Living & Working in Ishikawa, Japan
Everyone told you to get a smartphone for your Ishikawa JET tenure, but whether you’re running iOS or Android, your phone is only as useful as the apps you put on it. Here are some recommendations to get you started or to make your life a little easier.
For Both Android and iPhone
Yurekuru Call (EN and JP, free). An earthquake warning app. Uses your location and your phone’s notification system to give you up to a minute’s warning before an earthquake is projected to hit your area. Highly recommended–it may be the only English language warning you get.
Japan Goggles (EN, free). This nifty app uses your smartphone camera to recognize and translate kanji words. It might take a moment for the app to recognize the right kanji compound, but it’s still incredibly helpful.
iConnect (EN, free) Published by AJET, this app is a converter, phrasebook, directory, and national event guide all in one! If you miss the JET Diary, this app is for you.
Ishikawa Travel Guide (EN, Free). Uses Google Maps to show you nearby sights throughout Ishikawa. Unfortunately, the gourmet list is lacking, but the list of sightseeing spots and activities is comprehensive. Good for exploring a new part of the prefecture!
北鉄バスビュワー Hokutetsu Bus Viewer (JP, free). Japanese language bus route-finder and schedule for buses all around the prefecture. Allows you to bookmark your favorite bus routes. It can also use your current location to find nearby bus stops.
乗換案内 by Jorudan (Free, JP). Japanese only. A nationwide train route finder and schedule. Recognizes romaji place name input. Includes a Live feature that notes train delays. The paid version, 乗換案内プラス (norikae-annai plus), is 630 yen in both stores and allows you to save routes.
EnjoyLearning Japan Map Puzzle (Free, JP). Want to get 上手 (jouzu) at Japanese geography and prefecture names? This drag and drop prefecture map game will help. It includes hiragana readings of the prefecture names, too.
Platform-specific apps are after the jump!
Please check the attached PDF for all you need to know about the official Ishikawa AJET events for orientation 2012! Get amped! 
If you’re planning to send winter holiday greetings this year, how about sending your friends and family back home a nengajō, a Japanese new year’s card? Nengajō can be purchased anywhere from conbini to department stores, and you can even make your own. If you are planning to send them via international airmail, the Japan Post has some guidelines to ensure that your greetings get to their destination in a timely manner.
The carbon-offset nengajô from Japan Post.
Read on for detailed instructions on writing and addressing the perfect nengajō.
Say good-bye to these restricted messages with a VPN.
I don’t know how many hours the JET community has spent lamenting the loss of access to sites such as Hulu and Pandora due to international copyright restrictions. Since many foreign shows do not have broadcasting licenses in Japan, expats in Japan can’t access sites where they are streamed legally online. While many JETs have felt the temptation to use other measures to keep current with their favorite TV shows and media from back home, I strongly suggest looking into a little-known legal tech fix to get access to those sites back: the VPN.
A VPN – or virtual private network – is an encrypted network you can set up with a client and is often used to protect your personal data to unauthorized parties online. Using a foreign VPN client will mask your IP address with a non-Japanese IP address, enabling you to access sites that may have international restrictions (Pandora, NBC, Hulu, Netflix just to name a few). Also, your personal information is encrypted, protecting your online activity and personal data.
The VPN client that I’ve used for the past year is Hotspot Shield – available for both Mac and PC this client has given me access to restricted sites back home. Fair warning: Accessing Hotspot Shield will use a fair amount of bandwidth so a high-speed internet connection is necessary. Even so, I recommend closing out any other applications that may be using internet bandwidth (chat clients etc.) when using a VPN client. If you want to shop around and look at other clients, I recommend going through a trusted site such as CNET to circumvent the risk of viruses or worms.
Readers: Have you ever used a VPN? What clients do you recommend? Let us know in the comments!
Melanie is a 3rd-year ALT in Kahoku. She has been enjoying her favorite shows back home legally thanks to VPNs.
Ahh the Undokai. One of my favorite times of year. September and early October are when many schools have their annual sports festivals. These festivals promote exercise, teamwork and school pride for the students. Upperclassmen will spend hours outside of the normal school day preparing for the undokai and trying to make it the best for the younger students.
