Japan America Society Roundup 1.5.11
Japan Society Round-up 
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JET alum Gail Cetnar Meadows (ALT, Hiroshima-shi 2007-10), co-founder of Hiroshima JET webzine the Wide Island View, shines a light on some of the upcoming events of Japan America Societies…
11th Annual Mochitsuki New Year’s Celebration — Celebrate the New Year Japanese style with demonstrations of mochitsuki (pounding sweet rice with a mallet and mortar to make rice cakes) and sample the end result with anko, kinako, nori, or Sendai’s special zunda-mochi. The afternoon will feature live performances by taiko drummers, a children’s choir, traditional Japanese dancers and a kimono demonstration. Other activities include New Year’s games for children, origami, calligraphy, and ikebana. Cost is $8 for non-members, $5 for members, $2 for children aged 6 to 12 years, free for children ages 5 and under.
- Date: Sunday, January 16
- Time: 2 to 5 p.m.
- Place: Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., 2801 Telecom Parkway, Richardson, Texas 75082
- For more information, click here.
- Contact: info (at) jasdfw (dot) org or 214-342-2022
- Pittsburgh Sushi Experience — How’s a resolution to try more sushi sound? In 2011, the JAS of Pennsylvania will visit four Pittsburgh sushi restaurants. The first gathering will be at the trendy Penn Avenue Fish Company, where you can sample fusion sushi and a host of other aquatic offerings. Be sure to bring your business card to participate in a drawing for a gift card.
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 20
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Place: 308 Forbes Ave. (near Honus Wagner), downtown Pittsburgh
- For more information, click here.
Speaker Series Presentation — Dr. William R. Farrell will give a presentation titled “From Black Ships to a Black President: Images and Reality in US-Japan Relations.” Using wood block prints, post cards and political cartoons, he will take the audience on a lively tour through history, viewing events such as Commodore Perry’s arrival, the road to Pearl Harbor, World War II, the Occupation, trade wars and the current international situation.
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 27
- Time: JASGC annual meeting at 5 p.m. Speaker presentation at 5:30 p.m.
- Place: Taft Center, 425 Walnut St., Cincinnati
- For more information, click here.
Does your Japan America Society have an upcoming event that you’d like to share with JetWit readers? Email the info to Gail at gail (at) jetwit (dot) com.
Sukiyaki Survey: Can you get a raw egg at Japanese restaurants in the U.S.?
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Will Japanese restaurants in the U.S. give you a raw egg for sukiyaki or gyudon or other purposes?
In my limited experience, they won’t offer it on the menu, I believe due to health code restrictions. But my understanding is that if you ask for it, they’ll give it to you.
Does anyone else have any perspective or experience with this? Have you obtained one successfully? Been denied?
Please share your responses in the comments section of this post.
Yoroshiku!
Job: Housesit a Remote Tropical Home (Palau)
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Stephanie Boegeman (ALT, Akita-ken, 2006-09) gets her kicks from finding fun crazy ways to see the world and getting paid to do it. She is constantly in search of job, internship, and travel ideas to add to her site Playing With Hire, in the hopes that more JET alumni and like-minded souls join her in her quest to find creative, inspiring, and unique ways to make ends meet.
If you’re up for living off-the-grid on a remote island for free, a sweet year-long housesitting gig is immediately available in Palau. Just like JET, you’ll be expected to maintain good relationships with everyone else on the island while living in a fishbowl. More details can be found here.
WIT Life #146: 明けましておめでとうございます！
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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.
A big akemashite omedetou gozaimasu to everyone! 今年もよろしくお願いいたします。 I hope everyone had a good end to the year and that you are feeling ready for the Year of the Rabbit that we have now entered. I spent the night of 元旦 (gantan) or New Year’s Day with co-workers from the Japanese restaurant that I used to waitress at, and we enjoyed osechi ryouri in lacquer boxes and bowls of ozouni as we watched 紅白歌合戦 (kouhaku uta gassen) or the Red and White Singing Contest. The white or men’s team won for the 6th consecutive year with a healthy margin of over 50,000 votes.
