Orange Picking in Kinashi, Takamatsu

First published: 31 Jan 2012

Delicious mikan (oranges) from the hills of Kinashi, Takamatsu.

On November 26th, I joined the Kubo family and friends for a session of mikan (orange) picking on their private grounds in Kinashi.

 

Heading out to the mikan fields on the hillside.

The mikan grove.

I met the the Kubo's through my schools, working with them in various classes teaching at both Elementary and Junior High School. Kubo-sensei was one of the first teachers I met at Katsuga Junior High School, who took me out for Udon on my first day. As my friendship grew with him and his mother, who works with me at various elementaries, I was invited to attend the expedition to their orange plants. I felt extremely priviliged to try something new, and I instantly accepted.

Cutting myself a fresh mikan.

 Kubo-sensei enjoying the work.

The only catch was that this was on the same day as the AJET Shikoku Field Day -  an adventure in Tokushima where all of the Shikoku JETs would get together to play sports in a big field, followed by a night of camping. However, I knew that mikan picking was what I wanted to do, and resolved to go to Tokushima in the evening just for the camping (unfortunately, we finished later than expected, and I missed that trip altogether despite paying for it - whoops!).

Kubo-senior instructs the crowd.

And so... On an early Saturday morning in November, I found myself in a party of around thirty or so on the edge of a hill in Kinashi, picking mikan. The sun was high in the sky, the weather was fairly warm, and everyone was in good spirits. Being handed a stem cutter and a plastic bag, I set to work gathering the most oranges I've ever had in my posession outside of the old Sainsbury's stock room.

Kubo-sensei's father, in addition to teaching, grows these oranges to sell at market when in season. As we gathered oranges for ourselves, the Kubo family gathered oranges to sell. Once I'd gathered a nice supply for myself, I and many others chipped in with the work - the least we could repay the family with for our chance to get out in this field and take home so many for free.

Happy pickers!

Kubo-sensei's father even ran a small competition for those who could find the best oranges, offering prizes for the sweetest oranges picked and to anyone who could guess the weight of an orange correctly. It was an impressive gesture! My own contributions, sadly, were way off - but I couldn't complain, because I was still taking home a huge, free bag of fresh oranges!

Fresh supplies in crates; ready to be prepared for market.

After the expedition was over, we returned to the Kubo household where we were treated to an impressive barbecue spread. With even more people turning up who couldn't make the expedition, there was a total of around fifty guests - everyone digging in to some delicious food. Onigiri and ocha were in high supply, as were all the barbecue staples. It was a great opportunity to talk to the Kubo family outside of the work environment, and to mingle with family friends and more people from the local community.

 

Barbecue at the Kubo-household!

Of course, as night came down and I headed home, I was unable to attend the Shikoku Field Day, yet still went home with a broad smile on my face. This was a unique experience and insight into the agricultural side of Japan, as well as a great opportunity to socialise and mingle with so many local people. All in all, it was a spectacular day, and one of the best I'd had since coming to Japan. I'm incredibly grateful to the Kubo-family for their invitation, and the experience and memories of that day will stay with me for a very long time indeed.

My very own hand-picked orange!

My haul for the day!

Obviously, I couldn't get through all of the oranges myself (despite my best efforts). Keeping some aside for myself, I took the bag to Kouzai Shogakkou to share with the teachers and staff. Everyone was thrilled.

Needless to say, those mikan were delicious.

Mum & Dad visit Takamatsu!

First published: 29 Jan 2012

November time, and one of the highlights of my time in Japan thus far. My parents decided to pay me a visit at my new home in Takamatsu!

My parents... in Japan! Meet my mother (Anne) and father (Alistair).

The timing might seem a little bit strange; after all, I was going to be going home for Christmas anyway - for three weeks, in fact! - so why the rush to come in November? Well, in actuality, I hadn't decided I would be coming home for Christmas until after my family had already booked this holiday. So, of course, I ended up with a pretty good back-to-back set of reunions! Not bad, eh?

Konnichi-wa!

So, for ten days, I had my parents back! Which was a wonderful feeling. I've always had a very close relationship with them, and as they'd never visited Japan (or Asia!) before in their lives, I was thrilled at the opportunity to give them an impression of the place.

We made a decision early on that for this trip, we'd stick almost exclusively to Takamatsu and the surrounding area, so that they could get a feel for my new home. Interestingly enough, while I'd noticed it getting colder in Japan since I'd arrived, my parent's found it incredibly warm!

