Living & Working in Ishikawa, Japan
Uchinada Kite Festival Poster
Go fly a kite!
Is actually Uchinada`s way of inviting you to their annual World Kite Festival 
This year it will be held on May 3rd & 4th (public holidays) in Golden Week on Uchinada beach.
Here is the event schedule for the main day:
May 4th (Saturday)
9:00 : Participant Reception
9:30 : Opening Ceremony & Attraction
10:00 :
- Japan Sea Kite Flying Tournament
- International Kite Flying Tournament
- Uchinada Kite Contest, Large Kite Challenge
- Sports Kite Contest
- Sports Kite Experience Lesson
- Photo Contest
15:00 : Awards Ceremony & Closing Ceremony
Last year, it was rather windy on the beach – good for kites but not so good for spectators, so dress for the weather rather than the beach
There are some truly amazing kites on display, so it`s well worth a visit 
Let`s enjoying kites!
Foodies of Ishikawa, you’re in for a treat! Yuka Kokon is offering a class next week at Noppo kun restaurant about how to make and season foods with salt koji, an Ishikawa specialty. What is salt koji, you may ask? Koji is a trendy fermented seasoning (like miso) made of steamed rice and the same fermenting agent used in sake and soy sauce.
In this class, you will be taught how to make your own salt koji and also how to use salt koji in other recipes.
Class Information
When: Thursday, January 24th, from 10 am to 12:30 pm.
Where: Noppo kun Restaurant and Natural Foods Market in Nonoichi
石川県野々市市本町2-1-24
Cost: 2,500 yen. This includes lunch!
Contact: koji.seminar(at)gmail.com
The organizer of this event is English-proficient and will be on-hand during the demonstration. Both the chef and the organizer are excited to share this little-known specialty with Ishikawa’s foreign residents, so even if you can’t attend, pass word along!
Salt Koji Cooking Seminar (ENG)
Winter in Japan = snow. Right?
Wrong. Winter in Japan = snow and illuminations!
Hokutetsu/Komatsu Bus company are offering several great-value day/weekend trips out to some of Japan`s most fantastic illumination events, and it`d be a shame to miss out 
Listed below are the details for the Kobe Luminarie ones:
Kobe Luminarie
Kobe Luminarie
By far one of Japan`s most famous illuminations, the Kobe Luminarie is held every year in memorial of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. It is on from December 6 – 17th, 18:00 – 21:00. Expected to be very crowded on weekends in particular, so anticipate queuing and moving around the display in lines on weekends (unfortunately).Tour 1:
Cost: Y4500
Operation Days: Every day from Dec 6th – 17th
Length: 1 day
Includes: Roundtrip bus fare from Kanazawa/Kaga stations to Mitsui Outlet shopping Park, and on to Kobe Luminarie event area.
Departs: 7am Kanazawa Station (West exit) (next,Kaga Station)
Returns: 24:00 Kanazawa Station (last stop,via Kaga Station)
The itinerary is completely free-plan, so you can do your own thing until departure time from the Luminarie
Tour 2:
Cost: Y16,980
Operation Days: Every day from Dec 7th – 17th
Length: 2 days/1 night
Includes:
- 1 night`s accommodation for 1/2persons per room at Chisan Hotel Shin-Osaka (9pm-9am, western room,breakfast included)
- Roundtrip and tour bus fares from Kanazawa/Kaga Stations, within Kobe City, Osaka City, and to and from Mie and Aichi prefectures
- Day trip to Kobe Harbourland (free plan exploring), and Kobe Luminarie (free plan)
- Day trip to Aichi & Mie prefectures, Outlet Mall Jazz Dream, and Nabana-no-sato Winter Illumination (entrance fees included, free plan)
Departs: Kanazawa Station West Exit 7:30am (next,Kaga Station)
Returns: Kanazawa Station (last stop) 22:30
For further information, or to book one of these tours, you can go to your local Hokutetsu Bus office, or phone Hokutetsu Koukuu on 076-242-3337. On booking the tour, you will need to pay either 20% of the fee as a deposit, or the whole sum upfront. The pamphlet for these `Asunaro Tours` is available at Hokutetsu Kanzawa Station, and other Hokutetsu stations and bus offices, and it may help to have it on you for simplicity-sake when booking
In addition, MKBus Tours is offering a rather no-fuss roundtrip tour for Y3800 (excl Y100 donation to the Luminarie), departing December 8,9,15 & 16th from Kanazawa Station West Exit 8am, and returning there at 24:15. See the link below for the bookings procedure (telephone and furikomi):
Saturday September 1st is the annual iJET Uchinada Beach Party. ALTs from all over the prefecture (and beyond!) gather to end their summer vacations in style. This promises to be one of the best AJET events yet, so don’t miss out!
Beach party line-up
Beach sports and BBQs from 2pm
Group photos at 6pm
Fireworks at 7pm (AJET is providing some fireworks, but you can also bring your own. Also, be safe.)
