Issue No. 121 February 2023
Welcome to the February 2023 issue of CONNECT Magazine!
For me, the best part of February in Japan are the plum blossoms that begin to poke out. Their bright hues may tease us of the warmer spring days ahead, but the color is a welcomed change from the dull and cold. I hope no matter where you are, you are able to enjoy those hints of spring and maybe a warm cup of ume tea.
As you sip your tea, I also hope you’ll enjoy the issue’s curiosities! For that same need for a colorful contrast to the winter world, many articles this month are full of brightcolored curiosities.
For starters, the Entertainment Section’s dive into Japan’s perpetually overstimulating arcade world is as colorful as it is informative. The piece will have you learning everything you need to know about the plethora of game types and amusements all with recommendations, too. By the end, you’ll be hunting down your spare coins and planning a visit to your local arcade.
Similar to flashing lights and virtual worlds, the Arts Section takes a dive into TeamLabs Planets in Tokyo. Follow through the layers of the immersive and interactive experience, seeing the details in the art and beyond. As perhaps the most famous of TeamLabs’ installments, the intricate design is one you don’t want to miss.
Then of course, for some warmth and color beyond the artificial, head to the Sports Section’s look at trekking through Kamikochi. An iconic hiking area, rated by many as some of the best the country has to offer, the images will leave you yearning for the beauty of nature. Maybe you’ll even plan your first warm-weather trip!
Lastly, as you’ll find in our Community Section this month, CONNECT has a new series! This time we want to hear the funny misadventures of an expat life in Japan. Whether a blip from work, a wild tale from travel, or just an unexpected adjustment from daily life, we want to hear it. Head to Calling All Expats! to learn more or head to this form to submit.
Monica Hand
P.S
If you’d like to contribute to the magazine, please get in touch! You can send article pitches directly to me at connect.ajet.editor@gmail.com, or join the CONNECT Magazine Contributor’s Circle on Facebook to get updates from our editors when they’re on the hunt for a story!
Photo by Saumel Berner | Unsplash.comHEAD EDITOR connect.ajet.editor@gmail.com
Monica Hand
“It’s my motto for life. ‘Walk slowly; drink lots of water.”. ― Haruki Murakami, from After Dark.
ASSISTANT HEAD EDITOR connect.ajet.assistantheadeditor@gmail.com
Dianne Yett
“The writer’s job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them.”
— Vladimir Nabokov
HEAD DESIGNER connect.ajet.visualmedia@gmail.com
Lloyd Cruickshank
“Nuh bite di han weh feed yu”
Translation: Never bite the hands that feed you.
Meaning: Do not be ungrateful to the one who has helped you.
ASSISTANT HEAD DESIGNER connect.ajet.assistantvm@gmail.com
Emily Griffith
“In winter I plot and plan. In spring I move” ― Henry Rollins
Rachel Fagundes connect.generaleditor2@ajet.net
“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” ― Edgar Allan Poe
James Ball connect.generaleditor3@ajet.net
“‘Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” ― Douglas Adams
Sophia Maas connect.generaleditor4@ajet.net
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” ― John Steinbeck
Marco Cian connect.ajet.webeditor1@gmail.com
“I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards, every one of them.”
— Garth Marenghi
Norris Wang connect.ajet.webeditor2@gmail.com
“You don’t have to look back to see those children; part of your mind will see them forever. They are not necessarily the best part of you, but they were once the repository of all you could become.”
― Stephen King, from It
Ryon Morrin connect.generaleditor1@ajet.net
“One man’s garbage is another man person’s good ungarbage.” — Richard “Ricky” LaFleur, from Trailer Park Boys Season 6, Episode 3
connect.socialmedia@ajet.net
Valerie Mercado
“Words are not meant to stir the air only: they are capable of moving greater things.”— Natsume Soseki, from Kokoro
HEAD EDITOR Monica Hand
ASSISTANT HEAD EDITOR
Dianne Yett
SECTION EDITORS
Sierra Block Gorman
Ian Layugan
Andy Hanson
Marco Oliveros
Knox Yoder
Pitta-Gay Powell
Chloe Holm
Alexandra Crombie
CONTRIBUTORS
Knox Yoder
Hayley Closter
Faith Trend
Victoria Clayton
Ashley Leung
Robbie Hunkins
Etienne Van Rooyen
Alexandra Crombie
Christian Jalim
Marco Cian
Sophia Mass
Ryan Hirano
HEAD OF DESIGN & LAYOUT
Lloyd Cruickshank
ASSISTANT HEAD DESIGNER
Emily Griffith
ASSISTANT DESIGNERS
Kristen Camille Ton
Sara Gyi
Amy Ratcliffe
COPY EDITORS
Jon Solmundson
Natalie Andrews
Ashley Leung
Sage Olges
GENERAL SECTION EDITORS
Sophia Maas
James Ball
Ryon Morrin
Rachel Fagundes
WEB EDITORS
Marco Cian
Norris Wang
SOCIAL MEDIA
Valerie Mercado
COVER PHOTO
Wren Chai
TABLE OF CONTENTS PHOTO
Jia Sheng
ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
Denise Metz
Jerome Jome
Natasha Jenny
Samuel Berner
Pratik Bisht
This magazine contains original photos used with permission, as well as free-use images. All included photos are property of the author unless otherwise specified. If you are the owner of an image featured in this publication believed to be used without permission, please contact the Head of Graphic Design and Layout, Lloyd Cruickshank, at visualmedia.connect@ajet.net. This edition, and all past editions of AJET CONNECT, can be found online at http://ajet.net/ajet-connect/magazine-issues/ or on our website. Read CONNECT online and follow us on ISSUU
Photo by Jia Sheng | Unsplash.comCONNECT | Art
08 Islands of the Setouchi Art Triennale: The second installment of a series going through the unique islands of the Seto Inland Sea
16 Malleability: Waves of Sentiments at teamLab Planets TOKYO
CONNECT | Entertainment
22 UFO Catchers, Gashapon, and Pachinko, Oh My!
CONNECT | Culture
28 Kumamoto Castle: Restoring a Symbol of Strength
38 Understanding Kami: How to Make Shrine Visits
More Interesting
CONNECT | Sport
48 Hiking The Japanese Alps
56 Carving Up the Ice
CONNECT | Wellness
62 Maintaining Wellness in Isolation: Top Tips
66 Brunching on a Budget
CONNECT | Language
70 The Hybridized Language Classroom: Reflections of a Multilingual Teacher of English
76 Stage in the ESL Classroom: Using Performance to Narrow the Gap in Oral Language Development
CONNECT | Travel
84 Fish, Food, and Fun at Kaiyukan Osaka Aquarium
CONNECT | Community
98 Calling all Expats!
ART EDITOR connect.ajet.arts@gmail.com
Sierra Block Gorman
“People who say change is impossible are usually pretty happy with things just as they are.” ― N.K. Jemisin, from The City We Became
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR connect.ajet.entertainment@gmail.com
Knox Yoder
“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
— Gerard Way
CULTURE EDITOR connect.ajet.culture@gmail.com
Marco Oliveros
“When the soul suffers too much, it develops a taste for misfortune.”
— Albert Camus
ART & CULTURE DESIGNER connect.ajet.assistantdesigner1@gmail.com
Kristen Camille Ton
“Important lessons: look carefully; record what you see. Find a way to make beauty necessary; find a way to make necessity beautiful.” — Anne Michaels, from Fugitive Pieces
ENTERTAINMENT DESIGNER connect.ajet.assistantdesigner4@gmail.com
Sarah Gyi
“And I can’t forget it, all of the love, all of the love, as we stood tall together.” — Oh Wonder, from My Friends
COPY EDITOR connect.ajet.copy1@gmail.com
Natalie Andrews
“But Gideon was experiencing one powerful emotion: being sick of everyone’s shit.” ― Tamsyn Muir, from Gideon the Ninth
Photo by Denise Metz | Unsplash.com
Victoria Clayton (Miyazaki)
After spending the night sleeping in the back of my car, I woke up somewhat refreshed and ready to take on the day by visiting two islands, Megijima and Ogijima. The online guide listed a small amount of artworks and after the previous day’s unexpected, and at times difficult, visit to a former leper hospital, I instead looked forward to an easy and laidback day, leisurely exploring the islands.
Did you miss Part 1 of this series? Check it out here!
s soon as I disembarked from the boat, I was greeted by Takahito Kimura’s work Seagull Parking Lot. Three hundred seagulls lined the wall and moved in unison with the direction of the wind. As they swayed and danced majestically, I was reminded that I hadn’t seen seagulls in years. Captivated by their
movement, I forgot about all the food they had stolen out of my hands in the past and instead eagerly followed them along the coastal path. They led me to a small and unimposing twostory complex, which housed a group of artworks, workshops and shops under the fitting name “Little Shops on the Island”.
nlike Oshima, the Little Shops’ atmosphere was light and friendly, like a new neighbourhood hang out that’s trying to find its feet. As I walked through the doors, I was welcomed by a ten-person table tennis table—but, having left my dancing friends on the wall, I gave racket rental a miss and instead looked around, deciding where to start. Looking lost and confused, the owner of the crepe shop came over and started talking to me and eagerly introduced me to one of the artists who was exhibiting. The next thing I knew, I was being given a private tour of the building.
The artist, Kentaro Yanagi, is a glassmaker, fisherman, and hunter. He took me to his exhibition The Glass Fisherman, “a shop featuring glass lures and fishing equipment for catching dreams from the air”. The room was filled with hanging glass fishing hooks that glistened with every step; I walked around the sparkly room, enchanted. His goal is to create a chandelier, but at the time of visiting he had arranged them into a love heart.
