POLESTAR
Volume 13 Issue 10
February 2016
Photo by Kelsey Woodford
An army of sleeping men Parts before the sun Transforming the horizon - Isabelle Legault
Photo by Rachel Davidson Instagram: perceptual | Blog: salmonsoba.wordpress.com
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o this is pretty much it for me. Starting on February 28th, there will be a new HAJET President, and a much revamped PC raring to go. I’ve told you all before about the kind of job I think the PC has done throughout this year, so it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that I’m incredibly proud of what we have done. Some of you won’t remember this (since you weren’t actually here yet!), but way back in last March our PC put forth our plans for the year after a weekend long, slightly overwhelming meeting called the PC Retreat. The plan we hammered out was kind of ambitious, taking on issues that had been in play for several years. I won’t bore you all with every detail again, but these issues included a much needed constitutional amendment, a plan for an alternative form of fundraising to replace the funds previously made by printing and selling publications, a plan to leave the HAJET coffers in better shape than when we started (note: they weren’t at all bad to start with, but it’s always worthwhile to save for a rainy day, right?), and of course, to provide fun and worthwhile opportunities for our members to get together and build new memories of this awesome community. So we wrote and passed the amendment, cut the cost of
San tos
Adam Gentle President | HAJET
producing our one ever-necessary publication, The Hokkaido Newcomers Guide, resurrected st i r Wani-chan from near-death, gave Ch y b him his own merchandise, and gave Photo us all a HAJET symbol to identify with. We reinvigorated the HAJET bookstore as a worthwhile resource and steady source of income, gave the HAJET website a facelift with added functionality, threw five unique and memorable Welcome Parties that remained respectful to the communities we live in, increased the amount of Japanese in all of our correspondence/text, helped fund community events from Easter parties to pumpkin carvings, and had record turnouts at our Summer and Fall Meetings, all while staying in the black financially…plus some. he r
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I really couldn’t ask for more than that, even though there are actually many more examples, however small, that contributed greatly when added together. I won’t mention them here, but trust me when I say I haven’t forgotten them. Stay tuned next month for a brand new PC with a brand new vision for what this thing can be. It’s what keeps HAJET vital, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here. It’s been an honor and an absolute pleasure being the HAJET President. Thank you all for your participation and your friendship.
Dear Hokkaido ALTs, We at Polestar would like to thank HAJET President Adam Gentle and every other member of the Prefectural Council for keeping our little Hokkaido community together. It’s thanks to your efforts that we’ve been kept happy, sane, and intoxicated. Anyone can submit work to Polestar. Facebook message or email us at editor@hajet.org with any ideas, questions, or concerns. Thanks to the writers and photographers who made this issue memorable! Isabelle Legault, Designer and Jack Powers, Editor
Notes from the
First Year Rep. Jon Curry First Year Representative | HAJET
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ey everybody! I hope you all enjoyed a fun, relaxing, much needed winter vacation! I was fortunate enough to spend a week exploring Tokyo with some of my study abroad pals from back in the day. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to experience Tokyo outside of our orientation upon arrival, hopefully I can convince you to set aside some cash for a proper visit in the future. My study abroad program coordinator made it a point to end every big meeting with, “And remember, Tokyo isn’t ‘Japan’.” After these past few months living in and exploring Hokkaido, I’ve seen that her words could not be more accurate. At times, it can feel like a different country altogether. Everything up north is so much more relaxed; even Sapporo and Asahikawa feel relatively chill when compared to the big cities down south. Not to mention, Hokkaido is a relatively young prefecture, so the sense of ancient Japanese history isn’t quite as emphasized. But on the same token, “Tokyo isn’t ‘Japan’” then begs the question, what is “Japan?” Life in the deep, snowcovered countryside is certainly one way to experience Japan, but I can’t help but miss the things that I perceive as quintessential Japan: the beauty in the randomness that forms the Tokyo cityscape; the methodical madness of the labyrinthine train and subway systems; the unique identities of each sub-section (like Harajuku, Shibuya, etc.) that give each their own flavor without undermining the cohesiveness of an overarching “Tokyo.” I haven’t really found anything quite like this up north, but that’s what makes the notion of “Japan” so intriguing. Going back during winter vacation really helped me to reevaluate my current position as a Hokkaido ALT. I grew up in Los Angeles and spent a year in Japan’s biggest city, so adjusting to an admittedly sluggish but generally low stress countryside lifestyle has not been without its challenges. I’d been craving a metropolitan
