July 27, 2005 – RIP Bass Wolf
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on July 27, 2015
Yesterday I got all excited about discovering Guitar Wolf, a louder Japanese version of the Ramones. Today I found out that Bass Wolf died in March this year. No fair! Whenever I learn about a cool new band, they are usually already broken up or one of the key members has died.
The good news is that their greatest hits CD is in stores today, available in a special black leather case.
July 26, 2005 – Guitar Wolf
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on July 26, 2015
Today’s weather forecast was filled with news of a giant typhoon that was heading towards Numazu. Since I live on the coast, I decided to be responsible and stay home on my day off. However, the typhoon ended up changing directions and bypassed the area completely.
Fortunately, my day was not a complete waste. I spent some time online and learned about possibly the greatest band EVER: Guitar Wolf.
Imagine the Ramones if they were Japanese and way louder. The singer / guitar player is known as Guitar Wolf, the bass player is Bass Wolf, and in case you haven’t already guessed, the drummer is Drum Wolf. They are famous for playing incredibly loud, and their CDs are recorded the same way.
ROCK AND ROLLLL!!
July 25, 2005 – Unsurprising hangover
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Life in Japan on July 25, 2015
After last night’s celebration of surviving 11 days in a row, it was no surprise that I was very hungover today. I didn’t do much during the day. By evening I was feeling like a human again, and got to spend a few hours with The Penpal.
July 21, 2005 – 8th day in a row
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on July 21, 2015
This is my 8th day of work in a row after returning from my vacation. Somehow I haven’t gone crazy (yet).
Before work, I went for another nice long bike ride. It’s great to get out and get around the city, however if I am not careful, I may actually end up in good shape.
I worked at Numazu school today, and actually had a lot of fun teaching for the first time in a long time. Being able to have fun at work is a wonderful thing. The students must have appreciated it as well; at the end of the day one of the Japanese staff told me that I had received compliments from several students.
Usually when students go out of their way to compliment or complain about a teacher, the staff add it to the teacher’s official employment file. However, as I am not yet officially a teacher at Numazu (just on loan from Mishima today), I was told that the comments would not be recorded in my file. I can only hope that complaints away from a teacher’s home branch are treated the same way.
July 20, 2005 – Good sleep
Posted by Barniferous in Uncategorized on July 20, 2015
Getting a good sleep actually makes it easy to get up in the morning. Who knew?
I went for a nice long morning bike ride around Numazu.
July 19, 2005 – No hands handstand
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on July 19, 2015
Today before work I picked up Harry Potter 6 on DVD! Woohoo!
At work during a kids class, one of the students thought it would be fun to do a headstand against the wall. He got into an impressive headstand position, then removed his hands so his entire weight was being supported by his head. His 5 year old neck buckled, and he fell to the floor in a heap.
For those wondering, a typical NOVA kids classroom has no furniture. Classes for younger kids feature a lot of moving around, with some sitting on the floor for textbook work. It is not uncommon for kids to be moving around.
I have seen kids throwing things, trying to escape the classroom, and fighting before, but I had never seen a kid try to do a no hands handstand before. I didn’t really know what to do, so I went over, helped him up, and asked if he was okay. He said yes, so I continued with the class.
As soon as I turned my back for a second, he was back against the wall doing yet another no hands headstand. The results were exactly the same as the first time, except this time he grabbed his neck and started yelling “itai! itai! (it hurts! it hurts!)”. I told him not to do that again in both languages. Moments later he was trying once again to break his little neck for a third time. I picked him up and moved him away from the wall while he was laughing.
I don’t understand children. Not at all.
July 17, 2005 – BBQ in the park
Posted by Barniferous in Friends and coworkers, Life in Japan on July 17, 2015
Today after work Palmer hosted a huge BBQ in the park near our apartment. Classes end early on Sunday, so the attendance was great. Most of the teachers from the area and all of the Japanese staff came out for food and socializing.
The BBQ was a nice change from the usual routine of izakayas and karaoke. My personal highlight was eating a delicious lamb burger. My lowlight was running away from fireworks.
If you ever have a chance to attend a BBQ hosted by an Australian, do it!
July 16, 2005 – Atami Summer Festival
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on July 16, 2015
Today I got to work a rare early Saturday shift. Through my entire time teaching, I have always worked the late shift on Saturday. Most teachers work early Saturdays, and then get started on their evening activities while I am still at the office.
Conveniently, there was a summer festival in Atami. Koalako invited me and some of the other teachers to come to the festival. We all met up and took the train to Atami. I had never been to a summer festival before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. We walked through the hilly streets of Atami to Koalako’s house. I had met her parents earlier in the ear at a really fun karaoke night. They greeted us all with beer and sushi, which is a pretty great way to greet people.
After eating, we were provided with Hapi Coats (a short robe) to go to the festival. As we approached the main street of Atami, we saw throngs of people on either side of the road cheering on the giant floats that were being pulled down the street. All of the floats had lights and decorations, and were full of people drumming, playing instruments, and singing loudly. It was a crazy atmosphere.
We followed Koalako down the street through the crowds. I expected that we were going to find a spot and watch the parade. However, I was surprised when she lifted up the barrier rope and called us into the street. Not wanting to be left behind, we followed her as she walked up to one of the giant floats. At the front of the float was a team of people in summer festival gear holding on to a large rope used to pull the float through the streets. Koalako introduced us, and her friends made room on the rope.
Yes, we were now part of the team pulling the float through Atami!
We pulled the brightly lit float while everyone inside made lots of noise, entertaining the crowd and competing with the other floats. Occasionally we would stop to jump around and dance, and generally try to make even more noise. Thankfully my years in the fraternity had provided great training for jumping around and being noisy, so I fit right in with the crowd.
By the time we finished and parked the float, we were drenched in sweat. High fives were exchanged, beer flowed freely, and giant bottles of water were poured over heads. As we walked back towards the train station, we all agreed that it was one of the most fun nights we had ever experienced in Japan, and we hoped to do it again next year!
(2015 Update) Check my post about a visit to Atami Summer festival in summer 2013 here
July 14, 2005 – Back to work, schedule changes
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Teaching English on July 14, 2015
My vacation is now officially over, and I was back to work today. I agreed to work a shift swap to help out another teacher, which means that I will be working the next 11 days in a row. It’s going to suck.
However, I also got some good news about work. I learned that as of August 1st, I will be transferred to NOVA’s Numazu branch. This will save me some time getting to and from work. Getting to Mishima NOVA doesn’t take me very long now, but I will be able to get to work in less than 10 minutes by bicycle with no train ride required.
More importantly, my days off are changing to the rare but extremely popular Sunday / Monday. This means that I will be able to spend time with The Penpal on the weekends without begging for a shift swap! The bad news is that 4 of my 5 shifts are late shifts, including continuing my streak of late Saturdays. It’s still a small price to pay for Sunday / Monday off.
Drinking in Japan 
Recent Comments