November, 2010 (Fall Issue)

Food for Thought

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Letter from the Editor Fall is the season of harvest. In my neck of the mountains, that means slinging rubber boots on over suit pants and helping my students dig up potatoes. You’d be surprised how often harvest day coincides with dress-nicely meeting day. Or perhaps you wouldn’t. This magazine caters to a very specific readership.

Anyway. This issue is all about fall. Where to go, what to do, and other practical points of advice for living in Nagano as the temperature and the fruit flies drop. Side by side with that, we’ve got a great collection of poems, stories, and personal essays that reflect the feelings of creativity that the autumn season in this lovely prefecture brings out for its residents.

You’ve undoubtedly noticed some changes in the makeup of Yomoyama, the most obvious being that you are reading this issue on your computer screen! When I took the magazine over from Whitney, the decision was made to bring Yomoyama fully online. That way, we can deliver the same high quality, full-color layouts that everyone has been enjoying over the past year while at the same time tackling past distribution problems head on. Now, everyone who wants an issue of Yomoyama can get one, regardless of geography. Moreover, you can send a link of the magazine to your friends and family back home. Still prefer the feeling of paper and ink between your fingertips? Not a problem! The PDF is fully printable.

The switch to digital also allows us to do away with page-cap limits on submissions. Most importantly, it gives us the ability to incorporate creative elements into the magazine that we’ve been unable to in the past. So all you musicians, spoken word artists, singers, and filmmakers in Nagano? Get your submissions ready, because we are now able to incorporate all manner of multi-media into Yomoyama.

The submission procedure is the same as it has always been: open policy. This is your magazine, your voice. Simply send an email to yomoyamamagazine@gmail.com with your work attached.

I’m incredibly excited about the new format of Yomoyama, and I hope that you are too. Fall is, at its core, a time of change. Leaves are turning red and gold, new alts are getting settled in, and the end of the year is in sight. It seems like the perfect time to begin this new chapter in Yomoyama’s history.

Thanks for sticking with us.

-Molly

Yomoyama Staff Editor-In-Chief: Molly Conner Graphic Designer: Daniel Pierce Web Designer: Jon Dillow Associate Editors: Shannon Lough and Tonya Kneff Cover: Mitzi Akaha

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Contents Travel & Leisure Leaf Peeping Hotspots in Nagano by Erin King Open Mic Nights at Café Oread by Emma Pierce 5 Japan-y Things to Do for 2000 or Less by Patricia Dorsher I Went To Bali and All I Got was this Stupid Perspective

by Emily Haymans

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Lifestyle Oh, You’re the Canadian by Katrina Barrie The Frankie Libido Playbook: Part 1: Frankie Libido Thi’s Top Five Thrift Tips by Thirim Son I Wish I had Known…by Emma Pierce and Facebook So you Wanna Take the JLPT by Joshua Friedman

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Prose and Poetry Fall is a woman with straw in her hair by Sarah Anderson Seasons 1&2 by Wes Robertson The Brook by Justin K Ellis 10 Fall Haiku by Sam Buchanan A Pocket Dictionary by Molly Conner Book Review: The Thousand Autumns of David de Zoet

by Matt Keighley

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Cooking How to Make Goya Chanpuru by Shannon Lough Oven-Free Cookies by Ashley Alexander Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese by Molly Conner

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Events Nagano Book Club Ad Ina Guide Club Events AJET Events

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Food for Thought

Leaf-peeping Hotspots

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t’s cooled down and autumn is in the air - it’s time to get ready to enjoy the beauty of leaf-peeping season in Nagano! Whether you set out on foot or behind the wheel (or handlebars), take the time to get out and explore.

My first suggestion for enjoying the changing leaves is to hop on your granny bike and ride it over to your city/town/village’s nearest hill. If the hill has trees, it will be gorgeous. Why the granny bike? Take time to enjoy the change of season nearest to you first. You may be surprised by what you find five minutes from your door.

Looking for adventure? There are plenty of easy hikes around the ken that have as much to offer in terms of autumnal beauty as big mountain hikes, but with less sweat!

Check out the link below. Having spent most of my time in the Matsumoto area, this map is predictably Chuushin-centric. Feel free to add on and spread the love! http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=114038166633095468712.

