Jade in Japan

Thanks for checking out my blog! In 2015 I decided to trade the life of an animator for the chance to gain a deeper look into the culture that has interested me for most of my life. I blog here about my daily life in Ibaraki, all of my travels around Japan, dealings with the dispatch company Interac, and goings on at my two elementary schools where I currently work as an Assistant Language Teacher. Pre-Japan, I lived in England and spent my days animating educational resources for schools. My hobbies include drawing, photography, travelling, nature and animals, and somewhere along the line I seem to have picked up an unhealthy obsession with Japanese kappa! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about Interac, teaching or Japan.

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Tokyo

I headed back to Tokyo for a day or so before flying back to the UK. I didn’t take too many photos but I managed to cram in a load of places, including Skytree, Tokyo Tower, Asakusa, and lots and lots of shopping! 

I went to Tokyo so many times during my stay in Japan and I was so sad to be leaving it whilst I still had a list about a mile long of things I still wanted to do there. I will be back for a trip next February however so hopefully I can tackle at least a bit of the list then!

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Kyoto- Monkey Park Iwatayama

About a ten minute walk up a very steep in in Arashiyama lies Monkey Park Iwatayama. Here live hundreds of wild monkey which you can approach, watch and photograph. You can buy food with which to feed them but if you do so, you have to go inside this little cage/hut and the monkeys cling to the sides, taking the food out from the bars. It’s a little like a backwards zoo, with humans in the cages! This was a very fun visit and I highly recommend it if you enjoy wildlife.

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Kyoto- Arashiyama

There was a large number of temples to go and see here as well. You could easily spend a whole day just in this small area of Kyoto. The one photographed here is Tenryuji Temple, which backs on to the famous Bamboo Groves. They were amazing to walk down. I was quite surprised that cars were allowed to drive down it though (we all had to squish to the sides of the bamboo each time one drove down)!

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Kyoto- Arashiyama

I traveled back to Kyoto and on my second trip ventured to an area on the outskirts called Arashiyama. It was so beautiful and picturesque; it was such a delight to explore.

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Osaka

My base whilst exploring the Kansai region was Osaka, and although I was out exploring other cities for most of my time there, I did manage to find some time to explore some of the local sights.

Two I took photos of were Dotonburi and Osaka Castle. You couldn’t go inside the castle on the day I visited but it was very impressive from the outside. Very beautiful and such a contrast from the castles of Europe. I highly recommend paying it a visit.

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Nara

The next day I took a trip over to Nara to explore Nara Park. As well as several temples and a museum, the park is home to over a thousand sika deer. You can buy crackers from various vending machines to feed to them and some will even bow their heads as they are begging to be fed.

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Kyoto- Yasaka Shrine

On my first trip to Kyoto I had a look around all of the shops and went to a couple of different shrines. This one here is Yasaka Shrine, one of the main shrines in Kyoto. It’s only a short walk from the main city so very easy to get to.

There were quite a few stalls with various types of food and several people walking around in kimono. They were very pretty and most were letting people take photos. You can rent kimonos in the center of Kyoto for a small price if you want to have a go at wearing one yourself.

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Kyoto- Fushimi Inari Taita

The walk down from the top of the mountain was lovely and much quieter than the walk up. I think a lot of people stop and turn round around the halfway point. The torii gates were not as densely packed together here and there were a lot of kitsune and komainu statues.

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Kyoto- Fushimi Inari Taita

Back in March I took a trip to the Kansai region of Japan. Although I was based in Osaka, the very first full day I had I was straight out to Kyoto. 

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan and is a stark contrast to the high-rise technology jungle that is Tokyo. If I were to recommend any one place to visit in Japan, it would probably be here.

On my first day here I visited Fushimi Inari Taita, a shrine leading up Mount Inari. The route up the mountain is marked by thousands of torii gates. I think it’s said there’s over 10,000 torii gates in total here.

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Back in England Update

Long time no update!

It’s been a month and a half now since I got back but I’ve been so busy getting used to life back here, catching up with everyone, sorting out a volunteer school placement, getting my DBS check sorted, and settling back in at my old workplace, that Japan has been at the back of my mind. I haven’t even taken my Kansai photos off my camera yet!

Over next week I’ll slowly go through my photos, post them up here, and write a few more posts (settling back in, sorting out Japanese police checks if you want to continue working in schools, etc).

Also, my boyfriend is moving over to Hokkaido for a short period soon and I will be visiting him early next year (snow festival!). So even if I go quiet after my next few posts, I’ll be popping back then to talk about my adventures in Hokkaido. :)

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Moving out of your Apartment

Once you have told Interac the date you want to move out of your apartment, they will start setting up appointments for you with utility companies, your car rental company, and your apartment inspection. You can pick a time for your final apartment inspection but it all depends on the availability of Leopalace.

