Nabana no Sato

Living in Mie offers some amazing opportunities. The prefecture is a long, odd shape, and so much of our eastern side is coast that we have unique views, cities, and nature. Besides that, it seems like there is a tourist spot somewhere along the road wherever you go in Mie. Come winter, most people go out of the prefecture for winter sports in nearby areas. But one spot that is always bustling is Kuwana City. Why is that? Roller coasters, a water park, Christmas lights, hot springs, and green houses!




In the summer, Kuwana is frequented by roller coaster (here lovingly called "jet coasters") enthusiasts who want the thrill of Japan's largest roller coaster park, Nagashima Spaland. Of course, it is called that because it is also home of a water park and attached to a hot spring resort. All of these attractions have separate ticket prices, but you can buy a combo ticket at a special rate. This past spring, some of the Ise-Shima ALTs took a trip for a roller coaster/water park day to cool off. On another occasion, some gal-pals and I went for the coasters followed by a relaxing hot bath. Both trips were wonderful, but I can go into that later. For those who can't wait, though, you can read up on it here.





Today is all about Christmas lights and green houses!

Super close to Nagashima Spaland, and yet another claim to fame for Kuwana, is Nabana no Sato, explained a bit on this Mie tourism site.. A Flower park and green house site, the park keeps business coming in the winter by putting on a major Christmas light festival! The festival starts in the fall, once the leaves on the Japanese maples have changed colors. Visitors can see the trees lit up at night and marvel at their colors along with the Christmas lights strung all around the park. This part of the season is really crowded with people coming to see both the light and the leaves, and stoping to take pictures all the while. In Japan, the two major christmas light displays are this one and another in Kobe. Each one is changed yearly, so people come to see what new and creative way the decorations will be in both locations. This year, the main attraction at Nabana no Sato was a huge display that mimicked Niagara Falls during different seasons. It was set to music and the surrounding field was decorated in lights and cloth to give it even more depth and grandure. My friend Dan and I went to see what all of the fuss was about and my breath was caught in my throat the whole time! It was so perfect and surreal. I've never seen anything so dreamlike and I never through that trees could look better at night than in the day. True to Japanese form, everything was laid out perfectly to allow the trees to play off the water features in the park.

Dan and I decided to stop by a restaurant at the gardens. We accidentally ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and plates like this one kept coming and coming and coming from the kitchen. We ate really well that night, and luckily had coupons for 2000 yen off the meal. It was as delicious as the trees were beautiful!

My Russian friends decided that on our ski trip, it would be fun to go to Nabana no Sato, and I decided to go again to really have a chance to appreciate the lights this time. The leaves had fallen off the trees, so we were able to stroll around without fighting through as large of crowds this time. Some people took the high road and rode a merry-go-round that was raised up high into the air!

 Just when we thought we had scene it all, Max noticed that the green houses were open for tours and that the coupons we had were just enough to cover the entrance free. Warming up in the green house sounded like a great idea to me, and Sofya loved roaming through all the blossoms. She even pocketed a few of the fallen ones to press in her magazine later. The tickets we received were actually valid for three green houses, so we were able to finish up our day at Nabana no Sato with three distinct and large flower settings. On our way out, we had been told to find the shawarma stand, which was so scrumptious! I had a fabulous time on both trips and highly recommend going if you get the chance!

給食 School Lunch - Chopsticks and Mystery Meat

Something that I was actually really looking forward to in Japan was the school lunch. For just $45 a month, you can have school lunch everyday. All the students in elementary school and middle school are required to eat school lunch. Once you enter high school or if you have a very particular allergy, you bring a lunch from home, but before that, teachers and students all eat the same thing. It is actually a very important system. Here are some pictures of my school lunches. The ones with green backgrounds and pink trays were at my fastest school and the ones with gray backgrounds and green trays were at my smallest school.

Starting in elementary school, Japanese students are expected to take a larger part of the school day responsibilities. This works well on several levels. On the first, it reminds the students that they aren't babies anymore. They aren't at day care anymore and need to start taking care of themselves, each others, and their own belongings. Students begin to take part in cleaning the school, announcing the transitions between classes, leading the summary speeches before and after school, and in paring out the school lunches for their classmates.