rush in which Sapporo falls just short, and I got exactly what I needed. I was on my feet more often than not, only ever stopping to sit in a train or grab a bite to eat. I got to take a selfie with a life-size Gundam replica, sip on a Pepsi in a cat cafe, go clubbing all night on New Year’s Eve, browse the less than reputable wares of Akihabara - you get the idea. But by the end of the week, I was exhausted, to say the very least. Coming back to a snow covered Hamaton was surprisingly refreshing. Shoveling out my front door and sliding under the kotatsu, I relished in the quiet absence of the big city, an absence that up until my trip I had been lamenting. And now that classes have started once again, I’ve had time to reflect on it all. As much as I love Tokyo (and most other big cities in Japan), it’s the Japanese countryside that truly won me over. Tokyo was fitting for a study abroad student, but the inaka feels like where I ought to be now. So for those of you who haven’t had a chance to check out Tokyo, I urge you to make it a point to do so. Whether you’re dying to explore every nook and cranny of the winding streets, indulge in the fashion or nightlife, or just want to have a drastically different experience of “Japan” from your current situation, Tokyo is a prime destination. While my program coordinator swore by her catchphrase, I’ve heard teachers and coworkers say the same about Hokkaido. So go on an adventure! See what Honshu has to offer! There’s so much more that Japan has in store for all of us! Oh, and if you’re concerned about not having a place to crash (let’s be real, neither Keio Plaza, a karaoke booth, nor anything in between are going to be reasonable options) feel free to contact me so I can get you in touch with some Tokyo-based JETs. Some of them are good friends of mine and are always willing to host visitors. Until then, stay warm and drive safely! I’ve never seen, let alone lived in snowy conditions like this, so if you’re a winter noob like me, remember to stock up on groceries (read: comfort food and booze, if you’re into that) sooner rather than later!
Photo by Jon Curry
h t o r 9 a 2 p – u h h t S 5 l 2 e y r a Hot u r b e F
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (ゆうばり国際ファンタスティック映画祭) Deborah Walter Central Representative | HAJET
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estled in the heart of the central region lies a city by the name of Yubari, famous for its melons, for its ski slopes, and for having one of the oldest populations in Japan. This former coal mining town closed down their last mine in the year 1990, and along with it solidified the rapid decline in population, which went from over 100,000 in the 1960s, to a mere 21,000 by the time the mines ran dry. Even today the population continues to shrink—only about 10,000 people were reported to be living in this city as of 2013. Between the steady decline in population and the closure of all coal mines, city officials were faced with a stagnating economy. Leaders looked to the tourism industry in the hopes of reviving what they could of the city’s economy. One result of this was the start of what is now known as the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. At its inception, the Yubari Film Festival was divided into two major sections: an international competition showcasing works from young directors around the world, and an off-theater program for amateur and independent Japanese first-time directors. In its early years, the festival hosted special guest stars, including actors Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie in 1990, director Quentin Tarantino in 1993, and comedian Steve Martin in 1996. However, in 2007, the city of Yubari declared bankruptcy, and the festival was ultimately canceled due to a lack of funds. In spite of this setback, the following year the festival, minus the international competition, was brought back due to popular demand
from the local populace. This year, the film festival will be celebrating its 26th anniversary. After a long day on the Mt. Racey slopes, why not warm yourself up by checking out what the Yubari Film Festival has to offer? This year’s festival includes over 30 different full-length and short films, including titles such as Everest, The Revenant (starring Leonardo DiCaprio), and Mr. Holmes (starring Ian McKellen). General show tickets are on sale now at SevenElevens and Sunkus nationwide, and special event invitation tickets will be available on-site the day of each respective show. The opening ceremony will begin on Thursday, February 25th, and the closing ceremony will be held on Monday, February 29th. For more information regarding show times, access, and prices, please check out the official Yubari Film Festival website yubarifanta.com.
