JapanLocal: Kamo Aquarium in Tsuruoka
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JETAA Philadelphia Subchapter rep Rashaad Jorden recently wrote the following article for the Japan Tourist website (a great example of JETs helping to promote “local” tourism for Japan):
Kamo Aquarium in Tsuruoka: More wonderful water fun in Yunohama
(Click link to the article to see photos: http://japantourist.jp/view/kamo-aqarium)
In a part of Tsuruoka renown for onsen and Yamagata Prefecture’s most popular beach, it’s quite fitting there’s another place where water brings out more fun. Only here animals are stars of the show.
Once threatened with bankruptcy, Kamo Aquarium in Yunohama has grown to become one of the country’s most popular aquariums, welcoming more than 220,000 visitors in 2011 (according to a June 2012 article on the Japan Times’ website). A remarkable number considering only 90,000 people visited Kamo in 1997, sparking rumors of the aquarium’s demise.
Much of the credit for Kamo’s revival goes to one creature: the jellyfish. Read More
Recently posted to the JETwit LinkedIn group by current JET Eliot Honda (Ehime-ken, Uwajima-shi):
“I created a playlist of all four ALT Introduction videos. It’s finally finished. Hope this helps folks coming to Uwajima, and maybe helps new folks coming on JET.” Great job, Eliot! O-tsukare sama deshita!
JETwit note: It might also make for a good submission to Chris Allison’s (Oita-ken) TheInaka.com project. Bullfighting in Japan? Who knew? Uwajima JETs, apparently.
Any other videos by JETs about their areas? JETwit wants to know about it. E-mail: jetwit [at] jetwit.com
Fukushima JET alum sets up Kickstarter fund to support his Fukushima documentary project
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Darryl Wharton-Rigby (Fukushima-ken, Kawamata-cho, 2005-07) has set up a Kickstarter fund to support his documentary project about Fukushima, “Don Doko Don: The Yamakiya Taiko Drum Club Project.” Darryl was also organized a project earlier this year, together with former JETAA DC President Michelle Spezzacatena (Fukushima-ken, Kawamata-cho, 2002-05) that brought the Kawamata taiko group to D.C. for the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Here’s a little info about the project from the Kickstarter page:
“Don Doko Don: The Yamakiya Taiko Club Story follows an award winning Japanese Taiko Drum Troop – comprised entirely of kids, teens and 20-year-olds – living in Yamakiya, a small town near the failed Fukushima nuclear power plant. The group is forced to flee their homes and beloved mountain community after the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster wreaked devastation on them.
「どんどこどん」：この映画は、数々の受賞歴のある和太鼓の団体である、山木屋太鼓クラブのドキュメンタリー映画です。山木屋太鼓クラブは山木屋市内の、10歳以下の子供や10代の学生そして20歳の青年から構成されています。メンバーたちは地震・津波そして福島原発事故の影響で、今現在もなお実家や親しんだ地元から避難を余儀なくされている状況にあります。
Living as refugees and scattered around the countryside outside and within the radiation zone, the brave Taiko troop struggles to stay together and practice; trying to keep alive the spirit of their community – and the hope of returning home one day. And then, after facing daily adversity and at their lowest point, they get invited to Washington D.C. to be the honored performer in D.C.’s 100th Cherry Blossom Festival; headlining a climatic performance at the Kennedy Center!
それぞれの地域で避難生活を送っているにも関わらず、いつか実家のある地元故郷に帰ることを願い、山木屋太鼓クラブは離れ離れにならないように共に集まり太鼓クラブの精神を盛り上げて一生懸命活動しています。逆境に立ち向かう中、山木屋太鼓クラブはワシントンD.C.の桜祭百周年記念の演奏者として招待され、ケネディーセンターでは最高の演奏を行いました。”
NY-based dance company to host fundraiser in collaboration with Shizuoka City and Choshi city
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“The Inaka” project: A place for JETs to share their Inaka gems with the rest of the world
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JETwit would like to strongly encourage JETs and JET alumni to post pictures and other information to the website The Inaka (www.theinaka.com). The project is a very cool concept in and of itself. However, it is also potentially a great example of the kind of local Return On JET-vestment that demonstrates the long-term value of the JET Programme to prefectures and towns that hire JETs. Read the invitation and explanation below by The Inaka creator Chris Allison (Oita-ken).
Hi my name is Chris Allison, and I have been living in Oita Prefecture for the past three years as an ALT. Over the past few years I`ve noticed several problems with Japanese travel sights.
- They focus on the prefecture`s best rather than showing sights specific to individual towns and cities.
- They have a focus on text and description rather than pictures.
- Difficult to find and then navigate through.
- Lack of English.
This made it very difficult for me as a first year with no Japanese to find and travel to local sights.
