Japan Baby!

[Anjin-san]

So this Saturday I fly to Japan for the big JET adventure. I'll be in a small town on the east coast of Iwate prefecture, which has a population of around 60,000. I'll be staying for at least a year.

Kendo wise I'm going in blind, my plan is to start at the club at the high school I'll be teaching at and work my way up from there.

Having said that, if any of the regulars here find themselves in Iwate for whatever reason (you like fish maybe?) you're more than welcome to pay me a visit. I can't promise any kendo, but I will be taking our own special brand of drunken tomfoolery to sleepy Miyako.

Wish me luck :p

[Awooga Guy]

Good luck Najaf! May the force be with you. Awooga! :)




That is all.

[ScottUK]

Enjoy Japan - don't forget to PM me some manju...

Good luck in your new venture.

[Nokori 3byo]

Welcome aboard. I'm embarking on year 3 as of this week.

Enjoy your time In Japan, and don't let the inaka blahs get you down.

[Nakura]

Hey mate,

Congratulations and enjoy your first time in 日本！Never know...might well see you out there...

[The great I AM]

Najaf was the golden boy of UCL, kind of like the clubs Dhali Lama, so we gave him a good send off.....

http://static.flickr.com/67/196051131_055fb62f20.jpg?v=0

Hes wearing fishnets.....and we dressed him up like a japanese high school girl.....
http://static.flickr.com/67/196051375_4210e7b0eb.jpg?v=0

[Ookami7]

Enjoy and hope you like it. Didn't make it w/ JET, but I got picked up by another company 3rd time I've been to Japan. This time Kanagawa and the other times Kyushu. Anyways enjoy and I know you will like it. Just don't let the culture shock get you down too bad. Best of luck in all. Sounds like you have a good plan going --- the High School club should work really good for you. mata, Ookami yori / Jeff

[ScottUK]

Hes wearing fishnets.....and we dressed him up like a japanese high school girl.....Mother of god. You UCL boyos are bordering on sex offenders. :)

[KhawMengLee]

Hes wearing fishnets.....and we dressed him up like a japanese high school girl.....



...beyond perversion...

[walnut]

So this Saturday I fly to Japan for the big JET adventure. I'll be in a small town on the east coast of Iwate prefecture, which has a population of around 60,000. I'll be staying for at least a year.

Kendo wise I'm going in blind, my plan is to start at the club at the high school I'll be teaching at and work my way up from there.

Having said that, if any of the regulars here find themselves in Iwate for whatever reason (you like fish maybe?) you're more than welcome to pay me a visit. I can't promise any kendo, but I will be taking our own special brand of drunken tomfoolery to sleepy Miyako.

Wish me luck :p

You're coming to Miyako? I lived there for three years (now I live a couple hours away) and there are lots of great sensei there. When you get here give me a PM and I'll introduce you to them.

[Anjin-san]

Thanks for the encouragement all...


Mother of god. You UCL boyos are bordering on sex offenders.

Only 'bordering' ?



You're coming to Miyako? I lived there for three years (now I live a couple hours away) and there are lots of great sensei there. When you get here give me a PM and I'll introduce you to them.

I am sendymasing you a PM now.

[ZealUK]

Congratulations on getting onto JET and all that. I'm sure you'll have a great time out here.

The Tokyo orientation is a right old laugh.

[JSchmidt]

Good luck, Najaf!

[Frame]

you'll be back... kicking and screaming in a pair of handcuffs, but you'll be back

[fifthchamber]

Alex, when did you do the orientation here in Tokyo? I came back in 2004...And they had just started the checks to make sure we were there rather than drunk or swimming in the pool...I swam..
And good luck Najaf, it's easily the most fun you can have while being paid ridiculous amounts of cash and having enough time to train until you can't move..I don't want to leave it...
Regards.

[ZealUK]

Alex, when did you do the orientation here in Tokyo? I came back in 2004...And they had just started the checks to make sure we were there rather than drunk or swimming in the pool...I swam..
And good luck Najaf, it's easily the most fun you can have while being paid ridiculous amounts of cash and having enough time to train until you can't move..I don't want to leave it...
Regards.

I started out last year, so 2005.

There were checks, but I managed to sleep around them as it were.

The rest I can't remember really.....

[Andoru]

All the best Najaf!

p.s. you look HAWT in fishnets!

