Archive for category Places in Japan
July 5, 2005 pt1 – Himeji Castle
Posted by Barniferous in Western Japan on July 2, 2015
A front view of Himeji Castle from inside the castle grounds
This morning I woke up early and headed west towads Himeji to see the famous castle. Himeji is about 500km west of Numazu, so I took the shinkansen (bullet train) instead of regular trains. The closest shinkansen station is in Mishima, which is convenient because I could use my regular work commuter pass to get there. At Mishima I bought an unreserved ticket to Himeji. Each shinkansen has several cars with unreserved seats.
The Tokaido shinkansen has three options: Kodama, Hikari, and Nozomi. The Kodama stops at all shinkansen stations, but has the most unreserved cars. The Nozomi only stops at major stations and has the fewest unreserved cars. I struck a balance and took the Hikari. Three hours later I arrived at Himeji station.
Upon exiting Himeji station, you can instantly see the famous Himeji castle. It looks close but only because the castle and grounds are HUGE. It’s actually a solid 1.7km walk (thanks Google). The castle is one of Japan’s many UNESCO world heritage sites. It was built in the late 1500s, and unlike many castles in Japan, is still the original building. Somehow the castle survived 400 years of wars, earthquakes, typhoons, people, and a modern city springing up around it.
Himeji castle is probably the best thing I have seen in my almost 2 years in Japan so far. I could literally write about it for hours, describing in detail the different buildings, the steep stone base, the arrow ports, the crests built into the roof, and other awesome details. Words really don’t do Himeji castle justice – it’s something that needs to really be experienced in person. My favourite part was when I finally got to the top of the castle and looked out the window. I could see the castle grounds below and the city all around while feeling a nice cool breeze. I would have been happy to stay there until they asked me to leave.
A view from the top floor of Himeji castle
If you are lucky enough to visit Himeji castle, I have one word of advice: wear comfortable shoes. The only way to get around the sizable castle grounds is on foot. I won’t soon forget the fashionably dressed woman sitting on the ground complaining to her boyfriend about how her feet hurt. Seriously, who wears heels to a 400 year old castle? Wear comfortable shoes with good support, you’re going to need them.
Not only is Himeji Castle an impressive structure, but all of the displays and information are available in both Japanese and English. Most famous tourist spots in Japan have good information available, but Himeji truly raises the bar. Himeji is truly a must see place in Japan.
June 9, 2005 – Early shift rules!
Posted by Barniferous in Shizuoka, Teaching English on June 9, 2015
Today I got to work an early shift at Fujinomiya school.
Fujinomiya is a “small” city of 131,000 just north of Fuji city. Despite having the population to make it a city in Canada, it has a small town feel in Japan. The NOVA branch is located in the Jusco department store, which is the central shopping mall for the city. There are a huge number of kids classes at Fujinomiya NOVA, likely because they provide 40 minutes of child free shopping time for parents.
It’s always nice to interact with some different students. In addition to meeting some different people, it allows me to recycle some of my lesson openers and voice class topics, which makes for an easier day.
Early shift is great because I have my entire evening available, as opposed to my usual shift which ends at 9:00pm. The only downside to an early shift is working one right after a late shift. Otherwise, early shift rules!
June 7, 2005 – Million Dollar Baby in Yokohama
Posted by Barniferous in Greater Tokyo Area, Life in Japan, Movies, Yokohama on June 7, 2015
There is currently a shortage of teachers in the Numazu / Mishima / Fuji / Fujinomiya area. I made myself available to do some overtime shifts to make a little extra money, however schools in my area were cutting costs and were told not to allow any overtime.
Since I had nothing else going on, I decided to go to the Tokyo area to find something fun to do. My first stop was my old neighbourhood. I got a haircut from the really good barber near Shinyurigaoka station, and then stopped by a bank to send some money home. Thanks to advice from other teachers, I got a Lloyd’s account which allows me to transfer money from my SMBC Japanese bank account to my Canadian bank account with a flat transaction fee. The best part is that I can do this transfer from any SMBC bank machine. I need to send money home periodically to make sure that my student loans are being paid, and it also prevents me from overspending. Like other teachers, I try to watch the exchange rates and do my transfers when the forex is favourable.
After sending money home, I treated myself to Wendy’s for lunch. I then headed off to Shinjuku to buy some books at Kinokuniya. I love Kinokuniya – it is probably the best book store in the country. I was going to be productive and do some clothes shopping, but decided that since I had already been somewhat productive (getting up early, haircut, money transfer), that I should do something fun. I ended up heading to Yokohama to see a movie.
This was my first time going to a movie theater by myself. It felt strange to go solo, which is a bit funny when you consider that you really aren’t supposed to talk to people in the theater anyway. I bought a ticket for Million Dollar Baby and then killed some time playing video games at a nearby game center while I waited for the movie to start.
Million Dollar Baby is simply a fantastic movie, although it probably caught a lot of people off guard because it is marketed as one kind of movie and then half way through becomes something completely and totally different. No, I am not going to give any spoilers. I really enjoyed the experience, but would have liked someone to talk about the movie with after it ended.
