Guy dancing like Michael Jackson at a bus stop

Apparently this guy used to wait for the bus outside an office and another guy in the office filmed him dancing over a 15 month period.

This just made me smile. So many of us grow up and lose our sense of freedom and inhibitions take over. Dance Bus Stop Guy - Dance!

I get some of this same youthful energy teaching in Japan - one of the reasons I want to go back.

Have a good day.

-Jason

Anti-foreigner protests in Tokyo sparked by Halloween train party

Read an interesting article on JapanProbe.com today about the annual Yamanote Halloween train party.

For those that don't know about this - basically every year a bunch of gaijin would ride the loop train in Tokyo on Halloween night dressed up in costumes and basically being noisy and bothersome to regular Japanese folks.

Ultra-right wing Japanese Nationalists, who want all foreigners to leave Japan, decided that this year they would show up and protest. So a bunch of Japanese police showed up too to keep an eye on the situation and as a result, not many foreigners showed up this year and it was a bit of a fizzle.

You can read the article and see some of the hilarious pictures of badly worded protest signs Here.

As is usually the case on JapanProbe - the comments section below the article is more entertaining and enlightening than the article itself.

If you want to see video of past year's train parties, then check out the YouTube channel of RoninDave.

Man in the Box - Facebook Abuse

Pretty much sums up my attitude toward Facebook. I don't mind the site so much, but I'm really glad I don't work in an office like this.

In-Depth JET Application campus visits in San Diego

Hey Gang -

Here are the dates for the in-depth information sessions with Angel from the Japanese consulate in LA.

She will be at USD on Tuesday, October 27th from 12:30 to 2pm in the UC Forum A.

She (and I) will b at UCSD the same day (10/27) from 5pm to 6:30pm in the International Center lounge.

And she will also be at SDSU on Tuesday, November 3rd from Noon to 1:30pm at the International Students center.

For a complete list of all the information sessions in Southern California Click Here.

-Jason

Jason does Kendo （剣道）- Part One

My most recent YouTube vlog. I edited some footage I shot back in July on the last day of school at my main Jr High School.



Some of the "honors" this video has after the first 24 hours it was on my channel:

#31 - Most Discussed (Today) - Japan
#1 - Most Discussed (Today) - Howto & Style - Japan
#9 - Most Discussed (This Week) - Howto & Style - Japan
#33 - Most Discussed (This Month) - Howto & Style - Japan
#13 - Most Viewed (Today) - Howto & Style - Japan
#83 - Most Viewed (Today) - Howto & Style - South Korea
#5 - Top Favorited (Today) - Howto & Style - Japan
#47 - Top Favorited (This Week) - Howto & Style - Japan
#52 - Top Rated (Today) - Japan
#1 - Top Rated (Today) - Howto & Style - Japan
#10 - Top Rated (This Week) - Howto & Style - Japan
#46 - Top Rated (This Month) - Howto & Style - Japan

My description from the YT sidebar:

After school, on the last day before summer vacation, I had the pleasure of hanging out with the kendo team at my main Jr High school one last time.

I decided I would put on all my gear and let the kids have one last whack at me after their practice ended.

Yamasaki sensei was kind enough to help me out with filming and explanations, and the whole team stuck around even though I'm sure most of them were pretty tired. (Practicing kendo, where you're wearing fairly thick clothing, in Japan in the summer time is a hot and sweaty job)

I can't really show the kids too much, but you'll see a little more of them in part TWO since they'll be wearing helmets. I really have enjoyed my time hanging out and working out with the kendo team, even though I've gone to practice less in my last two years.

I hope you enjoy this vlog, I apologize in advance for my poor Japanese, and I hope you watch part TWO - Coming Soon! :)

-Jason

LINKS...

a good guide to kendo terms: Click Here


a beginner's guide to kendo with two methods for tying the tenogui: Click Here


けんどう（剣道）translates to "way of the sword"

UCSD and CSUSM campus visits

Hey Gang -

I'll be out recruiting for JET this week.