[ahmed61086]

Does jet pay rediculous amounts of Cash!?!!?


If it does, where do I sign Up!?!!?


Have fun in Japan, and good luck.

[ScottUK]

You can only earn ridiculous sums of money if you can teach the locals how to spell ridiculous.

Ahh, just kidding... everyone needs a Prefectural idiot. :D

[Awooga Guy]

everyone needs a Prefectural idiot. :D

Awooga Guy sees what you did there :D

7.5/10





That is all.

[ScottUK]

I will be more subtle next time. No more blunt trauma.

[ZealUK]

I fixed it for ya....


All the best Najaf!

p.s. you look HAWT in fishnets!

*FAP FAP FAP FAP FAP*

[Awooga Guy]

Hehehehehe :D




That is all.

[Andoru]

I fixed it for ya....

ROFL!!!!! :D

[Nokori 3byo]

Does jet pay rediculous amounts of Cash!?!!?



Not exactly. The salary has been the same since the late 80s. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it pays far more than the average ALT's (Assistant Language Teacher) workload seems to merit. It's also true that the tax bracket is very very low compared to what I was used to in Canada (don't know about the UK). And you get a bunch of money back when you finish up.

So a good deal, all in all. But one does well not to succumb to delusions of aristocracy.

[Paburo]

have fun in iwate mr.donatello. and hope you find your long lost ninja turtle brothers.

and... do post pics of all the cute kendo girls you meet along the way. that surely will benefit the kendo world humanity way more than your pictures in fishnet tights (now now, don't take it to heart... we still love you long time :D)

[lucy]

I'd love to go to Japan with JET, but to be allowed to teach German you need a university degree and experience in teaching German as a foreign language... :disapp:

Ah, so what, I'll study law, get an incredibly well-paid job and then fly to Japan whenever I want to!!












Hey, let me dream, okay?? :silly:

[Nokori 3byo]

I know a few Germans who are over here teaching English on JET. In theory, your spoken English needs to be very good. As you say, there are also people teaching German at Japanese schools.

You do, however, need a university degree to obtain the all-important work visa which allows JETs to work in Japan.

[Anjin-san]

They let any retard who can mumble words in English on this thing. Trust, its a free ticket to a land of cute girls, beautiful scenery, excellent adventures and as enough kendo to make you sick of it.

More updates when I get my gaijin card and internet sorted... until then, I guess you couldsay I'm having fun :p

[lucy]

You do, however, need a university degree to obtain the all-important work visa which allows JETs to work in Japan.

That's why I'll have to wait a few years still, at least... May be one day... :cheerful:

[ZealUK]

They let any retard who can mumble words in English on this thing. Trust, its a free ticket to a land of cute girls, beautiful scenery, excellent adventures and as enough kendo to make you sick of it.

More updates when I get my gaijin card and internet sorted... until then, I guess you couldsay I'm having fun :p

Ahh the unspoilt naivete of the newbie.

You are actually supposed to do some work.

How much you do almost entirely depends on you, which obviously means that most JET's dont do anything. Good thing for you is that practicing Kendo at school IS working - you are participating in activities at school.

[rottunpunk]

I WANT TO GO TO JAPAN!!!:mad2:
so how do i get into this jet thing? do i have to do the teflon course first? or is that what jet is?
and my japanese is awful or nonexistant, how do i get around that?
and do you get to choose where you go? koichi for me :D
:p

[KhawMengLee]

I WANT TO GO TO JAPAN!!!:mad2:
so how do i get into this jet thing? do i have to do the teflon course first? or is that what jet is?
and my japanese is awful or nonexistant, how do i get around that?
and do you get to choose where you go? koichi for me :D
:p

www.gaijinpot.com

There's tons of job offers there and they include the required qualifications.

[rottunpunk]

wahoo cheers matey. off to have a look now then.
anyone know what the regulations on importing pets in japan are?
id need to take the cat and gecko(VOTEFORTHEGECKO)with me
:p

[fifthchamber]

Heh..Alex,
I remember back when I first arrived that life seemed all fun and games too though..And living in Tokyo it makes it a little more easy to think that..But then reality kicks in and the term starts..Najaf, it ain't an easy job and if your teachers are any good you'll do a lot more than mumbling..
That said, you will have more than enough time for Kendo..And hitting students is also a good way to wrok off work stress..
If either of you come to Tokyo please do give me a shout, I could use more drinking buddies in Japan!
Send me a PM or sommat..
Yours.