Alongside his showstopping piece were other equally impressive works, most notable: an elaborate wine decanter controlled by a glass crank. The piece was both intricate and dainty, while also being functional and utilitarian, just like Yanagi himself, a fisherman by day, an artist by night. I was completely in awe, not only of the intricacies of the artwork but of Yanagi himself, and the opulent and luxurious works created by the humble fisherman. How two seemingly opposing characteristics coexist in a majestic dance, like my old seagull friends. It proved to me that the pursuit of our creative endeavours is never in vain, moreover those works hold the ability and power to create something that can transcend the stereotypical ideas of ourselves.
spent the next hour or so wandering around the rest of the artworks, lost in the trinkets of Eros Nakazato’s Tinker Bell’s Factory, a repair shop that cultivates the heart of believing in things, then stumbling into a laundromat or an artwork by Leandro Erlich, next was Aiko Miyanaga’s Hair Salon Kotobuki, but it was closed and the Thrift Shop Deplication Remains display of collected items had nothing I wanted to buy.
left the little shops feeling both uplifted and confused. Did I just see art, or did I just go to a shopping arcade? Luckily, the next artwork I encountered was Nicolas Darrot’s Navigation Room. It took me out of a consumer centric mindset and transported me back to quiet contemplation.
Darrot’s work was a kinetic sculpture of discs and music boxes that corresponded to each other and “mark the course of a modern Ulysses.” The large piece was shown in an old, abandoned house with a wall length window that overlooked the varied relief of the other islands nestled in the calm inland sea. Listening to the jingles evoked a blissful serenity, unlike Oshima’s jingle of discomfort.
efore leaving for the next island, I wanted to quickly stop by and visit Leondro Erlich’s Presence of Absence. I walked into the traditional Japanese house and at first glance it was a nice novelty, a room set up with a mirrored wall. The space of reflection was just that, a reflection of a place for contemplation—then against the far wall I saw a shadow and realised that behind it was in fact another room. I walked through to find a duplicate of the mirrored room, where every speck of dust seemed to be in the exact space of the room before.
However, as I had just spent the best part of an hour reflecting inside the previous artwork, I hurriedly continued to the next area, the reading room. I expected the books to be in Japanese but there was a mix of many languages, so like any selfproclaimed bookworm I took a few off the shelf and began exploring the vast array of exhibition catalogues, artist books and stories that were available to freely read. I originally intended to get the 12 o’clock boat to the next island, but by the time I was done reading I had missed it. The next boat was not scheduled until 2 p.m., so I surrendered to the calmness of the day and went to get lunch from one of the few restaurants on the island.
he small selection of artworks on Ogijima could have deterred me from visiting the island but because of the convenient boat route, I decided it was worth a look. As it turned out, it ended up being one of my favourite islands. On approach to the port, you can see the steep mountain side filled with houses reaching all the way to the peak. I started to regret my shoe choice of slips.
I was initially appreciative of my missed boat and long lunch on the previous island because as I disembarked, I saw a sign that said, ‘Ogijima island has under 200 residents’, which is far less than Megijima’s 1000. I expected this island to host a few artworks and perhaps a shop or two. However, continuing the theme of the trip this far, I was yet again surprised.
s I walked up the narrow streets, I was hit with a smell of freshly baked bread. I didn’t intend to stop so soon after my leisurely lunch, but the atmosphere of the café, Damonte & Co., and its beautiful view compelled me to stop for a coffee. That, and also, I thought I best take a rest as I didn’t want to risk injury walking up the hill in slips. . . . After this I resolved not to stop again, but as I continued along the streets I found myself involuntarily stopping, not only because of the arduous climb around the town, but to enjoy the incredible views on every corner.
he artwork on this island had quite a challenge to compete with the landscape, but two in particular stood up to the task. In the first, Goro Murayama’s Generative drawing for Japanese paper house 2.0, the artist used the walls of the near century old house as a canvas and painted intricate and elaborate drawings to fill both stories of the house. The intricate and detailed paintings hypnotised me into a state of wonder and child-like exploration, which was further compounded by the experience of viewing the work itself. In order to see the upstairs work, you had to climb a ladder-like staircase, avoiding the low ceiling beam on your way up, like a playground for adults.
This playfulness continued in Wang Teyu’s No. 105, which was a large interactive piece of work. It was a large green inflatable space which invited the viewer to climb into and around the work. The inflatable structure had slots to put your head through where you would often meet with strangers also viewing the work.
The space invited a fun and uninhibited approach for interactions to happen, the absurd backdrop for these encounters forcing our insecurities and worries to fall away, creating a space for judgementfree happenstances. The green backdrop evaded a reference point and evoked an intuitive response, bringing viewers back into awareness of here and now.
fter walking around the island for a few more hours, I returned to the port to make the last boat. Honestly, part of me really wanted to stay the night. Despite the two islands not being as obviously impactful as Oshima’s, they had in their own quiet way encouraged a gentle yet playful engagement with the state of things as they are—from the duality of the modest fisherman’s grandiose work to the quiet space for contemplation and reflection on Megijima. On the even smaller Ogijima, viewers could take a moment to greet beautiful landscapes and encounter strangers in even stranger places.
ictoria spends her time writing, surfing, and exploring all the wonder the world has to offer.
mong Tokyo’s bustling workaholism and cyberpunk scene lies an escape from the routine, solitude, and dissociation that is often inseparable from urban contexts. And no, this isn’t telling you to go picnic at a park and touch some grass.
Rather than straying from the digital technology and consumption that has aggravated our disconnection from “reality,” this 3D art exhibition maximizes its potential to reconnect us back to the world—however we might define it.
TeamLab Planets TOKYO is one of the multiple museums under teamLab, an interdisciplinary collection of artists who specialize in digital technology, referring to themselves as “ultra-technologists.” These artists focus on reshaping our perceptions of self and world, transcending the boundaries we have created in an attempt to understand—and sometimes protect ourselves from—the world.
Ashley Leung (Ehime)ue to its immersive and interactive qualities, each artwork is a participatory process. A picture might be worth a thousand words and a video worth more, but there is nothing like experiencing the exhibition first-hand. If given the opportunity to make a visit, you’ll catch yourself forgetting the recording phone in your hand, not daring to look at the moment through a screen when it is so overwhelmingly around you—you immersed in it, it immersed in you. This article will attempt to capture the exhibition’s Water Area and its somatic, spiritual, and emotional revelations.
After 2022, full of rigid endeavors and corrosion, I walked into the exhibition at the fresh start of 2023, and discovered a communal capacity for both softness and resilience, hereafter termed “malleability.”
Quite literally dipping a toe in the water, this first artwork is an uphill climb toward a waterfall as it streams down one’s feet. In an otherwise pitch-black space, beams of white light reflect against the waterfall, forming an illusion of light particles trickling down. A glorified foot rinse for some and a sensory overload for others, this ascendance prepares one’s body for the exhibition’s tactile contrast, obscure scents, aural stimulation, and hypnotic visuals.
The best part of this artwork is hearing the giggles of grown adults (many of whom have brought their own children) as they struggle to walk through a massive beanbag in the dark. The ground becomes a perpetual wave of rise and fall as body masses navigate toward the exit. Everyone seems to lose their balance at some point, either due to one’s own miscalculation or others’ unexpected footsteps. Therein lies the fun: to helplessly wobble and give a little shriek as your knees give in to the pliable black mass. TeamLab dedicates this artwork to the importance of corporeal consciousness; the flat, hard surfaces that support us on a regular basis do not negate the presence and influence of our physical bodies. Although a difficult journey, it induces a childlike desire to stay on the playground. A little devil on your shoulder might even knock at your brain, “Why not strut around and create further disruption and imbalance?”
Everyone is a culprit of each other’s downfall, but none of it really hurts, so the only sound resonating throughout the room? Laughter.
First steps into the knee-deep water are of a milky haze until koi fish patterns light up on the surface and glide around in neon and pastel. The mirrored walls reflecting the glowing body of water expand and emphasize the aquatic home in which fish can curiously swim toward humans and burst into flower petals upon impact. According to teamLab, the blooming flowers are seasonal. Akin to the interinfluential pathways in the “Soft Black Hole,” the trajectories of the fish are dependent on visitors’ presences. Unlike trudging through a murky pond (which, why would anyone ever do that?), this water is warm and its creatures friendly.
One of the picturesque highlights of the exhibition, this artwork modernizes the pointillism technique to create 3D objects out of strings of light. Mirrored walls, floor, and ceiling blur spatial parameters so that one perceives oneself to be in the artwork, not just observing it. Visitors are able to download the teamLab app and select elements to “throw” into the space. It is difficult to pinpoint whether one is enveloped in a starry sky, pocketful of diamonds, or glitter rain. Nonetheless, the brief moments between twinkling darkness and bolts of bright lights transform you into the main character of a climactic trailer.
This room is reminiscent of the bouncy balls in tall baskets at department stores, daring someone to dive in head first and make war with the rebound of rubber Some of the spheres roll around as visitors push or collide against them, shifting colors accordingly. A small child could definitely get knocked down if you push a sphere too hard, so please be careful not to get caught. The therapeutic soundtrack and strobing gradation reminded me of a key scene from Everything Everywhere All At Once: when LED lights softly orbited around the two main characters as Evelyn had an existential and romantic revelation. This may explain why, on a personal level, the other artworks were beautiful while this one cinematic.
A planetarium that immerses one in the floral life cycle. Visitors can sit or lie on the floor to watch flowers and butterflies drift across, sprinkle down, or disperse. Analogous to stargazing (except stars appear static), this moment allows one to appreciate the surrounding beauty and simply daydream. A few tears softly escaped as I saw my favorite flowers— blue hydrangeas and sunflowers—pass by each other simultaneously. In all their stages of growth and withering, they were inherently beautiful. Supposedly, so are we.
veryone will have their own takeaways from the artworks independently and collectively. In its expansive space and spells of darkness, I felt comfortingly minute and insignificant navigating through the exhibition. Yet, the responsive artworks confirmed my presence and disruption. An artistic reminder that we matter and also don’t. The mobility of each artwork references the perpetual change of everything and everyone, rendering each humdrum day and peripheral moment unique. TeamLab’s website especially emphasizes this:
“Previous visual states can never be replicated, and will never reoccur.”
“The universe at this moment in time can never be seen again.”