Aside from the usual vapid J-Pop and classic enka, I was really struck by singer Kana Uemura’s トイレの神様 (toire no kamisama), or The Toilet Goddess. This acoustic ballad is a whopping almost ten minutes long, and it tells the story of Read More
Job: Shinjo Ito Postdoctoral Fellowship in Japanese Buddhism (Berkeley)
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Via Shinpai Deshou, an online resource to help Japanese Studies majors figure out how to make a living doing what they love:
The Center for Japanese Studies at UC Berkeley is offering a one-year postdoctoral research fellowship, starting July 1, 2011. Fellows receive a stipend of approximately $40,000 plus benefits. The deadline for applications is February 15, 2011. Additional information on the fellowship can be found here.
Job: Account Executive at Japanese credit company (NYC)
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via Quick USA. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika currently works as an in-house translator for PFU (a Fujitsu company) in Kahoku-shi, Ishikawa-ken. She is also the vocalist for the Japanese hardcore punk band DEGRADE.
*Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JetWit. Thanks.
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Job Position: Account Executive at Japanese credit company (NYC)
Job Description:
Maintain current merchants in addition to the internal database of merchant information. Recruits new merchants to honor its credit cards in the assigned area. Sets up new account information, and resolves customer issues/problems. Work outside approx. 55% – 65%, per day.
Salary: Around 40K
Location: Manhattan
Requirements: Native fluency in English. 1-2 years of work experience. Understanding of credit card industry is a plus.
How to apply:
If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your resume to hoshino@919usa.com
Job: Junior High School Assistant Language Teacher (J-ALT) Positions
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via JET alum Adrian Heinel (1996-99). Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika currently works as an in-house translator for PFU (a Fujitsu company) in Kahoku-shi, Ishikawa-ken. She is also the vocalist for the Japanese hardcore punk band DEGRADE.
*Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JetWit. Thanks.
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Job Position: Junior High School Assistant Language Teacher (J-ALT) Positions
Employment Conditions:
1 Duties and Responsibilities
(1) Assist teaching junior high school foreign language classes
(2) Support in-service English education trainings
(3) Assist with producing English teaching materials/activities
(4) Help with English speech contests
(5) Participate in special events
(6) Support and advise junior high school English teachers
(7) Participate in any other activities as directed and/or requested by the teacher in charge or the principal
2 Eligibility
(1) Be a native speaker of English
(2) Must have at least a 4-year university degree
(3) Be able to attend the interview
(4) Must currently reside in Japan
(5) Applicants with conversational Japanese speaking ability preferred
(6) Applicants with a current valid visa preferred
(7) Applicants with TEFL certification preferred
(8) Applicants with a valid Japanese or international license preferred
3 Remuneration
(1) Salary: ¥320,000 per month (increasing to ¥330,000 after 2 years, ¥340,000 after 5 years of service)
(2) Japanese taxes will be paid by the city
(3) Half of shakai hoken (government social health insurance system) will be paid by the city
(4) No bonuses will be provided
(5) No relocation, transportation, or housing assistance will be provided
4 Working Hours
(1) Monday – Friday, including break time, 35 hours a week.
(2) 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. when working at the Board of Education (including a 60 minute break)
(3) 8:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. when working at schools (including a 45 minute break)
5 Method of Choosing Successful Applicants
(1) Only Successful candidates will be contacted for interviews
(2) Applicants will be screened by an interview that will include both English and Japanese
Apply by email with CV/resume, letter of introduction, photo, scanned teaching certificates, diplomas, transcripts, proof of a valid visa as well as a valid passport, and (if possible) letters of recommendation to: Mrs. Miwa and Ms. Kawazoe at kakegawarecruit@gmail.com by January 25th
Chinese Classes NYCJ-DOC, C-DOC, and K-DOC are recurring features written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese, Chinese, English, and Korean language learning options.
