Happy Halowe’en

What’s Happening Pg 2

AJET Hallowe’en Party

By 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' Social Reps

Pg 3

Movie Review: X-MEN ORINGS Wolverine

By Shambhavi `I’ll Eat Your Mom Like a Jack-O-Lantern’ Kadam

Pg 4 – 6

Recipe: Bread Pudding with Butterscotch Bourbon sauce

By Laura ‘Bubble Bubble Boil ‘N’ Trouble’ Rowntree

Pg 6 - 7

Kyoto

By Jenson ‘Ghoulishis’ Deokiesingh

Pg 8

Culture Shock-ing!

By Kieran ‘It’ Murphy

Pg 9 - 11

The Great Cheesecake Bake Off 2009

By Van ‘Vampira’ Tran

Pg 11

AJET Pub Quiz Pg 12

Music Review: Shiina Ringo

By Haruko ‘The Banshee’ Castro

Pg 13

Hallowe’en Kanji Pg 13

Japan This Time Round

By Chris ‘DoctorAcula’ Noel

Pg 14

Book Review: after the quake

By Paula ‘The Gremlin’ Kerrigan

Pg 15

How to get a re-entry permit

By Raewyn ‘The Scariest Sheep’ McGregor

Pg 16

T he month of triv ia and trick- o r-treat is u p on u s . T his month’s issu e of T he Toyama T imes is p acked with rev iews, things to d o and triv ia . Not to be m issed is Sham bhavi’s hi lario u s Wo lverine mov ie rev iew. T his rev iew is so fu nny you m ight even go and see the mov ie ! P lu s it featu res a sem i- c lad H ugh Jackman! Also make su re to take a gander at o u r Hallowe’en Kanj i on p g 13. T here’s p lenty of information abou t a l l the u p c om ing AJET events, inc lu d ing the Kyoto Trip (p g 8). And if you ’ve been su ffering from cu ltu re sho ck/home- sickness o u r lo cal p sycho lo g ist, Kieran, throws some med ic ine at you in his artic le on p g 9.

T hanks go o u t to the writers that made this ed ition of the times p ossib le. If yo u wou ld l ike to c ontrib u te to the Toy ama T imes p lease emai l 　ajet.newsletter@gmai l .c om as so on as p ossib le. Remem ber the dead l ine fo r su bm ission is Frid ay 23 rd O ctober.

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 1

AJET Halloween

Party!

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 2

KYOTO

AJET KYOTO TRI P

MonMon TuesTues WedsWeds ThursThurs FriFri SatSat SunSun

28 29 30 1 2Happy

Birtday Paula

3

AJET PUB QUIZ

Book Club

4

Japanese Paper Magic

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12Sports &

Health Day

13 14Happy

Birtday David Myers

15 16 17

Melting Pot Luck Dinner

18

Happy Birtday Nicole M.

Toyama Marathon

19 20 21 22

Happy Birtday

Sam

23 24

Happy Birtday

Torry

25

26 27Happy

Birtday Megan

28 29 30

Happy Birtday Tifany

31 1

AJET Hallowe’en Party

Well we’re here to offer you a real Halloween. A real awesome Halloween.

4,000 yen for all you can drink and

a party beyond your imagination.

Every year we rent out and fill up Banana’s in Uozu (check out

the interactive map on toyamajets.net – or just follow any weirdo from Uozu station) with some of the most ridiculous, sexy, and scary costumes you can imagine. We'll even be

holding a costume competition for the Hottest, Funniest,

and Most Frightening Costumes.

Most Japanese Halloweens have very little fright or excitement in them. Most people celebrate by coming home late, long after they had to be at work, watching some TV and then hitting the sack with only the faint recollection of some weird pumpkin shaped candies at the conbini that day.

Spoooo~ky!

If there is one party you want to go to before the year is out, this is THE party. So start getting your costumes together now and head out to

Uozu on October 24th (8 pm–2 am) for the 13th annual Banana’s Halloween party. SPOOOOKY!

For more details contact the Social Reps at socialreps@gmail.com or check out the Facebook group.

See you there MWAH HA HA HA!

The owner of Banana's loves this party and goes all out for us. You’ll be able to see this on TV, hear it on the radio, and check out the signs all over Uozu advertising how rock-tastic this will be. This isn’t a JET exclusive party so there’ll be plenty of local Japanese people there too.

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 3

There are two things missing from this movie: Hugh Jackman’s shirt, and the plot. The former I can get behind. The latter…well, let’s save tha t discussion for later.

5 MINUTE RECAP (SPOILERS)

Two boys are hanging out in an old colonial bedroom; one is taking nail decoration to an ugly extreme, while the other lies sick in bed, smelling of irony. There is a commotion downstairs, and Nailboy’s dad kills Sickboy’s dad, which really pisses Sickboy off. He starts growing crazy bone-daggers out of his hands (gee, I wonder who he could be) and stabs the guy who killed his father with them. With his dying breath, the man gives Sickboy a message.