Gas company

The other utilities do not need to pay you a visit but the gas company probably will. The man inspected the unit outside of my apartment and then rang the doorbell to let me know my final gas bill. After paying him, he then gave me my ¥10,000 deposit back, which I had completely forgotten about. A very nice surprise!

Car rental

For this you need to hand over the book and documents that came with your car, as well as the keys. They will probably ask you to come and watch as they inspect the car and make sure it actually works, before giving you a receipt and driving off. Very easy.

Suitcase transport

If you don’t want to lug your suitcases around with you, you can ask someone like Yamato Transport to come and pick your suitcases up for you. I’m off to explore Kansai for a week before flying back so I got one sent to Narita and one to my hotel in Osaka (cost ¥3500 altogether, so very cheap). You can make requests with their online form and then someone will drop the delivery forms at your apartment, to fill in beforehand. It’s very simple. I just wanted to warn you that if you want to get your suitcases picked up the day you move out, schedule your apartment inspection for 1pm or later. Their first pick-up timeslot is 8am-1pm and the guy came to my place to pick my suitcases up at 12:45pm, so cutting it very close.

Apartment inspection

You are told to have your initial apartment condition report ready but the guy didn’t look at mine. I let him in to my apartment and he walked around with a checklist, checking absolutely everything. Afterwards he will sit down and talk you through any fines (they got me for scratching paint off a wall when removing a sticker, a paintdrop on the carpet, and accidentally leaving something in my freezer. Oops!). The fines, plus a general cleaning fee, are taken away from your deposit. If you have to pay them anything it will be taken out of your final paycheck, so you don’t need to have the money with you on the day. After this you hand over all of the keys, take your bags and leave.

Farewell, apartment!

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Goodbyes

And so finally came the time where I had to say goodbye to everyone.

My first school had a little goodbye ceremony in the morning (as I would not be attending their closing ceremony) where staff and students read out speeches thanking me for teaching in their school.

I also read a speech out to the students, in both English and Japanese. Be prepared as your schools will most likely ask you to read a speech on your last day teaching there, sometimes without prior warning.

They also gifted me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, as well as certain classes giving me little books with messages from the students. Throughout the day a couple of students approached me and said thank you, and at the end of the day the staff walked with me to the entrance and waved me farewell. I really appreciate all of the effort they went through as none of the staff at this school speak English so it hasn’t been as easy as at my other school. And look at this message they left me on the school blog! :) I’m really going to miss them.

The next day I attended the closing ceremony at my other school. Bring something to do as there is a lot of sitting around waiting. The ceremony was like the closing ceremony at the end of winter term with lots of speeches and certificates being handed out to the students.

I presented my speech here as well and afterwards some students gave a speech back to me and handed me some flowers. The flowers at the front are from my second school whilst the flowers at the back are from my first school.

After the closing ceremony a student approached me and handed me this note. I thought it was absolutely adorable and I wrote her a quick note back before the students all left for their holidays.

As the students had gone there was no kyushoku (school lunch) so all of the teachers ordered something in. If this happens you will be asked to pay. Bring money as I did not realise and only had a bit on me. They were fine with it but I felt really guilty!

We also had Fujiya cake, which this school buys whenever a teacher leaves. Very yummy! And after that I was told I could go. I said goodbye to everyone, thanking them, and like my other school they all came to wave me goodbye.

I can’t believe my time at my schools is already over. Time has flown so fast. It has been such an amazing experience however and I am so thankful I was give this opportunity.

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English board #6!

The last one. I put this up at the start of this month but I’ve been so busy I haven’t had the change to make a blog post or even take photos until now. 

I continued the trend of putting lots of images with simple english words, for this one. I also included an explanation in Japanese of what the Easter Bunny is, and what happens at an Easter egg hunt.

I also included two how-to-draws. I quite like sticking up small craft activities on my board. I’m not sure if the students actually use them but I like to think a few do! :)

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Graduation Ceremony

Last Friday was the graduation ceremony for all of the 6th graders. There’s quite a bit of information on the internet about graduation ceremonies at JHS and HS, but little on elementary school, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

Your MC should pre-warn you, but go to school in very formal wear. A black suit with a white shirt is perfect. Even the parents come to the ceremony in black suits, so you really don’t want to be the odd one out (I’ve also noticed that if the men wear ties it is white, rather than black). 

The day started off with lots of prep, so I waited in the teachers’ room until I was told to go to the gym. I sat at the front with teachers from grades 1-3, the students of which weren’t at school that day. Grades 4 and 5 were all sat at the back of the gym. The gym was decorated so beautifully. I wish I had some photos to put up.

