I’ve been plugging along here at work, getting ready for a little change of pace in my courses starting next month.  I’ll begin to teach a business e-mail writing course to a small group of students once a week.  It’ll be a good way to stretch my teaching skills a little since it isn’t as much of a student-centered class as my one-on-one classes are.  I’ve got a curriculum and outline put together, and now I’m just filling in the details of the class flow.  

Also next month we’ll start a little experiment where I work – an “English Cafe”.  It sounds more stylish than reality – but I’ll be spending some time before and after work in a classroom in different parts of the factory, and we’re hoping that people will drop in and spend some time talking to me in English.  If lots of people stop by then we’ll see about extending the chance, but if it is just me alone then it’ll be a great chance for me to do deskwork.  Either way I get paid overtime rates so I have nothing to complain about.

The weather here in Japan has been steadily warming up.  For the first time last night I had to turn on the air conditioner while I rode the exercise bike.  The rainy season should kick in next month, and then after that it’ll be heat and humidity for three or four months.  I’m ready to sweat off some pounds!

Last week we enjoyed a long holiday – called Golden Week in Japan.  The bad news with Golden Week is that everyone celebrates it at the same time, which means any kind of travel will be about four times as expensive.  In addition, there are lots of traffic jams all over and domestic tourist destinations are filled to capactity.  

Originally my parents had planned on coming to visit during this time, but they had to change their plans, and so Kuniko and I had a wide open schedule.  

The weather cooperated with our easy-going plans, and we spent a lot of time outside.  We took several walks out to the beach to sit in the shade of the palm trees and watch the ocean.  I discovered a brewery making local craft beers not far from the beach, so that was worth a couple of visits.  We bought a couple of folding wooden chairs at IKEA, so we could sit out on our patio in the late afternoon and sip drinks and watch the sun go down. 

We also spent a couple of evenings at the Yamaji’s place.  They also like to eat and drink outside while the weather is good, and so we went over to play with their kittens, as well as eat good food and meet Yuki’s girlfriend.  

Towards the end of the long holiday we did some gardening out front, and I think it turned out pretty well.  An old tree that didn’t quite make it was removed, and now it has a much better look.  The Yamaji’s dropped by while we were working to take a look.  Their yard sets the standard for the neighborhood, so I was happy to hear their approval.  Mr. Yamaji offered the use of his power washer in the future, so I might take him up on that once the weather heats up even more. 

Finally we were able to get a lot of other things done, a trip to Costco, a couple of BBQ nights, lots of lesson planning, some video gaming, exercise every day, and a couple of trips to Osaka for nightlife. 

In Kobe my Japanese visa was approved for another five years, so it’ll be nice not to worry about that until the Olympics roll around in 2020.

I also applied for our Russian visas, which was an ordeal for me as an American but a piece of cake for Kuniko since she is Japanese.  Hopefully we’ll get approved in a couple of weeks.  The Russian consular building was a story in itself, and I’ll go into that more later (like, after our visa approval).  

So now I’m back to work on a very regular schedule, and I don’t have any extra classes so I can concentrate on exercise and cooking in the evenings.  I’ll be on this schedule until the middle of July, so it’ll be nice to settle into a routine.

We had quite a weekend.  It all started on Friday night, when we agreed to meet up with the Yamaji’s in Osaka after work.  Mr. Yamaji used to spend quite a bit of time in Osaka and he wanted to introduce us to a tachinomi (standing restaurant/bar) in Umeda.  Friday actually turned out to be a very busy time in Osaka.  It was the first payday for all the new employees in Japanese companies, so lots of younger folks were out burning their first paycheck on drinks with friends.  

We followed Mr. Yamaji to the tachinomi restaurant, and after a brief wait outside we were able to stand at the counter and get started.  The place served kushi-katsu, fried food on sticks, along with plenty of cold beer.  The frier was right in front of us, so we could watch the guy cooking for a crowded restaurant in the heart of one of Japan’s biggest cities.  It was a really cool experience.  