Mandarin Chinese Class listings can be found at: Chinese Classes NYC or Chinese Classes Online
Cantonese Class listings can be found at: Cantonese Classes Online or Cantonese Classes Online
Are you interested in learning a new language for the New Year? As I myself living in Japan have discovered, Chinese is quite an interesting and fun language to pursue. Please read our article about Learning Chinese Basic Phrases for some advice on which phrases are necessary to master when greeting fellow Chinese speaking comrades. Happy New Year!
Japan Fix: Tampa (Part 2)
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By Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Lily Lam (Kagawa-ken, 2004-09)
If you read the previous Japan Fix: Tampa post, then you know of some quality JET-recommended places in Tampa to get your Japan Fix on. It turns out, however, there’s more to tell and Tampa is even Japanese-ier than previously thought. You just have to know where to look. (In our case, we were forced to look because the places listed in the previous Japan Fix: Tampa post happened to be closed this past Monday thanks to the holidays.)
So read on for Japan Fix: Tampa (Part 2):
Japanese Food
I Ai Sushi (as in, “I love sushi”) is a cozy Japanese restaurant with an izakaya section on their menu tucked away in a shopping mall on 33614 W. Waters Ave. that also features a Marshalls (aka America’s “Ito Yokado”) and an Albertsons. Perhaps the Japanese-iest touch of all is their business card which, in true Japanese fashion, includes a crude yet cute map of the mall with an arrow pointing to where the restaurant is located.
I had the good fortune to go with St. Petersburg native, uber-foodie and fellow alum Lily Lam (Kagawa-ken, 2004-09) who heard about the place from a friend whose mother happens to be Japanese. (Notably, Lily actually lives and works in San Francisco these days. We only got in touch when she responded for the JET-Sister City List Project and, in the course of e-mailing, we realized we would both be in the Tampa-St. Pete area for Christmas.)
I Ai Sushi is owned by a Japanese couple who hail from Osaka and opened the restaurant about 3 years ago. Tasteful Japanese art on the walls is accented with a Hello Kitty clock as well as autographed photos of several Japanese ballplayers who have eaten there.
We started with a bottle of warm sake. And perhaps the nicest thing about the sake was that rather than present us with a long list of detailed descriptions of sakes from all over Japan, they just brought us some decent sake. Somehow I found this lack of choice to be reassuringly natsukashii. (Remember lunch in your junior high schools?)
From the izakaya menu we ordered gyoza (savory and yummy), kinpira gobo (which had a surprising and tasty kick to it), maguro yama kake (mountain potato with tuna sashimi–not commonly found in most U.S. Japanese restaurants) and, from the specials menu that night, shishamo, which are small, batter-fried and very pregnant fish. According to Lily, this was a common feature of her school lunches. Somehow I made it all this time without ever being aware of their existence, due most likely to the fact that I’ve spent most of my life avoiding fish. However, given my vow this year to make efforts to expand my palate, I took a couple bites. Right in the belly. And you know, it wasn’t so bad. Especially with a little lemon on it. (Lily noted that in her school lunches, there was no fried batter and no lemon. Just rubbery pregnant fish.)
These, of course, were just the warmup dishes, the mood setters. Because in the chilly (by Florida standards) 40 degree evening, we quickly discovered that the menu also featured various forms of nabe including sukiyaki, which we both ordered. They let us cook it right at our table. The beef was Japanese-thin and nicely marbled. The veggies were exactly what they were supposed to be. And the broth had that sweet-salty flavor that brought back memories of my first sukiyaki experience on a cold day in a friend’s unheated home gathered round a kotatsu with school colleagues.
I knew enough to request a couple raw eggs (since American health codes prohibit restaurants from offering raw eggs on their menu). And we were in business chowing down and exchanging stories of JET days past.
And for a final Japanese touch, they brought us (un-ordered) a dessert of grapes, hand-whipped cream and choux creme/シュークリームfilled with vanilla ice cream all on a plate. A very nice finish to the meal.
With our bellies full of washoku and a bit of nihonshu, it was of course time for….
