What a trip...

About two weeks ago the guys from town and I took a bit of a vacation. We planned a trip up to Hokkaido. It was a multi purpose trip. Hokkaido has some of the most famous snowboarding in Japan, and in Sapporo there is also the famous “Yuki Matsuri” or Snow Festival. Let me start the tale with the trip there…

Saturday morning. Rise and shine bright and early. Our flight out is around 1pm, but we have to trek it down to the airport. The airport in Nagano Prefecture is in Matsumoto City. It’s 2 trains and a bus ride away from my house. All said and done, it takes about 2.5 to 3 hours to get there. The cost of the trains one way is close to $40 as well.

So there we were riding along the rails down to Matsumoto on the second of two trains, and Brandon get a phone call on his cell phone. It’s the airport. Apparently there is a blizzard sweeping across Hokkaido. Good for snowboarding, bad for airplanes. Our flight has been cancelled and there is only one flight a day from Matsumoto to Hokkaido. After sitting in disbelief for a little bit, we get a call back with some decent news. There is space for the three of us on the flight out the next day. So getting to Hokkaido is taken care of, but we are on a train that costs the better part of $30 that doesn’t stop until Matsumoto. We get some advice on hotels, but after some frantic calling we get no where. We are now totally screwed for the night, as we either have to take the train all the way home and then back out the next day, or we have to find somewhere to stay.

We end up calling a friend of Brandon’s who lives in a suburb of Matsumoto. He not only offers to put us up in his little apartment for the night, but he says he will pick us up from the train station. So we cram 4 dudes, and 3 large snowboard bags into his car (well half in his car) and make our way to his house. We ended up having a good time, as we went to a good restaurant and also to an arcade. The next day we are off to the airport again, and thankfully we didn’t get any unexpected calls. However this started the real day from hell.

We show up at the airport, flight is on, but not on schedule. It’s and hour late. Ok we can deal with that as long is it gets us there. Now Brandon had planned out all the transfers and trains to get us to the hotel we are staying at. We take a look at it all, and even with an hour delay we should make them all. So a little bit later we are boarding the plane. Now there are 2 airports that service Sapporo…but none of us knew that until we got on the plane. Our flight is going to New Chitose Airport…however Brandon’s schedules are planned from Sapporo Airport. Ok, we do some math, 1 hr flight delay plus about 1 hr from the new airport to Sapporo station. We should still be able to make it, just barely, but we should make it. Touch down and bust off the plane. Get the bags and run to the train platform, we should just make the train out to Sapporo. We made it there in time, however the train didn’t. Apparently the snow is causing trouble with trains too. The train finally shows up over 20 min. late. These delays are starting to get serious now, we are right on the borderline of making it to our final train transfer. We pack ourselves onto the train and find a corner by a vending machine to cram into, as all the seats are full. The train ride goes smoothly…until we get between North Sapporo and Sapporo station (our terminus). The conductor comes over the speakers and announces a brief delay for snow clearing on the track ahead of us. Brief means 15 min. and that’s enough to screw things up big time.

We finally arrive in Sapporo, almost 3 hours (and a day) behind schedule. We are all tired and worn out, and I am the only one keeping my humour at this point. Most of you know me, and know that sometimes when stuff is so horrible wrong you just have to laugh at it. Apparently some people don't like that when stuff is going wrong, cause I was getting the rough side of some attitude issues that evening. Brandon went in to find out if we could still get a train to where we were planning on going. The people in the railway office said that there wasn’t a train like that one until the morning. So we thought about a hotel or a bus. In our search we go to the station office (as opposed to the railway office). They tell us that the train we missed is really late and it is at the platform right now. We run through the gate and burn up the stairs, and just as Rich reaches the platform the train leaves. Would you really have expected anything else?

So there we are no direct train (now let me include this here, there was a train, but we would have had to transferred, but since everyone was pissy, no one really wanted to hear that logic, so we followed this route…) and we are stuck in Sapporo. We think about a hotel, but after discussion we decide to see how much a cab will be. Now cabs in Japan are much more expensive than Canada, and this is gonna be a few hour cab ride. Well we ask a cabbie how much, he calls it in and gives us a ball park of $250. We decide that that is a better deal than a hotel, since we would still have to pay for the train in the morning. The problem is this: we all have snowboards and board bags, and he only had ski racks. Well we pull the boards out of the bags; throw the bags in the trunk. We then proceed to put all the snowboards into the cab of the car, and the three of us, plus the cabbie pile in. Brandon was sitting in the front eating his knees, and rich and I were getting cozy in the back seat. The cabbie was a super cool dude, and he stopped so we could get some food at a 7-11. The roads were snowy, and the whole trek took about 2.5 hours. He only almost slid out once…he came with in inches of the snow bank. In the end it was about a $250 cab ride, but since he was a cool cabbie, and we were just happy to be at the hotel, we gave him a $50 tip.

Well that is the adventure of getting there. The rest is pretty much snowboarding and seeing the snow festival. I will put some pictures of the snow festival at the end of this post, so I won’t talk about that too much. As far as the snowboarding: Hokkaido is everything it is cracked up to be. We were at Niseko resort. It doesn’t have the vertical drop that Whistler has, but the terrain is comparable, and the powder is so light and fluffy. The tree runs there are simply to die for. Wonderfully spaced out white birch trees with tonnes of powder between them, it really is a world class resort. Two days the winds were high and the visibility low. It made for less than desirable conditions, but still the snow was so soft and light, that I found it hard to complain.

Well the real adventure was getting there, so now I will leave you with the pictures I took on my cell phone at the snow festival.

The Benz display

Malaysia's sculpture in the country competition.

Canada's sculpture. They won last year.

A 4 foot temple.

A huge temple.

A famous Australian train station.

Mmm, beer.

A close up of the huge temple.

A Narnia display by Honda. This is massive...about 10m high by 35m wide.

