Jason's Adventures in rural Japan

Dolphin Show - Stop Motion slideshow

2011-10-30T17:27:00.001+09:00

Enjoy the pics!

Shamu Show - Sea World, CA

2011-10-30T16:14:00.001+09:00

Enjoy the slideshow!

test #2 for Flickr sets

2011-10-25T23:00:00.001+09:00

Embed the slideshow...

stop motion Sea World test

2011-10-25T22:53:00.001+09:00

stop motion Sea World test, a set on Flickr.

test of slideshow functionality

Closing this Blog at end of 2011

2011-08-10T23:50:00.002+09:00

Hello All -

I started this blog, when blogging felt like a new thing, way back in the summer of 2004, when I had just arrived in Japan to start what ended up being 5 years with the JET Programme.

I blogged and posted quite a bit back in those first few years - writing as a way to let friends and family back in the States know what my life was like in rural Japan.
A funny thing happened along the way - my family rarely read my posts, but I started getting comments and page views from an ever increasing number of strangers who were simply interested in life in Japan. I think this happens to many foreigners who come to Japan and start blogs or vlogs on YouTube to keep in touch with their friends back home only to find that their musings and experiences are of interest to many more people than they ever thought.

I started my own channel on YouTube back in late 2006 and it grew slowly at first until I started to blog specifically about being an ALT in the JET Program in early 2008. My YouTube channel became more and more popular and my time spent here posting text grew smaller and smaller.

I also joined FaceBook and now Google + and I feel like a lot of the links and material I would have posted here back in 2005 or 2006 I now post almost daily to sites like Twitter and Google +. So I'm seeing less and less of a reason to keep this blog going.

Of course, the archive of my experience as a new ALT I think still holds some value. Maybe I am the only one who finds my early postings amusing in their wide-eyed angle on things, but I think I would like to preserve these writings for myself, if no one else.

So my plan is to move (cut and paste) the early years of this blog to an archive I will set up at my newly revamped website - JapanJuku.com

I will forgo the postings of pictures that are no longer public, and simple updates about current events or daily trivia. But the postings about my life as a new ALT I will move to the new site so perhaps others can learn from them or chuckle along with me at their innocence.

I don't think this will happen quickly, so like the title of this posting states, I'm thinking this blog will remain open until the end of this year.

But after that, please keep in touch via my other sites - YouTube (I hope to go back to posting videos in the fall), Twitter ( @TaishaJason or @JapanJET ), and you can follow me on Google + at Myargonauts Jason.

I really, truly have enjoyed this blog over the years, but it's time to move on. I thank you for reading, and I hope to see you over at JapanJuku.com (opening again in September) or one of the other sites soon.

Peace,
Jason

Slave Leia PSA starring Kaley Cuoco

2011-07-16T07:48:00.000+09:00

Very Funny!!

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

2011-07-15T10:38:00.000+09:00

Amazing and thoughtful discussion of the problems with modern education.

I want to read more about this topic and think about it more,
as I continue my career as a teacher.

Wonderfully animated as well - what a great idea!!

Enjoy!
-Jason

The Exotic Jedi from Japan,Old style Kenjutsu "Tenshin Shoden Katori Sh...

2011-07-07T09:38:00.000+09:00

For all my students and friends who are into Kendo...

A fun video combining kendo with Star Wars!!

Enjoy,
Jason

Jason loves Pizza!

2011-06-26T19:31:00.001+09:00

Jason loves Pizza!
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

So I assigned my freshman English students to make a pizza for their homework. The "English learning" part of the assignment was to read the recipe in English and follow the instructions to make a "traditional pizza" including the crust.

Some students made their own style pizza, on toast or gyoza skin, completely missing the point of the assignment, but most of my kids did a good job. They had to take a picture of the pizza and post it to our campus forum for my class.

Two students made this pizza and told me it was called the "Jason love pizza." :)

It's nice to know someone cares. ;D

-J

LEGO Sandcrawler

2011-06-03T09:11:00.000+09:00

Amazing custom-built Lego Sandcrawler from Star Wars: Episode 4.

Not the most exciting vehicle in the Holy Trilogy, but
an amazing job that took 9 months and contains over 10,000 Lego pieces.

I had some pretty awesome Star Wars toys when I was a kid, but
I was already 8 years old when the first one came out, so most
of the toys were bought for and played with by my younger bother, who was only 2 years old when Star Wars: Episode 4 came out in 1977, but was the perfect age of 5 when The Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980.

CARS in Japan

2011-05-25T21:51:00.001+09:00

Looks like CARS are coming to Japan in this clip from the sequel to my least favorite Pixar movie.

But anyone that's encountered a Japanese washlet for the first time can relate. :)

fun pics from my keitai (cell phone)

2011-05-16T11:54:00.001+09:00

card from absent student
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

My new smartphone from AU in Japan has a pretty good little camera inside and it's much easier for me to snap the occasional random picture now, since I almost always have my cell phone with me.

Here are two recent, very random pics from my keitai.

Click on the picture to be taken to the Flickr page with a description of the picture.

Cheers,
Jason

Weird picture of the day

2011-05-06T15:57:00.001+09:00

anime eyelids
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

strange pic of a girl with "anime/manga eyes" painted onto her eyelids...

just thought I would share. :P

-J

日本語 Shimane AJET Charity Hike on May 15th

2011-04-27T21:22:00.001+09:00

sajet_poster_japanese_large
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Information in Japanese about the Charity Hike at Mt. Sanbe in Shimane on May 15, 2011.

Please click on the picture above to read more.

-Jason

Shimane AJET Charity Hike on May 15th

2011-04-27T21:11:00.002+09:00

SAJET Poster - Within Japan English (large)
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Please click on the picture above to be taken to a larger version. Information about donations (accepted from anywhere in the WORLD) is in the post below, just under the YouTube video for the event.

Thanks for reading!
-Jason

Shimane AJET Charity Hike

2011-04-27T21:00:00.000+09:00

If you are not in Japan, but would still like to help,
please consider donating to my friends in Shimane
who are raising money for the children and victims
of the March 11th tsunami.

Donations - Click Here

Thanks!
-Jason

Cathy's House - Wonderful day

2011-04-20T15:59:00.000+09:00

And people wonder why I don't watch alot of Japanese TV... :P

This is seriously wacky!

-J

Snoopy toys in Japan

2011-04-03T20:31:00.001+09:00

Snoopy toys in Japan - 4
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I love collecting the free incentive toys and charms you get for buying certain bottled beverages in Japan.

This is a new series of Snoopy and Woodstock toys attached to bottles of Pepsi cola.

Each toy represents a country with a typical food that Snoopy or Woodstock are sitting in or on top of.

I got all 8! :)

Donations Update and Contest Winners

2011-03-19T14:16:00.000+09:00

My newest vlog, where I discuss how the donations are going (they're going great!) and I give away a few Japanese toys to some viewers who left a comment on a recent video.

Thanks for watching!
-Jason

東日本大震災　千葉・旭市で車載カメラが津波にとらえる

2011-03-18T01:44:00.000+09:00

wow

Help me HELP JAPAN

2011-03-15T05:56:00.000+09:00

Trying to do my small part to aid in the relief and recovery effort in Japan. Go to YouTube to leave a comment and thus donate .50cents to the cause.

Peace,
Jason

the furture of education online

2011-03-12T04:48:00.002+09:00

In the back of my mind, this is where all my seminar lectures and teaching experience and YouTube videos would lead - some kind of online forum with information that could help a broad spectrum of people that I will most likely never meet.

A very good vid and very inspirational for me.

EQUALS

2011-03-09T04:33:00.000+09:00

Fantastic PSA by Dame Judi Dench and James Bond (Daniel Craig), who appears in drag in the end.

Dan Dennett on The Future of Religion

2011-03-09T04:23:00.000+09:00

An interesting dialog about the new democritization of knowledge in the 21st century, and how it will affect religion.

Can a religion thrive in a society with free and unfettered access to all ideas and information? Will young people, given the choice between facts and myths, continue to choose the myths that their parents had little choice but to accept?

Daniel Dennett is an interesting author and a reasoned and rational voice looking at the way religion will evolve in this century.

