Sep 30

JETs with J.D.s >> The “Flexibility” of the J.D., and so-called alternative careers

Andrew McCarthy (Akita-ken, 2005-08) is a recent law school graduate who currently runs the blog JETs with J.D.s, an information source for current JET alumni law students and prospective law students for career paths and approaches within the current legal market. Coincidentally, if you are a current or prospective law student looking to contribute a little to your fellow JET community by blogging a bit, Andrew would be interested in hearing from you!

As the legal market continues to languish in the perfect storm of post-financial crisis lay-offs, globalization shifting entry-level legal work to places like India, and heat is slowly (perhaps too slowly) being applied to the legal education system to affect substantive change: law school administrations and law students alike are looking to “Alternative Careers” to be their safe harbor after graduation.

But what are the alternative career options for the J.D.?

In this entry, I give you my two yen on the subject, and hook you up with the most recent commentary out there, letting you decide for yourself.

The entry, in full, is available here.

 


Sep 29

JET alum Lee-Sean Huang in Fast Company, recruiting alumni interested in design for social innovation for new MFA program

JET alum and JETwit webmaster Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, Nakatsu-shi, 2003-2006) recently appeared in the Fast Company article “An MFA Degree For Designers Who Want To Change The World” by Michael J. Coren.

So you want to change the world? Cynics may send you off to Wall Street or a white-shoe law firm. Those with gumption will look for another way. The new Master’s of Fine Arts in Design for Social Innovation has opened its doors just for them.

“We’re adamant this not be a program where people sit in a classroom and talk about how great it’s going to be when they go out and change the world,” says program chair Cheryl Heller at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, and a board member of PopTech. “It is helping designers go beyond self-expression, which is how most designers are taught, and how to put [design] into practice to create a change.”

Read the full Fast Company article here.

Lee-Sean, a faculty member in the department, is reaching out to the JET community and encouraging returning JETs and alumni to apply to the MFA Design for Social Innovation program.  The program is for applicants from a broad range of backgrounds with an interest in design and social innovation, and not just those with college degrees or prior professional experience in design.  Email leesean@purpose.com with inquiries, and apply here.  The deadline for applications is January 15, 2015 for Fall 2012 enrollment.

Photo: Lee-Sean with fellow MFA Design for Social Innovation faculty member Alessandra Orofino.


Sep 29

I’ll Make It Myself! – Mini Okara Gateaux Chocolat

L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and translator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan.

 Mini Okara Gateaux Chocolat

While looking for recipes the first time I bought okara, I had found several for okara gateaux. This recipe is the result of experimenting with a number of these, particularly with the amount of sugar and cocoa. The texture is quite different than a traditional chocolate gateau, but if you like desserts that have been remade with healthier ingredients (tofu, soy milk, etc.), this is bound to be a hit.

 

CLICK HERE to read the full post.


Sep 27

Editor’s Note:  I’ll Make It Myself is a blog about food culture and cooking for yourself in Japan by Ishikawa-based JET alum L.M. Zoller.  We’re very pleased to share selected posts on JETwit as well.

L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and translator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, ze also writes I’ll Make it Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan.

Hello, JETwit! I’m pleased to introduce my food blog I’ll Make it Myself: An Expat Career Woman’s Love Affair with Things Culinary. I cover a wide range of topics on this blog, including Japanese recipes, recipes adapted for Japan, local food culture, and restaurant reviews. A little about me: I’m obsessed with kabocha and oatmeal; I go through cinnamon like a champ; and I’m constantly on the hunt for good microbrews–the darker, the better. Many of my recipes and reviewed restaurants are vegetarian-friendly, and I try to keep things fairly healthy. Today, I’m posting a recent entry about Kaga heirloom vegetables, a recipe for gorgeous, quick, and delicious Japanese-style pickles.

 

Aka-Zuiki Quick Pickles (Red-Taro-Stem Vinegar Pickles) 

Japanese food traditionally includes a lot of tsukemono (漬け物), or pickles. The first thing most Americans will think of when you say pickles is dill (cucumber) pickles that go with sandwiches; however, pickles are any vegetable that has been preserved with brining. Japanese pickles cover a wide range of base ingredients, including carrots, cucumbers, ginger, and plums; as well as a wide variety of pickling styles: salt, miso, vinegar, nuka (rice bran), and more. Some recipes call for the pickling mixture and vegetables (or fruit) to be aged overnight or for several months, but this recipe can be consumed right after cooking!