We ate a lot of sticks – fried tuna, chicken, lotus root, chikuwa, kisu, tomato and basil, pork, cheese, shumai, and a few more that I forget.  After dinner Mr. Yamaji said, “Just one more drink” and so we followed him to the Kita Shinchi area of Osaka.  It is kind of the traditional nightlife and entertainment district of Umeda, and it was full of older guys drinking with younger ladies, and big money changing hands like back in the days of the bubble economy.   I didn’t realize it at the time, but we had been there once before last year to eat yakiniku and meet Ai-chan’s husband for the first time. It is an interesting place to hang out – and it kind of puts Kobe’s Higashi-mon street to shame.  

Our destination was a snack/restaurant that is owned by one of the Yamaji’s friends.  We had met her once before – she came to a party at the Yamaji’s house and was introduced as a sommelier at a restaurant.  On Friday night she produced a bottle of Zinfandel from California, so she knew what we liked.  It was a really nice wine.  While we were there the other customer in the place came over to have his picture taken with us, while he wore a rubber horse head mask.  Kind of surreal. 

Another one of the Yamaji’s friends, a sushi master from a nearby restaurant, dropped by with a box of sushi for us to enjoy.  We had met him before as well, and it was good to see eveyone again in such a unique place.  

Finally, we wrapped things up and caught a train back to Okubo.  I think everyone was sleepy from the long work week and the late night of eating and drinking, but it was a great time out.  

We managed to sleep in a bit on Saturday but in the evening we went over to the Fukumi’s for dinner, and were also joined by the Yamaji’s.  Party, party.

Before going over Kuniko and I decided that we would try to leave as early as possible – the Fukumi’s have a kid now, and previously while over at their place we kind of wrapped things up early.  They don’t drink so much, and we had partied pretty hard on Friday, so all signs pointed to a short night.  

But we were wrong.

Sayaka prepared a really good dinner – Russian cuisine.  We had piroshkis, borscht, a Russian beet salad, a potato cassarole with a rich beef sauce, and even a Georgian wine on the side.  It was damn good.  The Fukumi’s also had a box of Every Flavor Beans from USJ, and those were a big hit.  I liked the vomit flavored one, and the sausage one was good too.  While we ate everyone kind of rotated playing with Hiroka-kun, and he was having a great time.  We went through lots of wine bottles – I think when we finally left after two am there were eight empty bottles lined up.  Mr. Fukumi was down for the count, and everyone was feeling no pain.  Time to go home and take some aspirin!

Sunday we watched some movies at home, one of which was called “The World’s End” which I enjoyed immensely. It has been a while since a movie caught me by surprise like that. Highly recommended! We also did some chores but mostly took it easy to recover from the wild party.  It was a comparatively mellow day, and I think we needed it.  Our livers have been working overtime lately, so I think we’ll have to take it easy this week and next.  Luckily we don’t have any parties scheduled in the near future.  

This week I have to work only three days, and then I get eleven days off for Golden Week.  We’re trying to think up stuff to do during the Golden Week holidays, but I think our top priority is gardening and relaxing.  Can’t wait for the long holiday!

It has been a little while so I thought I should check in on the blog and give a quick update.  April is a busy month for Human Resources at my company.  During this month all the interdepartmental and intercompany transfers kick in, and also it is the first month of work for newly hired employees fresh out of university. 

I always start a new term in April, so we have to line up students and get them used to the course system and flow, and also we have to close the previous fiscal year and so some reports need to be published in English, and I always seem to catch a little work checking documents for people in between my regular classes. 

Phew!  That’s a lot to do.  Luckily next month should be much more sane.  

Yesterday I taught two special classes to the new employees, and also gave most of them an interview test to get an idea of their English speaking ability.  This term the overall ability was pretty high, but we’ll need to work on the business side of their English, which seems to be lacking.  I had fun teaching the classes, though.  One student described a tomato plant he bought and put in his dormitory room.  He is now living far from his family in Fukuoaka, so he said that the tomatoes are his family to keep him company.  I asked him if he was planning on eating his family, and he proudly said yes.  

This weekend we’re going over to have dinner at the Fukumi’s place.  Last weekend everybody got together for an impromptu party at the Yamaji’s, so I don’t think we’ll have too much new to talk about, but it should still be fun.  I’m going to try to eat and drink less than last weekend – I woke up with a serious hangover on Sunday and it pretty much knocked me out for most of the day.  I guess I can’t party like a rockstar anymore…

It feels like it has been a long time since I’ve blogged, so I better get back to it.  