-Jason

Let's get social: Networking frames - scanners

2011-03-07T11:23:00.000+09:00

Let's get social: Networking frames - scanners

So often people don't quite understand when I'll go on and on about a particular film I like.

Sometimes it can be something intangible - some connection to the film I have on a personal level that others may not share.

Other times, my appreciation is born out of a deliberate attempt by a gifted filmmaker (in this case, the ridiculously talented David Fincher) to infuse his/her film with subtle elements that add to the narrative and give the film a depth that resonates long after you finish watching it.

My favorite film of the past 6 months has been "The Social Netowrk," a film that could be easily dismissed by some as too "talky" or a movie where "not much happens."

But the film is alive with interesting characters and whip-smart dialog, courtesy of the brilliant writer Aaron Sorkin, who also created TV's The West Wing.

And two other more subtle elements are the soundtrack/score, which very deservedly won an Academy Award, and the editing, which did not.

The above article also highlights the framing and camera angle and set up choices that make the film more than just two people talking in a room.
Give it a read if you want to more fully appreciate a stellar film.

-Jason

The BRIT Awards 2011 - Adele sings Someone Like You

2011-03-06T15:48:00.000+09:00

Adele is my favorite recent singer. I got her debut album, titled "19" since she was 19-years-old when she recorded it, and fell in love with her voice, especially on the Bob Dylan cover song "Make you feel my love."

This is the lead off single from her new album, performed live at the Brit Awards in February.

Enjoy!
-Jason

Tron Uprising Animated Series Trailer

2011-03-05T05:48:00.000+09:00

Sweet! This is a word now used commonly in English to talk about something we like or something that is cool - "This show looks sweet."

And this show does look very sweet indeed.
I'm a huge TRON fan, and I really hope I have a chance here in Japan
to see this show as it comes out.

All of Japan Song -- 都道府県の歌

2011-03-03T07:33:00.000+09:00

Fun song, done in the style of the Animaniacs song where Wacko names all the countries in the world, about all the prefectures in Japan.

Think I should learn this and do it as part of my jikoshokai in April to my new college students? :)

-J

Snoopy store in Osaka Japan

2011-03-03T02:00:00.000+09:00

Filmed with my new keitai (cell phone) in Osaka the day before Christmas in 2010.

3 films in 3 days and then... The Oscars

2011-03-01T14:24:00.004+09:00

One good thing about coming back to San Diego this spring is that I got to watch the Academy Awards live yesterday with my family - both my mom and my sister like movies, and were happy to spend the 3+ hours watching what turned out to be a rather boring and predictable awards show.

In preparation for the Oscar telecast on Sunday evening, I decided I would go see three of the films with multiple nominations, including Best Picture: True Grit, Black Swan, and the eventual winner, The King's Speech.

Luckily, my folks live within 10 minutes of two decent mega cinemas here in the San Marcos area, so all three films were still playing with multiple screening times to choose from.

I flew in to LAX on Thursday, and spent most of Thursday night and Friday getting over jet lag, but was awake enough on Friday night to see True Grit at 10pm.

True Grit is a somewhat laconic and stilted Western made by the ever-intriguing Coen Brothers; a remake of a John Wayne movie from 1969 (the year I was born) with Jeff Bridges in the Wayne role of Rooster Cogburn, a US Marshall/bounty hunter with questionable tactics and morals.
What made the movie sing for me was the performance of 14-year-old Haille Steinfeld as the young Mattie Ross, a girl in the post Civil War south who learns her father was murdered in cold blood and yet no one seems to be doing anything about it. The dialogue the Coens give Mattie and the way Steinfeld delivers this dialog is superb and earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She lost to Melissa Leo for The Fighter (a film I have yet to see), and the film True Grit lost in all the other 9 categories it was nominated for.
If you like the Coen Bros style (The Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona) then I think you'll appreciate their take on the Western genre, and I enjoyed the film despite the rampant nihilism on display.

I followed True Grit with The King's Speech on Saturday at 10pm. I had a free ticket for this one, so didn't have to shell out the $11.25 for a ticket I did the night before. Having had a big lunch and almost no dinner on Saturday, I thought I would treat myself to a medium popcorn and medium cola at the concession stand. When the clerk informed me that the combo would be $12.25, I chuckled to myself and instead settled for a small Mr. Pibb (ahh, Mr, Pibb, how I've missed you) for $4.75, which was still in a bigger cup than a "large" size cola in Japan.

The King's Speech is a well-made, well-acted and ultimately uplifting story centering around the Duke of York, who would eventually become King George the VI of England and reign during the dark days of World War II.
For all that the movie is, it is not, in my opinion, a "Best Picture of the Year" type film. Like I said, it's well-made and I enjoyed it, but I doubt I would buy it on DVD or tell friends, "You MUST see this movie." It was a safe choice for the Academy in a year when they could have made a much bolder and interesting choice for Best Picture.
I won't argue with Colin Firth getting the Oscar for Best Actor for this portrayal of The Duke or York, who was Queen Elizabeth II's father. He is magnificent in the role, and makes the cantankerous King, who suffers from a stuttering speech impediment, into a very sympathetic character. The film is really a duet between Firth and Geoffrey Rush, who plays his speech therapist. Rush got justly rewarded with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Christian Bale for The Fighter. It's the first time two British actors have won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor since the 1950s. The King's Speech won 4 Oscars in total, but the film feels like "The Queen" did a few years ago. That movie too had a fantastic performance at its core (Helen Mirren's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, for which she also won an Oscar), but it didn't win Best Picture. Both movies are well-made and interesting to watch, but both feel like Masterpiece Theater movies writ large with better sets and direction than a TV budget would allow.

The King's Speech has natural appeal to the largely older Oscar voting branch of the Academy, and I can see why it won, but in my opinion, The Social Network or Inception are better choices for Best Picture of 2010.
Those movies mesmerized audiences with their stunning visuals or razor-sharp dialog and both films took complex subjects and made entertaining movies out of the concepts by the sheer artistry of the their directors. Both The Social Network and Inception will reward repeat viewings, while the King's Speech will become just another Oscar footnote.

I was very happy that The Social Network won for Best Screenplay (adapted) for Aaron Sorkin, the man who created two of my favorite TV shows - The West Wing and Sports Night, and for Best Original Score, since I thought the music in the film set the perfect tone and was such a big part of why the Social Network is such a stunning film.
Inception had to settle for mostly technical awards (it won 3 and the award for Best Cinematography), but the true travesty was that truly unique director Christopher Nolan was not even nominated for Best Director and the film also failed to win a nomination for Best Editing, even tho it is a master class in editing.
I would have been consoled had David Fincher, another amazing director responsible for films such as Fight Club, Seven, and Panic Room, had won for Best Director for his inspired direction of The Social Network, but instead the Academy went with Tom Hooper, a TV director making the transition to feature films with The King's Speech.

The last film I saw in my 3-day marathon was Black Swan, a psychological thriller set in the world of a professional ballet company.
I went to an 11am showing on Sunday, and this was the most well-attended of the 3 screenings I went to, with about 30 other people joining me at this last attempt to see the film before the Oscars that evening.
Natalie Portman, an actress I've been watching and enjoying since she debuted at the age of 11 in Luc Besson's Leon - The Professional in 1994, won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as Nina, the troubled ballerina who wants to be perfect but doesn't have the soul to infuse her performances with greatness.
She is fantastic in this role, which required her to train for a year to become a good enough ballet dancer for the demanding performance scenes, and she also had to embody the split personality the character becomes.
Black Swan is directed by the visionary Darren Aronofsky, who made the truly incredible film Requiem for a Dream and 2008's The Wrestler. He does some spooky and twisted things in this movie and I was hooked in from the very beginning all the way to the tragic end.

So it was a good 3 days spent at my house of worship - the local movie theater. None of these films has even opened in Japan yet, and I currently live at least a 2 hour drive from a decent movie theater, so I plan to see even more movies while I'm home in March.

Coming up I want to see:
The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon (March 4th)
Battle: Los Angeles with Aaron Eckhart (March 11th)
Limitless and Paul (March 18th)
and
Sucker Punch (from the director of Watchmen and 300) which I'll only have a few days to see since it opens on March 25th and I fly back to Japan on the 27th.

