Archive for 2014
November 9, 2004 – Hard-off
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Shizuoka on November 9, 2014
Hard-Off – a used electronics store with a funny name
Today I went to a used electronics store called “Hard Off“. Yes, the name makes me giggle.
The “hard” in “Hard Off” refers to electronics hardware. They sell used computers, game systems, TVs, stereos, and other electronics. They also have a good selection of software as well; CDs, video games, and movies. Fortunately someone in the marketing department realized that “Soft Off” or “Hard and Soft Off” would have sounded ridiculous.
Hard off is about a 15-20 minute walk from Ooka City Plaza. I must have spent about two hours in the store, partly for shopping, partly for checking out all of the electronics that were never readily available in Canada. I resisted the urge to buy myself a WonderSwan, a classic Famicom (NES), or a laser disc player. I did end up getting a small wireless internet hub and a receiver.
The wireless hub attaches to the router in our apartment, and broadcasts a wifi signal. The receiver connects to my computer with a network cable. I can now connect to the internet from my room without running wires down the hallway. Unfortunately the layout of my room is a bit awkward and I don’t have a desk, so the computer setup is not ideal at the moment. However, I am just happy to be back online without having to go to internet cafes anymore.
If you are living in Japan temporarily, check out Hard Off. It’s a much better alternative than buying new stuff that you are just going to have to get rid of when you return home.
November 8, 2004 – Earthquakes and Zombies
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Life in Japan, Movies, Shizuoka, The Penpal on November 8, 2014
Today I got to spend some time with The Penpal. It looks like Monday might be our regular hangout day. I have the day off, and she stops by after work. We did some Japanese language practice and I learned some words to describe the taste of food.
After The Penpal left, I watched the new Dawn of the Dead with Palmer. I had some concerns about “fast” zombies and the fact that remakes are usually not as good as the original, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was also obviously filmed in Canada. In the background of one of the mall scenes was a KFC restaurant sporting the sign “PFK” which is the French name.
During the movie we felt two earthquakes. Palmer said that our building is modern and well designed. If we can feel a mild earthquake inside, it must be stronger outside. Not sure if that was reassuring at all.
November 7, 2004 – BBQ in the park
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Shizuoka on November 7, 2014
After work I went to an impromptu BBQ in the park near my apartment. Palmer organized the BBQ, and invited some of his Japanese friends and NOVA teachers. When an Australian plans a BBQ, you know it’s going to be good.
Ooka park is conveniently located on the other side of the 7-11 across the street from Ooka City Plaza. Usually in Japan, any space with a tree and a bench can be called a park. Ooka Park actually has some grass, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, and picnic tables. It would count as a park in Canada as well.
Palmer plays on a local recreational basketball team. One of his basketball teammates is named Yao, a half Ghanian, half Japanese man. Yao’s features are not Asian at all, except for the shape of his eyes. Since he was born and raised in Japan, he carries a Japanese passport and speaks the language fluently with a perfect local accent. People who don’t know him take a look at the tall, dark skinned man and assume he is a foreigner. He enjoys surprising people who can’t believe that he is a Japanese citizen.
Japan is a very homogenous society, but as international marriages continue to increase (slowly), there will be more Japanese people who don’t look “Japanese”. It should present some interesting challenges for Japanese society.
November 5, 2004 – Japanese Lesson after work
Posted by Barniferous in Shizuoka, The Penpal on November 5, 2014
The Penpal’s office is conveniently close to Mishima NOVA, my new branch. After work we met up near the station and practiced Japanese. I learned the verb ending “need to do”, which is incredibly useful.
In the Greater Tokyo area, most of the teachers don’t study Japanese because it is possible to get by without it. As you get away from the major cities, it seems like more teachers are actively studying Japanese. I am hoping that this will make it easier for me to study and improve my language skill.
November 3, 2004 – First day at Mishima NOVA
Posted by Barniferous in Azeroth, Friends and coworkers, Karaoke on November 3, 2014
Beware of purse snatchers – seen near Mishima station
Today was my first day at my new branch, Mishima NOVA. My new school only has a total of 8 teachers, which is a nice change from the 24 or so in Kawasaki NOVA. The atmosphere is a lot more relaxed and organized, and there is already a much greater variety of students. I don’t expect to have Sundays full of four engineer lessons anymore!
