Sayonara to Japan!

This will be my final post from Japan, as I’ll be flying out to Vietnam this Saturday. I can’t believe that this is it and that the time to leave has finally come. It has been seriously a wonderful time here the past two years. I’ve managed to really see a lot of Japan, as well as meeting lots of great people and making some really good friends.

It’s amazing how fast time has gone and in a way, I really don’t want to leave Japan. However, I realize that it is time, as I couldn’t do another year of this job at this capacity. Even though I really enjoyed teaching, after two years the job just wasn’t challenging enough and I can feel myself getting stagnant. It has been a great ride though and I’ve had so many wonderful nights where I think in the moment about how much fun I’m having and how happy I am. There have been so many highlights and great experiences, including traveling right across the country and eating great food with great company. I’ve also had so much fun with my kids and it really has been great being a part of their lives. Hopefully my influence and my interaction will make a difference in some of my kid’s lives. I’ve really tried to give them experiences that they will remember and I wish all of them the best.

This past week I wrapped up all my classes with my grade 1 and 3 students. I even sneaked in 2 final lessons with the grade 2 students, as “the teacher” was sick this week. I showed a few hockey videos and power point presentation about Canada’s pastime and the kids really enjoyed it.

I’ll also really miss a lot of the grade 3 kids as I’ve taught them the longest. I’ve really seen them grow up before my eyes. Recently teaching the grade 1’s have been a blast. I’ve had a lot of fun in the classroom laughing and teasing with the students. I am amazed now by how comfortable I am directing and teaching the students, especially with one teacher where I teach the class in both English and Japanese myself. I really feel I’ve grown the past two years and that I’ve lived life and just soaked up being young while seeing the world.

Friday was also my final goodbye ceremony. I really thought I would be able to hold it together, but as the day went on I got sadder as the classes wrapped up and. At the end of the day, there was a goodbye ceremony and that's pretty much when everything came together. My principal gave me a great speech in English and then the student council members read me a really touching speech and I got pretty emotional. I then hacked apart my Japanese speech I had prepared. They gave me a final sendoff with the school song and then i did my final walk away and left the gym with trying to hold it all in.

It was a real tough goodbye as shook the hands of my students and my favorite teachers waved goodbye from the school entrance. In some ways I still can’t believe it’s over and that I’ll never see my kids anymore or some of my teachers again. It’s weird to actually say goodbye, knowing that it what you say really is the truth.

Well, it will definitely be an adjustment heading back home, but I think Japan will be a place I’ll always come back and visit regularly. I really feel it is good to leave when you still having fun and are positive about the place- and I definitely feel this about Japan.

Well I’ll be backpacking across SE Asia for about a month with Asuka and then heading back to Vancouver for my sister’s wedding in September. What’s next? I’m not too sure yet but I’ll be back at the harbour for work for a few months and then in January, I might go travel for a few more months. My plan is to enter the police department next September, but the lure of Asia might call me back if the opportunity presents itself. Well, I look forward to seeing you all back home and hope everyone has a great summer. Take care and Sayonara from Japan!

Sayonara Party and Film Screening

I just had my last, and one of the best weekends while in Japan. On Friday, I had a goodbye dinner with my teachers at a hot pot restaurant in Kure. The dinner was great as 12 of the closest teachers I have at school showed up for my goodbye dinner. Everyone was really relaxed, as there were no principals or any problematic teachers.

It was an all you can eat and drink- which the teachers treated me too. It started off great, as I just chatted with my teachers while eating hotpot. The teachers gave me some going away presents. The first was a makeup brush set from Kumano town in Hiroshima. It may seem like a weird present to give, but Kumano brushes are one of the most famous brushes in the world. They cost upwards of hundreds of dollars for a set and are used by Hollywood makeup artists. Kumano is also the hometown of my English teachers, Ms. Yamamoto. It was more of a thoughtful, then a practical gift and seeing that I don’t put on makeup, Asuka definitely gets an early Christmas present.

I also stood up and gave a speech thanking all the teachers for their help the past 2 years. It was all in Japanese and I was a tad nervous reading it, but it went over well and I think I was able to properly express my feelings to the teachers. Luckily, Asuka helped me edit the essay and I think I really expressed my thanks to the teachers.My old Japanese teacher, Ms. Asatani also came and it was really nice to see her again as she really helped me the first year I came to the school.

The night went on really well and we all utilized the all you can drink. A lot of my teachers were getting quite drunk and in turn, I was well on my way to being pretty inebriated. After the dinner, I managed to coax a few of my teachers to go to a nijikai- second party. We went to a karaoke, where I also called Rob who met up with me and my teachers. I had a great time singing with my teachers and drinking some more. I was having a great time until we decided to order warm sake. Never top off your night with warm sake! The next thing I know, I disappeared and was in the bathroom asleep on the floor (according to Rob). I was lucky he was there to fetch me and we took a taxi home together. I somehow made in back in one piece, except that I lost my glasses, which likely fell out the window. All in all, it really was a great night, as I’ll miss talking and chatting with my teachers. (Picture Below: News Report on the typhoon)

Saturday, was suppose to be our big movie showing and beer garden dinner, but because a typhoon was suppose to hit Hiroshima, we changed it to Sunday. The typhoon actually passed us by and I ended up just having dinner with Su-san and then heading home early to meet up with Maria and her friend Mavis who came down from Tokyo. (Picture Below: Su, Akiko and Me)

On Sunday, we had our movie screening and going away barbecue. We met up with everyone around 6:30 at the station and went up to a beer garden at the top of a hotel beside the station. The beer garden’s food and beer were excellent and we had a good goodbye with my Kure friends. My Japanese teacher also came and it was nice to see her again, as well as having her meet some of the foreigners in town.