 

CLICK HERE to read the full post.


Sep 27

JET alum author Bruce Feiler’s latest NYTimes column

Here’s the latest NYT column by JET alum Bruce Feiler (Tottori-ken, 1989-90), author of Learning to BowThe Council of Dads, and several books on the Middle East including Walking the BibleAbrahamand Where God Was Born.  To read prior columns, please click here. You can also see all of his recent media appearances surrounding his new book, GENERATION FREEDOM:  The Middle East Uprisings and the Remaking of the Modern World,  by visiting www.brucefeiler.com.

September 23, 2011

Snooping in the Age of E-book

By BRUCE FEILER

I RECENTLY attended a chaotic, kid-friendly gathering at the home of a friend. On my way to the bathroom to seek some solace, I decided to indulge in one of my favorite antisocial activities: scrutinizing someone else’s bookshelf. For a veteran sleuth, a bookshelf can offer a trove of insights worthy of any Freudian’s couch. Does a person alphabetize the books or clump them? Do they arrange their books by genre, order in which they were purchased, or color? Are these books unopened hardcovers or dog-eared paperbacks?

I was several minutes into my investigation (Bill Clinton’s memoir; “The DaVinci Code”), when I had a heart-sinking realization: Read More


Sep 27

New version of LinkedIn group for Monbusho English Fellows (MEFs) and other pre-JETs

A few months ago I set up a LinkedIn group for Monbusho English Fellows (MEFs) and other pre-JETs such as British English Teachers (BETs).  However, it turns out that an MEF named Thomas Schalow, now a professor living in Kobe, had already set up an MEF group on Linkedin.

Here’s the link for anyone who would like to join:  http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=3757582

 

I believe there are a few hundred or so MEFs in existence and would love to track you guys down and bring you into the JET alum orbit to the extent possible.  So if you are an MEF or BET or other pre-JET, please identify yourself by joining the group.

FYI, two prominent MEFs I’m aware of are Michael Green, former top Japan guy at the State Department during the Bush administration and Bruce Rutledge, founder of Seattle-based Chin Music Press.


Sep 26

WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

Hisashiburi and following the celebration of 秋分の日 (shubun no hi, or Autumnal Equinox Day) this past weekend, welcome to fall!  Commemorating the passing of the season is an editorial from this morning’s NYT, which discusses the 節電 (setsuden, or energy saving) measures the Japanese undertook this summer and their success.

Also, make sure to check out this series of setsuden posters mentioned in the article.  They were created by a community of graphic designers in response to a call to arms on Twitter.  The one pictured here is a spoof on the ubiquitous construction poster and reads, “Please save energy,” and in smaller lettering on the side, “For all of the disaster areas.”

 


Sep 26

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Thanks to Andy Anderson, father of Taylor Anderson, for sharing this information:

  • Translations of various Japanese newspaper articles, provided by a friend for the Andersons:

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Daily Yomiuri

An American Teacher Falls Victim to the Tsunami

Our Daughter’s Best-Loved Books to Her Students

Family of the Deceased Donates to Ishinomaki

The family of Taylor Anderson (then 24), an American woman engaged in English language instruction at elementary schools in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture before falling victim to the tsunami, visited Mangokuura Elementary School in Ishinomaki on the sixth and presented the school with 40 books. Anderson’s father, Andy (54) addressed 60 students saying, “Find your dreams and live. That is what my daughter did.”

The woman of whom he spoke was Virginia-native assistant language teacher Taylor Anderson. Anderson came to Japan in 2008 and taught English at elementary schools in Ishinomaki City. On the day of the earthquake, she watched over the school children from Mangokuura Elementary to see that they had evacuated before heading back for home. She was swallowed up by the tsunami waves.

Donated on the sixth was a collection dubbed “Taylor’s Library,” 40 volumes in total. Anderson’s personal favorites were included in the collection, which was purchased using money from a fund established by the surviving parents and Anderson’s alma mater.

At the dedication ceremony held at Mangokuura Elementary, Andy shared memories from Taylor’s childhood. “Once she started reading, she wouldn’t stop. She read and expanded her imagination.” He also shared the power of reading that brought her dream of becoming a bridge connecting Japan and America to fruition.

