六年ぶり福岡-Fukuoka 6 years later
After the orientation at Nagasaki, I decided to make a trip to nearby (by Japanese standard) Fukuoka for a 3D2N shopping trip and also to meet up with my Fukuoka host family from 6 years back when i first came to Japan on a homestay program.
I shall post more pictures from the trip and talk less i figure :P
Boarded the limited express train 'Kamome' at the Nagasaki JR station on 23rd Aug. The round trip ticket set me back by 5000yen and the journey was a comfortable 1hr 55min to Hakata station, neat : ) I had a good nap on the train before it pulled into Hakata where i began my big city fun!
After checking into hotel, i headed straight to the big stores in the city for some much needed retail therapy. Walked around Canal City for a while but really it is just any other big department store that lacks character, nothing too fascinating here though i did bought a few cheap tops, hee!
The next day was spent shrine/temple hopping in the morning as Joe (my unlikely travel partner for this trip) wanted badly to quench his thirst for some cultural fix. There are simply so many of these though in Japan, big or small, famous or abandoned and you can find them everywhere that i've sort of grew numb to their presence. So anyway, these are some which we went to, the names of which i am sorry i can't remember ;p
In the afternoon, we wandered around the Tenjin area and happened to chance into this little indoor shopping street which still had some of the decoration left from a festival called Tanabata which is usually held in July.
After too many days of Japanese food, we decided to go for some tacos and soup for dinner.
On the last day, i met up with the Tokunagas. They picked me up at the train station and brought me to the Fukuoka city art museum where we spent the morning. It was a little strange initially to meet up with them after 6 years but Ruri, the daugther is still the same Ruri-chan i remembered. It was nice spending a lazy Friday afternoon catching up over lunch and coffee.
This is a me and Ruri at the Ohori koen.
The very dainty and yummy lunch we had. It was so pretty and everything was served in such small portion i had a hard time knowing where to begin eating :P
After lunch, they dropped me off at the station and it was the end of my city holiday. One week ago, it was such a feeling of liberation to be back in the city where everything is so much more convenient.Strangely though after a week living the hustling city life once more,this time i feel ready to head back to the island and begin life as the English teacher in my small town. I can handle the old house and whatever that comes with the whole package that is called JET program i supposed : )
Nagasaki orientation
Made my maiden trip to Nagasaki city for the prefectural orientation 2 weeks arriving on the island. Especially looking forward to this trip as the ferry transportation and one night hotel stay were paid for. Took a picture of my apartment as i was making my way to the terminal.
This is a tunnel is across my place. To get to the terminal, i just have to walk through the tunnel and the port is just right opposite, a short 5 min walk away, very convenient!
This is Narao ferry terminal. It's my gateway to the outside world! :P
First stop in the city, Nagasaki Chinatown.
And of course i had to try the famous Nagasaki chanpon! A little food history here... Nagasaki chanpon was created by a Chinese restaurant owner for visiting Chinese students who lived frugally at the time. It's really Chinese yellow noodles with seafood such as squid, oysters, and shrimp harvested from Nagasaki's coastal waters and lots of cabbage and bean sprouts. Apparently from some Nagasaki tourism website, the origin of the word "chanpon" is from Hokkien "jiapeng"! (meaning have you eaten?) I was a little surprised when i learnt about this but then again, Chinese people like to ask if you've eaten your meal as a form of greeting isn't it?
The other famed Nagasaki must-eat is sara udon, which is really a Japanesified version of our "san mee". Ingredients on top of crispy noodles =P
Me and some new Nagasaki ALTs i met at the orientation.
Riddhi is from Bombay, India. This is the first year the program has Indian participants actually. Ellie is Canadian Japanese from Vancouver.
And this is Ellie, me and Joe. We had a lot of fun hanging out that night,just chatting about anything under the sun. The different countries we come from, the education system, cultures and religion. It was hilarious to share stories on how me and Ellie were always mistaken as Japanese. Ellie got it worse cos she has a Japanese surname as well so sometimes when people talked to us real quickly or expect us to behave in some ways and we don't, they'll give us the queer look. As for Joe, well he's a guy, he's American, he's white, enough said. Everywhere these people go, they are bound to get curious stares and appreciative giggles from Japanese girls. I can probably understand if they are astoundingly dashing but many are just well alright only.
We strolled along the Nakajima river after dinner and reached one of the must-see site in the city, Meganebashi (Spectacle bridge). The reflection of the bridge in the water makes it looks like a pair of spectacle thus the name. This is the first Chinese-styled stone bridge built in Japan by a Chinese monk in 1634.