Even though the world sometimes leaves us behind as we sink into what feels like stagnancy, we are still different this second from the last. Each repetitive day is not truly so. Walking out of this trance of an exhibition, my shift in mentality revealed a capacity for malleability, much like the forgiving indentations of a beanbag under body weight.
shley is a first-year JET in Ehime, occasionally nostalgic for her home in California. She enjoys creating and consuming literature, music, and film. She’s also a copy editor for CONNECT and loves reading everyone’s submissions!
“The universe aT This momenT in Time can never be seen again.”
ne of the things about Japanese culture that seems to have captured the attention of Japan enthusiasts worldwide is the Japanese arcade. Outside of the rare, niche retro arcade or hipster barcade, arcades are something like the rest of the world left in the ‘90s. In Japan, however, arcades (known locally as “game centers”) are everywhere.
Your first trip to an arcade in Japan can be a bit overwhelming. Most have multiple floors filled with bright lights, loud music, colorful merchandise, and an abundance of people who seem to know exactly what they’re doing. And then there’s you, the confused foreigner just looking for a way to spend their hard-earned yen. Where do you even start?
Fear not, dear reader, as I was once as lost as you. While I still can’t tell you how to play everything you’ll find at an arcade, I’ll happily introduce you to everything you can do at one and give you some pointers on how to get started.
Knox Yoder (Saga)
Perhaps one of the things in Japanese arcades that foreigners will be most familiar with is the UFO catcher. Known elsewhere as a crane game, claw machine, or skill crane, UFO catchers were made popular in Japan during the 1980s, with Sega’s specific crane game titled UFO Catcher being so popular that the term became associated with all crane games in the country.
Usually costing ¥100 per play, UFO catchers have a variety of prizes and goodies inside of them, ranging from plush toys of mascots such as Cinnamoroll, anime figurines from series such as One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen, and even snacks and drinks you could find at a convenience store such as Pocky and Monster Energy.
There are three or four types of UFO catchers that you will commonly see at arcades. The most simple to understand (and win) are those that have three pronged claws and feature lighter prizes such as plushies and keychains. These are fairly straightforward and require an equal amount of skill and luck. Other games, such as those with figurines, require one to not pick up the figu e with the claw but instead move its position until it falls into the prize area. These are a bit more difficul and require much more skill that this journalist does not possess. The best advice I could give you with these kinds of games is to only play for fun and always expect to lose. Know when to step away from a machine so as to not spend thousands of yen on a toy you can find for ¥500 next week at Book Off (and potentially not even win).
A few other timing-based machines (such as string cutters or “push the thing through the hole” type games) also make up this portion of the arcade. While some claim to be masters at these, I’ve never actually seen anyone win anything, so play at your own risk.
Ah, gashapon. The original “pay money for something random” game that inspired countless modern video games designed to take both your time and your money (looking at you, Genshin Impact). These are incredibly straightforward: you finda machine with something on it that looks interesting to you, put in ¥100-500, and get a random little knick-knack to stick on your shelf when you get home.
There are gashapon toys for literally anything you could ever think of: popular anime and video games, mini household objects, cute animals, and more. Some are even incredibly weird, such as plush cigarettes, and will make you think, “Who would buy this?” Me, that’s who. And with enough time and patience, you too will finda gashapon toy that you never even knew you wanted before walking up to the machine.
If you come from a certain subsect of the otaku community, rhythm games are likely a huge part of your life. From Dance Dance Revolution to Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, Japanese-developed rhythm games have taken the international market by storm. Unsurprisingly, full arcade cabinet versions of these games are one of the main draws in most Japanese game centers.
Almost everyone has played a rhythm game before. While each game has its own unique spin, the formula is largely the same: hit certain prompts in time with the beat of a song. Japan has a variety of different rhythm games, from full-body dancing games (think DDR or the shuffle-focused DANCERUSH STARDOM) to games that are more focused on hand-eye coordination (Hatsune Miku or maimai). Everyonehastheirfavorites,withminebeingthemoredown-to-earth TaikonoTatsujin drumminggame.
While anyone can enjoy a rhythm game at their own pace, these games bring out diehard fans, so be prepared to struggle with a fairly simple song and then watch someone play something 40 times more difficult with flawless perfection. Practice makes perfect, after all. The important thing to remember with these games is to ease yourself into them and have fun. Unlike UFO catchers, there’s no prize to be won with these games other than a high score, so remember to not take them too seriously.
Perhaps the most difficult games to understand from a foreign perspective, card-based arcade games are incredibly popular in Japan. Usually placed on a higher floor of a game center, card games are usually based on popular anime or video game series such as Dragon Ball, Fate, Love Live, or Sword Art Online. While you could play any of these games without any prior knowledge, in order to get the full experience, a little preparation is required.
You usually will need to buy an IC card that works with the specific game you want to play in order to save your experience from game to game. Next, you’ll need to be able to understand how toplayeachgame,whichcan
range from fairly simple to fairly complicated. Finally, you’ll need to get some actual, physical cards which can be used to summon characters in each game. You can get these cards at random by playing a few rounds of each game or by seeking out specificcards at hobby shops across Japan.
These games are what many otaku will be most excited to try out at Japanese game centers. However, players beware, as these games are designed to be addictive, random, and take up as much of your money as possible. While they start with a simple ¥100 investment, it doesn’t take long for that ¥100 to become ¥5,000. Have fun with these games, but not too much fun.
What draws most Japanese girls to game centers isn’t cute plush prizes from a UFO catcher or high-stress rhythm games but rather the brightly colored purikura photo booths. Short for the katakana pronunciation of “print club,” purikura have become incredibly popular all over Japan.
Inside a purikura booth, groups will take a few pictures in different (usually very cute) poses. Then, you're directly to two touchscreens where you can add virtual makeup, stickers, phrases, and other “touch-ups” to your pictures. While it may seem corny at first, going to a purikura group with friends is a lot of fun, whether you’re actually trying to create cute photos or are simply messing around with friends.
At the end of the experience, groups will usually get two physical printouts of two of their photos and are given access to digital versions of the rest of them. Usually only costing a few hundred yen per photo session, purikura is an easy and fun way to bond with friends no matter your gender identity.
Knox Yoder (they/them) is a first-year JET living and working in Ureshino, Saga. They have too many hobbies, including but not limited to binging horror movies, playing new and old video games, reading manga, and nerding out over My Chemical Romance. They spend too much money on travels across Japan.
apan is a country of resilience; it’s built into the culture and mindset of its people. When struck with a devastating disaster, whether man-made or natural, the Japanese always rebuild. However, when Kumamoto Prefecture experienced the largest earthquakes in its known history six years ago, that resilience was shattered.
At 9:26 p.m. on April 14, 2016, the quiet prefecture was hit with a magnitude 6.5 earthquake. (1) Cracks appeared in houses that had been standing for generations, water supplies were cut off, power loss sent the prefecture into pitch blackness, and thousands of people were forced to hurriedly evacuate to local
schools and gymnasiums for fear of aftershocks. Little did they know how warranted their fears were.
At 1:25 a.m., less than two days later on April 16, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake rocked what remained of the fragile prefecture, casting it further into desolation.
(2)Approximately 25,663 buildings sustained severe damage, while 8,241 of those already-cracked buildings were completely levelled. (3) Structures razed included the once-thought indestructible 200-metrelong Aso Bridge in central Kumamoto, whose might was thwarted when it collapsed into Kurokawa River below.
Hayley Closter (Kumamoto)
fter decades of tranquility, the disaster ripped through the livelihoods of Kumamoto’s people in the span of two days, taking 273 precious souls with it. (4) The loved ones the survivors lost can never be restored to them, and the pain of that loss will never heal. In the wake of the disaster, Kumamoto was frozen with grief. How could rebuilding even be contemplated after so much sudden and intense pain?
Kumamoto needed its strength back. It’s no surprise then that its people looked first to restore the strongest symbol of their ancient culture, Kumamoto Castle.
Officially recognised as not only an Important Cultural Property but also one of Japan’s Three Greatest Castles (alongside Osaka and Nagoya), (5)
Kumamoto Castle sits upon a hill overlooking the heart of modern-day Kumamoto City. Perfectly framed between the towering buildings at the end of the street, the castle greets commuters alighting from Hanabatacho tram station like a principal greeting students at the school gates every morning. That image is one of the best examples of
a contrasting old and modern Japan.
Constructed in 1607 by Kumamoto’s founding daimyo lord Kato
Kiyomasa, Kumamoto Castle was the very heart of the prefecture.
Nicknamed Seikoshosan (loosely translated as godly prince), Kiyomasa was beloved by his people. Unlike other neighbouring daimyo, Kiyomasa put aside ideals of conquest in favour of improving his lands for his people. While in power, he helped develop international trade, flood management techniques, and larger agricultural assets to boost Kumamoto’s quality of life. Throughout its history, the castle played host to renowned figures such as the master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi and Tani Tateki. General Tani, perhaps the perfect contrast to Kato, demonstrated the military prowess of Kumamoto. With just 3,500 soldiers, General Tani defended Kumamoto Castle from a 13,000-strong rebel army for almost two months in the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. The 50-day siege proved how impenetrable the castle grounds were, likely serving as a lesson for future generations of the merit of persistence and the strength of one’s beliefs. (6)
hile its cultural significance wouldn’t be recognised until centuries later, Kumamoto Castle was without a doubt an architectural marvel of its time. The central tenshukaku castle structure is unique, consisting of a taller daitenshu tower and a smaller shotenshu tower. (7) Surrounding the tenshukaku’s outer grounds are high stone walls which at first appear easy to climb. However, the walls taper out into steep inclines the higher they rise. Even samurai and ninja notoriously failed to climb them. Unlike the structures within, the castle walls remained mostly the same as they had initially been built . . . until the 2016 earthquake.
Inside the castle towers themselves, many rooms are named after weapons which denote their original purposes— the armoury, gun room, and arrow room, to name a few. But its most famous room is undoubtedly the Honmaru Goten Great Hall. The hall is lined with gold-plated slides and artwork depicting, in exquisite mastery, the story of a tragic Han Dynasty princess. It’s clear to modern visitors that while the castle was designed
for feudal warfare, the inside reveals a passion for art and intellectualism which, to this day, remains a defining value of Kumamoto’s people. Unfortunately, the beauty of the Great Hall remains a hidden secret while it’s closed to the public for restoration, but it will be worth the wait.
