The Akitan February 2014

SASUMATA RESTAURANT REVIEW BLOCK NEWS ALTS IN THE NEWS AKITA-BEN

In this issue Sasumata Awareness ······································ 4 Allanah’s Intruder Drill ···································· 6 Sake Review ···················································· 7 Block News ····················································· 7 ALTs in the News ············································· 8 JLPT News ······················································· 10 Yo, Do You Even Nihonshu? ····························· 12 ALTs in the News ············································· 14 Restaurant Review ·········································· 17 Get Fit 5K ························································ 18 Owen’s Onsen Adventure ································ 20 Team Teaching Workshop ································ 24 Akita-ben Corner············································· 26

W

inter is cold. It’s easy to shut ourselves inside and wait till it melts, but that can be boring. Get out of your apartment and do something!

In this issue there is an abundant amount of information on the sasumata.

Make sure you find yours and if you can take a picture with it for the next Akitan!

Surprise! The ALTs have been in the news again for some fun stuff. If you have been in the news, send us a copy and Randy will translate it for you!

Owen has provided us with a story about his favorite onsen in Akita. Read the story and check out the onsen!

Improve your Akita-ben so you can figure out what all those people are trying to tell you!

It’s probably something about how delicious the local dish is.

PA Info Randy Umetsu 080-4608-1073 randy.umetsu@gmail.com

Josh Drewry 090-2987-1984 jdrewry.akita@gmail.com

Stephanie Hupp 090-7565-5049 stephaniehupp11@gmail.com

Taylor Fustin 080-3322-3820 taylor.fustin@gmail.com AJET Peer Support Group Everyday 8 p.m.–7 a.m.

Toll free: 050-5534-5566

Every now and then you may pass by a funny looking two-pronged stick in your school. It may be hanging up on the wall in your staff room or there may be several placed throughout the school. Like me, you may wonder what that thing could possibly be used for. After only two years of wondering, I finally decided to check it out. I was mildly shocked to discover that it’s for catching people, specifically intruders. These bidents are called さ すま た and are translated as a two-pronged weapon for catching a criminal, or man-catcher war fork. Pretty awesome.

Now you may look at your さすまた and think that it will never catch anyone. Wrong. When wielded by ferocious Japanese teachers, who are intent on protecting children, no one can escape their two-pronged restraining power.

If you are truly lucky, then you will be able to take part in the school intrusion drills. Some ALTs have been witness to these scary actors breaking into the school, wielding a knife, and threatening the children. The teachers bravely take up the さすまた and attempt to pin the intruder against the wall or on the ground. At the very least this glorious bident can be used to push the intruder back while the innocent children flee.

Former Akita ALT, Allanah Faherty, was able to observe an intruder drill at one of her small schools. She explained that while everyone is aware that there will be intruder, students and teachers don’t know which classroom they will try to enter. The whole drill was taken very seriously. The intruder did not even bother to take off his outdoor shoes. Upon nearing the classrooms the teachers tried to reason with him while students fled. When it failed and he entered a classroom, they resorted to pushing desks around him and using the さすまた to try and restrain him. The whole attack was video recorded and later the whole school watched and reviewed the tape with trained police officers.

If you see the さすまた around your school, then don’t be afraid to ask about it. Maybe even borrow it and go practice restraining individuals around the school.

You can also buy your own to practice at home with for about ￥5000 on Rakuten.

Please take awesome pictures of yourself with the sasumata, then send them to taylor.fustin@gmail.com and they will be featured in the next Akitan!

The intruder drill was probably the best moment of my school year. The school and staff knew there was going to be a drill and that the intruder would try to get into a classroom, but they were not told which one (there were only 4 classes in the school). When the 'intruder' arrived it was on, there was no debrief or introduction that this man would be the intruder. It was all very serious, like the best/worst acting you've ever seen. No one broke character to laugh when he came into the school and the secretary asked him what he was doing and he 'flipped out' and told her to go away (except me internally dying). After the dude snapped at the secretary he casually meandered around looking at the trophy case and then made his way up the stairs but it was obvious this guy was a threat- I mean he didn't even put his indoor shoes on. A group of teachers in the staff room suddenly came together like a group of unlikely of super heroes in ill-fitting suits, two or three of them grabbed the bident/sasumata while one wielded a clipboard and loudspeaker and they went after the guy. Meanwhile, another teacher had set off the school wide alarm. At this point a teacher was going behind the group of teachers with a camera to film the whole thing to show the students afterwards so I followed him to watch. This collection of teachers, bidents, and clipboards took place quite quickly and when they caught up with the intruder he was just making his way to the top of the hallway where all 4 classrooms were.