Kaito Hikiji (12), a student representative who expressed thanks to Andy and family in English, said, “Ms. Anderson told us about Harry Potter, and it was easy to feel close to her. We will think of these books as Ms. Anderson and treat them with care.”

The family plans to donate books in succession to each of the six schools at which Anderson taught.

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(Not sure which publication this is from.)

“Find your dreams and live.”

An Expression of Love through Books

Surviving Family of the American ALT who Fell Victim to the Earthquake Disaster Donates Picture Books

The family of Taylor Anderson (then 24, U.S.), the Ishinomaki City assistant language teacher (ALT) who perished in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, donated books Anderson read as a child to a local elementary school as “Taylor’s Library” on the sixth of this month.

In attendance at the dedication ceremony held at Mangokuura Elementary School in Ishinomaki City were 64 sixth-grade students (then fifth graders) who had class with Anderson on the day of the earthquake. Father Andy (53) greeted them saying, “It will make us so happy if you will read these books, find your dreams, and live on.”

“Ms. Anderson was nice. I want to read these books with care,” said Moeka Abe (12), a student of Anderson’s.

Donated were approximately 40 volumes comprising children’s literature and picture books newly-purchased by Andy and family. The books are now kept on a bookshelf built by local carpenter Shinichi Endo, who currently resides in temporary housing in Higashi Matsushima City. Endou lost his three children to the tsunami. His eldest son and second daughter were both students of Anderson.

“I built the bookshelf while picturing Ms. Anderson’s cheerful spirit. I felt that this job was my opportunity to start looking forward in life,” he explained.

Anderson first came to Japan in 2008. Besides Mangoku Elementary, she instructed students in English at one kindergarten and a total of six elementary and junior high schools in Ishinomaki City. “Taylor’s Library” will also be donated to these institutions.

On the day of the earthquake, Anderson saw that the students from Mangoku Elementary evacuated to nearby Mangoku Junior High and was on her way home on her bicycle when she was swept away by the tsunami.

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Asahi Shimbun

Students of our Daughter: Learn English through Books

“She loved to read as a child. I hope that you will all find your dreams in these books, too.” On the sixth, the family of Taylor Anderson (then 24), the American assistant language teacher who passed away in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture on the day of the Great East Japan Earthquake, visited Mangokuura Elementary School where their daughter had taught and presented the school with 40 English-language books and a bookshelf. They have named it “Taylor’s Library.”

On the day of the earthquake, Anderson, along with other faculty, saw that the children had evacuated, and upon parting with them was hit by the tsunami.

“Had she lived, she would have been working for the people of Ishinomaki.” Anderson’s father, Andy (53), who resides in the state of Virginia, decided to donate books to the kindergarten and elementary and junior high schools—seven institutions in total—where his daughter taught.

The students who had class with Anderson on that fateful day greeted Andy and his wife, Jean (53), in English, saying, “Taylor’s class was fun. It made us like English.” Jean shared that her heart was warmed at the chance to stand in the place where her daughter once stood.

*************


Sep 25

JET Prefecture Round-up 09.26.11

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Emily Lemmon, (Hyogo-ken, Shiso-shi, 2009-present), PSG volunteer, organizer of Hyogo-ken’s PEPY Ride, student of Shorinji Kempo, and editor of the Hyogo Times, gives a little taste of what JETs are doing around Japan.  To submit items for future JET Prefecture Round-up posts, e-mail Emily at jetinfogather [at] gmail.com.

 

Events by Region

 Hokkaido

 

Tohoku Region

Iwate

  • Iwate AJET will be climbing Mt. Iwate on October 8th on the Umagaeshi trail.

Yamagata

  • Connect 2011 is happening October 8th-10th at Kurosawa in Oguni, Yamagata.

Fukushima

 

Kantou Region

Chiba

Gunma

 

Chubu Region

Shizuoka

Nagano

  • Cricket Game: Nagano vs. Hakuba, October 19th.
  • October 16th, the Ina English Guide Club will present Zazen Meditation.

Toyama

  • Toyama JETs are going on a Kyoto Trip, October 7th-10th.
  • Toyama AJET is holding a Cheesecake Bakeoff on Sunday, October 16th, in Nanto city.

 

Kansai Region

Kyoto

Nara

  • The Nara AJET Halloween Party will be at the Wormwood Café on October 29th.