Peace begins at Nagasaki
No stay in Nagasaki is completed without a visit to the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Museum. Afterall, food and influences of foreign culture aside, Nagasaki city is perhaps most well-known as the 2nd city that was hit by the nuclear bomb during WWII. The Nagasaki Peace Park is built on a low hill, a little north of the hypocenter of the atomic bomb blast. It is a place of prayers for world peace and the souls of the atomic bomb victims.
The park features the 9.7-meter-high Peace Statue symbolizing the Nagasaki citizens' wish for peace. The raised right hand points to the heavens to signify the threat of atomic weapons while the left arm is raised horizontally to represent the wish for peace. The figure's eyes are lightly closed in prayer for the souls of the atomic bomb victims. (Information taken from Nagasaki City Tourism Guide website). Every year on August 9, the anniversary of the atomic bombing, a peace memorial ceremony is conducted in front of this statue and a peace declaration is made to the people of the world.Thus the phrase "Peace begins in Nagasaki".
Looking at the pictures and listening to recounts of what happened on that fateful day made the afternoon a highly depressing and disturbing one. It was one thing to learn abt the tragedy from history textbooks but to be looking at remnants from the scene of the bombing and to be standing just a few hundred metres away from where the exact location the A-bomb was dropped, my travel companion and i were rather somber and deep in thoughts by the time we left the museum. As we walked along the streets in Urakami district which was completely destroyed after the bombing and looking at the city today, I cannot help but be impressed by the remarkable spirit of survival and the resilience of the people of Nagasaki.
The Urakami cathedral that was built by the persecuted Christians in Urakami was completed in 1914. It was commemorated as Asia's leading Romanesque-style cathedral of brick construction of that time but it was partially destroyed in the atomic bombing of 1945. This building was reconstructed in 1959 and in 1980, it was remodeled with brick tiles and restored to its original appearance.
Some pictures of Nagasaki street scene. This is taken from an overhead bridge near the Nagasaki JR station. Nagasaki is a mid-sized city with a population of abt 400,000 (that is like 10 times lesser than Singapore). There is a cheap and timely tram service and it makes for real simple easy navigation in the city.
Like Singapore, it is a port city and it's surrounded by lush mountains and sea, blessed with natural deep harbour. In fact, Nagasaki is famous within Japan for its unbelievably mountainous topography. The lack of much flat land led to development of residential areas on and along its many mountains. When these houses are lighted at night,the whole port of Nagasaki twinkles and thus the name "the city with the million dollar view". I've yet to have the chance to take the ropeway up Mount Inasa for this famed view. So till then, just make do with a less than scenic picture of the houses that sprout around the hills and mountains.
Nagasaki JR station and Amu Plaza, shopping mall frequented by mostly young people.
Bon odori at Iwaseura
Obon is the Japanese equivalent of our Qing Ming period. It lasts for a total of 3 days, usually sometime during mid August. The souls of the family members who had departed will return during these 3 days, young and old, those who are gone and those that are alive will all gather at the family house to celebrate the obon festival. Rural places usually became much more livelier during this time when children who left home for work in the bigger cities return to their hometown to spend time with the elderly folks at home.
On the first day, family memebers will welcome the return of their ancestors. The second day is the bon festival where people from the town or village will all gather somewhere in the village and dance to the sound of Japanese drums and traditional obon music. On the third day, families will send off their ancestors once more and this marks the end of obon.
I was invited to the bon festival at Iwaseura. This particular area on the island looks especially rural and has this very mysterious and ancient feel to it.
Met some of my students from Narao JHS who stays at Iwaseura. They were really friendly and i spent the night dancing bon odori with them =p
First day at Narao JHS
I have a total of 5 schools per week which i will take turn visiting and assisting in English lessons at these schools. Out of these 5,Narao Junior High school is what they called my 'base' school. The principals in this school are my immediate supervisor and whenever there are school holidays and no lessons to teach, i will report to Narao JHS and carry out various administrative issues etc. This is a sign made by the students at my base school, i was very touched by the sweet gesture.
After being introduced to the staff in this school, i was shown my desk and around the school compound. It might be still early to say, but this school gives me a good feeling. The teachers here seemed really easy going and the school has an overall very relaxed feel to it. It's a really small and close knitted school, there are only 91 students from 1st to 3rd grade! Teachers here know the names of every student, where they live and what subjects they are weak in etc, you get the idea.
This is the view from my desk at the teachers' room. Beautiful isn't it? I can't believe how lucky i'm, a school right on the beach!
Wakamatsu Summer Festival (若松夏祭り)
Japanese people are known to be extremely fond of festivals of all kinds and they celebrate in various styles througout all seasons.