Live music from 8pm
DJs from 10pm
There is a huge supermarket next to the beach where you can stock up on BBQ and picnic supplies. On the beach there are some restaurants and bars with burgers and thai food.
Transportation information and further firework/jellyfish warnings below the jump!
Summer in Japan just wouldn`t be complete without hanabi-taikai (firework shows)!
I recently got hold of this year`s lineup of events, so here you go!
The Hokkoku Hanabi 2012:
Enjoy!
Let’s rock.
It is a cruel fact of life in Japan that the more you want to open all the windows in your apartment, the more the bugs want to come inside. This is a field guide to insects you may encounter, what to do when you encounter them, and how to encounter them less often in the future.
For convenience’s sake, we’ve sorted them into generic home pests, bugs you may see while out and about, and three that might land you in the hospital.
Throughout the article we also have pictures of helpful products and bug specimens. If you happen to have your own product recommendations or stories of creepy crawly terror, do share in the comments.
So, grab some bug spray and let’s dive on in!
Two Ishikawa JETs will perform with the Kanazawa Indoor Orchestra this Saturday evening. You can purchase tickets in advance from Rachel Duplessis or Joanna Clark and they’ll also be available at the door on Saturday evening.
If you’re a fan of classical music, don’t miss this opportunity!
☆Who: Rachel Duplessis and Joanna Clark with the Kanazawa Indoor Orchestra
☆Where: Kanazawa Bunka Hall
☆When: Saturday, June 9 @ 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30)
☆How much: ¥1,000
In addition to the Uchinada Kite Festival, Ishikawa has two other great festivals going on in the second long weekend of Golden Week. The Seihakusai Matsuri in Nanao is one of city’s major claims to fame and bosts three prime examples of dekayama (huge mountain) festival floats. The Kutaniyaki Festival in Nomi is a three-day long Kutanyaki bazaar with pieces from numerous kilns. Both festivals will go from Thursday May 3rd to Saturday May 5th, so with some clever day-trip planning, you don’t have to miss a thing!
Some Kutaniyaki ware. (thanks odanobuhide!)
Seihakusai Matsuri Floats! (from nanao-cci.or.jp)
Staying in the area over Golden Week? If you want to use your three and four-day weekends to explore the area without spending a lot on train fare, JR West has you covered. You may have seen the Hokuriku O-dekake Pass (北陸お出かけパス）advertized before:
Basically, this is a day-long all-you-can-ride pass for anywhere within the area listed on the map. The zone goes as far north as Tanihama (谷浜）in Niigata Prefecture, and as far south as Nagahama, Fukui on the Hokuriku Line and Aonogou, Fukui on the Obama Line. (Yes, you can visit the city of Obama.) The zone also includes the Noto Line as far as Wakura Onsen. If you haven’t visited Echizen, the Noto, or Toyama Prefecture yet, this is a cheap way to get there and back in a day. Fare from Kanazawa to Aonogou on local trains is 3,570 yen one way, so if you want to go far north or south, this pass can pay for itself at least three times over.
So, how does it work? The pass costs 2,000 yen. It can ONLY be used for local trains (no Limited Express trains like the Thunderbird, Shirasagi, or Hokuetsu). It can also ONLY be used on Saturdays, Sundays, or national holidays. You can get on and off as many times as you would like. The biggest catch perhaps is that it must be purchased AT LEAST three days in advance. You can purchase it as early as one month before the day you want to use it, but they are quite strict about the three days. Passes are definitely available at the larger JR stations like Kanazawa and Komatsu, and must be ordered at the counter. Smaller stations may or may not have them. The offer ends September 30th of this year, but it will probably be back.
Intrigued, but not sure which direction to go? The southern part of Fukui might be familiar to most Ishikawa JETs, but only from out the window of an Osaka or Nagoya-bound train. The Echizen area of Fukui (normally 1,600+ each way from Kanazawa) is full of temples, shrines, and ruins to explore.
For those of you living in Southern Ishikawa, this is a cheap way to explore the lower Noto, as tickets from Komatsu to Wakura Onsen usually run about 1,890 yen each way. Similarly, folks in the Noto can get to places like Natadera and Yunokuni no Mori in Kaga.
Your Hokuriku staycation can still be awesome and within budget–just make sure to get your Hokuriku O-dekake Pass at least three days in advance!
November’s coming to a close, and if you feel like you’ve been seeing more mustaches around than usual, there’s a reason. In Japan, JETs and friends have been growing out their facial hair not only to show off their style but also to raise awareness for prostate cancer. Those who aren’t mustache growing enabled shouldn’t feel left out, though.
This Friday, November 25th will see Ishikawa’s first Movember to Remember party, a night of music and mustaches, at Kanazawa Event House APRE (7th floor) in Katamachi. ¥500 buys you entrance and good feelings for helping out a worthy cause.
Everyone is welcome!
Joanna is a second-year ALT in Kahoku City who is considering sporting a fake ‘stache in support of prostate cancer awareness.
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