After the movie I got a quick bite to eat, and then proceeded to drag my giant, heavy bag of new books through a few train stations on my way home. It’s great living so close to the Greater Tokyo area!
May 2, 2005 – Visiting Yokohama
Posted by Barniferous in Greater Tokyo Area, Life in Japan on May 3, 2015
Some crazy art near the Minatomirai area of Yokohama
Today was a day off. Instead of sitting around the house, I managed to get out of bed in the morning and went to Yokohama.
I took the Tokaido line to Yokohama, which takes about 90 minutes from Numazu. When I looked up my train schedule, I found that I could have also taken the Shinkansen from Mishima to Shin Yokohama and finished with a subway connection to Yokohama station. This would have only saved me about 20 minutes overall, and would have cost twice as much.
I did some shopping around Minato Mirai, and ended up buying a figurative ton of books. I also saw a really cool street performer who was busking in front of Landmark Tower. He had a 10 minute show where he was juggling increasingly more dangerous items. I have seen street performers before, but this guy was really good. When it came time to pass the hat at the end of the performance, he must have easily made 30,000-50,000 yen (about $300-$500)
After spending a bunch of time in Numazu and Mishima, I had forgotten how big and exciting Yokohama was. It am happy that I still live so close.
May 1, 2005 pt2 – Egawa-tei
Posted by Barniferous in Shizuoka on May 2, 2015
After an interesting morning featuring a music battle between the Japanese Communist Party and the Uyoku, the Penpal and her parents took me to lunch at Uobun, the 100 year old tempura restaurant in Numazu. I had been to the restaurant once before, when my family had come to visit me last summer. Just like last year, the food was fantastic.
When we finished our lunch, we went for a drive to the town formerly known as Nirayama in Izu Peninsula. Like small towns in Canada, the small towns in Izu are amalgamating to form large, sprawling towns with one city government. Last month, Nirayama officially joined Izunagaoka and Ohito to become the new Izunokuni City.
The area of Izunokuni was important historically. It was the site of a Tojo clan castle in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, and home to a daikansho (magistrate office) during the Edo period. We went to a historical site called Egawa-tei, the home and headquarters of the daikan Hidetatsu Egawa. During the period, the daikan was roughly the equivalent of a police officer, governor, and tax collector for a region on behalf of the imperial government.
We took a guided tour, but since Egawa-tei is not a common tourist spot for foreigners, the tour guide only spoke Japanese. I took a Japanese history class in University, so I had a reasonably good idea of what the guide was talking about, and The Penpal translated the parts I couldn’t understand. Having a personal translator is great for me, and really good English practice for her.
In addition to being an important government official, Egawa was also known for communicating with Dutch Traders during the Edo period. For about 200 years, Japan closed its borders to outsiders except for the Dutch. Egawa’s main imports were techniques for making bread and cannons. Bread was a game changer for armies, as it provided a stable and portable staple food as opposed to rice. Dutch cannon technology was used to build coastal defenses to help keep Japan safe from the non-Dutch.
A famous blast furnace used to make cannons for coastal defence
Thanks to my interest in Japanese history, this turned out to be a very interesting place to visit. It’s also a place I never would have found without The Penpal and her parents. If you really want to experience Japan, I strongly recommend making connections with Japanese people. It will give you an entirely different experience.
April 25, 2005 – Office Space
Posted by Barniferous in Movies, Shizuoka, Teaching English on April 25, 2015
Today I went to Shizuoka City to sign my new contract. I am officially NOVA property for another year.
Shizuoka City is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture. It located roughly in the middle of the prefecture, and is the second largest city. The population is around 700,000 plus, which puts it at a similar size to Winnipeg. However when compared to Winnipeg, Shizuoka is much more dense and much warmer.
Shizuoka Station is served by Tokaido line and the Shinkansen. From Numazu it took me just under an hour to get to the station. From the station, I followed a detailed map to navigate my way through a maze of underground malls before returning to the surface to find my way though a busy commercial area. Fortunately I was able to find the main NOVA branch without getting lost.
While signing my contract, I had a good conversation with the area manager, who is actually really easy to talk to and get along with. Unlike many of the teachers who pass through the conversation schools, the area manager was a lifer who had settled in with wife, kids, and a house. We discussed the area, the job, and living in Japan.
I returned to Numazu after signing my contract, and in the evening I watched “Office Space” with Azeroth and Palmer. Office Space was written and directed by Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis and Butthead. Being a huge fan of B&B, I saw it in theatres when it first came out. It was funny, but I didn’t really appreciate it at the time. To really understand the movie, you need to work for a large company at some point in your life.
After experiences working for some large companies in Canada and the largest English conversation school in Japan, I can now fully enjoy Office Space. Azeroth, Palmer and I laughed our asses off.
April 24, 2005 – Singing Celine Dion for beer
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Friends and coworkers, Karaoke, Shizuoka on April 24, 2015
Tonight was another fun night out with Azeroth and friends.