Somewhat ironically, Scotland was meant to have had the hottest November on record while they were here. Oh dear.

My parents drinking matcha in Ritsurin-Koen (garden)...

...unfortunately, it didn't go down so well.

A couple of teething problems; (1) My parents don't speak any Japanese whatsover, and (2) My parents can't use chopsticks.

All all.

I knew this was going to be difficult... and I wasn't wrong!

Things actually got off to a slightly disappointing start; on the day my parents arrived, my school insisted I visit the hospital as I was feeling very under the weather. I visited the school nurse to attempt to procure paracetamol, but; alas! I was rushed off to the local hospital instead (my first visit to a Japanese hospital!).

I was diagnosed with influenza, given a set of unusual Japanese tablets the like of which I'd never seen before. Immediately upon leaving, I headed into town to see my parents for the first time in months. Arriving perfectly on time (!), the first they saw of me was with one of the infamous white masks seen all over Asia. For the next couple of days, I struggled with a high fever and the symptoms of influenza (including having to take a full sick day off of work!), which slightly got in the way of our reunion. Luckily, by mid-week I was much, much healthier, and we still managed to make the most of the time we did have on those first few days.

Dad enjoys the island views of the Seito Inland Sea.

First up was a trip to Ritsurin Koen (garden!). People who've read my earlier posts will remember that I've already visited this garden, and being one of my favourite places in Takamatsu, it was a prime first-stop for my parents. They were absolutely blown away by what they saw. A beautiful stroll and a spot of R&R at the tea house. Unfortunately, my parents weren't the biggest fans of any of the green tea they tried in Japan.

 Mum surverys the bonsai display in Ritsurin Garden.

The next day was a bit of a flop, due to my illness worsening. We attempted to head to Mt. Yashima by cable car but were stunned to discover the service was no longer in operation - having been shut down years ago! Dismayed, we heading back to Takamatsu and spent the evening shopping in the areas around Kawaramachi-station and the Shotengai, but as I started to feel incredibly tired we called it a night for some rest.

This should have been our first clue that

the cable car was no longer in service...

I ended up spending the next day completely bed-ridden, but thankfully my parents popped round to make sure I was okay - even bringing me a weeks supply of shopping from my local supermarket! Honestly, when I was feeling so badly, I was incredibly grateful to have my parents around to support me.

My parents take in the atmosphere of Ritsurin Koen.

I think this is one of the most beautiful places in Takamatsu.

Feeding the Ritsurin koi.

A successful trip!

I was working all week in addition to the parents being around (having saved my holiday time for Christmas), but I'd pre-arranged to take Wednesday as a day-off (and of course, spent Monday as a sick day). I don't want to go into too much detail regarding our day-to-day itinerary (we'd be here a while if I did that!), but one of most notable events was the fantastic dinner we had with my fellow JETs.

 

 

 Dinner with the JETs! My parents ate Nabe and Sashimi...

and they actually enjoyed them! Hated sitting on their knees, though.

Heading into town on Wednesday evening, my parents had a chance to meet some of my fellow friends on the JET program and lay to rest any concerns regarding me being isolated in Japan. On the recommendation of Gary Wilkinson, we headed to a Nabe restaurant - my first time! Nabe is like a big Winter's broth; absolutely delicious, and great at warming you up in the cold Japanese Winter...

I'm pleased to report that my parent's actually enjoyed the food (!). and more importantly, they thoroughly enjoyed the company too. My friends have earned my parent's approval - always a good thing.

A view from Shodoshima.

We also headed into Shodoshima, to take a look at the beautiful olive gardens. Shodoshima is one of the islands in the Seito Inland Sea - only a short ferry ride from Sunport, Takamatsu. While maybe not as famous as the nearby Naoshima, it's a beautiful place with a great history - as well as a cable car ride (!) and a lovely Dutch windmill, completely separate from the rest of Japan in appearance. I treated my parent's to olive ice cream (delicious!) - though sadly, we ate it so fast that I forgot to take any pictures (this simply means a return visit for more is in order).

We were also treated to dinner by my friend Hiroko Tomozawa and her family. Despite having never met my family before, Hiroko invited us into her home with her friends and served us a beautiful dinner which included home-made takoyaki and kimchi. Hiroko also treated us to a performance on her Koto - a traditional Japanese instrument characterised by it's immense sound and distinctive oriental sound. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip; the generosity of Hiroko and her family was truly heartwarming.