Karaoke
After searching Google Maps and Yelp on our iPhones, it was determined that the best karaoke options would be Korean noreban (i.e., karaoke box) joints. Tampa Karaoke was the obvious choice, but one Yelp review mentioned something about gero in one of the rooms. So first we checked out One Family Korean Restaurant and Karaoke on 7030 West Hillsborough Ave. It was a bit hard to find at first along the commercial strip, but sure enough there was a Korean market, restaurant and karaoke place all in one warehouse-like looking building. Unfortunately for us they were all closed.
Tampa Karaoke it would be. And it was actually not so bad. Slick, chi-chi, high class and newly renovated are all words I would not use to describe the establishment. But the young Korean-American guy at the desk was very friendly. And the price was right at $25 per hour for a room. It’s also worth noting that this is a BYOB place (like Bar Toto in Korea Town in NYC), which is great if you happen to know about it in advance (which we didn’t).
We asked if there were Japanese songs in the books and were told that indeed there were. We eventually found them, however they were organized by song title only which made it a bit hard to search. That inconvenience, however, was mooted by the fact that we could only find 2 or 3 songs that we actually knew. And we decided to fault that partly to our own limited J-Pop knowledge and partly to Tampa Karaoke’s limited selection.
Getting into specifics, I was able to find “Kampai” (Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi) and “Kimi Ga Iru Dake” (Kome Kome Club). But no “Ashita Ga Aru” or “Banzai” or any other songs by Ulfuls (aka Japan’s answer to Hootie and the Blowfish). Lily, meanwhile, found “Sakura” (Kobukuro), a well-known sappy graduation song as well as “Life is a Boat” (Rie Fu). (Though she regretted not finding “Tegami” by Angela Aki.) Sore demo, we ended on a good note with that Japanese standard, “Take Me Home Country Road” (Jo-n Den-ba).
We realize there is more Japan to explore in the Tampa-St. Pete’s area. But it may just have to wait until next Christmas. However, given that I’m currently “stuck” in Florida due to the Blizzard of 2010 and can’t get a flight back to NYC until Sunday, January 2, I’ve decided to head east in search of more JET-ventures. So stay tuned for….
Japan Fix: Del Ray Beach & Miami!
Tell us where JETs should go in your area to get their Japan Fix. E-mail jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Job: Associate Professor, Asian Studies, University of Tokyo
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Via Shinpai Deshou, an online resource to help Japanese Studies majors figure out how to make a living doing what they love:
International application is invited for the position of Associate Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo. Deadline: January 28, 2011. More details can be found here.
Jobs: Full and Part-Time ALT Positions (Shizuoka)
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Via the Ehime JETs Yahoo group:
The Board of Education in Kakegawa-shi, Shizuoka-ken is looking for 3 people for full-time jr. high positions, and 5 people for part-time elementary positions. Interviews begin on January 25th.
Position-specific details are provided below.
Read More
Justin’s Japan: Interview with Video Games Live Icon Tommy Tallarico
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See Tommy Tallarico with Video Games Live at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark Dec. 29 and 30. (Videogameslive.com)
By JQ magazine’s Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his NY Japanese Culture page here to subscribe for free alerts on newly published stories.
Tommy Tallarico is the co-founder and CEO of Video Games Live, a touring showcase that for over five years has combined the excitement of a rock concert with the power of a symphonic orchestra featuring the music of the some of the most memorable video games in history. As the show’s lead guitarist, Tallarico is also the producer of the Video Games Live: Level 2 Blu-ray and soundtrack album, which made history last October by landing on Billboard’s Classical Crossover chart and earning a Grammy nomination for the Civilization IV song “Baba Yetu,” the first video game song ever to be nominated. I spoke with Tallarico prior to VGL’s upcoming shows this week at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, which will feature special guest performances by legendary female Japanese composer Kinuyo Yamashita (Castlevania).
This year’s VGL tour played around the world to new countries and fans. What were the biggest similarities and differences that you noticed among the crowds and the overall reception you received?
Each country we go to is different. They love different games; they play their favorite different systems. For example, when you’re paying in Japan, World of Warcraft isn’t really popular over there, because there’s not a lot of PC gaming. But when you play in China, World of Wacraft is like the biggest thing ever of all time. [laughs] So, crowds react to different things, and it’s always my challenge to create a set list and find out what the local gamers love and are into. But when you go to places like China and Taiwan and, most specifically, Brazil, the folks down there go absolutely nuts. I mean, they lose their minds. They’re so passionate and so appreciative that something like this exists and would come to their countries. It really shows.
