Flower fire (hanabi)

I didn’t really emphasize it earlier but it’s still blazing hot here. Today we had a bit of rain so hopefully that will cool things down at least for today.


The other night we drove out to Shimabara for a fireworks show and festival. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest fireworks shows around so we couldn’t miss it. It was pretty spectacular. I don’t think we’ve ever seen any so huge!


We also went to Mos Burger for dinner. We’d been hearing how it’s way better than McDonald’s here so we had to try it. The burger patties are definitely heftier than McDonald’s but it’s still not exactly a burger. It was tasty for sure but the burgers had a more meatloaf taste to them. The chicken sandwich had a great sauce to it and some nicely chopped cabbage though. I’m sure we’ll be back when we get that burger/fries craving again.

Also, when we got out from eating, my car had a little present on it. Some crazy kids tried to scare us by leaving a toy beetle on my hood! Kids these days! It ended being a cool windup bug that is now Scott’s new friend.

Eating out is always an adventure

On a lighter note, Nagasaki is a fun city to hang around in. The city is bustling with trams, cars, motorbikes and people. There’s a huge mall and train station, and even a movie theater. It’s busy but still manageable which makes it a perfect mix. We walked by the Dutch town which is a reconstructed villa showing how trading was done in the 1500s. You have to pay to enter so we decided to just walk by it and head to Chinatown.



Compared to NYC’s Chinatown, this one is quite small but much cleaner and nicer smelling. There were still old men playing chess in the park but there are also legal fireworks for sale. We walked into a shop and I couldn’t resist getting the one where a monkey flies out in a parachute. Sure it cost about $10 but it is so going to be worth it! You get to keep the monkey afterwards so I see it as an investment.



After our stroll, we decided to get some dinner. Not knowing any restaurants in the area, we walked into the first one we saw. The menu looked good from what we could read so we stepped in. We saw Shabu-Shabu (a boiling pot of vegetables, meats, fish, etc) on the menu and thought we should try it. The owner/chef came to get our order and asked if we’d like sashimi (obviously their specialty) but we decided to be obnoxious foreigners and ask for Shabu-Shabu. He replied with extreme politeness that it is normally a winter dish but that it is delicious if we’d like it and then proceeded to make it. We felt like total wankers (as Alex would put it) but what was done was done.

We heard all this flipping and chopping noise and realized one of the fish in the tank was gone. Moments later we had sashimi and a fish head staring at us. The poor fish was delicious (talk about fresh!) and the chef gave us the option of eating it sashimi style or Shabu-Shabu style (dipping it in the boiling pot of water and eating it hot). We felt so bad about our faux pas that we felt obligated to eat every part of that fish. We did our best and it every bit was tasty. He also served us some fresh vegetables and tofu and then made a special rice dish with the leftover broth. It was amazing.


We kept joking that this meal would’ve been perfect with some eggnog, a roaring fire, and Christmas presents in the winter. We felt like such idiots! We overheard the waitress telling another table that the crazy foreigners had ordered Shabu-Shabu in the summer and then we heard a roaring “Ehhhh??” (the Japanese equivalent of What?? Or Wow!). Too funny! But all ended well and the chef and his wife thanked us for our visit. They gave us drink tickets for the next visit and were even kind enough to allow a picture.



On the walk back to the hotel, we were treated to some surprise fireworks and walked by Meganebashi. Literally translated, the name means “glasses bridge” and you can hopefully see why.

Peace in Nagasaki

This weekend we drove to Nagasaki City, about a 90 minute drive from Unzen. I had a seminar for work and we got to stay for two nights. The first day we had free so we got to be tourists. Scott and I hung out with a fellow JET teacher who lives in our town, Alex. He had spent a semester of college in the area so he knew his way around a bit. He’s a recent college grad from Canterbury, England.

We took a tram car from our hotel to the Peace Park. It’s a beautiful memorial park commemorating the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The entrance has a fountain with the water rising in the shape of wings. Among the trees and grass are wonderful symbolic statues of the tragic bombing and the city’s hope for peace.


The most famous is the Peace Statue built by a local sculptor named Seibou Kitamura. It is massive at 10 meters tall (much bigger than I expected from pictures I’ve seen) and dominates the space. It definitely had a powerful presence. One arm rises up to the threat of nuclear warfare and one extends horizontally out to the world as a call for eternal peace. One leg is folded in meditation and one is out poised for action. From my minimal knowledge of Japanese art, this kind of idea of opposites (yin and yang) is typical in sculptures.