I was constantly wishing that there would be some kind of picture oriented guide to show what was special about each town. Whether it is a tourist sight, a restaurant, an onsen, or a festival, each and every town has something that makes it worth going and seeing. Unfortunately, only the JETs in that town know what that town has to offer. Up until now, that information was essentially disappeared once the ALT returned home.
That`s why I made The Inaka, so that foreigners living in Japan had a place to share their Inaka gems with the rest of the world, in an easy to navigate, picture oriented, English written Inaka travel site.
With The Inaka, we can store our pictures and information about our towns for future generations of ALTs to come. The benefit does not end there though. We will hopefully be bringing tourism to Japan`s less traveled to areas by bringing awareness to the beauty that can be found in The Inaka. We have the power to connect people, whether travelers from outside the country or in, with the beauty that can only be found in Japan`s countryside. In doing this we can connect these people with restaurants and onsen that we recommend, and help build up local businesses. We have an excellent opportunity to give back to a country that has given us so much.
However, the site will not be very useful unless it is filled with information and pictures about everyone`s towns. The Inaka needs your help. The upload process takes less than 5 minutes and could not be easier. Currently, Oita prefecture has the most filled in, so take a look to see what your prefecture could look like once it has more uploaded to it.
Thank you, I cannot wait to see what you have in your side of The Inaka.
Chris Allison
JapanLocal: Tottori JET Anthony Lieven’s latest Misasa video – June 2012
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Tottori JET Anthony Lieven has been creating new videos each month as part of a project that introduces his JET town of Misasa to the world. With Anthony’s permission, here is his latest video:
“Hello everyone ! Here is my new video ! For this third monthly video (June) I filmed friends while they where enjoying Misasa ! We had a lot of fun !”
http://vimeo.com/43906925
JapanLocal: Promotional Video for JET alum book “For Fukui’s Sake”
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Below is a promotional video for the book For Fukui’s Sake: Two Year’s In Rural Japan by JET alum Sam Baldwin (Fukui-ken, 2004-06) (who also created the video). The video does a great job of capturing the images and essence Fukui through Sam’s eyes. Read more about Sam in the book review Tim Martin (Fukui-ken, 2006-08) did for JQ magazine.
JETAA Northern California Pacific Bridge: Ganbarou Tohoku!
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Anna Fung is a JET ALT in Iwate Prefecture who departed from the Bay Area last year. JETAA Northern California’s Pacific Bridge recently asked Anna to write a piece about living in the devastated region, as well as how the Japanese people around her are recovering.
More than half a year has passed since I arrived in Japan. I’m still a little green since I make plenty of verbal mistakes and perform a lot of gestures to make myself understood, but life is gradually getting easier. I’ve also had the pleasure of making many friends from Japan and around the world.
Many Japanese people are curious as to why I decided to come to Iwate, even after the huge earthquake. Before arriving, I was worried. There was the ongoing cleanup at the coast, as well as radiation problems in Sendai. Despite these lingering doubts, Japan was like another home to me because I have lived here before and befriended many wonderful people.
Being an ALT aboard the JET Program, I work with some teachers whose hometowns were located near the coast and were devastated. One teacher’s house was flooded with water, and the first floor was pretty much destroyed. The house was fixed, but her elementary and junior high schools were wiped out. Inland cities were also affected by the earthquake. One teacher lives in an apartment where her family had power outage when the quake occurred, causing both electricity and water to stop. They were very worried whether they had enough water for their newborn baby. Luckily, electricity was restored after a few days.
Attention JET alums in Hawaii: Support Requested for Hiroshima City Delegation at the Pan-Pacific Festival
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Via the Hiroshima City Government with assistance from Naomi Maki of the Japan Local Government Center in New York (aka CLAIR-NY):
A tourism promotion and exchange delegation from the City of Hiroshima is visiting Honolulu!
Purpose: Hiroshima City and Honolulu City established a sister city relationship in 1959, and over the years, they have enhanced their friendly relations through promoting peace, culture, sports, and other causes. In 2009, they exchanged delegations in commemoration of the 50 years of their sister city relationship. Also the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce established a relationship in 1971, and last year was the 30th anniversary for them. So this year, the City of Hiroshima and the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce are sending a delegation to Honolulu to promote tourism in Hiroshima. They will visit Honolulu by a charter flight with around 200 citizens.
Schedule: From June 7 to 12
Support Requested for Hiroshima City Delegation at the Pan-Pacific Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii
We are looking for JET alumni who worked in Hiroshima on JET, because the City of Hiroshima would appreciate any volunteers who might be able to help with their tourism promotion in Honolulu on the following dates:
*From 11:20am to 11:35 on June 9, Saturday for a stage event.
*From 3:00pm to 7:00pm on June 10, Sunday for distributing Hiroshima’s tourist information at a booth.
If you or any other JET alumni know someone who worked in Hiroshima as a JET, please share this information. If anyone is interested in this program, please contact Darryl Toma, President of JETAA Hawaii at Jetaahawaii [at] gmail.com.