A cool display.

Some deer made from ice.

JAL's display featuring famous Japanese golfer Ai-chan. Zoom in on her eyes to see the amazing detail that was put into this one.

Some funky octopus thing.

on the rolling waves

Friday January 13th to Friday January 20th

Well it has been one hell of a week. Read it as positive, read it as negative. Either way you are right. The Wheel of Fortune (and no I am not talking about Pat Sajak and Vanna White here people) has been spinning and stopping constantly, it has doled out its fair share of ups and downs. Strange that it seems to have come out that way, but that is how it worked.

Weather:

Upside: The street in front of my house has finally been ploughed. It is quite narrow (really only 1 car wide, and it has those open gutters on either side, gaijin traps for the enlightened, that are about a foot wide and a good 18 inches deep. The only part with out the gaijin traps is the part where the road drops off a good 10 feet and then you’re on the railway tracks. This treacherous road has not been ploughed, let a lone being clear of snow, for a good month. I’m talking the better part of a foot here people.
The weather warmed up last weekend, and they sent the ploughs out in full force, and on Monday night our road was finally done. Yay! I was also able to clear a lot of over hanging snow of the roof. So I in actual fact sleep better now know that there isn’t at least a hundred kilograms of ice and snow hanging over my front door and walk way.

Downside: Remember the warm weather that enabled them to finally clear the road on Monday. That weather started Friday? It wasn’t warm and sunny though, and there’s the rub. It was what I would describe as a torrential rain fall. This was as awful as some of the worst rainy days in Vancouver. Well that pretty much started Friday. Thankfully I cleared my roof off about two hours before it started coming down. So there was a silver lining in those damn dark clouds.
So much for a powder day, eh? We hit the hill anyways and started to get a ride in. Apparently one of the gondolas, and all the charis that service the top of the mountain were closed to high wind…although most of the windsocks were no where near unfurled. Ok then, ride the groomers with the masses. It was interesting to do two things I like at the same time: snowboard and shower. But it was more like a cold shower in heavy clothes…which didn’t equal a whole lotta fun. So we call it a day early and head for home. Once I got to the little back roads that access my neighbourhood and off of the major routes I was driving on some pretty thick, pretty slushy snow. It was still snow at that point. I can’t say the same for when Brandon and I went to meet some snowboarding friends I know in Chiba prefecture.
The guys were crashing at my house for a night and I had to go meet them at the Gusto (a cheep restaurant chain). I pull my car out of my drive way and started to navigate my way around the corner. I am now pulling up to the part of the road that still has a barrier before the drop off to the train tracks, and my car starts becoming really unresponsive in the slush that has developed. I manage to control it before I bump the barrier. I straighten out and start to go again. I clear where the barrier is, and my car starts to move pretty much sideways. Now I’ve got a 4 wheel drive car with new snow tires on it, but it just starts sliding to the right (which is the side I sit on) and its getting close to the gaijin trap. I get it stopped, and under control, then I start to work the gas again. Really to no avail, since the road is about ten inch deep slush and there are still icy chunks and old frozen tire tracks in it. Even with the greatest care my tires are spinning, each revolution pulling the back end of the car closer to the gaijin trap.
B and I get out and start to dig out a little. We dig a lot. We push and rock and try to get it unstuck. We actually do get it out a few times…a few feet. Each stop another spot to dig out. Each time a little closer to the gutter. Finally we enlist the help of our buddy Devin. We joke around and call him “Devin from Heaven,” because of his dreamy blue eyes (he, he, he), but he was a god sent. All three of us dug and dug, then they rocked the car and I gave it gas. With a big push from them I was finally sliding and slipping my way through the brutal slush towards the bare pavement…a few hundred metres down the road. Sweet, sweet freedom.
We finally made it to Gusto. We meet the dudes, ate, and headed back here for a few cold ones. The roads were pretty good most of the way home…that is until we reach my neighbourhood. We pull around this corner about to do the last home stretch. Not the same rout as the way out. This is a straight shot 200m of deep as slush with gaijin traps lining either side. That was the plan at least. But what do we see? An old Japanese man (oh come on were you really expecting big foot or aliens). It’s one of the neighbourhood regulars, and he’s got his snow scoop out. Old man just doing trips from the middle of the road to the gutter. Side the snow, dump the snow, pick more up and repeat. There are three of them all doing this right in the middle of the home stretch.
Good they have some bare spots made; my car should be able to make it through no problem. We will never know. The jerk had the audacity to ignore us for about a full minute, and when he finally looked up he waved us around the block (to the route where I got stuck before), and just went back to work. Brandon explained in Japanese that our house was that way and the dude just completely ignored him. We waited and waited, and finally his stubborn old bones won over my impatience. I took the other route, and low and behold I get stuck in pretty much the same spot I did before.
This time there are six of us and two cars. We start trying to tackle the issue with the full arsenal of shovels that Brandon and I have. That gave us 5 men working and one on a rotating break. We worked for a good 15 min and got about 15 centimetres down the road. This was chunky riveted ice under slushy crap. Our irritated voices attracted our neighbour (one who had been out shovelling, but not the rude guy). He brings some kind of a garden hoe and starts hacking off huge pieces of ice, and we all start to clear. We finagled the hoe from him and he leaves us alone for a bit. When he came back he had a pick axe as well. So we tear through the ice, clear it all and get the cars parked. Time for beer…
…and some cross cultural banter. Four dudes in all came up from Chiba. Including Brandon and I, the official score sheet was 1 Canuck, 2 Yanks, 2 Brits, and a Kiwi. It was a nice change, as I am very often the lone Canadian in a group of Americans. This time there was even more cross cultural banter than before. While I was still the lone man defending the leaf, there were pot shots getting tossed at everyone as opposed to me being the sole target. The best part was that there was a big Common Wealth posse, and we could stick it to the Yanks a little more than I can on my own. All in all a good time was had.

