Winter Holidays Part II: Yamanashi.

I invited Mike and Anna to come along to my grandparents place in Yamanashi and my aunt and uncle's place in Yokohama (later) to experience some real Japanese family environment, especially for New Years. My cousin Wataru came up the day after we did so the new years weekend participants consisted of Mike and Anna, my grandparents, Wataru and me. Good times!


The drive to Yamanashi was beautiful. Some real mountains.


Kampai!


Obaachan playing the keyboard and Ogiichan singing an old song in his gravelly voice. We jammed quite a bit, actually. We had a really nice piano (so Anna told me, I don't know much about those things), a guitar and keyboard. I didn't really know this before, but Obaachan has a really good ear! She'd listen to what Mike was playing on the piano and after one listen would play right along with her keyboard...


Their dog, Ai-chan, though being a female, had a peculiar habit....


Great picture of Ogiichan in his workshop. Their house is just a big clutter of various crafts, artifacts, raw materials and other nicknacks... a lovely home.




This is the driveway to my grandparent's place. We had to park Mike and Anna's car out by the main street because it wouldn't fit in the footpath that is the driveway. Only Ogiichan's skinny van driven expertly by Ogiichan himself can navigate this course.


Fuji-san. Quite possibly the most beautiful mountain in the world. I hear the Table-Top Mountain in South Africa is pretty, too...


Me trying to play a shamisen. I was inspired by two brothers playing on TV - they ROCKED out on these things, I don't know how they did it, but it was amazing. The "pick" is that ice-scraper-like thing in my right hand and you have only three strings on a fretless neck.

WINTER HOLIDAYS Part I.

CHRISTMAS in Kudamatsu! - feat. Mike and Anna.

Nothing like best friends from home to brighten up a foreign and potentially lonely Christmas. Mike and Anna sped from their Japan-home in Gifu where they are teaching English, to my humble abode on the Friday before Christmas. I'd like to say I showed them all the glory of Yamaguchi-ken, but the truth is, we ended up just relaxing in my tatami (bamboo carpet) room for most of the time - it was just what we all needed. Some pictures.



On Saturday (Christmas Eve's eve) we had a Taiko concert at an old-folks home. Mike and Anna's first taiko experience, and even though we were pretty rusty, it was fun times.




The traditional cutting of the best friend's hair which is a ritual long practiced in Japan ever since that day I cut Mike's hair, which was last week, I guess.


SNOW!! Machi, Ken and Anna revelling in the first snowfall of the year, and what a snowfall! Flakes the size of my fist and perfect for chucking at the nearest friend. You can see the flakes are so big they cast a shadow from the flash.


The Tree Festival in neighbouring Tokuyama. Lots of lights, big stage, thumping subwoofers accompanying highflying cheerleading acts, dance groups, and singing performances. And many many food tents. Delish.


The main objective of this photo was to get the guy's hair behind me. So pay no attention to me and please refer to the mane of Japanese style piled behind me.


We bumped into Chika and Suguru (Taiko friends, if you have forgotten) as well as Arisa and her little sister. Arisa, along with Chika, were in my group at the Karyo English camp waaaay back in August! Check out that jacket Chika is wearing! These kids are stylin'.

Christmas Shout Outs!

To Ed Wagler, who was mad because I hadn't given him a shout out yet. He makes an excellent turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken stuffed with bacon stuffed with bacon. Ask him about it.

To Shoko, who is a great ambassador for Japan and who hosts us with tireless enthusiasm and love for friends and Japan.

To Takahashi-san, aka Wendy, who is like my Mom at the Board of Education Office, and brings me treats and snacks daily.
To Kayo, my "oneechan" (elder sister) and supervisor at the office who frequently brings me presents of candles (during typhoon season), kerosene pump (for my kerosene heater) and curry mix with English instructions printed out so I could make my own curry. And also for being wonderfully weird and funny. Offices worldwide need more Kayos.

To all y'all at Shantz Mennonite Church who sent me a lovely little care package that arrived exactly on Christmas day! Thank you for the flouride toothpaste!

To my Mom and Dad whose nest is now suddenly empty. You won't miss us for long. Dad, now you can blare Bach and Mozart as loud as you like! And Mom, you can watch as much figure skating as you like. Also, you can spoil Dad since he is an old man and it has been approximately 100 years since he has been spoiled like a child on Christmas day. Actually, that's not true, he's spoiled just to have a family like us, right? Love you!

Yamaguchi JET Christmas Party - in Beautiful Hagi.

A very enjoyable evening. Italian restaurant, gift exchange, good eats and drinks and conversations.