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Photo by Charles Harries
Abandoned Buses of Hokkaido Charles Harries Webmaster| HAJET
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okkaido is full of mysteries. This fact itself isn’t a mystery--I don’t think there’s a soul alive who could catalogue the shuttered businesses, collapsed farmhouses, concrete shells, railless train stations, or empty fields littering the island. And maybe we don’t want anyone to--this, after all, is part of the allure of where we live. That feeling of being the last person awake at the end of the night, present where so many have left. But let me make a quick argument for you here: more mysterious than any shutter that never rolls up or roof that has fallen down is Hokkaido’s elusive (but everpresent) Abandoned Bus in a Field. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed them: watching you, silent forms in fields, some half-sunk in soft dirt, some aged beyond identification, missing windows, paint. Some with the destinations still displayed in the space
above the windscreen, some with the bus company’s name or logo painted on the side. Some so old that the name is hand-painted. Some missing doors, some whose doors are rusted shut. If you haven’t noticed them,you will. They’re everywhere. Unless you live in Sapporo. Then you’re shit outta luck, as they say. I collect Abandoned Buses in Fields. I’ve found 37 so far, but I haven’t really been looking that hard. Just hard enough. There are two main types of Abandoned Buses in Fields. The first is… less mysterious. They sit alongside farmhouses, or out in recently tilled fields, and the windows are stacked with tarps and deadwood and old furniture and car doors and bags of debris and stacks of whiteboards and used tires and rope, kilometers upon kilometers of rope, and glass buoys kilometers upon kilometers from the sea and all manner of garbage for which the cleverest DIYer couldn’t find a use. These are
more aptly called “Repurposed Storage Units in a Field”. See, it doesn’t make sense to keep all your stuff in a barn when you own 100 acres and you can only fit so much, uh, farm stuff in the back of your Iseki tractor. So when the local bus company is updating their fleet, you buy their used bus, you drive it out into your field, you dispose of the seats (don’t ask me how), and you store farm equipment in it. It’s pretty smart, if you think about it: buses are watertight, tough, and huge on the inside. They make terrific shelters for stuff you need to want to keep out of the rain and wind. Once you’ve seen a few, you start to develop a bit of a sixth sense for them. You can tell when one is going to be nearby: the quality of farmhouse, the degree of countryside, even the weather plays a part. You slow the car, you start to take your eyes off the road, scan the fields. You know what to look for: the row of black rectangles in a white frame, maybe a red or a gold line marking the side, the windows and roof sticking up above the lip of a rice paddy. The second kind of Abandoned Bus in a Field, however, begs questions. This is the Mysterious Abandoned Bus in a Field. It sits in ditches tens of kilometers from any structure. It sits in a tangle of bushes on an abandoned road, a Department of Transportation project that never got finished. It sits on a patch of concrete above National Route 273. It can’t be seen without leaving the road. It sits under the arms of a big tree in full bloom. I heard that there’s one near where I live, perched at the top of a narrow dirt road, over a cliff. The guy who found it has no idea how it got there--the road looked too narrow for the bus to navigate. Maybe the driver got stuck and had to leave the bus there. It’s still there today. Here is one of the questions that the Mysterious Abandoned Bus in a Field asks: is this a Mysterious Abandoned Bus in a Field, or is this a Repurposed Storage Unit in a Field? Maybe there’s a tarp nearby, weighted down by a pile of broken cinderblocks. Maybe there’s a mountain of bald tires. Are the two connected? Does this belong to someone? Here is how you can tell. This is a trick I have learned so that I can tell Mysterious Abandoned Buses in Fields from Repurposed Storage Units in Fields: the Mysterious Abandoned Bus in a Field is always empty. You can force the doors on Abandoned Buses in Fields.