Nozawaonsen Fire Festival:

Upside: I am privileged to say that I have not only attended, but also participated in one of the coolest festivals in Japan. Nozawaonsen is the Ski hill we attend. It is named after the village at its base, that up until recently was owned buy this small few thousand person village. Annually on January 15th the town hosts its traditional festival. Around this time in Northern Nagano many areas have some sort of festival that incorporates fire. In most there is a burning of lucky charms, many in the form of these red heads called DARUMA. From what I gather most deal with luck both good and bad. The Nozawaonsen Fire Festival isn’t a stack of hay with Daruma on it, no; it is a freaking shrine made of big ass trees and branches. Oh yeah, and it has real live people on it.
You see apparently age 42 and 25 are unlucky and Nozawaonsen has a special way of helping expel the bad luck. The 42 year olds sit on top of this giant beautiful wooden structure, the 25 year old are at the bottom holding these ropes tied to the structure. Now I know you are hoping I don't say that they pull the ropes and the shrine starts to fall. Of course not. You see those 25 year olds are actually defending the shrine and the 42 year olds. They are holding big boughs from fir trees. What on earth are they protecting the shrine from? Well the rest of the village of course! Everyone else in the village has sparked up a huge bonfire built earlier that day. Using wood that the 42 year olds toss down to them, they start to rush the 25 year olds. At first it starts nice and easy. Guys rushing to burn the shrine, 25 year olds batting away their burning staves using the boughs. A good little flow gets going, but soon people are getting whacked with branches and others whacked with burning bundles. It all sounds kinda crazy right? Well would it make more sense if everyone was drunk?
Well either way, that is the case. See the other kick ass upside to this festival is that everyone is completely liquored up on free sake. Everyone including the 42 year olds, the 25 year olds, the villagers with fire, and the audience. That’s right, there is so much free sake there that they even have guys walking around with bottles and cups tied to them…you know, just to make sure nobody needs go longer than 10 minutes with out another. This is no cheep sake either. This stuff is quality.
Free sake, fire, being a guy. It was a pretty good combo, that is until the drunk, English speaking Japanese lady (that incidentally been calling the ‘Sake-man’ back in our direction) told us that we could participate. My friend Kris convinced me to go…it didn’t really take a lot. We set off. Head for the wood being tossed off from the top and before we had even made it that far some random Japanese handed us bundles of wood. I ended up with two. We ducked into the area where the bonfire was, and loaded up for our attack wave. There were lost of other gaijin we knew in there. It was a riot. We make it a short way in and my sticks get snuffed. I was on my way back to the bonfire when I was pulled to the side. It was a reporter with a mic and a dude with a camera. Japanese guys, but asking me in English where I am from and what I think of the festival. I got out a few answers before one of the gaijin came over pulled my arm and said we have to go make another offensive. I explained that to the reporter and then ran off. Pretty cool.

Downside: I had no idea that I would be participating in the fray, and I wasn’t really dressed appropriately. I was smart enough to take off my fleece (that would have been really dumb) and I though the rest of what I was wearing was ok. I guess I should have thought again in this day and age of cotton synthetic mixes.
During our second wave I managed to tuck in behind some of those 25 years olds getting nasty with the boughs. I was in a beautiful position. I held my blazing torch high and started to get some of the prayer papers and rope going a bit. It was at about that point that I was discovered. A few quick whacks with the branches and my fire was turned to ashes. Unfortunately a lot of those ashes ended up on me, in the hood of my hoodie, and even down it. I walked away at that point. I figured I had some fun, better go before I get burnt.
I have only one tiny little burn on my hand, and I am now the owner of a beautiful hoodie with some nice burn holes and scorch marks on it. I also have a sweet t-shirt and a long underwear shirt that have holes in them as well. Still I don't regret going in and getting dirty. Next year I’m getting fire retardant clothes and I’m bringing that sucker down.
In the end no one succeeded in burning down the shrine before the wood torches ran out. That signalled the time for the 42 year olds to evacuate. The bonfire had been slowly shifted towards the shrine. Now it was right below it. Apparently no one ever succeeds in burning it with the little sticks, so they put the big bonfire under the thing. In about 10 minutes it was smoking. In 15 it was engulfed in flame. After about 25 minutes the top of the sucker just fell in. This wave of heat rolled over the crowd. After that it was just a matter of tossing on some giant good luck charms for the babies born last year.
Man do the people in Nozawaonsen know how to do it. What a killer time. I will take my losses and still call this one a win. If anyone is considering visiting Japan in the winter, may I recommend you try to make it coincide with the fire festival?


Back to the weather:

Upside: I’m at a loss here people.

Downside: It got cold again after the roads were rained on and ploughed. Cold wet roads = all out black ice. My “Ice Guard” tires lived up to their name in the ice…they just apparently suck in slush. The rest of the week brought a few small snow flurries, but mostly sunshine.


January 23, 2006

More weather:

Upside: It snowed a lot again. Last night and this morning brought probably around 15 cm of snow. Yeah, after 2 weeks of now real powder boarding it looks as if we will finally get to shred it up again.

Downside: Did someone say shovelling?

Happy New Year

I hope you all had fun on New Years, and that this year brings peace and harmony to you and your family.

As Christmas is not a holiday in Japan, the winter break does not start until closer to New Years Eve. The first day of the break was the 29^th. Students went back to school on the 10^th of January. The teachers went back on like the 4^th or 5^th. Luckily for me, my Board of Education says there is no point in us AET’s being in school if there are no classes. I say no classes as opposed to no students at school, since it seems that the majority of kids went to school over winter break to practice with their clubs. I swear sometimes I really don't understand this place.

That all being said I still had my break, and I intended to use it. While some of the dudes here in town went home for the holidays, others had people coming to visit. Since I had neither, I accepted the gracious invitation from the Yamaguchi family to come and spend some time at their house. For those of you who don't know them, they are one of the families that I tutored in Vancouver. They lived in Van for about 4 years, and I tutored them for the better part of three and a half.

