson which our school does in conjunction with Benesse Corporation in Tokyo. What would be the worst thing that could happen when an esteemed professor comes visiting? Yes, gremlins. We were not able to carry out the class today as our connection to Benesse HQ in Tokyo had crashed. It was so funny watching the embarrassment and awkwardness of the professor and other teachers that I nearly soiled myself. Quality!

At lunchtime, I decided to eat with the 3rd grade students. They all seemed to be in good moods despite the pressure of upcoming high school entrance exams and their looming graduation in March. Whilst eating, I sat and chatted with the students and made the odd joke. I asked the boy sitting next to me what he had planned for this weekend. The student answered that he was going to shoot me on Saturday. I assume that he was joking and therefore will give him 10 out of 10 for originality. Usually when I ask this sort of question I get some sort of stock answer e.g. I'm going to watch TV. It's not often you manage to get a joke from a student so it made my day in a Clint Eastwood kind of way.

This week I have been irritated by the general level of noise that goes on around the staff room. My irritation has been triggered by the new ring tone that plays on the school phone every time it rings. The tune is Greensleeves but is reproduced in a tacky electronic way - I'm sure you can imagine what it's like. Not only is the tune annoying but it is really loud.

Because the phone noise has been annoying me, I've become more sensitive to the other noises in the staff room. This week I have noticed the lack of noise control exercised by the teachers in the staff room. Frequently, teachers communicate by shouting, even when they are standing next to each other. I didn't really notice this phenomenon before and I'm hoping that I will cease to notice again next week. On one occasion I was sitting at my desk listening to various shouted conversations and considering borrowing the decibel reader from the science lab.

What do I have planned for this weekend and next week at work? Hopefully I'll go to Takatsue ski area on Saturday if it doesn't rain. We'll probably go to Aizu Wakamatsu on Sunday (although I have forgotten the reason for the trip).

Next week seems to be a very easy week at work. As you can see by my schedule, I only have 5 classes in total with none on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The classes that I will attend are shaded in yellow on Wednesday and Friday. I am not bothered about having so few classes next week as I have plenty of other things to keep me occupied at the moment. Monday will also be really interesting as a very famous Egyptologist will visit Hisawa JHS and give a lecture on his work and findings. I'm really looking forward to this as I have always had an interest in Egypt and its history. Even though the lecture will be in Japanese, I'm sure I'll be able to glean plenty of information from the Egyptologist.

While the cat's away.......

Yuki and Clara are both in Tokyo at the moment and will return to Shimogo on Wednesday. As they are in Tokyo, I thought it would be a good idea to invite Alan (a friend from Scotland) and his girlfriend to Shimogo. It proved to be a busy 2 days.

On Friday at about 9.30pm, I drove to a station called Aizu Kogen to pick them up. While I was driving through the town of Tajima, I noticed that the small van in front of me had stopped on the train level crossing. Seconds later, a woman got out of the van and ran towards my car. She told me that she had just broken down! I can't think of a worse place to break down, apart from on Haifa Street in Baghdad.

I got out of my car and managed to push the van off the tracks - seconds later, along came a train. I was in the right place at the right time. If I hadn't have been there, the train would certainly have collided with the van. Exciting stuff!!

We got back to Shimogo at about 10pm and then headed to Wakatsuki for some food and drink. Alan and Akie seemed impressed with Wakatsuki and were surprised that such a place existed in Shimogo. We left Wakatsuki fairly late and this probably has something to do with our late start on Saturday.On Saturday, we drove to a town called Tadami for the snow festival. The drive took about 90 minutes but it was a good opportunity for Alan and Akie to see the real Japanese countryside. I think Tadami probably is the most charming town in the local area. I was expecting the festival to be really busy, and so was very surprised to see few people at this event. It was raining and I think that drove a lot of people away. Another bad point of the Tadami Snow Festival was the smell of cooked mutton - the smell was really strong and making us all feel nauseous.

After our brief visit to the Tadami Snow Festival, we drove to Yurari Onsen for a bath followed by lunch and a nap.

On Saturday night, we went to a newish place called Doronko in Shimogo for dinner and more beers. I would like to go to Doronko more often but it is too far from the area where I stay. The food at Doronko is excellent. Doronko is run by a young couple called Rie and Nozomi. New businesses run by young people are rare in rural Japan but are vitally important for the future survival of Japanese rural settlements. I wish them luck.

Alan and Akie planned to return to Tokyo at 2.30pm on Sunday. This allowed me to show them another snow festival in Ouchijuku (technically part of Shimogo) and also show them a place called Tonohetsuri with its interesting rock formations. They were really pleased to see Ouchijuku with its charming houses with straw roofs. After lunch in Ouchijuku, I drove Alan and Akie to Tajima so they could catch their train back to Tokyo. A good couple of days but I'm certainly pretty tired after the visit (and a lot poorer).
There has been quite a lot of snow over the past couple of days so I paid a brief visit to Daikura today (Monday) for a spot of skiing. It was really busy today as it's a national holiday (Foundation Day) in Japan.

