From Kanoya to Mt. Fuji, 自転車 で (by bicycle)

Well, the day has finally arrived.

After numerous good bye speeches, last classes, and final goodbye parties with teachers and JETs, it is finally time for Mil, Tyler and I to hop on our bicycles and make our way up to Mt. Fuji. About 800 miles.

Route: The first leg of the journey will consist of the eastern coast of Kyushu, mostly in Miyazaki prefecture. We will head from Kanoya up to the small town of Saiki where we will catch the ferry over to Shikoku, another of the four main islands of Japan.

From Sukumo in Shikoku we will head along the southern coast, eastward. This is the part I'm most excited about- it is one of the most rural areas of Japan, and boasts some spectacular scenery.

Once we do the length of Shikoku, we'll catch another ferry over to the Ki-Hanto peninsula on Honshu. From here we'll head up to a famous monastery on top of a mountain, Koya-san. Depending on funds, we might stay in temple lodging there. From there we'll cycle down down down to Ise, which is home to maybe the most famous Shinto shrine in all of Japan.

From there we'll catch our last ferry over to the mainland, in Aichi prefecture. There we'll meet a good friend of ours Barbelle, for a festival (?). Then we'll head up up up to Mt. Fuji, climb the thing, and be done! Here is a link to our route:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210802384754313558540.0004a8e46677b5e7892ce&msa=0&ll=36.332828,138.647461&spn=10.38271,22.368164

Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to post to this blog with my phone, but here is a link to my mobile blog. Just go to this to see sporadic updates about our trip!

http://jugups754.blogspot.com/

Nothing but open road, rice paddies, and undoubtedly many many conbini stops ahead of us! I hope we make it!

Student Work

As I finish up my last few classes at my three schools, I thought it only appropriate to post some of my students' best work up here. From these pictures you can get a pretty good idea of my students' level of english (high school students), which is, well, pretty minimal. The activity was for the festival Tanabata, which usually involves writing wishes on a certain kind of paper and then attaching them to a bamboo tree, then burning the bamboo tree to set the wishes free.

I always jump at the chance to do something crafty with my students, mostly because I love being crafty. While this activity elicited a lot of responses of "eigo de?! Majide?!" ("in english?! Seriously?!") some of my students still got pretty into it, at least as into any class activity as high schoolers can get. Below are some silly wishes from some of my students. Common wishes include "mony, manneee, or money", white skin, or to be tall or big.

This student's omission of the verb "to be" really took his wish in a whole other direction.

This girl wrote "each otter" instead of "each other". Kawaii!.

This first year boy surprised me by proclaiming his love for his girlfriend, first by writing it, and then by reading it to the whole class! I always find it interesting that while the students are deathly shy and terrified of speaking or giving their own opinions, almost all of them won't mind proclaiming how badly they want a girlfriend or boyfriend.

I don't really know what this is about, but one of my classes of almost all first year boys decided it would be funny(?) to write that they wanted babies. I honestly wasn't sure if they were joking or not, but seeing how this is the inaka and a fare amount of them will probably be getting married out of high school, I wouldn't rule it out as a common desire, even for fifteen year old boys!

I can't say I'm going to miss being called "kawaii", or constantly being asked whether I'm married or not, but I am going to miss my students, all 1, 500 (?) of them!

Koyama Koko student, hanging her wish.

Sakurajima

I found myself taking the ferry to the city midday last week, in order to pick up my keys from the police station (drunken foolery at the leavers party resulted in me losing my keys...) and Sakurajima began to erupt, as it so often does. Here are a few shots I took...

It still amazes me that I live in such a geologically unique place. When else in my life am I going to live just a few miles from active volcanoes and magical island rain forests?! Whatever the pitfalls are of living in Kagoshima (distance from all civilization, thick ash fall, lack of people under the age of 96...) the beauty of this place makes up for it. Most of the time anyway!