Nailboy’s Dying Dad: Your mom is a whore. I am your father.

Oh snap! Queue awesome montage where we track the 200-year violent history of these newly announced brothers as they grow up to be Liev Schreiber (Nailboy/ Sabertooth) and Hugh Jackman (Sickboy/the artist soon

For showtimes, go here:　 http://hlo.tohotheater.jp/net/schedule/054/TNPI2000J01.do

to be known as Wolverine). Queue awesome figh t

sequence when they eventually join up waith a team of mutants lead by William Stryker (see left) where each mutant gets to show off his badass-ness in a solo fight.

Fast Forward 6 years. Hugh has taken to flannel and has shacked up with Hot Chick (who has had an unfortunately obvious nose job). He’s happy with Hot Chick, because she reads

X -M E N O R IG IN S : R E V IE WBy Shambhavi Kadam

Stryker (X-MEN Origins: Wolverine) Stryker (X2)

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 4

***I wish I could write an in depth analysis, but quite frankly, there was very little content to analyze. This movie is two-hours of fangasm. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy your Wolverine viewing experience. Once I resigned myself to what it was, I did. The producers tried to cram every character they could into this 2 hour movie. This equals about 10 minutes of screen time per character. I’m not even kidding.

Simple formula, really: Character says his name, gets to show off his fighting skills, then gets killed or leaves. The silver lining is that they make some of the fan favorites look pretty freakin’ cool. I was skeptical at first, but Ryan Reynolds does an excellent job of turning Deadpool into one of the most interesting mutants in the film. I am most definitely looking forward to the Deadpool movie currently in the pipes.

You never really feel too much sympathy for Agent Zero, but at least the boy can fight. He’s a precision shooter and also provides some excellent action entertainment. Even a couple of the cameo mutant kids hold their own—Emma Frost shows off her diamond shield, and Cyclops clearly emerges as someone who can lead.

The best character has to be Gambit, who turns playing cards into mini-bombs by charging them with kinetic energy, is one of the most popular characters in the X-Men universe, and the demand to see him has been great. Just two

evil lair which is also a nuclear reactor. At the nuc-lair we learn two things:1. Stryker has been kidnapping mutant kids (like Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Gambit) to create a super-mutant hybrid. 2. Hot Chick from before? Not really dead, (SURPRISE!) and has turned evil Sabertooth tries to kill Hot Chick (for real, this time), so Wolverine starts to dice shiz up. After a battle scene in which Wolvie’s shirt magically disappears, the super-mutant hybrid (played by Ryan Renolds) is released. As it turns out, Reynolds is significantly less hot with no mouth.

From here it’s a slippery slope downhill eventually leading us to the explanation of how Wolvie lost his memory. Cue nuclear reactor cave in…

Hugh: I have also forgotten why I agreed to make this movie

THE END (+ the post-credits stinger for

the Deadpool movie)

Him bedtimestories:

Hot Chick (above) then gets off-ed by SaberLiev, so Logan has his skeleton coated with indestructible Adamantium in an experiment by Skyler. He also gives himself a new name: Wolverine. Wolvie wakes up from the op, breaks some shit, then escapes from evil Stryker. Oh yeah…and he’s naked. Wolvie sets off to find some dude named Gambit, who smells like man candy. Gambit takes Wolvie to Skyler’s

Hot Chick: There was a dude, and the moon, and they were dating, and then some buttmunch came and tricked them, and now they have to be apart forever. Oh P.S., the dude’s name meant Wolverine.Logan: You smell like foreshadowing!

evil

Wol

verin

e an

d G

ambi

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ffTOYAMA TIMES

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 5

audience “trust us, they are deeply in love” without allowing us to see why exactly that is the case. Silverfox (a.k.a. Hot Chick) wasn’t given the depth her character needed. The brotherly antagonism between Sabertooth and Wolverine also remained flat through most of the movie. We never fully understand how strong their ties to each other were in the first place, so their falling out and final confrontation/reunion has little impact.

Suffice it to say, Wolverine isn’t the best movie in the world, nor is it even the best of the X-Men movies, but it is still entertaining. So turn off your brain, sit back, and enjoy a few hours of big explosions.That’s what she said.