We spent a good 3 hours eating and drinking at the beer garden. Aimee also brought some costumes with her and we celebrated her home country but wearing the Scottish flag and wig for most of the night. (Picture Below: Maria, my Japanese teacher Junko and Masato)

Maria also met up with us at the beer garden and everyone had a goodtime chatting and enjoying the nice weather.

After the beer garden, we made our way to a local bar to show our movie. This was the second edit of the movie we showed at the film festival and it went over really well, as we think people really enjoyed the film.

We left the screening bar and then went to this other bar on the main street of Kure. It was the first time I had been there and it ended up being a great place as they had wigs, as well as free karaoke. All drinks were only 500 yen and we all sang until our voices went hoarse. I’ll miss heading to Karaoke and seeing our traditional staple of songs. I think the lyrics of “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Do You Think I’m Sexy” (Scottish accent) are burned permanently in my head. It ended up being a great weekend and a good send off for my time in Japan.

Kawajiri and Top 10 list

This past week went by quite briskly as I’m just preparing to pack and tie up the lose ends before I head home. Originally, a few JETs and I planned on taking a trip to Tottori for this music festival, but because of the rain we decided to cancel the trip.

On Thursday night, my friend Jeffery came up from Oita-ken and we spent the evening drinking along the water front of Kawajiri. My town is surrounded by water, and when it’s warm it’s a great place to chat and have a few drinks. We walked along the water and didn’t return home till about 4 in the morning. Pretty much created a racket that I’m amazed nobody called the police.

We drank the beer left over in the fridge, as well as stopping by a beer vending machine and buying a massive jug of beer that Rob and I shared. It was a fun way to spend an evening.

On Friday, Rob and I went into town and watched 300, then managed to take the wrong train and got stranded in Mihara- a neighbouring town for the evening. We tried to make the best of it, but the pouring rain and hangover from the night before made the night really trying as we waited for the first train home. We stopped two bars to grab a drink and just walked around another port town that has no memorable attractions or places. We ended up sitting under a bridge for a few hours until our train. Not our greatest evening, but one of those, “remember that time” moments.

On Monday I had my last day at Ato Elementary. The usual fair of goodbyes and handshakes were given. The grade 3 kids sang me another cute song and I tried to snap as much pictures as I can and burn the images in my head of teaching these kids. It was surreal to know that it was my last day ever teaching elementary, as it’s been such a big and enjoyable part of my job here. I know I’ll always miss these kids and will always cherish the memories they have given me.

Well this past weekend is my final hurrah in Japan. My friend, Maria is making her way down from Tokyo and I’m having a big night at a beer garden, then a local bar to show our film festival entry. I was lucky enough to get the school to lend me their projector, so it should be a fun evening.

Seeing that my time here is coming to a close, I thought I’ll make a list of the top
10 things I’ll miss in Japan for my Japanese Factoid#54. In no particular order:

1) Food- The food is just so good here. If you think it’s only sushi, you are sadly mistaken. There are many different kinds of noodle shops, tempura shops, rice bowl stored, skewers, izakaya food, as well as traditional Japanese set courses. The food here is just great and that is a reason why I’ve gained weight since I got here.

2) Drinking in Japan- Considering I rarely drank back home, the transformation coming to Japan was quite interesting. Drinking in Japan is really convenient, as they have streets full of drinking establishments. It’s not only cheap, but I really like Japanese alcohol. They also have all you drink at some restaurants and pubs, which you just can’t beat. To top it off, you can drink in public and it’s safe anywhere you go, at any time of the night.

3) Schools- I’ll miss all the schools I’ve taught in, as well as the teachers I’ve gotten to know the past 2 years. Mostly, I’ll miss the 1000 students I teach, as most of the time, it’s been great. It’s going to be hard no seeing a lot of their faces as I’ve grown so accustomed to some of them.

4) Enkai- I’ll miss going to enkais with my teachers, which is basically just a work related dinner. But the food is always good, and the alcohol makes most of the teachers relaxe. So I was always able to have great conversations and just an amazing time.

5) Traveling- I’ll miss traveling around Japan. With the vacation time available and the ease of transportation, I’ll miss just hoping on a train and going to a new place with its own cuisine and sights.

6) Onsen- Nothing beats relaxing in an onsen during the winter. I’ll miss just soaking in various baths whenever I was tired or after a long night out in the town. It was great after sports and also fun when I stayed in Ryokans (traditional inns).