The food is all prepared on an off campus location and then distributed to the local schools in large containers with one set of containers for each grade and class. For example  the third years may be split into A and B class, so 3A and 3B each have their own containers. Why is that? Because there is no cafeteria; each class eats in their classroom. Everyday, a group of students is chosen to serve the lunch to everyone else. They gather the materials, set up a lunch line, and dish out the foods from the containers into plates as the other students file through and take the food onto their trays.

This teaches that to give out fair portions, how to be safe and clean around food (face masks, aprons, washing your hands, and keeping utensils sanitary), to wait your turn, and to be part of a team. The students then wait until everyone is seated before giving a chorus call of「いっただきます」or a sort of "We humbly receive this (food)." Only after all of that are any extra milks, pieces of bread, or seconds of anything else distributed. 

Who gets these extras? Whoever wants them raises their hands and the remainder is evenly divided amongst them. But in the case of milk or bread or something that is only available in one unit, they settle the matter in the most fair manner possible. Leave it up to fate: rock, paper, scissors. Winner takes the bounty. Easily solved.

The school lunches are well balanced, but contrary to stereotype, there is not always rice. if there is bread or another carbohydrate, the rice is not used. The school milk is sometimes also replaced by coffee milk, for which the students have a field day! They love coffee milk, or at least the idea of something new and different. To make their little days, I always give mine away and let another rock, paper, scissors winner have the prize. Sometimes there is even a dessert item; a cold jelly or mochi wrapped in leaves celebrates a special day or season.

With all of this delicious-ness, though, comes a cost. A cost that Shima-city doesn't think that we can afford any longer. Currently there are multiple school lunch centers that make and distribute the food to the schools. Depending on where I am teaching, I will be on a different meal schedule because the meal centers can make whatever they want whenever they want. The city has decided that instead of operating all of these small centers, a larger "central center" in Ugata would be better. That way every single student in the whole of Shima city will be eating the same thing.

What does this mean for me? I'm not entirely sure. It may mean that there will be less flavor, it may mean that the food is cold by the time lunch comes, it may mean that there is less variety, it may mean less fresh fruits and veggies, but we won't find out until September when all of the other centers will shut down. I do know that the current centers' part time workers will be let go and only the full time employees will be kept to work at the Ugata center. Besides that, it is only a shot in the dark.

Until then, I have all summer to enjoy the delicious school lunches and try to get the students to talk to me during that time. Usually I can get by with "Is this fish? What sport do you like?" and so on, but I'm torn between keeping up the conversation and eating up my lunch. Oh tasty food, why do you taunt me so?



p.s. If you can't tell what kind of meat it is, don't fret or worry - it is probably just tofu ;)

Preparations for New Students and Opening Week

*Due to Interac policy, I am not at liberty to mention the names of schools, teachers, or students at my work locations on social network sites or blogs. Instead, I will try to think of a nickname system, but I have 3 middle and 3 elementary schools, so things might get a little confusing. To keep things sorted, I'll try to also keep the stories well sorted, but please bear with me.*

Interac gave us a week to situate our basic needs and gather items for our apartments. We were also taken to all of our middle schools and met with the principals and English teachers the Friday before school started. This was helpful in feeling more comfortable with the lunch plans for the first week and also ensured that we had been to the school at least once (don't want to get lost and be late on the first day). During my first working week here, I was not actually "working". No classes, no lesson plans, and no worksheets. Instead, I spoke with the teachers, organized my desk, and.....well, was pretty bored! I wanted to explore the school more, so I made a point of asking for a map, but the vice principal or another teacher usually offered to escort me around and explain the kanji written above each classroom. Besides that, though, I was left to sit in the teachers' room and help myself to the all-you-can-drink-coffee/tea corner. Soooooo bored!!