***

minutes after he appears, he smashes Wolverine through a casino wall with a stream of explosive cards. Who wouldn’t love a guy who can do that? Taylor Kitsch plays the Ragin’ Cajun as less Cajun and more Southern, but it works with his take on the character. He does not get as much screen time as I would have liked, but he he certainly makes the most ofwhat little he has. Between his deck of cards and pimped out Bo staff, his fight sequences are the most visually dynamic of the movie. He eventually gets clobbered by Wolverine, but that leads to them working together, which is even more win. Brief as it was, I really enjoyed their banter. Unfortunately, it is probably this grouping of really interesting characters that did the movie in. In order to showcase

each one’s individual skill, they had to sacrifice a lot of character development. While we get a good idea about how these characters fight, we never really understand what drives any of them. In order to give all of them a bit of attention, none of them are really allowed to shine. This is coupled with the fact that the plot is so simple, it almost seems like the Family Guy manatee’s might have come up with it: Boy loses girls. Boy destroys nuclear reactor.

Furthermore, the emotional flow of the movie hinges on the audience being as indignant as Wolverine when his girlfriend is “killed.” That may have been a good idea had we actually been able to see any development in their relationship. We are, however, given nothing. The writers essentially tell the

TOYAMA TIMES

Bread Pudding wit Buterscotch Bourbon SauceBy Laura Rowntree

I made this with my English club (minus the bourbon of course) and they loved it. Being from Kentucky, I recommend you use actual bourbon whiskey (Maker's Mark, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, etc). You can use any kind of whiskey, really--just don't tell me.

Pudding:

bread (old is best-I used 1 1/2 bags of the cheap sliced bread this time, but I've used baguette, sourdough, and soda bread in the past)1 1/2 cups raisins (if you hate raisins, apples & pecans are really yummy too)4 large eggs500 mL milk2 Tbsp dark brown sugar2 tsp cinnamon1 tsp nutmeg1 tsp vanilla extract1 stick butter, melted

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 6

Sauce:4 Tbsp butter

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed tightly3/4 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup bourbon

Metod

1. Tear the bread (think 500 yen coin sized) into a bowl.2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, & nutmeg.

Metod

1. You have the perfect amount of time to make your sauce and let it set while your bread pudding is cooking. This isn't difficult at all, I promise, but just make sure you have all your ingredients measured and your utensils ready to go before you start cooking anything because you'll need to move kind of quickly at some points. Remember, while you're screwing

around in the drawers and cabinets, science is happening in your pan!2. Over medium low heat in a heavy pan, melt your butter. You don't want it to start cooking (bubbling & turning brown), so you can move on to the next step when there's just a tiny bit of solid butter left.3. Add the sugar. Stir now and then with a wooden spoon (this stuff gets mad hot, so no plastic). Make sure you're mixing well and getting into the corner. You're ready for the next step when the texture is smooth, liquid & a bit bubbly (4 or 5 minutes).4. Add the cream and turn the heat down to low. Us a whisk to mix the cream in.5. Add the bourbon. Keep whisking now and then for about 10 minutes. 6. Remove from heat. The sauce will thicken up as it cools. If it gets too thick, you can fix that by heating it up again. This stuff is awesome on ice cream, too.

A really nice way to serve this is to tightly pack a cup or small bowl with bread pudding. Put a small plate upside-down on top of the cup, flip everything over, and remove the cup. Then drizzle the sauce all over the plate. Look how fancy you are

******************************************************************************************************

the pan around so all the sides are coated. Add the bread mixture. Pour the rest of the butter over the top.5. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 180 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more, or until the top is brown.

3. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and mix well until all the bread is saturated. Mix in the raisins. My mom always lets this sit for awhile, but I want pudding now, so I skip that step.4. Pour half the butter into your baking pan. Tilt

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 7

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 1

TOYAMA TIMES

When? 9th - 12th OctoberHow? We will hire cars to make things super-cheap. I want YOU to be a driver so contact Maddy to discuss a driver’s discount!Where? We’ll stay at one of the best hostels in the world: K’s HouseHow much? AJET members: 18 000円Non-AJET: 19 000 円Want more details? Check out the Facebook event or email Maddy.Want to come? Great! email excursionsrep@gmail.com**Remember: there are a limited amount of places so book soon!

by everything. Walking through Kyoto is like stepping back to a more peaceful, romantic period in time. You instantly become lost in a fusion of colour and world wind of elegance.

On my first day, and now forever etched in my mind, against the backdrop of a spectacular blue sky and well manicured trees, lay the Golden Shrine.

My jaw dropped and all I could muster up was an inarticulate "Wow!"

As we continued our discovery of Kyoto, we came to the Kompon Chu-do shrine. It was a humble shrine with varying shades of green moss creeping from an intricately built roof that was supported by faded red columns.

Before I entered, I lit an incense, placed my hands together, closed my eyes and then I made two simple wishes. When I was finished, I bowed my head, took off my shoes and proceeded into the temple.

As I walked on, not much further, I saw scores of people, sitting on the ground listening to a Buddhist

“Kyoto is unequivocally the most beautiful place I have

ever seen.”

monk. I too stopped and listened.

I had not the faintest idea what he was saying because he spoke in a foreign tongue but he spoke with such humility and conviction I could not help but be moved.