Bound In Japan Bookarts workshop

This past weekend, a few Kagoshima JETs were lucky enough to participate in an artist workshop put on by a visiting artist and JET alumni, Thien-Kieu Lam. The daylong workshop was hosted by Yanedan, the local artist commune just outside Kanoya.

Kieu is working on a project called Bound in Japan. Using bookarts as a medium, the artist wishes to explore the many variations of the expat experience in Japan, as well as internationalization through the workshops themselves. If you are still curious, check out her website here: 

http://boundinjapan.com/2011/06/30/star-books-at-yanedan/

We made star books, which are going to be displayed in her upcoming exhibition at a gallery in Kagoshima City. From there she will go north and do more workshops in Kansai and other areas. It felt great to be making art again, and it was really nice to make a piece that was in some way representative of my experience in Japan. Although Mare Blocker (amazing bookartist and Whitman professor) would probably look disapprovingly at my glue job and messy cutting, I made the whole thing in about four hours! So under the conditions, I’d say it went pretty well. In fact all the participants made really great pieces!

Content was supposed to loosely revolve around making a sort of guidebook for our area, i.e. some of our favorite places around Kagoshima, and our ideas of home/what home means to us.

Thanks again to Kieu for letting us participate in such a great project! Below are pictures of the cover and each of the pages of my book:

Cover page: photos sewn together were found ephemera, which I nicked from an old abandoned restaurant on Cape Sata. I used these found photos through out my book, and I’m guessing they’re anywhere from 15 to 25 years old, taken mostly of the Cape Sata area in southern Kagoshima.

Page One: Center picture is Nogyo Koko, my base agricultural high school, which has truly been a home away from home for me this year. The blue pieces also came from the found pictures (they were pictures of plates of food).

Page Two: Shrine Beach- one of the beaches closest to Kanoya on Kinko Bay, which we often go to. It has a little shrine up on the hill on the outcropping rock. 

Page Three: The spliced picture is of one of my favorite restaurants in Kanoya, Takete, which serves the absolute best tonkatsu in all of Kagoshima (all of Japan?!) Tonkatsu, which is fried pork, is a specialty of Kagoshima. This restaurant has the most wonderful atmosphere, and everything from the meat to the miso to the fluffy rice is top quality. I especially love the head chef there, who we call the mustache man due to his outstanding mustache, which sticks out about two inches on either side of his face.

Page four: The back picture is of my friends Anna and Fiona, outside of Joyfull. I wanted to incorporate this picture, because I kind of think that Joyfull, which is a pretty gross family restaurant chain in Japan (kind of equivalent to Denny’s or Sherry’s in America) is really an important part of the inaka (rural) Japan experience. They are EVERYWHERE, and open twenty-four hours, so we often find ourselves at Joyfull simply when we have nothing better to do, or when we need some late night greasy food. Joyfull saved Tyler and I many times when traveling on the rural islands, we found ourselves in desperate need of refuge from the rain. I’ve had so many times of just ridiculous silliness in Joyfull. Anyhow, it’s truly inaka. The top photo of the power lines is again a found picture.

Page five: For the last page I decided to use a poem by one of my favorite Japanese poets, Saigyo. 

"If I can find

no place fit to live

let me live "no place"-

in this hut of sticks

flimsy as the world itself"

While maybe the whole Buddhist theme of transience doesn’t really have to do with Kagoshima as a home for me in particular, I do think the poem reflects this place in some way, which is to me so beautiful in its rustic state. Sometimes it feels as though the derelict buildings around here will be taken back by nature at any moment- half falling apart and forgotten. The Japanese people really live by the mercy of nature: it permeates all aspects of life here.

 messy workspace...

participants and their final books!

Nakamachi Excitement

Last night we went to a really great party at Yanedan, the artist commune outside of Kanoya. Great food and company, and we roasted a pig! Here's Tyler keeping watch over the roast. 

After the party ended we decided to make a go of it in Kanoya's most happening area...

