We climbed up a volcano. Well, we thought we did.

Something that’s proving a little difficult lately is actually exploring the hidden gems of both Kumamoto city and Kumamoto prefecture. Whenever I seem to have a free weekend, or take any nenkyuu (holidays), I always overlook my new home as a place to discover.

Thanks to impromptu plans with Sheridan and her friend Willem, who’s over from Australia, I recently got to finally visit Mount Aso and some other sights along the way.

True to form when you’ve made plans, the weather was absolutely shocking. Kudos to Sheridan to actually getting us there and back in one piece, since the mist was so bad up the mountains you could barely see… more on that later.

First we stopped at Yasemegane Bridge, but sadly couldn’t really see much since the earthquake damage in the area was so bad. It’s an ongoing theme in Kumamoto, with most areas at least having some areas closed off due to collapsed bridges and landslides. We then headed to Tsuujun Bridge, which will be a lot more spectacular in better weather, but we were treated to some random sculptures on the riverbank.

Sheridan played a blinder yet again with a fabulous little restaurant in Aso. The ceiling was covered with hundreds of knickknacks hanging down, dumplings, and “I don’t know what this is but its bloody good” dishes filling us to the gunnels. Anyone who visits me and wants to go to Aso, heads up, we’re eating lunch there.

Since the eruption of Mount Aso a few months ago, it’s a little bit more difficult to get close to the crater. We made it, despite roads being half cordoned off from landslides, to what we thought was the way to the view point.
After trekking up a hill and convincing ourselves we were almost definitely walking up the volcano, turns out the actual crater was in the completely opposite direction and we just couldn’t see it because of the fog. Pretty much sums up that dynamic you get when you put Sheridan, Willem and I in a car together and hope for the best.

Earlier on in the day we’d joked that the scenery resembled a Spirited Away plotline and we’d end up in a magical land in the mountains. Honestly, we all thought we had when we stumbled across a little German café in the middle of nowhere. Very Hansel and Gretel-esque, and I’m still not quite sure why it’s even there.

Either way, it was a laughter filled day despite us being cold, wet and stressed when every road we drove down to leave Aso was closed and we thought we’d be stuck there forever.
Let’s hope next time I go, I actually have better luck seeing the sights we’ve drove all the way for!

A week of firsts: salon edition.

I’m going to go all girly for once, since I thought it was necessary to describe two firsts that were inevitable since I’m living in Japan now.

Haircut: Last weekend I spontaneously decided to bite the bullet and get my first haircut in Japan. It’s proven to be difficult to find a salon that is able to deal with non-Asian hair, but mine is nothing too difficult. I ventured into a quieter area of downtown Kumamoto and stumbled across the salon, which I’d recommend to anyone.

Although English wasn’t really spoken, I got my point across with pictures and limited Japanese, all helped by the friendliness of the staff there. It was hands down not only the best experience I’ve had, but also the most precise. The poor girl doing my hair was on her tiptoes and kneeling because my hair is so long, but nevertheless, she spent forever going over it to perfect it. I’ve never had anyone use 3 different types of scissors on me, and I have no idea what they did, but my hair feels fabulous! She also did magical things with a curling wand I’d never seen before in my life, and I’m actually contemplating getting a perm over here. I’ll keep you updated if it goes wrong from the mermaid waves I envision and I end up looking like a poodle.

Nail Salon: I’ve wanted Japanese gel nails for the LONGEST time, and for some reason never bothered to get any done when I was in Japan the last time. They’ve got a distinctive look to them, basically very “kawaii”, but I am totally in love.

On my last day in Okinawa (a trip I’ll describe in another post), I decided to have some ‘treat yo’self’ time and get them done. After some major Instagram stalking, I found Litomo Nail Salon and gave them a call. The girl I spoke to was lovely, and once I arrived she told me how she can’t speak English, but is learning from Coldplay songs. The girl is going to sound so poetic I’m actually a little bit jealous. But anyway, we went for a ‘teacher appropriate’ style, and off she went.
I was there for two hours, being treated to a massage both before and after. I was also given a little pot of Earl Grey to enjoy while I was dozing off. My nails even have real flowers on them now, which the girl meticulously picked out from a pot of water, dried and selected each petal individually.

The salon itself was adorable, hidden away on the top floor of a building, with random stuffed polar bears dotted around the place. I’d definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Naha as it’s easily accessible, Ayame is the sweetest and by how nail salons go, it was pretty damn cheap.

Visit litomo.jindo.com or check out their Instagram: litomo.nail. You can even see the super adorable post Ayame wrote after I left. The translation is hilarious, but you get the jist of it.

Now it’s time for me to find somewhere in Kumamoto to enjoy too, and I have no shame in admitting when I’m not in schools, I will be having themed nails because when in Japan, anything goes. I say that while sitting here at school wearing pink Rilakkuma crocs (that I’m not admitting how comfortable they actually are) and clashing pink Hello Kitty socks with pineapples from Okinawa. They really set off my cankles.

My first month in Japan!

This past month has been equally the slowest and fasted month of my life. Living in Japan is proving to be very different to just visiting, and I’m glad that now the school semester has started, I finally have some sort of routine in my life.