000490d8a6ee0e2463291&ll=36.750576,138.084068&spn=0.036311,0.076561&z=14

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Open Mic Nights at Cafe Oread

by Emma Pierce

Travel & Leisure

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t's Saturday night in Tatsuno, a little Nagano town of only twenty-some thousand people. Aside from the few last minute customers raiding the town’s only Apple Land for beer, the streets aren’t busy. On the main stretch, just beyond the tracks and over the bridge, is a cozy wooden building, easy to miss if you’re not looking. There is a sign in romaji that reads “OREAD”, a rustic little kissaten (café). Enter and find a different world set apart from everyday Japan. Be ready to take the stage, because you’re just in time for open-mic night!

Café Oread has been around for 25 years, run by Mr. Hisashi Miura and his wife, who took over the building 7 years ago. Miura grew up in Tatsuno, and visited California twice as a student in the 1960s.

He then attended graduate school in Kyoto for Buddhist studies, and eventually found his way back to his hometown where he now runs the café. Miura talks of his time in the United States as a big influence. He first went to Santa Rosa, California for high school in 1963-64, and then returned again in 1966 as a college student in religious studies. In the midst of the Vietnam War and the tunes of Bob Dylan, he got to see what the real 60s were all about. “That really blew my mind,” says Miura, as he explains his passion for folk music.

The cafe is open Wednesday to Saturday from 6-11pm. Miura takes "open-mic" seriously, as it tends to be policy to encourage all guests to spend at least a moment -- if not more -- up in front. The night is scattered with regular performing musicians: perhaps old friends of Miura, a few newcomers sharing their talents, and audience members who may share a few words. Of course there is also plenty of Hisashi Miura himself. Armed with his acoustic guitar and a harmonica, he plays classics of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen and others. Additionally, Miura has done work in translating many of these works into Japanese songs, and he serenades his audience with an impressive bilingual performance.

In addition to the open-mic performances, the café also has a small menu, serving wholesome food from curry to tacos, enough beer or coffee to fill your Saturday night appetite. With reasonable prices, Miura insists, “My interest is not making money, but in having a good life.”

Perhaps you’ve got a talent to share, a story to tell, or maybe you just enjoy folk-rock, friends, and live music. Oread café is an interesting place to visit.

You can check out the Oread cafe website at http://www.secondwind.jp/.

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Travel & Leisure

5 Japan-y Things To Do for ¥2,000 or Less

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apan is a beautiful, interesting, and damn expensive country. However, there are lots of things going on that won’t necessarily leave you begging for ramen dregs outside the local shop. (As a disclaimer, I must say that I have not actually done everything listed here so I can’t give a firsthand account of them all, but they are things I definitely would like to do!)

1. Tsugaike Highlands

Turns out one of my favorite slopes is a happening place year round. The highlands are a great way to get away from it all and enjoy the flowers, mountains, and clean air of Nagano. On top of that, many of them have programs during the off-season as well. At the activity center in Tsugaike, various Japanese cultural experiences are offered for just ¥1500 each. You can learn weaving on a traditional loom using scraps of old fabrics, make Japanese rice-straw sandals, try your hand at slow food, or go for a more traditional washoku experience. Once you’ve finished up your activity, wander around and take in Mother Nature. Finish out the day pretending you’re a septuagenarian and play a round of mallet golf for ¥500.

2. Utsukushigahara Highlands

Okay, so I like the highlands. But hear me out on this. First, use a day of nenkyu or daikyu so you can go on a Wednesday. On your way to the highlands stop by Utsukushigahara Onsen Morning Market between nine and noon and pick up some delicious produce for the road.

Don’t actually go to the onsen there, pennypinchers – nearby Fureai Yamabekan Shiraito no Yu is cheaper at a mere ¥300. Soak up the heat before you head up to the potentially chilly top of Utsukushigahara Highlands. Check out the view of the Alps, Mt. Fuji, and a whole lot of central Japan before buying a ticket for ¥1000 to the Open Air Museum, a sculpture garden situated picturesquely on top of the highlands.

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3. Outdoor Kabuki Nagano has two historic Kabuki troops, both with long traditions of public performances, and they are still active today. Oshika Kabuki, based out of tiny Oshika Village in Kami-Ina, has free outdoor performances twice a year. Mark your calendars now for their next show on May 3rd. Bring something to sit on and spend your money on a bento and sake (though you may want to buy these before arriving as we all know how festival food will gouge out your pockets). Save a little bit of your hard earned cash, though – when something particularly awesome happens onstage, the audience wraps money in pieces of paper and throws it (gently) at the actors. Don’t worry if you can’t understand the performance because most Japanese people don’t really get it either. Talking during the show is not uncommon, and eating and drinking are encouraged. You can get up and move during the show too – which is good because at 4 hours, you’ll probably need a bathroom break at some point. Can’t make the show in Oshika? Go to Ina’s Nakao Kabuki instead.