Ordinarily, Kumamoto Castle and its surrounds would play host to a dozen cultural activities and festivals throughout the year. New Year’s Day celebrations in January and the Moon Viewing Festival in August offer energetic shishimai dances and otaiko drums as well as calming traditional music performances and tea ceremonies. Thrilling horseback archery and Noh theatre are a highlight of Kumamoto’s mid-spring and autumn festivals, which then lead into breathtaking autumn foliage and mizuakari bamboo night illuminations in October. In winter, up to 11,000 people participate in one of Kyushu’s largest running events, Kumamoto Castle Marathon. (8) Then, at the start of summer, Kiyomasa-ko Festival— dedicated to the castle’s founder— sees portable shrines paraded around the castle grounds. (9) Before the earthquakes, roaming actors dressed as daimyo, samurai, and courtiers would interact with visitors as if
they had just stepped out of 1600s Kumamoto, or Higo, as the domain was called then. Still hoping to share Higo’s culture and history with visitors, these actors have had to adapt their routine after the earthquake. Now, “Kato Kiyomasa” himself offers weekend tours on the outside of the castle during summer holidays. (10) Josaien, the Edo-style castle town at the base of the castle, features 23 local shops and restaurants and remains one of the best places to eat Kumamoto delicacies. (11) Traditions are kept alive at Kumamoto Castle thanks to the passion of its people.
uring the earthquake, steel reinforcements— added during a 1960s historical renovation funded mostly by Kumamoto’s own eager-to-donate citizens (12)—spared the castle’s main tenshukaku towers from serious structural harm. However, hundreds
of roof tiles were destroyed beyond repair when they became dislodged and plummeted to the ground. All 13 of the Important Cultural Property buildings within the extended grounds of the castle were damaged, with two tragically reduced to their foundations. Even the floor of the exquisite Great Hall caved in on itself, just narrowly sparing the golden art within. The castle walls were by far the worst affected, with 40% of a total 79,000 square metres either sinking or completely collapsing due to the force of the two shocks. Seven corner towers and gate structures positioned atop key points along the wall are now at great risk of ruin due to the precariousness of the walls below them. (13) The utter disarray that this national treasure was left in post-quake was so intimidating that Kumamoto’s government found themselves contemplating a daunting question: How do you maintain Kumamoto Castle’s authenticity when you have to rebuild almost from scratch?
"HowdoyoumaintainKumamoto
Castle'sauthenticitywhenyouhave torebuildalmostfromscratch?"
Courtesy of Wikipedia Courtesy of Wikipedia
he answer was found through the collaborative research of many historical restoration experts. One of the teams, led by the Kumamoto Castle Research Centre’s Cultural Property Protection Supervisor Kamura Tetsuya, established the “Kumamoto Castle Restoration Basic Plan” in March 2018. Two of the seven Restoration Basic Policies that Kamura’s team emphasised were the importance of “laying the foundation for restoration looking 100 years into the future” and the “preservation of the value of cultural properties such as stone walls and buildings.” (13) Kamura, who grew up in Kumamoto Prefecture, understood exactly what was at stake. To preserve the castle’s classification as a Specific Historic Site, the walls needed to be restored to their original appearance—as if the earthquake had never occurred. The herculean task would require approximately 70,000-100,000 stones to be restacked. First, Kamura’s team carefully photographed the collapsed walls and numbered every stone. Each one was measured and had the coordinates of where it had fallen recorded, literally leaving no stone unturned. The remaining walls were fortified using metal nets and mortar spray
to prevent further damage and to protect the dedicated recovery team.
The fall location of each stone was captured using SfM-MVS—Structure-fromMotion/Multiview Stereo— technology. SfM-MVS is able to turn a real object into a digital replica and calculate its digital elevation model (DEM). Using this data, an ultrasharp Google Maps-like aerial satellite image can be created to compare each stone to pre-earthquake photographic records and work out exactly where they need to be returned to. (14)While this process doesn’t guarantee absolute historical accuracy, the team was able to successfully confirm the original positions of more than 90% of the stones near the castle’s resident shrine, Kato Jinja. Through advanced technology, Kumamoto Castle is slowly being meticulously and lovingly fitted back together like a puzzle.
the significance of the project was recognised both nationally and internationally when dozens of not-for-profit organisations banded together to raise funds for the castle’s restoration, as well as establish support programs for earthquake survivors.
GlobalGiving. org received over 116 million yen in donations from all over the world
(15)and Nippon Foundation pledged 3 billion yen directly towards the restoration of Kumamoto Castle “as a means of supporting the hopes and aspirations of people in the affected area.”
(16)The full restoration is estimated to take two decades to complete. It may seem like a long time to be without such a culturally important part of Kumamoto Prefecture, but the castle’s return to its original condition will resolidify its position as one of Japan’s greatest castles. It’s a small price to pay to allow visitors to continue to experience Kumamoto Castle in its original glory.
Already, a major success was achieved when the tenshukaku main towers finally reopened to the public on April 26, 2021. (17) The outside of the towers appear exactly as when the structures were first built, but the inside has been transformed into a state of the art, interactive museum. As guests ascend each level of the castle, they move through time and follow the four-century long story of the castle—from the 17th century on the first floor, all the way to the 21st on the fourth floor. From the sixthfloor viewing deck, visitors are offered 360-degree views of modern-day Kumamoto all the way to Mount Aso, where a new Aso Bridge has also been built. (18) With the reopening of the castle’s viewing deck, an AR experience which superimposes an image of Meiji-era Kumamoto City over the top of the view was introduced. (19) The experience provides a cyclical end to the journey guests start on the first floor, and also demonstrates that Kumamoto’s thriving and progressive future was possible due to its strong historical foundations.
In their quest to restore the castle, Kumamoto’s people aren’t just rebuilding a historical symbol of strength. By holding onto their culture, they are able to hold on to the past in which their loved ones still live. With each stone that finds its way back to its original 400-year-old home, each person in Kumamoto regains a bit of their own strength.
Currently, Kumamoto Castle’s main grounds and tenshukaku are open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, only setting guests back a mere ¥800 to journey back through time and experience an awe-inspiring, cultural wonder.
ayley met her Japanese partner during her 2016-2018 JET assignment in Mimata, Miyazaki Prefecture. They lived together in her partner’s home prefecture Kumamoto for two years before they moved back to Australia in 2021. She spends her time reading, expanding her kimono wardrobe, and dreaming about chicken nanban.
1. 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Seismic Intensity Summary
2. Kumamoto Earthquake Government Report (Japanese)
3. Kumamoto Earthquake University Report
4. Kumamoto Earthquake Damage Government Report (Japanese)
5. Kumamoto Castle Tourist Information
6. History of Kumamoto Castle (Japanese)
7. About Kumamoto Castle
8. Kumamoto Castle Marathon (Japanese)
9. Kato Jinja Festival (Japanese)
10. Kumamoto Castle Events and Festivals (Japanese)
11. Josaien: Kumamoto Castle Shopping and Dining
12. Japan National Tourism Organization: Kumamoto Castle
13. Damage and Restoration of Kumamoto Castle (Japanese)
14. SfM-MVS Technology
15. GlobalGiving: Kumamoto Japan Earthquake Relief Fund
16. Nippon Foundation: Response to the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake
17. Finishing the Restoration of Kumamoto Castle’s Tenshukaku (Japanese)
18. New Aso Bridge Opens, Replacing One Knocked Out by 2016 Quakes
19. Kumamoto Castle Restoration of Tenshukaku and Interior Grand Opening
Wikipedia
Christian Chen on Unsplash
Jan Boukenon on Pexels
Faith Trend (Tokushima)
Tucked away down compact city streets and within rocky mountain crevices—wherever you go in Japan, you are never far from a Shinto shrine. One of the most famous is Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha, a sprawling complex with around 1,000 torii gates that meander their way up an entire mountain. However, with an officially estimated 80,000 public shrines dotted around the country, the majority of shrines are smaller and simpler, sometimes merely a single edifice with a torii gate or even just a small box-like structure in a small nook on the roadside (known as a hokora or miniature shrine).
Given the almost ubiquitous nature of both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan, one could be forgiven for thinking, as many of my friends understandably do, “Aren’t they all basically the same?” As an enthusiast of these sorts of things, I would heartily disagree. In fact, I would argue each shrine
has something fascinating to discover. To demonstrate this, I decided to write about some of the shrines in my home prefecture of Tokushima. I aim to provide some basics on what to see when visiting shrines and hopefully show points of interest at shrines both big and small.
A great starting point when visiting a new shrine is working out the kami it is connected with. Kami are the gods or spirits that are worshipped in the Shinto religion. They are animistic entities and can be found both throughout the natural world (from rivers and rocks, to thunder and lightning) and in the spirits of important ancestors. While there are technically millions of kami that can be venerated, the majority of shrines are dedicated to a handful of the most popular kami; shrines are usually easily identifiable once you know their tells. Even if you know very little Japanese, when you walk into a shrine, there are symbols that can help you recognise whether a shrine is dedicated to one (or more) of them.
There are more shrines dedicated to the fox kami Inari than any other kami. Unsurprisingly, Inari’s popularity comes from being the kami of agriculture, industry, tea, rice, sake, and fertility. Foxes are believed to be Inari’s messengers. At some of the bigger shrines, inarizushi is a popular dish to buy at the stalls lining the way to the shrine entrances. Made of sushi rice enclosed inside sweet fried and boiled tofu, the corners of these sushi rolls are thought to look like fox ears, and tofu is believed to be Inari’s preferred snack. You might also spot bags of rice and bottles of sake left by worshippers at Inari shrines.
For me, a relatively local Inari shrine can be found amongst a cluster of other shrines on a small hill inside Tokushima City. Unlike the torii gates leading to the other shrines in this area, the gates for this shrine are a bright red (though now a little worse for wear). Red is an especially indicative colour for Inari shrines, and while torii gates on other shrines can also be red, red torii gates are most typically found at Inari shrines.
