I’ll Make It Myself!: What I Ate in Nagano, Day 1: On the Road to Yudanaka Onsen
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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 web administrator for The Art of Travel, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan, and The JET Alumni Culinary Group in LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Craft beer wasn’t the only delicious thing I had on my trip to Nagano. Let’s recap!
Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York – Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Sakura Matsuri and More
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J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu makes her Big Apple debut at the Best Buy Theater April 14.
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
Spring has sprung in the Big Apple, and that means one thing: a new season of sounds, colors, and spectacular performing arts to match the blossoming sakura trees throughout the city.
This month’s highlights include:
April 5-6
BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center Theatre 2, 199 Chambers Street
$50 general admission, $15 students (use discount code STU at Smarttix page)
A story of courage and personnel sacrifice of an American doctor and the Japanese medical staff who risked their lives following the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, Hikobae is a fictionalized story based on recorded interviews with physicians and nurses from Soma City Hospital, a medical center in the Fukushima evacuation zone. Supported by the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, proceeds from the production will benefit the Momo-Kaki Orphan Fund, which supports children who lost their parents in the disaster. The theater piece will be performed in English and Japanese, with subtitles projected behind the actors.
April 5-14
BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Avenue
$13 adults, $9 children and matinees, $8 members
Part of BAMcinématek. For nearly three decades, the films of Hayao Miyazaki and the company he founded, Studio Ghibli, have revolutionized the art of animation. Miyazaki’s indelible style—which weds the uncanniness of Lewis Carroll and the epic grandeur of Akira Kurosawa—stands as a testament to the beauty and imaginative power of hand-drawn animation, conjuring richly realized worlds replete with mystical spirits and shot through with an abiding concern for the relationship between humans and nature. All films directed by Hayao Miyazaki and in 35mm.
Sunday, April 14, 7:00 p.m.
Best Buy Theater, 1515 Broadway
$25, $100 VIP meet and greet
Born in 1993 in Tokyo, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu attracted attention with her individual blog, and has been active as a model in Japan. A charismatic personality that represents the youth fashion of Harajuku, her smash single “PONPONPON“—released on her debut album shortly after she finished high school—became a big hit around the world, racking up over 46 million views on YouTube to date. Receiving plenty of attention as the symbol of kawaii (or “cuteness” in Japanese), Kyary Pamyu Pamyu makes her New York concert debut as part of her ambitious 10-country “100%KPP” tour.
For the complete story, click here.
I’ll Make It Myself!: Homemade Sakura “Latte” (Sakura Steamer)
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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 web administrator for The Art of Travel, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan, and The JET Alumni Culinary Group in LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Nothing heralds spring like seasonal menu changes! Starbucks’ sakura latte (henceforth not italicized) is much like the pumpkin spice latte in the US: people go crazy for it and it sells out long before sakura season is over. Or, in Kanazawa and the rest of northern Japan, before it even starts.
This year, the latte was replaced by a sakura white hot chocolate, which I really liked, but unfortunately it’s been gone for a month and the sakura only started blooming this week. Luckily, a sakura “latte” (technically it’s a steamer since there’s no coffee) is really easy to make at home. All you need is preserved edible sakura, boiling water, and milk.
CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Dr. Mark Williams (Gunma)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The May 2012 edition includes an article by Dr. Mark Williams, a former British English Teachers Scheme (BETS), the forerunner to the JET Programme. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“Think of your JET experience with a long-term view. […] As time passes, you will realize that your experience left you with the desire to accomplish or attain something. Do not rush, but be patient as you seek to do so.”
After graduating from the University of Oxford with a a BA in Japanese Studies, Dr. Mark Williams (Gunma-ken, Maebashi-shi, 1979-81) came to Japan to work as a member of the British English Teachers Scheme (BETS) in Gunma Prefecture. He moved from there to California to pursue a Ph.D. in postwar Japanese literature then joined the University of Leeds, UK, as a Lecturer in Japanese, to become Professor of Japanese Studies a few years later. He has just completed a 4-year term as President of the British Association for Japanese Studies and 5 years as Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Leeds and is currently on secondment as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Akita International University, Japan.
The Japan I Came to Know
Two Years in Gunma Prefecture
I participated on the British English Teachers Scheme (BETS) Programme for two years from 1979 to 1981. The BETS Programme was proposed by Nicholas MacLean and is also known as the MacLean Scheme. In Gunma Prefecture, I worked four days per week for two years at one base school each year (Maebashi Minami Senior High School my first year and Shibukawa Girl’s Senior High School my second year). The remaining day of the work week I spent visiting senior high schools throughout the prefecture, and I can say I likely visited every senior high school in the prefecture.
At the time, team-teaching classes were not as established as now, and no matter how enthusiastic, attempts to conduct entire classes in English were unfortunately often short-lived. The classes I conducted at the school I visited on Wednesdays were rich in variety resulting in a trial-and-error approach on my behalf. The several hundred-student school body would gather at once, and I would speak to them in English about my home country England, or explain the origin of English vocabulary words or the characteristics of the English language.
I was one of only a handful of foreigner instructors in Gunma Prefecture at the time. As such, I stood out greatly and even made front-page headlines in a local newspaper. My experience began with my arrival in Japan. The principal of my school came to meet me at Narita Airport, and we traveled from there to Maebashi Station. As soon as I exited Maebashi Station, I found myself surrounded by news reporters. One of them asked about my hobbies, and I replied “I enjoy music.” The headlines of the next morning’s newspaper reported, “New foreign instructor likes to sing.”