Travel & Leisure

4. Matsumoto

Okay, I know everyone goes there, but that’s because Matsumoto is great. One of my favorite things about it is the free bicycle rental; bikes are available from 11 different locations in the city, and can be returned to any of them as well. Stop by M-Wing to get one and pump your way around downtown. If you’ve never been there, Matsumoto Castle is worth checking out (¥600) – it may make you want to attach a moon-viewing room to your kyouinjutaku. When leaving the castle, stop by the amazing used bookstore (that looks like a castle) called Seikando and take a browse through history – there are some great finds in there from mukashi mukashi!

Menshou Sakura is an excellent storehouse-turned-ramen shop to grab a bite in (¥750, on the big road behind Parco). Continue on to Matsumoto City Art Museum (¥400), and return your bicycle there before calling it a day.

5. Eat.

If you want to do something really Japan-y, go to a random town, anywhere in the ken. Walk into a local michi-no-eki, tourism kiosk, or combini and ask anyone – seriously, anyone – in there what the local specialty is, and where they recommend to try it. Japanese people love to eat the local flavors of the place they’re visiting, and sometimes entire trips are planned around what cuisines can be sampled along the way. Of course doing this could cost you over ¥2000, but as Nagano was quite a poor prefecture in the past, most of the local goods are actually pretty cheap. Seek out the best place, ask for the osusume, and enjoy.

Of course there are many other worthy cheap things to do in Nagano. On October 1, Nagano began undertaking a major nationwide tourism campaign, so keep your eyes peeled for an increased number of festivals, expos, and opportunities all over the prefecture.

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I Went To Bali and All I Got was this Stupid Persp

Travel & Leisure

by Emily hayes

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I always wanted to be one of those people who could go on an airplane without having to ward off a panic attack. One of those women who don’t even own makeup and high heels. Instead, they own hiking boots and practical sandals and backpacks and comfortable clothes. I wanted to be one of those people who always know how to pose in pictures in front of canyons and mountains instead of always looking awkward. I wanted to be a traveler.

I always felt like a pretend traveler. I had been a few places before this summer, but the trips were always planned by someone else. They were always safe. The closest I had come to roughing it while traveling was crashing on a friend’s couch or staying in a youth hostel.

read the guidebook at first. It was sort of like being given the Bible for the first time. I wasn’t sure if I should read all the details, every name and place, or if I should try to skip around to the good parts. Whenever I had free time, I dutifully sat with the book, a highlighter and notebook at my side. I was going to plan this trip.

My fiancé, Zack, and I got the cheapest plane tickets that we could find for our summer vacation. Bali. Two weeks. The images of my friend’s trip to Bali earlier in the year floated through my head as I leafed through my first-ever Lonely Planet guide. She had found all the things that people look for in a tropical island vacation: romance, adventure, and photo opps that made her Facebook friends jealous.

I didn’t know how to

Our flight landed in Bali at midnight. The first thing I noticed in the airport, besides the intricate demon carvings and wood-paneling, was a sign that said “DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS UNDER INDONESIAN LAW.” I remembered the story about an Australian woman who was in Balinese prison after being framed for drug smuggling. I thought about the section of Lonely Planet that warned of paid informants and con artists.

I thought about Locked Up Abroad.

“I don’t know if I can handle it if someone tries to scam us right now.” I said to Zack as we were stamped through immigration. We walked outside to look for a taxi.

“Marijuana?” A man said.

“No thanks.” I clutched my purse to my chest. We jogged towards a group of men saying “Taxi. Taxi? Taxi!” in various inflections, like the seagulls from Finding Nemo.

We decided to trust the man wearing a collared shirt with “Airport” embroidered on it.

The taxi was a dirty car with a lit-up “Taksi” sign on top.

There were dying plants on the dashboard. I peered through the dirt-smudged windows, ready to jump out if necessary.

We passed a huge statue of

But that first hotel was not a bad hotel by Bali budget travel standards. It had fancy things like slightly tepid water (as opposed to freezing cold), soap, toilet paper, a working toilet, and towels.

