The lead singer of Sophia (Matsuoka Mitsuru) has been on a lot of variety and quiz shows lately. I like his style. Looks good for his age, too. The band's been around for longer than I've been in Japan and even though I'd known about them since shortly after I arrived, I realized that I have no idea what kind of music they play. So I looked them up on YouTube.
It turns out I don't like their music so much, but this video is fantastic. I like the twist on the Red Riding Hood story and how the red colors stand out against the background. But I wonder if people were bothered by the ending enough to complain about it. And what the hell are those weird naked things?
Speaking of controversial videos, I remember when Madonna's "Like a Prayer" video came out and people were upset about the burning cross. So tame compared to the violent gangster and sex-themed videos these days.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Our final class
At the high school, the graduating students take their final exams really early so that if anyone fails, they still have time to do make-up reports and stuff in time to graduate. It's kind of a weird system because we still have classes after final exams. What are we supposed to do for those last two weeks? The Foreign Language Department decided to have a goodbye party in the Home Economics kitchen.
Asep (the Indonesian teacher) and his wife guided the students with the dishes - Nashi Goren (spicy rice with egg and vegetables) and Pisan Goren (batter-fried bananas). The Chinese teacher (in the background) had her students make boiled dumplings.
A few years ago I tried organizing a cooking class and it was such a pain getting ingredients together and making sure all the dishes went smoothly. I learned my lesson - this time I volunteered to be in charge of organizing the clean-up.
These students have been studying together in this class for the last three years and were taking photos while saying things like, "I can't believe this is our last class! We'll never be together like this again!" It made me realize how numb I've become to goodbyes. Over the past 7 years I've seen so many students come and go that I no longer feel anything when seeing them for the last time. I simply smile and say goodbye. It's kind of a good thing because I don't particularly like feeling sad, but at the same time it's kind of disturbing to think that I now have a heart of stone.
Asep (the Indonesian teacher) and his wife guided the students with the dishes - Nashi Goren (spicy rice with egg and vegetables) and Pisan Goren (batter-fried bananas). The Chinese teacher (in the background) had her students make boiled dumplings.
A few years ago I tried organizing a cooking class and it was such a pain getting ingredients together and making sure all the dishes went smoothly. I learned my lesson - this time I volunteered to be in charge of organizing the clean-up.These students have been studying together in this class for the last three years and were taking photos while saying things like, "I can't believe this is our last class! We'll never be together like this again!" It made me realize how numb I've become to goodbyes. Over the past 7 years I've seen so many students come and go that I no longer feel anything when seeing them for the last time. I simply smile and say goodbye. It's kind of a good thing because I don't particularly like feeling sad, but at the same time it's kind of disturbing to think that I now have a heart of stone.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Sasebo
The burgers in Sasebo are famous for being big and tasty, and Yoshiko wanted to eat one for her birthday. So we got on the freeway and drove 4 hours to Sasebo.
Yoko had a list of good burger shops and rumor had it that Kaya was a good one. Kaya turned out to be a roadside stand and cars were stopped along both sides of the road while people waited for their burgers. The shop's popularity was a good sign! We put in our order and were told that it would be ready in over an hour - the downside of going to a popular shop. (I have no idea why the sign says Stamina above the name).
Being a vegetarian I can't personally testify that the burgers were worth waiting for, but everyone seemed to be really enjoying them.
Other than the burger shop no one had looked up anything about Sasebo so we didn't know what to do next. There's an American military base there so we drove around the downtown area and played "spot the American" for a while before parking and walking through the shopping district.
Then we stopped at a cafe that had really great cakes and kind of an 80s feel with those plastic drinking glasses that you used to see in diners.
After it got dark we drove to the top of a mountain behind Sasebo to check out the night view. It was pitch-black and creepy. There weren't any cars near the nightview spot, but there were loads of cars parked close to the edge of the woods and not a person in sight. Where was everyone? The wind was freezing cold so after taking a couple pictures we hurried back to the car and turned on the headlights, and right in front of us there were 9 stray cats sitting in a line near the bushes. Totally weirded us out, but they were probably just using the bushes to block the wind.
I'm sure there's a lot more to do in Sasebo and it's kind of a shame that no one had looked anything up beforehand. At least we had a great time in the car! Note for the next roadtrip: bring diapers for Chino so we don't have to stop every 30 minutes.