ALT Life:

I am currently teaching in six schools, quite a lot by ALT standards. I spend most of my time at my junior high school (ages 12-15), and split the rest of the time between my five elementary schools (ages 6-12).  They’re all so different in their own ways, and I’ve had my first day at all but one now. The opening ceremony I attended on the first day of the semester was interesting, with a very regimental assembly, and me having to give my dreaded introductory speech to a bunch of elementary students staring at me with wonder. A few of my schools have wanted me to introduce myself over the school radio at lunch times too.

I eat kyuushoku (school lunch) with my students every day, which provides the most hilarious conversation topics; mostly if I have a boyfriend, to which the children freak out when I tell them I have five. Kyuushoku is greatly different to how it is in the UK, as the meals are eaten in the classrooms, and food is served by selected students in that class who don an apron, mask and serve their classmates. Only when everyone has been served and seated, do the children shout “itadakimasu” and begin tucking in.  
 There’s a definite art to kyuushoku which I’m still yet to master. Eating a whole meal in 10 minutes whilst answering constant questions, drinking luke-warm milk, and sitting on a chair that leaves my knees by my chin are proving difficult. However, there’s something rather humbling about how the children are so polite, cleaning the classroom afterwards and always offering to take away my tray no matter how much I insist. 

In every school I’ve been to the staff couldn’t be more welcoming. Even simple gestures like having my personalised name tag on my shoe locker, or gifting me some Hello Kitty souvenirs. The English speaking teachers seem to be very excited at the fact they have a Brit for once, rather than the constant stream of Americans they’ve had in Kumamoto for a while. The non-English speaking teachers try their hardest and are always patient with me, which I’m forever grateful for. Note: if you can speak a little Japanese, no matter how many times you tell them, they will always assume you are fluent so you have to roll with it anyway!

I’ve also had a few principals observe my lessons, with one telling me he was surprised by my age because he thought I had teaching experience. Whether it’s because I don’t mind being a tit in class, or because I have the same mental age as the children and can relate, it’s really encouraging that I might not be the best, but they appreciate I’m trying and seem to be doing an okay job so far.

In terms of students, I will admit I’m starting to get favourites in different classes. Nothing cuter than a 5^th grader who can’t speak a word of English, but god the enthusiasm is there, and who now does the Usain Bolt move with me every time we meet because he told me he wants to be an Olympic sprinter. I’ve also found other girls who like the same K-pop groups as me, which results in a lot of squealing and promises for us to have regular chats about them.

Travelling:

I’ve managed to make it to a few sights here despite the fact I’ve been working since I arrived. On Mountain Day, a public holiday, I visited Suizenji Garden which is beautiful, and saw the miniature Mount Fuji replica they have there as a token gesture for the day. One day after work, I made a fleeting visit to Kurokawa onsen, the most famous hot spring village in the prefecture.
Despite the hell-ish journey, a thunderstorm in the mountains, and thinking we’d be stuck overnight, bathing in the pools watching the storm was such a relaxing experience, and I got to visit not only my first onsen, but my first mixed onsen too. That’s definitely a rite of passage in Japan, you’ll always be a different friendship level with someone once you’ve gotten naked and hopped in an onsen with them. Old ladies have no shame either, most engaged me in conversation butt naked without any attempt to wait until I was dressed.  

I’ve done a few day trips to Fukuoka too, with one seeing Haruka before she goes back to England to study her masters. The struggle of a long-distance best friend relationship is real! I’ve also got trips planned to both Okinawa, the southern island prefecture next week, and back to my favourite city, Seoul, over Halloween. In the meantime, I’ll hopefully get a change to explore Kyushu more on my weekends away from rowdy children.

 Admittedly, I do feel like a zoo animal at times, both in schools and out. I’m always hyper-aware of the whispering that follows me, being told I’m kawaii (cute) every day by 12 year olds, pubescent boys being pubescent boys...  My skin and eyes are the biggest thing to the kids, with some not understanding what freckles are and asking if I’m sick, and poking my eyes because they’ve never seen blue ones before.  One of my favourite past times is knowing someone is talking about me in Japanese, only for me to tell them in Japanese I understand what they’re saying.

Being a gaijin (foreigner) in Kumamoto especially, can be a little difficult at times, as there really aren’t many of us around. However, once in a blue moon I’ll have a little old lady chat to me at the bus stop, and even though I don’t have a clue what they’re saying half the time, they wish me luck and always ask how I’m coping with everything, especially the earthquakes.
Although I’ve gotten used to the almost daily baby-quake we experience here, most are barely noticeable. However, last week was a real wake-up call when Kumamoto had two 4.7 earthquakes within 12 hours. I heard that if it hadn’t been for the magnitude 7 quakes that hit in April, those would have been considered big. It was horrible being alone, not knowing how much longer it would last/if it would get any bigger, and just generally freaking out when things were falling down in my apartment.  I got woken up at 2am this morning by another one, still nowhere near the size of the ones in April, but it still isn’t the most comfortable experience.
Its times like that I wish I had the nonchalant attitude of the Japanese who get on with their lives without a minor heart attack like I do. Despite the impending doom of natural disasters threating Japan on a daily basis, the amount of people who I barely know checking in on me at least makes me feel loved.

So all in all, I may still have no clue what I’m doing, and I’ve spoken about myself more times than I can explain, but I’m loving my new life here and can’t wait to get involved with more things. If nothing else, I’ve taught the children that it’s not pronounced banana, its banaaaarna.