In summer, people like to gather for summer festival which is like a funfair or carnival with booths selling typical Japanese fare like yakitori, grilled sweet corns and takoyaki and there is usually some kind of music and dance item as the night progress along. Girls like to dress up in yukata and eat kakikori (which is like our ice kacang without the beans and nuts) and just simply have fun at these festivals. The highlight of any summer festival, big or small, is definitely the fireworks or hanabi(花火).
My first Saturday on the island, i was invited to go to the summer festival at Wakamatsu area, which is next to the town of Narao. Melissa was sweet to lend me her yukata and even got her friend to help dress the 2 of us. Joe, the other new ALT in Kamigoto came along too and we headed to Wakamatsu for our night of summer fun.
Me, Melissa, Joe and Melissa's favorite student
The fireworks itself was much prettier than this. These don't look too much like firework do they? Somehow digital camera just don't do justice to it.
We were invited so a teacher's place for supper after the festival was over. The Iries prepared so much for us and i had the most delicious homemade ikuri shu (Japanese fruit wine made from a kind of apricot) ever! I think i must have said numerous times that i like the wine a lot cos before i left, they gave me a 1.5 litre bottle of the wine!
It had only been a week since i arrived on the island but many times I was simply overwhelmed by the kindness of the people here. Before coming, I was told that people in the rural area are generally more warm hearted as compared to their counterparts in the bigger cities. Surely day by day i see more and more truth in that as the people on this island had been really amazing, the lengths that they go to make foreigners like us feel extremely welcome anad at home.
my neighbour
Kawasaki sensei stays next door with her 4 year old son, Taro. Her husband works as a marine guard in Okinawa and comes back to the island perhaps once or twice a month.
At school, we sit next to each other too. She is the English teacher at Narao JHS and i will be working closely with her in class.
She is an extremely nice lady, very caring and easy going. During my first 2 weeks on the island, she invited me to her place (2 second walk from my front door!)for dinner almost every night, gave me fruits and brought me out to do grocery shopping many times. She speaks very good English so we converse in a mixture of English and Japanese most of the time. I look forward to team-teaching with her in school. She's expecting her second child in February next year which means i will be working with someone new some time next year when she goes on maternity leave. I do hope i get on equally well with the new teacher though... It'll certainly be tough getting used to a new person's working style and personality all over again.
This is Taro-kun with his safety white dog (白ワンちゃん). I call him Mr. Taro at times. He's so adorable and very well-behaved too. Sometimes after school, when i get a ride home from Kawasaki sensei, we will first go to the day care to pick Taro up and he's always so smily whenever he gets on the car.
Taro-kun and the Singapore flag : )
Moving in
My supervisor drove me to the place which will be my home for the next year or so in Narao. He dropped me and all my luggage off and went to park the car. So i stood on the little slope leading to my house taking in the sight around me for the first time. This is a view of the slope from where i was standing.
Frankly speaking, when i first saw my house, i didn't quite like it that much. It's a rickety old place, much older than i had expected. And 2 storey seemed too big for one person to live in and i was already wondering how i will spend my first night alone. And the sight of spiders both inside and outside the house, of different sizes and variety didn't make matter any easier.
I know before hand that the island is probably going to be rural so i did prepare myself mentally before coming. But to be physically on an island surrounded by mountains and seas with every turn of the road, it was really beyond imagination. The island is beautiful, there is no doubt about it. I've never seen this side of Japan previously. However, during the initial few days, the urban/rural culture shock still got to me a bit. Coming from a city with one of the highest population density in the world, where the roads are always noisy, of course it would take some time to get used to countryside living. Here, looking out of my window, i hardly see anyone on the streets and i really wondered if i am the only one staying in this town. Occasionally, you'll see an old lady with back bent almost 90degree shuffling her feet slowly up those never ending hills around the area. At night, the town is just silent with cicada chirping incessantly in the background.
I know that i will come to accept and like this place eventually, i just need a little bit of time. The previous ALT in this house, she was really sweet. She left me a folder full of information about work at school, people around the town and all sorts of useful contacts you can imagine. She grew to love this little old house and the town of Narao and i'm sure that i'll like Narao as much too.
This is a view of my place taken from the slope. There are 3 units in a block of this 2 storeys set-up apartment and my unit is the first one from the right. I have a lovely neighbor, she's the English teacher at my base school at Narao Junior High School.
Arriving at the Gotos
The Nagasaki JETs arrived at Nagasaki airport at around noon time and my supervisor was waiting right at the arrival hall for me. As we had a couple of hours to kill before boarding the jetfoils to Kamigoto we had lunch and walked around a shopping arcade a little.
