POLESTAR HOKKAIDO
D ecember 2018
Note From The Editor: H appy H olidays
to all .
great start to their
A s JET s ,
I
hope everyone has had a
“ winter
vacation ”.
more often than not , our
BOE s
are
insistent on having us work despite having nothing to do .
It’s
probably within our best interests to study
J apanese or work on another skill during this time , but that ’ s only if you ’ ve decided not to take time - off . F or those who have escaped for a nice vacation , be safe and enjoy the ephemeral freedom ! G oing
into the
N ew Y ear , I’ m
sure that all of us
are reminiscing on this past one , and are beginning to think ,
“H ow
myself ,
want to focus on my health , mental
I
can
being , and fitness .
I
improve myself next year ?”
A ll
the nomikais have finally
caught up to me , and it ’ s something that struggling with for a while .
I
I
have been
hope everyone can also
find that thing to better yourself !
S ee
F or well -
you all next year !
—A lex R eyes
Photo by Rachel Bartholomew Cover photo by Peter Nguyen Design by Andrew Gerber
Table
of
Contents
President’s Corner Thanksgiving Photo Collage First Year Rep: On Recontracting ... and Beating a Dead Horse Winter Preparation: It’s Never Too Late Niseko: The Powder Powerhouse Around the ‘Dou: Iwamizawa Gallery
President’s Corner Hello fine people of Hokkaido, It’s me again, here’s with a few words of wisdom about goal setting. You don’t need another article about winter, but you could always do with another examination of your future plans, so I’m going to give you a few words of encouragement and inspiration to help you on your way. Why did you come to Japan? Are you doing those things? What’s the next big step in your master plan? These are questions that you no doubt asked yourselves, but I’m here to make you think about it again. First, the basics. What do you want? It’s a simple question, but it’s not always easy to answer. I’ve always found that listing tons of things I sort of want, helps get the thought train going. Then list some of the more abstract, overarching goals in life. Once you have that, it’s all about priorities; put the things you want more at the top of the list and you’ll have a rough outline of how you should spend your time. “But Devan” you say, “that works in a perfect world, but not in my busy life with a 9-to-5 job!” This is true, and you would need to find the time, but I won’t go into that. As far as goal-setting goes, keep it realistic when making time for things and be flexible with your plans, yet stubborn with your determination. Now, let’s talk meta. You know your plans for yourself better than anyone else, but over time the reasons why we decide to do things change and get forgotten, so it’s always worth thinking back to that moment where you decided on a big life decision (you know the one) and reaffirm it. Make sure that the reasons for your decisions still apply, and if things aren’t as great and glamorous as you thought they’d be (I’m looking at you tape-recorder ALT positions) remember that you always have the power to change your mind. No one can be 100% sure of the future, so a bit of planning and readjusting goes a long way. I hope this helps a little this re-contracting season and remember: Life isn’t just about the destination, you gotta enjoy the ride too. Take care everyone! —Devan Hawkins
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ALT Thanksgiving photos by Ashley Stefanuk ... but eagle by Ted Jones
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First-Year Representative
Jacqueline Witwicki
On Recontracting .. Hello fellow northerners! I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm! Also please don’t hate me for the pun in the title! I just tried Sakuraniku (桜肉)! I first want to thank everyone for their responses to the first year survey. To those of you who had specific questions, you will be hearing from me shortly if you have not already, and to those of you that had suggestions, you can expect to see many of them implemented in the upcoming winter meeting in Asahikawa! As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, please make sure to set aside time to care for yourselves. Utilize the mental health resources available to you through JET. Reach out to friends, whether from HAJET, back home, or your local communities. Do whatever it is you need to do in order to take care of your mental health. For me, that means doing my best to keep busy.
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In the responses to the first year surveys, many of you expressed concerns about feeling isolated over the winter months. I have developed a strategy to combat this, and it has worked okay so
..
and Beating a Dead Horse far. I beat the dead horse. I’m a girl of simple interests. I love birds, cooking, knitting, and music. So I talk about these hobbies to every single person I meet and hope that eventually I’ll bump into people with shared interests. It’s a bit like networking...but for friends. And it worked! One of my principles who I told about my love of birds, took me and the other ALT in my town to see Steller’s Sea Eagles ( オオワシ). I’ve also had the chance to cook and bake for a fair number of events and parties in town. If this strategy for beating the winter blues isn’t something that you feel will work for you, don’t be afraid to reach out to those around you for advice and support. Every situation truly is different, so do what works best for you. Along the lines of doing what is best for you, many of you are somewhere in the process of discerning whether or not you will be re-contracting next year.