Last weekend was a pretty social weekend for us.  We were invited by the Yamaji’s to their house for a lunch BBQ with some other guests.  The Fukumi’s were there, but also some of Mr. Yamaji’s staff and coworkers.  His company is apparently doing well.  It was nice to meet everyone, and luckily the weather cooperated and we could sit in the the sunshine outside and enjoy the day. 

In the evening we had the Takeda’s over for dinner.  It was the first time that we had seen them since 2009, and they looked happy and healthy.  The kids had grown up a lot, and we had fun with them playing Jenga in the living room.  The Takeda’s also like to drink wine and eat lots of food, so we got along really well.  They are moving into a new place soon, so we’re looking forward to visiting them and checking out their digs in the future.  

This week I’ve got a pretty regular routine at work, with a couple of interviews of new employees and a lesson with the VP.  Next week should also be pretty normal, but after that I only work three days before Golden Week starts.  We’ve got a pretty wide open schedule during Golden Week, so we’ll probably end up cleaning up our front yard, pulling weeds, and drinking lots of sparkling wine.  I’ve got some good books to read, too, so there is a lot to look forward to.  

Today at work I’ll meet the last of my new students, and my routine at work should start to become a little more clear.  So far I really like the students I have met, and I’m looking forward to watching their speaking skills develop over the next six months.

This term I’ll be teaching a business email course, and I have this month to plan the curriculum and activities for the students.  It will be good to try out a new course, and part of the design of the course will be lots of homework for the students.  I have to put my thinking cap on to come up with some challenging assignments that will work for all students across all departments.  

This weekend we’re signed up for a drop in lunch at the Yamaji’s on Saturday.  They have some new kittens and I’m hoping to get some playing time with them.  Kuniko is very allergic so there is no chance of taking one home.  It is like risk-free kittens.  I heard the master of Paddy (formerly Red Spanky) will be there too, so it’ll be nice to see him in a smoke-free environment.  We’re hoping the weather is good enough for sitting outdoors.

After lunch we’re hosting the Takedas.  Mr. Takeda was one of my students back when I taught at Mitsuboshi belt years ago.  He was transferred to Thailand for five years, and we visited him the last time we were in Thailand.  His family really rolled out the welcome wagon for us.  I was checking the dates and it has been almost eight years since that trip.  Unbelievable how time flies.  It will be fun to see the kids grown up a little bit and to catch up with everyone.  

For the past four days we’ve been enjoying a break between the previous fiscal year and the new one starting April 1st.  We were lucky enough to host Roger and Philipp for a couple days, and also to have some time on our own to get some annoying paperwork done. 

Roger and Philipp came in on the Shinkansen on Saturday, and we spent the afternoon showing them around our town, eating a little conveyor belt sushi, settling them into our place, and then heading to Akashi for yakitori. We ended up drinking way too much at the yakitori and later at our place, so we were nursing a hangover on Sunday.  We braved a light rain to go see Himeji castle, which look very much refreshed after several years of renovation.  The rain let up in the afternoon, and we went in to look around Kobe and have Kobe beef and okonomiyaki for dinner.  

On Monday we drove into Kyoto, and waded through the crowds at Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama, and Kinkakuji before taking Roger and Philipp back to their hotel.  We had dinner with them near Kyoto station and enjoyed some shabu shabu and more drinks.  We had to drive back to our place afterwards, but they were doing one more day in Kyoto and then heading out for a day in Osaka before heading to their final day in Tokyo.  Their timing was pretty good with the cherry blossoms –  I think they’ll be able to see plenty before they head back to Switzerland.

We had a great time with both of them – they were cheerful and funny, and great guests.  We’re hoping they’ll be able to come out to Japan again sometime in the future.  

We had Tuesday on our own, so we went out and did some boring government business.  I applied for a renewal of my Japanese visa, which apparently you have to do in person on a workday only.  The application took only ten minutes, so it was hard to believe that people have to take an entire day off just for ten minutes of paperwork.  