Owen Cunningham also took part in his school’s intruder drill. In this picture owen along with other teachers used the sasumata to restrain this crazed knife wielding maniac (actor).

He wandered down the hallway peering in the back door windows of the classrooms while the students poured out of the front door and down the stairs at the opposite end of the hallway to assemble in the hall. The teachers were surrounding him and trying to reason with him and asking him to go see the principal, but he pushed passed and kept walking. He passed the first grade classroom, but stopped and entered the back door into the 2nd grade class. The kids in this class were hilarious and I 100% expected them, especially the boys, to overact and make girly screams and dramatic remarks. However, they weirdly all kept super serious and filed out of the class like this guy was going to get crazy. The whole thing to this point had been interesting, but once he got inside the classroom it really got going. The teachers began to try to corner this guy and he walked around the classroom just looking around, not even trying to go after the kids. The teachers were pushing the desks all over the classroom trying to pin him in and he was pushing them aside because they were just school desks, but eventually with the help of 6 mighty desks they got the guy trapped like a sheep and stood guard with the bidents ready while they waited for the police to arrive. Afterwards they went to the hall where all the kids had safely made their way and they watched the video of the whole thing and the police gave a serious speech.

Block News

Past Events

Block News

North Block 1.

Christmas Part at Owen’s—A group of ALTs celebrated the holidays with Turkey and warm feelings on December 21st

2.

Night Groove—On the same night, December 21st the quasi-monthly Nightgroove dance and music event was held at a brand new location, Studio Home Bound, in Noshiro

3.

Todd and Russ’ Gion Daiko Performance—Todd Shaw and Russ Morris, ALTs in Kitaakita City, performed with the Tsuzureko Gion Daiko group based in Takanosu at the Kitaakita City Koryou Center on Nov. 23rd

4.

Todd Achieves Rank of 1st Dan in Kendo—After achieving the rank of 1st Kyu this past October, he received the rank of 1st Dan in December 2013

5.

Aftan and Colin Pottery Display—Aftan Francis and Colin Flinn of Odate present their works of pottery at a display gallery in the Odate Cultural Center on Nov. 17

Central Block Future Events 1.

AAJ St. Patrick’s Day Party—Akita City March 15

South Block Past Events 1.

Yuzawa Inukko Snow Dog Festival—February 8-9

2.

Kariwano Tug of War—February 10

3.

Kamakura Festival Yokote—February 14-16

Please send any block news you’d like to share to Taylor.Fustin@gmail.com Apologies for this issue’s block news being past dates. It took so long to collect and assemble all the pieces that the Akitan was not released on the intended release date. We will work harder to make it better in the future.

English and Science is Fun! Yuzawa City Board of Education hosts Student Learning Classroom Jan. 14, 2014 Satsuki Takahashi The Yuzawa City Board of Education hosted Student Learning Classroom at the Yuzawa City Culture Center on Jan. 9–10. A total of 253 children from third-year elementary to second-year junior high school participated in four courses including science experiments and English conversation. The children experienced the fun of English communication and the wonders of science.

This class provides homework assistance and aims to promote both academics and motivation before the start of their long break. It is in its third year running and has classes in Japanese, arithmetic, math, science and English. English conversation lessons were attended by an ALT and consisted of playing games, picture coloring and learning simple English words. Students eagerly introduced themselves and asked the names of their other friends in English.

In the arithmetic/math class, the students challenged themselves to number puzzle games.

Some children would clutch their head in their hands while struggling with difficult problems.

Yuzawa Nishi ES sixth-year student, Shinosuke Sato, participated in the Japanese class.

“Guessing the proverbs was fun! I am not very good at Japanese, but my interest in it has risen.”

Ayumu Murakami (13), a first-year student at Yamada JHS, said, “It was very interesting to actually make a motor move while learning its inner workings!”

