Dangerous Times

How times have changed.

I just found out from a friend that an English Teacher from the UK has been murdered in Japan in what is probably (as far as I know) the first such homicide of its kind. You can read the full article HERE.

My only comment: Be careful.

Maebaru Greens

write haiku,
inevitable,
japan time.


skill of rhyme,
lacking in my blog,
leads to crime.


bow bow bow,
apologies said,
bow bow bow.


painful post,
almost to the end,
follow rules?


take care now,
thanks for endurance,
never, end.

The Big Day

Errhmm. Even writing about marriage makes me sweat! I guess that's the only pitfall to attending a wedding and being the only unmarried person there; it did make for some interesting conversation though. I mean, I got plenty of [unwanted] advice on how to propose, what kind of food should be served, the music, etc. And everybody unanimously agreed that I should have a Japanese-style wedding. Of course!


The wedding was held in a building designed especially for such events -- it even had its own fake Church! The trend in Japan these days is to have a Western-style (i.e., Christian) wedding. I guess it's only natural since the majority of English-speaking countries, and wealthy non-English speaking countries, have adopted Anglo-Saxon/American-style economic and political institutions -- why shouldn't cultural institutions be just as easily assimilated? Christianity for the win!


And yes, nothing is sacred anymore. That's not a real priest, btw. At least I'm -fairly- sure that isn't a priest. I told my JTE that that "priest" is probably an ALT who does this wedding-bit on the weekends for some extra cash. She proceeded to ask me why I don't do it, so I told her, in these exact words (well, roughly translated from Japanese), "Because I'm Asian-looking, it'll be a tough sell!" To which she laughed and replied, "That's too bad!"


Jeremy: that photograph is for you. Please try not to be offended. :)


Sarcasm aside, it was a really interesting and unique event. I am glad I went. While I would have probably found a Japanese-style wedding a little bit more culturally-relevant, I was equally intrigued by the Japanese-style Western wedding. This is one of the teachers from my school playing Pachelbel's Canon in D on electrical guitar. It was awesome.


Despite it being a mostly Western-style wedding, there were many elements that were still Japanese. For instance, in the banquet hall, the parents and family sat at the very back of the room while company/office colleagues (that being me and the other teachers at my school) sat at the very front; there was no Best Man or Maid of Honour; the bride and groom eventually changed into kimonos; the parents spent the entire evening going to each table and pouring drinks for the guests; and, the cheesy slide-show at the end. Another Japanese wedding tradition is the letter to the parents from the bride and groom (see above).


ご結婚おめでとうございます！

Smurf Cleaning

Today was the annual "Office Burning" ceremony. Every year around the end of the Japanese fiscal/academic season, our office gathers papers, notes and other rubbish acquired during the past few years and sets them ablaze in an office bonfire.

Bizarre? Indeed.

We were requested to assist in the transportation of the "kindling" (i.e., old lesson plans, books, folders, forms and other useless information one receives on paper) to the bonfire. So, after spending 5 years in university, accumulating a substantial student debt, then deciding to move to Japan for 2 years, we were required to, and I kid you not, move boxes in a manner that can only be described as "smurf-like". For those of you unfamiliar with the hit '80s TV show, please refer to the YouTube video above.

Oh yea, this is for the ALTs who were here last year: Jamie and I managed to burn another office lady while trying to make coffee again. The Gaijin Curse strikes again!

Fukuoka Blues

I had to return my telephoto lens because Nikon recently announced a newer, and significantly better, telephoto model. Added to that, the price of the new telephoto lens isn't much more expensive than the one I just purchased. There won't be any sniper-shots for awhile I'm afraid.


This is the Fukuoka City Museum. I was trying to replicate a photograph of the museum I saw on the subway the other day. I forgot to take a photo of the original poster but you'll just have to believe me when I say mine is pretty darn close!


This is me trying to apply some "rules of composition" to something ordinary. :/


I'll be in the office for the next 3 weeks until the new school year starts. I'm looking forward to doing some heavy reading.


My Fukuoka Tower self-portrait.