Hyogo

Osaka

Wakayama

 

Shikoku Region

  • Shikoku Field Day will be held in Shikoku Saburo no Sato, in Mima City, Tokushima on November 26th and 27th.

Ehime

  • October 1st-2nd is the Niihama Welcome Party, held on the beach in Niihama.
  • There will be a drifting event at Setonaikai Circuit in Saijo on October 9th, complete with a Pro D1 Grand Prix driver (Takashi Haruyama) who’s coming out to help judge the competitions!
  • October 15th Ehime JETs will climb Mt. Ishizuchi, tallest mountain on Shikoku.
  • Ehime JETs assist with the Yoshida International Association’s Halloween party for the local elementary and junior high school students on October 15th.
  • October 23rd is the Matsuyama Orphanage Visit.
  • November 12th is the Ehime AJET Dinner in Matsuyama.

Kochi

  • Kochi JETs will make an excursion to Nahari Hotel Beer Garden on Friday 30th September.
  • October 8th-10th is Surf Camp in Kuroshio-cho for Kochi JETs.
  • Kochi JETs are getting artsy at Mouth to Mouth: a meeting of makings on October 23rd in Kochi City.
  • Kochi-JETs are helping with Halloween Party in an abandoned school building on October 28th.

 

Kyushu Region

Oita

  • The Notsu City’s annual Halloween Party will be October 8th, and Oita JETs are helping out!
  • The Annual Oita AJET Sumo Trip is coming up on Saturday, November 26th!

Kumamoto

  • KumAJET and DiscSports Japan present Ichi Kyuu Bee on October 1st, featuring 4 ALT Teams (SagaOitaMiyazaki, and Kumamoto) and 9 Japanese Teams (Shakaijin and college students from all over Kyushu).
  • Kumamoto JETs will be rafting down the Kuma River on Saturday, 15th October with LandEarth.

Nagasaki

  • On 1st October, Nagasaki JETs will take a walk through Hasami. The attractions include tiered rice fields, crazy scarecrows, pottery, and pretty temples.

Sep 25

By Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) and Vlad Baranenko (Saitama-ken, 2000-02) for JQ magazine.

Presented by The Playwrights Realm, the drama Crane Story stars Angela Lin (a veteran of JET alum Randall David Cook’s Sake with the Haiku Geisha) as Cassis, a young Japanese American on an odyssey to rescue her brother’s soul from the land of the dead.

Written by Jen Silverman and directed by Katherine Kovner, Crane Story runs through Oct. 1 at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York’s Greenwich Village. Here’s what JQ‘s critics had to say at a Midtown diner after a recent performance.

Justin Tedaldi: What were your thoughts about the production?

Vlad Baranenko: Given the limited resources that they have being Off-Broadway, they did a very good job with the imagery and the special effects.

JT: I really liked the way the creative team put everything together with the scenery and the costumes, especially the sound effects. There’s a raised wooden stage where most of the action happens, and at the very beginning they describe rain, but you see the rest of the cast drumming their fingers on the stage, which creates the illusion of falling rain. Very creative ways of getting around the limitations that come with being an Off-Broadway production.

VB: I agree on that. The cast obviously remembered their lines really well. It didn’t seem forced, actually; very natural. In that regard, I give them high marks.

JT: I’m reading here that the actor who plays Ishida, Louis Ozawa Changchien, appeared with Adrien Brody, Topher Grace and Laurence Fishburne in the movie Predators.

VB: He looks like someone who’s got some pretty good experience under his belt. He comes off as very authentic in the way he acts, and that’s one of the first things that I noticed.

Read More


Sep 22

Media Outlets Claiming ‘Law Is no Longer a Golden Ticket’ Conceal Decades of a Profession in Decline

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Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules.  He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States.

The popular lawyer periodical, the Am Law Daily, ran an article I wrote, titled, “Media Outlets Claiming ‘Law Is no Longer a Golden Ticket’ Conceal Decades of a Profession in Decline.” In it I use Bureau of Economic Analysis data, charts, and animations to demonstrate that the legal sector of the U.S. economy stagnated about 20 years ago, and along with increasing law school tuition creates a crisis for legal education in the United States.


Sep 21

Justin’s Japan: Hiroshima lends its divine sound to NYC Japan benefit concert

Hiroshima brings its soothing sound to New York City Sept. 21.