The distinguished Marko. One of the coolest guys in the ken, he has done much in his 36 years including graduating from Oxford with a History degree, which we young bucks always tease him about.


Brett and Junko... Junko is one hip girl, even though nobody says hip anymore. Has a unique sense of fashion (kinda hippy) which is both a great feat and at the same time not at all surprising because everyone is fashionably unique in the same way in Japan.


Louise and a Japanese man who owns a 70's vintage store who came over to talk to us. He had on an amazing Chicago Cubs sweater which unfortunately, you can't get the full scope of in this photo.


Sally and Louise pose with the Benda, Sally's work car. This was my ride home after the part; probably the smallest car I've ever ridden in. The backseat was actually less than 90 degress so my spine was distorted after a while.

The following is a letter I wrote to my church back in Canada. Also appropriate for the general viewing public.

The God of Small Things.

Hello to my Shantz Church family!

Hope y'all are well and healthy...

I have to start off by saying "I am sorry for not writing to you sooner and I have really no excuse for this, except to say that time is REALLY flying over here and I can't believe it's been four months since I left Canada". Forgiveness please.

I have to say, I miss you all. I miss the church community, the discussions, the friends, and the potlucks. I have not yet found a church here, but to be perfectly honest, I haven't looked very hard. But I've taken the opportunity to spend more time with God alone. Most Sundays I wake up, stretch a bit, and then sit on my bamboo mat floor and... do nothing. Just sit. Then I'll crack open a random page of the Bible and read it, think about it... then read a bit of The Purpose Driven Life (thanks Mom), dwell on that for a bit... then read "What Is Zen" (great book, check it out) by Allan Watts for a bit and reflect on that.

The result of this kind of prayer and meditation has been a renewed sense of gratefulness to God for all the blessings in my life, not least of which are the people back home (you) who pray for me and are supportive of me. It's really quite amazing the difference a thankful heart can produce in everyday existence. I've found myself able to appreciate each interaction more, every student that smiles and waves at me or goes out of his/her way to say something in English; every teacher that is so grateful for my proofreading their tests... little things like that. Honestly, there is nothing that exciting in my day-to-day routine in Japan, but it's all these mundane blessings that, if remembered, make for a good time. Allow me to share a few...

This week I have been giving interview tests to 9th graders and it's really fun most of the time because it's basically just me and the student chilling out and talking in English. One question I asked a bunch of times is "What do you want to be in the future?".

Normal answer: "I want to be a [profession of choice]"

Abnormal/Awesome answers:
"I want to be rich!" Why? "Big house! Lots of shoes!" - Mami
"I want to be happy" - Shizuka [this was immediately after Mami's comment].
"I want to be Ritchie Blackmore" - Taiki. I thought at first that he said "I want to be a rich black man" and I didn't quite know what to say. Turns out he was talking about the aforementioned Mr. Blackmore, former guitarist of Deep Purple!

I led a game of pictionary with one of my 7th grade classes and divided the class into two teams. I asked for team names and Natsuki volunteered "Sushi" for her team. I just have to say at this point that Natsuki is probably one of the best persons in Japan. I haven't really had any conversations with her (she can't speak English very well) but she is just so bright, bubbly, smart, gentle, and good-natured that she has become one of my favourites. There are some kids who are cheerful in a loud, obnoxious way, but Natsuki just seems full of joy... and as I watched her with her team, everyone always looked to her as their leader to consider their next move. Anyways, the other team, upon deliberation from their EXTREMELY loud leader, we'll call her Alpha Girl, decided that a good opposition to Japanese Sushi would be American Steak. Steak vs. Sushi. America vs. Japan. Interestingly, the Steak side was very rowdy, outspoken, and noisy while team Sushi was very quiet, but attentive. Sushi won 3-1.
This last story takes place at taiko practice [taiko is Japanese drumming... big drums... big sticks...]. We were learning a new piece which involved an A side and a B side and the two would call and answer, back and forth. I was really struggling with the transition from A to B because I couldn't get the timing right and was always coming in too early or too late. So I was resorting to counting out the individual beats and this was getting nowhere too... Finally, Saya, a 12-year-old girl who is really good and knows both A and B parts, turned to me and said in absolute seriousness (in Japanese), "Ken, it's no use trying to count the beats. You've got to feel the music, feel the rhythm." I didn't know 12-year-olds knew anything about groove, much less how to teach it, but I've got the part down pat now!