Then Kuniko and I both went together to an office that handled title transfer of automobiles.  We recently paid off our car, and in order to transfer the title you have to go to a special office and file a bunch of paperwork.  The amount of paperwork, special stamps, and the number of staff were mind-boggling.  Even Kuniko said, “There is something wrong with this country” upon seeing the amount of people and paper and low technology going on in that place.  I watched a lady stamping documents; the whole time we were there her job was just to stamp documents, again and again.  

It was obviously a pain in the ass for people to go down there during business hours and take care of the task, so across the hallway in the same building were some offices of people who you can hire to take care of it for you.  They were also filled with people wasting paper, and physically walking documents across the hall to the workers in the main offices.  It was interesting to see inefficient side businesses being built around the inefficiencies of the main business, which itself is built around the inefficiency of the government.  It would take colossal time and energy to change something like that in Japan – even a foreigner like me could see that.  It was a unique experience.

Today I start my new term with new students, a new schedule, and hopefully, more planning time.  At this point it looks like my schedule is lighter, with fewer group lessons, but we’ll see how quickly that changes.  I’m also working on planning an email writing class for later this term.  That should be a fun class to plan – it is a high priority for the workers here to write better emails, and I would agree based on some of the emails they’ve sent to me to correct. 

It is Friday, and my last work day of this month and the fiscal year.  Every company in Japan follows the same fiscal year starting April 1st, so lots of things change at this time. And we’re no exception.

Kuniko was in California visiting my folks the last few days, and she just returned last night with a load of American goodies.  

This weekend and part of next week we’ll be hosting Roger and his friend for a few days.  They are touring Japan, and we’re going to show them around western Japan – Kyoto, Himeji, Osaka and Kobe.  It will be good to see Roger – the last time we saw him was with his parents in Paris last summer.  The guest room is ready!

Today I’m wrapping up my classes from the last term, and doing a little bit of prep work for the students in the next term.  I’m taking Monday and Tuesday off, so it will be a fresh start from April 1st.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to let my mind wander a bit this long weekend and have some fresh new ideas for my students when they arrive.

The last week while Kuniko was away I was living like a monk – healthy meals every day and double time on the exercise bike.  I’m sure this weekend I’ll thoroughly erase any progress I made, but it should be fun doing it!

Seems like just about every spare moment at work has been packed with classes lately.  The minutes I have between classes are filled with responding to emails and helping people with English questions.  We are reaching the end of the fiscal year, and that means everyone has a deadline one way or another. 

For me that means that I’ll be starting a new term soon, and I need to wrap up things with my current students.  Looking at the schedule it looks like I’ll go from “so busy there is no time to catch my breath” to “why not learn a new language with all this time I have”.  April should see a big change in my circumstances, so for now I’ll just be holding on as best I can.

This evening after work I’m meeting some former students for drinks and yakitori.  I’ve taught all of them in the past, but it has been a long time since I’ve seen each of them, and I’ve only seen them one on one, so it is fun to see the chemistry when they all hang out together and drink.  

Tomorrow we’re hosting the Fukumi’s for a White Day dinner.  Kuniko offered to go back in time and make the lamb dish again that knocked our socks off on Valentine’s Day.  This year White Day won’t be so romantic, but maybe we can catch up on another day instead.  I got her a nice bottle of white wine and hopefully we can drink that together sometime next week before she leaves the country. 

OK, now back to work!

Every year we try to get out to the northern part of Hyogo to eat crab in Kinosaki. The town is a resort town that attracts people mainly because of the seafood and the hot springs. We tend to go after the peak of the crab season, to avoid the crowds. This year we went to celebrate Kuniko’s birthday. I was surprised how many people were there – it was hard to believe we were approaching the end of the season.

We always go to the same place, and this time we arrived and saw that they had remodeled the lobby. It looked much better (and less old fashioned) but the rooms and the rest of the resort looked the same. According to the staff they are doing the remodeling in stages, and it was good to see the big money we spend on crabs being put to good use.

The food was excellent, as usual, and I think all together we ate about six crabs between us. We finished pretty fast – the staff actually looked shocked when we asked if we could jump in the bath ahead of schedule. Apparently the bath wasn’t ready yet, so that gave us time to walk around town and burn a few calories.