-Jason

New GReeeeN video and song

2011-02-23T16:33:00.003+09:00

I really like the J-Pop group GReeeeN.

They were uber-popular while I was teaching at Jr High schools a few years ago, and I think they're still popular with Japanese teens, altho I haven't heard anything about them in a while.

Until I saw this new song of theirs on YouTube today.

Unfortunately, in the song seen below, they are mostly back-up for an annoying "tarento" named "Bekki." I believe she's half-Japanese and half... something not-Japanese, which perhaps explains her un-Japanese name, altho it could just be a stage name.

GReeeeN is made up of 4 dental students who never appear on camera so you can see their faces in their videos or on their album covers, etc.
But I thought they were going to give that up when they graduated from Dental School. Oh well, I hope they bring out a new CD in 2011 - I enjoy their music.

-Jason

2 cents in 2 minutes - Episode #3 - Sumo scandal & role models

2011-02-17T07:39:00.000+09:00

The latest installment of my new series - 2 Cents in 2 Minutes.

I discuss the recent Sumo "yaochou" scandal and talk a little about role models.

Enjoy!
-Jason

Another Valentines Day comes and goes

2011-02-14T12:45:00.003+09:00

It's V-day today, and boy is it cold.

Started snowing at lunch today and I'm back under the kotatsu all the time
at home just trying to stay warm.

Can't wait to get back to San Diego in a few weeks and enjoy either
the warmer temperatures or the benefits of insulation and central heating.

For Valentines Day today I offer the following random bit of trivia
from my Peanuts page-a-day calendar:

"Trite but true, flowers bring a smile to a woman's face.
That's what a 2005 Rutgers Univ. study showed.
All study participants smiled when given flowers.
Gifts of fruit, candy, and candles did not elicit even a grin from some of the recipients."

Speaking of Peanuts, my all time favorite comic strip, I feel a little like Charlie Brown on V-day. He and I share a horrible track record in the love department.
It's been 8 years since I had a "valentine" and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Oh well, there's always sumo coming up... (what? they canceled the basho? *sigh*)

-Jason
who got beat in bowling by a guy from Ireland and a girl recently - oh the shame!

Random additional trivia:
Five Frequently Misspelled Words
admissible
defendant
irrelevant
overrule
prosecutor

Found in Translation -- Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T21:45:00.000+09:00

Fun little video explaining how Valentine's Day is slightly different in Japan.

He leaves out one category that is common in Jr High and High School - tomo choco or tomodachi chocolate, which is girls giving chocolate to their female friends.

Enjoy,
Jason

Japanese Girl Explains Spiderman

2011-02-09T17:31:00.000+09:00

The same Japanese girl who explained Titanic is back,
this time explaining the first Spider-Man movie.

Enjoy!
-Jason

March 2011 Sumo Tournament Canceled

2011-02-09T13:17:00.000+09:00

I've been reporting on this most recent scandal to hit the world of Sumo on my all-Sumo channel on YouTube.

Below is the video I made on Feb. 4th when the news first broke and above is my reaction to the news that they are canceling the March tournament in Osaka.

As a big fan of the sport of Sumo, this is really a bad development, with face-saving measures taken by the JSA (Japan Sumo Assoc.) board seeming to hurt Sumo fans more than helping us continue our enjoyment of the sport.

Match-fixing, or "yaochou" in Japanese is not illegal, and it has long been suspected in the lower divisions of Sumo, but this is the first time they have solid proof it has happened.
Americans like myself are a bit immune to less-than-honorable goings-on in our major sports, but it usually doesn't diminish the love of the sport itself, and my guess is the same will hold true in Sumo.

I am eager to watch the next basho, and I sincerely hope that they get all this worked out before the May tournament in Tokyo.

-Jason

Japanese students - make a vlog!

2011-02-09T10:26:00.003+09:00

Practice makes perfect. This is a phrase you hear often in America.

It's a cliche, クリシェ , but it's true too.

You'll only get better at speaking English if you practice and don't worry too much about making mistakes.

The great thing about making a vlog is you can edit out some mistakes and try again if you really mess up.

Take the young woman in the video below.
A friend on YouTube recommended her channel - she's in high school in the UK
and studying Japanese on her own.
So she doesn't have a lot of chances to speak Japanese in England - there just aren't that many Japanese people around where she lives.
So she speaks Japanese into her camera and puts it on YT, and adds subtitles in English and Japanese as well.
It's really good practice and also brave, because sometimes you get bad comments on YouTube. But most people support her and try to encourage her to keep trying and making videos.

Can you make a video like this where you speak English for 3 minutes?
Why don't you try?

-Jason

Impact of JET alums felt in Japan-US relations

2011-02-08T16:04:00.001+09:00

from JetWit.com

Here’s a great article that just appeared in The Mainichi Daily News titled “Returnees of English-language program key to Japan-U.S. ties.” Notably, the article quotes several JET alums who are established foreign policy experts including:

* Michael Auslin – Director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
* Ben Dolven – Current director of the East Asia division at the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. Congress’ official think tank
* Michael Green – Head of Japan Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former head of the Asia team under President George W. Bush’s National Security Council (Note: Michael was a “Monbusho English Fellow (MEF), a precursor to the JET Program.)
* Andrew Ou – Currentlyworking in the U.S. Embassy’s political section

Here’s a link to the article

Here’s the text of the article:

Returnees of English-language program key to Japan-U.S. ties

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) — When current participants in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program gather, the discussion often focuses on English teaching methods. When the program’s U.S. alumni get together, however, talk often turns to a weightier subject: U.S. foreign policy towards Japan.

Since the program was established in 1987, it has brought tens of thousands of young Americans to Japan to engage in cultural exchange, with a focus on teaching English.

Although the program has an uneven track record when it comes to improving Japanese students’ English, it has quietly and unexpectedly become a powerful tool for achieving another objective: grooming the next generation of American leadership in U.S.-Japan relations.

Michael Auslin, a former participant of JET and prominent Japan expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said recent attacks on the program by the Japanese government’s budget screening have focused on the quality of its English teaching, while ignoring a more important feature as one of Japan’s most valuable tools for conducting “public diplomacy” both with the United States and other countries.

JET’s success in this regard is perhaps best demonstrated by the number of former JETs occupying Japan-related positions in both the academic field and the U.S. government. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo alone employs 25 former JETs, and JET returnees have done Japan-related work at the highest levels of the U.S. government.

“The JET Program created a fairly large cadre of people who had Japan experience,” says Ben Dolven, a former JET and current director of the East Asia division at the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. Congress’ official think tank.

“You’ve got a core of people who have had this experience all over, who are now part and parcel of U.S. policymaking on Japan,” he said.

Dolven’s point is illustrated by an anecdote told by Michael Green, the head of Japan Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former head of the Asia team under President George W. Bush’s National Security Council.

Green, who participated in a precursor to the JET program, was tasked with putting together a group to examine how the 2001 election of Junichiro Koizumi as Japan’s prime minister might affect its relations with the United States.

The task force consisted of Japan experts from various government agencies, ranging from the Central Intelligence Agency to the Treasury Department.

“The interesting thing about it was that you had all of these people from all of these agencies, who had been JETs…” or, like Green, had participated in similar programs in Japan, he said.

The group put together a set of recommendations that “became, in many ways, a blueprint for President Bush’s first meeting with Koizumi,” Green said.

Dolven said since JET program participants often work in rural areas, the program gives them a more nuanced view of the “real” Japan, a background that provides crucial context for better understanding the country and making informed policy decisions.

“There are lives being lived all over the country, and if you are just focused on Tokyo, you miss so much,” Dolven said.

Auslin also said that JET is probably the most successful, institutionalized, organized way to get young foreigners to obtain a deeper understanding of the “real” Japan.

This sentiment is perfectly embodied by Andrew Ou, a former JET now working in the U.S. Embassy’s political section.

While on the JET program 10 years ago, Ou developed a relationship with Ichita Yamamoto, now a leading figure in Japan’s main opposition Liberal Democratic Party. Ou cites this connection, as well as his JET experience with Japan’s local politics, as invaluable to his current work analyzing Japanese politics.

“You can’t put that into an equation and come out with a figure of how important it is for bilateral relations,” he said. But he believes that his own and others’ experiences on the JET program “add up to invaluable benefits for the U.S.-Japan relationship.”