They live in Tokyo Prefecture, about 40 min out of downtown. So on Dec 30^th I boarded a Bullet Train and I was levitated to Tokyo. After doing a little train hopping, I finally made it out to their station. They came to get me at the station, and I was met by two of the three kids running up to me. I cannot believe how much they have grown. Anyway, we hopped in to their minivan and sailed off to their house.

Now I am from the countryside of Japan. Well it’s still developed, but people in the city treat it like the countryside, and really in comparison it is. With that in mind, I kinda made the assumption that space would be a definite premium in The City. Needless to say, I was more than a little surprised when I saw their house. I was expecting something pretty tight for space, but it turned out to be a fairly nicely sized house.

Everyone had rooms upstairs with the two little girls sharing a room. I had a futon (not like the couch kind in North America, this is the real deal) on the floor in the only room that had tatami floor. It’s amazing how comfortable it is sleeping on a futon on tatami. I am glad I have a bed at home here in the cold cold interior of Japan…especially since I have flooring in my bed room, but it wasn’t too bad in Tokyo. As far as the weather goes, there was no snow in Tokyo, and it was quite a nice temperature, but I now understand what people from Eastern Canada say about Vancouver winters. The temp was warm compared to what I was used to, but the air was damp like it is in Vancouver. That moisture just sucks the heat right out of you. It was actually kinda nice since it reminded me of being back in Vancouver.

During my stay we did many traditional Japanese New Year things. On New Years Eve (my first full day there) we went to a city called Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture. Kamakura was the base of power for the Samurai when they ruled Japan. It has considerable history, and a very large temple. Now tradition in Japan dictates that you must go to a temple/shrine on New Years Day. Apparently the shrine in Kamakura is the third most popular in Japan. Whit that in mind we went on New Years Eve, just to sight see. I got the full low down on the history of the place, and we did some traditional Japanese prayers, etc.

The Yamaguchis and I at a shrine (I think) in Kamakura

Writing on a prayer tablet

Hanging up my lucky fortune

Aiki and I.

After the temple, we went to Daibutsu. Daibutsu is a giant Buddha. It is really neat, because you can actually go inside of it. When we where in there checking it out, the kids and I noticed people had stuck coins into the joins in the brass that makes up the statue. The funniest thing is that I noticed one didn’t look Japanese…in fact it had the picture of Queen Elizabeth on the back. Since I couldn’t see the whole thing I am a little unsure, but I am willing to bet it was a Canadian Nickel of all things!
We ended up doing a little more sightseeing and then we played on the beach. There are some beautiful beaches in Kanagawa. They have a nice southern exposure on the pacific ocean, and the sand is fine and soft.

A beautiful photo taken by Aiki (almost age 7)

That night we started the real traditional elements of New Years. Just before the change of the year we had Toshi-koshi-soba (or is it koshi-toshi-soba…) Either way, it translates as the changing of the year soba. If you have never had soba, I highly recommend it. It is delicious buckwheat noodles, and Nagano is actually a little famous for it (almost everywhere in Japan claims to be famous for it’s soba, but Nagano actually is). After the soba we waited for midnight. As the clock struck 12, large temple bells all over Japan started to toll 108 times. We watched the telecast of it. After that we were all getting ready for bed when we heard Hanabi (literally flower-fire…or fire works). We headed out to see if we could catch them. We saw some of them but we retired when it seemed as if they had stopped. Murphy apparently doesn’t take a night off, because as soon as we were back in the house, they started up again.

The next morning brought the full onslaught of Japanese New Years. For the first few mornings of the New Year, Japanese families eat Osechi-ryori…or New Years Food. It is all food that lasts a few days so it can be eaten over the next few days to give the mom a break from making everyone breakfast. It includes many different things and many of them have significance to starting off a new year. For example there are white and black beans, I don't remember exactly what they represent, but it is something to do with having the seeds of a good year. We also had a whole side of fish eggs. Now, since I have been in Japan, I have had my share of fish eggs…some I like, others I don't. I have to admit that these fit into the latter, but to credit myself I ate almost all of them.

Osechi-ryori

Later that day we took a train to a temple in Tokyo Prefecture. The temple was completely packed. There was a line up about 8 people wide, and at least 700 metres long, just to get through the temple gate. It is funny how some things are the same around the world. One either side of the line up were vendor tents, most selling what the Japanese version of ‘festival food’ is. Once we got through the gate, there was a little more of a line to get to the shrine thingy. We tossed in our coins and clapped twice, then made a new year prayer. It was really cool.

On the way home we bought a kite. Apparently it is a traditional Japanese New Year activity to fly kites. When we were back in their neighbourhood we took the kite and some traditional badminton-like game. We had fun I the school yard until it got too cold to be outside.

Taiki and I playing traditional badminton game

Traditional writing is another New Years activity we tried. The kids wrote mottos for the new year...I wrote my name.

The second of January brought a really interesting experience. It is a treat that I know not every gaijin who visits Japan gets to do. We went to the Imperial Palace. We didn’t just go to it though; we went into the court yard. On January 2^nd the Imperial Family greets the nation. We went and saw the second of about 5 public greetings. They are called public, but really it is just the Emperor, Empress, and some of the family, up on a balcony. It was a only a few minuets long, but it was really neat. The Emperor just looked like an older Japanese man in a nice suit, but the Empress was in a beautiful dress that had a gradation from copper to silver. Later that day we went to the Edo-Tokyo-museum. It was a really cool place that documented the growth of what was initially a small farming village, in to the worlds most booming metropolis.