Hiroko Tomozawa shows off her Koto abilities.

This huge, beautiful instrument was awe-inspiring to see.

On the weekend before my parents left Takamatsu, I was asked to work an extra day on Saturday - for only a couple of hours in the afternoon, to teach a demonstration class to the student's parents. The aim was to show the parents how we ran our English classes. In order to keep my parents' involved and to spend even more time with them, I invited them along to the class with Seki-sensei. Seki-sensei was so keen to have my parents involved, that he offered them a chance to participate in the class, with the students asking my parents questions! After a brief meeting with my Kocho-sensei (school principal), my parents were greeted warmly by the students. Enjoying the class immensely, I felt very priviliged to have had a rare opportunity to show my parents an insight to my 9-5.

Seki-sensei was incredibly grateful to have my parents involved, and so, on the last day before my parents left for Scotland, Seki-sensei offered to drive us to the summit of Mt. Yashima - where we had been unable to reach before.

We accepted, and it was fantastic.

My parents and Seki-Sensei explore Mt. Yashima.

A stunning example of traditional Japanese architecture,

from the peak of Mt. Yashima. Also; a tanuki on the right!

I mentioned that I'd been to Mt. Yashima before, though the last time had been with the JETs and, sadly, sunset had prevented us from getting to really look around the shrines and temples at the peak of the mountain. This time, Seki-sensei offered us a chance to get to the top without walking (!). It was thrilling to see these beautiful, historical buildings in radiant sunshine, and to really show my parents some of the heart and culture from Japan's history.

Mum discovers a new instrument, made by chiming rocks.

It's exactly like a xylophone - with rocks!

We were incredibly lucky - whilst stopping for a coffee, we stumbled upon a Japanese Biwa performance! The Japanese Biwa is another classic Japanese instrument, with a very sad but distinctive sound. We stayed for all of the performance, absolutely stunned at both our luck and the unique, iconic sounds.

A beautiful Biwa performance on

the peak of Mt. Yashima.

After our trip around the mountain, Seki-sensei treated us to some classic Sanuki-Udon (and was staggered by my parent's inability to use chopsticks), and presented my parents with their own chopsticks afterwards as a souvenir of their trip. My parents were extremely grateful to Seki-sensei for his generosity throughout the day, and parted with a desire to return the favour if he and his family ever have a chance to visit Scotland. They have since exchanged letters over the Christmas period, and I'm very pleased that my parent's have had a chance to make such connections the way I have.

Of course, the time had come for my parents to return to Scotland. It was bittersweet, yet not too sad as - of course - I would be returning home for Christmas only a few short weeks after them! I took my opportunity to ask my parents what they found the most striking characteristic of Japan and the Japanese people during their visit. Their response; the kindness. My parents were struck at just how gentle, generous, helpful, and genuinely well-meaning the Japanese people they met were towards them. They had been given an insight into a unique and vastly different culture they'd never experienced before, and were leaving feeling both positive and looking forward to their return.

(Of course, I also asked them what they found the least agreeable aspect of the country. Their response? Using chopsticks!)

My parents have their caricatures taken...

I swear this man is the Japanese John Lennon!

My parents and their caricatures. See any resemblance?

And so, my parents left.

Of course, I returned home myself only a few weeks later, before returning to Japan and bidding them farewell for even longer. However, I'm happy to be able to keep contact through regular Skype-calls and e-mails. My parents will never be far from my thoughts here in Japan, and I'm glad to have had all of their support and love throughout my experiences leading up to and on coming over to Japan. I know I certainly couldn't have made it this far without them.

Happy (and hopefully proud) parents.
I shall miss them dearly.

As I mentioned, my parent's are planning their next visit later this year.

Let's hope it's not too far away!

School English Letters

A few of my short little hand-made messages for my students. 

All of these were made in response to letters I've received.

I'd like to talk a little bit about one of the schemes I'm running at my schools to encourage the use of English amongst students; namely, my English letter scheme. 

Basically, it works like this. I ask the students to write letters for me using English...

A few samples of some of the letters I've received from students.

...like those! The students often use beautiful branded paper which is colourful and filled with mascots - it really is consumerism at it's best! As you can see above, some students also like to send me their own illustrations too, or occasionally even little origami gifts!