Recent criticism of the JET program comes at a time when many scholars have observed an increasing tendency in Japan towards turning “inward,” contributing to what the Japan Center for International Exchange, a New York-based think tank, has called an erosion in the “the institutional base of U.S.-Japan policy dialogue and study.”

Ou finds criticism of the JET program especially disappointing. “I think as a group, JET alumni have a bigger impact on bilateral policy than any other,” he said.

And that is what makes it essential to “emphasize how important the JET program was and is for me and countless other diplomats,” he said.

(Mainichi Japan) February 5, 2011

Big America #2 - the IDAHO burger from McDonald's in Japan

2011-02-07T21:58:00.002+09:00

Even tho I know it's not that good for me, I now eat at the small McDonald's in my town about three or four times a month.
I always, and I mean ALWAYS, get the same thing.

The Big Mac meal, or in Japanese - ze biggu maku setto.

Costs 630 yen if I get the L size cola, which would be a medium in America.

I've been eating Big Macs for more than 30 years now. Kinda weird when I think about it.
But just the other day I was at the Mickey Ds in my town when 4 of my college students came over to me (it's in a food court type setting in a mall) and started to chat. Two of them have never had a Big Mac before. "Too big," one of them said.

But they'd all just eaten the new burger - the IDAHO burger, part of Japan McDonald's new campaign of American style hamburgers that started off with the for-a-limited-time-only TEXAS burger.

The IDAHO burger has bacon and a big hash brown patty in addition to meat and cheese and sauce. It's looks pretty good, but I haven't tried it because I always get the Big Mac. There is nothing about the Big Mac I don't like except for the two pickles, which are easy to take off.
But the IDAHO burger has mayonnaise and I HATE mayo. And I always feel weird about asking for a "special order" at McDs. The ones in America just aren't geared up for special orders, like the way Burger King is. If you order a burger at a McDs in America minus one of the regular ingredients, you almost always have to wait for them to make it for you, while everyone else is eating their food already.

Anyway - if you've tried the IDAHO burger, let me know. I may finally try something different at a McDs for once.

The vid below is a YT friend who eats even faster than I do - believe it or not. He eats more than one IDAHO burger in this video - do you think it looks delicious?

Photo Essays of High School students in Japan 日本の高校生のフォトエッセイ

2011-02-04T16:57:00.004+09:00

I stumbled across a cool website showcasing photography by Japanese high school students.
Prize-winning works in the “Photo and Essay Division” for high school students of the 31st Yomiuri Photo Grand Prix.

I plan to make a vlog on my YT channel about this and why I think it's so cool, considering the images Westerners are routinely bombarded with regarding HS students in Japan, but I thought I would share the link with you now.

Go HERE to see the prize winning entries from a few years ago.
Some of the text and stories are really interesting.

These are the basic guidelines for the contest, which does include a 300,000yen First Prize.
Introduce a high school friend you know well, expressed through a set of not more than five photographs and a text of 150 words in English or 200 characters in Japanese.

The site is bilingual - the above link is in English, but you can click to get 日本語。

Enjoy!
-Jason

Setsubun (節分) Bean-Throwing Festival

2011-02-03T17:19:00.003+09:00

Today is a holiday of sorts in Japan called "Setsubun."

It's a fun holiday (you don't get the day off tho), where you throw beans out your window and doors to ward off the evil spirits, and welcome good luck into your home.

Kind of like the English expression "Out with the bad, in with the good."

You can see a video I made in 2008 about Setsubun, where I participated in mamemaki at one of my elementary schools.

You can read all about Setsubun at this link to Wikipedia.

Have you ever done mamemaki?

-Jason

Who are JETs?

2011-02-02T09:33:00.003+09:00

I often get asked what "kind" of person JET is looking for, or who has a better chance of making it into the program.

While there are certain traits and accomplishments all JETs shares, such as being a college graduate and having an interest in Japan, the JETs I met over my 5 years in the program were a very diverse group of young people from many different countries.

This is perhaps illustrated by this page showing the representatives and leaders of an organization called AJET.

AJET is the Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching, and it's basically a group for all active JETs in Japan to have a way of communicating with each other and with the ministries in Tokyo that organize and oversee the JET Program.

-Jason

Royal Wedding Condoms

2011-01-31T17:29:00.001+09:00

Royal Wedding Condoms
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

One of the professors at my uni is taking her seminar (or "zemi") students to the UK for Spring Vacation (haru yasumi or 春休み).

I've been joking with them that they have to bring back great souvenirs (omiyage or お土産)　for me, their favorite Media Center helper. (One of my jobs at the school is to staff the Language Learning Support Room (LLSR) when I'm not teaching - so the LLSR has become my de facto office and a great place for the students to come to get help or just chat in English)

They will be in England at the height of the preparations for the big Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine. So I thought they should get me something to commemorate this event, but I think this souvenir of the wedding is perhaps going a little too far... LOL

-J

Visiting Nara with Paul - Part One

2011-01-30T19:17:00.000+09:00

Hello Everyone,

January sure went by fast, didn't it?

I just posted a video I made from footage I shot back in late December, when my younger brother, Paul, visited Japan for the holidays.

We spent a day in Nara - one of my favorite places in Japan.

You can watch the two videos below.

Thanks,
Jason

Japanese Girl Explains Titanic

2011-01-29T21:59:00.000+09:00

Another fun video I saw today on YouTube.

I love watching random videos on YT. :)

-J

The Values We All Stand For

2011-01-29T21:45:00.001+09:00

Vid from YouTube I saw today and thought I would share.

Peace,
Jason

Oscar noms

2011-01-26T12:23:00.002+09:00

The nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards were announced this week.

Unfortunately, living in Japan can make it difficult to see the nominated films and performances in a timely manner. We often have to wait months here for a film to be released after it debuts in the States, and I've often seen the DVD available for a film on the American Amazon site before it has even played theatrically in Japan.

Here are the ten (yes, 10 - the Academy changed it from 5 last year to include more popular films in the competition) films nominated for Best Picture of 2010.
(I've seen four of the ten so far - I've bolded those titles)

* “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
* “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
* “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
* “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
* “The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
* “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
* “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
* “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
* “Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Which movies have you seen? There are at least 3 more on that list I really want to see.
Out of the movies I did manage to see in 2010, I'll have to give it some thought and post my own Top Ten in a few days.

-Jason

Where I sleep

2011-01-24T22:51:00.001+09:00

futon 3
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I just posted 6 pics of my Japanese tatami bedroom - click on this pic to be taken to my Flickr site to see the other 5 pictures, which all have descriptions.

Description for this picture:
You can see the triple layering of the futon here, and the double pillows. Finding a good pillow in Japan can be difficult - so many of them are made with an indentation where your head is supposed to go, but I don't like that style.

You can see the electric space heater sitting on top of my mini ironing board, which I use a lot since I have no clothes dryer and my stuff gets pretty wrinkled just air drying in the cold winter air.

On the small table is my alarm clock, cell phone and iPod, as well as the wireless house phone (which I never answer). Under the small table is reading material like magazines and whatever current novel I'm reading, which at the moment is "Norwegian Wood" by Murakami.

-Jason

Nanba-kun (ナンバ君、"Mr. Number")

2011-01-20T15:52:00.003+09:00

Today I learned something new.

I was doing some research on Japanese passports online and I came across this blog called ShiShi Girl.

She talks about sending postcards using Post Crossing, which is a pretty cool website that connects you with other people who like to send and receive postcards.
One of the professors here at my school uses this site in one of her classes and she has all her students send postcards all over the world. She has them use her return address here at our university to ensure some privacy for the students. It's a really good idea and she's gotten back some really wonderful postcards.

Anyway - while one her site I was reading about kamon, a type of family crest symbol used in Japan, one of which appears on the cover of the Japanese passport.
After that I clicked around and learned about this character I didn't know about:
〠
Do you see a strange little face symbol? That's the Japanese post's Nanba-kun (ナンバ君、 "Mr. Number" ) character, essentially the J-version of Mr. Zip.
Who's Mr. Zip you ask?
Go here to find out. :)

Ahh the wonders of Google and Wikipedia. How did we survive 10 years ago without them?? :D

-Jason

Superhero movies - by the numbers

2011-01-16T17:11:00.002+09:00

I really enjoy American Comic Books, and I also enjoy many of the superhero movies made from DC and Marvel comics.