We also walked to a park at the hypocenter of the bombing. It felt surreal standing there in such a beautiful park knowing what devastation occurred there. They also had remnants of a cathedral (the Urakami Cathedral) that miraculously survived the blast. At the time of the explosion, two priests there were hearing confessions from several parishioners. All perished but rosaries were recovered from the rubble and this piece (pictured) of the building survived. This cathedral was a symbolic place for Christians in Japan who had been persecuted for hundreds of years. It had just been completed 20 years before the war and parishioners were finally free to practice without persecution.


Next we went to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. A fairly new museum, it was opened in 1996 as part of the 50th anniversary projects for the Nagasaki atomic bombing. It was elegantly designed and everything was respectfully presented and made for a good learning experience. The museum was quite unique and impressive. Aside from information about the bombing, they also had displays related to war and politics. They evenly displayed the wrongs of war from other countries and Japan. They also had a video display from victims of nuclear bomb testing sites from all over the world. Another display I just remembered them having was from American POW survivors in a Nagasaki camp during the bombing. I had never heard these stories before.


Nagasaki emphasizes a call for peace after such a devastating event as opposed to anger or a need for retribution. After seeing pictures of the city in its heyday and then in complete ruin in a matter of minutes, and seeing and hearing the words of survivors, it was definitely heavy and overwhelming. The museum was wonderful though and I got the feeling that if everyone in the world came to visit, maybe there really would be an overwhelming feeling for a need for peace and an end to nuclear warfare.

Kid N' Play

So, okay that little boy in my previous blog was precious but, last night we were invited to visit an orphanage in the area and these kids were just as precious. My neighbor, Kevin has organized visits there in the past with fellow JET teachers and Scott and I decided to join. We met a group of kids ages 8-16 or so. We weren’t sure what to expect but it ended up being fun and games and lots of energy.

We started with a game of softball. There were a couple of kids who were super serious players. They totally knew what they were doing. I, on the other hand, had to remember how softball worked. This boy who pitched assigned me to first base by pointing at me and then pointing to first base, and with such a serious face. Sadly I didn’t get anyone out because most of the boys kept hitting outfield. I also couldn’t catch the ball for the life of me and we kept losing it under the parked cars (we were playing in the parking lot). Bare in mind, it was nearing dusk and the light was really bad out and it was really hard to see the ball! Ahem.



After it got too dark and mosquito-ridden to play, the boys and girls separated into their dorms. I thought maybe we’d get a rest and watch some movies or play some quiet board games inside but these kids were unstoppable. We played volleyball, a crazy version of tag, some piano and they made us dance. After almost passing out, they asked if the guys could come over and play tag. They told us to get them and bring them over. So, Kevin and Scott and another friend Toshi came over to the girls’ dorm and we played more tag.

I have to say it was fun with more people but got crazier too! We didn’t quite understand all the rules but basically two people are “it” and are the ones who have to tag everyone out. You’re allowed to hide in places and there’s no “safes” but if you get trapped by the two people who are “it”, you yell “hasami” (scissors in Japanese) and you’re allowed to be set free.


It was pretty hilarious when some of the girls started to hide. We thought they’d left the room but they were so tiny they could be tucked away anywhere. Which is where this adorably hilarious picture comes into play. We couldn’t believe this little girl actually fit into this tiny trash can. Scott would’ve never found her so I had to give him a hint.

After much sweat and back pain from kids jumping on us, it was time to go home. Of course they all asked the dreaded question,“When are you coming back?” We'll definitely be back. It was nice to connect with the kids and play and it was good exercise!

Big bowl

The other night we went out with friends to a sushi restaurant. It was one of those fun sushi places where little plates rotate on a conveyer belt around the bar and you grab whatever you want whenever you want. It was very tasty but it makes it much easier to overeat. Scott's favorite was takoyaki (octopus) and I liked all the fresh fish, even when there was mayo on it. They really like to top dishes off with mayo here.

After dinner we went bowling! It was my first time bowling in Japan and let me tell you, they have much nicer rental shoes... with velcro! Of course, we bumped into some of my students but my friends' newborn baby got most of the attention. Amazingly she slept through most of the bowling! Scott and I played horribly but managed to get a couple of strikes. It was nice to see people of all ages playing and enjoying themselves. (I'm a little distracted today because the school's brass band is playing YMCA. It's pretty amazing!)