Yoko had a list of good burger shops and rumor had it that Kaya was a good one. Kaya turned out to be a roadside stand and cars were stopped along both sides of the road while people waited for their burgers. The shop's popularity was a good sign! We put in our order and were told that it would be ready in over an hour - the downside of going to a popular shop. (I have no idea why the sign says Stamina above the name).
Being a vegetarian I can't personally testify that the burgers were worth waiting for, but everyone seemed to be really enjoying them.
Other than the burger shop no one had looked up anything about Sasebo so we didn't know what to do next. There's an American military base there so we drove around the downtown area and played "spot the American" for a while before parking and walking through the shopping district.
Then we stopped at a cafe that had really great cakes and kind of an 80s feel with those plastic drinking glasses that you used to see in diners.After it got dark we drove to the top of a mountain behind Sasebo to check out the night view. It was pitch-black and creepy. There weren't any cars near the nightview spot, but there were loads of cars parked close to the edge of the woods and not a person in sight. Where was everyone? The wind was freezing cold so after taking a couple pictures we hurried back to the car and turned on the headlights, and right in front of us there were 9 stray cats sitting in a line near the bushes. Totally weirded us out, but they were probably just using the bushes to block the wind.
I'm sure there's a lot more to do in Sasebo and it's kind of a shame that no one had looked anything up beforehand. At least we had a great time in the car! Note for the next roadtrip: bring diapers for Chino so we don't have to stop every 30 minutes.
Friday, February 16, 2007
The Right Wing
The Japan Teacher's Union had a conference in downtown Beppu last weekend. I don't know much about what they do, but a few years ago they were in the news a lot for speaking out against the censorship of history in school textbooks. And I'd have to agree with that point of view; you can't pretend that wars and invasions didn't happen by taking references out of textbooks. Children should learn everything about how their country came to be - the triumphs as well as the mistakes.
Because The Japan Teacher's Union was gathering here for the conference, groups that encourage the censorship of textbooks were expected to converge upon Beppu as well to demonstrate against them. These groups are collectively known as Uyoku (literally translated as The Right Wing) and several people warned me about them.
"You should stay away from the downtown area this weekend."
"The Right Wing is scarier than the Japanese Mafia."
"It's better to stay out of Beppu."
Of course hearing those kinds of warnings is only going to make me want to go downtown and find out what the hubbub is all about. This kind of excitement doesn't happen in Beppu very often! Unfortunately I was pretty busy and didn't have the time. The closest I got to seeing any of The Right Wing was when I drove past downtown Beppu on my way to work.
Members of The Right Wing are notorious for driving around in minivans and buses with black-tainted windows and slogans painted on the sides, screaming their points of view through loudspeakers fixed on top of their vehicles. On my short drive past the downtown area I spotted over 30 of those minivans and buses, creeping along at a snail's pace and holding up traffic for miles behind. It was kind of like a picketing demonstration, except the picketers were in buses. From the loudspeakers fervent leaders were expressing their views, and I could hear the passengers' shouts of agreement in the background. Thank goodness I was on the other side of the road heading out of Beppu and didn't get caught up in all that traffic.
I don't understand why The Right Wing intentionally tries to be a nuisance. It doesn't seem like a very good tactic to spread their points of view. Everyone complains how they hate the loudspeakers, and I haven't yet met anyone who can tell me what The Right Wing is actually shouting about. Even if it's negative, I guess they want their presence to be known?
Because The Japan Teacher's Union was gathering here for the conference, groups that encourage the censorship of textbooks were expected to converge upon Beppu as well to demonstrate against them. These groups are collectively known as Uyoku (literally translated as The Right Wing) and several people warned me about them.
"You should stay away from the downtown area this weekend."
"The Right Wing is scarier than the Japanese Mafia."
"It's better to stay out of Beppu."
Of course hearing those kinds of warnings is only going to make me want to go downtown and find out what the hubbub is all about. This kind of excitement doesn't happen in Beppu very often! Unfortunately I was pretty busy and didn't have the time. The closest I got to seeing any of The Right Wing was when I drove past downtown Beppu on my way to work.