Inari Shrine
Fox Guardian
Although my local Inari shrine is a little weather worn, the foxes are still adorned to look their best. Beyond them, the architecture of the small sanctuary includes decent carvings of dragons, the likes of which can be seen at many other Shinto shrines. Dragons are important to Shinto as symbols of good fortune and happiness. They are water kami and, as such, you typically see carvings of them at the basins (or chozuya) where worshippers ritually cleanse themselves before approaching the shrine for prayer.
urther confirmation that it is an Inari shrine are the two fox statues placed either side of the wooden sanctuary. Inari fox statues guard the shrine from evil spirits and come in pairs—one female, the other male. They also tend to be holding something in their mouths or under one of their front paws. These items—keys, scrolls, fox cubs, jewels, sheaves of rice—are highly symbolic. Keys, for example, are meant to represent the key to the doors of a great celestial granary which stores all the harvests of the universe. In the pictures below, the left fox is carrying a scroll in its mouth while the one on the right is holding something rolled up into a ball, perhaps a fox cub. As it was just after the new year when I last visited this shrine, the red bibs that the Inari foxes typically wore were overlaid with additional jazzed-up bibs of ornately embroidered red and gold fabric with little bells attached.
Following Inari shrines, Hachiman shrines are the second most popular type of Shinto shrine. Hachiman is the kami of war and warriors, and was largely worshipped by the warrior class, the samurai. In general, most shrines hold an object called a shintai, which can either be a natural or manmade item. Shintai are meant to be repositories for the kami; they allow the kami to be accessible for worship. At Hachiman shrines, the shintai is often a military item such as a stirrup or a bow.
Given their importance in the time of the samurai, Hachiman shrines are often built quite large. Next to the little Inari shrine
I stopped to visit, there was indeed a much larger Hachiman shrine. It had been recently restored and had two central buildings: a worship hall (haiden) that was accessible to all worshippers, and a further building called a honden which housed the shintai and was not typically open to the public. Instead of foxes, Hachiman shrines (and most other shrines) are accompanied by pairs of lion-dogs (shishi or komainu). Like the fox statues, the lion-dogs are meant to ward off evil spirits and thus are appropriate for protecting the entrances of shrines as well as temples. At the Hachiman shrine I visited, there were three shishi on each side of the shrine, all bedecked in clean white bibs for the new year
Here on the right, the new year festivities have included the donation of some sake barrels (or kazari-daru). If you’ve ever
been to Meiji-jingu in Tokyo, you’d have seen hundreds of sake barrels lining the route to the shrine. While the barrels on display at my local Hachiman shrine are typically empty, they represent a very real donation from a local brewery to be enjoyed at festivals later in the year.
As you approach the honden to pray, a somewhat surprising sight awaits you: two large wooden tengu sculptures affixed to the ceiling beams. Tengu are a type of yokai, or supernatural creature, and can be worshipped as kami themselves, hence their inclusion here.
Another interesting surprise in between the Inari and Hachiman shrines can be found at a separate building. Inside it are two wooden horse sculptures, one black and one white. Horses have been connected with Shinto for 1,300 years, since it was thought they made the best sacrifices to the kami. It was believed that horses were intermediaries between the real and divine worlds and would be ridden by the kami when they entered the divine realm. Black horses would be sacrificed to shrines when the people wanted rain, while white horses were sacrificed when people prayed for rain to stop. Today, this practice has long since been replaced with the permanent dedication of horse sculptures, typically wooden or bronze. In some cases though, real horses can still be seen living at shrines, such as at Konpira-san in Kagawa Prefecture.
Tengu Sculptures
Hachiman Shrine
Lion-Dog Guardians
Another pertinent kami for all of those who are studying is the sky kami, Tenjin. Tenjin is the deified form of the famous 9th century scholar Sugawara no Michizane, and is naturally prayed to as the kami of learning. The main shrine dedicated to Tenjin is Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto, a shrine popular with students in the city. Since plum trees were Michizane’s favourite, they can be found at Kitano Tenmangu and other Tenjin shrines, with various festivals taking place during plum blossom season (which also happens to be exam season!). According to legend, during Michizane’s funeral procession, a bull that had been pulling his coffin refused to go any further and it was at that spot that the first Tenjin shrine was built. Consequently, a feature common to Tenjin shrines is the statue of a bull that local students touch for good luck.
My local Tenjin shrine is indeed close to a number of schools. As you pass through its stone torii gate, there is a bull statue on the right, unmistakably dedicated to Tenjin. Nearby, there are an array of plum trees which, while firmly asleep right now, will no doubt flower in time for my town’s exam celebrations in early spring.
Although it is winter, there were also some white camellias flowering at this shrine. Camellias are often found at shrines because they are thought to have a special connection to the kami. They are thought to use them as their home when they visited the earthly realm.
nari, Hachiman and Tenjin are just three of Shinto’s most popular kami. Others that you may have heard of might include Amaterasu, the sun kami; Raijin and Fujin, the kami of thunder and wind; and the shichifukujin, or the seven lucky gods. The more you learn about the kami, the more interesting a shrine visit can become. There are other features too that I have touched on, such as the planting of speciic flowers and the inclusion of various animal forms, which all have significant symbolism in Shinto. Almost nothing at a Shinto shrine is there by accident. It has all been carefully designed and refined for thousands of years.
aith is a secondyear JET. She lives in Tokushima Prefecture and loves taking her trusty kei-car out to explore— stopping at shrines, temples, waterfalls, and interesting mountain paths along the way.
Image Credits
Faith Trend
Bull Sculpture Tenjin Shrine with CameliasWELLNESS EDITOR connect.ajet.health@gmail.com
Alexandra Crombie
“He folded his fear into a perfect rose. He held it out in the palm of his hand. She took it from him and put it in her hair.”
— Arundhati Roy, from The God of Small Things
SPORT EDITOR connect.ajet.sports@gmail.com
Andy Hanson
“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.” — Neil Gaiman
WELLNESS DESIGNER connect.ajet.visualmedia@gmail.com
Lloyd Cruickshank
“Nuh bite di han weh feed yu”
Translation: Never bite the hands that feed you.
Meaning: Do not be ungrateful to the one who has helped you.
SPORT DESIGNER connect.ajet.assistantdesigner2@gmail.com
Amy Ratcliffe “お疲れ様です”
COPY EDITOR connect.ajet.copy3@gmail.com
Ashley Leung
“If you would let me give you pinky promise kisses, then I wouldn’t have to scream your name atop of every roof in the city of my heart.” — Mitski, from Once More to See You
Kamikochi is located in Nagano Prefecture. The park is a mecca for those looking to enjoy the outdoors. There are dozens of trails in Kamikochi. Some simply follow the Azumi River while others head to the peaks of the Northern Japanese Alps. The trails allow for truly breath-taking views of not just the lo-cal area but also distant moun-tains. On a clear day, it’s even possible to see Mount Fuji.
One route of interest is the Kamikochi route. This route follows the Azusa River to its origin: Mount Yarigatake. The path can take several hours to complete, so it’s best to start early in the morning. For almost half of its length, the trail simply follows the river. Thus, it’s a rather easy hike. Even those whowishtohiketoYokoo lodge do not need any hiking gear. Beyond Yokoo, the trail becomes increasingly difficut, so if you were going to take that on, hiking gear would be highly recommended.
Seeking out challenges to grow as a person is what makes life worth living for some. For others, it’s simply because the mountain exists and nothing more. The allure of hiking up one of the tallest peaks in Japan is what drove me to continue to push forward. I needed to know if I could do it.
I made reservations about one month prior to my hike. The mountain lodges do have the potential to fill up. Knowing that I’ll have a place to stay overnight is a great stress re-ducer. I was also able to arrange a hotel stay in Kamikochi both before and after my hike. That way, I could really enjoy my hike.
The day of my hike started off rather nicely. A strong typhoon had moved through the area the night before. The hotel manager called me in the morning to say that the rain had stopped and that it was time to go. Af-ter spending what felt like an hour getting ready, I crossed the famous Kappa Bridge and was on my way to Yarigatake.
The frst section is rather mundane. You walk through the Konashidaira Campground; this is where you leave Kamikochi behind and travel through Myojin, Tokusawa, and Yokoo lodge areas. All three have restaurants, lodging, and other amenities. As you pass each and every lodge area, the trail seems to slowly progress in difculty, but don’t worry too much about this. Overall, the trail is fairly fat with a few rises and falls here and there between Kamikochi and Yokoo.
As I hiked beyond Yokoo, the trail started to become a little narrower. No longer was the trail as wide as the width of a car; it became a traditional hiking trail. The forest grew denser as well. It was quite peaceful overall. One could hear the sound of songbirds over the roaring of the nearby river at times. After another hour and a half, I arrived at Yarisawa Lodge.
Yarisawa is the half-way point between Kamikochi and Yarigatake. So far, the trail has been relatively easy. However, things are about to change. There’s still another 1,200 meters to climb before it’s all said and done. The trail becomes steeper and rockier the farther one proceeds forward. Even the once-powerful Azusa river has been substantially reduced in power by this point. This area of the trail is much quieter compared to earlier in the day.
This is the part of the trail where I really started to enjoy my hike. All day long, there were clouds in the sky. The forest and river are beautiful in their own way, but I was here for the mountain views. To be able to see what seems to be a never-ending range of mountains was my goal here. As the day went on, the clouds gave way, and my ascent up the valley was magnifcent.
Around 4 p.m., I saw it: the peak of Mount Yari. At long last, my goal was in sight. The peak seemed so close. There on the rocks was a “1500” sign along the trail. There was only another 1500 meters to go. Yet, these are the hardest meters of the entire day. Every step takes more efort than the last. As one keeps moving forward, the walls on the valley begin to give way to peaks along a ridge. There are signs every 100 meters, telling hikers how much farther to go. It was quite motivating knowing that there were only a few more meters to go, each one seeming to encourage: Don’t give up now. Take a rest and look down at the valley below.