ご卒業おめでとうございます

昨日、学校の卒業式に行った。ちょっと悲しい出来事でしたが、卒業生には、本当に嬉しかった、ね！


とにかく、今から生活を楽しんで下さい。誰一人も未来を知らないよ。だから、自分の道をジブンに決めろ！


いつも頑張って、な！

今年も、ありがとうございました。皆、さよなら。

ファイトーオ！じゃ、な。

Oh Dear~

I'm not quite sure where this student learns English -- but it certainly isn't in my class! lol.

Tomorrow is the 3rd-graders graduation ceremony. I can almost remember my own JHS graduation. I remember there being tears, cheesy slide-shows, singing, long speeches and other stuff. Like I said, I can -almost- remember it; my memory is starting to fade in my old age.. :)

Jaded.

Maybe it was a good idea to leave Japan this year after all. Or maybe it's because I -know- I'm leaving in a few months and therefore, I'm unwilling to tolerate some of the more unusual quirks that one experiences while living and working in Japan. Regardless, I'll miss this place.

On Friday is the graduation ceremony for the third-graders at my JHS. It's gonna be sad to see some of them go. Granted, I never taught a single class this year with them (the third-grade English teacher doesn't like, doesn't know how to or refuses to use ALTs in any capacity) but I still remember most of them from last year. I ran into one of the particularly bright students on my way home a couple of weeks back. He was on his way to cram school when I asked him which high school he was planning to go to next year. He replied, "Jonan High School."

Not bad. Jonan high school is the 2nd highest-rated academic high school in Fukuoka city. Getting into the right high school in Japan is -far- more important than it is in Canada. Securing placement in a good, high-ranked high school opens the door to getting into a prestigious university and landing a good job thereafter. High school is -tough- in Japan. The workload is tremendous (I venture to say almost twice the amount, particularly in the mathematics and science departments) and students are often expected to join at least one or two after-school sport/club activities. Factor in cram school, special school events, other activities and you have some kids staying out until 10 or 11pm almost everyday. Luckily, university is a breeze here (some basic degrees aren't even 4 years!) so, after high school hell, they get to party for the next 2-4 years. Like I said, Not bad.


The dismal failure of last month's "Name all these ridiculous flowers" has made me realize I should just stick to "What Am I?" from now on. Indeed, point taken. Okay, this is one rather easy if I do say so myself. Any takers?


I also got my telephoto lens today! Huzzah. And as James correctly predicted, I spent the lunch-hour with my new lens snapping photos of birds. Photographing birds is particularly difficult because they're so darn fast! This is going to be a challenge.


Magnolia Destroyer.

Tokyo Continued..

This is Yasukuni Shrine. It didn't feel menacing or frightful; in fact, it pretty much felt like any other shrine I've visited in Japan. There were no black vans blaring right-wing military propaganda; nor were there noisy pro/anti-Yasukuni demonstrations. Perhaps the only difference between this shrine and the others was that there was a police guard at the front -- you can just make him out on the far left (this was the first time I've seen one on "look-out" at a shrine). Given the political and social significance of this shrine, it's understandable why he's there though.

I'm sure everybody reading knows the context and situation regarding Yasukuni Shrine and the Japanese Historical Museum on the premises. Having studied the Western-side of Japanese history in university, I decided to see how the Japanese, at least on a general level, see their own historical development from ancient times to the present.

It's an impressive museum. Written completely in both Japanese and English, the museum had some interesting artifacts, quotes and displays. Originally I was going to do a run-down of some of the more controversial historical interpretations in the museum -- but let's face it, that's boring. I'm sure you can find thousands of websites and blogs devoted solely to criticizing the Japanese interpretation of history (and, conversely, thousands of websites and blogs defending the accuracy).

Sure, this is a sensitive topic for a lot of people. I met a friend from Canada, who is Japanese and currently working in Tokyo, over the weekend for dinner. I told her I went to Yasukuni Shrine and we talked a little bit about the issue(s) surrounding the shrine. But even we found ourselves reduced to low-voices and whispers because, for some reason, it just felt awkward talking about Yasukuni shrine in a normal tone.

Anyways, I think that's enough space devoted to my trip to Yasukuni shrine. I know I haven't actually said much (that's the point), but anybody really interested in the topic has probably already made up their mind regarding the topic and therefore, it would be unnecessary to say anything further. For those that don't know anything about the topic, jeez, you need to read more of the news. :)


While in Tokyo I also decided to check-out the foreigner-infested area of Roppongi and the brand-spanking new and ultra-expensive area of Roppongi Hills. My aforementioned friend works here. Damn, lucky. This place was nice. It reminded me a lot of what my own personal image of Japan was like prior to actually -coming- here. Man, did I get it wrong. lol. And the view from the top was..