This decision has definitely been a challenging one for me, and I have needed to weigh in multiple factors. Many of these factors I did not expect to impact my decision making process when I started JET. While I ultimately will not be able to re-contract next year, this is not a decision that I made lightly. While I asked other JETs, professionals in the field I hope to work in, family, and friends for advice, the decision came down to considering my career in the long run and making the best tough choice that I could make. If the choice of whether or not to recontract has been an easy one for you, great! But, do not feel bad if this decision has been a challenging one. Explore all of your options, thoroughly examine your goals and needs, make the best choice for you, and know that you have a whole community backing you up! —Jacqueline Witwicki (photos also by Jacqueline Witwicki)
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Winter Preparation
Brad Beiten
It’s never too late
4:30 p.m. I get home from work. Snow – falling
in thick, fluffy flakes all around me – piles up on my shoulders and bag. I unlock my door, remove my boots and shake off the snow in the genkan before entering my apartment. I look at my clock/barometer/thermometer through a visible cloud of breath. Indoors it’s 0°C ... there is no temperature in my apartment. This is the part where I should insert some culturally relevant line about winter and its imminent arrival, but it dawns on me, it’s already here. Today’s article is for those of us who have been so enamored with our experiences this year that we may be neglecting to recognize the forces of nature a-swirl around us. Standing in my kitchen/living-room area, I feel my feet going numb on the cold wooden floor and think of ways to keep my house above freezing. The key is to find ways to keep our houses and apartments above freezing, while simultaneously keeping the heating and electric bills as low as possible. (*Side Note: for anyone out there not thinking about this yet, budget appropriately. It is possible for your gas bill to double, triple, or even quadruple depending on how you heat your house this winter.) Many of us may have noticed by now that our lodgings here in Hokkaido, often times, do not have very good insulation, if any at all. Because our houses here can leak heat like a sieve, the first step in keeping our heating bills low and our houses warm is
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to seal off any unused rooms or areas of the house so that they don’t siphon off any of your valuable heat, only to rapidly disperse it back into mother nature without you getting to enjoy its warmth. I turn to my left and see my bedroom. In the spirit of money saving, it’s time to move my sleeping situation into the living room to minimize my time spent in the bedroom. This allows me to seal it off except for when I run in and grab work clothes in the morning. In order to seal off the bedroom, I must target the primary areas of heat diffusion and draftiness. These would be the doors connecting to other rooms, and the window! First, let’s tackle the window with some of these lovely block sheets. They basically look like bubble wrap for your windows because…well, that’s what it is. Most windows in Japan are single pane glass, which means very little heat retention. Covering them with a window block sheet helps keep the cold air out and the warm air in, and can save a pretty yenny when you look at your heating bill. So, let’s apply this bubble wrap to my window. First, I take the sheet out of the box, unwrap it, size it to my window and cut it to the appropriate dimensions. Before applying the bubble wrap to the glass I clean the window, then spray a light misting of water across the entire
pane. Somewhere on this bubble wrap you’ll find a sticker that says ガラス面 (glass side). With that side towards the glass stick the window block sheet to the wet window. Insta-insulation! We’ll remove that in spring. Our next objective is to stop the pesky drafts coming between the cracks in the doors. This is not only applicable to rooms you’re sealing off. You may want to consider doing this to all of your doors. I take out my handy dandy…す きまテープ (lit. gap tape). There are various sizes, thicknesses, and materials; this means there is a sukima tape for every draft situation, but it may take a little trial and error to find the one that’s right for you. To seal off the room and stop the drafts I remove the sukima tape from its packaging and unroll it, measuring it to the length of the door frame where I will put it. Peel off the paper from the back, exposing the tape underneath, and apply it to the doorframe. When the door is closed, no more drafts. Repeat for all drafty doorframes in your house. Remember, with our apartments in Japan, it is better to heat the space you are in, and wear extra clothes to run into the spaces you keep cold and only use once in awhile. Speaking of extra clothes, let’s talk about our winter wardrobe. If anyone is still walking around in shorts and a t-shirt, I commend your heartiness. But with December upon us, we are starting to see more sub-zero days than not. While a good winter coat and some snow pants are probably a good idea to have lying around, I believe true warmth can only be found in the fibers of long underwear! For laundry’s sake it is good to maintain a small collection of tops and bottoms to rotate through the week. If you have made it this far without one, or are suffering because you look at your bank account and find the importance of clothes reduced, UNIQLO has a line of heat tech undergarments that are warm, cheap, and readily available in many sizes. The best part about them is how easily they fit under most other clothes we would wear to work, thus reducing the