The view from here is amazing; you can even see the top of lower mountains such as Mount Jonen. I couldn’t stay there for long; the sun was starting to get low in the sky. It’s already a hard enough hike, and I couldn’t imagine doing that in the dark. So once more, it was time to continue towards the ridgeline and then onto the peak of Mount Yari.
As the trail continues, it also branches of. These trails go to nearby lodges along the ridge line. Pick the right one, and everything will be fine.Pick the wrong one, and you might need to backtrack. After this somewhat tricky section, there’s a sign like earlier in the day that says “300.” Only 300 more meters to go. The sun is really starting to get low in the sky. The once-sunny valley has been plunged into darkness. The trail is more like a rock scramble now. You navigate through the finalstretch. Following the “O’s” and avoiding the “X’s”. The “O’s” tell you where to go, and the “X’s” is the path to avoid.
Finally, the ridge line. It may have taken me nearly all day, but it was nearly done. I drop my supplies offat the Yarigatake Lodge and make my way up the last 100 meters to the peak of Yari. At times, I feel that the sun will set before I make it to the top. The scramble up the peak is easy compared to the hike up to the ridge line. Without my pack, I’m able to climb up with little efort. By the time I ascend the final ladder, I make it just in time.
After 8 hours, 52 minutes, I’ve fnished. I look all around me, and there are mountains in every direction. The lodge where I dropped of my gear looks rather insignifcant. The valley that I spent all day traversing has become flled with clouds once more. From my point of view, I’m on one of many islands jutting out from an endless sea of clouds. This view at the top is truly beyond words. You just have to go and hope that the weather permits you to see a view that seems to go on forever. Robbie is a fifth year JET ALT based out of Kochi Prefecture. His hobbies consist of hiking, astronomy, photography and gar-dening. He has been to 34 prefectures, and this winter plans to go to Okinawafornumber35.
Etienne Van Rooyen (Aomori)
“Do you like hockey?”
The physics teacher asked me at the opening ceremony for semester three. I turned to him, shivering in the school’s gym, and was stunned (but warmed) by the question. “I don’t mind it,” I answered, “but I’ve only played a little bit of fieldhockey when I was a kid.”
He sized me up and down.
“Do you want to play real hockey, then?” I smiled.
“Yeah. Why not?”
This introduction to hockey is not the team I am a part of today. In January 2020, I started with the Hachinohe High School Teacher’s Tournament by invitation from my teachers. I mentioned to my supervisor my interest in ice-skating and had recently bought a fine pair of hockey skates. Encouraged by my friends and taking the opportunity to do something new, I took the plunge.
I had no real exposure to winter sports coming from the Gold Coast, Australia, a tourist coastal town known for pristine beaches and summer climate all year round. I heard about (and underestimated) the harsh, icy winters in Hachinohe, Aomori, so living here would be my first time seeing snow, and temperatures go below zero. I told my teachers I had experience with field hockey but was very unfamiliar with ice hockey. Forgive me if I call hockey “ice hockey.” It’s a force of habit growing up in Australia as the distinction was necessary. For that reason, I wanted to embrace the plethora of opportunities to participate in winter sports. Hachinohe was the place to be. It also made sense because Hachinohe is where the Tohoku Free Blades, an Asia League Ice Hockey team, is based. Hachinohe is hockey. I was in the right place.
I officially started playing hockey three years ago, and joined “The Bad News Ducks” or simply “The Ducks.” I was introduced to the team by two members of the same senior high school team as me, Anthony and Barry, who worked for the university’s branch of my private high school. After our third or fourth match on the teachers’ team, Anthony was going to his regular team’s practice at the same venue later that evening. Exhausted, but eager, I asked to stick around and try out. I got on the ice again (with sore legs) and never looked back.
The Ducks was founded in September 1979 and has been playing ever since. That makes the team just over 43 years old. Coach Chida chose the name “The Bad News Ducks” after speaking to a friend who had just returned from the U S. The inspiration was the 1976 movie The Bad News Bears
When I asked Coach about his goals for the season and what he thinks makes for a good hockey player, he said:
“It’s all about ‘working up a good sweat’ and being exhausted. The team’s motto this season is, ‘Have a Good Time!’ The goal is to play freely, spontaneously, and go home injury-free! Also, watching and referring to other people’s style of play through, ‘Imitation, honesty, and enjoyment.’”
Common Terms and Phrases
Between late August and May, The Ducks practice and participate in tournaments. This season’s tournament was from Nov. 21 to Dec. 23, 2022. The coach, Chida, leads the team and the practice sessions. Sessions are open to any player. Sometimes, the sessions are packed with university students and players from other local hockey league teams alongside the regulars. Other times, especially during those freezing, late night sessions, numbers are lower, but it fluctuates.
Practices go for one and a half hours each. On rare occasions, the practice is extended to three hours. Everyone struggles after the two-hour mark because it is dedicated to scrimmage.
Here is a quick rundown of a practice session:
1. Arrive, change, and then hit the ice after the Zamboni resurfaces the rink.
2. Do a few warm-up laps, then meet in the middle to get a briefing and do some stretches led by coach Chida.
3. Drills: moving the puck up and down the ice, turning and stopping with the puck. Then we break into halves and practice shooting and passing.
4. Sometimes, before the main scrimmage, we split based on abilities to work on fundamentals like skating and stick/puck control.
5. The main event is the scrimmage. We break into three teams to simulate the diferent levels for the tournament: beginner (D team), intermediate (B team), and advanced (A team). We’d rotate and play.
Some locations where we practice and play include:
1. Technol Ice Park, Hachinohe
2. Flat Arena, Hachinohe
3. Fukuchi Ice Arena (tournament games are held here), Nanbu
4. Misawa Ice Arena, Misawa
I won’t lie: I have good days and bad days at practice. Personally, I want more lesson time. As a complete novice, I didn’t know the routine or what was going on as the sessions started. I didn’t know whom I was meant to pass to, where I was meant to go, or how to use a stick and pass and shoot, etc. It was (and still is) tough. I had no experience with ice-skating, let alone the rules of hockey. I sucked. Sucked and ate the hard ice a lot. It gave me great pride to go a whole match without falling over. However, I had to learn that it was okay to fall and get up. Fall again, and get up . . . again.
Compared to other sports I’ve played, this one required all my focus not only for the difficult learning curve but also for the lan-guage barrier. Everything is explained in rapid fire Japanese for practice, but you quickly learn that a lot of terms are English-related for positions, equipment, and actions on the ice. However, getting a goal, making a good play, or the goalkeeper making a brilliant save always gets a resounding cheer from both sides.
Seeing my teammates, those who have played for their entire lives, just play the game they love showed me how it shaped them. These men, old and young (but mostly old), have been playing this game for a long time. They grew up with it. Thrived from it. It kept them going. I also liked to joke that this explains how indestructible the people up north are.
In this league, however, there is no checking Checking involves a player driving his hip, shoulders, or arms into an opponent to separate them from possession of the puck. This is due to safety as most players are older. The umpires are strict about player safety and will penalise you. If you commit two serious fouls or demonstrate unsportsman-like behaviour, you will be removed from the tournament until the end of the season. This news undoubtedly raised my anxiety. Even though I’d improved, I still lacked control on my skates, but I was reassured and just told not to do anything too crazy!
A match goes for about 45 minutes. There are three quarters of 15 minutes with no time stoppage between plays and two four-minute breaks between quarters. After the match, we’d go through the results. Who scored? How many shot attempts were there? Then we would give a speech, pack up, and head home with a resounding “otsuka-resama desu!” regardless of winning or losing.
To me, hockey is about personal growth. After an exhausting practice or game, my legs burning and driving home on a freezing dark road, I think about the day I started playing. How I took the chance to do something completely diferent and thrilling and hard. I stepped out onto that ice and fell over immediately. I had the wind knocked right out of me and could easily have let my frustration take over
But I endured. I play for the sake of it and enjoy the sport even when I would prefer to hide under my kotatsu. I went from no ability to some ability to being promoted from the D team to the B team and getting my first tournament goal in the 2021 season. I must thank my friends and teammates (and YouTube!) for their help, encouragement, and enthusiasm. It’s what keeps me going. It’s why I play and why I will keep playing. Wish me luck for the tournament in February 2023!
Etienne van Rooyen is a fourth-year ALT living in Hachinohe City, Aomori. He is from the sunny Gold Coast, Australia. He is the 2022-2023 Regional Representative for the Sanpachi region and translates tofu recipes for the prefecture’s online blog, “Good Morning Aomori,” titled, “Miso Hungry ” He stays busy practising the piano, zipping around on the ski fields or hockey rink, and travelling every chance he gets.
oufeelrotten.Yougetyourselftoatestcentre orhavesomerapidtestshangingaroundat home.Theresultscomein:positive.What next?HavingjustspentaweekaloneinmyJapanese apartmentthankstothatdreadedpositiveresult,Ican offersomewordsofwisdom.
Firstofall,rest.Thisisofparamount importance.Thislooksandfeels different toeverybody:itcouldincludesleeping, scrollingthroughTikTok,ordozingwith yourfavouriteTVshowinthe background.Restingduringisolationwill likelyconsistofamixtureofallthese activitiesinalternatingorder.Itcertainly didforme.Iamluckyenoughtohave sufferedrelativelyminorsymptomsboth timesIhavehadCOVID-19,soIwantto stressthatifyourbodyneedscomplete bedrestforanelongatedperiodoftime, thisisabsolutelyokayandnotsomething youshouldfeelanyamountofguiltor frustrationabout.
Please,please,pleasereachouttofriendsand familyvirtually.Forcedisolationistoughinyour home country when you are familiar with your surroundings, let alone abroad in Japan. If you have friends that live close by, let them know that you are isolating and ask for any essential items you might need delivered. Please don’t feel like a burden. Imagine the situation was reversed. It is also essential that you are in touch with someone in your immediate vicinity should you start feeling considerably worse or need external medical attention. A contact at your workplace should be aware of how you are doing at regular intervals throughout isolation.
You should also let people at home know about your situation. This can be a great time to communicate because you can be flexible in the times you are available to chat. With time differences often making this difficult, if both parties are working or studying in different time zones, your isolation period could make it easier to catch up.
