No Longer The Pod One Out!

Posted on March 11, 2006 by tokyofox

They are only a few inches long yet give pleasure to so many. No I am not talking about the male anatomy!! In fact I am referring to iPods as I have finally jumped on this bandwagon by buying the iPod nano 1GB yesterday.

I was going to buy the big 60GB iPod a couple of months ago but instead bought a laptop as I found out that you have to use the same computer for all iPod updates. There was me thinking I could just go round peoples houses storing their best tunes on to my iPod!

However, once I got the computer and set up iTunes I discovered that I didn’t have time to listen to everything including all the new tracks and podcasts that I downloaded. The inevitable outcome was to join the Tokyo masses and get an iPod.

I don’t usually listen to anything while commuting to work but on the longer day trips I get a little embarrassed to be seen using a walkman or discman which are so last century!!

The downside of these things is the anti-socialness of them and switching off a very important sense. At times it does seem to me like some people, and not just the Japanese, wake up and put in their earphones and don’t take them out till bedtime thereby going the whole day without any social interaction which I find a little sad. Will have to see if I become one of them over the coming weeks!

I think its nice for people to escape from life for a bit, particularly in such an overcrowded city like Tokyo, but there is a time and a place for this surely. I saw a foreigner walking around the Tokyo National Musem recently with his music on which was a first for me! It did seem strange to me but given that you don’t converse in museums and that they are usually quiet then maybe its not such a bad idea after all! Overall, it seems very rude though and I hope I don’t become one of those who keeps their earplugs in when they are buying something from a convenience store for example.

Another less serious problem could be listening to some of these podcasts in public and trying to control my laughter so as to not draw more attention. I think us foreigners get enough of that without making it any worse!

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Big Brother Is Watching You!

Posted on March 9, 2006 by tokyofox

I had my contract observation this afternoon which on the whole went quite well and was a fun lesson. I was a little apprehensive beforehand but, to use a cliche, all nerves went out the window once i started. Maybe I had reason to be nervous as my observer was in a mood of disappointment following his teams Champions League exit in the morning.

This was my first adult observation since the start of May. In my last job we used to get observed more frequently and could also be seen and heard in all lessons by other teachers and the trainers. This could make you feel slightly uncomfortable at times but provided great amusement at others in terms of banter with the other teachers.

These days I teach in more usual classroom surroundings which makes for a relaxed environment for both teacher and student. However, when you have your boss in the room with you making notes on your performance its hard to do what you normally do without trying to think of what you’re supposed to do as laid out in the teaching manual or in initial training etc

My company basically only employs people with some kind of teaching qualification and we are very much left to our own devices. Working in a mostly enjoyable and relaxed environment and living comfortably in Tokyo has made up my mind to extend my contract beyond the end of April unless my boss thought different to me earlier today and decides I have no future here!!

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A Sad Sayonara

Posted on March 7, 2006 by tokyofox

In my last job who-taught-who was just sorted in a random way but in my present job I teach the same students at the same time each week. This can lead to good relationships being built up. It was therefore a sad occasion yesterday for me as one of my kids had her last lesson. Despite the communication problem you would expect between a 12 year old and myself we managed to strike up a good rapport. When she gave me a farewell card I wasn’t expecting it to say too much as kids tend to mostly just learn ‘parrot fashion’ without knowing what they’re always saying.

However, on reading it I was overcome with emotion and came close to shedding a tear but thankfully I regained my composure. Of course I have seen hundreds of students come in and out of my life while I have been in Japan but most of them happen without realisation but this girls words (though in broken English) affected me more than any other students words ever have.

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Tokyo Daytripper: Plum Blossom Viewing in Kairakuen

Posted on March 6, 2006 by tokyofox

Of Japan’s three most celebrated landscape gardens, Kairakuen in Mito are the closest ones and they are located about two hours north of Tokyo. The other two are Kenroku-en in Kanazawa prefecture and Korakuen in Okayama prefecture. These ones in Ibaraki are famed for their ume (plum blossom) and yesterday I went there with a mate to see something which is a part of Japanese culture.

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Overall, it was a beautiful day but the gardens weren’t fully in bloom and we only saw a few plum blossom trees. Anyway, this very un-rock & roll story pales into insignificance as the highlight was seeing lots of cute Japanese girlies clad in more traditional dress.

Plum blossom is basically a different shade of pink to the more famous cherry blossoms which are on another level altogether due to the many parties that go with them. Every year in early to mid-April thousands and thousands of people eat and get merry under the cherry blossom trees.

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No Distance To Far!

Posted on February 28, 2006 by tokyofox

Throughout my life I’ve never had to regularly travel to school or work for more than about 30 minutes from A to B. I felt that that used to be a lot at times and I still do but thats nothing compared to the Japanese. Commuting to work for over an hour is fairly standard here it seems. They tend to use each journey as personal time for reading, studying or more commonly just sleeping. One of my Japanese friends travels two hours to work everyday so that takes up four hours in a day on top of the average 10-12 hour working day so very little time for anything else from his day.

However, that pales into insignificance compared to what I read a few months ago about one man who travels for three hours one-way everyday. Why anyone would want to do this, I don’t know but given the cost of rail travel in Japan it is more practical than the more expensive British Rail prices.

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Ready, Steady, Cook!

Posted on February 27, 2006 by tokyofox

Since the launch of this site I have had tonnes of feedback (well, about 5 half-arsed comments!) and it seems opinion is divided. On the one hand there are those who think my site is a little dull and on the other are those who think it’s very boring!!