Translated by Randy Umetsu

AL

h t n Ts i

! s w e en

The JLPT is coming to Akita!!!!

Click the icon above for more info!

Good news everybody! The Japanese Language Proficiency test will be held in Akita starting this year. In the past people have had to travel other prefectures for the test. The official test center has yet to be announced, but they have confirmed that it will be held in Akita. Start studying!

Test Dates for 2014 First Test: Sunday, July 6, 2014 Second Test: Sunday, December 7, 2014

GET YOUR STUDY ON TODAY AND TAKE RANDY’S JOB TOMORROW!

Yo, do you eve Does Japanese sake, or nihonshu as it is known in Japanese, remain a mystery to you? I learned through experience my very first night in Akita that nihonshu was an integral part of the Akita diet. However, I knew relatively little at the time about what went into making quality nihonshu.

In response to this lack of knowledge, I rushed to the super market, filled my cart with every bottle of nihonshu in sight, and proceeded to “taste” till I knew everything there is to know about the stuff. After about three days, 50 bottles and 50,000+ yen later, here is just a fraction of what I learned. Feel free to use my hard-earned knowledge to impress your Japanese friends.

(In later weeks, my coworkers commended me on both my ability to be “strong at alcohol” and my profound knowledge of Japanese sake, both of which seem to earn many brownie points at enkai)

Basic Terms Sakamai 酒米 “brewer’s rice”- Sakamai is a special rice use specifically for the production of nihonshu and is larger than regular rice.

Seimaibuai 精米歩合 “Rice polishing ratio”– The percentage of the rice grain remaining after being polished. Polishing the rice grain removes proteins from the rice grain that affects the flavor (usually making it fruiter). In general, nihonshu with lower seimaibuai tend to be more expensive as it requires much more rice.

Koji 麹 “Rice malt”

Categories of Sake The three types of sake with special designations ●Ginjo吟醸・・・ made with specially selected sakamai with a seimaibuai of 60 percent or less, koji (rice malt), water, and a small amount of brewer’s alcohol. It has a highly fruity fragrance. ●Junmai 純米・・ made purely from sakamai, koji, and water without using any brewer’s alcohol, allowing the characteristics of the rice and the brewery to easily emerge in the flavor. ●Honjozo 本醸造・・made from white rice with a seimaibuai of 70 percent or less, koji, water, and brewer’s alcohol. Moderate fragrance and smooth taste.

Special-designation sake The three types of special-designation sake described above can be further classified into eight varieties according to differences in ingredients, brewing method, and so on. Each variety is displayed below corresponding to the respective given requirements of the sake.

en Nihonshu?

By Randy “Nihonshu Jouzu” Umetsu

Learn how to Nihonshu with this sweet table!

Special designation

Ingredients

Rice polishing ratio

Percentage of koji

Conditions concerning fragrance, flavor, etc.

Ginjo-zukuri brewing method

Ginjo 吟醸

Rice, koji, brewer’s alcohol

60% or less

15% more

or Good characteristic fragrance and flavor, good clarity and luster Ginjo-zukuri brewing method

Daiginjo 大吟醸

Junmai 純米

Rice, koji, brewer’s alcohol

Rice, koji

50% or less

15% more

or

---

15% more

or

Good characteristic fragrance and flavor, good clarity and luster Distinctly fragrant and flavorful, distinct clarity and luster

Ginjo-zukuri brewing method

Junmai Ginjo 純米吟醸

Junmai Daiginjo 純米大吟醸

Tokubetsu Junmai 特別純米 Honjozo 本醸造 Tokubetsu Honjozo 特別本醸造

Rice, koji

60% or less

15% more

or

Rice, koji

50% or less

15% more

or

Rice, koji

60% or less, or produced by special brewing method

15% more

or

Distinctly fragrant and flavorful, distinct clarity and luster

Rice, koji, brewer’s alcohol

70% or less

15% more

or

Distinctly fragrant and flavorful, distinct clarity and luster

Rice, koji, brewer’s alcohol

60% or less, or produced by special brewing method

15% more

or

Distinctly fragrant and flavorful, distinct clarity and luster

Good characteristic fragrance and flavor, good clarity and luster Ginjo-zukuri brewing method

Good characteristic fragrance and flavor, good clarity and luster

Ginjo-zukuri – The traditional brewing method of using highly polished rice and a slow, lowtemperature fermentation process to create characteristically fragrant sake.