On Monday the 19th, I'll be at UCSD from 10am to 3pm.

It's a Programs Abroad EXPO and there will be lots of tables with lots of info.
Not sure where my table will be, but start at the Price Center and walk along and I'm sure you'll see me and oh-so-colorful signs. :)

I will also be at the Traveling Tukwut Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, October 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Kellogg Library Plaza at Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM).

If you're near/at either of these schools, please stop by and say hello.

I will post information about the official information meetings later in the month at UCSD, USD, and SDSU in this blog next week. (Someone from the Japanese consulate in LA comes to these meetings to discuss the application in depth)

See ya,
Jason

2 recent web articles

The first one is just another reason I can't wait to move back to Japan...

Click Here

Don't get me wrong, I love America, I just wish it wasn't inhabited by so many idiots.

The 2nd article is about Japan:

Click Here

It's a list of ten things you should do if you visit Japan - I've done 8 of them. Anyone care to guess which 2 I HAVEN'T tried yet? :)

-Jason

Zeplin in Tokyo - 25 - Colab: What annoys you about Japan?

An interesting collaboration video I took part in.

The question posed was "What annoys you about Japan?"

There are some interesting and varied responses.

-Jason

Pictures from my last month in Shimane

final kendo at TJH - 8
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I uploaded about 50 more pics to my Flickr account.

These pics are all from July 2009, my last month living in Shimane.

I had a whirlwind month - trying to pack and get ready to go home, trying to say goodbye to places and friends, attending farewell parties, and having to say goodbye to students and teachers, many of whom I've known for 5 years.

Below is a sampling of some of the pics I can share on Flickr.

But before I explain those, the picture above is me (yes, me) in my full kendo gear. I wanted to shoot some video footage on me putting on all the gear, and the kendo coaches were nice enhough to oblige, and the kids on the team pitched in too. I'll try to get that footage edited together and posted on my YouTube page in the coming month.



This picture is of my farewell display for my main Jr High School - Taisha Chu - where I taught for 5 years. I wanted to do a display that featured just the current students, so I made two displays with one featuring older students, now graduated, and this one featuring current kids.



It wasn't all hard days and sad memories tho - I got to see a bunch of my former students at farewell parties they threw for me, and a few invited me out to see the most recent Harry Potter film at the nice theater in Izumo.



Trying to bring closure to so many of my activities at school and in the community was difficult. I scheduled an elementary school teacher brain-storming meeting for the last week I was in Taisha, and ended up sleeping thru my alarm that morning (something I almost never do) and being late for the meeting, just so tired from all the packing and running around I was doing during my final week.

I also had a chance to end my time as a library volunteer with a special event I called "Hearn by Harris."
The above picture shows me reciting one of Lafcadio Hearn's speeches to a small audience of mostly friends and students and teachers. I wanted to pass along some advice on preparing students for speech contests, since I'd had so much fun doing that activity every year and my schools had enjoyed success at all of the contests.



By far the toughest and most emotionally exhausting part of my final month was saying goodbye to the students and staff at all my schools, especially the ones I've been teaching at since 2004.

Some of the schools had really fun and touching farewell ceremonies for me on my final day, and I put up picture displays at all my elementary schools and my main Jr High School.

I really do miss my students - much more than I miss any particular aspect of Japan.

I wish I could show you all the fun pictures and video I have from these ceremonies, but I can't on the open internet.
Having said that, I am trying out a new online photo service called Phanfare that I like quite a bit. It's a much more private option than Flickr, and much easier for me to share my photos with people I know, since I can send specific links to content that remains private without requiring the viewer to register with the site.
If you know me personally, feel free to send me an email and I'll send you a link to more pics and video.

This might be my last update to FLICKR for a while. I might upload a few pictures from my life here in San Diego, but the site might be quiet until next year, when I plan on returning to Japan.