Some Dick (Richard Thompson to be precise) even dared to suggest that I would get bored of this blogging lark and that I would be writing stuff like “……….bought an egg sandwich today, it was nice!!”  Wrong on two accounts mate. Firstly, I would never buy an egg sandwich! Secondly, Tokyo is a city that is so so different to any place I have ever been and there is so much stuff to reveal. I have been here for nearly two years now so I just need to think back to what was different back then but I now have got (more-or-less) accustomed to. The only problem of course may be whether I can be bothered to log my thoughts here.

Anyway, yesterday I had a unique experience. When most Westerner people think of Japan they think of samarai, sumo, sake and of course sushi which is what I made yesterday. Other than scrambled egg on toast and a pot noodle (called cup noodle here) I have never used a kitchen in such a way. During my first year in Japan I didn’t even go to a sushi restaurant but this time I got hooked and I now really like ‘kaiten-zushi’ (conveyor-belt sushi bars). Basically all I had to do was take a thin sheet of dried ‘nori’ (a type of seaweed) and spread some vinegared rice over it before putting some raw seafood in the middle and then roll it using a special rolling utensil as shown in the pictures.

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May The Forks Be With You!

Posted on February 26, 2006 by tokyofox

Overall I have been living in Japan for nearly 2 years now. Before I came out to Japan I had only ever used chopsticks once and that was at my job interview where I was given a free bento box (Japanese style lunchbox usually containing rice, fish, vegetables and meat). I was fairly hopeless at using them at first but within a short amount of time I mastered it and by the time I had to use them for the first time here it wasn’t really a problem.

It is therefore still a little incredible to be constantly asked by Japanese people (when we go out for food and drinks) whether I can use chopsticks. It seems that many Japanese (and in particular those who have never been abroad) assume that us ‘gaijin‘ (foreigners) stick exclusively to western food and eat it with a knife and fork.

Given the number of Japanese people to be found in Italian, Korean, Chinese, Indian, French and Spanish restaurants in Tokyo I really don’t understand they’re coming from in terms of why they think we would eat only traditional western food rather than food which is popular the world over. Anyway, thats enough of this rant as I’m off to get some fish and chips at the local British bar!!!

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The Gullable Japanese Music Market……..Or Not!!

Posted on February 25, 2006 by tokyofox

I am a big music fan and so buying cd’s here is of great interest and fascination to me as so many international bands seem to add one or two bonus tracks on to their albums. Is there any reason why Japan gets singled out for such extras or ‘lazy’ Japan-only releases of b-sides or live versions? Or is it just the record companies trying to take advantage of what they maybe consider to be a gullable Japanese market who will buy anything and everything connected with that band? Maybe by releasing these ‘limited edition’ cd’s in an economy like Japan then allows for a higher demand for importing these Japan-only releases into Europe or America.

I have to say that i’ve been taken in by it all and buy many of these cd’s as they’re not available in Europe. It has to be said that the extra tracks are usually pretty average at best.

I think the reason is that the import version of the album is available cheap here but the japanese version requires lyric translations, artist biography (as non-Japanese artists may not be well known here) and some more exclusive features. Japanese label also demands 2-4 weeks of time for promotion such as TV or magazine articles which inevitably pushes up the price. Of the 4 big music economies – USA, UK, Australia and Japan – only the latter gets these extras at a much higher rate than the other three put together. Sure, there are a few UK or USA only releases but Japan has absolutely loads in comparison which are just crying out for someone like myself to flog on e-bay!

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Hail the arrival in Tokyo of El Pres!dente

Posted on February 24, 2006 by tokyofox

Just got back from HMV in Shibuya where I saw Scottish band El Presidente play a live and free five/six song set culminating in their first hit ‘Without You‘ which has been played to death on local station Inter FM recently. While recently looking at the UK top 40 chart on-line I saw that this band scraped into the hit parade at number 40 with some other song which I don’t know.

I think they have been around since last summer but are only just getting started over here. It was quite a good set and included a cover of Prince’ ‘Raspberry Beret‘. Anyway, to get to the point (yes, there is actually one!!) after the set there was a sort of meet and greet with the band for people holding a ticket of some sort though I don’t know how they acquired it!. Given that the Japanese always bow to say thanks or whatever I thought it a little strange that they shake hands with the band. Reminds me of some Royal folk meeting two sporting teams prior to a major sporting occasion.

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Beep Beep! Pardon Me!

Posted on February 23, 2006 by tokyofox

I feel a little embarassed to write this but obviously not enough to deter me from actually doing so!! A few years ago I was in Perth in Australia with a mate and we were laughing and joking around when a vehicle of some sort tooted its horn and we simultaneously said “Pardon me” like one does when they fart. Not really funny but being the juveniles that we were we found it hilariously funny. But did we leave it at that?

Of course we didn’t and instead decided to milk such a pathetically childish joke for all it was worth. After that, everytime we heard a car horn we would rush to say pardon me and when we got to Sydney our Japanese friend even joined in on the game. Years passed by and this p*ss-poor excuse for game faded into oblivion apart from the occasional re-union with my friend who’s identity I will predict.

Lets just call him Richard Richard for the sake of it, mainly because thats his real name! Anyway, towards the end of last year I remembered such tomfoolery and rather than coming up with anything original and amusing I just decided to re-hash this cr*ppy phrase. Amazingly some Japanese people found it funny but the sad thing now is that I can’t stop saying it even when I’m walking down the streets alone.

“Nurse, the screens……..”

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