7) My apartment- I’ll miss my apartment and especially the view of the sea. The apartment was new when I moved in, so it really felt like it has been my place. It has also been the first place I’ve had on my own, so I’ve actually grown quite attached to it. The large shower and bathroom are definitely going to be missed once I head back home.

8) My town- I’ll really miss my home time of Kawajiri and being able to run along the water and climb the local mountain whenever I wanted to. It wasn’t the ideal town to live in, but I enjoyed being in the countryside and being surrounded mountains and rice fields.

9) Friends- After spending two years here I've been really lucky to make some really good friends. I'll miss my former Japanese teacher, Ms. Murayama and her family. As well as my friends Su and Akiko and JETs. Rob and I have managed to pretty much destroy Hiroshima and ourselves the past year which has been absolutely a blast.

10) Festivals- I'll really miss going to festivals, as there are a few every season and every small town has their own community festival. Every month there is something to do or some place to visit. Randing from huge lantern festivals, various sea festivals to firework festivals, they have always been a blast to go to.

Canada Day and Farewell Days at Elementary Schools

Hope everyone back home had a nice Canada Day. I originally planned on spending it with my hockey friends in Hiroshima, but a few of them had a tournament up in Osaka, so I ended up staying in town and hanging out with some Japanese friends. (Picture Below: Su trying to be Canadian)

I went into town Saturday and just spent the evening at a nice izakaya, with some local Kure people. It was a good evening as they all cracked up when I asked them what day Sunday was- and when no one knew- I pulled out a Canadian Flag. We proceeded to celebrate Canada’s 140^th birthday downing a few bottles of Shochu while I tried to teach them to sing the Canadian anthem. Though, the drunker they got, they just kept on humming the American anthem to my dismay and anger. (Picture Below: Me and the owner of the Izakaya)

We ended up the night at a bar, then our usual after party meal of Ramen on the street. The izakaya was pretty far from the main area of Kure too, which meant we had to hike all the way back on my friend Hone’s bike. The bike usually fits 2 but being slightly inebriated, we tried to fit 4 people on it while rolling down a hill.

The past week was spent saying my final goodbye’s to 3 of my elementary schools. The first on Monday, was Uchino-Umi. I planed to play hockey on the final day and it ended up working quite well, even though the school combined the grades making extremely large classes. The kids had a lot of fun playing and a few of them really got excited and really into it.

I’m really glad I brought the sticks to Japan this past summer, as the kids have really enjoyed it and I’m sure it’s something they will always remember. As you can see a few of the kids really fight for the ball, but most of the time they just resemble a school of fishe chasing around the ball.

On Tuesday I said goodbye to Noro-Nakagiri elementary school which has always been one of my favourites due to its small size and amount of cute kids. They were the first ever students I taught so I always feel a certain connection to the kids. The grade 1/2s even sang a really nice goodbye song for me.

I’ll miss playing with these kids as they were always to most enthusiastic about English and always wanted me to play with them after class. The grade 3/4s I know the best as I’ve taught them the most out of probably any other sets of kids at my schools. I’ll really miss a few of them and I wish I am able to see them grow up a bit more.

On Wednesday, I had my last day at Mitsuguchi, which has the nicest view of any of the schools as set on a hill overlooking the inland sea. I taught my 3 favourite grades at the school and it was a nice goodbye to some of the kids I really like. We had a good class and after school, I was able to try the Shamisen (Japanese guitar) as they had a performance at the school. To the dismay of the teachers, I wasn’t very good, but it was a lot of fun to pluck at the instrument. The also gave a performance of a traditional Yasuura song which was sung and played beautifully.(Picture Below: Two Mitsuguchi girls showing me the board games they made)

Most of my goodbye classes ends with them give me letters and giving me cute presents they have made for me. The letters are really touching and even though it will be tough to bring home, I'm going to try and bring back as much of it as I can.

Well I can’t believe I only have 2 full weeks left in Japan, after living here for 2 years. It still hasn’t fully sunk in that I’m leaving. I’ll still have a few goodbye parties for friends and teachers which should be fun before I leave. My only hope is that the rainy season stops soon as it has been raining as much as Vancouver recently. Along with the almost 30 degree humidity makes it pretty damn muggy.

Japanese Factoid#53- The train system in Japan is one of the most advanced and convenient in the world. Unlike BC transit back home, everything runs in clock work here- to the second. If a train is late even a minute, they usually announce it on the PA system.

Trains are really convenient as they pretty much take you anywhere in Japan.
There are many different types of trains too, from the local trains, to semi-express, express and the Shinkansen.

Known as the bullet trains, the fastest ones reach up to 300km’s per an hour, making travel between destinations quick and convenient. The only drawback is probably price, as a two-way from Hiroshima to Tokyo will set you back over 300 dollars. (Picture Below: My hometown stop in Kawajiri)

The local trains are what I use everyday to get to work and into the city. They are great, expect that I live just at the start of the countryside stops, meaning the trains 2 stops away come 3 to 4 per an hour, but at my stop we usually only get 1. If you live or visit a city center though, you will never have a problem.