Today Andrew was hosting a going away party for himself at the apartment, so Mr. Hayashi arranged to keep me out of trouble. I started out by getting a ride to the train station from Andrew. The train station was a little intimidating, since everything was written in kanji, and I really couldn’t read much. Andrew explained carefully the steps I was to take to successfully make it – I really was going only one stop down the line. After almost making a wrong turn, I figured it out, and was on the right train to Takasago.

At Takasago station, I was met by Miss Kageyama, and we walked together to Mr. Hayashi’s car. We drove to a teacher’s office where the summer session was being held. The summer session is a three day workshop for 1st year high school students to brush up and keep in shape during summer break. Mr. Hayashi went upstairs to talk to some students, and I stayed downstairs with Miss Kageyama to help her with her English. We worked a bit on conversation, and then I checked some work that she had done transcribing a radio broadcast in English. After about half an hour, Mr. Hayashi came downstairs and took me up to meet the students.

Generally the students were curious, and there was a lot of murmuring – I stood in front of about 100 students and introduced myself in English. The teacher then quizzed them on what I had said, and I did lots of smiling and a little bit of bowing. Mr. Hayashi drew a quick map of the United States, and then made marks at Seattle, San Diego, New York, and Miami. He asked the students where San Diego was, and only 4 out of 100 got it right. Most of the students were too scared or cool to hazard a guess. After a few more minutes, we said our goodbyes.

We drove on to my high school, and there we stopped at the small lockers inside the school to change shoes. Miss Kageyama had a great time watching me try to squeeze into the guest slippers. Even after getting them on my feet, every few feet I walked a slipper would flip into the air in front of me. What a goofball.

It was while chasing down a slipper that I met the principal of Takasago Minami High School. We was a very energetic, friendly guy, who made up for his lack of English with enthusiasm and excitement. It was great to talk to him – most Japanese people that I meet are too shy to talk much, but the principal pushed through – he didn’t care if he didn’t get everything correct.

I met several other teachers, all of them very friendly. I even met some that didn’t teach English but spoke it very well. We sat down and Mr. Hayashi gave me a packet of cash representing my pay for the last few days – apparently I started getting paid the day the plane touched down in Tokyo.

Afterwards, we met some of the other teachers, and I sat down at Andrew’s desk, which was the cleanest one of the bunch… it’ll be a tough standard to maintain. After killing a few minutes talking to various people, Mr. Hayashi invited me and some of the English teachers to eat lunch in town. Myself, Mr. Hayashi, Mrs. Tsutsumi, Miss Yamamoto, and Miss Kageyama all went out for some pan fried noodles. The food was great, and like every other store or restaurant I walked into, the people working there gave me the double look, and then watched me carefully to see how I behaved. The teachers all spoke very good English, and we talked about all sorts of things. Every once in a while the conversation would switch to Japanese, and I was left out a bit, only picking out a word here and there. After a minute or two they would remember and switch back to English.

After eating the soba, the server came out and kind of hovered in front of me – I could tell she wanted a chance to talk to me in English. I smiled at her, and then we started talking a little bit – half English, half Japanese. It was a great moment, and I felt like I made her day a bit better, or at least a little more interesting.

After lunch we dropped off Miss Kageyama at the train station, and then Mr. Hayashi and I went to a coffee place, and I bought a round of iced coffees. The decor was American 1970’s, and the servers were all dressed up very nicely. It ended up costing me around $12 for 2 iced coffees, but I felt good about it considering that Mr. Hayashi had already bought me two meals since I had arrived. As we left the serving lady bowed and thanked us for coming – it was the deepest bow I had ever seen in Japan. I left the place feeling special, until Mr. Hayashi said that he thought the high price was really for the bow at the end.

Mr. Hayashi took me to his home, and I met his wife and two daughters. His son is studying to be a dentist, and lives a couple hours north of Takasago. The dinner was sweet and sour pork, fried rice, fried potatoes, salad, homegrown tomatoes, yakuniku (meat skewers), and watermelon for dessert. During dinner we had a great conversation, and Mr. Hayashi’s oldest daughter had lots of questions for me about America. Her English was also very good, and even though she wasn’t very confident using it, she could easily get by in America with her skills.

Andrew came by to pick me up after his party wrapped up, and we came back to the apartment to relax and have a cold drink. At around 10:30 or so, we decided to go for a walk, so we went up the street a few blocks and traced what will eventually be my route to work. Most of the trip is directly underneath the Bullet Train, and as we walked along the pathway, the Bullet Train would occasionally roar out of nowhere and pass above us at 200+ miles per hour.

Finally, we returned the apartment and crashed out – another long day, but full of fun things.