Here is an interesting info-graphic made about Superhero Movies.

せんぱい　こうはい

2011-01-14T16:41:00.003+09:00

I don't hear these two terms as much at my new job at a university as I did when I worked mainly at a Jr High School, but you do still sometimes hear it.

Very useful vocab if you plan to spend time in Japan.

(info from The Japan Forum.)

せんぱい　先ぱい (senpai) Someone in a higher academic level or more advanced / superior position than you in a given discipline or pursuit. Someone who entered the school, university, or place of employment before you did. This term is widely used in clubs and other areas of Japanese junior high and high school life. The term senpai is used to mean seniors in general, but it is also used to refer to individuals with the person's name -- usually their surname but sometimes their first name -- plus "senpai," as in "Tamura-senpai" or "Yuki-senpai." The corresponding word for students / people in lower grades / positions is こうはい　後はい　koohai , though this is not used in conjunction with surnames or other names to refer to those people.

Jason again... :)
The concept of having to show respect and deference to those "above" you is an important concept in Japanese daily life and should be closely observed and respected by those foreigners wishing to spend any length of time in Japan.

The January Grand Sumo Tournament

2011-01-13T23:37:00.004+09:00

The Hatsu Basho, or New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, has begun in Tokyo and will run through Sunday, January 23rd.

I watch every day when I get home from work and on the weekends too.

I usually film the last few matches of each day and throw in some of my own commentary and play-by-play.

I then post these videos on my All-Sumo YouTube channel.

Here is the first video I did for this January tournament, explaining where the wrestlers are ranked and what to expect over the next two weeks.

Feel free to go to my channel for daily Sumo updates.

Cheers,
Jason

Comig of Age day video with English explanation

2011-01-11T16:59:00.002+09:00

Cool vid by a Tokyo vlogger (who is half Japanese) about attending his Coming of Age ceremony this past weekend.

I might go to my local one next year, since I'll know many of the students by then, or maybe I'll make my way back to Izumo to see many of my former students who are now 20.

Enjoy the vid.

First vlog of 2011

2011-01-10T20:03:00.003+09:00

This is my first video at my main YouTube channel - myargonauts - for this new year. But I started vlogging about SUMO yesterday at my All-Sumo channel - JasonsinJapan. (Links are also on the right side menu)

Thanks for watching!
-Jason

Coming of Age Day

2011-01-10T00:36:00.000+09:00

Congrats to all my current 2nen sei students (Sophomores) at my university - most will be celebrating their Coming-of-Age Day today. My local town actually had the official ceremony yesterday - my guess is to allow parties to take place afterwards and give the students and their families the Monday national holiday to recover. :)

Here is some more info from Wikipedia:

Coming of Age Day (成人の日 Seijin no Hi) is a Japanese holiday held annually on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached the age of majority (20 years old (二十歳 hatachi) over the past year, and to help them realize that they have become adults. Festivities include coming of age ceremonies (成人式 seijin-shiki) held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties amongst family and friends.

New Year traditions in Japan

2011-01-09T01:03:00.001+09:00

Here are some things Japanese people and a few of us Westerners living in Japan do to celebrate the New Year holiday:

Hatsumōde (初詣) is the first shrine visit of the New Year in Japan. Some people visit a Buddhist temple instead. Many visit on the first, second, or third day of the year as most are off work on those days. Generally, wishes for the new year are made, new o-mamori (charms or amulets) are bought, and the old ones are returned to the shrine so they can be burned. There are often long lines at major shrines throughout Japan.

Most Japanese are off work from December 29 until January 3. It is during this time that the house is cleaned, debts are paid, friends and family are visited and gifts are exchanged. It would be customary to spend the early morning of New Year's Day in domestic worship, followed by sake—often containing edible gold flakes—and special celebration food. During the hatsumōde, it is common for men to wear a full kimono—one of the rare chances to see them doing so across a year. The act of worship is generally quite brief and individual and may involve queuing at popular shrines. The o-mamori vary substantially in price.

Some shrines and temples have millions of visitors over the three days. Meiji Shrine in Harajuku for example had 3.45 million visitors in 1998.

A common custom during hatsumōde is to buy a written oracle called omikuji. If your omikuji predicts bad luck you can tie it onto a tree on the shrine grounds, in the hope that its prediction will not come true. The omikuji goes into detail, and tells you how you will do in various areas in your life, such and business and love, for that year. Often a good-luck charm comes with the omikuji when you buy it, that will summon good luck and money your way.

(Info from Wikipedia)

I used to visit my local shrine, IzumoTaisha, every year while I lived in Taisha town. It was always super crowded, but a great atmosphere permeated the area.

This year I didn't go - I live too far away now, and it was really snowy over the New Year holiday. I haven't found a nice shrine I like in my local area yet, but I have to look around some more.

-Jason

Great review of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

2011-01-04T18:35:00.000+09:00

One of my favorite long-form reviewers is back with another detailed look at a failed film - this time the 3rd of the Star Wars prequels - Revenge of the Sith.

It's the best 100 minutes you'll spend in front of your computer monitor this year.

Go HERE to see the review split up into three 30+ minute segments.

After watching his take down of the first prequel - The Phantom Menace, I was eager to see more.

And yes, I'm a huge Star Wars fan, but I have to agree with most of his review about how awful the prequel films are, and he gives good reasons why they're so bad.

And part three, where he compares Revenge of the Sith to Orson Welles' Citizen Kane is particularly funny and insightful about the art of cinema.

Sit back and enjoy!
-Jason

RIP Pete Postlethwaite

2011-01-04T17:30:00.000+09:00

Pete Postlethwaite, the British character actor who appeared in three films in 2010 alone, has died at the age of 64, following a long fight against cancer.

I read this news on one of my Cinema sites yesterday and was a little stunned.

Not only was Pete relatively young, but he seemed to show up in film after film.

I first noticed him as a character named Kobayashi in one of my all-time favorite movies, "The Usual Suspects."

Since then he's had many memorable roles, and I always enjoyed seeing him appear in a film. From Alien3 to Lost World to Inception, Pete always turned in a good performance. One of his sweetest movie roles was in "Brassed Off" which was set in his native England.

Mr. Postlethwaite will be missed.

What is your favorite Japanese film?

2010-12-27T14:24:00.000+09:00

I took part in this YouTube collaboration, hosted and edited by a YouTuber living in Tokyo.

The film I talk about is "After Life" by Hirokazu Koreeda.

More info HERE.

My part in the video below starts at about the 4minute30second mark.

Enjoy!
-Jason

PS - What is your favorite Japanese film?

Daily English question

2010-12-20T09:21:00.001+09:00

So I have a 1st year student who comes into my office just about every Mon, Wed and Friday just after the Media Center opens to ask me a question related to English grammar. Some are easier than others to answer and explain using my Japanese and simple English.

Here was today's question...

The set-up is this: it's a Family Circus one-panel comic strip.

Billy and Dolly (two children) are sitting at the kitchen table and their dog, Barfy, is watching them.
They're about to each eat a hot dog.

Billy says in the caption: "Hey! Don't say you-know-whats in front of Barfy."

OK - explain this cartoon to the Japanese student using simple English and very little Japanese, and specifically explain the usage of "you-know-whats" - you have 5 minutes. Go! :)

-Jason

Go HERE if you aren't familiar with The Family Circus comic strip.

Brian Setzer - Run Rudolph Run

2010-12-12T10:01:00.000+09:00

Fun Christmas music from one of my favorite musicians!

Enjoy!

Are Christians the New Persecuted?

2010-12-12T01:02:00.000+09:00

Interesting video from one of my favorite information channels on YouTube.

Good back and forth viewpoints from 6 British citizens on why they think that Christians are or are not persecuted in the UK today.

I wish America was moving more towards the secularism that is evident in England, but that is unhappily not the case. When people like Sarah Palin can gain traction in American politics, it makes me very wary of America's future.

