Where can we go?

Last week on the broadcast I asked a question. Where to take my family during their visit to Japan. They really enjoy Japanese culture and food.

So, where can we go?

Do you have some advice?

Here are some ideas from 3-3 class: Todai-ji, Tojimbo, Eiheiji, Lpa, Tokyo, Kyoto, Kinkaku-ji, a maid cafe.

Please think about it and tell me before Wednesday. Put your ideas on my desk :)

楽しみ！

Michael's Corner

Dear Shinmei students,

Welcome to my blog!
You now have the chance to read about your ALT, Michael on the Internet. This is a secret club!
This is where I can share my thoughts with you about my life in Japan. Every day I see many new things, or hear some interesting things, or eat new foods and I want to share that with everyone. So, I hope you can visit my blog and read about my new experiences here in Fukui, Japan.

Let's enjoy the English Broadcast every week on Wednesdays and learn more about Michael-sensei, Canada, English and students. Please come to the English board to see the new question of the week. Every week there will be a question for you. Please answer the question and join me on Wednesday in the Broadcast room to share your ideas.

This week's question:
My family is coming to Japan next week. Where can we go in Japan? Where can we visit? Please give me some advice.

I hope to hear your answers. Your English will get better and better. So let's enjoy!

Did someone say flipper?

What's lurking behind that cove?
For those of you who missed the Academy Awards or had better things to do on their Sunday evening (or Monday morning, as it happened to be in Japan), I will get you up to speed on one of the results. Best Documentary. Have you seen it? Titled "The Cove", it's a glimpse into the industry known to Western society as whale/dolphin hunting. I caught this film on my flight home to Toronto before Christmas and quickly erased it from my memory. I previously regarded Japan as a place of complete solitude, tranquility and lack of confrontation. As one of my students mentioned, "This is just one case which has been blown out of proportion, making a story bigger than what it actually seems." Did I buy that? Perhaps she's too deep in the system to realize what daily occurrences take place.
I had not thought of this documentary since watching it that one day and it was a student of mine who brought this news to the table today. No one in the group had yet seen, and others hadn't even heard, of the movie's existence. That didn't shock me. In some cases, such as this, I lack all confidence to rile up the Japanese, even if their English skills are phenomenal. Many of them shut down and say it's a "difficult topic". By all means, it IS a difficult topic. But when I am given answers such as, "It's part of our history", and "たべたい！”　I feel I want to be placed on the offensive in this matter.
So you admit that you've eaten whales for hundreds of years and only recently have you started to eat meat from pigs or cows. Is it the same? Both are mammals. One is bred solely for the purpose of eating while the other is caught in waters that happen to be the breeding grounds of the whales. Where's the problem?
To also be enlightened of the fact that whales previously made up a large portion of staple protein in Japan shocking. So much that it was described as the "perfect meat" and served in the school lunch system. It was sold cheaper than the likes of pork and beef, suggesting it's high rate of catch. So what happened?
As the only foreigner in the group, I felt it necessary to suggest why fingers have been pointed at Japan for its practices, which is hard for others to see. After being asked why fingers where only pointed at Japan and not China, for instance, I sat back, thought a while and remembered why I had been intrigued with Japan all along. As much as the Meiji Restoration opened Japan's doors, it's closed in the means of culture and practices. People's curiosity is revealed as judgment all too often.
Although I do admit a communication barrier exists, Western society is quick to fix, while Eastern (more particularly Japan) is less willing to forget. It's not OK to say that practices can occur because Japanese don't judge others. They are formulating their judgment based on the instances of possibility rather than logic or sense.

Anyhow, go watch the movie and see it for yourself. Just don't ever corner a Japanese and begin the argument.