Another busy day in Japan. We met in the lobby of the hotel and then boarded a bus to the Tokyo Shinkansen station. The station was pretty old, and I think the sight of 80 foreigners walking through the station caused a bit of a stir. We walked down the train station and got aboard the bullet train. The train itself was very clean and modern, and we had almost an entire car to ourselves. Our prefecture even sprang for lunch, which consisted of a couple of vegetarian sandwiches and a box of orange juice.

The train moved pretty fast – I think it goes between 150 and 250 miles per hour. We moved quite quickly through the countryside – and the variation from the flat city terrain that we saw in Tokyo was dramatic. There were very steep hillsides shrouded in fog, little fishing villages near the ocean, towns nestled into mountainsides, and large towns like Kyoto and Nagoya. The ride itself was fairly long, but before we knew it we were getting off in Osaka. Our guide warned us that we had less than one minute to get off the train – they don’t wait around too long here in Japan.

At Osaka station we boarded two large buses, and headed to Yashiro. The drive was about an hour long, and the everyone on the bus was starting to get nervous. Many would be meeting their bosses for the first time. I had already talked to not only my boss but also my predecessor, so I wasn’t quite so worried. Still, there was a bit of tension as we got off in Yashiro.

We were marched single file into a large conference room and lined up to face a large group of somewhat stern looking Japanese people. Withing a few seconds I had identified my predecessor, and he was accompanied by my Master Teacher, Mr. Hayashi. One by one, each JET’s name was called, and then a Japanese person would get up, conduct awkward introductions in English, and claim the JET and take them out to their car. Once they finally called my name, I was able to introduce myself to Andrew and Mr. Hayashi and head out. My luggage was waiting for me outside in the sun – I picked it up, and we were off.

We first drove to Akashi-shi, where Mr. Hayashi lives. He pointed out the sights as we went, and it was my first up close and personal look at the Japanese countryside. Rice paddies, pachinko parlors, they’ve got it all. I couldn’t believe how many udon noodle places there were!

We stopped at Mr. Hayashi’s house first, and dropped him off. From there Andrew and I went to to the nearest convenience store – we were both starving. We grabbed some sushi to go, and then went back to his/my apartment in Futami.

The apartment was better than I could have hoped. It’s very large, with a great setup. It clean, and in great condition. There are four main rooms, with a shower/bath and a bathroom adjoining the dining room/kitchen. There is a nice patio, and some well placed windows that ventilate the place nicely. I’m not sure how I’m going to use all the space – I’ve got my bedroom staked out, and the kitchen/dining room is obvious enough, but that still leaves me with two rooms to spare.

I’m going to be living out of my suitcase the next couple of days – I’m going to wait to spread out until Andrew moves out officially on the 12th of August.

After hauling my 140 pounds of luggage upstairs to the apartment, Andrew and I relaxed a bit, and then we left for Mr. Hayashi’s house to pick him up. We stopped by to pick up another teacher, Kuniko Kageyama, who is a part-time English teacher at my high school. Together we went to a restaurant that specialized in Andrew’s favorite dish – okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a combination of a pancake, and pizza – it’s texture is that of a pancake, but it has bacon cooked across the top, and then bits of octopus and other seafood baked into it. It’s topped with a slightly sweet sauce, fish flakes, and some Japanese mayonnaise. It’s served hot on a burner that is built into your table. The okonomiyaki was great – we had a couple of beers with it, and it was a great way to end a long day.

We returned home to the apartment, and I hit the sack and promptly fell asleep.

Today was the second day of orientation, and all the participants from countries other than the United States were invited to their respective embassies for a reception and general advice. The United States embassy does not observe “embassy night”, and so we had no obligations.

The orientation itself was very well done today, much better than yesterday. The most interesting session was the meeting with our prefecture – they gave us information about how we were getting to our homes the following day. They passed out a ton of information, which joined the other information we’ve been gathering for the past two days. I hope that sometime soon I’ll be able to sit down and do some information digestion.

We’re going to take the bullet train to Osaka, by way of Nagoya and Kyoto. From Osaka station, we’re to head by bus to a town called Yashiro, where we’ll meet a representative from our school. I had already heard from Andrew, my predecessor, that he would meet me sometime on Wednesday, so it sounds like it will be in Yashiro.

After the orientation completed, I did a quick repack of all my stuff and dropped off my luggage to be shipped on to Hyogo. With my remaining clothing selection extremely limited, I went back to my room and watched a little Japanese baseball – the Hanshin Tigers lost to Yokohama. Tomorrow I’m getting up early to get some breakfast and then head to the Shinkansen station.

What an overwhelming experience. Being in Japan is amazing. The town is always active, and people are everywhere. The Japanese seem to have a different take on everything that I take for granted.