Thanks for your views and comments.

Peace,
Jason

【車窓風景】 一畑電車 川跡→出雲大社前（HQ推奨）

Someone sent me a link to this video, made by a Japanese train enthusiast.

It shows the scenery from Kawato station to IzumoTaisha station.

No narration or music, just the inaka passing by the window.

This is very representative of where I lived in Japan from 2004 to 2009.

In fact, I used to ride this train on occasion. During my first year, if it was raining, I would sometime take the train to school, as the final stop is about a 5 minute walk from my main Jr High School.

The 2nd to last station at about the 10minute mark (Hamayama koen station) is about a 5 minute walk from my old apartment.

You can see the huge, white torii for IzumoTaisha at about 12;49 into the video.

Enjoy a little glimpse into MY Japan.

-Jason

My new exclusive JET Twitter account

I've been using Twitter for a while now - mostly just for fun and personal Tweets and for following friends. I don't have a cell phone here in America, so I post to Twitter from my home MAC.

My general account is Taisha Jason.

But I thought it might be best to offer a Twitter account with general advice and guidance for JET Applicants and people interested in moving to Japan.

So I've started a 2nd Twitter account - just Click Here.

I've titled it JapanJET and I hope to make daily posts with small bits of information that I hope will be helpful to people going to Japan to live and work.

Feel free to leave feedback here or send me a note on Twitter.

Cheers,
Jason

Simon and Jason visit In-n-Out

Check out the video below - currently playing on my main YouTube channel (Myargonauts) - that features me and my cousin, Simon, who is visiting San Diego from England.

I took him out last week and our travels took us to In-n-Out Burger - my favorite fast food burger place.

Enjoy!
-Jason

2009 September Grand Sumo Tournament - Day 15 - Final Day

Good summary of the final day of Sumo in Tokyo. (In English)

A great end to the tourney, with a yokozuna showdown on the final day.

Enjoy!
-Jason

Memories of June

Farewell eigo board part one - 6
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I just posted another 60+ pics to my public Flickr site.

Pictures that are all from the month of June 2009.

The picture above is a display I put together to say farewell to my main Jr High school where I worked as an ALT from 2004 to 2009.

This first display included photos from 2005, when I first got my digital camera to about 2007. Many of the students in the photos are the older siblings of the current students at that school.



I did a separate display for the current kids, and I'll post pics of that display in my July 09 batch.

I also posted a bunch of pics from CHESS 2009.
CHESS is Camp for High School English Students of Shimane, an all-English, 3-day camp for HS students we have every year.

It was my fifth and final year being part of the camp, and I've had tons of fun every year I went.

Here I am with Rob, the ALT PA and an all-around swell chap (he's from England).



I also have pics from various student events I attended - some with my secondary Jr High and some with my main school.

One such event was a kendo competition in neighboring Hiroshima prefecture.
I made a video about it on my main YouTube page (Myargonauts) as well.



I'll post pics from July soon, and then I might stop posting to Flickr for a while.

I've found a new online photo site I want to try called Phanfare.
It offers a little more safety and privacy options than Flickr and I like the way I can organize photos on the site AND include my short video clips as well.

If you're interested in seeing a few of my albums on Phanfare, send me an email and I'll send you a private link.

Cheers,
Jason

2009 Undokai in Under 2 Minutes

This is one of the coolest vids I've seen on YouTube in a while.

I used to love September in Japan, cuz September means SPORTS DAY! I loved Sports Day every year at my Jr High schools.

This ALT in a very beautiful part of Japan uses time lapse technology to compress his entire Sports Day into two minutes.

Enjoy!
-Jason

Hinomisaki with Eli and Robin

Hinomisaki with Eli and Robin - 1
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

I just uploaded about 60 pics from April and May in Japan.

Included are pics from a visit by fellow JET Eli and his wife Robin. I showed them around the local sites one day, including Hinomisaki lighthouse and Hinomisaki Shrine.