Azeroth was friends with Koalako, one of the students at Mishima NOVA. I had taught her many times before, and she was always a fun person to talk to. Koalako lives in Atami, a nearby city built on the side of a mountain on the ocean. Atami is a terrible place to try to ride a bicycle, but a great place to see fireworks, and is famous for its many hot springs.
I met up with Azeroth, Koalako, and Koalako’s friend (that Azeroth was interested in) in Mishima. I was just finishing work and they had already had a few drinks. We all got on Tokaido line for the 12 minute ride east to Atami. In Atami, we drank beer while walking down the steep roads towards the waterfront. Azeroth, being the classy guy that he is, stopped to pee on the side of the mountain while the ladies and I were watching the fireworks. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.
We caught the end of a fantastic firework show, with colours reflecting off the ocean. After the show was done, Koalako got a call from her parents. They had never met anyone from outside of Japan before, so they invited us to have some beer and snacks at their local pub. Azeroth and I are not known to turn down beer, so we were on our way.
The pub was a traditional “snack” style izakaya. The room itself was small, with several tables facing a long bar counter. In total there was probably seating for 25-30 people maximum. It was a small mom and pop bar that catered to a small group of regular customers from the area. The atmosphere was cozy and friendly, especially because we were the guests of some regulars.
Koalako’s parents were very friendly and outgoing. They greeted us and then started ordering an impressive display of izakaya food and beer. All of the beer was in one litre bottles. The women at the table took turns filling up our small glasses every time there was any space in them. Azeroth and I didn’t pour any of our own drinks. When you are drinking from small glasses that are instantly refilled, it is very easy to lost track of how much you have consumed. Naturally, this led to only one possible outcome: karaoke.
Mama-san (the female owner) brought over the microphones and the song list. There were only about 8 English songs in the whole book. The selection would have made Canadian AM radio proud; Elvis, Paul Anka, Ritchie Valens, and for some reason, Celine f**king Dion. Since we were being treated to our beer and food, Azeroth and I did our best to entertain our hosts. My Elvis and Paul Anka were passable (despite not knowing the songs well), but my version of “My Heart with Go On” was epically awful. Azeroth was laughing the whole time at making the Canadian guy sing Celine Dion. However, he did bail me out half way through the song as we turned it into an over the top duet.
After more beer than I can count and some good karaoke thanks to Koalako and parents, we noticed that it was getting dangerously close to the last train of the evening. Koalako’s father was worried that we would get lost walking to the station, so he got mama-san to call us a taxi to get us to the station. We thanked our hosts for the fun evening, and protested as Koalako’s father made sure to pay the taxi driver in advance as we were leaving. Koalako’s father is great!
The train ride home seemed about 6 times as long as the ride there, and the walk back to our apartment took forever, owing mainly to the fact that we were unable to walk in a straight line. The evening was a lot of fun, but I am not looking forward to the next morning.
(2015 Update) This is a greatly expanded version of my post from 10 years ago. I added in a lot of detail and mentioned that Koalako was a student, something that I smartly omitted the first time around. I ran into Koalako’s father when I was visiting Japan in 2013, and found that he was still as friendly and outgoing as ever.
March 30, 2005 – A cluster of Canucks
Posted by Barniferous in Shizuoka, Teaching English on March 30, 2015
Today I repaid a shift swap by working at Fuji school. It seems that all the Canadians in the area work in Fuji school, except me.
March 29, 2005 – Sun to Moon
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Shizuoka on March 29, 2015
Sun to Moon (street view from Google Maps)
Today I got on my bike and rode to Sun to Moon shopping center in neighbouring Shimizu town (not to be confused with Shimizu city). I had been to Sun to Moon before by car, so I had a general idea of where it was. Using a book of maps that I had purchased at 7-11, I found a route from my apartment and actually managed to avoid getting lost. The ride was about 3 km, and by the end I was going faster than the cars what were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
Sun to Moon is a pretty cool place to shop. The design is similar to the shopping malls I am familiar with in Canada. They have clothing stores, groceries, a food court, a bowling alley, a dollar store, and my personal favourite, a used CD / movie / video game store. I ended up buying some CDs, but the real highlight was being able to navigate using a bike and a map.
(2015 Update) If I was trying to find my way around now, I would simply use Google Maps and my smartphone. The result would be the same, but I would not feel the same sense of accomplishment of finding my way around using a map.
March 11, 2005 – Fuji School
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Shizuoka on March 11, 2015
NOVA is updating the kids lesson curriculum. Today I had training on the new lesson material in Fuji school.
Fuji school is in Fuji city, which is located right next to (you guessed it), Mt. Fuji. Fuji is an industrial town, home to paper factories, auto parts manufacturers, and other businesses which make it not terribly nice to look at or smell. The branch is nice and spacious, but the view from the Voice room is several hostess pubs across the back alley.
According to the teachers, there is a very good Indian restaurant in the city that is run by a man who draws comparisons to the soup nazi from Seinfeld. I look forward to trying it out!
Drinking in Japan 
Recent Comments