As with all things in Japan there are some interesting fashion rules that occur the weeks prior to and on the day of the sports festival, which is another reason why I love undokai so much.
The week or so leading up to your undokai will usually involve some sort of training and various meetings between teachers and students during the school day. Since the teachers may be helping students prepare and train for the games they will be dressed a bit more casually than usual. Clothes such as cargo or track pants and basic T-shirts or sports gear are acceptable to wear during this time. If you aren’t sure if there will be some kind of training that day, wear your normal work clothes, but bring a bag with clothes to change into if you see other teachers in a casual manner.
Also, don’t be surprised if you have a lot of classes canceled this week. If you find yourself with a lot of free time, try to go watch the training for the games. It’s a great excuse to get out of the staff room and talk with some of your students.
On the day of the sports festival, the look you want is sporty casual. If you have a full track suit, you can wear that. Throughout September the weather is extremely hot and humid so dress in light, breathable clothes. There are usually a couple games where students face off between parents and teachers, so dress ready to participate in some activities such as relay races or tug of war.
Try not to wear clothes that are too tight or revealing. This is an event with lots of parents and VIPs in attendance and they may not appreciate your cleavage-enhancing tank top or junk-highlighting bike shorts. (Also, this is an event for children, who are you trying to impress, really?)
Other things to keep on your must-bring list include:
Melanie is a third-year JET living in Ishikawa. She wore a denim skirt and tank top to her first undokai.
The Ishikawa JET Kitchen gives you adapted and original recipes made for your kitchen.
Are all the new foods you’re finding at the supermarket a bit overwhelming? Have you been wracking your brain trying to convert your favorite chocolate chip recipe to your metric measuring cups? Are you sick of not knowing which flour you need for what kind of cooking?
Cooking in Japan can be a challenge, but now it just got a little bit easier with The Ishikawa JET Kitchen, an interactive digital cookbook from Ishikawa AJET. This cookbook is the brainchild of former Anamizu CIR Leah Zoller. With the help of a dedicated group of recipe contributors and testers, the penultimate cookbook that every JET should own. Whether you’re new to cooking, or a culinary whiz you will benefit from the wide range of traditional Japanese and homegrown recipes from Ishikawa JETs around the world.
Recipes for people with dietary restrictions have been tagged for easy searching – so whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant, or keep gluten-free you can find what recipe will work for you in no time.
For only ¥1000 you can get over your fear of the supermarket and use your kitchen like a pro. All proceeds from The Ishikawa JET Kitchen will go to Second Harvest charity. If you like the cookbook, make sure to tell your friends, family and coworkers!
To get the Cookbook, please transfer your payment of ¥1000 to the Ishikawa AJET account:
Bank name 北國銀行（ほっこくぎんこう）
Branch name 宇野気支店（うのけしてん）
Acct number 381962
Acct name エージェットイシカワシブ
Please send an email with the subject line “Cookbook Payment” to ishikawaajet[at]gmail.com with your name as it appears on your bank book. We’ll email your copy of the cookbook once payment is confirmed.
Please not that a direct “buy now” option is no longer available.
Well, July 31, 2011 has finally arrived. The scrolling text at the bottom of my analog TV will disappear and tomorrow, if you haven’t made the switch to digital, you will be TV-less. So here’s some tips for those JETs (like me) who waited until the last minute to make the change.
Talk to your Contracting Organization before buying a new TV.
Before you junk your analog TV, you need to talk to your CO as they may be the one who actually owns your TV. If your CO does own your TV, you can’t throw it away without their permission. If your TV is in fact owned by your school or board of education, they may be obligated to buy you a new one, or a digital tuner so you can watch your current TV. If they promise to buy you a new one, keep politely reminding them of that fact until they do.
My TV is owned by my CO, but they won’t buy me a new one.