[Anjin-san]

you guys are on big daikon right?

[ZealUK]

you guys are on big daikon right?

Only occasionally :o

It was the *FAP FAP FAP* wasn't it?

Ben, I'm off up to Tokyo in September/October for maybe 3 days. I'll let you know the details when I find out.

If any of you come to Kagoshima I'll be more than happy to show you around.

[Kenshi]

JET can be heaven for some, and hell for others. It all depends on where you end up and your work environment. Even in an individual prefecture your nearest JET neighbour can have a wildly different job. Teachers in schools rotate a lot as well.... so its all a bit pot luck.

The best thing about JET is that everything is done properly. If you want to stay in Japan after JET you will find that most English-Language companies will not be so legally supportive of you and probably engage in illegal activites regarding tax, visa, insurance, and retirement pay (401K) stuff. This is fine if you are here for a year or two, but if you want to stay here longer you can find yourself in a fix if you want to do stuff 'properly.' Japanese companies are not interested in hiring you for the long term.

[fifthchamber]

Hi Najaf,
I never bothered with it..To be honest, I hear enough complaints from the yankees here in Tokyo..No need to make life worse by reading the entire countries woes...Heh..
No offense to any Americans reading this..
Starting my last year on JET now and loving being in Tokyo still..But rather hating the fact that I now need to think about a real job after this..And yes, Alex, please do look me up..It would be good to talk to you..Maybe we could get a few of the others down for it too..Matt Snowden works JET up in Ishikawa and does Kashima Shinryu..He may be in town..And Steve Delaney too..Be good to see ya!
Regards.

[rottunpunk]

hmmn. looked on gaijinpot. all the jobs seem to be in tokyo or you have to live there already.
perhaps i should get a job here first that pays enough so i can save up and go on a training trip and make contacts that way?
whats the demand for nonqualified english speaking lawyers anyways?
:p

[Henry Jones Jnr]

I hope that you have taken some of your lovely tenegui. Sensei is very proud of you. You will come back faster than ever. You will want a bathhouse. Hopefully you will be in good area that won't be too taxing on the brain. Enjoy

[chidokan]

Please note that going on the JET programme does NOT have to include getting married and becoming a dad.....like Zeal. He just got carried away with it all....:laugh:

[rottunpunk]

ah good.
id hate to have to get married and become a father.
ooh, dont know if shes serious, but my sister said shed save up for my airfare to japan for the year after next. (dont think she knows how much it is yet-teehee)
does this mean i have to be nice to her now?
:p

[Awooga Guy]

Awesome post :D Glad you're having fun Najaf - have you done any work yet mate?





That is all.

[fifthchamber]

He won't be working for a few days yet..It's summer hols. here now..Lucky for us..
Najaf, great post mate..Nice remembering just how useless the conference was too..Wait until you re-enlist...They have another one, with the same damn food as they served the first time I swear it..(Kind of scrambled Eggs and some random selections of Cereal, fruit and sausages right?)...Love it..
We got the new ALT's here in Tokyo last week too..One is a cool guy, from Canada and the other seems rather isolationist...Hasn't been out of the house except to travel to Akiba..Hmm...
Regards..

[Suiken]

Happy Birthday and welcome to Japan! Sounds you are having a good time. I am kind of envious. With 21 I was in the army and did not even enter university yet. Please enjoy your stay as much as you can, my time here is nearly over already.

...sounds like I am dying (o^-´)b

[Andoru]

Hahahahahaha great post Najaf! At this rate you'd have enough material to compile a book!

[rottunpunk]

thanks for the update dude.
ok so your on holiday right now.
more time for going round all the dojos in right?
:p

[aob]

Good luck in Japan!

I saw your name tag at the JET leaving reception and thought I recognised the name from somewhere.

[Andoru]

I'm going to need more details on Yuna and Tomomi. Pictures or it didn't happen! :D

[Echo]

Legendary effort!

[ZealUK]

I'm going to need more details on Yuna and Tomomi. Pictures or it didn't happen! :D

I believe you mean

"Pics or STFU!"

