Living & Working in Ishikawa, Japan
All across rural Japan, many young Japanese are leaving their hometowns to pursue life in the more metropolitan areas. This has left the older farming generations wondering how to get young people to return to the farm. Up in the Noto Peninsula, Shunran-no-Sato (春蘭の里) has found a way to get younger people to return to the farms via eco-tourism. This endeavor has made them a finalist for the BBC World Challenge Project.
Villagers converted their own homes into guesthouses for travelers who come to the village to take part in traditional agricultural activities. Each guesthouse offers different activities from fishing to picking wild vegetables in the mountains to jam making. The owners and other people in the town act as guides for the guests and help younger generations return to their agricultural roots.
Click HERE to vote for the project. Voting is open until Nov. 11.
Jalan.net is, by far, my favorite place to book hotels. The site has a lot of great deals and has very detailed information on the hotels: closest train station, amenities, services, photographs, maps, and what meals are included. Plus, you can search by what kind of accommodations you want: ryokan, business hotel, single, double, Japanese-style room, and so on. Until recently, Jalan was Japanese-only, but they have opened an English version of the website.
The English site features all the details of the Japanese one, and the interface is the mostly the same but has the international traveler’s’ needs in mind.
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Celebrate Tonami City’s 60th anniversary of the sister-city relationship with Lisse, The Netherlands! This year’s tulip fair in the neighboring prefecture of Tonami will feature 1 million tulips in 500 varieties; flower displays incude water displays and Dutch-style displays. There’s a variety of hands-on activities, performances, and events, so head down to Tonami during Golden Week to check it out!
Friday, April 22 – Thursday, 5 May (includes Golden Week holidays)
8:30 – 17:30 (last entry at 17:00)
Website: http://www.tulipfair.or.jp/fair/
Special events:
4/23 (Sat.): Chiba Hana concert (13:00~)
4/26 (Tues): Sawamura Ikki concert (13:00~)
5/2 (Mon): Tulip Concert: with acapella group Q.T. Honey (13:00, 14:30)
5/3 (Tues): Tulip Choral Festival with HoneyGrace (10:00, 13:00)
Advance tickets:
Adults: 900 yen; Children: 200 yen; Senior citizens (65+): 700 yen
Available at Ticket Pia (P-code: 987-073), Circle K, Sunkus, 7-11, Lawson, Poplar, and Family Mart (starting 2/1)
Same-day tickets:
Adults: 1000 yen; Children: 300 yen; Senior citizens (65+): 800 yen (children who are not yet in elementary school are free). Children are free on Children’s Day (5/5)
Access
Living with no central heating in one of the rainiest prefectures in Japan has convinced me that wool (uuru, ウール; ke, 毛) is perhaps the most amazing fabric on earth. It keeps you warm even when it’s wet and dries quickly. If you’re like me and didn’t own a lot of woolens or wool blends prior to moving to Japan, proper care and washing of woolens might be new to you.
First, keep all your dirty woolens in the same laundry basket—this will prevent mix-ups and snagging on zippers, etc.
From Dipika Soni, former JET, and Megan Lam, AJET Charity Representative:
Japan Volunteers is gathering information on how to help: gathering donations, volunteering, and a list of resources. See the site here.
A word from your editor:
My father sent me this CNN article about how the Japanese people appear to be completely calm in the face of this tragedy. The current media brouhaha back home took me on a trip down memory lane, back to my Advanced Placement European History class in high school. On the AP test, which many American high school students take to qualify for college credits, there is an essay called the DBQ, or the document-based question, where the student is presented with a number of quotes, statistics, or testimony from a variety of sources and asked to write his/her analysis of the situation based on the sources. This exercise teaches students to critically examine the reliability of sources and the way information is framed.
With this in mind, the US media, as well as the media of many other Western nations, is sensationalizing the situation (whether on purpose or not) by presenting the news in two ways.
1. Conflating affected areas with the whole of Japan.
2. Lumping together information in confusing, awkward ways.
How can you sort out the news?
1. Use reliable news sources. (Edit: A better example of an unreliable source than the Shibuya Eggman Incident is an unfounded Internet rumor that Snopes has thankfully put to rest.) A good, reliable source for your loved ones at home regarding the status of JETs is National AJET, which also has an extensive list of recommended news resources across the globe.
2. Read carefully. Headlines often present the situation as “in Japan,” whereas the article will more specifically say “in Sendai,” “in Miyagi,” “in Fukushima.” For example, Kyung Lah (CNN) writes in “Amid Disaster, Japan’s Societal Mores Remain Strong,” “Food and water are both scarce. Electricity in the tsunami zone is nearly nonexistent. Survivors have lacked information about their missing loved ones.”
Food and water are scarce in Miyagi and other areas affected by the earthquakes and tsunami. Lah isn’t obfuscating information, but you really have to keep reading beyond that first sentence to understand that the article refers to the hardest hit areas, not to the whole of the nation.
Or, from Reuter’s “SNAPSHOT: Japan’s Nuclear Crisis”–the article has solid information about Fukushima‘s nuclear issues and what is being done to fix the reactors, but the headline may sound like all of Japan is having a crisis. Don’t just read the headlines–read the whole article!
3. Track down the source. Regarding the evacuations and the flooding of the Tokyo immigration office with expats seeking re-entry permits (see The Japan Times and Japan Today), many news sources have cited a “US Government suggestion” to evacuate Japan.
I spent a ridiculous amount of time digging last night and was able to trace the suggestion back to a press release of the Nuclear Regulation Commission. Regarding evacuations: the US government is recommending that people within 80 km (50 miles) of the Fukushima reactors evacuate the area. (See NRC: Doc. 11-050.)