Unless they’re really badly rusted over, most of them will give with a little elbow grease. There’s usually no point in entering Repurposed Storage Units in Fields-these are someone’s property, even if it appears to be abandoned property. Don’t bother. The Mysterious Abandoned Bus in a Field will likely be more welcoming. Its doors will give with a jolt, then they’ll come gently. They made good rails and hinges in the 1970s and 80s, I guess. The inside will smell like moss and life. The ground will be soft but won’t give that much. Maybe the driver’s seat will be there. The seats in the back will be gone. The windows will be remarkably clear. The chrome will be remarkably shiny. There might be an aluminum luggage rack. You can stand up inside to your full height. The trees, the bushes, the tall grass will all seem closer from the inside than it looked from the outside. But the road will look a lot further away. If there were any noises outside--the trees swaying, a far-off car--you will not hear it. You might walk all the way to the back of the bus and look forward. Mysterious Abandoned Buses in Fields are always longer when you’re standing at the back, shorter when you’re standing at the front. You might feel like the bus in front of you, the big empty space, is actually full of air, which it is. Walking back to the front might feel like swimming. When you exit the bus, you might want answers--where this bus went, who put it here. I guess the thing about the Mysterious Abandoned Bus in a Field is that it doesn’t yield answers. It’s just empty. Of course this maps very well onto Hokkaido as a whole--standing on the inside of this once-useful, now-empty thing; feeling that it’s full, but of what, you can’t tell. I don’t know that there’s any hallowed wisdom or poignant insight you can scrape off the insides of these buses, but if there is, I’d be happy to hear what you think. You can find all my Abandoned Buses in Fields if you search for the hashtag #abandonedbusinafield on Instagram.
Understanding Valentine’s in Japan Katelyn Mitchell Member | HAJET
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ou may have noticed the shelves of supermarkets, convenience stores, and 100-yen stores have started to fill with a staggering amount and variety of chocolates. This can only mean one thing – Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! But just around 50% of the population can sit back and relax. In Japan, Valentine’s Day is a day for only the women to give chocolate to the men of their choice. When I asked a coworker why this is, her explanation was brief and to the point: “Women are too shy to express their love without a special day where it’s okay to do it. Men don’t have that problem.” But how does an overwhelmed guy tell if the boxes adorning his desk signify deep affection, or merely adherence to social protocol? Japan’s Valentine’s Day chocolate is divided into two categories, called honmeichoco (本命チョコ) and giri-choco (義理チョコ). Honmei-choco translates to “true feelings chocolate” and is given to husbands, boyfriends or crushes. The same coworker informed me that the term comes from horse racing, where honmei was a way of referring to the horse currently favored to win a particular race. Girichoco translates to “courtesy chocolate” or “obligation chocolate” and is presented as a gift to bosses, coworkers or male friends. In my journey to discover the answer to “how do you tell
honmei-choco from giri?” I came across many posts on forums such as GaijinPot by confused ALTs asking that very question. They received a variety of answers, from foreign and Japanese posters alike, which included: “If it costs more than 2000 yen, it’s definitely honmei!” “Anything you can get at a conbini can only be girichoco.” “Japanese brands, like Meiji, are given as giri choco. If it’s a foreign brand, it’s more likely she likes you. Especially so if it’s from Europe!!!” “If the chocolate is homemade, it’s an expression of her real love for you.” “If she gives you the chocolate in front of other people, it’s giri-choco. Honmei-choco is given in private because it’s a kind of love confession.” So it seems that there are a variety of factors that could potentially differentiate giri from honmei, including price, store of origin, country of origin, and method of presentation. The good news is, you have a month to figure it out – men don’t give chocolate to women in return until White Day, on March 14th. White Day, so named to invoke images of both ‘pure, sweet love’ and massive amounts of sugar, is a literal corporate-created holiday. It was established in 1978 by Japan’s National Confectionary Industry Association, to sell more chocolate. Ok, and I guess to allow men
a chance to thank the women who presented them with gifts on Valentine’s Day. That too. To go with the “white” theme, popular gifts include marshmallows and white chocolate for friends or coworkers and “white clothing” (read: lingerie) for girlfriends or wives. When picking out presents for this ‘holiday’, beware of sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し) or “triple return,” a tradition (read: corporate scheme) that states that the man’s return present must be three times the value of what the woman originally gave him. To those of you feeling overwhelmed or reflexively reaching for your wallets hoping for a few more coins to have magically appeared, fear not! The general consensus among the JET community, confirmed by my coworker, is that we are not
expected to give chocolate on either Valentine’s Day or White Day. Schools also tend to be more lax about girichoco than other office environments. So close your wallets, breathe a sigh of relief and navigate with confidence through yet another complicated holiday!