This week, Scott and I also met the friendliest, coolest, little 4 year old boy. He's the neighbor of a fellow JET teacher in the area. We went over to see him and before we even got out of the car, this little guy was yelling to us, "He's not home. He went out! (Oniisan innai yo!)". We decided to wait around and were fully entertained by this sweet boy. He showed us frogs, this garden, how he can run super fast, and even started to try to teach Scott Japanese. He really liked Scott and was holding his hand and pulling him around places. It was too adorable. We like our house but Scott says he would trade it all to be neighbors with this little guy!

Going Dutch in Japan

Nagasaki was the first porting city in Japan and has history with the Dutch and Portuguese. In the city, there are Catholic churches and European architecture. Among all this is also a bizarre little resort town honoring this history called Huis Ten Bosch. It’s in the town of Sasebo (a bigger city in the area) and is named after a palace from the Dutch Royal Family in the Netherlands.



We decided to take the train out there and it was a lovely ride. It travels along the ocean so the view along the way was fantastic. The water is so clean and clear and the mountains reflecting on the water is so picturesque.



Once we arrived, we were transported to the Netherlands. Windmills and clock towers surrounded us as we entered the park. It was another blazingly hot day so we took it easy and had some lunch first. We decided to try the pizza and a panini sandwich, and melon sodas of course. We couldn’t resist the bright green sweetness of the melon soda though the waitress giggled a bit when we both wanted melon soda. Maybe it’s meant for kids? Everything was pretty tasty and it was nice to have some cheese.


We walked around the park a bit more and then got so hot that we headed to the hotel to cool down and check in. We stayed at Hotel Denhaag, one of a few hotels on the premises. It was pretty swanky and the service was fantastic of course. The bellboy showed us to our room and then explained everything in the room to us in his best English. Scott said I should have spoken to him in Japanese but I felt like it was our duty to force him to practice his English. Right?



We ended up taking a nap in the nice, cool hotel room and then in the evening we went out for a boat ride. The boats go along the canal simulating the canal rides in Amsterdam. It was pleasant and made for nice photo ops. We also saw a rainbow and rain inevitably followed. The rain was strong but fleeting and we happened to be in a shop when it started. The shop then got flooded with people fleeing from the rain but we ended up getting choice seats for the fireworks because of it!



The plaza had festival food set up in booths like fried chicken, sausage rolls, takoyaki (fried octopus balls), beer, and ice cream. We got a few things and waited for the fireworks show. The show consisted of fireworks perfectly synced with “world” music. It was pretty dramatic but a bit shorter than expected. I wanted more!



Like any amusement park, the main purpose seemed to be to buy food and souvenirs . There weren’t any rides beyond the boats and ships but they did have an art museum with some reproduced European paintings and an exhibit of children’s art from around the world which we enjoyed.



The tourists were a mix of Japanese families, teens, and older folks, many Korean families and couples, some Chinese families, and one Australian couple that we saw. Most announcements were translated into Korean, Cantonese, and English so I assume that represents the bulk of their visitors. Oh and we heard their claim to fame is that Michael Jackson once stayed in one of the hotels on the resort. Well, I’ll let you judge whether that’s a positive or a negative.



According to their posters, the park is celebrating their 15th anniversary so it is fairly new. Who knows what the future holds for Huis Ten Bosch! The peach cheesecake was pretty fantastic and the hotel was quite luxurious. I haven’t missed it too much but it was nice to sleep in a fluffy bed. Huis Ten Bosch is definitely worth at least one try. If you’re in Japan but want to feel like you’re in Europe, it’s the place to be.

Monkey business

Scott has arrived! Impressively, he maneuvered through 3 airports in Japan and a bus through Tokyo and after 25 hours of travel, made it to our new home. I took a couple days off from work as we’re given 3 summer days to take off. We settled in a bit and then did some traveling in the area.


We took our car on a ferry ride over to an island north of Unzen called Kumamoto. Like Unzen, it’s famous for its castle (Kumamoto Castle) and its volcanic mountain named Mt. Aso. There are also some beautiful gardens and parks and a zoo.


We decided to head for the zoo for the famous monkeys. Of course it was one of the hottest days of the summer so the heat was intense. Most of the animals were sleeping or lying down in the shade. There were a few active monkeys who seemed to be communicating with us, however. And one huge snake terrifyingly opened its mouth at us. Hopefully he was just yawning.



They had an impressive mix of animals there. So many different species of monkeys, some I’ve definitely never seen before in my life. There were also hippos, zebra, rhinos, giraffe, penguin, goat, and this funky animal that Scott recognized from South America which I forgot the name of but they look like a cross between a beaver and a porcupine.

After the zoo we were going to head to a historical garden park but it was just too hot for another outdoor stop. We figured it would be more beautiful in the spring in any case so we headed towards downtown to Kumamoto Castle.



