Karisa Whelan
Table of Contents 目次 Editor’s Note 4 Prez Talk 6 Note from your First Year Rep 8 Sapporo Beer Article 12 Sapporo Beer Review 20 Comic 24
Matthew Jones
Matthew Jones
Editor’s Note Please bundle up out there.
Next submission deadline is November 29. Please send your submissions to editor@hajet.org!
Karisa Whelan
Betrice Yambrach, President
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iving in Hokkaido has definitely affected my conception of each season. As we all know by now, either through personal experience or hearsay, Hokkaido’s winter season is approximately six months long, October through April. But what does that mean for the other three seasons? While talking to our Webmaster, Jon Curry, a few weeks ago, I mentioned his November birthday being “kind of” in the fall, to which he responded, “I mean, it’s November so, it’s ACTUALLY in the fall.” It really shocked me because I realized in that moment that living in Hokkaido for two years has drastically affected my notion of when and what the seasons are. Winter is six months long, November isn’t fall, cherry blossoms bloom in May, and 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) is a warm summer day (with a sweater).
will be looking to fill in the upcoming PC elections season. Second, the Publications Coordinator’s responsibilities were updated and the Hokkaido Newcomer’s Guide was added into the budgeting list. Finally, the third amendment passed requires the HAJET Secretary to continue keeping an up-to-date HAJET Member Directory, but no longer requires them to distribute that directory to the entire membership.*
Additionally, though it’s already been about a month since Fall Meeting, if you haven’t yet please congratulate Nivedh Sreejit on being elected as HAJET’s new First Year Representative! Originating from Canada, Nivedh comes to the PC table representing the interests, opinions, and concerns of the HAJET First Year community. Ultimately, as First Year Rep, Nivedh helps the PC ensure that HAJET is just as welcoming, supportive, and beneficial to our Even though fall in Hokkaido is short-lived, first year members as it is to the rest of our the vibrant leaves, brisk air, and kabocha-fla- membership. vored everything didn’t leave us disappointed, and neither did the HAJET Fall Meeting. This Lastly, December is the HAJET PC (Prefecturyear, Fall Meeting took us to the lovely city of al Council) elections season! At the beginning of Muroran, a first for HAJET. One of the goals of December I’ll be sending out emails and postHAJET is to get our community out to parts of ing on the HAJET Facebook page about what Hokkaido we normally wouldn’t get to visit. The exactly the PC does, which positions will be PC felt as though Muroran is a city that is fre- open for the upcoming HAJET year (beginning quently overlooked as a travel destination, yet March 1st), and how to nominate someone or has so much to offer! If you spent any time with apply to a PC position yourself. By the end of our HAJET Vice President, Andrew Kaz, during the December we’ll begin accepting applicaFall Meeting, you might have been subjected to tions and nominations. Then, voting will take oodles of facts and trivia about the city. After place in January after the start of the school all, it was Andrew who suggested Muroran as semester. If you like what HAJET does and are the Fall Meeting location. At first I thought it interested in getting more involved, consider was so amusing how excited Andrew was to applying! If you have questions regarding any be in Muroran. But after spending the week- of the PC positions, elections season, or HAend in the city, I can now see why he loves it so JET in general, feel free to reach out to any of much and was eager to share it with the rest of the PC members and we’ll be more than happy the HAJET community. to answer your questions. At the HAJET General Meeting we were able That’s about all for now. Until next month to pass three HAJET Constitutional Amend- HAJET Gang~ ments. First, The HAJET PC’s “Public RelaHappy winter and keep warm everyone! tions Coordinator” position was changed into a “Social Media Coordinator” position, which we
Nivedh Sreejit, 1st-year Representative
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ey Gang! For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting just yet, I’m Nivedh and I’ve been recently elected as your 1st-Year Representative on the HAJET PC. I’m writing to you from my placement city of Monbetsu, which is famous for its drift ice, crab, and amongst other ALTs, the dreaded “Monbetsu smell”. For the next year, if you’re a greenhorn and need some questions answered, concerns alleviated, or seeking funding for a project or something of the sort, don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll connect you to the resources at HAJET to help you tackle those challenges! Since my arrival in Japan, I’ve heard the Japanese word “wa” (和) mentioned many times in conversations with fellow JETs about Japanese culture. A term that translates to “harmony”, It’ve been told that it de-
scribes an ideal of cultural unity that characterizes many aspects of Japanese life. It is an ideal that is embodied in Japan’s hierarchical power structures, social mannerisms and to some extent its attitude towards us as foreigners. I’ve been fascinated by how pervasive this idea is and how it influences my experience here in both positive and negative ways. This is one of the many elements in Japan that are unique and novel to me, a former resident of Canada. These societal differences required me to alter my perspective in order to get comfortable in my placement and navigate everyday situations at the board of education office and with the staff at my schools. At times these adjustments were uncomfortable and surprisingly difficult, and getting a handle on my new life has been a lesson in observation and building a network of resources around me. A significant part of that process has been establishing a sense of community with my international