A Small History of Internet Cafes Jack Powers Editor | Polestar
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ommuter trains shut down comparatively early in Japan, around midnight in most cities. Where mass transportation falters, parties adapt, last longer, and nobody goes home. And if, while you’re out on the town, all the other inns in town are booked or too expensive, a love hotel visit out of reach, and the capsule hotel a bit too bougie, you’re left with the internet cafe. There’s a reason they’re generally found in nightlife districts, and it doesn’t have to do with manga or the internet. The internet café sprang up as a business venture over a decade ago, but it’s quickly evolved from internet work station to sleep station to last resort long term shelter. Yet another example of the Japanese genius for English mis-advertisement, internet cafes are mostly for shelter and sleep these days, not for surfing the internet. Similar to capsule hotels, their business plans are built around allowing people to get out of the cold and get a few hours of shut-eye before trains start back up in the morning. The process is stream-lined. Walk in the door and a quick, light fee later a cubicle, plush chair, and internet-connected computer await. Then pray for sleep. For this jig to work, it obviously has to be cheap. A night at a capsule hotel usually costs roughly half that of a capsule hotel. Customers pay by the hour with rates skewed towards staying longer. All convenient for your
average drunk salary-man. But in the race to the bottom to capture the young, wild, and cost-conscious in places like Sapporo’s Susukino neighborhood, internet cafes stumbled into a whole different consumer demographic: the homeless. The most conspicuously equal society on Earth breaks down amidst the yaoi-stacks and smoked cubicles of internet cafes. Kawaii Culture crumples just long enough to get a glimpse of what poverty in Japan often looks like: contract workers fishing for sleep under fluorescent lights. According to a 2007 survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in 2007, 60,900 people spent a night at an internet café at any given day and an estimated 5,400 people live there because they have no home. Internet cafes have become essential outlets for the growing unemployed or under-employed population, especially in expensive cities like Tokyo. The plight of the so-called “Net Café Refugees” (Japanese:ネ ッ ト カ フ ェ 難 民 、 nettokafenanmin) has been a business boon for internet cafes, which have altered their services to accommodate their new customers. Many cafes offer discounted monthly rates, though rent is still paid daily. Communal showers and meal dispensers have become commonplace. The inflexibility of the Japanese labor system means that these “refugees” have little hope for securing a stable, full-time position. Meanwhile, they spend their nights next to inebriate short-stay salary-men who often work in excess of 80 hours a week.
JR Sta
HOTEL
Trans Pacific Partnersh Margaret Pickard Member | HAJET
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PP: Three initials that spell a huge deal for a dozen countries. With the full text of the agreement only just released in early November, many are still wondering: What is it, and what exactly does it mean for Japan? And more specifically, what will it mean for Hokkaido? The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free trade agreement between 12 countries of the Pacific Rim: the U.S., Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The aim of the agreement is to “break down barriers to commerce and investment”, such as reducing or eliminating tariffs on protected products. Japan will remove tariffs on 95.1 percent of imported products, with other members eventually abolishing close to 100 percent of their tariffs. As with anything that concerns competing national interests, successful negotiation of the TPP required twisting of numerous arms and a great deal of time (approximately 10 years). The original incarnation of the deal was 2005’s Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP) between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore. The transformation of the smaller deal into the behemoth it is today began when the United States entered into discussions in 2008. Australia, Vietnam, and Peru followed the U.S. into the fray, and soon TPP became too glaring to ignore. Other Pacific-Rim nations didn’t want to be left out of the trade agreement as it snowballed into what would be the largest multilateral trade agreement ever. Japan was the last nation to join TPP negotiations in May 2013. As Japan’s economy is more than double the rest of the TPP countries besides the U.S., TPP negotiations have been dominated by the Nichibei countries ever since. The timing of Japan’s decision was no accident. Shinzo Abe, five years removed from his first term as Prime Minister, was re-elected at the end of 2012, this time arriving with big promises of economic reform. “Abenomics” became the buzzword to
cheerlead the nation out from its the bright future Japan had seen s pursuit of a TPP agreement has b of Abe’s intentions for economic re
The TPP negotiation process was non-transparent nature. Now tha been released, economists are s consequences for a variety of indu agreement will certainly alter the s we know it. Projections of its impa economy. How it will do so will like
First with the good news. The a export industries and increase Japanese auto industry stands currently 2.5%, will be eliminated c 80% of the tariffs the US imposes will be removed. Reduced or elimin mean lower prices at the superma might actually be able to buy fruit!