Not every place we stayed had these luxuries.

The cheapest rooms had cold water only and sometimes no running water. More than once we had an “open-air” bathroom, which means that a chunk of the roof is missing to allow the outside air in. It also means that

there are plenty of lizards and bugs to observe when nature calls in the middle of the night.

In one homestay, there was no running water. To bathe and flush, we had to use water from big standing buckets. The rooms were always clean, if somewhat stained. The breakfast was always good and brought to our door.

In two weeks, we were able to make a misshapen circle around the island. We visited beaches that made me feel like I was in a surfer’s magazine and beaches that made me feel like I was in a public service announcement about litter. But that’s Bali. It’s paradise and poverty all mixed up together.

We had the kind of adventures that can only come from being on a developing island. To get to an ATM in Ulu Watu, we rented a motorcycle for $4 and rode to the nearest town. We got scammed by an old man who followed us around a temple and acted like a tour guide. We learned to get into the cars of strangers offering transport services. One of these strangers took us on a day-long tour of Munduk and the surrounding areas, including a spice plantation and waterfall.

Most people were willing to

help, though usually for a price.

We visited a bustling market in Ubud where meat lay in red hunks on white counter tops.

The floor was covered in bloody water. Women tried to sell us fruit at every turn in a produce labyrinth.

We snorkeled over a coral reef at Pemuteran. We climbed the volcano Gunung Batur at sunrise.

We watched a traditional dance called Legong and took a woodcarving class. We got incredibly sunburned and had to wear long sleeves for days.

The trip did not go as planned, even when we scrutinized my notes from Lonely Planet. We discovered, after a week of buying things in Rupiah that we had been using an outdated conversion rate and were actually paying a lot more for things than we had realized. Zack contracted “Bali belly,” an ailment caused by unfamiliar bacteria in the guts of tourists. We visited a village doctor whose office was an old white house. There was an ancient bathroom scale on the floor and the exam table was covered

Travel & Leisure

a god fighting snakes.

We passed graffiti-speckled buildings.

Motorcyclists wove in and out of the traffic like video game characters. The man got us safely to our hotel, but not without charging double the typical cab fare.

Children were sleeping on the tile floor of the lobby. There were mysterious stains on the blankets. The room was barren except for two twin beds, a small table, and a small trunk. The bathroom had aging blue tile with exposed pipes and a showerhead that resembled a kitchen sink sprayer. We shivered in the cool water and said, “Where the hell are we?”

spective

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Travel & Leisure

with a kitchen tablecloth. We left with two mysterious baggies of pills that cost a little more than 50 cents.

I wore shorts on a jungle hike and had to beat leaves with a stick to avoid being attacked by poison caterpillars. I got a mysterious chiggers-like rash along my ankles. My hands were speckled with brown spots that I was certain was melanoma. But we never caught malaria, and we pressed on.

I started each day with a cup of Bali kopi, Balinese coffee that may or may not contain legal speed. The food in Bali was cheap and genuinely delicious in a way that fast food can never be. Men and women cooked the food in cozy kitchens using the same ingredients that they would use at home. We ate countless banana pancakes and plates of Indonesian fried rice, nasi goreng. We had the best pizza that we've had since coming to Japan.

Even tourists staying in 5-star hotels on Bali would have a hard time shutting out the signs of poverty. Local people lived and

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sold merchandise in aging houses and shacks a few feet away from hoity-toity spa resorts. Skinny dogs roamed the streets, nibbling at offerings left to the gods and demons. Merchants followed us down the sidewalks, chanting the names of their wares: “Transport, Massage, Snorkeling, Sarong.

Maybe tomorrow, yah?” Parents made their children ask us for money.

Bali may be free from the Dutch, but it is still struggling to maintain its identity in the midst of Westernization. McDonald’s and Coca-Cola advertisements are almost as ubiquitous as motorcycles. It is a place where people struggle to maintain their cultural identity as they build up their tourism industry, which accounts for 80% of the Balinese economy. Perhaps the most sobering—and least picturesque—evidence of this struggle is pollution. It was impossible to ignore as we stepped around plastic bottles and food wrappers on the sidewalk. Dried up river beds were full of garbage.

We saw people burning a pile of Styrofoam and plastic.

I stopped taking drinking water for granted. Even the locals had to rely on giant plastic jugs of Aqua to stay hydrated. It was impossible to refill our reusable bottles in most places. We had to buy bottled water. At least we didn’t litter, unlike several Balinese people I saw.

