Two nights in Nagasaki.

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Musuem & Peace Park
I’ve been told by many that this is the much better experience compared to Hiroshima, which I’m yet to visit. I really appreciated being to take all the information in without hordes of people, and learn so much about the lesser-known of the two cities that suffered from such a horrific ordeal.

Kohei told me that one of the tour guides was speaking like he’d experienced it all first-hand. His spirit never seemed to waver during the time we were there, despite us being able to see the cataracts and keloid scars on one side of his face. It was solemn, but truly humbling.

Glover Garden
Another famous spot in Nagasaki. Within the grounds are two secret heart stones, that if found, legend says they will grant happiness to those who found them together. Happy to say we found them, and so did Pooh Bear. I’ve been forgetting to take him on little day trips I make lately, purely because they’re so impromptu, so I think he enjoyed the outing.

Mt. Inasa 

We headed up to Mt. Inasa after sunset on Saturday evening to visit Fuyu no yu, a place which most definitely didn’t disappoint. There’s something slightly special about relaxing in an onsen, accompanied by good friends, with the view overlooking the twinkling lights of Nagasaki. I fully recommend the salt sauna, however, I don't advise scrubbing your body raw and returning to 42 degree water afterwards.

Megane Bashi
Hands down my favourite place in Nagasaki so far was the so-called Spectacle Bridge.  Early on Sunday morning, Kohei and I took a stroll along the river, frolicked on the stepping stones (by that I mean I almost tripped and fell in about 4 times), and found yet another heart stone set in the wall. 

In the afternoon, we returned with manju in hand and sat on the riverbank to watch the koi swim by.

I also made a group of little friends, something which was a theme on this trip; on the ferry from Kumamoto I fell in love with a 2 year old who played peek-a-boo with me, clung to me like a koala, and refused to let go until I’d walked her to her family’s car.

Nearby was a cute little spot where I tasted my first Castella (カステラ), a light sponge cake which is a delicacy in Nagasaki. However, I think the novelty of the cute portion sized boxes outweighed the actual cake. 

All in all, although it was a fleeting visit, I’m looking forward to going back for a day trip with my parents on their upcoming trip. I wouldn’t have chosen a better bunch of people to sing along to Destiny’s Child in the car with (I'm looking at you, Clare and Sheridan), even if I did want to vom on the ferry.

Enkais- The ins and outs of Japanese work parties

I’ve been to two enkais now, one for my junior high where I spend most of my days, and one for an elementary where I’d spent only one day prior to the enkai. This should have been a precursor to what I was getting myself into in terms of their desire to use me as an excuse for a party, but they were both very different experiences.

There’s some enkai etiquette that first needs to be mastered:

• NEVER let anyone pour their own drinks, and never pour your own.

• When clinking glasses, always clink lower than your superiors

• Never take a sip before the “kanpai” (cheers)

• If you’re a girl, don’t sit cross-legged

With all these in mind, I headed to my first enkai with my junior high school. It was at an Italian restaurant, and I spent the evening with my five fellow JTE’s (Japanese Teachers of English), with a very informal conversation and environment. I could tell that it was really helping them get to know me better, we shared a lot of laughs, and now in school I have much more banter in the staff room. Just this morning, I got a playful slap from a teacher for taking the piss out of the shrine on her desk of a Japanese actor 20 years her junior.

One of the JTE’s is newly qualified and is the closest teacher I have to my age at any of my schools. We’re bonding too, with her sending me cute LINE stickers asking about my weekend, bitching about her boyfriend and only afterwards discussing lessons plans with me for the following week. I guess you could call her my first friend in the workplace.

My second enkai couldn’t have been more different. At this elementary school, barely any of the teachers speak English. It was held at a super fancy Chinese restaurant, providing free-flowing beer pitchers and lots of tapas like dishes. This was much more formal, as I was told to sit next to the vice-principal and await the principal’s arrival. Many speeches given at various interludes and I also had to give a little speech myself.

My night was spent trying to decipher slurred Japanese, mainly from my tantosha (supervisor), who told me in small terms he loved me, couldn’t wait to work with me, and proceeded to try to set me up on a date with one of the other young teachers. My principal is also super enthusiastic for me to practice calligraphy with her during my free periods as we did it last time I was there.

All in all, while enkai’s can get pretty expensive, and I barely had time to eat my food since so many people wanted a conversation with me, I got to experience two very different ones. Hopefully the enkais in the future, will be just as, if not more, entertaining.