colleagues here in Hokkaido through HAJET. Organizations like HAJET can be useful for teachers in our circumstance by providing much needed support, a sense of community, and a network of resources with which to navigate our ALT lives. For me, workshops that aid in winter preparedness and improved my competency as a new teacher and the fun-filled getaways of the welcome parties and recent Fall Meeting are all tangible benefits of my involvement with this organization and an escape from the routine nature of my schedule. They also provide a forum of discussion and support that be a welcome reprieve from a space of limited communication in your native language which can leave many thoughts and concerns unaddressed. Also, having an excuse to get out and mitigate the constant sense of skittishness and wanderlust that I experience here in Hokkaido is a welcome bonus as well. All of that be-
ing said, I realize that for some of us life in rural Japan can be an isolating and deflating experience. If this is how you feel, and you’re looking for opportunities to change that, I am here as a resource for you to reach out to and I will do my best to answer your questions, drink with you, help you plan, and/or connect you with others who will do the same. In the meantime, I hope you are all settling in for what is shaping up to be a dramatic first winter season here in Hokkaido. Monbetsu has been hit with more than a few typhoon-themed weather events that have claimed one of my umbrellas and have left the doors to my balcony shuddering in the middle of the night. I for one am excited by all the weather-drama, and am looking forward to our first permanent snowfall where senpai-ALTs tell me that Hokkaido takes on an equally beautiful and treacherous character.
Note from your First Year Rep! Nivedh Sreejit
Every month, Samantha Peterson explores a different aspect of Hokkaido-specific culture. This time she’s discussing our prefectural source of revelry: Sapporo Beer.
Samantha Delia Peterson, Polestar Editor was built in 1890 in Sapporo. Today, it’s the only beer museum in all of Japan, but f you’re like me and you’ve never been back when it was first built it was a sugar to the Sapporo Beer Museum, here’s a factory. In 1903 Sapporo Beer Comparundown for you: ny bought the building and made it their Sapporo Beer is the oldest brand of brewery. It remained as such until 1965. beer in Japan. It dates all the way back Now not only are there five different to June of 1876 (that’s the Meiji Period, Sapporo Beer breweries all over Japan, fyi), when it was first brewed by a man but you can also find them all over the named Seibei Nakagawa. He snuck out world. If you’ve had a Sapporo beer in of Japan, learned how to brew beer in Canada, it probably came from the SleeGermany, and brought that knowledge man brewery in Ontario. There’s a Sapback to Hokkaido, where he used it well. poro brewery in Wisconsin, too. There’s You can thank him for the Sapporo Beer even one in Vietnam, if you happen to be that you drink today. there and want a taste of Japan. In 1906, Sapporo Beer merged with And believe it or not, it goes even farits competitors in Osaka to form the ther. Did you know that Sapporo Brewery Dai-Nippon Beer Company, which moonce made beer...IN SPACE? That may nopolized the market until World War II. be overdramatizing it, but they did grow This split up in 1949 and led you to some the barley for a special brew on the Interof the famous brands you know, like Sapnational Space Station in 2006, and then poro and Asahi. The Yebisu brand of beer sold it through a lottery system. Space also ended up under Sapporo during this beer. It’s a thing. time, though they didn’t start producing it again until 1971. So whether you love the taste of bubbly piss water or hate it, you can’t deny Although today the company’s only that our own island’s beer is some of brewery in Hokkaido is in Eniwa, it’s the most famous and far-reaching in the called Sapporo Beer for a reason. Their world. Even if it’s not your favorite brand, original brewery was the Kaitaku-shi take a moment to reflect on that simple Brewery, which is where the Sapporo star logo the next time you’re in a conbini Factory stands now. You’ve certainly at and be grateful that you live in a place least heard of the Sapporo Beer Musethat is so serious about its alcohol. um, which is a red-brick building that
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Sapporo Beer Review This month I’m tackling the regular beers, and next month you’ll find my take on the Sapporo brewery’s happoshu products.Let’s just say that this month is where you’ll find the majority of the tastiest bevs. Grab a Furano Vintage as soon as you can! They’re legit delish and limited edition!
Edwin Arce II
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his one you all know and—maybe—love. It’s a staple of every Japanophile’s belly. The typical golden libation at the other end of a belted out, “Nama biiru’!” This beer does what a good, eminently drinkable beer should do. It provides, clear, uncomplicated flavor upfront that fades quickly with minimal aftertaste. It’s a beer for conversation and a beer for food. Nothing about it gets in the way. If I can pull anything from it of any interest, it would be the subtle sense of pine it leaves behind, like you took too deep a breath at a Christmas tree lot off the parkway.
