Local living

Since things have been pretty go-go-go recently, I`ve been spending more of my free time trying to relax. One of the ways I enjoy doing that is by experiencing some parts of Japanese culture I`m not often exposed to in my daily life. Onsens will always be my all time favourite, but I do love a good cooking workshop or tour to give me some inspo, whether or not I actually bother making the recipes afterwards.

Cooking Workshop at Hamada Shoyu
Just before winter vacation, I attended a workshop held at a local soy sauce manufacturer. I thought I was in for a cheeky wine tasting to begin with, but it turned out that they`d just put three different types of soy sauce into fancy glasses for effect.

I guess I`d never really paid much attention to how different varieties of soy sauce tasted until that point, but it was really interesting to taste them and be instantly told which varieties paired best with certain foods. Something I didn`t know until that day was that soy sauce from Kyushu is special since it contains sugar.

Despite not being soy sauce related, the menu of the day was traditional Kumamoto new year cuisine: ozoni (soup containing mochi), hitomoji no gurugu (a simple dish of green onions wrapped around themselves) and karashi renkon (lotus root with Japanese mustard).
It was interesting to see how they made karashi renkon; forcefully smashing the lotus root into a bowl full of miso paste and mustard. There I was thinking it would be a delicate piping operation, but alas Kumamoto has a bit of grit. I'm not a huge fan of wasabi and the like, but it sparked an idea for me to do a twist on the recipe and add yuzu kosho (a magical citrus chilli paste) instead. In terms of the other recipe, we quickly established I`m too heavy handed to guruguru my green onions nicely, so I`ll stick to the stuff requiring aggression.

After eating all we`d made, we headed to the gift store and I bought way too much yuzu (yes, I`m obsessed) miso and some amazing soy sauce roasted sesame seeds. They also have a cafe upstairs selling desserts flavoured with their sweeter soy sauces, which I will definitely be trying some point in the near future. Soy sauce soft serve, anyone?


Creation of Green Tea Tourism Monitor Tour

Most recently, I went on tour of the Kuma area, near Hitoyoshi. Unbeknownst to me (and likely many others, hence the monitor tour), Kumamoto has quite the array of green tea plantations. We barely spent any time at the plantation, but we did visit on a very misty morning and picked our own leaves to fry in tempura batter later.

Lunch at Ryukinka no Sato was very quirky, with every part of our bento box having an element of tea: rice cooked in infused water, soup made with tea stock, fish, chicken, hamburgers and tofu all flavoured with tea, along with a croquette and an omelette. Following lunch, we went to Tateyama tea store and got a chance to sample around 14 different teas, along with brewing and pouring them ourselves.

Although it was a good concept, of course with it being a monitor tour there were a lot of teething problems. That and the fact I felt nauseous from too much green tea flavour consumption put a little downer on it, but if nothing else it`s given me a new area of my prefecture to visit when I want a nice day out in the countryside. Not quite the same as a clotted cream scone and a cuppa, but it`ll do.

Rugby World Cup 2019

Back in October, Japan had the honour of being the first Asian country to hold the Rugby World Cup. Unlike the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, it focused more on involving the entire country, with games played across all islands, and cities without scheduled games acting as host cities for teams.

Kumamoto was lucky enough to host two games: France vs. Tonga and Wales vs. Uruguay. Of course once the tickets were released last year, I rushed to bag myself a ‘Stadium Pack’. Never have I had to hand over so much cash at a konbini in one go, but it was nice having four tickets for anyone wanting to join me.

In the lead up, interest, especially in the general Kumamoto population, was pretty lacking. Not many people I spoke to really knew about it, as most have little to no interest in rugby. Once it started gaining more popularity though, my students began to embrace my score updates on my English board, and would look forward to me showing them the previous days match highlights in the break between classes. 

I got a chance to volunteer at the fan zone too, helping a bunch of French and Tongan supporters with general questions and transport advice. Once the Kumamoto games were over the fan zone was taken down, which was a shame really, because people were really banding together watching games. I have to admit, only when I saw around 50 people stand during national anthems that weren’t their own, did I truly realise how respectful Japanese people can be.