 

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his page here for related stories.

A staple of the Los Angeles jazz scene since 1974, Hiroshima returns for an East Coast engagement tonight (Sept. 21) to headline a Japan relief benefit concert with special guest stars at New York’s B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.

The only Asian American band to have been nominated for a Grammy, the group’s most recent album, 2009’s Legacy, celebrates Hiroshima’s 30th anniversary of recording and serves as a re-visitation of songs (like the easy listening favorite “Roomful of Mirrors” and ’80s hit single “One Wish”) from the band’s first decade.

Led by original members Dan and June Kuramoto, the group proved itself a musical chimera from the start with its self-titled debut, mixing elements of jazz, pop, and R&B with traditional Japanese instruments. Dan has remarked that at the time in America, music was the only outlet of cultural diversity available, and the resulting disc was a pioneering voice in the world music movement that followed.

For the complete story, click here.


Sep 20

Thanks to Leah Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) for sharing the below.  Leah is currently a writer and translator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa, an art-based tourism project via a METI grant to the Cooperative Association for the Promotion of Kanazawa-Kaga Maki-e in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.

Ishikawa AJET has just published a digital cookbook for charity.  The book is designed for the English-speaking expat in Japan.

CLICK HERE for details and to purchase the Ishikawa AJET Digital Cookbook.

When I moved to rural Ishikawa in 2009, I had to entirely revamp my philosophy on cooking: how to work with the ingredients I had available in my small town; how to cook without a full-size oven; how to deal with metric measurements; and how to cook for one. I started this project with the hope that any JET, regardless of cooking skill or Japanese language ability, could arrive in Japan and immediately have a guide to simple home-cooking and be able to make the food s/he wants to eat.

The recipes are written in English with the Japanese terms for the ingredients right on the page, along with helpful hints for navigating the grocery store. Measurements are in metrics, and the recipes are meant for Japanese kitchen equipment, so you never have to worry about recipes not fitting in the oven range or not cooking through. Furthermore, 30 JETs and friends and I did extensive testing on the recipes to make sure they all were easy to understand and actually worked correctly. The recipes are a mixture of Japanese, foreign, and fusion food, and include a large number vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes.

Because this is a pdf, we were able to save on printing costs and keep things more environmentally friendly. The pdf is interactive: there are hotlinks to recipes from the indices, and the document is searchable. Our design team did a fantastic job, and it’s a very useful friendly layout.

The cookbook costs 1000 yen, and all proceeds go to Second Harvest Japan, a charity that brings food and supplies to food banks, orphanages, single mothers, immigrants, et al. This charity has been critical in the relief efforts after the Tohoku Earthquake.

The original post on the Ishikawa JET Blog is here: http://ishikawajet.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/master-cooking-in-japan-with-the-ishikawa-kitchen/

Payment options include using paypal for a downloadable pdf (see link) or contacting AJET directly at ishikawaajet@gmail.com to pay via furikomi and receive the document by email.


Sep 20

Members of Monkey Majik with Deputy Minister Len Edwards

Here’s info on a charity concert (“charity live”) by JET alum Maynard Plant’s (Aomori-ken, 1997-2000) hit band Monkey Majik in Sendai on October 16th, as part of their ongoing effort to support rebuilding and recovery in Tohoku, in their capacity as Tohoku Tourism Ambassadors.

東北観光親善大使「モンキーマジック」がチャリティライブを開催します!

2011年9月12日

震災から6ヶ月が経過してもなお、復興までのプロセスには数多くの方の継続的なご支援が必要であるとあらためて実感すると同時に、活動を通じて人間一人一人の助け合いの力強さ、素晴らしさに日々感動を憶えてきました。

そしてこの出来事を全国の皆様に伝え続けて行かなくてはならないという強い想いから、プロジェクト第3弾となるチャリティライブを故郷 被災地 仙台で開催することを決断しました。

「音楽」の力を通じて、参加してくれた方々、さらに被災地の方々の一歩前へ踏み出す気持ちへの後押しとなり、心の早期復興への一助となるような1日を共に作り上げたいと強く願っております。