Were there any things that really surprised you when visiting and performing in these new countries?
When we played to over 100,000 people in Taipei in one show, and we showed up at the airport, there’s literally hundreds of people there with signs greeting us at the airport and everything. That was pretty surprising.
Tell us about VGL’s Japan debut at Tokyo International Hall last fall. Which of your idols were you most excited about meeting and working with?
I had worked with everybody before the show, but what was really special about that show was the Koji Kondo performance. Of course, Koji Kondo is the composer of Mario and Zelda. This was the very first time, believe it or not, that Koji Kondo actually performed live in Japan at a video game covert. I found that to be unbelievable, so that was very special. Having both of the women who composed the Castlevania music there on stage was also pretty special as well, but I’d have to say that providing Koji Kondo with his first ever live performance in his home country of Japan was unbelievable. He played a solo piano piece of Mario, and he went into Mario Galaxy as well. It was really incredible.
Each VGL concert is performed by a local orchestra and professional musicians. Besides special guest appearances, are there any twists depending on where you play, or do the musicians understand what you’re trying to express as easily in places like Portugal and Poland as they do in the U.S.?
I think it’s more age delineated as opposed to area. Any young person in the orchestra—and when I say young, I’m talking maybe 45 and under—any young person in the orchestra for the most part knows a lot of the material, is really happy, and they understand it; they know what’s going on. And then some of the older people in the orchestra—not all, but there’s a smaller percentage of people, no matter what country we go to—they’re a little apprehensive at first; they don’t quite understand [it], playing this music that they’ve never heard, yet thousands of young people are screaming and cheering and clapping like it’s the second coming of Elvis Presley or the Beatles or something. And so, they’re confused by the end of it: “What’s all this stuff? World of Warcraft? Sonic the Hedgehog? This isn’t Stravinsky!”
These are classically trained musicians, but once they see the reaction of the crowd and hear the music and how it is, you know, legitimate music, they have a greater understanding and appreciation for video game music. So, what starts out maybe for some of the older, traditional people as apprehension at the beginning of the day, turns into adoration by the end of it. I’ll get people coming up to me during the intermission, and they’ll say, “I’ve been playing the oboe for over 40 years, and I’ve never heard a crowd response like this. When are you guys coming back?” [laughs] So, it’s pretty cool to be able to give that to them.
As musical director, do you always do a full run-through with the orchestra prior to every night’s performance?
For sure. We also send the musicians the music months ahead of time.
When the show was performed in Brazil, it was subsidized by the government for getting young people involved in the arts. How did you arrange that, and what was the public’s reaction to that performance?
It was something that the promoters down in Brazil and myself worked on with the ministry of culture down there, and this is our fifth year back—it was our fifth year in a row down there. It’s something that I wish more governments could see the benefit of this, because we’re looking at tons of people and e-mails or people talking to us at the meet and greet, who all say things like, we brought our daughter to the show last night and we were all sitting around the breakfast table this morning and my daughter said, “Mom, I’d like to start taking violin lessons so I can learn the music to Zelda” or Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy or whatever, you know. So those are real stories, and, again, the Brazilian ministry of culture is fantastic to realize that and to say we want young people to be interested in the arts and culture, and what better way than to give them a presentation of something that they know and love and enjoy, and are passionate about. I wish other countries did that; I wish our country did that! [laughs]
Click here for the rest of the interview.
Jobs: Customer Support Engineer, Implementations Consultant, SumTotal Systems (Tokyo)
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SumTotal Systems, Inc. is the global leader in complete talent management software that enables organizations to more effectively drive business strategy. Recognized by industry analysts as the most comprehensive talent management solution, SumTotal provides full employee lifecycle management, including a core system of record, from a single vendor for improved business intelligence.