The next day brought a less traditional side of Tokyo. We went to Odaiba. For those of you who watch the Discovery Channel often, there is a documentary about this part of Tokyo. They refer to it as “Tokyo Teleport Town” or “T3.” I guess that is the English name for it, but damned if the Japanese people know it. This part of town has some large displays from some of the largest companies in Japan. We went to a big display centre for Toyota. It was pretty cool. There were tonnes of cars and all sorts of multimedia and interactive displays. We also went to a Fuji Television centre. Apparently that is where they film some of the very popular shows in Japan. Usually you can look down into the studios, but since it was around New Years, everything was on break. There was a tonne of fun things to see and do in and around Odaiba. It is known as a local hot spot for younger Tokyoites, and it did not fail to impress.

The next day entailed a lazy morning, and then my train ride home in the afternoon. I arrived home to my car a few feet in snow. It took the better part of 2 hours to clear it all away, but that was a small price to pay for the hospitality I received in Tokyo. The Yamaguchis really are like family to me. Their kids are full of energy and are pretty much monkeys. They were some of the best students I have ever had, and at 11 years old, Taiki the oldest, has already passed the 2^nd highest level of English Proficiency tests. That is the level that one of my English Teachers at school just passed last spring.

If I had to pick the best of the best of my trip, I would still have to make a list. Some of the top things include: seeing those wonderful kids again, and seeing how much they have grown, getting to experience a traditional Japanese New Year, and most definitely more than a few wonderful home cooked Japanese meals (I try to cook Japanese, but really what do I know compared to a Japanese mother of 3?).

They May have grown, but Aiki and Mizuki are still little monkeys!

My most heartfelt thanks go out to the Yamajuchis for having me as a guest. I had a wonderful time, and I really enjoyed everything we did. It is good to know that even though I am not Japanese, that I still have a Japanese family.

To the Yamaguchis:
Ojamma shimashita

& to everyone else
akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

Here’s to a happy (insert whatever winter holiday you celebrate) to you!

For me that’s Christmas. This Christmas is definitely a first for me. As it is for many of you, Christmas has always been a family time for me. Getting together with friends and family at my Mom’s house is pretty much the definition of Christmas for me. That being said, this is the first Christmas that I have not been at home. Moreover, a few of the dudes here in Nakano went home to see their families, so our crew here is even smaller. Even though this sounds like a recipe for a blue Christmas, it most definitely has not been that bad.

First of all, it was a white Christmas…well kinda. There is plenty of snow on the ground here. It didn’t snow over night down here in Nakano, but it sure did up at the ski hill. Brandon and I went up to Nozawa-onsen (where we have seasons passes http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/resortdetail.php?resid=40) to shred some powder today. It snowed there last night, and today was a beautiful blue sky day with tonnes of powder. Check out that website, they seriously have 12 feet of snow! Not only was it a beautiful day to be on the hill, but Brandon and I decided to have some fun for Christmas. I wore a Santa jacket and beard, and Brandon wore a Santa hat (my Santa hat wouldn’t fit over my helmet.) We rode around all day with people gawking or gasping and saying “Santa-san!” It was really great. Every time someone would say something or have a funny expression, I would yell “Merry Christmas!” It was often met back with at “Meri Kurisumasu!” The best was when we went in for lunch. There was a little girl no older than three, she saw my suit and dragged her mom over to us. She stared up at me with wide eyes. I gave her my Santa bit and she was all smiles. Then, she noticed Brandon’s hat. She pointed and said “Santa-san no boshi (Santa’s Hat)!” In Japanese, Brandon told her that Santa’s head was too big, so he had to wear the hat. The girl laughed and kept staring and smiling at us until her mom had to drag her away. That moment right there made the whole day for both of us.

Now for the second reason that this Christmas is not as blue as it could be. I got a surprise package in the mail. Now she may say different, and she may even write it here, but I distinctly remember my mom saying that she wasn’t going to send anything for Christmas. She has already sent me many things, at a pretty penny each. I totally understood, and wasn’t expecting anything. Never the less, a box arrived for me, and it was full of Christmas stuff. A few of the unwrapped items included a mini tree, a garland, and some strands of lights. It even had my stocking in it!

I set up the items a few days ago when I opened the box. They definitely gave my house a festive feel. I even put the gifts under the mini tree…well, the tree is on a small table, and I put the gifts under that. Having that all set up was a bit of a double edged sword; it made my house feel more Christmassy, but it also reminded me of what the holidays are really supposed to be like.

Brandon also received a box of gifts from home. He and I decided to open our gifts together. He wanted to open them a few days ago, but I made him wait till at least Christmas Eve. We ended up waxing our snowboards that night, and by the time we got around to open them it was after midnight. In the end I guess we did wait till Christmas to open them, but we just didn’t wait till morning. It was pretty fun for both of us. We laughed at the typical things that we each got. I, of course, got a toothbrush and toothpaste. It wouldn’t be Christmas with out those in my stocking. It was also kind of funny that he and I both opened a package of socks at the same time, and we also opened long sleeve shirts at the same time. The best part was eating the shortbread cookies that my mom sent. The best shortbread ever was made by my Gran, but this is my mom’s best attempt yet. She put her own spin on them and they turned out delicious.

I had a great Christmas, but it would be a little dishonest to make it seem that I don't miss being home for the holidays. I miss getting to spend time with everyone. I miss relaxing by the fire and the tree with a coffee & Baileys. I do miss many things, but I knew what I was getting into when I came here. I feel like I prepared myself well, and I think the way everything turned out has also made it a good Christmas. I am happy with the decisions I have made, including staying here for the holidays.

Now it is almost the end of Christmas here, and most of you are just about to wake up for Christmas morning. I hope that you all have a great Christmas. Enjoy whatever it is that you do today. For me I will be waking up on a Boxing Day in Exile, and going to work. That’s right, we still have school. Winter break doesn’t start until Thursday!

Well here’s hoping for peace on Earth, and to health and happiness for all of you.

They Said it would never happen...