..spectacular. Despite my affinity for nature, I'm still an Urbanite at heart. The trip to the top of this building was rather expensive and I actually took this shot without a tripod (I know, I'm an idiot for not bringing one). I had to rest the camera on the window-sill while trying to take this night shot. Despite the obvious imperfections, this was probably the best photo out of the bunch and that's why I'm going to designate this February's "Photo of the Month" (despite it being March -- I've already said I'm lazy..).

I know I promised some other stuff but, I think that's enough for one post. Please enjoy the weekend.

Weekend Retreat

One of the last places anybody would want to go to to get -away- from a hectic, urban lifestyle would be Tokyo. That's partially the reason why I chose not to visit some of the more famous locations one normally associates with Tokyo (no Shibuya or Shinjuku this time; sorry folks). Instead, I decided to check out some places I didn't get a chance to visit yet.

First stop was Kairakuen Garden in Ibaraki Prefecture. I decided to check out this Garden because it is ranked as one of the Top 3 Traditional Gardens in Japan. Also, the garden is famous for its Ume Blossoms which, as I mentioned in a previous post, happened to be in near-full bloom status during the weekend I visited. In fact, a sign outside of the garden lets visitors know just what percentage of the garden is in bloom. The day I went, according to my friend, "80% of the garden was in bloom."


The above photo is a typical shot of a "hanami" party. Normally associated with Sakura, I don't see anything wrong with starting a little bit early!


To be honest, the Ume blossoms really weren't that impressive. I mean they were nice but I was expecting a forest of ume blossoms but instead, it felt more like -groves- of ume tress (which, to be technical, they were).


And this is why I need a telephoto lens! All the cropping in the world can't fix a shot that is poorly composed.


Queuing: A phenomenon normally associated with the English but, like many other things, the Japanese do it just as well. Side Note: I remember when I went to a zoo in China last year and people were literally rushing and pushing each other out of the way to catch a glimpse of a panda. It was absolute chaos. I wonder if the Chinese pogrom -- I mean program -- to purge poor public behaviour before the 2008 Beijing Games will succeed.. ? I certainly hope so!


Early evidence of Asian tools and weapons are difficult to find because, whereas in Europe they used mostly stone and wood which tends not to deteriorate as quickly, bamboo was the crafting material of choice among most Asian communities. See, this blog isn't all poor writing, lame jokes and predictable photos; you can learn something, too!


ume.

Anyways, that's it for now. I have more photos and stories but it's getting rather late so, I'll try to update tomorrow. Woo~ Friday!

It's too late..

.. to update my blog right now. It's been a very long-weekend and I'm looking forward to Thursday when I can come home at a decent hour and just do absolutely nothing (I may be doing a whole lot of nothing in a few months though.. :)

Stay tuned for some pictures of Tokyo (I managed to grab -one- shot while in Tokyo that I think is half-decent -- I consider that a success!), the ume festival in Ibaraki-ken, some commentary on my visit to Yasukuni Shrine and the Japanese Historical Museum, a "What Am I?" photo quiz, some photos of my school and lastly, some thoughts on PM Abe's latest comments regarding the U.S. Congressional attempt to extract a "formal" apology for 'Comfort Women' during World War II. You can read the comments HERE.

Oh yea, the above picture is just one of the many posters around my school. My students may not be able to speak English well but they sure can draw!

Post-Game Wrap-up

Fukuoka Softbank Hawks: 2, Tokyo (?) Sebiu Lions: 0.

I don't have a whole lot to say about the game (I don't have a whole lot to say about anything to be honest). It was okay. Not as good as the first-time around but a free game is still a free game. Also, I didn't get my telephoto lens as planned; they were sold out when I went this week so, I had to make due with my regular lens


The last pitch of the game.


I think this umpire was checking his keitai during the game. haha~


Victory Balloons.


The lovely Asahi Beer girls.


掃き掃除。


MY TEAM.

I'll be heading to Tokyo this weekend for some work-related stuff. Maybe I'll take some pictures. Have a good weekend.