Surprise at Christmas in other countries ALT event: Children play games using English The Mitane Board of Education’s International Christmas Event was held at Kotooka Chiiki-kyoten Center. The children participating in the event learned how children of other countries celebrate Christmas, cheerfully played games in English, and received presents of tasty snacks.

Jonathan Stimmer, Mitane’s ALT, planned this event with the hope that the children of the town could learn a little English while getting to know about Christmas around the world. The event was put on with the help of Karl Booth, a former Mitane ALT, and three other ALTs from other towns.

Stimmer dressed up as Santa Claus and introduced to the children how Christmas is celebrated in his home town of New York. Stimmer explained Australia’s Christmas season is in the summer because it is in the southern hemisphere, so Santa has the image of surfing Australia’s waves rather than being pulled on a sled by reindeer. This was met with much surprise and laughter by the children as they learned about Christmas in a different part of the world.

Picture: The children have fun while learning English and receiving presents.

s T L A

h t in

! s w e en

We will now be featuring a restaurant, sake, beer, onsen, and anything you feel like reviewing review in each issue of the Akitan.

Please feel free to send in a review of any thing you want. If you can, try to send any pictures you have of your review item. Try to include a price range and some suggestions for whatever it is. We look forward to reading the reviews!

Chuckde Punjab Review

By Lynne Francis Omagari has many restaurants and chains which are peppered throughout the region: Sukiya, Coco Ichiban, and even the cheap-yet-delicious Menkoina. However, there felt a lack of diversity among the many ramen and set meal shops. One day on the way to the station, I found an answer to my craving for something more than pork cutlets or hamburgers: Chuckde Punjab, an Indian restaurant.

veggies and come with two sauces for dipping: a green, spicy sauce and ketchup. Although I will never understand why everything needs ketchup, it pairs decently with the samosas.

If I had to say two things I didn’t enjoy very much, it would be the rather low-level of spiciness and the price. Although they offer some variety in levels of spicy, they are not customizable and still don’t Located just next to Omagari Station, Chuckde satisfy those spicy cravings. The price is a bit more Punjab is a small restaurant, decorated with many than I’ve paid for other places, however, the quality stars and minimal yet fashionable tables. The does justify it better for this cheapskate reviewer! It’s owner, who worked in an Indian restaurant in Tokyo a great place to go alone or with some friends. You before settling in Omagari, is very personable and can get a meal and a side for under ￥2000. offers great service, even putting up with someone who drinks water like a fish.

So next time you find yourself in Omagari, please check it out! I never turn down an invite to Indian During my study-abroad experience in Tokyo, I went food if you need some company~ to several Indian restaurants. Each time, I left rather disappointed because the naan had been too sweet Scores & Additional Information and the food was about as spicy as a tomato. I had Price: 3 / 4 little hope when I decided to try Chuckde Punjab, Food: 3.5/4 and I’m so glad I gave it a try. The naan is Atmosphere 4 / 4 outstanding. It’s very filling, not too hard, and not Address: 秋田県大仙市大曲通町5-1 塩谷ビル 1F, sweet at all. Apparently the owner learned how to just 100 m from Omagari Station! prepare naan from the various people he worked with in Tokyo, and perfected to make his own batch. Lunch Hours: 11:45 AM – 2:30 PM Dinner Hours: 5:00 PM – 9:40 PM (Last order) If you visit, make sure to ask how he does it! (He speaks a little Hindi and a little English).

Each meal comes with naan, rice, and a small, vinegary salad. There are both vegetarian and nonvegetarian options, along with a drink menu including beers, lassies, and chai. My favorite is the lamb curry, because although it’s not very spicy, it had a great flavor and a good amount of meat. The samosas are my favorite side, filled with spices and

GET FIT 5 Currently there is a 5 kilometer race being planned for this coming September. If you have recontracted for the next year, then please join the race. While it may seem early to make the announcement, it is never too early to start training for a run. Getting in shape is a long term process. Set a goal and train to meet it. This is a good opportunity to get out from under the kotatsu and hit the gym or run outside.

More details will be announced once they have been confirmed. We have submitted a official request to use a running trail in Yurihonjo. This is a picture of that trail. It has beautiful scenery and is located in the central part of Honjo.