Fukuoka Day 15 - Toyonoshima v Kisenosato - Nov. 28, 2010

2010-11-29T10:32:00.000+09:00

A great sumo match from the final day of the Fukuoka Basho.

Check out my all-Sumo channel - JasonsinJapan (link on the right hand nav bar) - on YouTube for the final matches from senshuraku - Day 15 of the tournament.

-Jason

questions about why I vlog

2010-11-24T00:26:00.000+09:00

A college student in America recently emailed me on YouTube via my Myargonauts channel, and asked me if I would answer a few questions about my vlogging experience for a class project.

So here are his questions and my answers.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Jason

Have you ever felt nervous in front of a camera? Does the nervousness ever go away or is it something you just learn to deal with?

I don't feel nervous just talking to a camera. I do sometimes get nervous talking in front of large groups, but being a teacher gets you used to being up in front of a group and retaining their attention.

I don't think of all the people that will eventually watch the video - I just pretend I'm having a chat with one friend.

How do/did you overcome or learn to deal with camera shyness?

Again - I never really had camera shyness. I was in drama club and speech and debate when I was in High school, so

I've had lots of practice talking in front of others.

The first few vlogs I did with me just talking at the camera were a bit awkward, but I've gotten better by watching others and editing helps. It helps to think about what you're gonna say in detail before you start to record, so you're not searching for words while on camera.

What advice do you have for anyone wanting to start their own vlog?

Watch other vloggers that you like - what do you like about their videos? Try to imitate their pace\style\topics, etc at first and then develop your own style.

If you want loyal viewers, then try to find a niche to fill - there are 1000s of vloggers - but not everyone is talking about the same thing - find something somewhat unique to talk about and then be consistent and sincere.

What equipment do you use?

Hand held digital camera for on location and sometimes indoors, and my built in iSight camera on my Mac.

Is the type of camera important?

It is if you want to shoot widescreen or in HD - but for simple vlogs where it's just you talking at the camera, then not really.

Lighting and sound are more important - make sure your face is well lit and we can hear you and there is no music drowning out your voice.

What software do you use for editing video?

I often just upload what I shoot straight - I'm kinda known for my one-take vlogs. But when I do need to edit or add titles, I use iMovie on my Mac.

What is your editing process?

If I'm trying to be more entertaining than informative - then I try hard to keep the pace brisk and edit to the music.

Why did you decide to start vlogging?

At first I was just uploading small 1 or 2 minute clips - mostly of my school life.

But I started to watch more and more YT vloggers in Japan and I thought I could take a shot at talking to the camera.

I was already getting emails with questions about Japan, even tho I only had about 100 subscribers when I did my first on-camera vlog. Then I looked around YouTube and noticed no one really had made videos about the process of becoming a JET and I found my niche.

Did you know any other vloggers at the time?

I was an active commentator on other vlogs, but I didn't know any of them in person.

Was it hard to start a vlog?

No - they're incredibly easy to start. Everyone has a few good stories to tell, etc.

They are though very hard to maintain. To post consistently for a year or two takes some dedication.

You will run out of ideas or motivation from time to time, but if you have loyal viewers, they'll inspire you, give you suggestions, and make you want to keep going.

How did you know what to say or what to vlog about?

Well, there seems to be a bottomless well of people that are interested in Japan and learning Japanese who watch YouTube.

So talking about Japan became my main niche.

When I decided to start talking about movies or my other interests, such as watching Sumo, I actually started new channels so it wouldn't distract from my main channel's Japan focus.

Why have you continued to vlog?

Well, the JET Programme recruits new JETs every year, so there are always new folks coming along that want to come to Japan and learn about JET. So I keep vlogging for them.

What motivates you to keep vlogging?

My viewers are by and large a great group of people. They are very appreciative of the work I do, and they leave me great comments and send me wonderful emails. That is a big motivation. And now that I'm no longer a JET, but am back in Japan and teaching at a university, I hope to have all new insights and adventures that I can share with my viewers.

-Jason H.

ゆめタウンShopping Spree & Creative DVD Titles

2010-11-12T16:54:00.000+09:00

My latest YouTube vlog from my main channel - Myargonauts.

Enjoy my overspending. :)

My new students - already poking fun at their teacher

2010-11-11T15:12:00.000+09:00

Overall, my new college students are a pretty cool bunch.

I have about 53 ichi nen sei (Freshmen) who are 18/19 years old,
and I have about 49 ni nen sei (Sophomores) who are 19/20 years old.

My classes are 90 minutes, but split into 2 sessions with a 5 minute passing period between them.
So I teach for 45 minutes, that group of 25 or so students leave and the next group comes in for their 45 minutes.

The other half of the 90 minutes is spent reading. My students are supposed to read 10,000 English words every week. They have a bunch of ESL books to choose from which are color coded to difficulty level - so white sticker books are the easiest, with easy vocabulary and smaller word counts, and up to dark blue books, which are like regular novels.

I'm the only teacher in my classroom, and I'm in charge of all the lessons, grading, attendance, etc. Quite a change from the ALT status of most JETs, myself included.

Today I was teaching my 1nen sei about the English word "too." As in "too young" or "too old."
They had a list of 6 opinions and had to guess the age the person was talking about.
For example, "She is too young to drive a car." What age do you think this person is?

So I went around class asking various students their ideas.
One opinion was "He's too old to play soccer." I asked one girl and she said "40."
I laughed and told her I was 41, so I'm not allowed to play soccer anymore?
The class laughed as I pretended to mark down minus 1 pt for her answer.

Later I asked a boy about the opinion "She's to old to dance." He responded "45."
So I'm too old to play soccer and almost too old to dance.

The last question was about marriage.
"He's too old to get married."
I asked a boy about this in the previous class, and he said "There is no age limit on love." In English! Awwwwww....
But in this class, the boy I asked responded "35."
I pretended to immediately mark him down 1 pt for the answer and everyone laughed.
I mimed that I can only move around in a wheel chair according to them and should just watch TV all day. :P

I know when you're 18 or 19, 40 does seem awfully old, but the funny thing is I don't "feel" 40 most of the time. Compared to my fellow professors, who are all married and most have kids, I feel like a single, fun-loving guy.

It was an interesting follow-up class to the Tuesday lesson which kicked off this unit about life transitions, such as graduating from school, getting a job, buying a house, getting married, etc.
Aside from some interesting cultural differences, when I asked them what the most important transition in a child's life is, and what the most important transition in an adult's life is, I got some interesting answers.
They have a ceremony here for when you turn 20 years old, and some cited that as an important childhood transition.
But I tend to think of 20-year-olds as adults. I think a big childhood transition is learning to walk and talk and going to school for the first time.
Maybe the 20-year-old ceremony is a good transition for adolescence to adulthood.
According to the supplied phrases in the textbook I'm using, common activities that define the stage of life called "adulthood" include getting a job, getting married, and buying a house. I'm 1 for 3 on those criteria. See, I told you I wasn't a real adult yet. :)

Anyway - class is going well overall, and my kids seem to be enjoying my lessons and learning along the way.

-Jason
too old to dance, but never too old to sing karaoke! :D

Swap Meet in Oceanside

2010-10-11T21:56:00.001+09:00

Swap Meet in Oceanside - 4
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I had a big storage unit for the 5 years I was in Japan - full of "stuff." No furniture or practical items, mostly just comics, CDs, books, DVDs, toys, etc, etc.

So little by little after I got home I started to sell stuff off. First, I found a guy in LA who bought 30 "long comic boxes" from me for about $600. I only kept about 3 long boxes of my most favorite books.

Then we had a garage sale at the house, and I sold my Laser Discs players, a bunch of Star Wars toys, and other stuff.

I traded in a bunch of CDs for credit at a local used shop, and eventually got my 10'x10' storage space, which I was paying $76/month for, down to a 5x10 space, thus making my monthly rent $54.

I figured that was about it, when I got an email after I listed some comics on Craigslist from the local organizers of a swap meet in Oceanside. They wanted to have a "collector's con" aimed at comic fans, Pokemon fans, anime fans, etc.

It was only $25 to rent the space, and even tho I'd never sold at a swap meet before, I decided to give it a try just two weeks before I was set to leave for Japan.