Uber Eats comes in clutch during isolation. It is likely that you won’t feel particularly hungry for the first few days; COVID-19 dulled my appetite both times I came down with it. You might not feel like you need food when people are first dropping things off. It might also be the case that you think you have enough food, but as day five comes around, you realise you’re running thin on the ground.
IfthereisonethingIadoreaboutJapanese apartments,itisthateventhesmallesttend tohavebaths.Thecommonwetroom situationheremightnotbethemost aestheticallypleasing,butitmorethan makesupforthisinpracticality.COVID-19 canwipeyourenergyreserves,andleaving thetapsrunningtofilthebathasopposedto standingintheshoweriseasieronyour body.
Eitherway,whenyou’refeelingup toit,don’tdenyyourselfthat onlineorder.ItissuperCOVID-19friendlynowthatyoucanrequest thatthefoodbeleftoutsidethe door. You can wear a mask as you open the door and avoid endangering anyone else. You can even get deliveries from the local conbini, which can be extremely useful if nobody has been able to drop off supplies. You can order food, drinks, and even amenities like soap or toothpaste.
This might seem like strange advice, but locking into radio stations online really helped me feel less alone. You might not be able to listen live if you are using ones located in your home country, but most larger stations now have their own online archives that you can access at any time. Listening to British people chatting about nothing in particular and finding some great new music helped me tackle the anxieties that came, for me, with spending so much time alone.
Overall, make sure to stay in contact with friends and family, even if it’s just over text. If you feel up to it, find an activity that makes you feel connected with the world. This could be watching your favourite YouTube channel, listening to the radio, or reading your favourite book. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be up and about, and make sure you get all the rest you need.
Alexandra Crombie is a first-year JET living in Gunma Prefecture. Her favourite colour is a dark, muted blue, and she likes to spend her free time camping or exploring with friends. She also enjoys watching copious numbers of films.
ThisrecipeissuretobrightenyourSundaymorning.Itrytokeep theingredientsforthisinmyfridgesothatIcanrolloutofbed andwhipthisupwhenIfeellikeit.Goingoutforbrunchisavery popularpursuitthesedays,butyoucanmakeaperfectlynice versionathome.
•Twoeggs
•Saltedbutter
•Spinach
•Plumtomatoes
•Avocado
•Twoclovesofgarlic
•Tabasco
•Salt
•Pepper
1. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Crush and chop two cloves of garlic into small pieces and throw them into the pan. Let the garlic cook off for 30 seconds before mixing two handfuls of spinach in. I use frozen spinach as it keeps for a long time and is easy to defrost. Place it in the pan as you would normally, and it will cook in around five minutes.
2. While the spinach is cooking, whisk two eggs in a bowl. Make sure you do this thoroughly as it will make them nice and fluffy when scrambled.
3. Wash your tomatoes and chop them into halves. Halve the avocado and remove the stone. I find the best way to chop the avocado is to slice it lengthwise while the skin remains and scoop the stone out with a spoon.
4. Push the spinach over to one half of the frying pan and heat a chunk of salted butter in the other half. Let it melt, then tip the pan to one side and pour in the eggs. While the eggs are still runny, keep the pan tipped to separate them from the spinach.
5. Stir regularly and set the pan down when they are solid enough. I personally like my scrambled eggs smooth and moist, so I only have them in the pan for around four minutes on a low heat, but you can cook them to your taste. The spinach will taste great however long you cook the eggs for, and using one pan really cuts down on washing up.
6. Serve the eggs and spinach up alongside the avocado and tomatoes, and season to your taste with salt and pepper. I love to add some Tabasco and the spice really elevates the flavours. Happy brunching!
AlexandraCrombie(Gunma)
Alexandra Crombie is a firstyear JET living in Gunma Prefecture. Her favourite colour is a dark, muted blue, and she likes to spend her free time camping or exploring with friends. She also enjoys watching copious numbers of films.
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Pitta-Gay Powell
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Sage Olges
“It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth. Don’t you think?” — Benoit Blanc, from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
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Ph
OnetheoryinthefieldofTeachingEnglishasaSecond Language (TESL) is that ideally, the entire class should be conducted solely in English; questions should be askedinEnglish,thestudentsshouldanswerinEnglish, andtheteachershouldexplainnewlanguageconcepts to the class in English. While this is an admirable goal, I consider most English classes in Japan unprepared for this sort of commitment. Many high school students— whether due to too few classes or a lack of an effective Englishcurriculumduringtheirformativeschoolyears— do not possess the academic fortitude or personal confidencetotakefullbenefit fromhavingtheirEnglish classesconductedsolelyinEnglish.
Therefore, assuming you have permission from your school and/or supervisor, feel at liberty to employ a few strategiesIfoundusefulasasecondlanguagelearner
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko | pexels.com
I found using Japanese in class to be useful for the students’ English learning. Most English teachers will agree that one of the main goals of being an English teacher is to expose your students to as much English as possible. However, these same teachers will also likely agree that there is little point in giving your students English content that is too far above their comprehension level. You could spend a whole class helping the students listen to a news broadcast or playing a trivia game, but if the students still don’t understand anything by the end of the class, then what was the point of the activity? In situations like these, Japanese can be used to help support or scaffold the students’ English abilities so that they can participate in English activities above their normal comfort level.
For example, once when I was playing an English trivia game with some firstyear high school students, the question “Who was the president of the United States?” appeared. Many students didn’t know what the word “president” meant. Rather than using class time to stop the class and have them look it up in the dictionary, I instead said a quick, suitable, example answer in Japanese like, “Tatoeba, nihon nara kishida fumio” (for example, the leader of Japan is Kishida Fumio). In this way, the studentswere given a hint to answer the question without me having to directly translate the question into Japanese. Having the students think for themselves what a particular word or phrase means rather than just directly giving them the corresponding Japanese translation usually results in them being able to recallthewordorphraseagainlateron.
Sometimes, Japanese can be used by an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) to help break the ice or otherwise make the students more comfortable in the classroom. Many students in Japan tend to be shy. This is doubly so during English class when there are so many new things they just don’t know and where answering a question will almost always result in them saying something incorrect. In general, the more students talk and participate in class, the better their English abilities become. So, Japanese may be used to increase student comfort in attempting to use English in the classroom.
I remember asking a student a question. Even though they understood the question and could even think of a suitable answer, they could only think of the answer in Japanese or in a combination of English and Japanese. In this situation, I had them say the answer out loud in Japanese with as much English as they knew. Once they tried saying it, I then asked the class what the English equivalent of the answer was. With the cooperation and support of the whole class, the student was eventually able to say a suitable answer in English.
The use of Japanese in the classroom can help students focus on what’s actually important in a lesson. For example, let’s say the main focus of the lesson is for the students to learn how to express desire by learning how to use the phrase “I want to. . . ” After doing some examples of the grammarpatterntogether,thestudentsare thentaskedwithashortactivitywherethey create one or two sentences that use this grammar pattern. When the students are creating their sentences, let the students know that they may use Japanese if they don’t know a certain word. This way, students can still express themselves and practice using the grammar pattern without being limited by their potential lack of vocabulary knowledge. Also, in doing so, students won’t spend too much time creating just a couple of sentences and will instead have more time to do other activities in the lesson. Overall, I find that a sentence which uses both English and some Japanese is preferred over no sentenceatall.
I found that when I used a little Japanese, students experienced a more meaningful and enjoyable English class with greater participation, compared to other classes where I would only speak English. Needless to say, this hybridized language learning context is my preferred teaching environment. I hope more teachers will use it as well. ALTs must remember, however,to ensure all teachers within the English teaching space are on the same page when it comes to using this approach in the classroom. Hopefully, one or more tips in this article will prove helpful in other Japanese-Englishclassrooms.
Ryan is a first-year ALT based in Uwajima, Ehime. He is a Hawaiian native who loves reading and sightseeing. His newest wish is that wintersinJapanweren’tsocold.
students can still express themselves and practice using the grammar pattern without being limited by their potential lack of vocabulary knowledge.
Christian Jalim (Ehime)
With the answer to this question in mind, let’s explore how performance can help students in theEnglish(ESL)classroom.
I adore the performing arts to such a degree that when the opportunity presented itself, I dove, head first, into participating in various plays. During my stint in the performing arts, I participated in several concerts and shows hosted by the Centre for Language Learning (CLL). Throughout that time, my gracious senpai mentored me and other performers, giving insights and coaching us. With their guidance, we polished our performance with each improvement we made. Later, I used the skills learned from my performances when I entered the first-ever Japanese Speech Contest held in my home country, Trinidad and Tobago. As a result, I placed first in the competition.
From my experience, I recognize quite a few parallelsbetweenatheatreorstageperformance and impactful speech. Understanding these parallels and how to employ them are what I believe have assisted me in being a successful participant in my speech contest. Moreover, the lessons I learnt through stage performance have alsobecomepivotalinmylifehereasanAssistant LanguageTeacher(ALT)inJapan.
Someone somewhere at some point in time may ask, “How has theatre and performing on stage impactedyourprofessionallifeasanALT?”
Well, for starters, to give students an understanding of what is expected, I often do short skits and demonstrations with other teachers, ensuring we highlight critical parts of the “performance” that constitute good communication. Additionally, my approach to teaching is often performative in nature. For an ESL class, consider adapting a stand-upcomedian type of approach to the classroom. This will not only command the attention of students but also make English-learning fun. Also, try doing monologue scenes: act out what is considered a good delivery asopposed to simply reading, and hopefully, like an actor portraying a character, the students canalso emulate the speech characteristics you putondisplay.
Projecting one’s voice is a big part of theatrical performance.While moderntheatreperformances may sometimes rely on the assistance of clip-on microphones, theatre actors of the old days relied solely on being able to “boom’’ their voices to the amphitheatres. During my time as an ALT, I have found myself mentoring my students in the same way my seniors mentored me— encouragingthem to project their voices when they speak. Quite often students shrink their voices due to either a lack of confidence or momentary shyness. This type of behaviour is pretty common in the ESL classroom since learning a new language is, for many, already daunting, and trying to speak a foreign language in front of a native speaker is likely to cause more anxiety than motivation tospeak.