[Anjin-san]

Trust me, that was nothing worth sharing pics over :tongue:

Part 3: First Ever Keiko in Japan, Morioka, Hashi-ichi dojo

After they finished todays presentations and left us alone, the other JETs went out to do karaoke and I pulled my new, ready packed bougu bag out of my suitcase and got a taxi to Hashi-ichi dojo. Using the map Fujisawa san at the bouguya had scribbled out, me and the taxi driver figured out where it was. It seemed to be a purpose built place, a first for me. It was close to the train tracks so every so often you'd feel a rumble. Still, it was completely eclipsed when keiko started.

I took my slippers off at the door and crept my way in with my bougu. I managed to find someone and switched to keigo/bowing mode with everyone. The kids were warming up, and I was introduced to Nishida Sensei.

Under Yanai Sensei's Kohai

As soon as the words 'igirisu no rondon kara mairimashita' left my lips, Nishida sensei asked me if I had heard of Yanai Norimitsu. For those of you out of the loop, Yanai sensei is (unless things have changed in my absence) the only Japanese sensei resident in the United Kingdom above rokudan, so when I recognised the name I almost jumped out of my skin.

I haven't seen Yanai Sensei in a keiko in 2006, but last year and maybe the year before I would train every so often with Yanai sensei, and I have to say his practices are the ones in which I felt I had improved the most. I think Will described it as medicine for your Kendo. That and having won two kantosho at national taikai with yanai sensei celebrating with me after each means that he's pretty much my favourite kendo sensei.

Nishida Sensei trained along with the Tanefuji brothers (sons of the founder of the dojo), one of whom is the mayor of Morioka. Tanefuji sensei (non mayor) would turn up later, but as it turns out, back in the old days, Yanai sensei was all three of theirs sempai at University. Small Kendo World eh?

Kids Practice

I was told to sit and watch the kids practice, but the truth was the kihon could have done me good. Nevertheless, watching the kids was an experience akin to a revelation. That level of kendo, just their technique was better than anything I'd seen en masse in the UK. Maybe I'm Japan crazy or I haven't been in a dojo in a while but the cuts seemed bigger and harder, the fumikomi and kiai was louder and all the while a slow realisation came over me.

I had two possible paths here doing Kendo in Japan. I could either give up and sell my bougu right now, or make full use of the opportunity before me. Doing it half way like I had been doing it over the past year was not an option. If I can get my own kihon up to half as good as some of the kids I saw practicing, I'd die a happy kendoka. There is no possible excuse in all realms of all the universes for me not to take it to the next level here in Japan. Lets just hope I can live up to my own bullshit :)

Jigeiko

I got in 5 jigeiko, the last two were kind of forced upon me. Having not been in a dojo for around four weeks, I could barely stand through a 1 minute practice.

Nishida Sensei

I was crap. Plain and simple. He let me have plenty of points which I hit, but my posture was off, and my footwork had gone back from parallel to twisted. I made steps to correct one thing at a time but I would lose one thing whenever I got a hold of something else. As I was getting tired, we finished with about 2 minutes of uchikomi geiko.

Tanafuji Sensei

Here things began to look up a little. I got hardly any points on him, but I was a lot straighter and my posture held up for longer. Also, my cuts felt more like I was on top of the shinai, nice and neat. Towards the end when I got tired I found myself correcting the angle of my back foot constantly. We finished with some uchikomi geiko as I was getting tired again, but I turned the kiai volume up a little and went on for a bit longer than I thought I could. Goodie!

Sato Sensei

Sato sensei turned out to be a rokudan. I figured I was almost completely exhausted so as soon as we got up from sonkyo I went for a straight tobikomi men which cracked nicely with so-so follow through. After that I think I got a nice debana kote. After that I was pounded into the dust by this guy, not a chance in hell of getting anything. I went kakari-geiko on him to no avail. He seemed to be completely exhausted too, so to see I decided to go for a katsugi-men, which again connected very nicely, and after that he finished the practice. Go me!

The minions of Nishida Sensei

I was all but done. There wasn't an ounce of Kendo left in me. So of course, Nishida hits the taikos, and brings over two of his high school proteges for me to fight one after the other. The little guy was fast, but I was bigger and he didn't cut straight so it was tough for him. I didn't hit shit though, he landed at least three or four explosive debana kote while I stumbled around.

