Another Farewell Speech

Good morning everyone.
皆さん、おはようございます。

So far I have been in Japan for two years and have been teaching here in Minami Junior High School and I find it very enjoyable.
今まで私は二年間日本に来て羽生市立南中学校で教えていました、大変楽しく過ごしました。

I am grateful to all of you for welcoming me so warmly.
皆さん、暖かく迎えて下さって心から感謝しております。

I am quite saddened that I am leaving this school again but I know that students exerted their efforts in studying and it was indeed fun and interesting.
元気な生徒達の居る南中を去る事になり残念ですが南中の殆どの生徒達は一所懸命でしたので教える事が楽しくてとっても面白かったです。

Over the last year I've learned a lot, and I hope that the students have enjoyed my lessons and maybe even learned a little.
この間に沢山習いました。生徒達は私の授業を楽しんで多分少し得る物があったかも知りません。

I have already taught in Minami Junior High for two years but it is my desire to come back and teach next year in this school.
もう二年間南中で教えましたが来年この学校でまた教えられる事が私の望みです。

It’s because I want to see the present 2nd year students to graduate next year.
今年の二年生の卒業式を見たいですから。

By all means, let’s do our best in our studies and living life to its fullest.
是非皆さん、勉強する事と日頃の生活を頑張りましょう。

Thank you very much.
皆さん、真に有難う御座いました。

Human Kanji

Last week commemorates the 30th founding anniversary of our school. Students and teachers partook by forming a huge kanji on our athletic field the word 創立３０周年羽生南中２００９ (SOURITSU 30 SHUNEN HANYU MINAMI CHU 2009) or Hanyu South Junior High School 30th Founding Anniversary. On our weekly memo (稟議 / ringi), it reads 30周年航空写真撮影 (30 SHUNEN KOUKU SHASHIN SATSUEI) or literally means 30th Aerial Photography. I never imagined that this was the human kanji formation which will be photographed over a cruising airplane. On that day, many students were cleaning the grounds by removing excess water from the heavy rain from the previous night. One person was putting some white powder on the ground which read the theme of the event. On the signal of the 3rd period, all of us went outside and carried a green plastic folder individually in order to somewhat superimpose the characters clearly on the resulting photograph. Everyone was excited as I was even more excited than the students since this was a memorable experience for me. First, as a foreigner, events like this are never done in my home country. Second, a rare occasion to be a part of this momentous 30th anniversary since they only carry out this aerial photography every 10 years or so. And lastly, since I was wearing my favorite red-striped polo shirt, I can easily identify myself among the sea of white and blue people within the picture, to which made me more excited. It was slightly drizzling that morning and winds slightly swept the horizon. The small plane circled the horizon for four times. It took several pictures from different angles. All of us stood still while raising our green-colored folders within our chests. After that all of us formed a huge square block on the grounds and took two different pictures exhibiting serious and funny faces. I had so much fun during this day and this is one of my most memorable events in my life as an ALT in a Junior High School.

Below are the pictures. These are some samples since 1. Each of these pictures costs around 1,000 yen or 500 pesos. 2. We were barred from photographing the picture on display in our faculty room. 3. The pictures take time to be delivered. 4. and... I have not decided yet if this is a worth investment.

View of Hanyu City. On the center is Minami JHS.

I'm on the top-center most wearing a red stripe polo shirt.

View of the school with the adjacent rice plots.

Tabehoudai (食べ放題) Eat-All-You-Can

Last Wednesday was an Eat-All-You-Can lunch since most teachers were with their respective sport teams for an athletic meet here in Saitama. The daily meal that should be shared by 20 people were shared only by me and my two other colleagues. The result was some kind of lunch buffet with a bonus of take home snacks. The picture above with the meat is stuffed with carrots, potatoes in miso stew. The golden brown cubes are fried salmon cubes. While the one with a shrimp and peanut drawing is our "dessert." Of course, our meal is not complete without the Saihoku Fresh Milk. Oh, I love Japanese school lunch!

Nissin Milk Curry

Probably one of the unusual flavor from Nissin Ramen is this Milk Curry. Can you imagine the combination of curry soup with milk? I actually liked the blend. The overall taste is a mixture of mild curry with the creamy kick of milk. This is actually better than seafood flavor. Definitely only in Japan.

