Konichiwa!

This is the first of what I hope to be a weekly blog update on my progress in Japan. It should save hundreds of duplicate emails to friends on what I’ve been up to.

I’ve been here two weeks so far so let me give you a little run down on what I’ve been up to and my first impressions.

I have yet to set foot in a classroom and teach but that will all change tomorrow when I embark on my first day at Kaneda Junior High School. On my first week I spent several days at orientation in a hotel in Narita. This provided a valuable opportunity to make friends with other English speakers teaching in Japan. The lectures and activities did seem a little mediocre but I’m not sure that many of us were capable of much more academic, on account of our severe jetlag.

The Japanese have been very helpful, when one of the ICs was driving us to the Post Office, she asked for directions and before we knew it there were 3 old Japanese men queuing up to give her directions. Many people are willing to go to quite some lengths to help but it doesn’t detract from the fact that only a small portion of the population speaks any English. This can be frustrating at times but I’m hoping it will propel me into learning Japanese quicker.

I’m really glad that I managed to crack the Hiragana and Katakana alphabets before I came out. It puts me at an advantage over a few of the other ALTs that, like me, have no academic background in Japanese. Although I did a fair bit of work before I arrived, I’ve not really studied much Japanese here yet. I’m hoping that once I have a routine I’ll be able to incorporate some time for study during the week.

I’m quite schizophrenic about the cuisine here. On the one hand I love the variation and its exotic charm but on the other it is impossible to be a vegetarian, which I had anticipated. So far I am avoiding meat but tolerating it in small quantities, which I think is about the best I can do without treading on too many peoples toes. Its also odd getting used to the price of food. Eating out can be quite cheap but then some fruit and veg can be extortionate.

The exotic flora and fauna are a constant source of amusement. There are some beautiful little white stork-like birds that inhabit the paddy fields near me and I also caught sight of the most enormous and elegant bird of prey. It might have been an eagle, I don’t know. Whatever it was it was larger than a kite and certainly isn’t native to Britain. I’ve heard there are wild monkeys in the forests not far from me, in the hills. I’d love to head in and catch sight of them at some point. What’s funny is seeing all these new creatures next to others that are banal and familiar, like pigeons and sparrows.

Kisarazu was a really great location to be placed. Its an industrial town (which they call a city) on the Bay of Tokyo that is a little run down since the bubble burst and the Aqualine was built (a combined tunnel and bridge that crosses the bay to Tokyo and is the longest tunnel for vehicles in the world). It's mild grottyness is really a blessing as it keeps the rent down. While the Aqualine didn’t do the town’s economy much good, it does grant me excellent access to Tokyo. Something that so few of the hundred or so people I was training with in Narita have.

I’m also really lucky that there’s a decent gaijin bar nearby. There’s a place called The Pig that’s in staggering distance and where other English-speaking foreigners come to drink, and some travel a fair distance. The staff there are really friendly and so are the clientele. Kazuki, the owner of the bar, also seems to be quite into British music, which I like.

So far I’ve been into Tokyo 3 times but I hope that once payday comes through and my finances are little more regular, I’ll be spending every weekend over the other side of the Bay. Or at least I hope to become very familiar with Tokyo. There’s still so much of quintessential Tokyo that I haven’t seen. So far the only ground I’ve covered is a wander around Akiharbara, a night out in Shibuya and a glimpse of Harijuku and Yoyogi park.

One of my favourite places to go, so far is the ¥100 shop. Not only is it 100 times better than our £1 shops but its even cheaper currently being about 60-70p. The quality of the products is vastly superior and even the cheap tack is so much more appealing because its Japanese. I’ve bought a really nice tea set from there, a really useful map of my prefecture and Japan and there are endless random snacks you can get. I even went out of my way to visit the 7 story ¥100 shop in Funabashi. It was well worth the trek. Can’t wait to take guests there. They’ll just fill up their cases with the stuff.

I've survived and enjoyed the first two weeks. Now lets see what it's like working here.