I re-established my PRO account with Flickr, so there should be about 2500+ pics to look at once again on my page.

Enjoy!
-Jason

questionaire

I get all kinds of emails at my main YouTube channel, where I post mainly videos about living in Japan and being an ALT for the JET Program.

One of my subscribers (and I have over 2600 now - pretty amazing) recently asked me to answer some questions about being an ALT for a college paper he's working on for a careers class. He wants to be a JET after he graduates.

Here are my answers to his questions - I thought other may find them useful.

Peace,
Jason

(It should go without saying that the following is my opinion of being an ALT and the JET Programme)

OK - here come the answers....

About how many hours a day does an ALT/ESL Teacher typically work?
typical day is 8 hours (with a short break at lunch time)

What sort of tasks do you perform on a day to day basis?
teach English, team teach with Japanese teacher of English (JTE), grade papers, etc.

Are you free to offer personal lessons or is that not allowed?
Not allowed, altho you will be asked to teach some community approved adult classes on occasion

Is it normal to continue your education while working this job?
You can certainly do something online, but it would be difficult to try for your Masters while being a JET; of course, you can certainly improve your Japanese language skills while a JET

What are some important skills as an ALT/ESL Teacher?
genkiness, adaptability, good speaker, like children

As a teacher do you have problems with unruly children or administering discipline?
Discipline is not the job of the JET - it's up to the Japanese teacher in charge of the class. How you deal with the occasional unruly student is another factor that separates truly excellent ALTs from the merely average.

Are the students attentive and interested in learning or is it sometimes a fight to get them to pay attention?
Japanese classes at the JH level are not separated by ability - there are no honors classes - so you get a mix of students in your classes - some are very interested in English - others are mildly interested and some could care less

As you come from a different culture would you say the students are more interested or apprehensive about your background?
definitely very interested - in just about everything about you and where you are from - but they also have preconceived notions that can be completely wrong at times

Are there some things that are not culturally acceptable that take some time getting used to? Yes, it can take a little while to figure out how to act in certain social situations, but that's part of the fun too.

As this job requires you in most cases to move away from your home country would you say it is difficult to keep in contact with family and friends back home?
Not in 2009 - with SKYPE, email, webcams, digital photos, and the plain old telephone, it's pretty easy to stay in touch with those that matter to you. Having them be interested in all that you're doing in Japan is another matter....


Are the parents very involved in their students school work?
Can't really say... They are active in supporting their kids in their after school clubs, like cheering for soccer or attending brass band concerts, but as an ALT you're not involved with parent/teacher meetings. I have had many parents come up to me in town or at school events and tell me how much their child enjoys English or my lessons, so that is always gratifying.

Do you meet with the parents on occasion to discuss their childs progress?
no

Do you need to spend time after work on projects?
yes - but it varies. For example, autumn is typically the time for English speech contests, so I would spend on average about 1 hour after school each day from Sept to Nov working with kids and helping them prepare their speeches. An ALT will sometimes stay after school to talk to another teacher, prepare the next day's lessons, etc. and sometimes just to hang out with their students in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Is there work on the weekends?
Very rarely, there will be a school event on a Saturday, but you usually get another day off the following week to make up for it.

Do you work with multiple schools or just one?
I worked with one Jr high school and 5 elementary schools for my first three years and then with 2 JH schools and 6 elementary schools my final two years. I'd say about 80% of ALTs I've known have at least two schools.

When visiting multiple schools do you have set schedules or do the days vary?
Usually they have a set schedule - even if it's just laid out a few months in advance.

When working with Teachers as an ALT are you able to participate much or is most of the work left up to the teacher?
This varies too much for me to give a simple answer. It varies depending on what level of student you're teaching (grades 1-6, 7-9, or 10-12), and what Japanese teacher you're working with.