Wearing short shorts is encouraged! We look forward to seeing everyone out there!

5K Entry applications coming soon!

Okuokuhachikuro Onsen Article by Owen Cunningham Pictures by Steven Wilson

Akita’s onsen sage, Owen Cunningham, tells us about his onsen adventures.

H

aving fallen in love with onsens since I first arrived here in Akita almost seven years ago, I now dedicate my free time to visiting them. I've currently visited about 2/3 of the onsens Akita has to offer.

My favourite onsen here in Akita in located in the Mountains in Kosaka. It is not by any means your typical onsen, nor is it well known by the general community, but is one of Akita’s true gems! When I first heard of this onsen, I spent a lot of time researching where in the mountains it actually was. Thinking I had it sorted, I departed with an onsen buddy and headed north on a snowy January morning. However, the pin we were following led us to a completely incorrect location. Some locals directed us to where it actually was, but told us we couldn't get there because there was a tremendous amount of snow.

Undeterred we decided to continue. We found the snowcovered road that led off the “main” road and up the mountain trail and with four-wheel drive engaged we proceeded cautiously. The road was very narrow and soon we came to the end, where the snow ploughs had abandoned their efforts. We decided to go on foot for a while and see where we would end up. But after meeting a fork in the road, with both options equally untraveled, we decided it best to retreat. As fortune would have it our car got stuck in the snow as we were turning around and we needed the help of a local guy on a tractor to tow us out of there. He asked us what the hell we were doing, and laughed as he explained that we wouldn't be able to get to that onsen till April. He told us about another free onsen called Hachikuro Onsen, that has the same source water and is accessible all year round. After buying him some sake as a thank you, he decided to join us there.

Not wanting to listen to good advice we decided to return in early March. We wanted to get to this onsen while there was still plenty of snow around. On our return we found that the road had been cleared of snow far beyond where it was in January. The fork in the road only had one road ploughed so it was easy to follow. The road wasn’t ploughed all the way however and once again we found ourselves walking on top of about 2 foot of snow. We followed the road which led us along side a river to our left and a mountain to our right.

Footprints in the snow signaled that other people had made the same trek a few days before. Soon after we could see an area ahead where the snow had melted revealing an orange patch of land.

There are no buildings at this onsen, no changing rooms, no showers, not even a toilet. There are just a few yellow “oke” or wash basins, some simple wooden platforms to stand on, and some logs to sit on. As we arrived at the onsen itself we could see that there were in fact 4 separate baths, with one bubbling! This was the main bath, and the bubbling was actually where the onsen water literally comes up from the ground. Although this water is bubbling it comes out of the ground at a perfect temperature of around 42°C. So it’s a completely natural jacuzzi! As this main bath overflows it feeds the other 3 baths, which are at slightly cooler temperatures. The baths themselves are simply holes in the ground, and so when you get into them you can feel the mud between your toes! The mineral content of this water (mainly calcium, sodium-chloride, hydrogen carbonate and sulfate) has caused the surrounding earth to turn a beautiful shade of orange, as well as creating a porous crust that continually releases air bubbles. The minerals also calcify at the edge of the baths that break off and crumble when you get in and out of the baths.

This onsen is not recommended in August due to horsefly and other bugs that will make you wish you never went.

March is the perfect time to visit because it will still be surrounded by snow, but should be accessible. You can relax as probably no one will interrupt your bathing, or dressing.

Lay back in the natural jacuzzi, letting your eyes drift over the surrounding mountains, trees, orange clay, untouched snow and clouds passing overhead. If you get too hot, feel free to jump into the snow or take a dip in the river to cool off! Remember there are no showers to wash yourself off. So you and your orange body may have to go to another onsen with facilities to clean up after.

The official paperwork for this onsen claims that bathing here can be beneficial for cuts, burns, skin diseases, sick children, and arteriosclerosis.

Do not drink the water. Directions on the wiki.

In the ALT community

Team-Teaching workshop at AIU

O

n February 9, about nine AIU students and four ALTs participated in a workshop on team teaching at Akita International University. I, who just so happened to tag along after returning from the Namahage Sedo Matsuri, sat in as an observer.

group presented their lesson and the day was concluded with comments by all of the participants.