They never cancel school in Nakano. Come hell, high water, typhoons, or blizzards. Well they never thought this day would come. School was cancelled today…and all over a little snow. By little I mean snow that is almost to my knees. Besides it didn’t come down very quick at all. It has been snowing for 3 hours. That’s only a little over 6 inches and hour. Come on, half a foot in an hour…we should still be in school.

Now if you will pardon my previous sarcasm, I am going to have a beer and build the cities biggest snowman with Brandon!

It's finally here!

No, not a new post, the SNOW!!!!!

Before anyone starts on about how it has already snowed in Vancouver (and probably in Toronto too Auntie Sue…) I am not talking about a little snow. We have had our share of flurries over the last few weeks, but I am talking about a full-on dump of snow. Snow that even makes die hard snowboarders cringe (well really only when armed with a shitty Japanese snow shovel…but more on that later). So here is the deal:

Monday night, my buddy Derek came over to watch some hockey (yeah for Liz and the delivery of recorded hockey games…the lock out didn’t end for me until yesterday.) At some point in the region of 8:30, I ran out to my car to grab something. The odd night time snow flake was making its slow way to the bare ground; nothing unusual there. I went back inside to watch the rest of the game.

Derek had a hockey practice later that evening to attend, so he booked out around 9:20. I was seeing him to the door, when I happened to glance at the winter boots I bought at Mountain Equipment Co-op. They are rated for -10 and they are comfy and really nice to walk in. Looking at them while Derek was putting on his shoes, my exact words were “Man, I can’t wait for it to snow enough for me to finally get to wear those boots…”

It was seriously not 10 seconds later when Derek opened the door to go, and…all he could say was “ask and ye shall receive.” He stood aside to reveal the ground entirely coated, nay, blanketed in snow. There was a good 8 cm on the ground already, and it had only been snowing for less than an hour!

It was absolutely puking. It made some of the snowstorms I have seen on the Sea to Sky highway look like dry heaves! Everything was coated in fluffy whiteness, even the links in my neighbour’s chain link fence. It was a beautiful sight to see, and yes indeed I got to use my new boots right then and there.

I followed Derek out to his car, only to see that both his and mine were simply amorphous white blobs in a sea of white. As Derek got started on cleaning off his car, I decided that I should do some preparatory snow removal as well…since it didn’t show any signs of letting up. After dusting off (and I use that term very liberally) my car with my little scraper/brush combo, I hauled out the snow shovel to work on my disgustingly large drive way.

A little side note here on Japanese snow shovels: They suck. They are quite unlike the ones we have back in Canada. They don't have that nice curve on them. They aren’t wide. Worst of all, they aren’t made of thick plastic or metal. They are rather flat, only about 20” wide, and worst of all they are kinda like flattened baskets. They are full of holes, as if they were woven. Now maybe in the olden days that’s what they were, woven, but come on now, a flimsy, narrow piece of plastic that is full of holes is not a good way to remove snow.

***Amendment***
I have found the snow shovels that are like the ones in Canada. Apparently they don't stock those till it really snows. By really snows I am talking about feet of snow in a day. I have gotten myself a nice new orange Canadian-style snow shovel now.

Back to the story.

So my driveway and car were clear from snow, so I went back in to my house to do some reading. About half an hour later I went outside to take a peek at the weather. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was coming down even harder than it had been before. I took a walk to my car, and found it covered in another 5 cm of snow. That’s 5 cm in 30 min, which breaks down to about 1cm every 6 min. I am not exaggerating that at all either. At that point I decided that I was just gonna deal with it when it was all down. If all the work I had done was erased in half an hour then I wasn’t gonna bother.

Later that night I was awake reading in bed. It was around 1am, and I was trying to muster enough desire to sleep (I was reading the 11^th book of a series that I am severely addicted to). It was all quite, then I started hearing a strange scraping sound. I took a look out my door, and my neighbour Brandon was out shovelling. When I asked why the hell he was doing it at 1am, he said that last year he found it easier to get it done before the morning. The reasons for that being are that you get your driveway before the plough fills it with more snow, and you can get the road in front of the house before it becomes hard packed and hard to drive on or clear.

That all being said, I was soon hauling on some warm clothes, and my faithful winter boots, and trekking out to my car. The snow had eased significantly, but not before it had thrown down 6 or so centimetres. I cleaned where I had before, my car, and this time I did the road in front of my house as well. After that it was on to the area around my car, and then to my door. Brandon and I were planning on doing the neighbours roadway as well. They are old, and it just makes it a little easier for them come morning. I say planning, because a series of events was put into motion that wouldn’t be resolved till the next afternoon.

It was about 2 am. I was just finishing my snow removal when Brandon came out side. For some reason his gas heater was not working. It was clicking (the electric starter) but not engaging, and then the safety shut off would engage after about 15 seconds of not working. I went in with him to check it out. We tried a bunch of hunches I had on what it would be. None worked. We hauled out another heater he had, and that didn’t work. Brandon was getting a little upset at this point…it was getting damn cold in his house. I have a spare electric only heater, and I told him I would let him borrow that. After trying a few more things, we went into the kitchen and checked the gas range. Low and behold it wasn’t working either.

So we had the problem diagnosed, now time for a prescription. I asked B where his main gas shut off was. He kinda looked at me like “what the hell is the main gas shut off?” I just went outside to find his gas meter. After a little searching, I found the meter and the valve. There was a red light on the meter flashing. For me, that was a sure sign that that was where the problem was. I turned the valve to off, then back on. I looked for something else to do, but it was really dark, cold and late. We went back in, and the gas was still off.

B was gonna lose it at this point. I told him I was gonna go get the other heater I have. On the way to my place, I went to my meter to check out what it looked like to see if there were any clues to how to fix his.