For the first time in my life, I really felt privileged. I had always known that coming from a place like the U.S. was fortunate, but I had never seen why first hand. I come from a land where people use hot water just to wash their clothes. They spray their shiny cars down with drinking water every week. As my friend said later of Bali, “That’s how 90% of the world lives.” The Bali I experienced may not have been the same one I read about for weeks or the one that I had seen in photographs and post cards, but that's because it was real. No place is perfect.

Every place has its demons; some countries just don't choose to hide them.

I was still afraid of someone sneaking drugs into my luggage as we checked in for our flight back to Japan, but I was more concerned with taking a shower in non-contaminated water and buying a new toothbrush immediately. I dreamed of home as I clicked my seat belt. But I didn’t envision a house framed by pine trees and a chocolate Labrador running in the yard and a pickup truck parked outside. I thought of tatami mats and pickled ginger and our thick futon pad on the floor. We took off, and I leaned my head back and shut my eyes and I realized that I wasn’t pretending anymore.

“Oh, You’re the Canadian.”

By: Katrina Barrie

From that moment on, I’ve been on an emotional merry-go-round in regards to my feelings about this situation. At first, I was a bit shocked, and admittedly dismayed. Americans don’t have the best international reputation, and you’d think as one of their closest

Every time something distinctly American was brought up a mental flag would rise. If someone said “soda” or “sofa” I would smile internally. I felt smug if sickness or health care was discussed. Every time someone told me a story, I would think, “Well, in Canada, we do it this way.” While it’s true that there were some conversations I was left out of because I just don’t understand Fahrenheit, miles, governors, and many American “in-jokes” about different regions, I think I isolated myself by constantly thinking about our differences.

When I arrived in my town, I was lucky to meet and spend several days with my predecessor (another American). He was a funny, cheery, supportive guy who saved me in my first week in the mountains.

Through him, I was given the opportunity to get to know the other people in my block, who are primarily Americans, but also Australian and...*gasp* Canadian! It was during this time that I fully realized what a dork I had been. I should have stuck with my first thoughts that concerned what type of people I was going to meet rather than thinking about nationality.

Ultimately, people are people, it doesn’t matter where you’re from.

Lifestyle

At first I was a little slow to catch on. I had been surrounded and sheltered by my fellow Vancouverites for the last 72 hours and felt preoccupied with the earth shattering fact that I was, indeed, moving to Japan.

I honestly hadn’t given much thought towards those non-Japanese with whom I’d be spending the next year of my life. Even on the second day of orientation, when we were to assemble according to prefecture in the lively main auditorium, I had only been interested in the personalities of those I was about to meet. Any thoughts of their nationalities had never occurred to me, because as we all know the JET Programme strives to represent multi-culturalism and diversity in Japan by scattering people from around the world all over the country. It wasn’t until I sat down and all the introductions came that I noticed the diversity of people. After learning the names of the three who sat around me, I cheerfully stated, “I’m Katrina.”

“Oh, you’re the Canadian,” one of my neighbours responded. I was a bit perplexed by his strange response, and it must have shown on my face, for he continued, “You’re the only incoming JET from Canada.”

At this point, I took out my orientation booklet and examined for the first time the names of all the newcomers for 2010, which was also arranged according to prefecture. I scanned the list and quickly saw that he was right. However, a more accurate statement would have been, “You’re the only incoming JET not from the United States.”

neighbours Canadians might know a bit better, but in many ways we’re worse than most. Suffering from a ridiculous underdog syndrome, many Canadians take great pleasure in “America bashing” and some seem to care little if what they are saying is grounded in fact or not. At home, I’m usually the one to call people on that sort of immature behaviour because I was raised in a family that values tolerance and looking beyond stereotypes of all sorts. However, I can’t pretend to be completely free of anti-American sentiments either, hard as I try. Unfortunately, in those first few days, after learning that I was fenced in by Americans, I became hypersensitive to our cultural differences.

After almost two months spent with my American friends in Nagano, I have noticed that there are some stereotypes that are somewhat true. There are also times when I wish I could talk about Tim Horton’s, Rick Mercer, and the Liberals and have someone within a 150km radius that understands me. Also, it’s really not that funny when I occasionally slip an “eh?”. However, I’m so happy to be in Nagano, and my block-mates are great people. At the risk of sounding cheesy, being on the JET Programme so far has taught me more cultural understanding about my neighbours in the south than it has about the people of Japan. I’m very happy to have had this opportunity.