Planting and Harvest Time

Summer time is indeed fast approaching. Summer time is the season for harvest for these rice planted in Japan. I envy things are done here. Planting rice is done by machine and even harvest. Everything is mechanical.

Creative Hands

This cut-out artwork is from my 2nd year student. He gave this to me as a remembrance to his continuing passion for artwork. Well, cut the crap out... Actually, he never listens to our English class and this is his way of refraining from being noisy in the class instead of wrecking things up. Poor boy. But I admire his skills in drawing. Apart from this, he is also passionate in his loved sport, Baseball.

Burger Day

For the past weekend, I have been craving for that delicious American cheeseburger and fries. And I did eat it for two consecutive days. A while ago I ate double cheese quarter pounder with fries. Ohh... Sometimes you tend to get sick with eating the same kind of food. But now, I crave for ramen. Hehehe... McDonalds in Hanyu AEON Mall.

Aizu-Wakamatsu: Castle, Sake and Akabeko

Aizu: Castle, Sake and Akabeko

The day was filled with so much excitement as me and my friends embarked on a road trip towards Fukushima Prefecture. It was my first time to traverse the Tohoku Expressway and I was filled with anticipation on the route that we took as I have been traveling mostly by train. It was relatively very cheap to travel since ETC’s exit toll charge is only 1,000 yen. And surprisingly, there is no traffic at all. From our place in Hanyu City in Saitama, we took the Tohoku Expressway and changed expressways at Kooriyama Junction and turned left towards Ban’etsu Expressway and finally exiting at Aizu-Wakamatsu junction. There were numerous places of interest in Aizu-Wakamatsu but we only visited two of them as it was only a whole day trip.

Tsurugajo Castle
Also called as Wakamatsujo or Wakamatsu Castle. However, since the color of the castle resembles like a Tsuru, a Japanese bird, people called it Tsurugajo or Tsurugajo Castle. One significant difference with this castle was that it can’t be seen from the main road. Unlike other castles which I have visited, they are already visible from a distance. This castle seemed a hidden secret beneath the tall trees. The castle itself is barricaded with huge and tall stone walls and numerous rivers and canals. Thus, making this castle, a real fortress and proved difficult to attack. Similar to most castles in Japan, the mushabashiri design was applied to the structure of its walls proving its difficulty to be attacked and infiltrated from outside. The present castle is just a reconstructed one, which was rebuilt around 1965 after a huge earthquake destroyed this original five storey stronghold.

Upon entering on the ground floor of the castle, you will see the last remnants of the original castle. A stretch of stone walls within the castle is the only authentic remaining material from the original castle. On the other side of the area are stacks of sacks of salt being displayed which depicted how the people valued this commodity during the Edo period. The first floor showcases the early rulers of Tsurugajo. Here, various names of families and a brief history of their rule are written. Apart from that, the floor exhibits old drawings and materials of the daily life in Aizu during the Edo Period. Beside the display of akabekos, are various masks made of paper mache called omote (面). Within the floor, you will be able to touch and feel a replica of an Edo Period riffle. Aizu made candles are also displayed nearby. Candles are beautifully decorated with various flower designs. The candles are said to be popular during the Edo period and most of the lighting used in Edo (the old Tokyo) came from Aizu. Another proudly Aizu are their lacquer wares. According to its history, people in Aizu started making lacquer ware around 400 years ago and incorporating gold in their design was highly valued. Numerous lacquer wares of bowls are displayed in the museum. On top of that, the most famous blacksmiths during the Edo period were from Aizu. That is why Aizu became famous for sword crafting.

It was quite a relief traveling with some Japanese because most of the information written on the exhibit is in, of course, kanji. In a way, a Japanese colleague of yours will be able to explain some of the information about the exhibit.

In one of the floors, a stretch of portraits of the martyrs of the Aizu rulers can be found. The said boys aged 15-16 committed suicide upon seeing the castle ablaze from a distant, which was actually not. These people were honored and had their tombs erected and designated as shrines in the nearby area of Aizu.