I got to my meter and there was no flashing light. Decided to turn the valve to off, and then back on. I left it in off for about 2 seconds when I heard a very loud, very ominous click. If my suspicions weren’t enough, the little red light on my meter started flashing. Sure enough, my gas was off now too. (note to self: don't mess with the gas lines unless you need to shut them off in an emergency)

I went over to B’s, and told him I couldn’t lend him the heater. He asked why not. I was trying to explain, but I just started laughing. I couldn’t talk. Every time I tried to get out what had happened, I just started laughing more and more. It got to the point where I was in tears, and doubled over in pain. After that had subsided, I managed to squeak out what had happened. B went from chewing nails to doubling over as well. We were both wrecks, but at least it put B in a bit of a better mood.

It was about 2:45am. Our houses were cold. Neither of us could cook breakfast. Neither of us could have showers, but surprisingly we both headed to bed laughing. The situation was just too silly not to laugh at.

The resolution is that we called our boss the next day. While we were at work, a little cold, hungry, and stinky, our boss called the gas company. By the time we had both made it home that day we had gas again. One cold night, and a hungry morning, but in the end all was normal.

As far as the snow goes, there was 20 cm on the ground when I woke up. I stopped snowing sometime in the night, but started up in the afternoon. It has been going on and off ever since. Last time I checked, it is coming down pretty hard again tonight. The real irony is that a few months ago while I was talking to Brandon about when winter arrives, he simply told me “you’ll wake up one day, and there will be a foot of snow.” He wasn’t that far off. The snow is still on the ground, and winter had most definitely arrived.

--------------------------------------------------

So I have a lot of adventures to relay to you all, but they will have to come in time. Since the snow is coming down fierce, the hills are prime for shredding. I hate to tell you all, but ripping up fresh powder with my board is probably my top priority other than the necessities. Who am I kidding, it is one of the necessities!

Well that’s it from Nakano. I have a hockey game to get back to watching…albeit from Oct. 8^th. Big big props to Liz for bringing me a few months worth of NHL on tape (amongst all the other things I requested)…the lock out didn’t end for me until yesterday when I watched my first game in a year and a half.

Cheers Beers all!
Adam

sorry for the wait...

...but it will be just a little longer for a real update. My life lately has been so intense that there has been very little down time, and that which I have had I have spent burried in the wonderful novels my mom sent to entertain me.

As far as why I have been so busy, here is s recap of my last month. My friend Mike was in Japan with family, so he came and stayed with me for the better part of a week. About a week after he left, I went to Europe for a week with my neighbour Brandon. The day I got back to Japan, Liz came to Japan to visit. That pretty much brings it to this moment. Again, sorry for ignoring you all, but I promise, come next week I will have a hearty update that will hopefully make you happy.

As far as this moment goes, it's snowing. It has been for a few days...off and on. It is cold, but great. Liz and I are forgoing a weekend in Tokyo to hit up the ski hill...

hope you are all having a good time, and please check back soon....

miss you all, and I do really feel guilty for ignoring this!

-adam

Pic's

***NOTE: click to enlarge photos***









This is a view from the window of Matsumoto Castle. It's taken from the moon viewing room over looking the moat.










Mastumoto castle from outside the moat. Nicknamed "Crow Castle" for the black lattice work that is kind of unique. It appears to have 5 stories, but in reality there is a 6th (the 4th floor) that is hidden from outside view. The used this space for food and ammo storage.

















Matsumoto Castle, taken from the inner grounds.

















Another shot from the Moon Viewing room. You can see the array of colours that accompany fall in Japan.
















Some cool samurai frog things. If you want to know more, you'll have to find someone to translate the sing, cause my Japanese sure isn't that good!













Some ni-nen-seis (2 - year - students) at Hirano Elementary. This was taken at lunch so they are in their serving clothes.










Halloween, English Night Class style. Meet Devin Snow aka. "Cold Cobra," Brandon Dean Back (BD) aka "Masta Rasta," Rich Shelala aka "Soop," and me...I could tell you my code name, but then I would have to kill you!

















The good old tub of apple bobbing fun.














One of our students trying after a successful snag...

















...and giving the obligitory peace sign as I take her championship photo.








Sakura. The cutest, and most tempermental, little kid. Her mom is a student in our class. Sakura likes me, but takes a good 30 min to warm up to anyone during class. She is holding Kaki, or persimmons...which are suprisingly like pumpkins. We carved them for a good old halloween feel.










Another ni-nen-sei class. This was taken at Nagaoka-sho (sho is short for the word for elementary school) during our Haloween party. Click to enlarge and see the cool costumes. My Spiderman mask pales in comparison.











More Nagaoka-sho kids. This was taken in September. No one would be ballzy enough to wear shorts now!












Pink team taking a bow after their play at English Camp.














Pink team celebrating many victories in the English Camp awards.


















A Japanese parfait...edible art.













A traditional Japanese meal...more edible art.













If you click to enlarge, see if you can find the first mountian snowfall.


















A waterfall in the hills near my house. I have been told it freezes into an ice fall in the winter.

I am...

I am a Japanese Teacher of English. I work in Japanese junior high schools. I work myself extremely hard, and I follow the Japanese expression: “baka na kaze ga hikanai” or “only a fool doesn’t get sick.” Many foreigners do not understand this, but it is simply a part of our group mentality. I apologize to my co-workers when I finish before they do, even if it is well into the evening, and well after my paid work hours are over. I enjoy teaching English, and I really do try to help these students learn…even when I also realize the shortcomings of the system or text books we use. I am glad to have a native speaker help with my class, even though I sometimes don’t know how to best utilize his skills in the system that is set up here.