Are you able to come up with your own lesson plans are do you need to stick with set standards?
For JH, there is a textbook and a set curriculum, but there is flexibility within that structure. Elementary school is much more open to ALT created lessons.

If a teacher is absent for some reason would you be asked to fill in for them for the class period?
You'll almost never be asked to teach alone. If a teacher is absent, they either have another English teacher cover their classes or reschedule them - there are no one-day substitute teachers in Japan.

Do you work with teachers besides the English teacher?
That is up to you and what kind of relationship you create with the rest of the staff, and this will depend a great deal on how much Japanese you can speak.

Do you need to tutor some students outside of the normal work hours?
Sometimes, but not too often.

What training or education is required for this job?
You have to have a BA/BS degree, and submit a detailed application with an essay and letters of recommendation and then be interviewed.

Are there any certifications required for this job?
No

Is there room for advancement with special certifications?
No

Is extra training needed throughout the career?
There are mid-year seminars and teacher training seminars - some are mandatory for all JETs and some are optional, where you can get more training.

What are some of the benefits that you get with this job?
Furnished apartment, national health care, decent salary.

What qualities help make a person successful in this career?
A genuine desire to be accepting of Japanese cultural differences and wanting to connect with your students and make them more culturally aware of where you came from.

Are you always spending your time with your students and the teachers or do you have to work alone sometimes?
There is a lot of free time during certain periods of the year (for example, if all the students are taking tests), so you have to be self motivated to study Japanese or find ways to keep yourself busy when you have no classes.

What do you like the most about this job?
My awesome students!

What do you dislike the most about this job?
The limitations of my poor Japanese language skills.

Do you need to travel frequently for this job?
within a set parameter, you can travel from school to school, and some ALTs go to a different school almost everyday. But your travel expenses are taken care of, and many days you're at the same school all day.

Do you need to relocate for this job?
Umm... you need to move to Japan. :)

Is the job market for this growing or shrinking?
Shrinking, as far as the JET Programme is concerned. It's somewhat expensive for a local city Board of Education to hire a JET, so many BoEs are opting for cheaper alternatives,

Is the typical salary for this career enough to sustain a family on?
The JET salary is 3,600,000yen per year or about $3000/month. It's more than enough for a single person. I wouldn't know if it's enough for a family.

Is the turnover rate for this career high or low?
Most JETs stay 2 years, but with the recent economic downturn, many JETs are choosing to stay even longer.

Do most people stay in this career until they are retired or move on to something else?
It's a one year contract that is renewable up to 3 years, and also up to a maximum of 5 years for exceptional ALTs.

Do you feel that you are treated fairly in this career by your coworkers and superiors?
Yes.

Good luck!
-Jason

2010 JET Application - out soon - check with the consulate homepage for your area

Good links in the sidebar on the YouTube page for this video.

Good luck to everyone applying this year for the 2010-2011 JET year.

-Jason

Jason in San Diego - Vlog #1 - Legoland

Hello All -

Been a while since I posted to this blog.

Here is a fun video of my trip to Legoland last month - I went the first weekend I was home from Japan.

Hope all is well where you are.

-Jason

Back in the USA

Not quite "Back in the USSR" as The Beatles once sang about, but I am back in the United States - in northern San Diego to be specific.

I got in last week after a LONG journey home from Osaka via Seoul to Los Angeles and then two hours on the freeway to San Marcos, where my parents now live.

I hope to have updates on my new job here and my plans for moving back to Japan in 2010 as they happen and materialize.

I'll have pics too - I know my Flickr site is not fully functional at the moment as I let my "pro" status lapse, but I'll have it back up and running soon. Of course, I continue to update my main two YouTube channels - Myargonauts and TaishaJason.

It was very sad and stressful and exhausting leaving Japan after 5 years, but I hope to settle in here and enjoy the next 6 months or so before I go back to Japan in March of 2010 (either for a visit or to go back there to live).

Hope all is well.

-Jason