SumTotal is currently looking for applicants bilingual in English and Japanese for the positions of Customer Support Engineer and Implementations Consultant to work in the Tokyo office from Jan. 1, 2011.
Information about the organization and positions is available at the following URL:
http://japan.sumtotalsystems.com/careers
WIT Life #145: Manga studies
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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.
Coming off of yesterday’s post, I was surprised to find an article about manga and animation in this morning’s New York Times. It discusses how over the last decade, various programs that have evolved for formally studying these arts are attracting international students. The courses are offered only in Japanese which presents a bit of a challenge, but dedicated students see them as the key to advancing “their careers in animation, design, computer graphics and the business of promoting them.” The Japanese animation companies interviewed in the article said Read More
JetWit Writing Opportunities: 12/27/10
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Starting in 2011, JetWit will be teaming up with JETAA New York’s JQ magazine to feature JET alum and Japan-related feature stories! Much like JQ’s Brainstorm Crew postings featuring story ideas, we would like to present the below JetWit Writing Opportunities for real-time instant story posting. This means no more waiting for the publication of seasonal issues! Below are story ideas grouped by JET participants and alumni (JET World) and those more on Japanese culture (Japan World). If you’re a JET or JetWit contributor, we welcome your interest or additional story ideas! Contact JQ editor Justin Tedaldi at justintedaldi [at] jetwit.com to sign up and for more info.
Also, we are now looking for a volunteer who’s skilled in graphic design to help us create a modified JetWit logo! Anyone who wants to get in touch on this can also do so at the e-mail above.
***JET WORLD***
JET ALUM IN UPCOMING DOCUMENTARY ON JAPANESE VIDEO ARCADES
Casey Novotny (Kochi-ken, CIR and Prefectural Advisor) now works at Asia University, and was interviewed as a talking head for the upcoming documentary film 100 Yen: The Japanese Arcade Experience. The film is currently in production, and Casey is happy to share his experiences of being contacted for this unique film for a feature story or interview.
JET ALUMS DEVELOP JAPANESE FLASH APP
Mark Makdad, founder of software company Long Weekend Mobile, has developed with his partner Ross Sharrott the Japanese Flash vocabulary builder app for iPhone, as well as the Rikai Browser for iPad for reading Japanese. Interested in giving these products a spin and writing about them?
JET ALUM MICHAEL JIM GANNON PROFILE
Jim Gannon (Ehime 1992-94) has been the executive director of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) in New York since 2002. Headquartered in Tokyo, JCIE is one of the leading international affairs organizations in Japan. Jim was also the writer of the “JET Program on the Chopping Block” article published last summer. Talk to him about his work, Japan, and the continuing efforts to support JET in light of what’s happening in Tokyo.
PROFILE A SEATTLE-AREA JET ALUM
Kirsten Henning, Vice President of the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington, is a senior project manager at Pyramid Communications and serves as an active volunteer for the Girl Scouts and Densho. Prior to joining Pyramid, Kirsten worked at the Seattle Mariners as media liaison and interpreter for Ichiro Suzuki and the Japanese press corps and then went on to manage media relations for Team Japan, champions of the inaugural World Baseball Classic. She spent the previous six years in Japan as a JET Program participant and later as special VIP liaison at Park Hyatt Tokyo. She holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Barnard College of Columbia University and also studied at the Stanford University Japan Center in Kyoto, Japan.
JET INSTANT NOODLE COMICS
Profile of JET alum artist Shun Endo and his “JET Instant Noodle Comics.” Read samples at http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2010/10/25/instant-noodle-comics-i-wish-facebook-had-the-boss-filter.
JET ALUM/SAKE EXPERT JOHN GAUNTNER
John Gauntner is a JET alum and noted lecturer on sake who travels the world to speak all about this appealing beverage. He has published a score of books on the topic and spoke at Japan Society last May. Visit his website www.sake-world.com.