It's stuff like that that make my day, and I thank God for making me sensitive to them. I hope you can take the time to see these little things in a season too often overwhelmed by big spending and stress.
Blessings to all of you, Merry Christmas!

peace,
Ken

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to let you know my mailing address so you can all send me tons of stuff to show that you love me because we all know that love is measured directly by the amount of money one spends on another.

Ken Ogasawara
Yamaguchi-ken
Kudamatsu-shi
Sakurachou 1-7-3-２１

TSUANO -- Fall in Japan on a rainy day.

Once again Brett, Jennifer, Supervisor/friend Shoko and I joined forces to see a bit of Japan. This being fall, and we being in a nation quite obsessed with its four seasons, we set out to see the changing leaves, which has a specific word in Japanese which I forget. Shoko took us to some of her secret favourite places which included a little waterfall, pool, and creek that was hidden away off of a mountain road. It is so secret that I will not post pictures of it. I will however post some pics of the aforementioned leaves.




Makka. Which is to say, "pitch red" (like pitch black). The Japanese maple turn some serious shades of red and gold. Very bold indeed.


This is me being chilly on a bridge that crosses a river that runs 100 meters below. Very long way down indeed. Shoko freaked out anytime Brett or I came near her because she thought we would throw her over or something. Not really, but you know how people are when they are near the edge of a very long drop. Please note how low the railing is... I could trip over it for crying out loud.


Very tall waterfall that you can't really see. It's not the secret one though.

Kudamatsu Mall Bunkasai cont'd.

These pictures give a tiny glimpse into the phenomenon of fashion in Japan. Everyone is fashionable in Japan. In one way or another, people dress on purpose. Little kids, grandmothers, they're all rockin' something good when they go out. It is not uncommon for me to see a super-fly young couple grocery shopping together with their super-fly three-week-old baby. This is in stark contrast to my own growing up when I wore faded trackpants with tapered legs well into my senior years in highschool. But I wore them well.

You're never too old to dress young, is the unofficial motto for most contemporary Japanese.




Likewise, you're never too young to dress old(skool). I think I saw a pipe in his breast pocket.

Kudamatsu City Bunkasai (Cultural Festival).

This was one of the last festivals of the 2 week festival blitz that happened all over Yamaguchi-ken this year (every year, a different ken hosts the national cultural festivals). This one was held at The Mall and the parking lot was converted into a fair or market of sorts. Quite strange, actually, I'd never seen anything like this because they were selling - get ready for a huge shock - USED goods! It was reminded me strongly of markets in Uganda, of all things, because the vendors just spread out a blanket or tarp on the ground and laid out their stuff. I'm not sure if this was a special day for used clothing and stuff but I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Below are some random things for sale. What is Bruce Lee doing with his thumb?






Those trees are pretty sweet. I bet you're jealous because you think it's warm here. It's not. It's warmer than Canada, but when your school or apartment doesn't have insulated walls or central heating, 14 degrees feels much colder.



These kids were just jumping and spinning in midair...I don't know if they were practicing for something, but they were really good at it. I wish they would've practiced in front of a solid background though.


Below, a cheerleading group doing a pretty quick routine to "Hey Mickey" (you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind...). I'm not cheerleading routine expert, but this seemed pretty high level for little kids.





This picture has nothing to do with this bunkasai, but I thought I should post it. It was from the Kudamatsu Junior Highschool bunkasai from a few weeks ago...a picture drawn by a student who shall remain anonymous because I don't know his or her name.

Women's Volleyball continued.

On Saturday night I saw these women do something which I thought was impossible. They were playing undefeated Serbia/Montenegro, the top team at this tournament with a perfect 6-0 record. And they showed it in the first two sets by totally dominating the smaller Japanese squad. The S/M spikes were just malicious; they hit so hard the ball was often not visible to the naked eye. I gave it up, to be honest, and told myself that Japan is just playing for pride at this point. Turns out they have a lot of pride!

Our girls really started clicking in the third set and the attack combinations, blocks, digs, were all firing perfectly! The turning point in the set (and ultimately, the game) was when Japan got two crucial blocks from the most unlikely player: tiny captain Takeshita!

Japan then basically cruised through the next 3 sets and took the match 3-2!! Unreal.

JAPAN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL aka my favourite thing to watch on TV.

The women's world volleyball championships are being hosted in Japan now and I have quickly become addicted to watching it on TV, as well as shouting and agonizing and sweating over every rally. I have also come to terms with the fact that I have an unrequited crush on these women. Most are within my age range. And I am tall enough for most of them. They are really good...sometimes inconsistent, but they are often brilliant and it is very exhilerating to watch.