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am… pleasantly surprised by this one. It doesn’t hold much back. Of all the Sapporo products I’ve tasted so far, this one is closest to a capital-G Good beer. If you’ve had a mid-range dark roast coffee beer—you’ve had this. Heavy on the roasting, but who can blame a major corp for taking a safe path—especially when they’re going this far out on a limb to deliver something as bold as the ever-evasive fling called Flavor? They pull back considerably on the aftertaste. As a matter of fact, of all the Sapporo bevs I’ve gone through, this one has the least linger of them all. It goes from coffee-roast on the front of your tongue to egg-cream at the back, and then down to nada at the end. I’m half inclined to commend them on their skillful concealment of almost any flavor post-swallow. A feat like that takes some skill, I’d wager.
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ight off the bat, I’m pretty happy with this one. It has this rather elusive quality of many Japanese big-brand beers: flavor. If the label can be trusted (and with English this good, why not?), it’s due to the beer being pasteurized. Which, like, I dunno if that’s a thing that helps or not. This one is fairly similar in taste to the “The 北海道” brew, the biggest difference being a little more maltiness, and an ever so slightly heavier body. It also manages to be less sweet and less bitter, leaning into more savory territory, which is always welcome, as far as I’m concerned. This is another great beer to enjoy with meals, and I’ll be making it my regular choice from now on.
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ost of you have had this, so you know what to expect. That said, to start, I’ll be upfront—Sapporo Classic is not my favorite beer in Japan. It hangs out near the bottom, to be honest. It’s generally as bland as any typical American pisswater, and what flavor it does have is confused and erratic. I can say this for it: It’s interesting. It’s rare that I have a food product change so dramatically as I’m consuming it. And it’s rarer still for that to be an accident. Usually, it’s the product of intense, deliberate thought by a skilled craftsman. Here, it just feels like chaos. There’s sweet that transmutes into sour, out into a brief fling with bitterness, and back to sour as the foam evanesces into disappointment on your tongue. Usually, I can deal with some simple, boring, mass-produced beer, but the muddled astringency of this particular brew, which lurks like a shadow in the fizz, makes this one almost impossible to enjoy.
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his is, so far, one of my favorites on offer from any of the major breweries. I’ve actually been snatching it up at the conbini regularly for a while before I got around to cracking it open for its turn swirling through my unrefined palate and booze-addled brain. For being my favorite, I’m actually finding it the most difficult to describe. Perhaps that’s what I like so much about this one. It’s simple, straightforward, and does what so many great things in life should— delight quietly and unobtrusively. It’s crisp off the bat, heavy on the malt, heavy on the wheat. A little sweet. A hoppy bitterness lurks in the distance like a phantom. These flavors—as the beer fills and flows from lips to tongue to throat—are unrestrained yet… I want to say “tidy”. I don’t quite know exactly what I mean by that, but it feels right, so let’s just roll with it. Yet, once you swallow, everything goes with it, like the rush of waves back into the sea after the crash at your feet. The sweetness that remains is like a memory of your favorite smile.
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eavier mouthfeel than your typical Sapporo or Sapporo Classic. Softer, too, as if it almost instantly foams as it pours into your mouth, giving it a sort of pleasant thickness by the time you swallow. It passes through three phases of flavor. At first, it’s sweet, then gently floral. They do a good job of bringing the hops to balance here and letting them speak for themselves. It ends on an airy bitter note that lingers like a sad thought at the tip of your tongue—or, in this case, the back. Overall, it’s pretty solid. A lot more flavor-forward than your typical Japanese, mass-produced beer, with enough heft and substance that, if it wasn’t a limited special, I’d almost certainly come back to again.
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rather underwhelming beer. Though, I’ll admit I’m biased. I have a hard time being impressed by “summer beers” in general, so my lack of enthusiasm could be the culprit here. It’s… fine. Light, simple, slightly sweet ending with a delicate citrus-bitterness along the edges of the palate. Frankly, it just kinda tastes like Sapporo Classic.
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magine my disappointment when I thought I was getting a full-bodied, winter brew, chock full of roasted… stuff, and instead got… regular Sapporo beer they made in a room with a fireplace? While I’ve had a lot of duds so far, this is by far the biggest outright disappointment. I expect a certain something with a winter beer, and this is just… golly, not it.
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o, this is nice. Simple, crisp, refreshing. It’s fairly sweet, but not in the typical-for-Sapporo malty way. Instead it’s more of a… vegetal sweetness? Like, you know if you ever have a really good, fresh cucumber, or a crispy, yellow bell pepper? That kinda sweetness. Delicate, but substantial. Almost no heavily lingering aftertaste, so I’d recommend this one with food. Nice one!
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’m as pleased as I reasonably could have expected to be with what amounts to a conbini-brand beer. This is probably the least hoppy Sapporo beer I’ve tasted, focusing as it does on the more savory side of things. It does have an interesting sour note though. Not the sort of sour that might suggest a beer gone bad, but more of a sweet-sour, like someone stirred it with a Trolli Brite Crawler. It’s safe, and fairly tasty. Not a bad grab, if only to try it once.