May 7, 2005 – Yet more karaoke
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Karaoke, Life in Japan on May 7, 2015
After work, I joined yet another weekend party already in progress. Working the late shift on Saturday means that my coworkers have already had a few hour head start on the evening.
Like most parties I have been to in Japan, this one started at an izakaya. Food and drinks were ordered, interesting cocktails consumed, beers chugged, and general good times.
At some point the first party started to run out of steam. The crazy people who wanted to keep going moved along to the second party, which tonight was at a late night karaoke place (as usual). We closed out the karaoke place and got home in the wee hours of the morning.
(2015 Update) I really wish I had recorded more details about nights like this when they happened. Izakaya and then late karaoke describes far too many nights during my time in Japan.
May 6, 2005 – Spending money
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on May 6, 2015
Today I helped out a fellow teacher with a shift swap, so I had today off. I sat around most of the day playing Playstation games, which was a lot of fun.
When I did leave the house, I went to Seiyu and bought a folding canvas chair for upcoming BBQs. It seems that every time I leave the house these days I am spending money. Japanese economy – you’re welcome.
May 4, 2005 – Wednesdays in Fuji
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on May 4, 2015
This month I am working Wednesdays at Fuji school. Fuji is short a few people at the moment, so teachers are being temporarily moved between branches to pick up the slack.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of teachers, I will be getting a group kids class on Wednesday. Now I will have one group class for every day of the week. Group kids classes are still my least favourite part of the job.
Other than my kids class, today was pretty quiet. I only had a total of 4 students on the rest of the schedule. It was nice to visit a different branch to see some different students and get some variety on my dinner options.
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.
May 1, 2005 pt 1 – Communists and carp banners
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan on May 1, 2015
Carp banners along the Kano river in Numazu
Today I went out with The Penpal and her parents. The plan for the day was to see some of the impressive carp banners along the river, and then to go to a historical site in Izu.
Children’s day is a holiday in Japan to celebrate the happiness of children and to express appreciation to mothers. Families with young boys hang decorative carp banners outside. The holiday used to be known as “Boy’s day”, and even after it changed to “Children’s day”, there are still carp banners for boys only.
The Penpal and her parents picked me up at my apartment, and then drove us to the nearby Kano river. We parked and walked along the riverbank to see some of the impressive banners on display. As we approached a bridge, we came across a large gathering of people who were all listening to someone on a small stage (almost a literal soap box) talking through a megaphone. The small crowd was listening enthusiastically to the energetic speaker. This was a bit unusual for me to see in Japan.
I asked the Penpal what we were watching. She wanted to explain, but didn’t know the correct word in English. As she started to look for her electronic dictionary, I used my observation skills to try to find some context to the situation.
- Everyone in the crowd was wearing red armbands
- The speaker was talking in unfavourable terms about American President George W. Bush and nuclear weapons
- Today is May 1
I realized we were watching a May Day communist rally at about the exact time that The Penpal had located the word “communism” in her electronic dictionary. Score one for observation skills! The rally was organized by the Japanese Communist Party.
A few minutes later, the communists began marching towards the bridge playing some folky sounding music (which I assume was about workers) through a loudspeaker. Right at the same time, the right wing Uyoku showed up in one of their trademark black vans to annoy the communists.
Uyoku dantai means “right wing groups”. They usually drive around in black vans with giant Blues Brothers style loudspeakers on the roof. The speakers either feature someone loudly complaining about all of the usual things that ultra-nationalist groups complain about, or they blast dramatic sounding music about how great the Emperor is.
For the record, I probably have a lot more in common with the Communist rally than the ultra right wing Uyoku groups, but the Uyoku have WAY cooler music.
We went to the river to see some carp banners, but ended up seeing a rare open expression of politics outside of an election campaign. It was a great experience to learn more about Japanese culture.
April 30, 2005 – Happy Birthday Mom!
Posted by Barniferous in Uncategorized on April 30, 2015
Happy birthday to my wonderful mother, who is allegedly 49 and holding.
Some blog highlights about my mom:
- June 27, 2004 – My family arrives in Japan
- July 4, 2004 – Meeting of the families
- July 5, 2004 – Pachinko and passports
- July 6, 2004 – Ginza and Sensoji in the heat
- October 23, 2004 – Massive Earthquake
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.
April 23, 2005 – Beer and karaoke
Posted by Barniferous in Drinking, Life in Japan on April 23, 2015
Information which should come as no surprise to anyone: after work I went out with coworkers for beer and karaoke. Some people might be concerned that beer and karaoke would get repetitive after a while. Do not be alarmed: there are always different places to drink the beer, and different types of beer to drink. There are also different places to do karaoke, and always different songs to sing.
Rest assured my dear readers: I don’t always drink beer at the same place and then sing the same songs at the same place with the same people. There is some variety.
Drinking in Japan 
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