This time we walked to a part of Kinosaki that I had never seen – the approach from the train station to the town center. We always drive to Kinosaki, which means I hadn’t seen this part of town. It also means that we can’t drink when we come to eat, and we made a resolution to come back next time by train for an overnight stay. I think it would be fun to come at the coldest time of the year to really appreciate the hot spring.

Thanks to our quick eating we left a little earlier, and made the long drive back. Kuniko did all the driving so it was a pretty relaxing trip for me. We got home around 5 pm, and still stuffed from crabs we had a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate the end of the trip and the end of the weekend. One thing led to another and before we knew it we were having a wild dance party watching K-pop music videos and snacking on Don Tacos tortilla chips. Look out for that sparkling wine – it really turns the switch on.

This week I have a party on Friday with some ex-students, and Kuniko has a day off on Thursday. I think we’ll be on a strict dietary regimen after all the seafood we had last weekend.

It has been a while since I’ve had the time to write here. At my work we are hitting the last month of the term, and ostensibly that means that I would be less busy. However, there are a lot of employees being sent overseas on a training program, and I’ve been pressed into service to help them get ready for the hustle and bustle of the New York business scene.

In addition, we are starting to plan our classes for the next term (from April to September), and that has been interesting. It sounds like I’ll be teaching in some different styles to shake things up, and I’m happy about that.

Back home we’ve been throwing things away as part of our continuous simplification purge. I agree with Kuniko – it feels great to get rid of stuff. This morning we got rid of my old kotatsu. I bought it back when I first got to Japan, and it was too cold to study in my dining room. It was a really comfortable piece of furniture, and as it turned out it was too comfortable – as soon as we got into it we were falling asleep. Goodbye, productivity killing kotatsu!

Yesterday was Hina Matsuri, the day of the doll festival, and Mr. Yamaji stopped by last night to give us a big bowl of chirashizushi. They have kids so they are used to celebrating the traditional Japanese holidays, but since it is just the two of us we sometimes miss out on stuff like this. It is so nice of them to think of us on days like these. The sushi will make a great lunch today.

The other day we were dropping off our dry cleaning in Okubo, and we noticed that a small wine bar opened up next door. I don’t have high expectations, especially given the location, but tonight we’re going to drop in after work and check it out. I’d be a crappy local resident if I didn’t show up and hold them to impossible standards. Maybe I can get a part time job there…

Last weekend we had a lot of chances to get some exercise. Kuniko was working – walking with her coworkers on a hiking course that students from her school will explore next month. I was in Kobe trying to pick up some imported groceries that are a little hard to find around Okubo – cranberry sauce, blue cheese dressing, yellow mung dahl, paneer, and Chinese chili peppers in oil. Luckily all of that could be found in Kobe, but there were a lot of stops to make.

We met up in the afternoon in Sannomiya after Kuniko’s hike, and then did some errands before heading back in Kuniko’s car parked at her school.

To celebrate the Chinese new year we had dim sum at home for dinner, and then enjoyed a viewing of the original Star Wars. Kuniko got me the box set for Valentine’s Day.

Sunday we went over to visit Kuniko’s folks and we got caught up with them. They had lots of vegetables, chocolates, and other sweets to bring back home, so we are set for a while.

On Sunday we also bought plane tickets and a reserved a hotel for our summer trip. We’ll be spending a week in Moscow in the middle of August, so we had better start the visa process now. I’ve heard that it can be a complex process.

This week we have a dinner out at the end of the week at Anonyme, one of our favorites in Kobe. I may have a drink with some coworkers after work on Wednesday, so I’ll have to ride the exercise bike extra hard to fight the calorie battle.

Yesterday was a milestone for my wife. It was the graduation ceremony at her school, and her students officially graduated and will move on to university.

It was a special event for Kuniko because she has been teaching the same students for six years, and that is a significant amount of time. During those six years Kuniko dealt with countless issues and stressful situations at work, helped students grow up from little junior high school girls into young women, and worked many late nights and most weekends as well. Yesterday was the end of a very long run.

When I got home last night, in our living room there were mountains (and I mean this literally) of presents, candies, handmade gifts, several bouquets of flowers and scrapbooks filled with students’ comments, messages and memories. It was good to hear that the students (and their parents) appreciated the efforts that Kuniko made to get the students through school successfully. Now it is up to them to take the next step in university.