Luckily I knew a pal, Mark, who had helped when we ran the booth at Comic Con back in July, so I called him up and arranged for him to help me for part of the day. He ended up working the whole 9 hours, and we were pretty busy - I sold over $600 worth of stuff, so minus some expenses I made about $450.

It was a lot of work, but overall it felt good to "give away" some of my stuff and let others enjoy it instead of it just sitting in my dark storage for another potential 4 or 5 years.

-Jason

Back in Japan - Jason's Adventures Phase 3

2010-09-23T15:19:00.000+09:00

Hello All -

I made it back to Japan earlier this month and right now I'm in the process of getting the necessary visas etc to allow me to start work at the university.

I'm living in another rural town - much like Taisha where I lived before - but this time I'm not with JET, but I've been hired to teach English at a fairly small university.

I'll have Freshmen and Sophomores my first year and also be helping out with their language support room in the media center. Should be plenty to keep me busy, and lots of new challenges as I've never taught that age student before.

September has been really hot and humid so far, but I'm settling back in somewhat - today was actually the first "coolish" day we've had so far - haven't had to turn on the aircon once today so far, which is nice.

I'm watching sumo and eating ramen and getting back into some of my old habits.

I'll be moving into my new apartment in mid-October, and I've been lucky so far as local folks - new friends - have been nice enough to offer me a place to stay until then.

I hope to have lots of new adventures in Japan to tell you about.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Jason

Fun email from a former student

2010-08-20T03:39:00.000+09:00

It's always fun to get email from my students, and this one showed up in my inbox this morning somewhat out of the blue...

Kaori was a student who graduated from my Jr High in 2007 and she is now at a university. I mentioned her in a vlog - she's a super cool kid, but I hadn't communicated with her in a while - I sent her a message when I visited Japan back in March when she was graduating from HS, but she was so busy, she never got back to me.

Japanese people in general are notoriously slow at replying to email, so just be patient if you try to strike up a correspondence with someone in Japan.

Here is the email (with slight edits for content, but it's all her own style and wording):

Dear Jason

Hello! Jason! How are you?

I'm kaori k........ I was Taisha junior high school student 4 years ago.

Do you remember me?

I'm sorry to sent you the letter so long time.

I was very busy that time.

I would sent the letter because I had very happy news.

I passed the university exam!

Now , I go to university of M.........

M........ is far.

It is 12 hour from Shimane by car.

But M........ is very good place!

Many people is kind!

I like M........!

I enjoy life.

Jason,what are you going to do this summer?

I am going to do volunteer activity during summer vacation!

And, reading many books ,listening many musics ,thinking many things etc....

I am going to enjoy this summer vacation!

I hope that you enjoy this summer!!

Good bye,Jason!

from kaori k.........

Here is a pic of us in school back in 2006:

Kaori and her classmate Yukako used to write me letters in English for practice:

Jason & SpongeBob

2010-08-03T03:05:00.001+09:00

Jason & SpongeBob
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I've posted the rest of my San Diego Comic Con pics at my Flickr site - enjoy!

-Jason

Zack (Walter) and Jason at Comic Con 2010

2010-07-27T03:26:00.001+09:00

Zack (Walter) and Jason at Comic Con 2010
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I've got well over 150 pics on the way, as well as tons of video footage too from the 2010 San Diego Comic Con.

I worked Preview night on Wednesday and then all 4 full days from Thursday to Sunday at a friend's booth in the retailer section of the main convention floor. But I also had time to spend some money, attend some panels, and see some celebrities, old and new.

If you don't know the "celebrity" in the photo above, just Google "Walter Jones Zack" and you'll see... :)

-Jason

Jason's going to Comic-Con & selling stuff

2010-07-19T13:26:00.000+09:00

I'm going to Comic Con this year all 4 days + Preview Night on Wednesday. I have to help out at a friend's booth in exchange for the 5-day pass, so I won't be able to see all the panels I want to go to, but I hope to hit a few of the big ones, including panels about Tron, Walking Dead, Big Bang Theory and Scott Pilgrim.

I hope to take footage each day and make vids for my TaishaJason YT channel in August.

NHK not to air next sumo competition live

2010-07-09T05:27:00.000+09:00

I'll still try to have updates on my all-Sumo channel on YouTube - JasonsinJapan - but my access to footage via TV Japan may be limited.

-Jason

4th of July and Holidays in Japan

2010-07-06T04:29:00.000+09:00

Here is my latest vlog - shot around my house in San Diego on July 4th - Independence Day.

I also talk about holidays in Japan - what days are similar, what days have no meaning in Japan and how this is an opportunity for JETs to teach a little about your culture, whether you're from the UK, Australia, Canada, America or elsewhere.

In the text below the video on the YouTube page, I ask my viewers to leave a comment telling me what their favorite holiday is and why. Feel free to leave a comment here on this page too.

Thanks for watching!
-Jason

Fuyu Yasumi 2010: An ALT Goes to New York

2010-06-16T03:46:00.000+09:00

My friend and fellow JET (altho I guess I'm now a former-JET) made this excellent video chronicling his trip home last year for winter vacation. He used it in his classes in Japan with his Jr High students.

Good example of how you can bring real world information and practical knowledge into the classroom and make your lessons more interesting for your students.

Well done Eric!

男らしい日本語って： Manly Japanese

2010-06-13T03:04:00.000+09:00

Great video by a fellow J-vlogger living in Shiga ken.

With subtitles so you can follow along if you don't speak Japanese.

The stuff at the end about approaching a woman is pretty funny.

Enjoy!
-Jason

New vlog from TaishaJason channel

2010-06-09T05:54:00.000+09:00

Do you have a good "random act of kindness" story? Please feel free to share in the comments below or over on the forums at JapanJuku.com

Blog TV May 29th at 8pm PST

2010-05-30T04:58:00.001+09:00

join me tonight for a chat about JET, Japan and anything else that comes up.

Click Here for my Blog TV channel.

Great vid on arguing with Japanese people

2010-05-13T15:13:00.001+09:00

Made by my pal Hiko and some of his friends. With English and Japanese subtitles.

Enjoy!
-Jason

May Grand Sumo Tournament has started

2010-05-12T13:18:00.001+09:00

Sumo has started once again, and even tho I'm currently living in California, I still watch sumo daily via a cable channel I pay for here called TV Japan.

I'll have highlights and commentary on my all-Sumo channel on YouTube - JasonsinJapan.

Just click on the video below to be taken to my YouTube main channel page for sumo.

Enjoy!
-Jason

money vs happiness

2010-05-07T01:55:00.000+09:00

I've got a good job now in California. I make decent money, my co-workers are generally cool people, the office is nice and conveniently located, and the work itself is fairly easy.

But it doesn't excite me - it doesn't challenge me very often - it's very repetitive. I don't wake up excited about going to work - I do it out of duty and obligation, instead of any desire to contribute to the greater good.

I know some of you are saying, "You're making good money at a decent job - why complain?"

Because I had a job for 5 years that I really ENJOYED and I was pretty good at doing.
And I take the train most days to work and I can see the drones making their way to their offices each day to punch the clock and put in their hours so they can afford a new iPad and go out on the weekends. I don't want to become one of those drones.

Which is why I'm going to give up a much better paying job in a city I really like to move back to Japan and work for less money in a city where I won't know anyone.

If my 5 years on JET taught me one thing about myself, it's that I really love teaching. I like the day to day challenge of it - the quest to find a better way to involve and interest your students in their lessons - the ever-changing variety - the school atmosphere in Japan with large school events and it's own brand of school spirit. And I enjoy teaching English.
Perhaps not as much as I would if I could teach history, which is a subject closer to my heart, but with English it's easier in a way to notice real progress in your students. At the end of the year you can tell if they learned anything and are able to communicate at a higher level than when they started.

So I'll be giving up job security in California for the unpredictable and sometimes frustrating job of teaching English in Japan - and I can't wait! :)

-Jason

Blog TV April 24 & 25

2010-04-24T09:55:00.000+09:00

I'll be on Blog TV tomorrow at 8pm PST and most likely again on Sunday at Noon.

Swing by for a chat if you can.

What's your favorite Japanese food?

2010-04-18T00:29:00.000+09:00

My buddy in Kobe, Japan - BusanKevin - made a collab video featuring a bunch of YouTube pals talking about their favorite Japanese food.