The next day, I walked to the Fushimi Inari shrine made famous by the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha.” There stood a million vibrant red wooden pillars that seem to rise to the heavens.

I climbed this seemingly never ending staircase of red for what seemed like an eternity and at the end, what awaited me was simply stunning. It was the most glorious sunset ever, a palette of vibrant oranges, rich blues, golden yellows and intense purples.

It was time to go home. My heart sank. The end was inevitable but my only comfort was that I knew I would someday return. ”

Last year, Jenson was so moved by the AJET trip that he wrote this beautiful article. Thanks to Jenson for sharing it with the Toyama Times readers:

“I am tempted to say that there is a certain je ne sais quoi about Kyoto but quite frankly there isn't.

It is utterly charming, it oozes subtle sophistication, there is a gracefulness to the city belonging only to a Julliard ballerina but most of all, there is regal beauty that draws you in, to the point of being completely immersed,

almost hypnotized,

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 8

AJET Kyoto Trip

TOYAMA TIMES

I’m guessing that you have heard lots about culture shock. Well, I like flogging a dead horse, as my father would say, so I’ve decided to bang on about it. I am hoping though that this might be a bit different.

The Rumor MillI would like to begin by dispelling the rumor that culture shock does not exist. Those that say culture shock does not exist fall into one of three categories –

1) those that don’t understand it – and I don’t mean they think culture shock is where you faint at the sight of a fully fledged tea ceremony. Rather, they are expecting more of an obvious shock to hit them. Thus when it creeps up on them they don’t see it.

2) Those that misread the signs – ‘no, this isn’t culture shock, I’m just tired; it’s too far into my stay; I’m jus t frustrated with a few things going on…’ Or

3) The group who suffered from it, but think that it is not butch to admit it. It does exist, and you will, without doubt, suffer from it. – now some facts

Just the FactsCulture shock is different for everyone, it hits you at different times, it looks (sorta) different and its duration differs. There are however a few things that are consistent.

Fact Number 1: the cycle

Most people have a honeymoon period when they first arrive - oh wow isn’t everything so cute, I thought it was really cute how the students asked if I had a girlfriend. This can last a few days or a couple of months. As things settle however the differences begin to become less than cute – the students are cute, but they do seem to ask the same question a lot, e.g. do I have a girlfriend – and you begin to relies that this is your lot in life for the next year at least. At some point you will hit a low – Why the f*** won’t they shut up with their questions. It’s like a broken record with them asking every five minutes if I have a girlfriend, if one more kid asks I swear I will ram my fist so far down their throat I will be able to pull their socks up from the inside - you are now in fully fledged culture shock; some of the symptoms may be – anxiety, affected appetite (up or down), affected sleep (up or down), increased feelings of and desire for isolation, you find little things annoying, your Japanese goes backwards, you want to avoid locals and those ALTs who don’t hate it as much as you and anxiety attacks whenever a local tries to talk to you/ give you something.

Honeymoon

differences becomemore apparent

low point – homesickness, frustration with everything in Japan etc – this is culture shock

develop strategies for coping

cycle starts again

arrivalacceptance of Japan

Culture Shock-ing!By Kieran Murphy

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 9

TOYAMA TIMESFact Number 2:Culture shock does no t happen just once, it continues to happen – future episodes of it will not be as bad, but may hit you more suddenly. This is really important to know. Most people think that it happens once and then that is it. If you are here for 6 months that might be so, but if you for stay for 12 months it will happen at least twice for sure, probably more. It does not matter how long you live here, culture shock will continue to affect you. I am in my third year I am having a culture shock moment right now, but more of that latter.

Fact Number 3:Culture shock can be brought on by many things, an - like depression and anxiety (which are related to it) - if you have one symptom, e.g. always tired or isolated, you are more likely to be affected by it. For example, during winter you are more likely to suffer from it due to the increased isolation, decrease in incidental exercise and the cold which might affect your sleep. Thus be aware of the environment and take action against it.

Fact Number 4:This is the really important one – you, and you alone, can have an impact on how long the culture shock lasts, and there are some really easy steps to take in fighting it.Recognise it. If you don’t you

will not know what you are fighting. For example, if you are lethargic from culture shock and you think you are just run down you will take more time out, more time to sleep etc. This will increase your isolation and sleep and probably have an adverse affect. As the saying goes ‘know thy enemy, and call it by it’s rightful name – Kieran, no, wait – Culture Shock’