This is a photo of my jetfoil ticket and boarding pass. Do you see the price for a one way ticket? Yes, it's 6,100 yen for a one way!(i think it's about 10500yen for round trip)Thank goodness any travel that is work related will be paid for but still that is not much of a consolation when you think of the times when you have to make trips out to the city for personal reason. Jetfoil is actually what we call speedboats back home and it takes a shorter time to get to Nagasaki city from the island, around 1hr 40min. There is actually a cheaper way to commute to the city and that is by big car-carrying ferry. The journey will take nearly 3 hours but the price is cheaper by more than half! (4700yen for round trip). If i'm not in a hurry, you can be sure i'll be taking the ferry a lot more than the speedboat.
We arrived at around 630pm and i was surprised and glad to find 2 other 2nd year ALTs on Kamigoto waiting for me at the terminal. Turned out that my supervisor is a busy man and had to rush off for a meeting so he got the 2 girls to take me out for dinner on my first night on the island.
Melissa is Chinese American from Virginia and Victoria is from Wales. They've both been on the island for a year now and liked it enough to continue on for a second year. I sort of knew them a month before i came to Japan. It was quite amusing thinking back now. I remember feeling rather apprehensive and googling online for whatever information i can find on this ruralish teeny weeny small town when i happened to chance upon Vicky's blog. Got in contact with her and boy they had been great help even before i got to Japan.
Tokyo Orientation
The orientation that was held at Keio Plaza Hotel began with an opening ceremony in the morning. It was quite a sight to behold with more than a thousand foreigners from many different countries gathered at the function room, all ready and eager to begin their new life and adventure in Japan.
My roommate and i took turn taking picture for each other. It seemed a tad bit over zealous and cheesy doesnt it? Haha.
In the evening, we had a couple of free hours and i made use of the time to meet up with Yuka for dinner. The last time we met was in Singapore when she came for visit 3 years back so i was thrilled to see her again. She is one Japanese friend whom i kept in touch with for the longest time and although we seldom had the chance to see each other often, it's amazing how we can always catch up quickly.
The second day of orientation was filled with workshops catering to all kinds of categories imaginable. There were sessions on 'Life as female JET', 'JET of Asian descendant', 'Life for the rural JET' etc. Some of the information provided were rather useful but for the most part, it's quite repetitive so i was quite glad when day 2 of the program ended.
At night all the Singaporean participants were invited to dinner by the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo at this really swanky Japanese restaurant that has the structure of some building from the Edo era. I was tempted to skip dinner for some personal R&R but i was glad i went in the end. It was interesting talking to other Singaporeans working and living in Japan and it was a nice feeling too that the embassy actually organized a welcome reception for us.
Most of us returned straight to the hotel after dinner. It had been an overwhelming 3 days in Tokyo, information overload and just plain tiring. Though exhausted, i looked forward to finally seeing Goto island and my home in Narao for the first time!
Pictures taken with Yen Ling and Andrea the night before we all parted our ways.
Boarded the limited express train 'Kamome' at the Nagasaki JR station on 23rd Aug. The round trip ticket set me back by 5000yen and the journey was a comfortable 1hr 55min to Hakata station, neat : ) I had a good nap on the train before it pulled into Hakata where i began my big city fun!
After checking into hotel, i headed straight to the big stores in the city for some much needed retail therapy. Walked around Canal City for a while but really it is just any other big department store that lacks character, nothing too fascinating here though i did bought a few cheap tops, hee!
The next day was spent shrine/temple hopping in the morning as Joe (my unlikely travel partner for this trip) wanted badly to quench his thirst for some cultural fix. There are simply so many of these though in Japan, big or small, famous or abandoned and you can find them everywhere that i've sort of grew numb to their presence. So anyway, these are some which we went to, the names of which i am sorry i can't remember ;p
In the afternoon, we wandered around the Tenjin area and happened to chance into this little indoor shopping street which still had some of the decoration left from a festival called Tanabata which is usually held in July.
After too many days of Japanese food, we decided to go for some tacos and soup for dinner.
On the last day, i met up with the Tokunagas. They picked me up at the train station and brought me to the Fukuoka city art museum where we spent the morning. It was a little strange initially to meet up with them after 6 years but Ruri, the daugther is still the same Ruri-chan i remembered. It was nice spending a lazy Friday afternoon catching up over lunch and coffee. 
This is a me and Ruri at the Ohori koen.
The very dainty and yummy lunch we had. It was so pretty and everything was served in such small portion i had a hard time knowing where to begin eating :P
After lunch, they dropped me off at the station and it was the end of my city holiday. One week ago, it was such a feeling of liberation to be back in the city where everything is so much more convenient.Strangely though after a week living the hustling city life once more,this time i feel ready to head back to the island and begin life as the English teacher in my small town. I can handle the old house and whatever that comes with the whole package that is called JET program i supposed : )