The downtown area is a bustling city with modern stores and office buildings, and tram cars running up and down the middle of the main street. NHK, one of the biggest television stations in Japan, has a tower in the area. And at the center of all this modernization, towering over it all is the ancient castle.


It was built in 1607 and took 7 years to build. Some of the buildings were destroyed and were reconstructed somewhat recently in the 1960s. Next year marks its 400th anniversary which should be a huge celebration surely.


The walls of the castle were stellar. It’s hard to imagine men building each piece meticulously by hand, especially in the summer heat. We had a hard time just walking up the stairs to the castle!


Inside the castle are 5 floors of museum space with pictures, articles, and objects representing the history of the castle. The armor of soldiers was very impressive. At the very top, our reward was a fantastic view of the castle grounds, the city, and Mt. Aso. It was too muggy to see Mt. Aso, but we still enjoyed the view.

After resting a bit and drinking lots of water, we made it back to the ferry and traveled back home to our island. I have to say, we got around the roads quite well and managed not to get lost. I was weary the night before about driving around because a lot of the main roads, though clearly marked, don’t note what direction you’re going in. The 251 is the 251 regardless of what direction you’re going in. I think that may be because we’re on a island that curves and you’re never going in one direction for very long. All in all, it gave us confidence that we could manage more road trips in the future!

Where the streets have no name

It just started bursting with rain this afternoon. I attempted to watch the news this morning for weather reports but I couldn’t tell which region they were talking about. I’m realizing that some of my issues here are language-based but most of it really is just being in the new townie in a town that happens to have no street signs.

I’ve been navigating pretty well within 10 minutes of my home but beyond that I’m going to need some maps and studying. Living in NYC, I got so used to be on a grid, so nice and simple. Here there are tons of winding roads and it’s hard for me to know which direction I’m heading in. Luckily there are a couple of main markers like the big volcanic mountain to the south and the ocean to the north. Of course, depending on where you are on the island, that can all change.

Listening to locals give each other directions makes me feel less lost though. My coworker had to show the bike shop owner using rocks as markers where my house was so that he could drop off my bike. Low and behold he found it! Guess it’s going to be like that navigating around. I suppose I’m used to navigating that way but it’s always nice to have street signs as a reassurance.


(cable guy installing on a hot day)
I don’t know if I mentioned before but I got cable TV installed at home. I figured it would be nice to have a couple of channels in English so I wouldn’t feel so homesick. The cable guy was so nice and it was blazing hot the day he made the repairs. He walked me through all the channels and how to use the remote and tape shows while still watching other channels. He also informed me that I would have access to a few special channels for free but only for 10 days. He suggested I tape any movies I wanted. Customer service is amazing here!

Of course now I’ve just been watching American movies on TV but last night I watched an MTV-like channel and got hooked on the top 10 video countdown. It was such a bizarre mix of boy bands, rock/hip-hop bands with the guys dressed in little suits with skinny ties, and female singers bopping around with cartoon characters and singing all cutesy. Of course I had to watch until the end for number one which was this Jackson 5/Menudo type group that danced and sang. We’ll see if they can keep it at number one!

Sights and sounds

So, I made it out to Nagasaki City last night thanks to my neighbor. We decided to have a girls’ night out and drive out to see what Obon was all about. As I mentioned before, I have learned that it is a 3-day period where families welcome their ancestors back into their homes and honor the dead. We both had a minimal understanding and wanted to see the people and the activities. We didn’t have anyone to explain what was going on so I can’t say that we got a better understanding, but we did get to experience the sights and sounds.



There are large, beautifully crafted boats with lanterns and the family name written on the front. Some had pictures of their ancestors on the boat as well. The boats are then paraded through the streets and taken to the water. It seemed like a tough feat especially on such a warm, humid night. There were some older men pushing the boats which was very impressive. Some women and girls dress up in yukatas which are a kind of summer version of kimono. The men pushing the boats also where them but they’re a different style with a shorter top and shorts for bottoms.



The sounds... well, it was crazy loud. Everyone lights off painfully loud firecrackers on the streets alongside their boats. At first I thought it was just the younger guys lighting them off but I saw full grown men lighting them with glee as well. I don’t think I can put into words how ear piercingly loud it was but by the end of the night, we had tissues in our ears. They had no qualms about when and where they’d light them too. We even got hit by a piece of one at one point! They would just light them and stand in them or light some that would break into the sky without checking if people (ahem!) might get hit by the exploding pieces. There were cops around, but mostly just to monitor the traffic so it seemed that everyone was free to go wild.