Do what you don’t want to do – this is particularly so for three things: isolation; avoiding those genkie ALTs; and exercise. It is important to avoid isolation as much as possible. Go out and sit in the sun, watch the rice grow, the snow fall or the kids going to school on Sunday and enjoy it. Also meet up with your fellow travelers. They know what you are experiencing and will be very supportive. And exercise; the best thing you can do by far is exercise regularly – you feel better, you will not be isolated and the body will use the chemicals that you produce for good, not evil. In winter try swimming or skiing, or at least sit in an onsen and get the blood flowing. If you do one of these things for a little while you will be amazed how much better you feel.Other things to do include - a regular schedule, set a time to wake up and do it, even on

the weekend; eat healthy; keep in touch with you family. Write down why you came to Japan and stick it on your fridge to remind you. Write down what you are frustrated with (getting it out of your head is a very powerful tool and minimizes it’s impact on you). Don’t drink too much, avoid coffee, find an interest – even if it is surfing Amazon Japan for English books to read.And talk to someone if you want to: Tiffany, your happy, though not super-genkie, (which is a good thing) PA. The peer support group – 365 nights a year run by JETs for JETs 050-5534-5566. Or other ALTs like me. Post script – I said earlier that today I am suffering some culture shock. Well, in about 20 minutes I will head to a van where I will be poked and prodded, weighed and measured, my urine will be drunk (I think) and x-rays will be slammed into my chest. Why? Because this is Japan, and this is what we do in Japan. They will then tell me I am fat (wow, no kidding), but apart form that healthy (wow, no kidding) and then everyone will be happy. Oh, and if I hear one more Japanese person say ‘Metaboliku sinudoromu’ to me I swear I will scream and make them eat my entire weight watchers book collection. (Continued over the page…)

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 10

TOYAMA TIMES

My first culture shock experienceI rely on my language (written and oral) for my job and interests, it is a strong part of

what defines me. I am also a self-control freak. Thus seven years ago when I first came to Japan with Lisa it hit me pretty hard. Within a few days I was stir crazy. So I fought back, I found a second hand book store specializing in English books. I was determined to take Lisa there and buy up big. I refused all help from her and mapped out the route. It took about 5 hours, with 4 trains, 1 bus, an elephant, and a flying machine to get and there. It was down some alley and up four flights of stairs, but I found it. Went to go in and …. The door was locked. I pushed, I pulled, I banged and rattled, but it had no effect. I turned to Lisa and said ‘not sure what’s wrong?’ ‘It’s closed on Tuesdays.’ was her reply. That was the final straw, I waved my hand at all the signs and yelled ‘And what bit of this stupid Kanji stuff told that, prey, tell me.’ In a quiet voice Lisa said – ‘The bit in English in the middle of the door saying ‘Closed Tuesdays’’’. I then cried. Lisa could see I had had enough and asked if I wanted her to get us home. I said yes. She then asked if she minded if we went a different way to the way we came. I said go for it. We didn’t catch a bus, four trains, a large animal and a flying machine, no, we took a subway two stops and that was it. When Lisa showed me on a map where we had been I cried some more, embraced being out of control for a while, and felt much better.

The Cheesecake Bakeoff - an event full of cakes, cheese, and gluttony, took place on September 25th at Will’s Cave of Love in Fukumitsu. There were about 30 gluttons total that showed up to judge the 7 cakes and gluttonize over other food. Every single cake was different, ranging from a classic cheesecake made in a rice cooker to a savory, blue cheese cheesecake that was to be eaten with bread; otherwise, you get a blue cheese kick in the face.

Competition was stiff! The winners were – in order of 1-3rd place: Vannie’s Rum Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake won 100,000,000 yen toilet paper to make her feel important while she does her thing; Will’s classic but

The Great Cheesecake Bakeoff 2009By Van Tran

unconventionally made Cheesecake In A Rice Cooker took home a Japanese OMG cup; and Siobhan’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake allowed her to gorge out on delicious Japanese mixed-flavor, giant-sized Cheetos thing. Here are the other contestants and their cheesecakes:Michelle Runk – Chocolate Chips and Cinnamon Cheesecake with Oreo crust… mmmm mmmm good!!!Nicki Baman – Key LEMON Cheesecake – a tangy slap, literally. It survived the two hour train ride!Disco Laura – “The Cheesecake That Was Not” - Rosemary Blue Cheesecake with layers of pear and a walnut crust. It was a savory cheesecake best eaten when hot. Deb - No-bake Orange And Cointreau Cheesecake with cookies and digestive crust in a Tupperware! Almost pudding-like (Japanese cream cheese – wot!!), and oh so light you can feel yourself floating on its yumminess!

PS. I swear the contest wasn’t rigged!

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 11

TOYAMA TIMES

If you’re planning on attending, please send an email to Brett at socialreps@gmail.com with your name and your teammates’ names so that we can get things set up nice and quick come quiz time.

We are shooting for 5-person teams, but it’s cool if you’re plus or minus a person. Note that we may ask some teams to take on an extra member if we’ve got team-less participants on game day. Don’t have a team to roll with? No worries! Feel free to come as an individual, and we’ll place you in a team. Make sure to arrive a little early!