They post these into the postbox I made which sits on my desk at Katsuga JHS.

Constructing this was a great way to spend a free period.

Of course, I go to other schools as well, but as Katsuga is my base school I'm not at the other schools as frquently, so there's not much point having a postbox there. Instead, students will normally just give me letters in person or leave them on my desk.

And of course, I reply...

First class.

Needless to say, I've burned through hundreds of those already...

...and they ain't cheap.

Each of the letters are individually handwritten and designed to look colourful and interesting with different characters. I answer students questions, ask them more questions, and generally try to give the kids little challenges on how to respond. I try to subtly reuse the grammar and vocabulary tudents use in their own letters while correcting mistakes; while also introducing small new words and grammar that they might have to research.

Additionally, every single letter comes with two or three stickers that I've bought myself - the kids love getting Hello Kitty, One Piece and Poke'mon, for example. The better quality of English used, then the better stickers the kids receive.

A selection of stickers I've bought for the job.

The stickers are the core bribery which really makes the scheme effective; the kids are desperate to get their hands on them, even if that means having to write English to get them! I have to keep track of what topics students have written to me and my replies to them so that I don't accidentally repeat myself, or give the same student the same stickers twice.

The biggest uptake is currently at Katsuga JHS, but I'm hoping it'll soon spread more thoroughly throughout the other schools. I've kept every single letter I've received, and I absolutely love getting them. These will definitely remain mementos long after I've left Japan in the future.

One of my letter writing sessions - it's a nice distraction from lesson planning!

I'd encourage anyone looking for a new way to engage the students outside of the classroom in a more subtle approach to give this a go. It's not quite so intimidating as the students can work at their own pace, while also giving them a motivation (the stickers) to really try and practice English. It also allows me to get to know students better, and to express myself in a small creative capacity in the work environment, too.

Needless to say, I need to be careful... this could get expensive!

School Activities

Home economics class!

I'd settled into a comfortable routine by this point - feeling welcome at my schools, and enjoyable my classes with the students. As I mentioned before, the job is certainly one of the best things about being here in Japan. As I've been becoming more intergated with the school environment, I've found myself been given more opportunities to get involved and active by the schools.

A great example of something fun that happened was when one of the Home Economics teachers, Ishikawa-sensei, invited me along to her Home Economics class at Katsuga Junior High School. It was a great opportunity to see what happened in other classes outside of the English studies, and since then I've visited a few different classes at different schools since! It's been great to been involved with the teachers and students in these new and unexpected ways.

 The finished result! The students were

kind enough to share their food with me.

One nice little surprise cropped up when I was asked by Kinashi Shogakkou to pop along to the Kinashi Bonsai Festival with a group of fifth grade students one morning. Of course, being a bonsai enthusiast, I jumped at the chance!

Visiting the Kinashi Bonsai Festival

with students from Kinashi Shogakkou.

A surprisingly good quality photo from the iPhone 4, here!

Kinashi is apparently responsible for 80% (!) of Japan's pine bonsai production, and regarded as the source of the bonsai craft in Japan. The festival was an intimate affair, with lots of bonsai enthuasists (including some international visitors for the students to talk to in English). I decided to pick myself a little bonsai up while I was here, which now sits proudly in my home.

Adventures in Takamatsu (Autumn 2011)

First published: 25 Jan 2012

Sunset over my home in Kouzai, Takamatsu City.

I took this shot whilst cycling home one afternoon.

So, as you know, I'm way way way behind on my blog entries.

I'm endeavouring to get this blog back in line with my present day activities as quickly as possible, and in order to do so, I've decided to summarise most of my activities from the end of last year in Takamatsu into a single blog entry to try and bring us up to speed. While there's a lot that I could talk about in more detail, I think it's best to mention just some of the highlights and get us back in line with the present.

As such, without further ado, here's some of the more noteworthy adventures I had towards the end of last year in Takamatsu City!

 

Sharing drinks with my Kocho-sensei (School Principal)

at a Friday-night enkai (work party). Kanpai! (Cheers!)

Towards the end of October, I was invited by my friend Professor Kensho Okamoto at the Kagawa University Robotics & Engineering Department to visit their open day. I met Professor Okamoto at the Konami Sports Club gym, and he was keen to have me pop along to engage some of the students and talk to them in English. I thought this was a great opportunity to investigate Japanese student life, as well as see first-hand some of the next generation who create Japan's world class engineering.