Here’s some messages the other grades prepared for the 6th graders, which were displayed at the back of the gym.

After a few speeches, the ceremony started with an instrumental from Greeeen’s Kiseki (one of my favourite songs!) and the 6th grade teacher walked into the hall in a beautiful kimono-type dress, followed by a load of students in JHS uniforms. I was wondering if they were last year’s students, but then I realised it was my students in their new uniforms! I definitely shed a tear at this point.

The rest of the ceremony consisted of a lot of speeches (in which you’ll be doing a lot of standing and bowing), the 6th graders getting called up one by one to receive certificates, present-giving, messages from the students and parents, and a few presentations. It was like a movie; the whole ceremony was sound-tracked to various emotion-inducing songs. Lots of people were crying. At certain points the students had to sing songs, and I caught a lot of 6th graders struggling to sing through their tears.

That all lasted around 3 hours, after which I helped clear the gym and then headed back to the teachers’ room. We all went outside after a short while to wave goodbye to the 6th graders as they left the school for one last time.

For the rest of the day there are no lessons so I suggest you bring something to do (fortunately I was allowed home after eating lunch). There may also be no lunch that day, so confirm with your Head of English ahead of time whether you’ll need to bring anything in or not.

And that’s it. I feel so sad that my 6th grade students will not be returning for this final week but I’m so confident they will go on to improve their English in strides during their next few years at junior high school, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to teach them.

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Grade 6 Goodbyes

I’m a little behind with updating this blog, so I’ll be backtracking a bit.

Monday 7th March the PTA held a ceremony at one of my schools to say thank you to the teachers and to hold a little celebration over the fact that 6th grade will soon be graduating.

At this school no one speaks English so it was a little confusing at times, but it was very fun. There were a few speeches and then the 6th graders presented all of the teachers with gifts.

I received a bouquet of flowers, a lunch cloth with my name (and A B C) sewn onto it, and a picture with lots of handwritten notes from my students. On the other side is more notes and a photo of my class. A lovely way to remember them by.

The rest of the ceremony consisted of a slideshow with lots of photos, my 6th grade class doing several different performances on stage (one of them had two guys crawling around pretending to be dolphins!), and the PTA singing and dancing to AKB48 songs. Some were a little cringy but then they went did this absolutely awesome dance with glowsticks that I wish I could have recorded. At some point I also ended up on stage attempting to a song with the rest of the teachers.

It was a really great few hours and I’m glad the PTA decided to organise it.

The day after, in my other school I had a class with 6th grade. The teaching assistant turned up to class and was going around taking photos, which I thought was a little strange. When I said goodbye at the end of class my students all stood together and thanked me for the lessons (one student even giving an entire speech in English! I was so impressed). I shook all of their hands as they left and noticing my confusion, the homeroom teacher informed me that was my last lesson with 6th grade! I thought I had another 1-2 weeks left and was planning a really fun lesson to finish off with, so that was a major disappointment.

Still, I had a lot of fun and I’m glad this school year with them ended on such a positive note.

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hi jade!! i'm about to become an ALT w interac and i'm wondering how you took money with you! i know it's best to be in cash but that seems like a lot of money to travel with ):

I brought the recommended amount (500,000 yen) plus a little bit extra (I can’t remember how much… probably around 20,000 yen more). Withdrawing cash or exchanging cheques here is a little fiddly (some ATMs don’t accept foreign cards) and you may not have the time once training starts (it’s pretty intense!). I would not worry about bringing it all in cash. Most other people will be doing just that. Japan is an incredibly safe nation. For example, people here reserve seats in cafes by leaving their phones on the table. Theft does happen on occasion though so don’t go flashing your money around! But if you keep it safe in your hand-luggage you should be fine. :)Also, you will need about half in cash during training to pay off everything for your apartment, so it will make life a lot easier to just bring it all in cash.

Hope you have a great time in Japan!

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I went back to Saitama last weekend to visit AEON LakeTown, which is apparently Japan’s largest eco-friendly shopping centre.

All I can say is... wow! It’s very very big! The complex consists of 2 large shopping centres as well as an outlet mall. One of the shopping centres seemed to be mostly fashion, and the other was a mixture (if you’re into pop culture it had a cinema, an arcade, a hobby shop filled with Gundam, an Animate, a Village Vanguard, and a Disney Store). Usually I would be all over the clothes shops but I was trying to save money so I avoided them like the plague, and I still managed to spend almost 4 hours looking around!

There’s free parking on weekends as well (and if you live in north Kanto it is very easy to get to; just an hour straight down one long road for me). It was really spacious and made a nice change to the typical cramped, narrow shops in Tokyo.