本公演に於ける売上金の一部を義援金、寄付金として、再び公的機関を通じて被災地へ送ります。

〈公演概要〉
東日本大震災復興支援プロジェクト
MONKEY MAJIKチャリティライブ「SEND愛」
~MONKEY MAJIKがゲストを迎えてのチャリティライブ~
日程:2011年10月16日(日)開場13:00開演14:00
会場:セキスイハイムスーパーアリーナ(グランディ21)
出演:MONKEY MAJIK/LOVE PSYCHEDELICO/Rake and more・・・

チケット一般発売:9月17日(土)10:00~
チケット料金:前売り5,000円(税込)

お問い合わせ:
TBC事業部 TEL022-227-2715
ニュース・プロモーション TEL022-266-7555
詳しくは こちら へアクセス願います。


Sep 20

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Here are updates from a few more of the 20 Tohoku region JET alumni selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to return to their town to both engage in volunteer efforts and also help document and share what’s going on there.

  • Ben Erickson (Iwate-ken, Ninohe-shi) of Pacific Northwest JETAA left yesterday for Iwate.  You can follow his experience on his blog at Tohokuben.com – One JET’s Return to Iwate.  Here’s Ben’s current itinerary:

Day One: Tokyo, Ichinoseki, The Coast

My first official duty will be a meeting with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in the Kasumigaseki area of Tokyo.  After a brief meeting to discuss the goals of my program, there is no time to waste.  I head from Tokyo to Ichinoseki to meet with Peace Winds America, and their staff member Mari Poorman who is overseeing their efforts in Japan.  Time permitting, Mari and I may head south into Miyagi, and the town of Minamisanriku.

Day Two: The Coast

Mari and I are planning to head to the coastal cities of Ofunato and Rikuzen-Takata.

Day Three: Ninohe

After a late night train back to my second hometown, I’ll be back on familiar ground.  In the morning, I’ll have a meeting with the good people of the Ninohe City Board of Education who have been working with me on this trip.  I’ll also have a meeting with the Superintendent of Schools, and the Mayor.  The real joy will be in the afternoon.  A trip to the local High School and a chance to see my former Junior High School students now in High School.

Day Four: Ninohe

The schedule for this day is being determined.

Day Five: Ninohe, Northern Iwate and Hanamaki

The schedule for this day is being determined.

Day Six: Hiraizumi, Ichinoseki

Today I’ll visit the newly designate UNESCO World Heritage site in Hiraizumi.  I’ll also be staying in a traditional Japanese Inn for my last night in Japan.

Day Seven: Return to Tokyo, Seattle.

My last day will be travel.  A train to Tokyo and my flight home.

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Day 1: Wednesday September 21st – Depart from Ottawa for Japan

Day 2: Thursday, September 22nd – Arrive in Tokyo. Go straight to MOFA, then check into my hotel.  (Spend the night in Tokyo)

Day 3: Friday, September 23rd – Tokyo to Koriyama city, then travel to Aizu-Wakamatsu to see Enzo-ji, Iimoriyama andTsuruga Castle.  (Stay in Aizu-Wakamatsu)

Day 4: Saturday, September 24th – Take part in the Global Citizen’s Festival in Fukushima city that the Fukushima AJET Chapter will be taking part in. There will be facepainting, games and food from all different parts of the world and this is something that JETs in Fukushima do every year.  (Stay in Fukushima)

Day 5: Sunday, September 25th (Tourist Destination) – Volunteer on the coast in Soma.  Head to Soma to volunteer with Hearts for Haragama, a charity created by current Fukushima JETs, which provides funds and assistance to a kindergarten in Soma.  (Stay in Fukushima)

Day 6: Monday, September 26th – In the morning, visit Fukushima Senior High School with Jason Ishida (Fukushima SHS ALT) to participate in classes and conversations with his students.  (Stay in Fukushima)

Day 7: Tuesday, September 27th – Visit Nihonmatsu Adachi Senior High School to partake in their yearly bunkasai (oh ya, that’s right, who picked the best time to go?  Oh this guy…BUNKASAI!!!!)  (Stay in Fukushima)

Day 8: Wednesday, September 28th – Visit Nihonmatsu Technical Senior High School in the morning and then depart for Tokyo. (Stay in Tokyo)

Day 9: Thursday, September 29th – Depart from Tokyo for Ottawa

CLICK HERE to read the full post.

You can also check the JETAA USA website post (“JET Alums Return to Tohoku”) for additional information.

 


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