I'm in there toward the end of the video. I mention Pocky - which is my favorite Japanese snack, but if I were in Japan when he made this request, my guess is I would have gone out to a restaurant and filmed me eating something like Japanese curry or okonomiyaki or yakisoba - some of my favorite Japanese dishes.

What Japanese food do you like?

Yokozuna Hakuho v maegashira #4 Tosayutaka

2010-03-29T15:40:00.001+09:00

Yokozuna Hakuho v maegashira #4 Tosayutaka
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I uploaded about 40 pics to my Flickr site from Day 10 of the Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament. Click on the picture above to see more.

HD video from that day is available on my all-SUMO YouTube channel - http://www.youtube.com/JasonsinJapan

Enjoy!
-Jason

computers translating Japanese to English

2010-03-26T08:09:00.000+09:00

I got the cutest email from a former student this past week.

I saw her at graduation and we exchanged emails - if you're lucky as an ALT you'll have students like her that are eager to continue using their English and communicating with you even tho you are no longer their teacher.

But her email shows a little lack of confidence on her part in regards to her English ability. Many of my kids use an online translation program when sending me email, because they don't want to make mistakes in their English.
What they don't realize is how bad most translating programs are, as you'll see in a moment.

This example isn't actually that bad - I can read and understand what she was trying to say.

Here is the email:

Hi ! Jason !

It passed the high school.

I am very indebted to you.

Speaking with you was very happy.

Your smile was loved.

It never forgets.

Thank you for a lot of memories.

It is you bright and it will exist in the future.

You are loved.

ps.

Tennis works hard.

It assists in Jayson from Japan.

It doesn't forget.

Thank you up to now.

Moreover, it E-mails.

*******

Knowing a little about Japanese, you can clearly see sentences where she wrote a typical Japanese sentence and the translation program turns it into readable but stiff English that no native speaker would ever say.

For example, a typical phrase used in messages of thanks is "ima made arigatou gozaimasu" which the computer turned into "Thank you up to now." Not bad, but my guess is most native speakers would say something more like "Thanks for all your help in the past" or "I really appreciate all the help you've given me."

And the computer often inserts "it" if the Japanese omits a subject such as I or me.

Anyway - it was a cute email, and students like this one are the reason I went back to see them all graduate.

-Jason

Adachi Museum of Art

2010-03-16T10:43:00.001+09:00

Adachi Museum of Art - 6.jpg
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Hey Gang -

I posted about 30 pictures to my Flickr site I took last Sunday at the Adachi Museum of Art, near Matsue in Shimane.

The Adachi Museum is very famous for its gardens, constantly rated among the best in all Japan.

I got my camera back from the camera store, where they were able to replace/fix the shutter button (cost - $100) in about a week.

So it was nice to have my new Nikon Coolpix L110 with me at the museum. I'm still getting used to all the settings, etc., but I was able to take some nice shots. Click on the picture above to be taken to my Flickr site.

Below is one of SIX short movies I shot at the museum using my new Nikon, which shoots HD movies in 720p.
So if you click on the movie to watch it on YouTube, you can select to view it in HD and it looks pretty good. You can also click around to see the other 5 parts.

-Jason

Snowing! Snowing!

2010-03-15T13:09:00.001+09:00

We've had really crazy weather since I've been back in Japan - even a full blown snow storm one day, which I capture here.

-Jason

Jason back in Japan - under the kotatsu

2010-03-08T11:33:00.001+09:00

I'm back in Japan, where it's rather cold and wet.

-Jason

JapanJuku.com - My new Website

2010-02-24T12:54:00.001+09:00

Hello All -

Well - this blog is nearing its end. Not that it's going away - I plan on keeping it here as an archive, and for anything I want to post that doesn't fit my new website.

What's that you say - you don't know about my new website??

Well head on over to JapanJuku.com and check it out!

Here is a little video introduction I made for the site:

I've been helped a lot with the site by my web guru friend from Finland - Linus. I don't have the computer skills to put all the code together, etc.

We've got a lot more to do to make it a great resource for people wanting to know about living and working in Japan, but it's a good start and over the course of the next 4 or 5 months, I hope to make it a helpful site for everyone interested in JET and Japan.

I'll still post here occasionally and use it for posting fun videos I find on YouTube, but text posts will most likely move to the blog I'm starting at JapanJuku.com

So head over to the site, join in on the forums, and thanks to everyone that has been reading this blog, which has chronicled my life in Japan since 2004.

Thanks!
-Jason

And here is a video I made with my Dad, John, announcing the debut of JapanJuku.

Valentine's Day in Japan

2010-02-15T15:37:00.001+09:00

I used to get a lot of "giri-choco" and special presents from my kids/students when I was teaching in Japan.

Almost always homemade, the cakes and chocolate were always delicious!

-Jason

I was on TV! (Subtitled)

2010-02-15T10:35:00.001+09:00

A fun vid from a fellow J-vlogger from America named Samantha.

Well done on the singing Sammi!

With subtitles for those that don't speak Japanese.

-Jason

Blog TV twice this weekend

2010-02-14T10:06:00.000+09:00

Blog TV tonight at 8pm PST and tomorrow (Sunday the 14th) at noon PST.

-Jason

Emoticon Tag Game - Japanese Emoticons

2010-02-14T09:36:00.001+09:00

Hiroko is too cute in this video!

-J

Rodger Swanへの紹介

2010-02-08T06:49:00.001+09:00

日本人の友達、

見いてください。

ジェイソン

Asashoryu retires and leaves SUMO - Feb. 4, 2010

2010-02-06T13:47:00.001+09:00

The big news from the world of Sumo.

I'm stunned and disappointed, but not entirely shocked, since this seems like the culmination of many transgressions over the yokozuna's career.

But the sport will miss him this year, and I will miss him as well.

-Jasonryu

Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine and Matchmaking (Izumo City, Matsue City Shimane)

2010-02-04T15:20:00.001+09:00

A short, 3-minute video in English, with nice views of my former home-town - Taisha in Shimane.

I'll be heading back to Shimane in March to attend graduation ceremonies and visit friends and students. I'm very excited to be going back.

-Jason

Britt, Mom, & Lynda at the entrance to the San Diego Zoo

2010-02-03T05:29:00.001+09:00

Britt, Mom, & Lynda at the entrance
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I joined my sister, niece and Mom for a trip to the San Diego Zoo in early January.

It's been about 3 years since I'd been to the Zoo - I went with my Mom and Dad during a trip home from Japan in 2007.

San Diego has a wonderful zoo, with great exhibits and lots of animals. And we had a wonderful day - it wasn't too crowded and the weather was fantastic.

Click on either picture here to see a few more from the day.

I also shot lots of video and will edit all the footage together soon for a video on my YouTube channel.

-Jason

My niece, Brittany and my sister, Lynda

2010-02-01T10:41:00.001+09:00

My niece, Brittany and my sister, Lynda
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I haven't posted many pics from my time back in San Diego since I got back to the States in August 2009.

So I'll try to put up some pics from some of the fun I've been having while at home in San Diego.

Just after I got back, my sister, Lynda, along with her daughter, Brittany (my niece), and I went to LegoLand, which is about 10 minutes from where we live.

Brittany had been working a summer job at the park, so we were able to get in for free and enjoy a casual day of walking around in what is really a park for families with small children. But we still had fun.

I made a video about it on my main YouTube page here:

Enjoy the pics and I'll try to post more soon.

Peace,
Jason Vader

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

2010-01-28T10:03:00.001+09:00

My friend Chris, from high school, had a hand in making this video. Great stuff!

-Jason

Yellow Lightcycle - Tron Legacy

2010-01-24T03:13:00.001+09:00

Yellow Lightcycle - Tron Legacy
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I am a HUGE fan of the original TRON movie from 1982. I saw it a bunch of times in the theater when I was about 12 or 13 years old.

I had a great, special-edition DVD of the original movie, and it got stolen off the front seat of my car one day back in 2004. (Note to self - re-buy that DVD)

And it looks like they're gonna do the original movie proud with this sequel: Tron - Legacy that comes out in December.

I might be living in Japan in December, so I hope they get the movie that same month. Can't wait to see it!

-Jason