Once the Welsh arrived, I quickly realised how out of touch I am when I sometimes couldn’t decipher whether they were speaking Welsh or English. It was usually the latter. It was such an odd experience to have Kumamoto overrun with so many foreigners, but I’ve never been more proud of my city. 

We welcomed everyone so well, everything went so smoothly, and the whole tournament is up there in my top memories during my time here. 

Here’s a breakdown of my favourite moments:

• Watching Japan vs. Ireland, the excited atmosphere at the fan zone, and a festival with dragon floats and fireworks happening at the same time about 20ft away.
• Giving sneaky updates to my principal during a wedding and him getting me another glass of wine each time England scored.
• Karma for the dickhead comments made by some French to the fact I was English? Annoying them at the game afterwards, whilst proudly wearing Japan shirts, knowing if anything kicked off the huge Tongan men sat behind us were fully on our side.
• Buying too many Strong Zeros at the match, despite knowing battery acid would be better to consume.
• Reuniting with ex-students at the matches who I used to have a kick about with after school.
• Rushing back from the stadium to watch the Japan vs. Scotland game only to find the fan zone full, sprinting to find a bar, and the loudest chants of 日本。。。日本。。。coming from every nook and cranny downtown.
• The Uruguayan player who went to the local club, tackled a security guard and ripped apart a giant teddy bear. Only in Kumamoto.
• The kind restaurant owner in the middle of a tiny onsen town in Saga, who streamed the final for me on his laptop.

Laura, a friend from Liverpool/Keele, decided to embark on her second trip to Japan, with the rugby playing a huge part in the timing. Having already been to Japan before, this was a truly a Kumamoto focused trip. 

We spent time eating all of her favourite Japanese foods, introducing her to new haunts, smashing a fab night of karaoke, visiting the newly re-opened castle grounds, giving her a chance to wear my kimono, and finally a day trip to Kurokawa onsen. 

It was truly a wildly busy few weeks, but definitely something I won’t forget any time soon. Even my nails came into their own, sparking conversation between myself and old ladies wondering why I was supporting two teams. Despite that, let’s not talk about the result. Japan have the better kit and the most beautiful player anyway.

Looking back on third year.

Now that I`ve fully settled into the swing of things starting my fourth year in Japan, I thought what better oppurtunity to reflect on the past year. My third year was definitely the hardest by far, and brought a lot of challenges. 
I began the year in a really unhappy and frustrated place, and while I love Japan so much, aspects of the culture, particularly its treatment of women and children, really caught up with me. Even as I write this, I question whether I should bring it up, but without this challenge I wouldn`t have been nearly as passionate about some of the amazing oppurtunities I`ve had this year. 

In May, I attended WISE (Women`s Initiative for Sustainable Empowerment), a programme specially organised by the Japan Institue for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (JSIE). JSIE offered this programme in Kumamoto in the hopes of turning some of the challenges faced as a result of the 2016 earthquake into social business ideas. Have a little look if you`re interested here in English and Japanese.

Never in a million years did I think my idea would be welcomed with such open arms. It wasn`t specific to Kumamoto, nor was it something I thought able to be tackled in a social business scenario. I`m not particularly business minded, and thought that, along with it being the rather taboo subject of child abuse in Japan, meant that nobody would be interested in pursuing it.

I think my concerns resonated with a lot of people in the room, with three others joining me and working passionately together for two days. It was frankly exhausting and eye opening. I learnt about procedures I wasn`t aware of, and quickly realised that most of the published reports on the subject are very rarely available in English. That was something I thought quite telling really; I was shocked to hear about some things, but even my group members and others in attendance didn`t know them either.

I was grateful to have mentors available to help me translate my concerns, and in the end, it birthed the concept of an app used to detect the abuse in a more secure, discrete and effective way, compared to recent headlining news stories. It`s nice to see that currently working in an environment where the app could be implemented, along with my university and future career interests, there is a possibility for them to be combined in order to encourage change.