What the hell is a pub quiz, you ask. You might know it as a table quiz or trivia night. Traditionally teams get together (in our case 4 or 5 people) and answer trivia questions…and OH YES, there will be a prize: The winning team will take home half of the entry fee jackpot!Come be a part of the hottest tavern trivia event in Toyama!

Here’s a question to Here’s a question to get the juices get the juices

flowing:flowing: Q. Name either of the only two people to have won both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize?(see page 17 for the answer)

WH EN: Saturday October 3rd 7:00- 9:00pm(Arrive early)

WH ERE: Peyote’s Mexican Restaurant in Uozu. ENTRY FEE: \500 (food and drink not included)

TEAMS: 5 people

If you’ve If you’ve got any got any questions, questions, just email just email socialreps@socialreps@gmail.com gmail.com G ood luck G ood luck

to a ll the to a ll the partic ipantspartic ipants

Volume 2 Edition 4 October 2009 Page 12

TOYAMA TIMES

In the summer of 2000, Shiina Ringo’s　 (椎名林檎 ) screeching, whiny voice was blasting in every Tsutaya and featured on every music/variety/countdown show. And I found it highly comforting. The soundtrack to my summers in Japan was too often composed of Johnny’s boy bands or the squeals of super-cute girls against techno beats. Shiina Ringo changed all that for me. What

an upbeat, extra-creepy version of Deerhoof, some of it was actually quite good. She then produced a double album of oldies covers (Japanese andEnglish), then started making jazz music.

So that’s where she is now. Her latest album, 三文ゴシップ (Sanmon Gossip) was released last June. I’m not going to lie: my initial reaction within the first 10 seconds was disappointment. But then the familiar whiny voice kicks in, albeit along with catchy piano chords that border on cheesy. But it’s still Shiina’s voice, and it’s been the voice that’s given me hope in Japanese popular music for the past 9 years. Sanmon Gossip does sound better each time I listen to it (I’m on round #3 right now), and I have faith it will grown on me, just as most of what she’s produced ultimately does.

*****

Japanese rock I could get my hands on rarely, if ever, featured female vocals. Shiina Ringo was a godsend at a time when I could have easily been resigned to the idea that pop divas like Amuro Namie and talentless twits like モーニング娘 (yea, I said it!) were the only roles for women in Japanese music.

My soundtrack to that summer consisted almost entirely of Shiina’s first two albums, 無罪モラトリアム (Muzai Moratoriamu) and 勝訴ストリップ (Shousou Sutorippu). While you can hear both anger and desperation in songs like 罪と罰 (Tsumi to Batsu) and 幸福論 (Koufukuron), even her love songs (e.g. ここでキスして [koko de kisu shite], ギブス [gibusu] are fierce, yet sad in how raw they are.

Then Shiina went experimental.

That’s not to say that it was bad. Although some of her stuff at some point started to sound like

鬼 (10) - おに - Demon

案山子 (1６ ) – かかし - Scarecrow

墓場　 (２５ ) – はかば – Graveyard

怪物　 (１６ ) – かいぶつ – Monster

蝙蝠　 (３０ ) – こうもり – Ｂａｔ

南瓜　 (１４ ) – かぼちゃ– Ｐｕｍｐｋｉｎ 骸骨 (26)-がいこつ Skeleton

吸血鬼　 (２２ ) – きゅうけつき– Ｖａｍｐｉｒｅ

魔女　 (２４ ) –　まじょ　– Witch

Halloween Kanji10 Hallowe’en Kanji you might see or hear yelled out in class during Hallowe’en.

蜘蛛　 (２６ ) – くも – Spider

Shiina Ringo: Icon Who Can Do No WrongBy Haruko Castro

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Japan before, I felt prepared from the get go. Not surprisingly, I arrived in Tokyo for the JET Orientation jet lagged/delirious, and wondering how I was going to make it through those three jam-packed days. I mean, come on, I just sat through a 12-hour flight, with sweaty palms and nervous chuckles as we flew through turbulent air pockets, only to arrive at Narita and find out that Air Canada FORGOT one of my bags in Vancouver! I mean, seriously, how do you FORGET someone’s bag? After using my very rusty Japanese only to see blank stares, I ran through customs to find a Japanese JET volunteer to help me clarify what had actually happened and what was being done about it. I packed my life into two suitcases and only one made it to Japan. Not a great start this time ‘round. Long story short: the bag arrived in Toyama before I did.

So orientation was a whirlwind, but I made it through,

despite having a cold and receiving many nervous glances from swine-flu-phobic JETS and Japanese alike. After Tokyo and a short flight, I arrived in Uozu City. A small and beautiful city located on Toyama Bay. It’s quaint and simple. The days are relaxed and the evenings are peaceful. I love it! My life in Uozu is dramatically different from that in Nagoya. I have a super traditional (it actually has a squat toilet! Which we’ve fitted with an adapter), cheap, and spacious 3-room apartment that I share with my lovely girlfriend! What a change! We keep each other going, but could easily have fallen into the whole ‘Let’s just stay inside and watch a movie’ phase had it not been for the JET community reaching in and plucking us from familiarity.