Next week will see me visit 3 different elementary schools for the last time before we move to Tokyo. On Tuesday night I'll be busy cleaning the flat in advance of the return of Yuki and Clara. Bye for now.

1st Anniversary

It is now exactly 1 year since I started my blog recording the trials and tribulations of living in the Japanese countryside. I've enjoyed writing the blog and it's nice for me to be able to look back at the events of the past year. Thanks to all those who have read the blog and to those who have left messages in the comments section.

The Clustr map which was added in November has been particularly interesting to watch. It shows a fairly healthy number of hits and indicates where in the world the visitors live. So far, I have had readers in over 20 countries. I've no idea who all the visitors are or how they found the blog address - feel free to tell me.

It's now nearly the end of January and the clock is ticking towards our move to Tokyo in March. January has ended on a bit of a high. The last few days have been very entertaining with a selection of work and non work related parties. On Friday I had the Hisawa JHS New Year party in a Japanese izakaya called Home Run in Tajima and on Saturday we went to a party for the girl (Shiori) who we took to Scotland. The party was to celebrate her securing a place in a good high school.

I didn't have the time or inclination to go skiing this weekend but I'm sure to go skiing again soon. Today was a relaxing day. I read my Daily Yomiuri newspaper in the morning and went for a drive around Shimogo in the afternoon. The roads are not covered in much snow so I think I'll start cycling again next weekend. I have now worked out how to add text to my photos so that will help smarten up the blog for one more year. Next week will be fairly quiet. I'm looking forward to February as I have a friend from Scotland visiting Shimogo on the 10th and 11th - perfect timing for the Shimogo and Tadami snow festivals. Yuki will finish her job next week so that we can get organised ahead of the big move. She enjoyed working over the last 2 years and I'm sure she'll get a job no problem in Tokyo.

Thanks for reading over the past year.

January

Hello to all. Sorry that I have been fairly quiet recently. January has been a pretty run-of-the-mill month to be honest. There's been a little work, a little play, and only a little snow. I haven't been skiing much at all. I've been to Daikura ski area four times but didn't really enjoy it. What snow there was, felt pretty bad to ski on. This January at Daikura has felt like the end of season skiing days of previous years i.e. deteriorating skiing conditions that take a lot of fun out of the experience and also make it a lot harder. I'm pretty bored of Daikura - familiarity breeds contempt.

However, today I went to another ski area called Takatsue because I was lucky enough to receive 5 free day passes. I enjoyed the slightly lengthy drive there and managed to see some fairly nice scenery along the way (and also a carload of monkeys). The sky was blue today which was also another plus point. Conditions were excellent and I had a great time. Despite the car park looking full, the slopes did not seem too busy, possibly because it is bigger than Daikura. The only downside of Takatsue was that there were a lot of snowboarders, the nemesis of the skier. I have 4 more free passes (with the possibility of more to come) so I'll probably head to Takatsue again next weekend.For the next 2 weeks I will be at Hisawa JHS. Wednesday will be the Hisawa JHS ski day at Daikura which means I get to spend some time out of school and on the slopes. Hopefully the conditions will be okay, although I'm not very optimistic. If conditions have improved, I may also go to Daikura again for a bit of night skiing on Wednesday.

On Friday I have another shinnenkai (New Year party) and then it will be the weekend again.

2007 - Year of the Boar

Happy New Year to all. In Japan, people send New Year cards which are usually adorned with the creature from the Chinese zodiac that represents the forthcoming year.

After spending Christmas week (including Xmas Day) sitting at my desk at school, I was really looking forward to a good 5 day break in Tokyo over New Year. The break was pretty good. I met up with a friend from the Isle of Skye for a curry in Shibuya - we met at the Hachiko statue which is a famous meeting place in Tokyo. The curry restaurant was called Raj Palace and was cheap but the food was nice. As usual, I ordered one of the hottest dishes on the menu and therefore I ended up leaving half of it. Will I ever learn my lesson?

What else did I do in Tokyo? Well, I bought a good suit which will hopefully assist me in finding a plumb job in Tokyo. I spent a lot of time watching the new Sharp Aquos 65 inch TV which Yuki's Dad bought. I went to my favourite local bar a couple of times which was nice and I found out that one of the customers is host to a weekly TV programme - I thought he looked vaguely familiar. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name or that of the programme he presents so you'll just have to take my word for it.