All White People Look the Same

Has it really been almost 2 months since my last post? I'm coming to take more time to write in my diary, both in Japanese, as well as English (one for each language), as opposed to writing online. Much has occurred over the past two months that it becomes hard to come to grips as to what is of value, especially for an aspiring piece of work that I will later call my breakthrough to the world of publishing.
Wait, was that a call to all journalists, bloggers, and tweeters to locate me and turn this normal Canadian into someone famous? Did I also mention I'm in the job market come September?
Anyhow, I was on the train last week while at a conference in Yokohama (one of the best places in the world, thank you Lady Gaga!) and looked around. Naturally, while on a subway, train or any form of transportation one tends to survey the crowd, correct? Well, I was especially intrigued this one trip and I peered over the people in the car. What I noticed was a woman, tall in stature, hair, black cut shorter than shoulder length with bangs, and a fairly significant nose. I turn to my, who so happens to be British bloke, and quickly acknowledged, "I'm pretty sure that woman could pass for a Frenchwoman". Of course, I was wrong, as she was Japanese, though I'm sure many others would agree with me. It's not the first time I have mistaken Japanese for Westerners, and surely it's been a recent development, with the progression of my resident status here in Japan. Though half-heartedly convinced, I'm becoming good at identifying stark differences in people's appearances.
I've always had an eye for faces, though when it came to Organic Chemistry in 2nd year of my 4 year term at Queen's University, I found it difficult to distinguish most of the lecture hall, because the majority of all were Asian. Now, I'm not about to suggest all Asians look the same, though I will admit that similar features do exist. How is it that Koreans get away with owning Japanese restaurants in Canada? However, when this mold is broken, people stand out of the crowd. You'd think they would be hammered down if they stuck out, as an old Japanese proverb suggests. It's quite interesting that this one "Frenchwoman" might have possibly had some French ancestry, though highly unlikely, given the fact that this is Japan, however, I have these moments weekly, where my brain cannot distinguish what is what anymore. Could we be seeing past the narrow eyes and midnight black hair? Or are my eyes adjusting to what I refer to every day?
For someone to suggest all Asians look alike is quite bold, ignorant and simply rude. Perhaps we need to adjust our eyes more to what this world is made up of.
On a final note, even I've been mistaken for a Japanese on more than one occasion. Looks, personality, gestures, body language? Funny how our senses take note of these slight changes.

Happy New Year! One Milk, One Sugar, Please

As, I sit here drinking my Assam Black Tea Latte, at our local kissaten, I think to myself- Coffee, it’s common language, right? Everyone drinks it, but how is it that I can be drinking the same drink not longer than a week ago in Canada and be doing the same today. Not to mention, it still fascinated me that I can wake up off a 12-hour flight and end up in Japan.

Throughout the week I have various extra-curricular activities, including the likes of practicing Aikido, Shodo (Japanese calligraphy), an English club and in my free time I’ve taken to hiking. But the activity I look forward to the most, by far, is Japanese class. Unlike many, I don’t go to Japanese class to learn grammar or vocabulary, although that is the perk of learning a language, but what keeps me coming to class are the conversations that my teacher and I share. Now, this man is significantly older than me, and even though I sometimes feel like an overworked Japanese still working at the age of 72, I feel our conversations are genuine and without a doubt intriguing.

This past Sunday I had class and took note throughout my teacher’s speech (wait not speech… plug). I enquired about Japanese New Years, and had no idea the conversation would flow into what came to be a very direct suggestion that I work to bind cultures together and learn from them while also maintaining strong ties to my own. He spoke highly of how Japanese have lost their identity, which has been drained out by the influence of American culture. Japanese are being influenced yearly by American culture, losing their own to the likes of fast food, consumerism and Hollywood. You’d think they would have learned English along the way as well, right?

He spoke with valour and grace, which intrigued me to a level I have not felt before from this man. He, a well-traveled 72-year old man, just got back from India and France has so much insight. I swear he must be part of the yakuza, or just bored of life. But what he does when he travels is what we should all consider when travelling. When you bust through the doors of a Starbucks in Korea, or England, at least learn how to say please and thank you. Or when travelling through Europe on that graduation trip with your friends, or brother, learn the four ways to say exit in English, German, Italian and French. Exit, Ausgang, Uscita and Sortie…somehow I still remember.

What I’m saying is that we should take every opportunity to listen, look around ourselves, ask questions and be opinionated about everything. How do the Japanese take their coffee? Is it the same as the Italians, strong and short, or the Vietnamese with their strong sweet flavour? The pleasant Japanese women sitting next to me on my flight from Toronto to Tokyo stated that if I were to have any questions I shouldn’t hesitate to ask. Questions? What questions would I possibly have? I’m living in Japan, aren’t I, I should be able to figure it out on my own. But it’s more than obvious that I don’t know everything about Japan and these people want to teach me everything there is for me to know. Although many people may seem shocked to see us and always take note, or quite the opposite feeling in the teachers’ room at school, but I do not doubt for a second that they believe we don’t have all that it takes to be living here in Japan, culturally. Take note, I’m not suggesting assimilation.

On that note, I enquired to a close friend of mine, as per the reasons why Japanese haven’t established a neighbourhood to call their own in Toronto. With neighbourhoods such as Chinatown, Greektown, Little Italy… (I could go on lengths), that seem to thrive, why does there not exist a Japan town? It’s because when living abroad the Japanese are very good at assimilating themselves within the broader culture. And those words I believe. Maybe they’re more excited to be drinking a double-double coffee than they are trying to get the best Maguro.