Members of The Right Wing are notorious for driving around in minivans and buses with black-tainted windows and slogans painted on the sides, screaming their points of view through loudspeakers fixed on top of their vehicles. On my short drive past the downtown area I spotted over 30 of those minivans and buses, creeping along at a snail's pace and holding up traffic for miles behind. It was kind of like a picketing demonstration, except the picketers were in buses. From the loudspeakers fervent leaders were expressing their views, and I could hear the passengers' shouts of agreement in the background. Thank goodness I was on the other side of the road heading out of Beppu and didn't get caught up in all that traffic.
I don't understand why The Right Wing intentionally tries to be a nuisance. It doesn't seem like a very good tactic to spread their points of view. Everyone complains how they hate the loudspeakers, and I haven't yet met anyone who can tell me what The Right Wing is actually shouting about. Even if it's negative, I guess they want their presence to be known?
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Plum Blossoms
A couple weeks ago I was killing time in a garden store and spontaneously bought a Plum Blossom bonsai tree. It looked like a bunch of bare branches at the time, but in the past few days the buds have blossomed!
The sweet scent emanating from the flowers isn't very strong, but occasionally I catch a whiff while sitting at the computer. 
I'm not sure how long the blossoms last . . . probably not very long because they're so delicate and fall off at the slightest touch. Once the flowering has finished and the leaves start to come in, I'm supposed to cut off most of the branches to maintain the small bonsai size. Not really sure which branches to cut off so that it looks nice, so I'll probably end up asking around to see if anyone knows someone who cultivates bonsai trees.
The sweet scent emanating from the flowers isn't very strong, but occasionally I catch a whiff while sitting at the computer. 
I'm not sure how long the blossoms last . . . probably not very long because they're so delicate and fall off at the slightest touch. Once the flowering has finished and the leaves start to come in, I'm supposed to cut off most of the branches to maintain the small bonsai size. Not really sure which branches to cut off so that it looks nice, so I'll probably end up asking around to see if anyone knows someone who cultivates bonsai trees.
I've always wanted a bonsai tree. This one's so perfect!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Happy Bar
I rarely go out to bars these days, but "Happy Bar" sounded cool so we checked it out. It's run by a woman who's undergoing the transformation into a man. She/He had beard and if I hadn't heard she/he was born a woman, I'd never have known. (she-man not pictured) I had to wonder if she/he decided to undergo the change because there's so little information about lesbianism in Japan, and she/he thought that a sex-change was the most plausible option.
It was a sit-down bar with dim-lighting and a classy atmosphere, and they also served takoyaki (batter filled with pieces of octopus and grilled into spheres, then covered in your choice of sauces and toppings). Takoyaki is probably the main reason why Japan imports so much octopus, so much that some countries are over-exporting and depleting their octopus population to dangerous levels (I saw a program about the severe decrease in octopus off the coast of Africa). I ordered mine without octopus, which most people think is weird since takoyaki literally means "grilled octopus". Even so it was delicious.
After having a few drinks and stuffing ourselves with takoyaki (or in my case spheres of pancake batter) we headed to another bar for a change of atmosphere. Gaucho looks like a concrete storeroom scattered with tables and chairs, and is usually packed on nights when someone's on stage, but it was a non-band night with just a small circle of guys relaxing with some beers and strumming on their guitars.
We found out it was Moritaka's birthday so a couple of us ran to a nearby cake shop and brought him back a strawberry shortcake. He and Yuka are getting married in a couple months. Here she is doting on him and looking all wifey.
It was a sit-down bar with dim-lighting and a classy atmosphere, and they also served takoyaki (batter filled with pieces of octopus and grilled into spheres, then covered in your choice of sauces and toppings). Takoyaki is probably the main reason why Japan imports so much octopus, so much that some countries are over-exporting and depleting their octopus population to dangerous levels (I saw a program about the severe decrease in octopus off the coast of Africa). I ordered mine without octopus, which most people think is weird since takoyaki literally means "grilled octopus". Even so it was delicious.
After having a few drinks and stuffing ourselves with takoyaki (or in my case spheres of pancake batter) we headed to another bar for a change of atmosphere. Gaucho looks like a concrete storeroom scattered with tables and chairs, and is usually packed on nights when someone's on stage, but it was a non-band night with just a small circle of guys relaxing with some beers and strumming on their guitars. We found out it was Moritaka's birthday so a couple of us ran to a nearby cake shop and brought him back a strawberry shortcake. He and Yuka are getting married in a couple months. Here she is doting on him and looking all wifey.