The bigger guy knocked my ass into the next prefecture and had it express delivered to me at Hounslow Central Station. At this stage I could feel my legs cramping, so I figured if I was going out I'd go out with a bang. I went kakarigeiko on him too, and surprisingly managed to last until the end of keiko.

Post Practice

Tanefuji sensei related to me that after cutting I should keep my kensen central and not have it flying all over the place. Nishida sensei said he really liked my osae-waza but it shouldn't be as deep as it is, and I shouldn't let my posture get caught up in it. I didn't know I did osae waza, but I think I might have picked up what he was talking about from the old gibster back in the day.

Later I asked Nishida if, as in the UK, we go out drinking after every practice. He asked me if that was Yanai senseis idea, and then told me that its only every so often. Still, he invited me to come along on wednesday when they were going out. So I left my bougu there and showered. After seeing myself in a mirror my face looked like a plum, and it also looked like I had lost a kilo during that practice. I managed to top off two bottles of pocari sweat at the vending machine near the dojo and then took a taxi back to the hotel new carina. I'm writing this from the 100 yen per minute machine in the lobby...

Until next time :)

[Paburo]

yeah.... andoru nailed it, donatello. where's the pic of that "japan baby"??

tho i'll admit i'm more interested in seeing "babysitter" kanako... :bandit:

[HellBoy]

Sounds like you're having a blast Najaf, you are going to have to convert them into the drinking heavily after every practise routine though.

[Anjin-san]

Find your own japanese girls!

[runsyi]

yeah.... andoru nailed it, donatello. where's the pic of that "japan baby"??

tho i'll admit i'm more interested in seeing "babysitter" kanako... :bandit:

Paburo, tsk, tsk. Najaf just wrote a very interesting post about his first keiko in Japan and you're asking for pictures of j-girls? Seems gyaru girls rank higher on your list than Kendo. How do you ever hope to beat me with an attitude like that? Hahaha.

Jodan desu.

Najaf, great that you're practicing again and chotto hen that the sensei is your favorite sensei's kohai. Here's hoping Wednesday you kick some butt.

And don't come back until you have some pictures! :tongue:

[Paburo]

Paburo, tsk, tsk. Najaf just wrote a very interesting post about his first keiko in Japan and you're asking for pictures of j-girls? Seems gyaru girls rank higher on your list than Kendo. How do you ever hope to beat me with an attitude like that? Hahaha.
shelly baby, don't be jelly now. (hey that sorta rhymed). you know that even if i ask for jgirls pictures in this 'japan baby' post my hdd will always have spare megabytes and a special corner for yours, <3 awwwwwwWWWwwwWWWwwwww.

donatello, glad you're having a blast in japan. we understand if posting pictures of your babysitter kanako is a little embarrassing. so we let you know, we accept videos as well :bandit: cowabungaaa. i'll be posting soon plenty pics of my jgirl friends in yukata from the last obon matsuri on my blog, so don't be giving me that 'find your own japanese girls' bollocks haha :bandit: jk mate.

cheers and thanks for the JET-in-miyako keiko reports :D

[Anjin-san]

Seems like gyaru girls rank higher on your list than kendo

Shelly... that is indeed a tough call.

Seriously though, I've just recently heard that a number of JETs have been fired or worse because of stuff they wrote on blogs or in forums, so expect a little more censorship from here on in. If you really want the good shit, send me an email :P


spare megabytes and a special corner for yours

Internet girls don't count.

[ScottUK]

I've just recently heard that a number of JETs have been fired or worse because of stuff they wrote on blogs or in forums, so expect a little more censorship from here on in.Register a new account and leave the names and places out. We'll know it is you... :D

[James]

Hi Najaf,
just in case you haven't discovered this yet;
when you are snowed in and run out of kendo supplies, there is a Sensei who runs a Budo shop 石井武道具 from his house in Miyako.
He is of course:
石井先生

He takes a small Wakaba-like class at the sports centre opposite DORA dept store, a free (light blue) shuttle bus leaves from 宮古駅前 frequently to DORA, takes about 3mins.

As I recall practices were Wednesday nights, you could pop in, or call, his shop number is 0193-62-7860 He can bring you a catalogue if you ask.

Just don't get that number mixed up with some clown-faced kogyaru and bust out the nampa.

You can PM me if you want any more info,
best,
J