And if you are interested in Hiroshima and connecting with other Hiroshima JET alumni, please join the Hiroshima JET Alumni group on LinkedIn!
Also CLAIR and the City of Hiroshima would greatly appreciate it if JET alumni could share the above information with other JET alumni.
From Naomi Maki, Assistant Director, Japan Local Government Center.
About the Pan-Pacific Festival: http://www.pan-pacific-festival.com/index.html
JapanLocal: Yunohama Beach in Tsuruoka
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JETAA Philadelphia Subchapter rep Rashaad Jorden recently wrote the following article for the Japan Tourist website (a great example of JETs helping to promote “local” tourism for Japan):
Yunohama Beach in Tsuruoka: Sand in the Land of Snow
While Yamagata Prefecture is famous for skiing and snowboarding, its mountains definitely don’t hold a monopoly on providing outdoor fun. Come July and August, the prefecture’s sand gets its turn to woo tourists.
Located within the Tsuruoka City limits on the Sea of Japan coast, Yunohama is Yamagata Prefecture’s most popular beach locale.
Each summer thousands of people descend upon it, albeit really only for the month-long swimming season, which starts on Marine Day weekend (Marine Day is celebrated on the third Monday of July). The roughly one kilometer beach does contain large stretches of empty sand as most beachgoers are confined to the space near the lifeguards’ chairs.
Although Yunohama doesn’t seem too different from many other beaches—big crowds on the weekend, plenty of swimmers and surfers, and lots of athletic types playing soccer and volleyball—it does offer beachgoers the convenience of not having to step off the sand in order to replenish burned calories. Stands selling, among other things, fish, takoyaki, and French fries in addition to plenty of sports drinks and soda are on the premises.
If you’re looking for something more than a suntan—or shelter from the sun in a tent (a common sight in Yunohama)—the area has more to offer. A short bicycle ride from the beach takes you to Kamo Aquarium. If dolphins don’t interest you, maybe hot water does. Yunohama is actually most famous for its onsen, as numerous signs in the Tsuruoka city center direct motorists to the popular onsen resort.
However, you can hit up the onsen any time of year. Do your best to take advantage of the limited time in summer when you can fully enjoy Yunohama.
Pratical information:
– There’s no entry fee for the beach at Yunohama, but it costs at least 800 yen to park in the nearby lots.
– Swimming season at Yunohama lasts for about only a month, starting Marine Day weekend.
CLICK HERE to read the full article on Japan Tourist and see photos.
JapanLocal: Sunday Afternoons At The Park Video
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Patrick Lee is a current 2nd year JET in Nagasaki-ken who specializes in videography. His videos can be seen on his Youtube Channel. He can be contacted through Facebook and Twitter.
Chuo Park in downtown Tenjin, Fukuoka is the perfect escape from the bustling activity of the city. Patrick spent one Sunday afternoon mingling with locals and capturing the moments that made a memorable and relaxing day at the park. The video has been recently showcased at the Toyama International Film Festival organized by current Toyama JET Jonathan Dao.
JapanLocal: Tottori JET introduces his town to the world
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Tottori JET Anthony Lieven has created two videos so far as part of a monthly project that introduces his JET town of Misasa to the world. With Anthony’s permission (after initially seeing posted to the Tottori JET group on Facebook), here are the two videos so far:
April 2012
May 2012
If you or any other JETs/alums have Japan Local video, photographs, writing or other projects you’d like to share, please email jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Hiroshima JET Alum LinkedIn Group
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Reminder to Hiroshima JET alumni that there’s a LinkedIn group specifically for you! Click here to join: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3753534&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
Lars Martinson’s “Kameoka Diaries” e-comic now available on iTunes
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Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two andTonoharu: Part 1, has just announced the “Kameoka Diaries“, Lars’ e-comic about his return to teaching English, this time in Kameoka, Kyoto, is now available on iTunes.
More info here and below: http://larsmartinson.com/my-first-two-e-comics-now-available/
The Kameoka Diaries: Volume One [ Direct iBookstore Link ]
The Kameoka Diaries: Volume One is a humorous (?) account of my experiences living and working in Central Japan, told over eight chapters. It includes an exclusive chapter not available anywhere else!
JETwit Note: I just downloaded a copy onto my iPhone. 250 pages for only $0.99, and I always love Lars’ work. Plus, it’s my first time using iBook which it turns out is pretty nifty. :-)
JET alum creates “Help Japan: Donate Now” video after return trip to Iwate
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JETAA Minnesota member Ann Hershberger (Iwate-ken) recently returned to Iwate where she had previously worked as a JET. Following her trip, she created a video to support earthquake/tsunami relief efforts titled “Help Japan: Donate Now“.
To donate, go to http://donate-japan.com.