 I realized last night that I haven't actually taken any pictures of us out in Nakamachi. The highly exciting (not) drinking district in Kanoya. Probably because it's a pretty sad place, and it takes a large amount of self motivation and heavy drinking to actually have a wild night out here (although it's been done).

The area consists mostly of snack bars. These are tiny bars that charge a flat fee for an hour of all-you-can-drink, and lure you in (some people anyhow) with snack girls: kind of like call girls, or the modern (and much trashier) version of geisha. On any given saturday night, Nakamachi is crawling with boozing young men in business suits, attached to the arms of snack girls wearing impossibly tall plastic heels and impossibly long fake eyelashes. It's a sight to behold really, and one must take it as a "cultural experience", or be driven to deep depression when considering the sad lack of night life in Kagoshima.

Mil and Alex considering the many bars in Nakamachi. Options include "Aaliyah", "Dear Rich", "Carrot" (where they actually have carrots hanging from the walls), "septem-BAR", and "Jam" (a personal favorite). 

The view down from the third floor of snack bar central. Below, a snack girl strides by in a floor length neon pink polyester dress.

Maybe the best part of the night! Kousuke-kun shows us where to get great niku maki (rice balls wrapped in meat).

Cycle cycle cycle

Been going on some amazing rides recently. One of my favorites the other day went almost all through back roads and farm land, out to the beach, up to the rose garden (killer hill climb), down to the Taco restaurant for dinner, and back into Kanoya. Perfect ride!

Endless green.

Beach shrine

Mil stops for water and two runners pass us up the hill. Ouch.

Hilarious taco woman. She literally did not stop talking the whole time we were there.

My other recent favorite ride was one Mil and I went on in the dark (by accident) the other night. We cycled out of town in the direction of Aira Sanryo, a famous tomb and shrine of sorts near here. The streets were deserted, the stars were out, and the only light came from the lone vending machines dotting the rice paddies. No pictures of that one, but I want to remember it. Especially because the temperature was perfect- cool and fresh (something that is quickly slipping away here.) 

Many more rides to come! 

Cooking Nihon Ryori

Another cooking class came and went this past Tuesday, and it was another delicious feast. I've been going to cooking class once a month since coming to Japan, and not once has it disappointed. This is the kind of food that is truly authentic, but that you just can't find in restaurants. It's got that home cooked feel, while also being totally gourmet. This week we had these amazing scallop dumplings (?) in a kind of miso (?) sauce, along with amazing cabbage soup and rice seasoned with fish and fresh ginger. To top it off we had eggplant wrapped in bacon ( I swear every class we have features something wrapped in bacon, it's amazing), bread with a tomato topping, salad, and a delicious special mochi for desert, all the way from Amami island.

I hope I can manage to translate these recipes and simulate them somehow when I get back to the states. Class usually consists of the nihonjins doing all the important work, and us guijins standing around trying to find jobs to do, following whatever mama chef tells us to (usually the menial tasks). There's always a lot of people in the kitchen, and I don't always witness the magic... but really, the eating is what we truly come for of course. It was sugoi oishikatta!

Because I didn't start this blog until a few weeks ago, here are a few more pictures of previous cooking class dinners. All amazing! Hopefully I can attempt some of these things for you all when I get back.

Crockets with an amazing miso sauce.

Beef in bacon! and pea soup

Wrapping beef in bacon= amazing.

Salmon deliciousness

Our teacher/host and mama chef, along with her daughter.