Why couldn't I teach or go into the classes? Because there were no classes. The older students at the middle schools were getting prepared for the new students! The 6th graders had just graduated elementary school and were coming for the entrance ceremony soon (now as big and important 1st years). There were halls and rooms to clean, boards to decorate, signs to paint, and the gym to ready for the ceremony. Students were busy getting ready for their new friends.

Most schools had planters full of flowers in the entrance area to protect them from the stormy winds that were coming that week. There were also special flower arrangements brought in to decorate the gym (later we used those flowers in the school entrance and teachers' room). Helping with some of the decorating was a good way for me to get out from behind the desk, but the teachers insisted that I sit back and relax and have more tea. So much tea (>.<)

Opening Ceremony!!

For the actual opening ceremony, I was scheduled to be at my largest and most serious middle school. Pomp and circumstance might bore some people, but I love the organization and precision of it all. When it comes to kids in ceremonies, few people understand how difficult that sort of event is to pull off. The Japanese are even more strict about proper decorum at these sort of functions, so I was excited to see how the students would do. I was told before going to Japan not to wear black because it was too formal and serious, but I brought a few black things just in case. Lucky thing that I did because this school asked that I wear ALL black to the ceremony. They also asked that I prepare a brief self introduction in English and Japanese as all the teachers would be introducing themselves to the first years and their parents at that time. It all went over well, and people were relieved when I got to the Japanese portion of my intro. Most of the students think that I had just memorized it for that day, but some started to think that maybe I knew more than I was letting on. I think that the first years were so preoccupied with knowing when to stand, when to bow, how to walk, and when to respond that they weren't paying much attention to us. They were so nervous that it was adorable! Some of them had to make special speeches at the microphone, and you could see them talking themselves through the steps on how to properly walk up to the microphone and whom to bow to before beginning. One of the boys received a present on behalf of his class from the PTA president, but he was so nervous about leaving that he forgot it under his chair! One of the other boys grabbed it for him, though. Nice teamwork, first years!

The rest of the day was spent getting to know the other members of their class and their homeroom teachers. We all had special bento lunch boxes, too! They were delicious, but contained some particularly Japanese food. The other teachers kept watching to see if I could use chopsticks (but I had brought my own, so that put them at ease) and if I could eat all the different foods (I polished off everything except the pickled plum seed). Surprising as it may seem, finishing one's lunch is actually a point of concern in elementary schools. During parent-teacher conferences, teachers will report on whether a student was able to eat everything. Elementary children take pride in saying things like 「好きじゃないものがない」 or "There isn't anything that I don't like."

One of the teachers made three different cakes for us. I loved the
chocolate one the most. It was almost like American cake!

Double negative. Take a minute to think if you need to, but try not to hurt yourself.

So after I finished my lunch, the teachers spent about 40 minutes praising my ability to finish it in enough time and to eat so many types of food. A little much? Maybe, but they were trying to make conversation and make me feel special, so I happily but modestly accepted their compliments.

For the rest of the week after the entrance ceremony, there were many announcements and assemblies so that everyone could learn or be reminded of school policy and club activities, and have meet-and-greets. My smallest middle school assembled all 49 of their students in the gym so that the sport teams could introduce themselves to the 10 new students. There were 4 clubs at that school (as compared to the nearly 10 clubs at my largest school) and the table tennis club only had 2 members. So cute :) But even though there were so few people, they were still nervous to speak in front of the crowd. Afterwords, they organized a dodgeball match to welcome the new kids. The entire school split into two teams, with different grades on both teams. They reviewed the rules, set up boundaries  and then commenced the most organized and polite game of dodgeball that I have ever witnessed. It was quite the spectacle, but they seemed to love it, so mission accomplished. The only time the rules were broken was when the first year special ed boy was hit. To keep him from getting upset and let him still throw the ball (his favorite thing), the third year boys told him to stay in the game and they went out instead. AAAWWWWW!!! So sweet!!

Sorry, but I don't use my camera much outside of the teacher's room, so I don't have photos of the school or students. Just use your imagination! Or come visit me :)

McDonalds in Japan

So, you're an American walking around Japan, and you'd LOVE to try some new foods, but you're broke and running out of time! Or, what if it is late and most of the Japanese places you'd like to go to are closed for the evening?

