Teaching In Japan Is A Career

The Divine Wind Vaulthttp://divinewindvault.blogspot.com(C)2006-17

Teaching English In Japan Is Not A Career

The Divine Wind Vaulthttp://divinewindvault.blogspot.com(C)2006-13

Home by the Sea- My First Home in Japan (Yokosuka Navy Base, USS Independence CV-62)

December 20th, Columbus, OH-

The Indy, my first home in Japan, was the Navy's only forward deployed carrier group from the early 1990s until its decommissioning in the late 1990s.


This sweatshirt was one of the last things that I bought at the ship's store when I transferred to a ship in CA and started the process of getting ready for college.  So many life lessons were learned during those two years on the Indy-- both on the ship and on Liberty in Japan.  One lesson in particular was looking at the glass being half full.  Sadly, many of my junior enlisted contemporaries did the opposite and missed out on what Japan had to offer.

After graduating from college, I was fortunate to return to Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program where I took my curiosity and interest of Japan to the next level.  I am better off because of my time spent in Japan-- both in Yokosuka and in Saitama and have Freedom's Flagship to thank for making that possible.  




The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-16

My Favorite Experience with the JET Program

Going to Japan was a life changing experience, yet this occurred before my acceptance on the JET Program.  From 20-22, younger than the typical JET, I was a junior enlisted service member as part of ship's company on the American aircraft carrier, Independence forward deployed to Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.

From 22-24, I finished up my Navy enlistment in California and from 24-29, all efforts were made towards my undergraduate degree.  Why?  It was the prerequisite for the JET Program.  In California, people that knew me found it interesting that I would spend most of my time in the Japanese American communities of the South Bay of Los Angeles such as Torrance and Gardena.  Members of these communities would often tell me, "You know Daniel, there's this JET Program that you ought to look into.  Since I felt comfortable with this community, I took to heart their advice.

My favorite experience with JET occurred on my second year.  It was a cool, clear day in October in Saitama at one of the biggest elementary schools in our school district.  All of the stars had aligned as I worked really hard my first year to improve my Japanese since at the elementary schools, there weren't many, if any teacher that knew English which was different at the junior high schools with the Japanese Teacher of English.  I also worked really hard developing a "bag of tricks" and improving my conditioning since lessons at the elementary schools required a lot of energy and non-textbook material and games.

On this particular day in October, I was really connecting with a group of 2nd graders.  Unfortunately, it was my last day, but I was going to return the following January.  I bid farewell and told the students, "See you next January!"  Tsugi no ichi gatsu.  With that, the students all smiled and cheered and began to chant over and over, Tsugi no ichi gatsu!!

I remember walking back to the nearby train station and saying to myself, "How many people are getting this chance?  I remembered my days of working long and hard hours a few prefectures away on the Indy and I remembered my days stuck in the "rat race" in LA.  I could be stuck in those bad situations but I was blessed to have the good fortune of being able to be back in Japan putting a smile of children's faces.

The JET Program means many things to many people, but it means to me that things taste a little sweeter the second time around and are cherished even more.  I went on JET at 31 because I wasn't ready for JET at 22 or 23.  It took nearly a decade for me to get to that point.  Why?  Because I was meant to have a connection with Japan and the JET Program was the best vehicle to see this reality to come to pass.

Everything happens for a reason.  Trust yourself, keep yourself focused, and always try to meet your full potential.  I the end you will.  If a guy like me can, then I can't see why the same won't happen to you!!
  

The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-16

Throwback Thursday- Saitama Days

The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-15

Japanese court decides that excessive overtime without pay is work related death.

Yes indeed a wake up calls to proprietary schools language schools.  Thanks to a valued contributor who is fluent in Japanese and proficient in English for finding this article and providing an English summary.

In this  Japanese article, http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20141106-00000011-asahi-soci it is revealed that a 22 years old woman working at proprietary chain school, Amity committed suicide due to working approx. 82 hours per month at home (overtime w/o pay) making material for English lessons.  This was work that was being done outside of what these chain schools consider "after normal contact hours".  "Contact hours" is a term used in the business explaining that payment will be for contact in the classroom.  According to this article, this Japanese woman became depressed and jumped off from her apartment building.  In addition to all the extra hours that she was doing at home, she was doing some overtime at school as well.  A total of 111 hours per month.  

By viewing the link above, you will see the high quality of the material she was making.  Another source in this article makes the same thing and it varies but they take about 29 sec to 9min 26 sec  to complete one material. 

Subsequently, a Japanese court has decided this as a work related death.  The contributor went on to mention that this should be a wake up call to other proprietary language schools.