I am a third year junior high school boy. School is fun. I goof around. I play with the other boys (often in weird physical ways, reminiscent of the ancient Greeks), because the girls are strange and make me nervous. I am highly competitive, but at the same point in time a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors will end any dispute. I don’t try that hard at English, because no matter how poorly I do, I will still pass...no one fails courses here. School after this year is optional, and many of my friends will not continue on. They don’t care about English at all, since they will end up working their family orchard, and what use is English to them. All my courses are with the same students, my homeroom class. Some of the students try really hard at English. They can even have conversations with Adam, and often write him simple letters in English. Personally, I like when Adam comes to our class because we usually play games. I like to teach him ‘cool’ Japanese words, and he teaches us some cool English too. I don’t really understand what “How’s it going” means, but I now say that instead of “how are you.” But if you ask me “How are you,” my answer will be “Fine thank you, and you?”

I am a first year junior high school student. This is my first year in a big school like this, but things aren’t so different. Just like in elementary school, I have my class, and those are my friends. We will be a class until we all graduate together after third year. The big difference is that I have more than one teacher…but it isn’t so strange because they come to my class room to teach us. This is the first time I have studied English from a book. Adam pushes us to have proper pronunciation, and I can kinda make the difference between the sound of a B and a V…sometimes. I have mastered some of the phrases in our text book like “oh, your change” and “this is a pen.” I know how to say them, but I am unsure of their meaning…but hey I am still speaking English right? In the end I will pass the class, and I will move on to the next text book…and I will memorize other phrases that I don’t really understand. I like school because I can be crazy. I don’t have to listen in class, and I can be as rowdy and disturbing to the class as I want…besides everyone thinks it’s funny.

I am a sixth grade student at elementary school. I don’t speak a lot of English, since there is no curriculum to teach us. My teacher knows a little English, and can sometimes translate when Adam comes to our class. I am shy. I don’t like to participate, because I am too afraid of being different from the group. Adam seems to think that our class can pronounce English better than his high school students…probably we haven’t been taught to speak English using Japanese sounds yet. I am very polite, I ask for forgiveness before I enter the teacher’s room, and utter my apologies when I leave. My class stands up and thanks Adam-sensei for giving his time to teach our class, with a simple “Oneigaishimas.” When Adam comes to visit, I drag him around the school, and I am happy when he comes to play soccer with us at lunch.

I am a third grade girl in elementary school. I know the colours in English: Redo, yehro, brew, gureen, papuru, pinku, buraku, o-a-i-to, and orenji. I also know how to count 1 to 10. Adam has taught us that you can be good, bad, fine, hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, and sleepy, when someone asks how you are. I can use all these answers and I even know what they mean, but if someone says “How are you” I usually forget and say “How are you.” Adam usually shakes his head and explains to me that “How are you” is a question and that I need to answer it. Adam only comes to our school for 2 days in a month, so I usually forget what he taught us last time. My teacher is good and helps us try and remember, but other teachers don’t help their classes. I really like it when Adam comes to class, because I have a big crush on him. I don’t speak a lot, but I stare at him and blush and look away when he sees me. I like it when he eats lunch in my class room, because he always gives away his milk, and I like to play Rock-Paper-Scissors for it.

I am a first grade boy at elementary school. School is just like preschool. I can run around, yell at the top of my lungs and even hit other students. I never get in trouble…life is great. I like when Adam-sensei comes to my class because I like to ask him questions…but he doesn’t seem to understand me….I don’t know why. He is also a little mean; he won’t let me yell a lot, and gets mad when I hit other kids. So I usually sit there and pick my nose then eat it. I don’t understand why Adam won’t hold my hand. My favourite thing to do when Adam comes to school is to try to “kancho” him. I think that means enema in English. Really it is just an excuse to try to stick my fingers in someone else’s bum. Adam caught me trying before and yelled “DA-ME” really loud. I am kinda scared of that, so I probably won’t try again.

I am an English conversation night class student. I work hard all day, and every Tuesday night I go to the community centre. I am very interested in learning English. I practice hard, and I like the way the teachers push us to learn. Some of my friends here have lived and traveled abroad, and I am very interested in doing the same. All the teachers say that this class is really rewarding for them because we all try really hard. My favourite part of class is the first hour that the teachers call “Walk and Talk.” All the teachers circulate around the room, and we have English conversations about what ever is on anyone’s mind. We learn a lot about the countries that the Teachers are from, and we are able to share interesting insights on Japanese people and life with them. I feel that my English is improving every week, and I am excited to get to practice all the new things I am learning.

I am Mrs. Tanaka. I live next door to that new English teacher…I can’t remember his name so I just call him “Sensei.” He brought me a small jar of Canadian Maple Syrup when he moved in. He is very sweet and always says hello when he sees me out gardening. I don’t know any English, and he doesn’t seem to know that much Japanese. We usually talk about the weather or something simple like that.

I am Adam Stokes. I have written this admittedly biased take on the views of the people I am in contact with pretty often. Take each of these write ups with a big grain of salt. They are based on the truth but written for humour’s sake. I am teaching English in Japan. I think most of the kids I teach are wonderful…even the ones who don’t care to learn the language. I work with some teachers who are overly dedicated and underpaid. I feel a little guilty making the wage that I do when I see how much they all take on and for a very little money. I see a strange work ethic in Japan, where people drive themselves into the ground head first simply to show their dedication to their job and co-workers. I also see a fatal flaw in an English education system that bases it’s teaching around preparing students to pass a test instead of focusing on creating students who understand and have an ability to speak the language. Life here in Japan, is different. I don’t feel that the words better or worse can be applied. There are many conveniences that are not available in Canada, but also many things that seem grossly inconvenient when compared to home. All in all, I am quite enjoying the life I am carving out here, and I am excited to try and improve the way English is taught, even if it is one student and one class at a time. I am also trying to improve my meagre Japanese skills, but when my job is to speak mostly English all day, and when most of my friends are other ex-pats it’s not the easiest thing in the world. I also invite any and all to come over and see this crazy country first hand. I thought I knew a lot about it before I got here, and most of it was true. That being said, there are a million little things that could never be explained and must simply be experienced. Come on over, sip some sake, and slip into an onsen, and soak in the Japanese life style.