Today I went across the street from the hotel during a break to have lunch with another JET. We (literally) ducked into a small (and I’m talking small) restaurant, and proceeded to order by pointing. My Japanese language ability was enough to get us answers to some questions (is that meat? fish? is that so? thank you!), but soon afterwards we are eating several dishes of food that neither of us could identify. The food was excellent, and the service is better than most American restaurants, and you can’t even tip to reward the great service.

Perhaps the most surreal part was that we are in a restaurant where nobody speaks English. Outside people by the hundreds are walking by, and very few if any speak English. It really makes you realize that you are on your own, and you need to use your wits, flexibility, and money to get you through simple everyday situations.

I ate breakfast today with some Midwestern-Americans, and a Canadian. I had a great conversation with some people from the UK, and there are some really nice Irish folks here, too. It’s been great talking and associating with people from such varied and unique backgrounds. They bring a new perspective to events around the world, and it feels good to expand your thoughts beyond your own country.

The orientation today was pretty good. There was a bit more of a focus on the teaching aspect of your job, and some of the lectures went a bit long. We watched a great movie showing a JET in action in several different schools. Some of it was painful to watch, but it looked like a lot of fun. I think the teaching will be difficult at first, and then become more second nature soon after. Also, they had put together some optional seminars, but I was pretty disappointed. They are presented by current JETs, but they seem heavier on the anecdotal than on the practical.

Tonight is the big reception, and tomorrow is another day of presentations. My roommate and I are considering going over to the electronics part of town to look at all the brand new goodies in Tokyo. Neither of us are looking to buy anything, but we heard that it’s a must see. We also were looking at “Kirin City”, a beer garden on top of a department store downtown. I’m trying to pick out memorable things to see and do, because very soon I’ll be leaving for my prefecture, and it might be a while before I make it back to Tokyo.

I’m in Tokyo, writing this from a Kinko’s next door to my hotel. The trip went really well – the JET program is pretty organized. I’ve been spending my time wandering the streets of Tokyo, and trying to stay awake as long as possible to avoid jetlag. I’m attending the orientation today, and it will be cool to see all the new JETs in the same room.

First impressions of Tokyo – cooler (temperature-wise) than I thought. Hardly any foreigners. Plenty of places to eat. Everyone is very polite. Not many smiles outside the hotel, however.

I’m off to the orientation, but I’ll write more in the next couple of days!

My parents and I stopped in at the Westin LAX and moved my considerable luggage to a room. I had heard that the rooms were to be shared between three people, but as I write this, no one else has shown up. It’s a little hard to get comfortable in a hotel room when you don’t know if the door is going to open and have a total stranger walk in. I figure I’ll deadbolt the door before I go to bed.

I said goodbye to my folks, which was more difficult than I thought it would be. They’ve been so supportive, it’s going to be tough to get out on my own again. I hadn’t realized how much I relied on their advice and support over the last year. They were heading north up to coast, to perhaps stop at a beach or get a hotel near the ocean.

As for the orientation, it was pretty boring. The coordinator that moderated had trouble keeping things moving, and it really became a big Q&A session. I thought it was interesting that so many things that they had told us before had changed, and I ended up spending about an hour repacking some things between suitcases. My favorite speech was by one of the consuls, who told us “not to have sex with students”, called on us to “not use illegal drugs”, and various other common sense type things that I guess must be said anyway.

After the Q&A session, we had a reception outside, where several VIPs, over the sound of landing airplanes, gave short speeches urging us on to great things. The beer was free, though, and we even got a run through a buffet line with Mexican food. While I was in the food line, the consul that I interviewed with stopped by to say hello. He said that he remembered me during the interview, and he wished me the best of luck. He said he remembered me as a “businessman”, and hoped that I enjoyed the upcoming experience.

I spent most of the time with a guy I met back in the pre-departure orientation, William Williams. He was fun to talk to, and he had an amazing amount of information to pass on. He’ll be living in Saitama, near Tokyo, so I’ll have to get out there to visit sometime. He talked about setting up a microbiology lab in his apartment, which sounded pretty crazy. If anyone was to do it, William Williams sounded like the guy.

Tomorrow I’m going to head to the airport fairly early, as it sounds like a real chore to get through security. I’m wondering what items are going to cause the most stir during the customs search.

Had a great visit to San Diego. The drive down went really well, and we traded off spots in the back seat, the front seat, and the driver’s seat, so everyone helped out.

When we arrived we had some drinks at Nancy’s, and then went right to bed. On Wednesday and Thursday we spent time with family. We got to visit with Susan, Neil, and Leigh, and Neil and Leigh’s whole family – Gage, Jamie, and Griffin.

The kids were a lot of fun, and they really put me through the paces. On Thursday we went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean, and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Afterwards, we visited my grandparents, and then took them to dinner at Olive Garden with Susan.