It doesn’t surprise me that in a time of economic stress in Japan, some COs will simply say “I’m sorry, but we can’t buy you a new TV right now.” It sucks, but it can’t be helped. If that’s the case, you can either purchase your own tuner or buy a new digital TV. However, you cannot throw away or sell a TV that is owned by your board of education, without permission. If you have to purchase a new TV, return your old TV to your contracting organization and have them dispose of it, or get the OK from your supervisor (in writing so you have proof) to throw it away.
My TV isn’t owned by my Contracting Organization.
Fantastic! Do whatever you want. I hear Second Street has great deals on TVs and Yamada Denki has some digital tuners available.
Where can I buy a digital tuner?
Any major electronics store will sell digital tuners. They cost about ¥10,000.
Where can I throw away my old TV?
As TVs are electronics, you can’t just put them out in the trash when you feel like, you’ll have to wait for a certain day for them to be collected and, depending on your town, will have to pay for it to be picked up. If you’re unsure, ask your supervisor or a neighbor for help figuring out your area’s next electronics pick-up day.
Free garbage collections (無料回収, muryou kaishuu) are also fairly common. If you see a vacant lot with the 無料回収 sign, you can throw your TV away there at no charge. If you have one near you, don’t wait to throw your TV away because they only stay at certain areas for a short amount of time. These garbage collections also collect other hard-to-throw-away items including other electronics, large furniture and tires. If your predecessor left you a lot of garbage, these collections are the cheapest way to get rid of everything.
Melanie is a 3rd-year ALT who is still waiting for that new TV her BOE promised her 2 months ago.
This is the first installment of the “How to Dress” series, where we tackle the topic of proper attire for various occasions throughout your JET career. The first of this series is dedicated to the new JETs and what they should wear upon their arrival in Ishikawa.
When you arrive in Tokyo, the Orientation Assistants are going to have you send all your luggage except for one bag ahead of you to Ishikawa. In your bag you should have at least three days worth of proper business attire (as well as casual clothes for evenings out in Tokyo).
Upon arriving in Ishikawa you should be in formal business clothes. You will be meeting your new supervisors, coworkers and possibly principals, various heads of departmental offices and maybe even the mayor or other higher-ups in your town. Many offices have implemented “Cool Biz” (クールビズ) meaning men can forego neckties and undershirts and women can dress in a more business casual fashion. It’s a great program, but it also means that the air conditioning will be set to a higher temperature in the office.
Since this is your first day and you may not know who you’ll be meeting, play it safe and opt for the full suit and tie. If your supervisor has any compassion, they’ll schedule all your important meet & greets early in the day so you can change out of your work clothes as quickly as possible.
Ladies, if you’re going to wear a skirt, it would be appropriate to wear pantyhose. Also sleeveless tops (even if it’s a blouse) are not considered proper business attire, so you way want your suit jacket or a nice cardigan to cover up bare arms. Again, this is more of a formality issue and something you may be able to get away with once the important meetings are finished.
Do your best to stay cool next week and we can’t wait to see you in the ‘Kawa!
Melanie is a 3rd year ALT in Kahoku. Her constant fashion faux pas in Japan led to an intervention held with some of her teachers. Please learn from her mistakes.
The Ishikawa Prefecture Tourism League seems to be increasing its efforts to court foreign tourists via the creation of multilingual tourism websites: Hot-Ishikawa started producing an English-language quarterly tourism e-newsletter (see prior link), through which I found Gourmet Ishikawa, a new multilingual resource for dining in Ishikawa. The site may be viewed in Japanese, English, Korean, or Chinese (traditional or simplified) and has great information on not just restaurants but also Japanese dining etiquette and Ishikawan food culture.
From the June 2011 CLAIR newsletter:
The JET Programme announces the cancellation of the 2012-2013 JET Calendar and JET Diary. We would like to thank current and past participants for the many photos submitted throughout the years. (link)
I’m quite sad to see that both of these items have been cut. My JET planner has saved me on the Tokyo subway more than once, and the crucial information it contained, which included medical terminology, road signs, food labels, and laundry tag information, all within a compact, easy-to-use format, will be sorely missed.
Leah Zoller is a second-year CIR in Anamizu and is the outgoing editor of this blog.
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