ISSHONI LONDON – JET ALUM BLOG
London JET alum Vanessa Villalobos writes about Japan-related events, news, review and interviews. This would be a good Q&A piece for any JETs wanting to learn more about how our alumni groups operate overseas. Learn more at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Isshoni-London/119415767689
www.twitter.com/IsshoniVanessa
An innovative telecommunications site for Team Teaching, founded by a JET. www.teamteachers.com
JETSET – CANADIAN JETS IN JAPAN
Melissa C. runs JETset, a site for Canadian JETs in Japan and a well-known resource center for JET participants. See more for a profile at http://www.jetsetjapan.com.
***JAPAN WORLD***
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR JAPAN FIX?
In an effort to revive the “Japan Fix” posts, we’d like to share a recent discoveries to help readers find a little piece of Japan close to home. How do you get your Japan fix wherever you live? Write it down and send it to Gail Cetnar Meadows (Hiroshima-shi, 2007-10), co-founder of Hiroshima JET webzine the Wide Island View, at gail [at] jetwit.com for the entertainment and benefit of the JET alum community.
ROBIN SAKAI OF GAIJIN POT
Gaijin Pot is a site that offers jobs, apartments and classifieds in Japan. Run by Robin Sakai, it strives to bring the Japanese and expat community together.
REVIEW OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE STUDY OPTIONS IN THE NY AREA
JetWit would like to add a listing as well as a possible review of Japanese language study options in the New York area. One of these is Hills Learning, founded by Jon Hills, who works with JETs in New York to promote his learning center, which teaches four languages to children and adults. Jon also co-presents monthly Asian networking events. Jon is open to a profile. Learn more at www.hillslearning.com.
RESTAURANT REVIEWS
JetWit is accepting reviews on any Japanese restaurant that you’d like to spread the word about. (Even better if they’re run by JETs.) JET alum Jamie Graves runs Kajitsu, an East Village restaurant in New York specializing in shojin cuisine, an ancient Japanese culinary practice developed in Zen Buddhist monasteries.
FILM/BOOK REVIEW
We are also accepting reviews or books and movies (past and present) related to Japan or the JET experience. Whether you’re checking out the theatrical release of a new anime film or digging into new translations of Natsume Soseki’s classics Kokoro and Sanshiro (coming this February), let us be your sounding board.
GOHAN SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
Profile. Based in New York, Gohan Society’s mission is to foster an understanding and appreciation of Japan’s culinary heritage in the United States through outreach to chefs, culinary arts professionals and all who admire and enjoy Japanese culture.
Gohan Society serves as a resource center for knowledge of traditional Japanese ingredients, techniques and food-related products, and as a catalyst for the expansion of that knowledge in the United States.
CONSULATE GENERAL SCHOOL CARAVAN
This is a decade-plus program run by New York’s Consulate General of Japan that sends consulate staff (American and Japanese) to New York high schools and junior high schools to introduce students to Japanese culture, and JET alums have even served as presenters! The purpose of this article will be to increase awareness of the program so more JETAA members can get involved.
KEIO ACADEMY OF NEW YORK
Based in Purchase, NY, Keio Academy is a school for bilingual and bicultural education established by its Tokyo namesake. Besides the various activities the school offers, it also seeks to recruit JET alums for potential work opportunities. We can put you in touch with their business officer, who is happy ro speak with more JETs about the subject.
ASIA SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
In Jan. 2010, NYC’s Asia Society held a concert called “Hogaku,” or Japanese folk instruments played with modern flair. We’ve never profiled Asia Society, so this would be a great time to find out more about how they select their Japanese attractions and exhibitions.
JAPAN INFORMATION CENTER OF NEW YORK
Profile. Take advantage of Japan Information Center to promote Japan!
The Japan Information Center (JIC) is the cultural and public affairs section of the Consulate General of Japan in New York. The JIC’s Services:
– Distributes educational materials, posters and pamphlets on Japan
– Provides speakers on various aspects of Japan to the schools throughout
this region
– Provides information on the Japanese Government Scholarships & the JET
Program
– Distributes the e-newsletter Japan Info
– Loans videos/DVDs and cultural artifacts
Please sign up to subscribe the Japan Info newsletter at www.ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp/en/c/ji_subscription.html.
For more information and to contact JIC, visit their website at www.ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp/en/b/01.html.
