Ishikawa AJET publishes digital cookbook for charity
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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.
JET Prefecture Round-Up 09.16.11
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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
- Aomori AJET Welcome Party was September 10th at Shichinohe Campground.
- Iwate AJET will be climbing Mt. Iwate on October 8th on the Umagaeshi trail.
- MAJET Bandai Trip is September 17th-19th , a camping adventure at Mount Bandai in Northwest Fukushima.
- Connect 2011 is happening October 8th-10th at Kurosawa in Oguni, Yamagata.
- The Aizu Festival 2011 is September 22nd-24th in Aizu Wakamatsu City.
- Halloween SHINE is October 22nd in Aizu Wakamatsu City.
- The 2011 International Festival Aizu is October 29th!
- Fukushima ALTs are doing a Home Visit Program in Aizu on November 5th.
- Fukushima JETs attended Volunteer Day at a Children’s Home on September 3rd at Iris Gakuen in Fukushima City.
Kantou Region
- Chiba AJET Baseball Game trip goes to see the Chiba Marines on October 1st.
- Chiba JETs are prepping for the Tokyo Yamathon 2011.
- Gunma JETs join the football tourney in Nagano on October 1st.
Chubu Region
- Shizuoka JETs go to Costume Karaoke on October 1st!
- Shizuoka AJET makes an excursion to Fuji-Q Highland on October 15th.
- Cricket Game: Nagano vs. Hakuba, October 19th.
- October 16th, the Ina English Guide Club will present Zazen Meditation.
- Toyama AJET is holding a Cheesecake Bakeoff on Sunday, October 16th, in Nanto city.
Kansai Region
Over the weekend of September 2nd, Typhoon Talas crossed through Japan, dumping massive amounts of rain especially on the prefectures of Wakayama, Nara, and Mie. There are volunteer opportunities available to JETs in and around the Kansai area to help the victims of this typhoon.
- Kyoto AJET takes part in the Mikoshi Challenge, October 9th.
- The Nara AJET Halloween Party will be at the Wormwood Café on October 29th.
- Hyogo AJET leads a hike through the Fukuchiyama abandoned railroad on September 24th in the Takarazuka area.
- Hyogo JETs Rant and Rave at the Lock Up in Kobe, September 30th.
- There will be an art event (dance, music, theater, visual arts, performance art, sculpture, installation, etc.) in the Fukuchiyama abandoned train tunnel on October 1st.
- Hyogo JETs go rafting and canyoning in Shikoku, October 9th and 10th.
- Osaka Smile Kids Japan group makes its next visit on September 25th.
- Wakayama JETs are going camping on Friend Island, October 15th.
Chugoku Region
- Bound in Japan comes to Okayama! Workshops will be in Okayama City on September 17th and 18th, in Maniwa September 24th, and in Tsuyama September 25th.
- Beerfest Daisen 2011 will take place at Mt. Daisen in Tottori, September 23rd, featuring craft brews.
- Shikoku Field Day will be held in Shikoku Saburo no Sato, in Mima City, Tokushima on November 5th.
- October 1st-2nd is the Niihama Welcome Party, held on the beach in Niihama.
- October 15th Ehime JETs will climb Mt. Ishizuchi, tallest mountain on Shikoku.
- October 22nd is the Matsuyama Orphanage Visit.
- November 12th is the Ehime AJET Dinner in Matsuyama.
- Beer, Sake, Baseball, and BBQ will be September 17th at Hagi Park.
- 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 helping with Halloween Party in an abandoned school building on October 28th.
- The Annual Oita AJET Sumo Trip is coming up on Saturday, November 26th!
- The Amakusa Waterwheel event is September 23rd in Amakusa, Kumamoto!
- Kumamoto JETs are helping out with the 5th annual Nagasu Ferry Event on September 25th, Sunday!
- KumAJET and DiscSports Japan present Ichi Kyuu Bee on October 1st, featuring 4 ALT Teams (Saga, Oita, Miyazaki, 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.
- JETs are invited to the O’hana Cafe’s 8th Anniversary Party on September 16th.
- On 23rd September, JETs will check out the wild boar races in Kawatana.
- On 1st October, Nagasaki JETs will take a walk through Hasami. The attractions include tiered rice fields, crazy scarecrows, pottery, and pretty temples.
AJET’s revamped website continues to impress. There’s now a section called AJET Voices that lists all the main JET online publications and also invites JETs to submit an article. The goal is to help JETs connect with their communities.