The school is in a building directly across the street from the south exit of Mishima station. The classroom area is less claustrophobic than Kawasaki NOVA, and there are good sized Voice and NOVA Kids classrooms. The only complaints so far are that the teacher’s room is small and extremely narrow, the surrounding area doesn’t have a huge choice for food, and the washrooms only have squat toilets. I am very concerned about the squat toilets!
After work I went out for drinks and karaoke (again) with Azeroth and one of the branch managers. This was my second night in a row at Uta Club. Both Azeroth and the manager were very good singers, so I had to compensate by being very loud.
Karaoke rule number 1: If you can’t sing well, you should at least sing loudly while flailing your arms around 🙂
November 2, 2004 – This karaoke looks familiar
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Friends and coworkers, Karaoke, Shizuoka on November 2, 2014
I slept a lot during the daytime to catch up on my recently lack of sleep. I was planning on having a quiet evening at home, but Palmer invited me to go out with a few of his friends that were visiting. Realizing this would be a good way to get to know my new roommate better (and have beer), I agreed and we were on our way.
Our first stop was a small izakaya on the main street that runs by Seiyu. It was a small izakaya where Palmer and friends have been several times, so the service was really friendly. Notable on the menu was whale sashimi. Yes, raw whale meat was available for purchase. I was curious, but one order cost nearly 2000 yen.
Raw whale meat – controversial and possibly delicious
After beer and non-whale pub food, we went to a karaoke place called Uta Club which is conveniently located across from Numazu station’s south exit. Uta Club is popular because it is one of the cheapest karaoke places in Numazu. One hour of all you can drink karaoke costs 780 yen, and there is a special cheap price after midnight. After a short time, I realized that I was in the same place that The Penpal took me for my first karaoke experience in Japan.
From Numazu station to my new apartment is about a 15 minute walk. It seems much, much longer when you are full of cheap beer. I don’t know the way perfectly yet, so I am very happy that Palmer knew where he was going.
So far I have been in Numazu for two days and had two fun nights out. Hopefully this continues!
October 31, 2004 – Packing all night on Halloween
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Friends and coworkers, Hello House, Life in Japan on October 31, 2014
Zoe, me, and Okonomi at Halloween. My costume was “English teacher”
Today is Halloween! It was also my last day living and working in Kawasaki. After work I went out for a final beer at Kiosk with Anzac. I thanked him for all the good advice he gave me as a teacher and wished him the best. It was good to have one last Kiosk beer, but it only served to start my packing later.
Every time I move I realize just how much crap a person can accumulate. I spent a few hours packing by myself, then Okonomi joined me. We packed and worked on a bottle of shuchu. In retrospect, the shochu probably didn’t help productivity very much. The end result of packing was:
- 2 large suitcases
- 8 moving boxes
- a computer
- one futon mattress
- a TV
- my awesome floor couch
I also made some donations to the dozo table of things I just had no room or reason to bring with me. By the end I got two and a half hours of sleep. I hate packing!
October 29, 2004 – Demo lessons
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on October 29, 2014
Today I had 3 demo lessons. A demo lesson is a free sample English lesson provided to prospective students. The lessons are half the usual length, and the idea is to show the students what a NOVA lesson would be like.
Since the demo lesson is a sales tool, the teacher has an important role in giving a fun, successful demonstration. This makes the sales staff’s job easier when they try to get the student to sign up for an expensive, long term lesson plan. Not all teachers are chosen to give demos. The fact that I got three in the same day is a bit of a compliment to my skills. In addition to the compliment, which is always appreciated, demo lessons have less preperation and paperwork which makes for an easier day for me. What’s not to like?
October 28, 2004 – Farewell karaoke
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Karaoke on October 28, 2014
Tonight was my final Thursday night karaoke before I move to Shizuoka. Since my work farewell party didn’t really happen due to poor planning (on my part) and the horrible cold that was going around, tonight was my official NOVA farewell party.
We met at Big Echo in Yokohama at 9:30 like usual and got a room for 9 people. More people started coming in, and at our peak we had 15 people jammed into a room built for 9. It was a lot of fun and a great final night to hang out with my Kawasaki NOVA coworkers.
I love karaoke!
Drinking in Japan 
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