need to change your entire wardrobe for winter. Instead you can continue to wear your fall and early winter clothes, simply add an extra layer (or two) underneath them. Another useful piece of wearable warmth for those of us looking to spend extended time outdoors (or for people whose schools are kept just barely above freezing) is the kairo カイロ. These little packets range in quality and time, some producing enough heat to be hot to the touch for anywhere from 3 to 8 hours. The two kinds – 貼らない and 貼る, or non-stick and stick respectively – are used a little differently. The non-sticky kairo are often put in pockets, or even slipped into boots in order to keep our extremities warm. The sticky kairo are designed to be attached to the inside of a jacket, or even a shirt in order to keep you warm. The only thing you really need to be concerned about their difference is this – DO NOT stick the sticky kairo directly on your body. They can get quite hot and burn you…that is not the voice of personal experience. I swear. The last thing I’ll include here I feel goes without saying, but at this point the roads are covered in ice and snow, winter tires are a necessity. If you haven’t changed them yet, make it priority number one and do it today after work. There should be minimal wait times now that most everyone on the island has likely finished. In closing, I’ll remind everyone who has never experienced a winter in Hokkaido, and Hokkaido veterans alike; the cold, the dark, and the snow can all be quite oppressive and isolating. Be sure to take steps to prepare yourself physically and mentally. If you have any questions or concerns about how to prepare or maintain your living space during the winter (including snow removal, pipe draining, window blocking, etc.) feel free to reach out to me personally or other winter veterans in your area. Have a happy winter. Stay warm and enjoy all the beauty our island has to offer, even in the depths of winter.
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Niseko
The Powder Powerhouse
Derek Moore
Dia dhaoibh agus beannachtaí na bhFéilte daoibh! Hey everyone, hope you’re all keeping well and having a lovely holiday season. I thought I would talk a little bit about the Niseko area which is famous all round for its powder snow and being a backcountry skier’s paradise. Although I don’t think I really need to tell you about the powder; being honest, it’s better if you just experience that for yourself. Instead I’ll be talking about how the area is set up, how to find your way around, and some of the safety precautions that are in place. First and foremost, let’s just get the most confusing part out of the way; The Niseko Ski Area isn’t actually in Niseko Town – surprisingly. All of the skiing and its periphery is actually in Hirafu, which in actuality is a part of Kutchan Town. The reason for the name confusion, is that Niseko Town is actually named for the Niseko-Annupuri range. Honestly, I’ve lost count of the amount of poor skiers who have come to Niseko Station looking around for the ski slopes, only to find that they are over 40 minutes away. So if you are coming to “Niseko” for skiing, I would actually suggest heading for Kutchan station and working from there, as there are buses, taxis, etc. to help. Also, if you have planned your trip with a certain resort, they may have special transport already set up for you. However, if do you ever want to come to Niseko Town for a visit, you’re more than welcome. (I know a few nice cafés :) ) Lastly, no matter what you do, unless someone is picking you up there, DON’T GO TO HIRAFU STATION! The ski area itself is broken into 5 main ski resorts: Hanazono, Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village, Niseko Annupuri, and Moiwa. The first 4 work together as Niseko United, with Moiwa
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Niseko Annupuri Range and Mt. Yotei. All photos by Derek Moore.
working independently. All of them offer a variety of services, from rentals to back-country tours. Basically anything you might need, these resorts have, whether you are a novice or an expert. In the main Hirafu area, you will find almost anything you might need for your trip from equipment, to lodging, to food. Going into absolutely everything would take me years (Literally. I’ve been working here for over 2 years and still don’t know it all). But if you look at the sites below, they can give you a good idea of how you can go about things. One thing to keep in mind though, is that Niseko has a strong reputation and with that comes a slightly higher price tag. In terms of lodging, there is actually a rather wide variety ranging from high class hotels to cozy and homely lodges and pensions (a kind of guest house). In particular, the Hirafu and Higashiyama areas are hotspots, with Hirafu having more of the hotels and Higashiyama having the more affordable lodges and pensions. Some even let you bring pets! Of course, one of the most important things is safety. On the main slopes, you have very little to worry about (as long as you can keep your balance and learn how to...you know, stop). However, the back-country is a whole other thing entirely. Thus, given the propensity for changeable conditions as well as a wish for everyone to enjoy the mountain, the Niseko Rules and Avalanche Information System was put in place with an annual meeting on how to better the safety of the mountains. If you do come to the Niseko Area for your ski holiday, please do make sure you give some thought to things and follow the advice for your sake and that of others around you. Anyways, that is my rather brief introduction of Niseko!