The government is also offering support to Americans working at all of the government sites (embassies, etc.) in Japan who wish to evacuate voluntarily. (Embassy of the US in Japan, Tokyo Press Release.) Three things are lumped into this release: the Fukushima evacuations from the areas near the nuclear plants; the government’s offer to evacuate government employees and their families who wish to leave; and the work to evacuate people living in the areas hit by the earthquake and tsunami (Tohoku region), many of whom have lost homes and property or are experiencing shortages of fuel and heat (CNN).
Please be a voice of reason in a time of crisis. You need to take a stand and provide your loved ones with accurate information. Do not panic. Do not spread rumors or sensationalized information. Always cite your sources. Other than donating our money and time to relief efforts, the best thing we can do right now is disseminate information from reliable sources.
Leah Zoller is a second-year CIR in Anamizu and the editor of this blog. To Mr. Nick Douglass of Anderson High School and any teacher who has ever prepped students for the DBQ: Thank you.
Update: A word from National AJET:
Don’t add to sensationalist rumors. If you are posting information on facebook, twitter and other media outlets, please make sure that you use credible sources. Include your source and as much information as possible.
Follow NAJET on twitter (@NationalAJET), facebook, and the official website.
Watch live coverage in English at the BBC online–features live text feed. Up-to-date, accurate, and bilingual expat approved.
Also, see AlJazeera’s live blog and live stream in English.
Finally, NHK World’s English coverage is here.
Learn earthquake-related vocabulary (English/Japanese) at Japan Newbie. Also has a lot of vocab about the nuclear plant situation.
Surviving in Japan’s twitter feed has great information in English. (@survivingnjapan)
-Leah
These past couple days have been tragic and our hearts go out to all the people in the Tohoku region that were affected by the tsunami. While watching these events unfold on TV, many saw a map like this in the corner of their TV screens:
Image courtesy of the Japan Meterological Agency
Many JETs noticed Ishikawa highlighted in yellow and were asking questions. What does this mean? Do I need to evacuate? Is it safe to be living so close to the beach?
So here’s a breakdown of what these higlighted maps mean:
Local TV stations will also broadcast on-screen what time waves are expected to hit your area shores. The Japan Meteorological Agency will have current information on earthquakes and tsunami warnings in English here. If you see a tsunami advisory—even though it’s small —don’t go to the beach. One man in California was swept to sea in the small tsunami that hit California shores yesterday. He was trying to take pictures of the waves.
If a larger tsunami warning is issued for Ishikawa, keep tuned into the local news, but also listen for any emergency broadcasts that may come from your town hall. If you hear an announcement or siren, it may mean you need to get to a shelter or higher ground. Places such as schools, town halls, and other large public buildings are usually designated emergency shelters.
If you have any questions about your specific area, talk to your supervisors, neighbors, or JTEs for more information. They can give you specific information about designated emergency shelters or evacuation routes in your area.
-Melanie
Winner of 2010 AJET Photo Contest, shot by Tim Harding (Ehime-ken)
This info comes to us via our stalwart AJET president, Sarah Kelly:
Every year, AJET encourages poets and photographers from the JET community to exercise their creative talents with out annual AJET Haiku and Photo Competitions.
Haiku Competition – Opens immediately. Closes 31st May.
Haikus can be in reference to life on JET or in the traditional style. We’re not fussy! Humorous Haikus are always welcome too.
The competition will be split into two categories, English and Japanese, so get creative with your Nihongo skills too.
Submissions should be:
There is a limit of two (2) haiku per entrant total. Current National AJET Council members are not eligible to enter.
Entries and inquiries should be sent to Avalyn at contest[AT]ajet[DOT]net.
Judging will be conducted by members of the AJET council. We are also hoping an outside Haiku poet will be able to judge this year.
Ownership/ Use Rights: Haiku authors retain the copyright of their haiku. By entering the contest authors agree to have their submitted haiku displayed on the AJET website (ajet.net), displayed on the National AJET fan page (facebook), and used in AJET publications without any fee or other compensation. Haiku will be credited to the author named in the entry form. Please make copies of poetry you want to keep on record. Entries will never be used by AJET in any manner for advertising or sale. In the even that ownership of any haiku is contested in any manner, AJET retains the discretion to disqualify that haiku and discontinue use.
Two first place winners, one in English and one Japanese will win a 3000 yen Amazon online gift voucher. Second place (in English and Japanese) will win a 1000 yen voucher.
Photo Competition – Open immediately. Closing date 31st May.
AJET wants to encourage all professional and budding photographers to send in their photos of Japan and life on JET.
We are interested in ‘human’ or humorous photos of your life on JET. Landscape photos are unlikely to get much attention.
Judging will be conducted by the AJET council. The winner on the competition will win a 3000 yen Amazon online gift voucher and will feature in the Tokyo Orientation Guide Book for the incoming JETs (often the front page).
Submissions should be:
There is a limit of two (2) images per entrant. Current National AJET Council members are not eligible to enter. In the case that you submit photographs including people’s faces, please receive permission from those featured before submission.
Entries and enquiries should be sent to Avalyn at contest[AT]ajet[DOT]net.
Ownership/Rights: Photographers retain the copyright of their photos. By entering the contest photographers agree to have their submitted photo displayed on the AJET website (ajet.net), displayed on the National AJET fan page (facebook), and used in AJET publications without any fee or other compensation. The photo will be credited to the photographer named in the entry form. Please make copies of the photo that you want to keep on record. Entries will never be used by AJET in any manner for advertising or sale. In the even that ownership of any photo is contested in any manner, AJET retains the discretion to disqualify that haiku and discontinue use.
Good luck!
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