Here are the publications listed:
- The Wide Island View (Hiroshima)
- Yomoyama
- NagaZasshi (Nagasaki)
- Ganbatte Times: The Unofficial Kyoto JET Webzine
- The Refill (Fukuoka)
- The Hyogo Times
- HAJET (Hokkaido)
- The TRAM (Toyama)
- JETFuel
- Shimane Black Taxi
- Mie Life
- Ishikawa JET (Thanks to Leah Zoller for calling this one to our attention.)
For more about AJET Voices, here are AJET’s own words:
Have you done something you felt was special? Want to promote an event you are involved in? Just want to get published? AJET Voice is AJET’s way of connecting you with the rest of the JET community throughout Japan. All JETs are encouraged to submit and share their experiences with everyone.
The JET Programme is all about multicultural exchange and grassroots internationalization. If you have participated in something which you felt furthered these goals, please share it with the rest of us! Submit your articles of 200-300 words with any pictures to activities@ajet.net
Publications across Japan
Currently representing voices from Nagano, Hyogo, Toyama and many others, the site is growing in hopes of being a resources for all of Japan and those interested in the perspectives born from living here as a foreign resident.
By Prefecture
Many of the publications represented on the site are fundamentally newsletters, PDFs, or print magazines. If you are interested in or reside in the prefecture of a specific publication and wish to submit or regularly receive it, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
AJET
All of the publications on this site are in some way connected to the JET program and often each prefecture’s AJET (Association Japan Exchange and Teaching) branch. Submissions from guest writers and non-JET program teachers is extremely common and decided by each publication along with the content and editorial vision.
As a unified site, all content abides by the site’s editorial ethic not to publish any content felt to be uncritically prejudiced or offensive.
New JETs join AJET in record numbers
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Via AJET:
This year, the JET Programme welcomed over 1700 new participants to its July-August Orientations at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. AJET’s presence at these orientations resulted in an unprecedented amount of new JET memberships. We spoke with Matthew Cook, (2011-2012 Chair) about his views on the services that AJET provides.
AJET Chair Matt Cook (Osaka, 2007-12) speaks at JET Orientation in Tokyo
What do you think contributed to the overwhelming amount of sign-ups at this year’s orientation?
Matt: Well, I think the re-brand had a great deal to do with it. When we were able to show that AJET is a tangible resource, an effective voice, and a community that JETs are actually a part of, it gave them a great incentive to sign up with us. Not to mention, all of the services we offer are FREE, and who doesn’t like free stuff?
CLAIR also gave me the opportunity to speak to the JET’s in the opening ceremonies, and I really wanted to take full advantage of that. I tried to make them understand that they are a part of something bigger than themselves. That they’re not alone. That we’re in this thing together, and we support each other…. and that’s what’s special about us compared to the other English teachers that are hired in Japan. I think that struck a chord with everyone, and hopefully, we’re going to see AJET and the support system we provide grow exponentially after this great start at TO Orientation.
How do you see AJET’s role changing this year?
Matt: From this year on, AJET is going to be much more accessible to JETs. The new website is easy to navigate, and we’ve got a new magazine and eBulletin that are focused and let JET’s know what’s new and happening every month. Social networking is at an all time high in the world. To match that, our Twitter and Facebook accounts are reaching out, connecting, and keeping JET’s in touch in ways through outlets they’ve never had access to before. For example, each block now has a Facebook group that connects local chapters not just to us, but to each other all across Japan. I’ve really been quite shocked at how much the average JET has been engaged and helped each other with these groups. It is fantastic to see how everyone is getting involved now that they have a platform through which to do it!
I think these groups are also going to allow us to get more participation in our bi-annual surveys, which in turn, will give MEXT and CLAIR a better idea of what JET’s need, and allow us to represent everyone more evenly across the board.
I also forsee this council forging a much stronger bond with JETAA in order to make the transition to “life after JET” easier for people who are on the program now. This close relationship will help us to stay connected and maintain a close fraternity with each other. Because we’ve all shared a common experience like none other, and what better way to revisit that than to get together with like-minded individuals to share those experiences, and find new ways to start ones?
Any upcoming projects to watch out for?
Matt: Overall, I think this year will be a springboard to the future! I’m so proud of our council and their hard work. I think they’ve set a standard for all the AJET councils of the future and we have nothing but the best to look forward to! I personally cannot wait to see what AJET accomplishes this year, and in the years to come!
We are so excited to publish our first issue of AJET Connect Magazine, coming this September. Also be on the look out for our iPhone app, due out later this year!