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Above and left: Niseko Rules
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Ski Area with View of Mt. Yotei
Links Niseko United
http://www.niseko.ne.jp/en/
Hanazono
https://hanazononiseko.com/en/winter
Grand Hirafu
http://www.grand-hirafu.jp/winter/en/
Niseko Village
http://www.niseko-village.com/en/ Above: Annupuri Range
Niseko Annupuri
http://annupuri.info/winter/english/
Moiwa
http://niseko-moiwa.jp/
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Iwamizawa
岩見沢市 by Tiffany Lukk
Onions and roses. Most people usually wouldn’t think of the two in tandem, but they’re two of the things that Iwamizawa is famous for. The snowy capital of Sorachi is a short skip and a jump away from Sapporo. If you want to branch out of Sapporo and explore more of the surrounding area, Iwamizawa is a great place to start. In 2006, Iwamizawa absorbed the nearby towns, Kurisawa and Kitamura, greatly expanding its size. Now, its population rests at about 84,000. It’s large enough to give you plenty to explore, but not large enough that it’s intimidating or overwhelming. If you’re looking to come to visit for a day, a week, or longer, you’ll be able to find new things to do and experience. Even if you’re just coming for a meal, you’ll find something you’ll like.
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Because You Need to Eat
One of the things most people do while traveling is trying different restaurants and bakeries around the area. If you’re one of those people, you’ll definitely find a few things to satisfy your inner foodie in Iwamizawa. Here are a few of the places you should check out if you’re ever in the area:
Akai Ribbon
If you’re looking for bakeries with a cozy charm, the Akai Ribbon bakeries are the way to go. There are a few scattered around Iwamizawa, one of the cutest being Maple Club. From the outside, it looks like it could be a cottage in a storybook, and the inside doesn’t look much different. Not only can you get a variety of ice cream in the warmer months from their outdoor counter, but you can go inside and try some of their famous Bundt cakes with a cup of tea or coffee. If you’re in a rush and don’t have time to stop by, Iwamizawa’s AEON has an Akai Ribbon counter where you can pick up a few of their tiny cakes.
Bombay Blue
If you ever meet an Iwamizawa ALT for dinner, there’s a 9/10 chance they’ll take you to Bombay Blue. (The other tenth of the time, they won’t take you because Bombay Blue moves to Niseko every winter). It’s one of the only places in Hokkaido where you can get authentic Indian curry with the most delicious cheese garlic naan. Snack on samosas and sip on some chai tea while you wait for your meal and you’ll leave Iwamizawa more than happy.
That one ramen place
If you’ve never gone to a biker ramen restaurant, now is the time. Cafe Ramen 45395 is the place. Getting your food is a bit of a wait, but it’s well worth it. They make the noodles from scratch themselves, and you can taste it. The noodles easily absorb the flavor from the broth and other ingredients. If you don’t like sipping your soup as you eat the other ingredients, this place is for you. Many of the dishes come with a bowl of rice. So, if you finish your noodles but still have broth, you can just add in the rice and keep eating. If you go looking for this place, keep an eye out for the silver pyramid.
Not Hungry?
When traveling, not everyone is looking for new food experiences, and that’s okay. Iwamizawa offers a lot of places to visit for the fun of it, or to take in the views of Hokkaido. Going around Iwamizawa, you’re definitely going to see a few mountains on the horizon. Because of the proximity of the mountains, a lot of snow is to be expected. Check out 禿の山 (hage no yama) or Greenland to take advantage of the snow and go skiing or snowboarding. If you’re not in the mood to travel in winter, you’re not alone. When it’s not cold out, Greenland is an amusement park. If you have a little one accompanying you, or want to channel your inner child, go pay it a visit. Iwamizawa also has a lot to offer in terms of nature. One of the things the city is famous for is roses, as proven by the roses lining the sidewalks in the warmer months, and the Iwamizawa Rose Garden. Additionally, if you find any rose ice cream in Iwamizawa, get a scoop. Okay, that was actually the last food tip. If you visit the rose garden, make sure to make a stop at Miharashidai Observatory and take in a great view of the surrounding mountains. Enjoying the nature in Iwamizawa doesn’t take much effort. Take a stroll in the areas around City Hall, the various schools, or wherever you’d like. You’ll run into beautiful zen gardens, Iwamizawa’s temple, or roses at every turn. We hope to see you soon!
photos by Tiffany Lukk
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photo by Ted Jones
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photo by Jacqueline Witwicki
Photo by Rehan Nel
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photos by Ted Jones
Photo by Ted Jones
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photo by Keith Dickens
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