Spider fighting in Kajiki

Last weekend Tyler and I traveled north to Kajiki to see some friends, and to experience the very famous (?) Kajiki Spider fighting festival. Tyler was pretty skeptical before we left, assuring me it was going to be very boring. It turned out to be extremely thrilling though!! Apparently they breed and train these spiders for fighting, letting them live in their houses just like pets. Here are some pictures courtesy of Tyler:

Basically they would put two spiders on a long stick, and the first one to nock the other off, bite the other, or wrap the other in web was the winner. Then they would challenge the winner with a new spider. What I couldn't understand was how they could actually tell them apart. The man in the traditional Japanese robes was there to mediate, and nudge the spiders toward one another if they weren't cooperating. The man in the yellow was like a commentator, and he sounded much like an auctioneer, talking really really fast in single syllable words the whole time. It was quite the show, and I felt pretty comfortable around the spiders. Although if it was me versus one of those in my apartment, I would likely reach my untimely end, as I almost did last september when my face-off with a hand sized yellow spider ended with me in hysterics and my apartment covered in toxic bug spray. eek!

ICHIBAN Koko in Kagoshima

Sorry for the lack of posts (to whoever actually reads this). The teaching of the children and the cycling madness has been occupying most of my time.

I'm not sure how interesting this is to anybody, but a few weeks ago, my high school (koko) got FIRST PLACE at our volleyball tournament. That's like winning state... for high school teacher teams. But STILL. Pretty great right!? Mostly it was fun just to hang out with all my favorite co workers, and see some truly awesome volleyball played by our mostly male team. My teacher informed me that the vocational schools are usually the best at sports. I have to agree- the teachers and students at my agricultural high school have a certain healthy glow about them always. Must be all that work outside. They are all fit, tan, and genki (happy/well/excited/good/healthy).

I taught the team American cheers for when we got aces and side outs, and they taught me the Japanese equivalents. When someone makes a mistake you say "domine, domine" (as in, Don't mind...) and instead of saying "nice spot" for when someone places the ball well on the other side of the court, they say "nisuu coasuu" (nice course...). Pretty funny.

It felt amazing to be on winning volleyball team! It's been since my freshman year at Whitman when our club team won blue shirts.  I didn't get a picture of the whole team, but above is one of the women plus Doki, our middle hitter extraordinaire. I hope they do it again next year, even though I won't be there : ( Go Noko!!!

梅雨。Or, Rainy Season.

The rainy season, or "Tsuyu" has started in earnest. This means heavy rains almost everyday, sometimes without stopping for days on end. I have to admit it's a horrible season to have come right before I leave. Just at a time when I'm dying to get outside all the time! Not only does it constantly rain but the temperature and humidity have been steadily rising. I find myself sweating in class, and the chalk falls apart easily in my fingers while trying to write on the board. Mold is starting to creep in. In to the shower, my shoes, blankets, and dishware.

Anyway, I'm trying hard not to let the rain deter me! Tomorrow Tyler and I will cycle to Kokubu, about 50km north, near the national forest. Hopefully we'll have an onsen, and stop off for some nice coffee and Italian food, as well as make a stop at the biggest bike shop around! If the torrential rains don't claim us along the way. In the meantime, here is a poem about the rainy season by one of my favorite Japanese poets, Saigyo.

Staring blankly                  
at the drops
from rafters ends,
barely getting through the days-
fifth-month rainy season

***

Tsukuzuku to    noki no shizuku o    nagametsutsu  
hi o nomi   kurasu     samidare no koro

Grasshoppers - Ryuichi Sakamoto

In my attempt to listen to more Japanese music, I came across this amazing piano piece by Ryuichi Sakamoto. This guys was a pioneer of the electro scene in the early eighties, and went on to do a lot of solo composing, collaborations and scores. Enjoy!

Japanese Drag Queens

Ever wonder what a Japanese drag show is like? Probably not I guess, but it's something that me and the rest of the Kanoya gang were eager to check out once we heard there was a tranny bar in Kagoshima city. I was curious to see what the atmosphere would be like, seeing as how the Japan I have come to know in Kagoshima is quite subdued, and very traditional. There are no crazy clubs in Kagoshima, and people under the age of 90 (let alone dancing) are hard to come by. What's more, besides spending a strange weekend at a Japanese hippie festival a few weeks ago, I have yet to really encounter any kind of "subculture" in Japan. What would these queens be like!? Would it still feel distinctly Japanese? Or would it feel as though I had stepped into another world?