Strange as this might sound, why not give Japanese McDonalds a try?

"But I don't like McDonalds. Their food is too greasy. There is nothing good there. I can get that back home. *whine whine whine*"

Alright, I see you're point. But I didn't say that you should go to just any McDonalds; I suggested you go to "Japanese" McDonalds. Anyone who has been to a Mickey-D's outside of America, you know that it is a different experience all together. The food actually looks like it was made from other food, they present it to you as if it were the model food in the posters, and eating at McDonald's isn't viewed as trashy or gross, but fashionable and smart (there is even a 100 yen menu for those of us trying to save money). And just as we have different names for our beloved fast food empire:

# Golden Arches (U.S. slang)
# Mickey-D's (U.S. slang)
# Mick-dicks (U.S. slang)
# Macca's (Australian slang)
# Mackey-D's (British slang)
# MakDo (Filipino slang)
# MacDoh (French Canadian slang)
# McDo (French slang)
# Makku or Makudo (Japanese slang)
# McDoof (German slang)
# McD's (Scottish slang)
# Meki (Hungarian slang)
# Mec (Romanian slang)
# Donken, ''Mackid nnkan'' (amongst tweens) (Swedish slang)

So do the Japanese! The Sakura Hostel Staff put these helpful words on their blog:

In East Japan, it's called MAKKU （マック）.
In West Japan, it's called MAKUDO （マクド）.

But recently,
nicknames other than " MAKKU " and " MAKUDO " got infiltrating on the Internet.

What is it ????

Although various nicknames such as MAKUDONA and DANARU are spreading,
the one widely used on the Internet now is MAKUNARU （マクナル）.

Tantalizing names, I know, but you should check out the special offers and sides. The Japanese love to stress how limited these options are and even have calendars to show when they will end. Gotta get there soon if you want to try these tasty treats!

Teritama (teriyaki and egg sandwhich)
Side of corn kernels
Maccha flavored ice cream
Shaka Shaka Chicken strips
And a Shrimp Filet (Fireo) burger

You used to get a side of rice or the wasabi burger, but they fazed those out and put in other specials. They used to have a world tour, which was interesting because the USA was represented by about 5 burgers and every other country just got one.

Breakfast menu for a limited time only! (Ended already. No more AsaMaku anymore.)

And don't think they skimp out on commercials!

For another foreigner's take on this McDonald's comparison, why not read this blog? Or this famous foreigner's help guide?

音巴: The ICU Wadaiko Spring/Graduation Concert of 2013

I really need to write this all down now before I forget!

Right before the Californian's semester aborad was over,
We all gathered fora group picture and presents. The
OYR rangers received color specific watches and towels.
Go, Wadaiko, Go!

Two years ago, when I was here for study abroad, I joined the most intense club in my life: the ICU Wadaiko Club. They held practice all year, 18 hours a week usually, with two major concerts a year, and summer camp. I feel like I wrote a lot about them in my last blog, so feel free to check that out for some background information. At the end of my study abroad time (which wasn't supposed to be the end in reality, but that is how life worked out), our major spring concert was cancelled! There is a whole sob story there, but for the next two years I felt cheated because I never got to perform that final concert and show the seniors that everything they had taught us and worked for could be so wonderful in the end. While I was still in Wyoming, I met up with Shunyo, the club president during my Tokyo time to catch up and apologize and watch the concert dvd from last year (when he was a senior). He says that his arms are a bit smaller now that he doesn't play taiko as much as he used to, but he's still the loud, joyful, courteous Shunyo I knew from before! Seeing him made me really miss the camaraderie that I felt with the Wadaiko group back then.

The poster for the show this year.
The title 音巴 (Otonoha) is an artistic
reference to the sound of the drums.
"Oto" is sound or music and "noha" or
"tomoe" is the large comma pater popular
in Japanese traditional symbols and flags.