The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-14

My Final Visit to a Kaiten Sushi Restaurant in Shinjuku- September 26th, 2014

September 26th, 2014, West Exit of Shinjuku Station-  My final full day in Japan had me on my own due to my wife and daughter spending time with my mother-in-law.  Not letting this moment pass me by, I stepped out on my own for my last sushi meal.  As it turned out, the following day, we were able to eat sushi at the Narita Airport.  You can never get enough sushi in Japan.  Never.

I'm a fan of kaiten sushi restaurants since as an American in Japan, you can be self-sufficient since you don't have to have adequate Japanese ability to order.  This is because the sushi is brought to you on a conveyor belt.  The seats in a kaiten sushi restaurant are along a conveyor belt that runs throughout the restaurant.

Back in 2011, I returned to Japan after being away for nearly 3.5 years.  For the better part of 2004-2007, I would visit Shinjuku Gyoenmae, a part of Shinjuku next to the big park.  There, I would enjoy sushi at a kaiten restaurant.  However, on my 2011 visit, I discovered that the restaurant that I went to was closed.  My mother-in-law knew of another kaiten restaurant at the Shinjuku Station.  With my wife and mother-in-law leading the way, I tagged along and was able to enjoy delicious sushi and the only time I opened my mouth was to eat.



On our recent visit in September 2014, I was pleased to learn that the kaiten restaurant that I was introduced to in 2011 was still in business.  Of the 14 days that we were in Japan, about 10 were in Tokyo and I was able to eat at this particular restaurant three times (September 19th, 24th, and 26th).

Apparently, I'm not alone in supporting these establishments as a foreign film crew was in this restaurant filming my final time for what appeared to be a special interest program.  I dare say that the crew was British, but not certain.
  

This picture is of the electronic department store, Yodobashi Camera on the West Exit side of Shinjuku Station.  At this department store, take the elevator to the basement.

The katen sushi restaurant, Numazuko, is located on the West Exit side of Shinjuku Station.  If you are familiar with Shinjuku Station, it is HUGE.  As an American, I dislike this station since it is easy to get turned around.  However, on earlier visits to Japan when my Japanese was not so good, I learned at this station that if you get lost, ask a younger employee instead of an older employee.  This is because A) they younger person may use English or B) will be more willing to lead you to where you need to go, or C) will speak slowly.

This picture is on the elevator with me pointing out "Kaiten Sushi" written in Japanese.  Being able to recognize the Chinese characters known as "kanji" helps more than you will ever know.

This picture is outside Numazuko kaiten sushi restaurant with the "Daily Specials" on display.  

This picture is of Numazuko's store front.  Directly across from this restaurant is a hallway that leads to restrooms, elevators, and Yodobashi Camera.

This is the only entrance into Numazuko kaiten sushi restaurant.

I went to this kaiten sushi restaurant at around 2:30pm.  It was between the lunch and dinner settings.  I was thankful that they were open.  However, there was nothing on the conveyor belts which defeats the purpose of a non-Japanese speaker to go in my opinion. 

I started my meal off with a draft beer of Kirin.

Luckily the menu was Japanese-English.  I started with tuna marinated with soy sauce.  

Three plates of tuna sushi marinated in a soy sauce.  A partially drunk large glass of Kirin Draft Beer is at the top left part of this picture.  In the US, you will see bottles of soy sauce with green caps indicating low sodium.  In Japan, all soy sauce is regular and in a green cap.  You don't see any salt and pepper shakers on this table, do you?  Behind the soy sauce bottle is a container that holds chop sticks.  To the right of this container are wet napkins in a plastic wrap.

I followed this up with two plates of tuna sushi.

My next order was two plates of salmon sushi at JPY 230 per plate.

Two plates of salmon sushi.

My third order was mackerel sushi at JPY 280 per plate.

Two plates of mackerel sushi with lemon slices and diced green onions on top.

This has green onions, fish flakes a band of seaweed over a two pinches of sushi rice.  Having an understanding of sushi doesn't mean that you won't get the order wrong.  Since this was the last day in Japan, I was able to brush up on my Japanese and get some of the mistakes out of the way with Japanese.  I wasnt' sure what onion sprouts on shari was so I only ordered one.  When it arrived, I was glad since it was not what I wanted.

Throughout this visit, I ordered 10 plates  which equates to 20 pieces of sushi.  You will notice the bottom two are green with the others being orange.  This is how the sushi is priced.  This 20 piece meal costed about JPY 2,900.  which included a large glass of Kirin Draft Beer.

This sign reads, "Daily Specials".  I believe the yellow tags indicate that a particular item was sold out.

At the entrance was this map of Japan.  It shows where their inventory of fish came from.  The sushi that I ate was part of fish that was swimming in the various parts indicated on this map the day before.  While I love sushi in the US, the quality is pale in comparison to the quality of sushi in Japan for obvious reasons.

The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-2014