Overall, I thought this was a very positive experience for everyone involved. In the ALT community we often discuss the problems between ALTs and JTEs and talk a lot about Oga’s David Ranzini how the system needs to “This was a very positive planned this workshop be changed. This was a step towards actually alongside Assistant very positive step making an impact on ALT towards actually making Professor Hidehiro Endo to provide a very and JTE communication an impact on ALT and unique training JTE communication and and mutual opportunity for future mutual understanding, understanding” Japanese teachers of as it provided practical English. The workshop experience for the started off with a presentation by teachers to work with ALTs before they David and Jon Stimmer about teameven set foot in the classroom. teaching and some of the challenges ALTs and JTEs face in the classroom.

While still in its early stages, I hope With this information in mind, the more workshops of its kind can slowly participants spent the next hour or so develop into something bigger. planning in groups either a speaking lesson or grammar lesson based -Randy Umetsu around a selected section in the junior high school English textbook. Each

Akita-ben Corner With Pat Costello, a.k.a Akita-ben Mastah

What is Akita-ben? Akita-ben, literally translating to “Akita dialect,” is a sub-dialect of the Tohoku dialect umbrella (often called Zuzu-ben).

For most of us, learning Japanese is hard enough as it is. Throw Akita-ben into the mix and we have a nearly unintelligible language. (It is often accompanied by subtitles in national broadcasts). But not to fear! Give these Akita-ben phrases a try and you will be conversing with the local obaachan and ojiichan in no time (WARNING: Not for use in formal situations)!

In every new issue of The Akitan, we will be featuring a new Akitaben word or phrase.

おぼでー At some point you have probably seen students moving stuff around in the classroom or helping a teacher carry something.

You may have heard them exclaim おぼでー！ In Akita-ben this means heavy or 重い・おもい Example: Akita-ben: このはこはおぼでー！

Standard: このはこはおもい！

Translation: This box is heavy!

Don ’ wil t wor l he ry lp c ! I wit hm a y m rry it usc les!

Subjunctive— If I were….

This is an activity for having students practice the subjunctive forms. It is a great activity for reinforcing what they have learned and having them use it in a realistic way. This activity is for smaller or larger classes.

1.

Break students into groups of 3-4 students (if class is very small then pairs)

2.

Choose one student to go up to the front of the class

3.

This student will say, “If I were a _______, what _______ would I be?”

Give the student a list of topics like vegetable, color, piece of clothing, etc...

4.

Then each group or pair has to decide (give them 20-30 seconds)

5.

A member from each group will stand up and say, “If he/she were a _________, he/she would be a ___________.”

6.

The teacher will ask the class if anyone has the same answer. If other groups have the same answer, then those groups will all receive one point.

7.

Groups that do not have shared answers will receive 0 points.

Alternatives: This can be done as a worksheet. This can be done with celebrities instead of students. Different verbs/phrases can be used. Example: If I had a job, what job would I have?

Lesson Corn

er

Akita JALT

A

re you interested in learning more about language teaching?

Would you like to connect with other language teachers around Akita or maybe Japan? If so, then you may be interested in The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT).

JALT is a non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of language teaching and learning both within Japan and internationally. The Akita JALT chapter meets monthly and invites you to check out the workshops. You will find a schedule for workshops for the year on their website.

There is a charge of 500 yen for all non-members (It used to be 1,000 yen, but they lowered it for

us!) JALT members and students are free. Scheduled meetings are at JOIN US in Akita City.

NOTE: The Akita JALT community would love to learn more about the JET Programme in Akita and team teaching. If you are interested in presenting something, please contact Wayne Malcom: wamalcom@gmail.com

We hope that you found this newsletter useful. If you have any suggestions to make The Akitan better, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Lastly, submissions from you will make this work-related newsletter all the more interesting. So, if you have lesson activities, work-related essays, job postings, news articles, photos, etc., please submit them to one of the PAs. As always, thanks for reading!

http://www.lifeaftertheboe.com/manga/2007/02/17/kotatsu/

Created by your PAs Design and layout : Randy Umetsu and Taylor Fustin Contributors: Pat Costello Owen Cunningham Allanah Faherty Owen Cunningham Lynne Francis Jordan Oxborough Randy Umetsu Steven Wilson

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