Of course, it’s not all roses for Jap imported from the US and Austral over 13 years, a potential blow fo farmers. The government has pro drop in prices by buying the differe
Livestock farmers also have reaso imported beef, previously as high 9 percent. However, Japan enjoys tariffs may be raised back up to amount.
Hokkaido may feel the agricultu acutely than anywhere else in Ja largely reliant on the agricultural s protected by the government from 2011 showed that Hokkaido host farmland, maintained by 110,000 thank for 78% of its potatoes, 61% 83% of domestically-caught salmo
When Japan first announced it h
hip: TPP for You and Me
decades long stagnation and onto so clearly back in the 80’s. Japan’s been a clear sign of the seriousness reform.
s repeatedly criticized for its alleged at the text of the agreement has starting to reckon with its specific ustries across the Pacific area. The shape of the Japanese economy as act involve virtually all sectors of the ely be uneven.
agreement will stimulate Japanese their investments overseas. The to benefit greatly. The US tariff, completely in 25 years. In addition, s on imported Japanese auto parts nated tariffs on imported food would arket for Japanese consumers. You !
pan. The allowance of tariff-free rice lia will be increased by 24,000 tons or pre-TPP protected domestic rice omised to offset this and prevent a ence for “stockpiling”.
on to worry as Japanese tariffs on h as 35 percent, will be slashed to s a “snapback” protection in which 38.5% if exports exceed a certain
ural impact from the TPP more apan. The prefectural economy is sector, an area that has been widely m overseas competition. Data from ts about a quarter of Japan’s total 0 farmers. Japan has Hokkaido to % of its wheat, 45% of its corn, and on.
had joined the TPP negotiations in
2013, many local industrial leaders and politicians declared their opposition to the deal and threatened to sever support for Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party. Two years later, support for TPP has hardly increased in Hokkaido. A survey conducted by Kyodo News last fall revealed that 37 percent of local leaders (heads of prefectures, cities, towns, and villages) across Japan are against TPP. However, in Hokkaido, that number jumps to 76.6 percent. Many are wary about the effects lower tariffs could have on the success of Japanese goods in the domestic market. Others are hopeful that with adaptation and new access to foreign markets, TPP could prove to be a blessing for farmers. Economist Nakagawa Junji of the University of Tokyo argues that TPP could force reform in the crumbling agricultural sector and potentially save it.The real question for now is will it become a reality? With negotiations finished and the text settled, the governments of each of the 12 nations need to ratify it. Always a bit tricky. The ratification of the agreement in Japan looks to be pretty smooth. Abe’s coalition holds a majority in both the upper and lower houses of the Diet, and the Prime Minister has shown strong support for the agreement. However, the pact’s fate is uncertain in several countries, most notably the United States. President Obama has made it one of his signature issues, but for the TPP agreement to pass Congress he will have to rely on House Republicans- a clear sign of how disorienting free-trade agreements like the TPP can be on domestic politics.
“Discosnow” by Jeremy Blanco
More photos by Jeremy at kulturatobody.squarespace.com