Of course with all the fireworks comes the trash. I heard it mentioned on the news how it’s always an ordeal to clean up the streets after Obon because of the fireworks. Now I see what they mean.



All in all, it was a nice night and good to see more locals and get out to the city. In the city there are more foreigners and people (especially the teenaged girls) dress less conservatively so it’s a whole different experience. They also had the Gap and a Kinko's!

My bike

I took a nice ride on the bike yesterday to the store and found a new road home along the train tracks. It was a beautiful afternoon. We had some heavy rain earlier in the day and then it cleared and turned into a sticky but pretty night. This week is Obon where people welcome their ancestors who have passed away back into their homes. It is a lot of work for the women of households who must clean their house and prepare special meals. There are also festivities in the area so I hope to make it out to one of the bigger ones in Nagasaki City. It may require an adventure on the train but I hear it would be worth it!

Thank you for your patience

Hello everyone! I've just added my backlog of posts and photos. I actually need to add more photos that I forgot to include so more to come. I think it's super cool that for those in the States reading this, I'm writing from the future... does it blow your mind too? Well it feels good to catch up and hopefully I can keep up the pace once I'm all set up. Be well!

Shopping

When shopping for home products, I find it so hard to choose something as simple as a sponge because there’s 20 different kinds and each is specifically designed for a certain task. I’m sure you could use a kitchen sponge in the bathroom but it seems frowned upon here to mix things up. Thankfully there are 100 yen shops around where everything is 100 yen (just about a $1). I have to say, most things are pretty decent and at that price, you can’t complain too much.

The long drive (8/13/07)

After my first two days of work, I had my first weekend off. I think I’ve finally got rid of the jetlag but I was exhausted after work on Friday. Hopefully it’s just the Nagasaki heat getting to me because if I can’t take two days in the office, I’m gonna be in a world of pain when classes start!



On Friday I picked up my tiny Japanese car. I’m leasing it from a local shop and the shop owner put on new tires, mirrors, and a new battery which was very nice of him. I drove it around the local streets this weekend and even at night to a restaurant two towns away. The roads are insanely narrow and tight so I still get super freaked out when a car is actually on the other side of the road. It totally looks like we’re going head-on for each other. Luckily there’s a system of pulling to the side to let the other car pass but I still haven’t perfected it yet. The other thing is that there are hardly any guardrails especially by the rice paddies. I keep envisioning my car sliding off the side and tumbling into the rice paddies especially when I’m driving alone. It’s a little easier having someone on the left of me shouting, “too close! Too close!” So far I’ve been doing well, at least my passengers have said so. I’ll admit, I still have moments when I’m pulling out of a parking lot that I forget what side of the street to be on but all in due time.



Last night I cooked dinner at my neighbors’ place. We had a spontaneous pasta dinner with another foreigner from the program who just moved into town a couple days ago, a Brit. After dinner we played a friendly game of Monopoly. We also had a little driving adventure shopping for ingredients. My neighbor had me practice driving and we took a small road and ended up stuck in the middle of a rice paddy! I was totally freaked out and made him finish the drive. In retrospect, it was pretty funny but at the time, totally frightening!

I almost forgot to mention that on Saturday, I was invited to an orchestral concert at our local cultural center. It’s so nice that we have a cultural center in our small town, like a mini Lincoln Center. Now that I’ve introduced myself to the schools, I forget that people know who I am. I saw two teachers that I work with and one called out “Sensei” to me and it took me a while to realize he meant me and that I’m actually considered a Sensei.

The concert was a string quartet from Tokyo. They played a variety of music, some classical pieces (Mozart and Dvorak), a medley from “The Sound of Music”, some Japanese songs and the theme song from “My Neighbor Totoro”. There were some children in the audience so that was a real crowd pleaser. In fact, this little guy in front of us was totally bored from the start and fidgeting around (he even managed to somehow fall head first out of his seat at one point!), but as soon as Totoro started, he sat completely still humming along and he was the first to applaud once the song ended. Hilarious!


After the concert, I went out with my neighbor and some of her friends to an Italian restaurant. I’ve been completely spoiled with excellent Italian food in NYC so in my head I was trying not to be a complete food snob but now I can say that the lasagna was really watered down and the gnocci was overcooked and too oily. Ok, it’s out of my system now! The pasta was really good and the salads though. It was fun to try a new kind of food out here. Still haven’t tried the local diner yet (it’s called Joy Full… yes, not Joyful, Joy Full) but I’m told I’ll have a lot of teachers’ meetings there to look forward to.