After I was hired with interac, they said that they wanted us to come early to train before going out to our assignments. Luckily, all my paperwork filled nicely and my passport arrived about a week before a week BEFORE training, so I was able to arrive extra early to Tokyo and lurk around my old stomping grounds. Those of you who know about Japan from my blogs may remember that universities tend to have all of March off as Spring Break. If the school was out of session and the students mostly gone on holiday, then my trip might seem worthless. Why arrive so early to Tokyo? To see the Wadaiko kids perform their spring concert of course!! Everyone else may be on break, but not my club members! The students I met as sophomores were seniors now, so this would be their swan song as Wadaiko members! One of the seniors from my time was also playing in the concert because she was unable to do so during her year. I wanted to cheer them on, but ended up crying during the first song....and the second and third song....and the encoure. They were so good! I just wanted to bust seeing how much they had all developed since I was gone. They were leading the pack now.

Surprisingly enough  though, none of them knew I was coming, which helped lend some excitement to my arrival, but I guess because I didn't reserve a ticket ahead of time, they thought I was just liking the event, not committing to it.

Ma-kun, San-chan, Miki, Mao, Myself, and Kai after the
noon concert in Asakusa! Mao still has her bachi sticks
in her apron pocket.

Afterward the concert, I got some surprises, too. I saw big and burly Kai (a student from Wittenberg who told me to come to ICU) out in the lobby, but when I went over to talk to him who else was standing to his left than SATOSHI!! My Spring Concert Leader! My hero and the one who introduced me to Thai fisherman's pants!! The super stoic and ever cool Satoshi! And Kai, too. It might not have been 100% kosher, but I gave Satoshi a massive hug - I owed this guy so much of my Wadaiko training. He was very much the Yoda/Mr. Miyagi of our club at the time, or at least in my mind, and when he was angry or upset with us, I woud silently cry over my car tire during practice. He was that powerful. 

Ma-kun leading the converstion and making jokes?!
He has totally grown up since I saw him last. Besides that,
he will be studying chemical engineering of pastics in university soon!

San-chan (who is in his 30's, but who I will always speak informally with and see as Winnie the Pooh from the club's night out one Halloween) was also tucked away in the crowd, and some of the other OB and OG (Old Boys and Old Girls - former club members)! Miki's mother, aunt, and cousin were there too!! At first, I couldn't exactly remember why, but I pointed out Miki's mom to Rei and said, "Isn't she really familiar? She doesn't belong to ICU, but I swear that I know her from my time here." When we walked back to the front row, I realized it was her; mommas always cheer their kids on from the front! She recognized me right away and we chatted in Japanese, talking about Miki, my job, her visiting from Kamakura just to see the shows (I think she stayed for both performances), and it felt so good to see her there! *Side Note* The night that I left Tokyo, Miki called her mother and told her I was going, and Momma-san told me to be careful and to remember that I could always come visit them. AAAWWWW!!! *End Side Note* Finally, the performers were all out and about, but needed to be rushed off and set up for the next show. As they all scurried away to prepare, Kai and I wondered around the streets of Asakusa, but that can have its own story later.

This was made by Kaoru for the graduating 2013 students in the club.
The top reads "Wadaiko Squadron Otonoha 13!!!"
From left to right: Ocho, Anna, Rieko, Takami, Miki, Eri, Koji, Rei-chan, Hasshi, Ma-kun

Reunited Roommates!

Anna is trying to guess the new boyfriend of
one of the younger girl. She just found out that they were
even dating that night! 