On the 3rd, we drove back up to Shimogo as I needed to do two half days of desk sitting at Arakai JHS. Today (Friday), I drove to Daikurayama ski area with the intention of picking up the new area ski pass which gives access to 4 ski areas. I was disappointed to be told I was not eligible to buy this type of ski pass and now I have to settle for a ski pass at the same cost but that gives me unlimited access to Daikura only. Pretty disappointing really, especially after being told yesterday by staff at Daikura that I would be eligible for the new style ski pass. Oh well......I either have to accept the situation or change into the Hulk and sort them out. I'll probably accept the situation and buy the same pass that I've bought for the past 3 years.

I went skiing today to Daikura and it was not great to be honest. Although the weather was wonderful, the snow was pretty light and icy in most places. I'm worried it won't change for the rest of the season. In previous years the snowfall has been REALLY heavy but not this year. Snowfall in the European Alps has also been pretty bad and many people blame global warming. I'm praying for heavy snow but I have to face the possibility that this skiing season will be short and conditions poor. If I had the ski pass that I wanted, I would have been able to go the ski ski area with the best snow. Grrrrrr........Classes start again next week although we are lucky that Monday is a national holiday. I'll probably go skiing to Daikura.

Clara's Christmas Greeting

The Governor of Fukushima

Today, Yuhei Sato, Governor of Fukushima, visited Hisawa JHS. Governor Sato has only recently been voted into office (with 51% of the vote) after his predecessor resigned over allegations of accepting bribes during his 18 year tenure. The previous Governor, Eisaku Sato (no relation of Yuhei (I hope)), and his brother are accused of receiving a ¥170,000,000 bribe (nearly GBP 1 million) from a construction company involved in the building of hydro dams. I'm sure he'll also be be linked to other construction projects as the investigation continues.

Bribes and other fraudulent practices have long been a recognised, if unspoken, aspect of the Japanese construction industry for many years. It seems that the Japanese Government is trying to clean things up although many Government members have strong connections to the industry. The Japanese construction industry has been well covered in a book called 'Dogs and Demons' by Alex Kerr.

The main aim of the visit to Hisawa JHS was for the Governor to observe an online English class. He seemed impressed with the class although I have my own doubts about their usefulness. I'm a great believer in using technology in the classroom, but only when there are very real benefits. Everything that is done in these classes can be taught more effectively in a normal class. Being a natural cynic, I think someone is getting rich from this project (probably the old Governor). Still, it was nice to have the new Governor in school for a couple of hours and good to see all the newspaper reporters and TV crew taking an interest. Maybe I'll be on the front page tomorrow....

Bonnenkai - End of Year Party

It is now party season in Japan. These parties are called Bonnenkais - end of year parties. This year, I attended the Arakai JHS bonnenkai party. The food is always very traditional at these parties (mostly fish) and is made up of several small dishes, each with a different kind of food.

These parties cost about ¥15,000 (about 75 quid) and are paid for out of the teachers' club fund which each teacher pays into every month. The price includes food, alcohol, accommodation, and unlimited visits to the hotel onsen. This picture shows the standard food served at Japanese end of year parties. As you can see, there's a lot of fish.......

The Marumine Kanko Hotel is massive and is extremely busy at this time of year. It can accommodate about 800 guests and is furnished to a very high standard. ¥15,000 seems a very reasonable price to pay. I have heard from other foreigners in Japan that their work parties are terrible value. I guess I'm lucky to be in an area where the local hotels are plentiful and whose standards are high.

There are many school parties throughout the year in Japan. If I don't want to attend, I make some kind of excuse and feel no guilt about non attendance. However, I feel sorry for many of the Japanese teachers. I'm sure some of them would prefer to spend time with their friends or family. It seems impossible for many teachers to spend any time at home as they are often in school from 8am to 8pm. Most usually go to school on Saturdays as well. I also feel sorry for single teachers. If must be impossible for them to have a social life or find a spouse (outside of the world of teaching). I don't really understand why Japanese teachers are so willing to sacrifice their family life for their work life. Teachers in Japan seem to spend most of their time looking after other peoples children, instead of looking after their own.

After the first party, we went to the second party in a room reserved for karaoke. I was coerced into singing a couple of songs and had a fairly good time. At this party there was whisky and another Japanese spirit called shochu. As I'm not a drinker of spirits, I went to the bar and ordered a couple of bottles of beer. My individual decision to order beer probably caused a few teachers to have a sharp intake of breath, as being in Japan, decisions should be made as a group and not as an individual. However, I weighed up my options and decided to go it alone and order beer. It was either that or sitting in the karaoke room for 2 hours drinking oolong tea and listening to some bad karaoke.

After eating some noodles in the hotel noodle shop, we had a third party back in my hotel room on the 7th floor. Here the food was more suited to my tastes : pot noodles, crisps, nuts, beef jerky, and chocolate.

Next week should be fairly quiet at school although we do have a visit from the Governor of Fukushima. The Governor of Fukushima is Japan's equivalent of Jack McConnell. More about this later in the week.