AsateacherofEnglish,tryencouragingstudents to speak by facilitating as many opportunities for presentations as possible. Sometimes during whole-class presentations, go to the back of the class and have them read loud enough that you can hear them clearly from the back of the classroom.
Just as imperative as projecting the voice is oration. Oration is a manner of speaking that is easily received by listeners. It’s often lengthy but for now, let’s ignore the length aspect and focus on its characteristic effectiveness. To achieve effective oration, students must articulate their thoughts well. On stage, articulation is crucial not only for audiences to understand what the actor is saying, but also for the actor to evoke emotion and garner attention from the audience. At times, students can resort to a very monotone voice, void of emotion and rhythm when reading or speaking, leading to a rather unnaturally robotic delivery. Hence the reason I ensure my students understand the importance of articulating and changing the tone of their voice, stressing important words, and reading and speaking with appropriate emotion.
A great opportunity for this is during one of my favourite activities called “Keyword Game” where there is a lot of repetition. Constantly change how students pronounce the same word over time during the game, sprinkling some emotion on various utterances of the same word so that they can also understand how native speakers say a word may affect the depth of its meaning. When practicing vocabulary, encourage your students to mimic your intonation, speed, e nergy, and sometimes even gestures. This way,theiroratoryskillsdevelopimplicitly.
With some parallels between stage performance and oral language development outlined, I would hope that ESL teachers are inspired to be a little more deliberate in using aspects of stage performances to improve students’ language skills. Let me share a speech situation I turned into a “performance” for my students: One interesting part about teaching students a second language is that when you observe them communicatingintheirnativetongue,theyemploy several aspects of effective communication— intonation, gesticulation, etc.—simultaneously and flawlessly. However, their entire persona changes when it’s time to communicate in English. As a way to encourage them, I once illustrated what I typically see from students; except, I spoke my second language, Japanese, their first language. I remember giving such a monotonous, robotic, and unnatural speech in Japanese for someone who was to be excited. Amidst the grinning and laughter, I heard some of my students say “henna” (This is weird!) and “kowaii” (This is scary!). It was from this feedback that I realised I have shown my students, through mimetic performance, the negative effect of speaking without meaning and hopefully inspired them to be less afraid to pursue their own oral developmentwithinEnglish.
Chris(tian) Jalim hails from the sunny isles of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean paradise. He majored in International Relations and Global Studies and has completed three levels of Japanese Proficiency Tests. In his free time, he enjoys many things including, but not limited to, language learning, cooking, video games, cosplay, anime, and documentaries about spaceorancientcivilisations.
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Chloe Holm
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Ian Layugan
“When you can’t find someone to follow, you have to find a way to lead by example.” — Roxane Gay, from Bad Feminist
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Emily Griffith
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Jon Solmundson
Wikipedia says “In about one billion years, the solar luminosity will be 10% higher” so if you’ve managed to improve more than 10% at something before a billion years is up, you’re at least doing better than the sun.
Sophia Maas (Saga)
Thereareatrulymonumentalamountofthingstodoinandaround Osaka, and anyone looking to go might be overwhelmed by the choices and the possibilities. Should you prioritize the food? The cultural landmarks? Universal Studios? I can’t make any ultimate decisions for you, but I can give you my suggestion for a place tovisit
Personally,Ifavortheculturalsideofthingsliketemplesandshrines, aswellasanymuseumsthatseemevenrelativelyinteresting.Some of my favorite places to wander through, however, are aquariums. WhenmyfriendrecommendedwevisittheOsakaAquarium,Iwas ecstatic.Iwasexpectingthenormalfare,afewlargetanksandalot ofsmallertanks,fishinrainbowsofcolors,andmaybeasmallshark, ifIwaslucky.Notonlythat,butIwasexpectingthebuildingitselfto besomewhereinthecity,boxedinbyunrelatedbusinesses.WhatI found,instead,blewmeoutofthewater(Pun,ofcourse,intended.)
Situated in Tempozan Harbor Village, Osaka’s Kaiyukan Aquarium is one of the largestaquariumsintheworld.Thebuilding itselfiseye-catching,andinsidearecleverly designed exhibits that walk you through the oceanic environments of the Ring of Fire. When you pass through the Aqua Gate, you’ll find yourself in an artificial Japanese forest. It feels like you’ve somehow been transported to an entirely different place! You can see fish native to Japanese forests, as well as otters, herons, and crabs. I wanted to stay there longer than we did, but we had to keep moving, because there were so many other regionally themed exhibits tosee.
Some of the other exhibits include puffin from the Aleutian Islands, sea lions and seals from Monterey Bay, and penguins from Antarctica. Though they don’t have the largest tanks in the aquarium I’ll get to that later the tanks are still noticeably large, and actually reach down several floors. You might be lucky enough to see a seal diving two floors down to say hello, or apuffinshowingoffitsdivingprowess.
The main attraction, though, situated in the middle of the slowly descending hallways that hold the exhibits, is a massive 9-meters-deep-and-34-meters-long-tank that holds 5,400 tons of water. Inside this tank is a wide array of fish,including two enormous whale sharks, the world’s largest fish,that you can see from many different angles as you explore the space around their tank. The tank seems to hold an entire ecosystem. Along with the majestic whale sharks you can see several large rays, colorful ocean fish,and an entire school of mackerel. The entire production gave the impression of somehow walking along through the PacificOcean, bearing witness to the natural ecosystem there.
There is also a section of the museum dedicated to getting closer to the animals. Instead of being completely enclosed in glass, there was an exhibit with Emperor Penguins that were almost in arm’s reach. A similar exhibit also exists on the other end of the room, where several ringed seals lounged on an imitation of arctic ice, the glass low enough that you can get very close to the seals if you’re lucky! There is also an interactive exhibit where you can, theoretically, touch a collection of underwater creatures, such as small sharks and rays of various species. During my trip it was, sadly, closed due to COVID precautions. I have no idea when it will be open again, but if you are reading this in the future, check in on the interactive exhibitandseeifit’sopenagain!
Inside the aquarium, about halfway through your journey, you’ll pass by a cafe that offers a lot of cute, themed food. If you don’t want to eat in the exhibit itself, though, don’t worry, because there’s another stand that sells similar treats near the gift shop. One of my biggest regrets is not being able to try their ramune soft serve, so keep that in mind before buying too many sweets beforehand!
If I’ve convinced you, or if you were planning to visit beforehand, I have a few tips for making the most of your visit:
Before entering the aquarium, three important things should be noted.
four four :
The tickets, around 2,700 yen each, are timed. If you don’t reserve them in advance, you could potentially be asked to wait for admission. In my case, I had to wait an hour before I could enter. This didn’t discourage my visit, but it was a little unexpected. If you order tickets in advance online, though, this isn’t a problem.
The aquarium has scheduled feeding times for its animals. They offer this information online, and if you want to see your favorite marine animal getting fed, I’d recommend checking before booking your tickets!
The aquarium has a day cycle and a night cycle. In the day, the tanks are brightly lit, made to simulate a daytime experience. In the evening, around 5pm, the aquarium switches to night mode, where the tanks are much darker and illuminated in cool blue lights. I went in the evening, and the experience was magical, but if you’d prefer to see the animals being fed, the time of day is something to keep in mind when planning your visit!
Budget around two hours for the entire experience, or two and a half if you want to take your time.
Maybe fisharen’t your thing, or maybe you’re not sure if you can dedicate the majority of your day to visiting one building full of fishwhen there are so many other places to visit in Osaka. Don’t worry! As I mentioned before, the aquarium is situated in Osaka’s Tempozan Harbor Village, which features many attractions, including a giant ferris wheel that provides a great view of the surrounding city and a cruise ship that can take you around Osaka Bay. I did not ride the cruise, so I cannot say whether or not it’s worth the price tag (about 1,600 yen), but I did get to ride the ferris wheel, which is about 800 yen. This price might not be worth it for some, but I enjoyed my 17 minutes above the city and would consider going again.
Of course, there’s also a large shopping complex to pick up souvenirs (omiyage), buy some clothes from boutiques, visit the Sanrio store, or grab a bite to eat. Tempozan Marketplace offers many unique stores, as well as an indoor petting zoo, and a Legoland Discovery Center. I spent some time utterly failing at the crane games in their arcade, which was not the highlight of my trip, but still fun. My favorite place to visit atTempozan,though,wasdefinitelyNaniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho, usually referred to as a“foodthemepark”inEnglish.
The area is decorated to resemble a 1960s Osakan street, packed with vendors and places to sit down and eat the local cuisine. The rest of the complex is in a familiar modern style, so the nostalgic design will immediately transport you to a different time and place. Boasting about 20 restaurants, you can taste many Osakan staples all in one place. Have you been meaning to try Osaka takoyaki? Maybe okonomiyaki? Have no idea where to start at all? Well, luckily the food theme park is almost exclusively Osakan cuisine, and as long as you let yourself try something new, you’re bound to run into something tastyandunique.
Photo by Daniel Hooper | Unsplash.com
If I’ve convinced you to give the experience a try, great! It was definitely one of the highlights of my Osakan adventure, and I hope itwillbeforyou,too!
Sophia Maas is a first-year ALT stationedinSagaPrefecture.She likesreadingbooks,playingvideo games, and traveling. She loves talkingaboutwriting,culture,and unique experiences. She is very excited to be working with the CONNECT team and can’t wait to see what we produce this year and the next.
We want your stories for our new misadventure series!
Marco Cian (Hyogo)
Heya folks. Being a stranger in a strange land can oftentimes lead to some interesting stories. So, what are yours? Been accosted on the street by obaa-chan? Got into a fist fight with Mormon missionaries? Engendered the ire of a racist cat?
For
please email Marco at connect.ajet.webeditor1@gmail.com
To be clear, the goal of these stories should not be to mock or disparage Japan or Japanese culture. We at CONNECT are well aware of the insulting, borderline racist way that Western media often portrays Japan and we have no intention of Submit
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