I am amazed with the JET Programme volunteer’s ambitious event planning and people gathering. Never before have I felt so involved and necessary in any place. Take a moment and think about the amount of work these JETs are doing for all of us with their currently full workload of teaching classes and living their own lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you. So, Japan the second time around is different in many ways, but although the landscape has changed and my day-to-day life is different, there is one constant in all my time here : Good people, and Toyama is full of ‘em

Japan This Time 'RoundBy Chris Noel

Like many of you, I have had the pleasure of living and working in this quirky and wondrous country before. Having lived in Nagoya city for one year I thought I had experienced Japan for all it is. I lived in a small one-room (bachelor) apartment in the heart of a bustling city of millions. These apartments can feel cramped, but we must always make the best out of what we are given, no matter what it is. Making meals was a constant struggle since using the one electric burner I had AND the microwave OR toaster oven (or A/C for that matter) meant my breaker would pop and I’d be left in the dark. Homesickness and culture shock made me want to stay in my apartment and sleep or chat with my friends back home. Luckily, I was somewhat forced by some friendly strangers, who are now my best friends, to come out and enjoy life in Japan. They are the reason I am back here for another kick at the can. They showed me that life is exactly what you make of it.

So, having experienced

Chris may have lost a bag in the flight over, but there is one thing that he didn’t lose: his enthusiasm. Chris has an energy and an excitement about Japan that hopefully will rub off on anyone feeling tainted or ‘so over it’. Read on to rediscover why you came to Japan in the first place…

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dazzled. I love Murakami (lets face it, he’s always on the side of the egg!) but I was worried about jumping from the island of the novel (I've just finished ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’) onto the often too cramped pebble of the short story. In university I majored in the short story form, so I was feeling excited to see what Murakami could do with this under-rated genre.

The main connection between all of the stories is the 1995 Kobe earthquake. More than 4000 people lost their lives in the quake and it caused over $100 billion in damage to Kobe and the surrounding area. No sense of

Book Review: ‘after the quake’…they all lived happily ever after!

By Paula Kerrigan

There is one thing I worry about modern culture and that is the illusion of ‘The Emperor's New Clothing’...you know, the way everyone goes on about how beautifully made the material is, and how they can't put their finger on the reason they enjoy it so much, but it turns out the emperor is naked and the artisan has duped his audience. I think this is something that we have to be very wary of in this modern popularist/ commercially driven society. This is the reason I can not bring myself to enjoy Sofia Ford Coppola's ‘Lost in Translation’, and similarly the main impression I got from after the quake (Murakami specified the English Translation's lower case title).

This collection of 6 short stories left me less than

this tragedy touched me through these stories. Although this natural disaster clearly affected Murakami deeply (he moved back to Japan after the quake) perhaps the short story format was not the ideal airing for these feelings.

When I turned to critics and reviews about after the quake, I was met with a wave

I think this is a classic example of people being afraid to criticise The Institution That Is Murakami and say that these stories are slightly lacking – in substance, attachment, and innovation. One reviewer said that she ‘…stayed up past midnight with this page turner...‘, I was literally afraid to turn the page in case the story that I was becoming involved ended suddenly and vacantly - as if there was a word limit cut-off (this happened twice!). As I reached the last story, ’Honey Pie’, I started to regret my earlier prayers and wished for quick relief, but alas, the unbearably cliché ending dragged on to its utterly obvious conclusion.

I finally found this review by Stephen R. Laniel which perfectly summarised my impression (see next page):

of comments like:

‘‘I can't tell I can't tell you why you why

it's brilliant, but it it's brilliant, but it is.'is.'

and

'taking surrealism 'taking surrealism above and beyond.'above and beyond.'

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TOYAMA TIMES(after the quake review continued…)Shorter: Murakami’s protagonists’ character outiline from each story: I was living a rather dull, barren life. Buried deeply within my past was a hatred for someone -- my parents, myself, my ex-husband. I was going about my day, minding my business, when I heard that the Kobe earthquake had killed thousands of people. Deep in my heart, I wished that the person I despised was dead. But it was something inside of me that was dying. And I knew that the blackness that lay within me was somehow -- mysteriously, metaphysically -- tied to the destruction of the homeland. Had I been a better person, those thousands would still be alive. I still wish, despite all that, that my ex-husband/parents/etc. were dead. Shorter: Murakami's Agenda:

I don't actually know what the blackness within them is. In most cases I don't know what happened in their past that has made them such shells of humans. I figured I'll just throw it out there, leave it as a McGuffin, and go have a sandwich. Easier to leave things unspoken. I can smoke a cigarette and gaze, squint-eyed and silent, into the distance; people will think me profound and I will get laid.