Friday, February 02, 2007
what students do in class
In a previous post I mentioned watching a TV program that described how our ears naturally degenerate with age and lose their sense of hearing. I couldn't hear the sounds that were supposedly coming out of the TV, and was slightly disturbed to find that I have the ears of a 50-year-old. But it turns out that the problem wasn't with me, it was that my crappy old TV doesn't transmit sounds in high frequencies!
Today while teaching, some students asked if I could hear anything strange. There was an ear-piercing squealing noise coming from somewhere, like a nail being scratched across a metal sheet. When I asked what that irritating noise was, they seemed surprised. One of the girls was using her cell phone to emit sounds in the range of frequency that only teenagers are able to hear, and they were testing it in their classes to see if the teachers could hear it. I have the ears of a teenager! What a relief. I had really thought that my ears had degenerated well beyond their years when in fact they're younger than normal!
Today while teaching, some students asked if I could hear anything strange. There was an ear-piercing squealing noise coming from somewhere, like a nail being scratched across a metal sheet. When I asked what that irritating noise was, they seemed surprised. One of the girls was using her cell phone to emit sounds in the range of frequency that only teenagers are able to hear, and they were testing it in their classes to see if the teachers could hear it. I have the ears of a teenager! What a relief. I had really thought that my ears had degenerated well beyond their years when in fact they're younger than normal!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Chino's prayer
A woman at Sayuri's workplace told us about a shrine located on the edge of the village that is visited by women who wish to have children. If an unmarried woman visits the shrine, does that mean she has a better chance of getting some? Chino wanted to give it a try. It had already gotten dark but we went anyway.
The cover of trees blocked out the moon and stars as we followed the narrow dirt path that led to the shrine. It was quiet, dark and altogether creepy. I kept expecting something to jump out from behind a rock or peek out from behind the trees. Chino got on her hands and knees, crawled through the three stone arches, and stepped up to the stone idol.
She put her arms around the idol, rubbed her body against it, and swirled her hands all around the top. In the daytime the shrine probably has a sacred air about it, but in the middle of the night with no one around, she looked like some kind of pervert.
The cover of trees blocked out the moon and stars as we followed the narrow dirt path that led to the shrine. It was quiet, dark and altogether creepy. I kept expecting something to jump out from behind a rock or peek out from behind the trees. Chino got on her hands and knees, crawled through the three stone arches, and stepped up to the stone idol.
She put her arms around the idol, rubbed her body against it, and swirled her hands all around the top. In the daytime the shrine probably has a sacred air about it, but in the middle of the night with no one around, she looked like some kind of pervert.Yup, it's a giant wiener.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sayuri
Sayuri moved back to her little village of Kunimi to live with her family. It's a couple hours north from here, and I haven't seen her in such a long time so a few weeks ago we made the trip up for a visit.
To put it bluntly, Sayuri is kind of ditzy. But that's kind of why I like her so much. Yuka, Chino and I were on our way up to Kunimi when we got a phone call from Sayuri saying that she was actually on her way down to Beppu, because her contact got lodged in back of her eye. Huh? I thought that was just an urban legend. It had slipped behind her eye the previous night, but she was tired and just went to bed (probably not the best idea, but oh well). It hadn't slipped back down by the time she woke up in the morning, so she had to go to an eye doctor to see if they could get it out. Unfortunately Japanese hospitals are closed on Sundays, and after calling around the only place that would see her was down here in Beppu.
The doctor told her that checking behind her eye for the contact might hurt a little, and she could grip the armrests of the chair if she needed to. Not a good sign. Then he lifted up her eyelid, shoved a cotton swab behind her eyeball, and swept it back and forth for ten seconds. Sayuri described it as the longest ten seconds of her life. The contact didn't come out, so the doctor suspected that there wasn't anything behind there, but if she felt she could take a little more he would push a little farther behind her eyeball to really dig deep. That's when she said, "Doctor, that's not funny." and left to meet us.
I've never heard of a contact getting so far lodged behind an eyeball that you couldn't see it. And if it did, I bet it'd hurt so bad you'd know it was there. Instead of going to the doctor to get a cotton swab jabbed behind her eyeball, searching around her pillow for a dried up contact would have been a much more painless and likely method of finding it.
Anyhow after Sayuri called to say that her doctor visit was finished, we worked out plans to drive separately and meet in Kunimi. Chino, Yuka and I continued on our way to Kunimi, but for some reason Sayuri had her mother drop her off at Chino's house. She called to say she was chilling in the living room with Chino's father, wondering where we were. So we turned around, picked her up, and finally made our way to Kunimi without any other stops.