So, I popped along.

Check out this little guy!

I was pretty blown away! I spent the afternoon wandering around the facilities, chatting to some of the students and being served food from some of their stalls. The electronics and engineering on display were quite spectacular - everything from microscopes and satellite radios, to cycling simulators and moving robots! It was a great experience, amplified with live J-pop style music and multiple students wearing Halloween costumes.

Cycling simulator!

The automatic Udon noodle dispenser! 

This arm is probably more flexible than I am.

Walking around the campus, I stumbled upon a great little surprise; a Mario Kart tournament being run by the students! Needless to say, I immediately signed up. Both Wii and N64 tournaments were being run, but being a purist, I of course went for the N64 version (obviously the superior of the two). After playing through several rounds of the competition, I ended up winning the damn contest! My prize? A nice little 3D jigsaw of Tokyo tower. Not bad!

 Playing (and winning!) the Mario Kart 64 tournament.

Clearly all those hours spent playing this game instead

of studying for exams at uni paid off...

After I'd had a little walk around the campus and the exhibits, I paid a direct visit to Professor Okamoto's laboratory on one of the upper floors of the university building. In great spirits, the Professor showed me around some examples of his best work on display - which was honestly absolutely spectacular. A pioneer of revolutionary LED technology, Professor Kensho Okamoto has done some fascinating research into cancer treatments using LED irradiation. There's an interesting article on some of his recent work here;

http://www.kagawa-isf.jp/glycobio/english/pdf/pharmaceuticals_03.pdf 

I can't pretend to understand most of it, but it's fascinating all the same! It's very interesting to hear about this potentially great new method of cancer treatment, and I was priviliged enough to see some of the technology behind it.

Professor Kensho Okamoto demonstrates his LED solar cell.

This machine was the first of it's kind utilising (3060!) LEDs, and

can automatically track the sun and emit a lovely blue light!

Of course, one of my favourite pieces of his technology is actually something he developed for a bit of fun - a revolutionary walking stick! I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that it involves LEDs and it's absolutely incredible.

This is the start of a revolution.

Seeing Professor Okamoto's work was absolutely spectacular, and I felt very priviliged to have been given an opportunity to see it first-hand. All in all, it was a spectacular trip, and I had a great time indeed.

Of course, October also proved to be a highly sociable month! Following my trip to Kagawa University, that very same evening I was popping along to the AJET Halloween Party at Delta Market...

Me, Julia Mace, and David Harris (concealed) at the Halloween Party.

I was meant to be Harry Potter, by the way. There was a scar that faded away...

Other social events involved a fantastic barbecue organised at Asahi Park. This was a great opportunity to spend time with some friends and meet new ones. I arrived a little late - it was very, very far from my house. Yet, a fantastic trip all the same, and I got to spend more time with Takashi Harade and Takahito Ito, which can only be a good thing!

Hanging out with Takashi Harade, Rainer Wessels, and Yuka Kubo!

 

Barbecue banter! No matter where you go in the world,

this concept seems to be universal.

One of my afternoons spent around this time was a brief visit to the Takamatsu Castle ruins next to the Sunport area with Arran Chambers. Haven been given a half-day by both of our schools, we decided to pop along and see this area that we'd walked past so many times and see it for ourselves.

Tsukimi Yagura ("Moon Viewing") Turret in

the Takamatsu Castle Grounds.

Reconstruction work on Takamatsu Castle.

The castle was decommissioned in the Meiji period and tore down, leaving only a few turrets and the luscious gardens in place. Yet while the castle is no longer standing, reconstruction work has recently begun, and it's possible to see the cranes building the structure back to it's former glory. Even so, the castle grounds that remains have left a beautiful garden in place, one well worth exploring for a peaceful, sunny afternoon in Autumn. The grounds are full of the giant koi fish; food can be purchased for feeding.

Arran Chambers enjoys an afternoon feeding
koi fish in the Takamastu Castle grounds.

Any more stories? Well, there's loads! Some of the bigger ones, of course, will have their own blog entries, but I'm keen to move rapidly towards catching up with the present.

 Rilakkuma-Gav!

There's so much to talk about! Stay tuned, and bear with me (pun-intended).

We'll catch up soon, folks.