People already know that I am, in some sense, postmodern, but I figure I‘ll just smack you across the face with it: I’ll end after the quake with a short story about a short-story writer (do you get it? The short-story writer is me!) who writes morose stories. The writer in that story then decides that he will a) overcome the timidity in his heart and b) start writing more joyous stories - just like me, the short-story writer! Coming at the end of a book of morose stories, you have to admit that I was pretty clever to have thought of this. Shorter: Potential Reader Advice for ‘after the quake’: Skip it.

- Review By Stephen R. Laniel

Celebrate the Manyo Festival in Kojo KoenBy Jon Perry

Takaoka cityKojo Koen (see toyamajets.net interactive map)October 2 – 4

At the Manyo Festival the citizens of Takaoka (including some of our own ALTs) read out the entirety of the Manyoshu, an 8th century anthology of poetry that was composed in this region.

This colossal undertaking lasts the better part of three days, with up to 2000 people wearing period garb reading one or two poems each on a floating stage in the Kojo Park moat. Expect the usual festival stalls and activities, combined with a dash of high culture and silly costumes!

Thanks to all the Takaoka Junior High School ALTs who came along on Friday night to do their part in reading.

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round’ at the top of your voice.7. Get off the bus at the airport and proceed to the information desk where you ask where the immigration office is. Then go to Floor 3. 8. Get lost. Ask another gaijin where it is, then realise they don’t speak English. Proceed to look around the whole airport.9. Find the office at 3:30, fill in the form. Then get lost finding the kiosk for the stamp.10. Find the kiosk for the stamp and arrive back at the immigration office at 16:02pm after it has closed.11. Leave passport at the immigration office and repeat steps 1-9 the following day.12. Pick up your passport then realise you applied for the wrong thing and your passport now has a tourist visa in it. 13. Cry for a week about your complete inability to understand your own language (the forms are in English!!!!) having only been here for a month.14. Go to work and bow many , many times to your supervisor and explain that you have to go home in a month.15. GTFO home after 30 days because you are no longer eligible to work in Japan!

But honestly, why go to allthat fuss when you couldjust…

a) Take the first daikyuu day you have and get up at normal work time.

b) Take the bus from Toyama Station to Toyama Inter-national Airport.

c) Find the Immigration Office on the FIRST floor.

d) Fill in the form that says RE-ENTRY PERMIT on it.

e) Hand it to the Immigration Officer behind the desk along with your passport.

f) Take the receipt thing they give you and 6000yen to the kiosk on the SECOND floor and pay your money.

g) Take the stamp the kiosk person gives you back to the Immigration Office and pick up your passport complete with re-entry permit.

h) Take the bus back to Toyama and go to Seattle’s Best or just go home.

How to get a re-entry permitBy Raewyn McGregor

1. Walk out of work at 12:30pm on a day of your choice.2. Take the train to Toyama Station.3. Take a phone call from your supervisor on the train at the top of your voice and explain that you weren’t aware that your re-entry permit was not work-related business.4. Wait for the bus to Toyama Airport at platform 1 and get the bus to somewhere else.5. Realise you got on the wrong bus and walk back to Toyama Station.6. Wait at the correct platform where you then get on the bus to Toyama Airport and sing ‘the wheels on the bus go round and

Toyama AJET Quick Contacts

President: toyama.ajet@gmail.comTreasurer: hsolomon112@yahoo.caExcursions: excursionsrep@gmail.comSocial: socialreps@gmail.comCharity: toyama.for.charity@gmail.comPublications: ajet.newsletter@gmail.com

Toyama Times StaffEditors:

Paula Kerrigan & Jonathan PerryStaff Writers:

Michael GrudzinskiAlly Lomas

Jon PerryKieran Murphy

Shambhavi Kadam

When you leave the country When you leave the country you NEED a re-entry permit you NEED a re-entry permit to go with your residence to go with your residence visa. A multiple re-entry visa. A multiple re-entry permit costs 6000yen. The permit costs 6000yen. The Toyama Immigration Office is Toyama Immigration Office is located at Toyama Inter-located at Toyama Inter-national Airport and is only national Airport and is only open during school hours, so open during school hours, so plan ahead. Here’s how to plan ahead. Here’s how to get one. [Even if you don’t get one. [Even if you don’t PLAN on leaving the country, PLAN on leaving the country, there have been many JETs there have been many JETs who have had to go home at who have had to go home at short notice. Don’t ignore short notice. Don’t ignore it !]it !]

PG 12 PUB QUIZ PG 12 PUB QUIZ ANSWER: ANSWER:

AL GORE or GEORGE AL GORE or GEORGE BERNARD SHAWBERNARD SHAW

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