Akabeko
One famous Aizu craft is the Akabeko or red cattle. Aka means red while Aizu people call cattle as beko in their dialect. Thus akabeko means red cattle. Akabekos are used as good luck charms. People loved Akabeko because of an old legend that people who owned Akabeko figures did not get ill during a smallpox epidemic in that era. Also, according to the ancient history, cattle were primarily used in Aizu to carry wood for the construction of temples in the area. Many of the cattle fell off because of the steep road that they have to cross except for the red cattle. People wished that the luck of these red cattle would be transferred to themselves. Thus, whenever they had children, they celebrated the birth with a small toy called “akabeko.”

The stretch of shops for souvenirs and omiyage await you on the ground floor of the castle. Numerous akabekos of all shapes and sizes entice you. What I have always done in every place I have been is to collect mugs of all shapes and sizes which represent the district. I bought a mug with AKABEKO printed image as a reminder to this trip. And of course, boxes of sweet goma sembei (sesame rice crackers) for my colleagues in the school.


Tea Garden
We finished our tour in the castle around twelve noon and head towards the tea ceremony garden. We saw yet another garden which resembled like any tea garden in a way reminded me of my recent trip to Kyoto. The 500 yen entrance fee to the castle included an invigorating cup of pure green tea which was served along with a sweet bean-flavored mochi. I actually had some hesitations about sipping the maccha since I hated its aftertaste. But to my surprise, there was no bitter aftertaste and the combination of the sweet dumpling was just right. From the tea garden grounds, you can see the sight of Tsurugajo Castle in a different angle. Everything was perfect except that it was past lunch and we were craving to eat their meibutsu in nearby restaurants.

Tsurugajo Kaikan
The Tsurugajo Kaikan houses a restaurant which offers local meibutsu and a wide shop for its local products. We ordered Sauce Katsudon. According to their menu, their katsudon’s sauce is a special sauce made in Aizu. The taste was a bit sour yet it was delicious, even for the fact that I am not fond of eating with a semi-sour sauce in my meal. It was quite good and even affordable at 980 yen. Upon finishing the meal, we went out to check the goods sold. Nearby, a group of Junior High School students from Toride were painting their Akabekos. After a few minutes we went to Aizu Sake Museum.

Aizu Sake Museum
Along the way, we spotted these old buses that resemble its design from the Showa Era. It is good to see that Aizu was still able to preserve the design of these old buses. These buses are in a way the same with the buses we saw in Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture. Classic yet elegant to look and ride. We took a lot of pictures as it was our only and last shot to see this type of old bus for the duration of the trip.

Upon entering the museum, we were greeted with overflowing sake. Since all of us are sake drinkers, we feasted both pure and unfiltered sake. The short tour of the brewery, accompanied by a tour guide, showcased the early processes and methods of brewing sake. From the choice of rice until the percentage only being used in the brewing process were displayed in one of the areas of the museum. Huge tanks for fermenting the sakes in colored green drums lined up in the factory. Trivia about sake consumption were also displayed in the entire building. Human models which depict the brewing methods of sake in the early ages were depicted in the exhibit. The museum is composed of two floors and there are some areas where taking pictures are prohibited. Upon exiting, various sake and sake by-products are being sold. We again gulped several shots of sake. Manju sake or sweet dumplings flavored with sake are also being sold. Upon sampling most of the items, we went out with horrible laughs while taking pictures in front of the entrance hallway. We were drunk and took numerous poses with the huge black pot and sakabayashi (sake grove), or the Japanese cedar leaves which are hung outside of the museum.

We left around four in the afternoon and went home. A visit to the nearby Inawashiro Lake can be done. We did not stop by since it was a bit late and it drizzled during that time. We never tasted Kitakata ramen, which they said was one of the meibutsu of Aizu-Wakamatsu. But at least, we still have the reason to come back next time.

Hanyu Sky Festival 2009

A Tale of Two Spiders

French company La Machine brought this gigantic-sized mechanical spider in Minato-Mirai Bay Area in Yokohama City. Entrance fee is at 2,800 yen per head which includes one day unlimited access to all of Y150 amusement facilities. Yokohama commemorates its 150th opening of its port to the world. Can be seen until September 2009.

Another spider is at Roppongi Hills.
Free entrance as this is part of the garden in Roppongi Hills Tower.