My favourites are #11, #12, #5, #3 (team Captain Takeshita) and Libero #6. The Libero, Kaoru (aka `The Princess` as the media has dubbed her) is just amazing, her digs and returns are often spectacular and sometimes singlehandedly keeps her team in the game. Takeshita is amazing too.


This is Kimura Saori #12 and she's the youngest player on the squad at 20 years of age.

Takahashi Miyuki. She is only 170cm tall but can absolutely crush a volleyball. She played in Italy last season.

Above and below is national team captain Takeshita. I like her because she is just so cool. She's like a zen warrior on the court or something, never loses her cool, always steady and present. Also, she's a phenomenal setter; you just have to see it to believe it.

Ken's Taiko DEBUT! HOSHI DAIKO - @ Akiyoshida Culture and Music Festival

The next sweet "away" gig with my favourite people who bang big drums with precision. You may recall that I visited Akiyoshida three weeks prior with Shoko, Brett, and Jen to see the limestone caves. We left bright and early 6:15am but that didn't deter some of the men in the group from cracking a few beers in the back... about 12 hours too early for me. When we got there, I was astonished to see a whole parade ground swarming with drummers and taiko! Overhearing other people talking, I realized that the "Ibuki" piece that we had been practicing for a while (the long, difficult one) was going to be performed en masse with probably at least 15 taiko groups from around the ken. Something like 200 drummers, plus students from two jr. high schools working the bamboo sticks (long, huge pieces of bamboo that are hit with sticks... very impressive when hit in unison with about 200 students; it makes a sharp *CLACK* sound). The composer of the piece is a young woman who is also a very good conductor - kept smiling, encouraging us, kept us together, etc.

What can I say? It was incredible! The sheer power of all those drums!

The rest of the day was individual groups giving performances and they were really really good. A whole day of taiko, beautiful weather, good food, good friends... ideal.

I forgot to get a picture of me in my uniform, but I looked pretty cool. Actually, everyone looks really good in their uniform.... for some reason, all the men in my group (average age of 50) are buff. They smoke and drink and are somehow really fit. The women too, and the girls (they don't smoke or drink though). And then me. I'm still skinny and un-buff. But I am the tallest.



Here is a pic attempting to capture the whole field full of drums. You can see the bamboo sticks in the foreground and the big "odaiko" (literally, "big drums") lined up along the back...the subwoofers of the taiko ensemble. Our odaiko was the biggest one there.



Since it was a music concert, there was a performance by this male choir, composed mostly of old men trying to catch their collective breath while wearing hot suits in the hot sun.



This was a wicked show put on by a small group, I think 5 adults and 4 elementary-age girls. These two women in the middle were the showstoppers, they had a unique setup of three drums (low-middle-high range) for each of them and they worked them like magic. I would've married either of them at the drop of a hat.



This guy was in the same group as the above women. I want to be him. Look at how cool that is. It was like a mixture of martial art and music. The interesting thing about taiko is that knowing and keeping the rhythms is only half the task. Equally as important are the movements of your arms and legs and to do it in unison with everyone. So this guy had the sweetest and most impressive-looking part of playing the side-drum which I want to do before I die.



Maki, a girl in our group.

OKI takes my camera.

One day after school (at Suetake) I was chillin' with my guitar and along came Oki and Kyoko, two adorable 9th graders, and they plunked themselves down beside me to listen to me noodle. I had my camera sitting beside me (I had been taking pics of bunkasai preperation that day) and Oki went ahead and took a picture of me playing at which point I told her to take as many as she liked, so she and Kyoko disappeared for a bit and came back with a few of the pics seen below. Actually, I think it's a great way of getting pics of students or teachers without being awkward... saves me the trouble.



These are 4 girls who stopped to chill with me. They are wearing their "gym clothes"; usually they wear these shorts and t-shirts (minus the blue jumper you see there) underneath their skirt and tunic(?), which must suck in the summertime.


This is a teacher, I don't know his name.


This is Masaya, a very musically gifted 9th grader, as well as being selfish and mischevious (so Yamashita sensei tells me). He plays percussion in the fabled Suetake brass band and plays the marimba, drum kit, timpani and bells with such skill and grace it's almost professional. He is one of my three "guitar club" members. When I asked at the start what they could play, he whipped out "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton and I nearly fell over.


Kaoruko, a cool 9th grader who is also Mizuki (speech champ girl)'s best friend. The three of us had a great chat one day after school while they told me how stupid boys are, how lame their school uniforms are, how tall my bike seat was, etc. Very fun.


This is the picture Oki took of me. The sun doth shininged bright upon my faceth.