The first number

Raunchy skit, starring our own girl.

Final number.

The first thing I saw when I stepped inside the small fourth floor bar was a tall thin queen, striding by in tall heels and a flowing sequined dress. She let out a deep "Irrashaimase" (welcome)- the only indicator that she was in fact a man. Confirmed. These queens were gorgeous. Of course, this didn't surprise me. In a culture where the men pluck their eyebrows, wear pink, and are just as concerned about their weight as women, I would expect cross dressers to be right on the money.

We were ushered to our reserved table where our own girl was waiting for us, ready to pour us our first nomihodi drinks ( Nomihodi is where you pay a flat fee for all-you-can-drink, which lasts an hour or two. A common practice in Japan, and often a recipe for drunken disaster for the penny pinchers among us.) Our girl was pretty, although more of a matronly type, with a short bob and a thicker figure. As we settled in, it became pretty clear that she was there to entertain. She called us all "girlfriend" in Japanese, and filled the awkward silences as they came with witty jokes. The whole thing reminded me of the geisha tradition, or of the modern day equivalent in Japan- snack girls, who pour drinks and entertain Japanese business men, but don't strip for them or sleep with them. Whatever the similarities, we enjoyed ourselves, and found our hostess to be funny and endearing, even if it was an act. 

This being my first drag show ever, I had no idea what to expect. I thought perhaps we would see a lot of outfit changes, and some choreographed dances? It turned out to be a mixture of that and raunchy slapstick parodies of famous Japanese TV shows. I found this to be incredibly fitting, and totally Japanese. Some elements of Japanese culture have a way of coming off completely ridiculous and kitschy to the foreign eye, while remaining totally serious to the Japanese. Sometimes it astounds me how Japanese people can miss the irony or complete hilarity of things. This was exemplified in the closing number, where three of the most beautiful girls did a very sexy number to... Purple Rain. A song that we find dated and cheesy (although great of course- I love Prince...), they find completely sexy and compelling. (See above picture of purple outfits to match...)

After the final number, and the giving of many tips to the girls (1,000 yen notes slipped between unbroken chopsticks) the lights came on and we were promptly handed the bill and ushered out. A very Japanese ending to a Japanese drag show.

Ride to Sakurajima

On Saturday we decided to cycle to Sakurajima, and then go into the city for the weekend. An easy 45km ride, it was mostly down hill (toward the coast from Kanoya), and we had perfect weather, until we got within about 10km of the volcano, where the ash started getting in our eyes and mouth. How long can one safely close their eyes while cycling full speed down a hill? I think I pushed the limit on that one, trying desperately to keep the ash out!

It was the first ride that Tyler, Mil and I shared together. We stopped at a conbini for lunch, as well as a mango juice stand near Sakurajima, and generally had a great time. Hopefully a good indicator for our upcoming trip in July! Here are a few shots I took along the way.

Cycling has been a wonderful new addition to my life here in Japan. I find it completely relaxes me, and the stresses that so often occupy my thoughts just float away. It's an amazing way to experience the countryside around here too. We cycle through farm land, little towns consisting of a few vending machines and dilapidated buildings, past obachyans (grandmothers) tending to their beautiful gardens, and next to endless rice paddies -brilliantly green during the rainy season.

 I've already had this experience with running here (which I did religiously in preparation for a half marathon back in March), which was a nice way to explore the nooks and crannies around Kanoya, and for finding little shrines and graveyards in tucked away places, but now I can venture much further into the countryside, and over to the coast. While running has been great, I find I much prefer cycling. There is something pretty wondrous about being able to go so far and at such speeds with nothing but the power of your own legs. I guess I'm late to this phenomenon, but I'm glad I'm experiencing it now!