Teaching in Japan for Mid-Career Folks
Posted by harvey in Working on 30. Sep, 2007 | 1 Comment
I got a question from a reader wondering how one could go about moving to Japan to teach English when already beyond the age limits for JET. Here’s my attempt at an answer.
I have never officially done the English teaching gig, so I don’t have a lot of first hand information, all of the information [...]
It’s fall again… Time for Rabbits on the Moon
Posted by harvey in Culture on 29. Sep, 2007 | No Comments
Well fall is finally here. Though it’s still crazy hot in Osaka…
One of the things that the Japanese associate with fall is rabbits on the moon.
Last year in October I posted about this fancy little hankerchief with rabbits on the moon making mochi.
One of the things traditionally done in the fall is 月見、which literally means [...]
Tricked out mobile chair in Kishiwada
Posted by harvey in Humor, Osaka on 27. Sep, 2007 | 2 Comments
At Danjiri Festival in Kishiwada I saw the weirdest thing!
This proud old man who quite literally knows no shame. This man is great!
His ‘ride’ was playing loud repetitive festival music and decked out in all sorts of goods from Danjiri to Doraemon. He’s way into the festival spirit!
In the picture where he is pointing, the [...]
Japanese Comedy: Salaryman Neo
Posted by harvey in Culture, Humor, Language, Media on 27. Sep, 2007 | 2 Comments
I don’t watch much TV, but one show I always try to catch is Salaryman Neo (サラリーマンネオ).
During its season Salaryman Neo is on NHK 11pm Tuesdays. It runs short seasons however, and the 2nd season just ended this week.
Of course, you can catch great clips of Salaryman Neo on Youtube!
One of my favorite, and most [...]
Learn Japanese with Gundam
Posted by harvey in About, Books, Media on 26. Sep, 2007 | 8 Comments
I’m not ashamed to admit that I used to be a reasonably hardcore anime fan back when I was in Iowa. The main reason though, was that I could hardly get my hands on any other Japanese media to learn Japanese from. Of course, I watched movies rooted in reality like Shall We Dance [...]
JET ALT/CIR Interview – Part 3
Posted by harvey in Culture, Society, Working on 24. Sep, 2007 | 9 Comments
We’ll continue the interview with Sugu, the JET teacher in Hamamatsu now. If you missed it, be sure to check out part 1 and part 2! In this interview Sugu comments on the JET selection process, as well as what causes some JET’s to stay… Forever… and what causes others to leave after the first [...]
JET ALT/CIR Interview – Part 2
Posted by harvey in Books, Culture, Gadgets, Working on 21. Sep, 2007 | 4 Comments
We’ll continue the interview with Sugu, the JET teacher in Hamamatsu now. If you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1! In this section of the interview Sugu gives us information about his Japanese study methods, and the gear that helps him along the way.
Q: Just to ensure readers don’t get the wrong [...]
Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri
Posted by harvey in Culture, Society on 19. Sep, 2007 | 5 Comments
I finally made it down to Danjiri Matsuri in Kishiwada on September 15th… I have been trying to catch this festival for years now…
This is not one of the more beautiful or elegant festivals in Japan. In fact, mention Danjiri Matsuri in Kishiwada to a native Japanese, and they’ll probably describe it as down-right dangerous.
(Actually… [...]