I think sometimes we get too caught up with ourselves that we forget one of the reasons why we, all of us, exist within Fukui. It almost seems like a thrill to be here one day, and then a drag the next. I may sound like a broken tape-recorder reiterating this, but I agree with the likes of our friends, teachers, and the staff of the Board of Education. We are ambassadors of our countries. We can teach others how we drink our coffee. But at the same time, we should understand how they take their coffee, too. Black. No sugar.

PS: I learned that the hard way, as I sat around a table with Japanese academics and being the only one offered sugar and milk. It’s a stereotype they have, but what a blessing.

When Japan tried Multiculturalism

So I went to Osaka a few weekends ago, and Osaka is the (wait, can I actually try to compare it with any other city?... anyone would be ashamed of me to do so, for those of you who have been to Osaka). One cannot fully explain Osaka and I have yet to understand it myself, but anyhow. It's the closest metropolis to Fukui, that being a place of more than a million people in one urban center. And with metropolises comes a sense of culture, senses, liveliness, the general atmosphere of a large city center. It's the place where you can find ethnic cultures other than Japanese within Japan. Not surprisingly therefore, it's also the place I ate Mexican and Indian on the same weekend, while also drinking a pint of Murphy's at a local Irish pub (legit) and subsequently enjoying the spirit of Christmas at an authentic (if one ignores everything else Japanese around) German "Weihnachtsmarkt". It almost feels as though I am at home in Toronto every time I go to Osaka, though as I mentioned before, I couldn't do that for either Toronto, or Osaka's sake.
Though on the note of culture, those are little fragments seen within a larger Japan. Japan isn't REALLY multicultural. If anything, it's an excuse for me to lavish in foreign goods whenever I pop off to a larger city, because they CAN cook better food than I can, and well, let's face it, good food usually comes from good cities. Though, I am sure the old lady down the street would argue with me on that note and then serve me a bowl of shaved radish in a buckwheat noodle broth.
Over the weekend, I had a brief conversation on just that with an acquaintance I had just recently met. Though we share different opinions on Japan culture (mine are more rash, as I have lept over the line of naivity), we concluded that it is most definitely not multicultural what-so-ever. But wait for his rational... it's not for the lack of Turkish-owned Shwarma stalls.
He spoke of the lack of English ability by the Japanese. Are you kidding me?! You're basing multiculturalism on the acquisition of the English language? Though I regard his statement as a bit worldly, he would have expected more from the Japanese than the current state of their English level from a city, such as Tokyo, which is so "multicultural; a cultural capital of the world". No shit Sherlock. It's Japan; A country that only opened up to the West in the end of the 19 century. When I go to Tokyo I use Japanese. You should too. Don't get all over your head that they don't speak English. They will. As much as you want them too. And you should thank them. Because I'm sure you wouldn't do the same for them.

Hike that mountain!

Get ready... this could take an entire year to describe to you. Do not fret, my writing skills and my attention cannot hold you on for too long, so I've decided to make a catch factor.
Walking through bamboo forests after the rain with a close friend soaking up nature. Have I enticed you yet?
Go figure in an island country, full of mountain ranges and volcanoes that hiking would be popular among a hand-full of the population. Not only are the mountains gorgeous, but they are challenging, tall in comparrisson to what I've previously seen, and not to mention very photogenic. It's also made very easy because Japanese have a tradition of hiking and wandering across the country, paving paths to be explored, or suggesting previously paved paths (love the alliteration) to the thrill-seekers. Every mountain has been climbed, at least twice and so marked paths, with maps and posts are easily spotted. If you wanna strike up a conversation with a Japanese about anything... my suggestion would be hiking. They could tell you the closest mountain and the best 100 within a circumference of 100km, by name (of course in Kanji), it's altitude and an approximate time it will take you to reach the summit.
Living in Fukui, I am at the edge of the Japanese North Alps. (Some dude climbed some mountains in Europe, came over to the Japan and decided he call them the Alps). Though there is no Mt. Blanc, there are definitely some challenges, including Mt. Fuji, which I climbed as my initiation to mountain-climbing.
Prior to arriving to Japan, I had never previously struck the idea of mountain-climbing, let alone hiking. Hiking was something Boy Scouts did for two weeks in the summer at their base camps in Haliburton or Grafton. But we all know Ontario is on the bottom rung of places with mountains, unless you're from Saskatchewan. And would anyone actually consider climbing something like Mt. St. Louis?
What has fascinated me about climbing is its relative ease, expense and health factors. Great on the wallet, it's FREE, great source of Vitamin D (thanks sun) and I can get to the closest course within a 15 minute drive. Some of the most beautiful landscapes I have seen are from atop mountains and hiking trails, allowing for scenic beauty and of course some food for thought. I'm going to continue this fascination with hiking, which has spawned the decision to live near mountains in the future. Sorry Mississauga. Maybe next time.