I thought that show would be the end of my time with the Taiko-ers, but as I was sitting at a hanami (familiar word, right?) with Rei, Miki showed up on her bike with Mao (my drumming partner for hanamori two years prior) and invite me to the Wadaiko party that night. How great is that?! Phenomenal! Except, I forgot what time we were supposed to meet. And where. And I didn't have their phone numbers. Or a Japanese phone. So I dashed off to Kichijoji and waited in a Starbucks (free wifi!) and facebooked them until I finally got the info. The food and drink was great, as expected, but the best part was sitting with all of the members again, being filled in on the news ("So and so has a boyfriend?! Rei-chan is going to be a policeman?! You got into grad school?!"), seeing how much they had grown up (especially Ma-kun!!). Looking at their photos was nice, but I felt like a ghost who could see, but never be with, the group. That night I was there! Fully aware of what was going on, as if that was the review party for my concert. The seniors were given photos, notebooks filled with messages, and another present, too, I think. They all gave 10-15 minute speeches during which, (can you guess?) I cried. 三橋先生 laughed at some of the comments; she has watched us all and the club grow over the past 20 years. She makes me think that just like Budo, this could be something that doesn't really end for me. I can come back to it ask long as I keep that same drive to create a powerful, beautiful, meaningful sound.

Sensei with some of the newer girls.

My evening with the Wadaiko Club was cut short, but maybe I wasn't supposed to stay the whole way through. It wasn't my party, it was their's. All the effort that they put forth for this performance, they deserved the time with each other. I'm thankful that they welcomed me back in so quickly and warmly, but after next year, none of them will really know who I am. It won't be my group anymore.

If anyone is interested, here is their Facebook site for the concert this year.

Ramen: I know what you're thinking, so don't! It is sooooo much better here.

Do you know what this is? A blessing upon the seekers of happiness! A testimony to the strive for perfection in food!

These two ramen shops operate and compete side by side.
The one with the red sign is called 武蔵家 or Musashi House
and the one with the white sign is calledぐうたら Guutara,
which means lazybones/good-for-nothing/idler. Very
similar to slacker, right? :D

When I was here last, I developed a connection with food and my moods. When I was feeling victorious, I would eat sushi, typically from a conveyor belt. When I was in a celebratory mood, izakaya/bar fried foods were a perfect match. When I was feeling homesick, Japanese style curry and rice tasted a lot like beef or chicken stew and would help me. And when I was feeling like a failure (in language class or Wadaiko club, or just a bad experience with Japanese bureaucracy), I would save up my money for a day or so, eat nearly nothing and go out for ramen. Where does one go for ramen? Well, you have several choices, but if you are in the ICU area, might I suggest Guutara Ramen? They are my boys. Let me tell you why!

There are many types of ramen, noodles, and ingredients.
This was the ramen they called the Guutara Ramen, kind
of like their house special, with free appetizer rice and pork. 

Guys don't care about going out to eat ramen. It is filling, it is delicious, and it is a good time (just you and a bowl or a social time with your buddies). But girls don't want to eat it often. "I'll get fat" "It is too salty" "Ramen shops are so hot and gross" sorts of complaints are common from girls. To keep the girls coming into their shops, ramen workers are overly nice to them. Girls tend to get free appetizers, special attention from the cooks during the meal, free refills and free dessert! That was why I went there when I felt low about myself; with all that special service, how could I stay upset? On top of that the food was fantastic! And since I was so active, I didn't fret about all the other stuff girls did. One meal at Guutara is about $8-$10 American, though, so I made sure I got as many refills of noodles as I could.

The typical ramen shop set up. The tissues are when your
nose starts to run from having your face over a bowl of
hot soup for too long. And they also work as napkins.

Ramen is the Japanese version of Lo Mein (say them a couple of times - they sound similar, right?) but depending on where you go, it can be far less oil based. I personally love when they put the undercooked soft-boiled egg in the ramen. There are individual shops and large corporate ramen chains all over Japan, so no mater where you go, you'll find somewhere to eat. They are open late at night and are a great place to wait for the spring rain to stop. Noodles not your thing? Most also offer other side foods like gyoza. But whenever you make it to the Land of the Rising Sun, do yourself a favor, and get a bowl of ramen! Money well spent for sure!

Today's free dessert is douhua, or sweet
tofu pudding with fruit syrup. I'd liken this
to the Chinese (yes, it is ia Chinese dessert)
version of jello.

The Gourmet Club (GuruMegane) at ICU wrote this brief review of Guutara when they were sampling ramen locations near campus.

Likewise, students other than me at ICU include Guutara in their blogs and websites.

Even two years ago, my words failed me. This was my first impression about ramen.