Her workplace is a three-story house that serves as a gallery for traditional folding-screens made of silk. I figured they'd be expensive but my mouth dropped when she said they cost thousands of dollars each.
We could see pretty far from the third floor balcony. The village of Kunimi is surrounded by hilly countryside and it was nice for a visit, but it's too small for me to actually consider living there.
We grabbed the chimes (you ring them for luck) and jumped around like Chinese acrobats until Sayuri came to scold us. The thumps were reverberating throughout the house.
To put it bluntly, Sayuri is kind of ditzy. But that's kind of why I like her so much. Yuka, Chino and I were on our way up to Kunimi when we got a phone call from Sayuri saying that she was actually on her way down to Beppu, because her contact got lodged in back of her eye. Huh? I thought that was just an urban legend. It had slipped behind her eye the previous night, but she was tired and just went to bed (probably not the best idea, but oh well). It hadn't slipped back down by the time she woke up in the morning, so she had to go to an eye doctor to see if they could get it out. Unfortunately Japanese hospitals are closed on Sundays, and after calling around the only place that would see her was down here in Beppu.
The doctor told her that checking behind her eye for the contact might hurt a little, and she could grip the armrests of the chair if she needed to. Not a good sign. Then he lifted up her eyelid, shoved a cotton swab behind her eyeball, and swept it back and forth for ten seconds. Sayuri described it as the longest ten seconds of her life. The contact didn't come out, so the doctor suspected that there wasn't anything behind there, but if she felt she could take a little more he would push a little farther behind her eyeball to really dig deep. That's when she said, "Doctor, that's not funny." and left to meet us.
I've never heard of a contact getting so far lodged behind an eyeball that you couldn't see it. And if it did, I bet it'd hurt so bad you'd know it was there. Instead of going to the doctor to get a cotton swab jabbed behind her eyeball, searching around her pillow for a dried up contact would have been a much more painless and likely method of finding it.
Anyhow after Sayuri called to say that her doctor visit was finished, we worked out plans to drive separately and meet in Kunimi. Chino, Yuka and I continued on our way to Kunimi, but for some reason Sayuri had her mother drop her off at Chino's house. She called to say she was chilling in the living room with Chino's father, wondering where we were. So we turned around, picked her up, and finally made our way to Kunimi without any other stops.
Her workplace is a three-story house that serves as a gallery for traditional folding-screens made of silk. I figured they'd be expensive but my mouth dropped when she said they cost thousands of dollars each.We could see pretty far from the third floor balcony. The village of Kunimi is surrounded by hilly countryside and it was nice for a visit, but it's too small for me to actually consider living there.
We grabbed the chimes (you ring them for luck) and jumped around like Chinese acrobats until Sayuri came to scold us. The thumps were reverberating throughout the house. Monday, January 15, 2007
The Shrine in Saganoseki
You're supposed to visit 3 shrines within the first 3 days of the year, but I only went to two. My second shrine visit was about a 2-hour drive south in a small fishing town called Saganoseki.
The god of this particular shrine grants wishes if you promise not to eat octopus for an agreed upon amount of time. This may sound easy to a person who thinks chewing on octopus tentacles is completely revolting (like me), but for the Japanese this is quite a difficult challenge. A couple years ago a friend gave up eating octopus for an entire year in exchange for a husband. She found a husband shortly thereafter, so our other friends wanted to try praying there, too.
The god of this particular shrine grants wishes if you promise not to eat octopus for an agreed upon amount of time. This may sound easy to a person who thinks chewing on octopus tentacles is completely revolting (like me), but for the Japanese this is quite a difficult challenge. A couple years ago a friend gave up eating octopus for an entire year in exchange for a husband. She found a husband shortly thereafter, so our other friends wanted to try praying there, too.
Before walking under the arch-gate of a shrine, you have to purify your hands and mouth with water. This one had water flowing from a spiky metal dragon head.
I've never heard anything about it, but I'm pretty sure kicking someone in the butt on shrine grounds is just asking for bad luck.
Pray, Yoshiko, pray.
I didn't ask, but I'm pretty sure Chino prayed for a husband. The big smile Yoko has on her face is the same one she gets when thinking about cakes. Is that what she prayed for?
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