It was great to see everyone – a cool visit. On Friday, we said goodbye to everyone, and then drove north to Los Angeles, and I said my goodbyes to Mom and Dad.

With a CD packet full of The Doors, Taj Mahal, Van Morrison, and yes, even Willie Nelson, we’re hitting the road to San Diego. I’m going to be out of touch until I get to Japan, and once I arrive, there may be a little delay while I look around for internet access. Thanks to everyone that made this trip possible. I’ll talk to you once I get there!

Last night the family went out to play mini golf in Sonoma, and after 18 grueling holes, Susan pulled out the win. The stakes were high, and that night, Susan got to drink for free at Murphy’s.

We went out to Murphy’s afterwards, where I was able to enjoy two last pints of Murphy’s Stout. Today I’m running a few last minute errands. I need to get some contact lenses to take with me to Japan. After I run out, 1-800 Contacts is going to hook me up with more via international shipping. I can tell already that my time in Japan will be greatly improved because of the internet.

I heard some more from my predecessor, Andrew, and the first week or so in Japan is starting to firm up a little bit. Looks like after two days in Tokyo for orientation, I’ll be getting aboard the Shinkansen, the Bullet Train, and heading to Osaka. I’ll meet Andrew there, and we’re off to have a drink with my Master Teacher and get acquainted. That night I’ll get set up in my apartment, but for a week or so I’ll be sharing it with Andrew. That should work out great – he can show me how everything works, and we’ll figure out the local things to do.

Tonight we had a bunch of folks over to say goodbye – Victor and Lisa with Alexander, Rico and Sherri with Nico and Dino, Mark and Susan, Neil and Terry, Marc Johnson and Betty Jane.

We ate sausages, had lots of desserts, and visited with everyone. We got a ping pong game going, but I consistently lost. As you can see in the pictures above, Nico and Dino really had fun with the ping pong paddles. They were “helping” us play.

We ate some sushi and hot dog rollups for appetizers – East meets West 🙂 Just a week until my flight – Tuesday we hit the road for San Diego.

Just found a special release, New Belgium Brewing’s Porch Swing. My dad and I were over at Safeway to buy a case of Fat Tire for Nancy, and found this quite unexpectedly. I’m drinking one now, and it’s very good – kind of a cross between the Abbey Ale and the Fat Tire.

I haven’t had any Japanese beers in a couple of months. Considering that they will be the only kind of beer I’m drinking for a whole year, I figure I’ll get my fill.

Last night’s poker game was a lot of fun. I haven’t played in a while, not since I was in Richard Nichol’s poker group in San Diego with Masa and Ryu. We had 7 guys playing, and we pretty much played every game that they knew. I ended up ahead for the night, and that’s gotta be a good thing.

Today I’m cramming things into suitcases to see if everything has a sporting chance of fitting in my luggage. I predict some packing trauma in the near future, however.

Today my dad and I split wood for an hour, and then went into Napa to visit my grandmother and run some errands. We took grandma out to lunch, and then we went to Target, Mervyn’s and 31 Flavors.

She was doing really well today, and twice she broke into a big laugh – something she does rarely since she had her stroke. I’d never seen it happen, but I felt lucky to have been involved in some big smiles, and it’s a great way to remember her before I leave the country.

Tonight is poker night, and I’m joining the big game. I hope I don’t lose my shirt 🙂

So I’ve heard that I will in fact be taking over the apartment from Andrew, my predecessor in Japan. I’ve only heard from him, not through “official channels”, but he says that it’s official on their end. He sent me some pictures of the apartment earlier, and you can check them out here. Just click on the individual images to see a larger version.

It’s twice as big as the normal Japanese apartment. More than enough space for me. I had some great practice living in tight spaces when Haven and I lived in Scripps Ranch down in San Diego.

Yesterday the place cleared out, with the Birches heading south to visit their niece, and the Kirkendall’s heading back to Vegas. We went into Sonoma and did lots of touristy type stuff on Friday, and hit a couple of my favorite spots.

One of those spots was Murphy’s Irish pub. We sat around and had a beer. The pub was a big contrast from last time, when it was like a scene from Cocktail. Anyway, we also went to the Cheese Factory on the plaza, and Vella’s Cheese off the plaza. We did a quick walk by the mission, and then off to my mom’s winery – Gundlach Bundschu. After all of that we went back into town for pizza at Mary’s Pizza Shack. As an added bonus, they had Fat Tire beer available in 22 oz. bottles there.

Today I’m off to town to see if I can dig up luggage for my trip. The trick is buying the right luggage – as soon as I get to Japan I won’t really need it anymore for at least a year, so I don’t want to get the Samsonite stuff. I’m going to dig around Wal-Mart and Target instead. Japan is less than two weeks away. Time to get serious.