 I`m not entirely sure it will go anywhere, but I`m continuing to try. Later this month, I`m headed to Tokyo to pitch the idea to a social business investor who supports JSIE. Eventually, JSIE also want me to pitch the idea to an American investor. Making the app a profitable business prospect is way over my head, so I`ll need to get a lot of help on that front before I do! They are fully supportive of me, and it`s really refreshing to have something I`m so passionate about come back into my life in a positive light.

I`m much more content now, taking things in my stride and practicing daily to avoid things that will bother me, as much as it goes against my nature. I became Vice Prefectural Advisor in my city, in the hope that my more foreign *read as either Scouse/aggressive* approach to things can be of help to my fellows ALT`s, and a breath of fresh air in the Board of Education. I even got to have my first `business trip` to Tokyo to pick the newbies up, which was fun albeit sweaty, stressful and fleeting. Sounds way fancier than it was but I`m milking it. 

I lost many good friends this year with them returning back to their home countries, but that also made me appreciate the quality of those said friendships even more. Their final months were enjoyed through many an exciting trip; a touch rugby tournament in Tokushima leaving me fighting 6ft plus boys for leg space during a 20 hour round trip car journey, being a muse for a kimono fashion show, a boozy brunching beach filled birthday weekend, eating and buying my body weight in Korean goods during an impromptu trip to Seoul, summer festivals and trips to the nearby mountains, beaches and gorges.

I`m using my time from now to relax (within reason, I`m not one to often have a free weekend!) and take the time to appreciate all I`m learning. With the light at the end of this tunnel becoming ever nearer, I`m taking the time to do all the bucket list things I`ve wanted to do in my time here. The past three years have flown by, and despite the challenges, I`m proud of myself from sticking out the hard times and not letting them ruin my memories. 

I`ve always told myself that if I didn`t find myself growing during my time in Japan, then I`d leave, but I`m proud to say that I`m not only growing within myself, but I might just be making people I work or interact with slightly aware of how people here often underestimate young women. I know there are many things I can`t change alone, but to me, if I can make one student or person see my way of thinking for even just a second, then its all worth while.

My fourth year has already brought along an array of exciting experiences, and I`m excited for the journey to continue for a little while longer.

Sakura season

Most of my free time recently has been spent doing 花見 (cherry blossom viewing), whether it be at local parks, small clearings or near Kumamoto Castle. This year was special, as roads usually closed due to earthquake damage were specially opened for the season. 

The Japanese really do believe that they signify new beginnings, and to see the development in the castle restoration around this time of year surely brought some sense of hope to the locals with their fighting spirit. 

That’s one thing I love about everyone here; their utter embodiment of the phrase 頑張ろう熊本.

A complete juxtaposition to the delicate beauty of the sakura, was the Aso Fire Festival. This festival consists of various events over two months, but at the end of March we attended the fire swinging ceremony.
This Shinto rituals’ roots are based upon the twelve Gods who live in Aso Shrine. One of them, Kumitatsunokami, is the guardian of agriculture, and people hold a bale of hay (tied by rope) and swing it around their heads for a productive harvest. 

Suffice to say that health and safety would have a field day, with bales of hay flying into the groups of photographers cowering in the line of fire. I have to admit though, I released my inner cowgirl that night and thoroughly enjoyed the sense of danger and chaotic atmosphere of the whole occasion.

 

Sometimes the hype over the sakura can seem a bit much, and I usually don’t go to out of my way to see it. I find that it’s the places you stumble across accidentally are the ones that are the most beautiful; something I found on a visit to Tamana this past weekend. 

After brunch in a rustic café, we took a stroll along the riverside. Later we headed to Jagatani Park, where we headed to the top of the mountain to reach the observation area, walking through tons of beautiful cherries on the way up, and zooming past them on a giant slide on the way back down. 

In the late afternoon the four of us played some weird combination of crazy golf and croquet, and as the wind picked up the petals starting blowing all around us. We finished the trip with a dip in the local onsen, watching the sunset overlooking the Tamana countryside and the Ariake Sea.

With some rainy weather in store over the next few days, it’s safe to say that soon the delicate sakura petals will be scattered across the ground. It’ll mean the end to this year’s cherry blossom season, but what a season it’s been.