We stayed up late last night eating homemade cookies and drinking red wine, and talking about all the big moments that happened during the past six years at her school. It was good therapy, but I think we’re both a little tired this morning.

Now we are approaching the end of March, marking the end of the fiscal year and also the school year. We can’t help but think of it as a time to turn the page and see what’s next. But for last night, it was important to celebrate the end of a chapter of Kuniko’s life that will stay with her always.

This weekend it was Valentine’s Day, and Kuniko and I celebrated it in style. The amount of planning and effort that Kuniko put into the holiday was nothing short of Herculean. And that’s a word that I don’t throw around very often.

In Japan the onus is on the women to give presents to the men on Valentine’s Day, with the men returning the favor on White Day exactly one month later. Kuniko started planning quite a long time ago, I think. First, she got some chocolates for me – a box of Star Wars themed chocolates, with the heads of four white chocolate stormtroopers lined up with a dark chocolate Darth Vader in the middle. She also got me a box set of Star Wars Blurays to go with the theme. She secretly stocked our downstairs wine cellar with some of our usual favorites, and some really nice new wines from New Zealand and California. For dinner, she bought some lamb chops through the internet and had them delivered the day before, and then she marinated them for a couple hours and grilled them inside on our stove. She completed the dish with some chocolate sauce on top – wow! It was in the top 5 of my favorite dishes, ever. I feel like maybe I’ve been eating lamb the wrong way my whole life. We finished the night with a couple of romantic movies and some red wine – perfect!

Sunday we got up early and took a two hour walk to Akashi along the beach to burn some calories. In Akashi we stopped at the fish market street in the center of town and bought 24 oysters in the shell for dinner later that night. We sat down for an early lunch in a nearby restaurant and had Akashi-yaki, a dish that I hadn’t eaten in years despite actually living in the town of Akashi. Then we brought the oysters home and relaxed the rest of the day.

We grilled up the oysters outside and served them with sparkling wine and a green salad, and they turned out really nicely. I thought oysters would be more expensive, but they are apparently in season now, so it was a reasonable dinner that tasted luxurious.

Now it is back to reality, and I’m looking at another busy week at work. The next two months should be busier than normal with lots of overtime. Some days I will have 10 classes a day, which is pretty much my limit. Things should slow down once we get into April. At least, I hope so.

Last weekend went pretty smoothly, considering we went on a shopping spree at IKEA and then had to put together what we bought.

At IKEA we were able to find everything we needed, and even had time for meatballs and salmon. Once we loaded everything onto a cart, I visually estimated that we could fit it all in our car. The mattress was ingeniously rolled into a shrink-wrapped package not unlike a giant burrito. We were able to get all the goods into our car, and still drive home safely. We had expected to have to ship our items, but in the end we saved 6000 yen in shipping charges by doing it ourselves.

Saturday afternoon we put together the bed upstairs, and everything came together nicely. When we cut open the giant mattress burrito, the mattress sprang open with remarkable force, and we had a full sized mattress on our hands. Interesting technology!

Now our house still kind of smells of IKEA mattress, so hopefully that’ll dissipate in a few days. Kuniko has been busy on the internet buying sheets, blankets and pillows in just the right colors, so I think things will be ready to go by next weekend.

It wasn’t all hard work during the weekend, we also went drinking at a hole-in-the-wall local place called Anaba. A long time ago a friend introduced us, and now we visit maybe once every six months or so. The people are really nice, the decor is Showa era, and the food is traditional Japanese. The regulars are very talkative and Saturday was no different. We had planned to have a couple of drinks, a few snacks, and then go home, but the regulars started buying us drinks to keep us around. Very kind of them, but I was a little worried that we’d wake up on the floor at the rate things were going, so after one round of free drinks we made our escape. The regulars introduced themselves rather memorably as Komura-san, Kimura-san, Johnson, and Silk-ne–san. Thanks, guys!

Sunday was basically spent in recovery mode, and we put together some leftovers to make pizza. Kuniko is getting really good at making a delicious crust, so we ate well.

Maybe too well – from yesterday I had a little bit of a stomachache. It is continuing today despite a much healthier menu yesterday. Hopefully my tender tummy will get better soon and I’ll get back to eating regular food.