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The Frankie Libido Playbook “The winningest strategies known to man” Take a page.

Lifestyle

Fundamentals Fundamentals are key in any life situation. At least that’s what my old 6th grade soccer coach used to say. And he was English and spoke with an accent so it must be true. Fundamentals, when broken down into its original Latin, Greek, and Chinese roots (the only word to originate from three different languages): we find that “fun” comes from the Greek “fungus” meaning “diseased person” and also simultaneously from the Chinese “fengshui” which means to “do shopping at the Pottery Barn.” Meanwhile, the second part of the word is “mental” meaning “good, bad, brain disorder, or brain freeze.” From an etymological analysis of the word “fundamental” we discover that it is to “Be either a good or bad diseased shopper at the Pottery Barn.” Good. Now that we have our fundamentals covered let’s move on to the important stuff.

Population of the world According to a recent survey conducted by the “International Population Fact Finders Association,” the world is made up of 50% women, 25% men, 10% lions, 10% cacti, 4% libertarians, and 1% unknown. Therefore, using Godell’s Incompleteness Theorem Hypothesis, which states that a system of axioms is unable to be proven by any one effective procedure, we can conclude that a man will be able to meet at least 2 women within his lifetime.

However, certain factors will influence these chances. Take, for example, Hugh Jackman. He will inevitably meet up to as many as 5 women because of his strong primal nature, his metal claws that come out of his hands, and his accent. While, if we look at Stinky Pet Peters who has a bad case of loose stool syndrome and lives with cats in his garage, he will inevitably meet 0 women.

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Discerning Women from Cacti Now that I have shown that a man will inevitably meet at least 2 women within his lifetime it is important not to miss the opportunity when it arises. How do you know when you have met a woman? Easy.

Lifestyle

• If the man has a soft tender voice and smooth silky skin he is probably a woman.

• If the man keeps talking about that “great deal he found at Joanne Fabrics” he is probably a woman • If the man doesn’t make fart jokes or fart a lot than he is probably a woman.

• If the man likes to lie out in the sun all day and is a real “prick” then he may be a cactus or a person from Jersey Shore. (In either case it is best to avoid any relationship with either party).

• If the man talks in a funny accent and is freakishly tall and has an unusual obsession with the color pink then it is a Sorin (not to be confused with a woman or a man).

If you are not sure if it is a cactus or a woman, remember that a cactus generally has more of a green tint to the skin and is immobile.

Wrapping it up Ok. This is probably a lot to take in on one sitting. Like I said before, it is important to focus on fundamentals before moving on. I know, I know. “But Frankie Libido! How do I make it to second base with a real girl?” I will address these issues later on. But for now just take a page from the book and watch your life become a success!

-Frankie Libido also moonlights as a writer for the New York Times, and is famous for his best-selling novels, “How to Meet Women by the Twos and Threes” and “Lowering Your Standards: The Five Keys to a Pretty Okay Relationship.”

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Lifestyle

Thi’s Top Five Thrift Tips

by Thirim Son

Worried about spending too much yen? Try these five simple steps to put you on the path to saving.

Budget!

Know how much you’re paying for utilities/essentials every month and try to budget a realistic amount to save from each paycheck. Send money home where you can’t use it, or have two accounts – one for spending and the other for saving.

Most of all, watch where your money is going. It’s easy to spend ¥10,000+ without even realising it. A few hundred yen here and there a week can really add up over the month. If you have your bills taken out of your account automatically, don’t forget to check up on it every once in a while, especially in the winter months when electric bills might start creeping up.

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Shop at the supermarket!

Combinis are great right? They’re (usually) conveniently located and open at all hours. Doing your essential shopping there is a horrible idea though, go to a supermarket instead – it’s cheaper, fresher and has a better variety. Supermarkets usually have regular sales and promotions too, so look out for them. There is also a time of night where your supermarket will start discounting things (it varies slightly from store to store) but usually it’s sometime after 7pm. If you don’t mind doing your shopping a little bit later, this is a great time to go.

Don’t impulse shop!

I know, I know, easier said than done, right? Who hasn’t given in and bought that super awesome dress that made you look hot, only to wear it just once and have it end up scrunched up somewhere under your bed waiting to be fished out again?

Lifestyle

For going to the supermarket though, don’t go when you’re hungry – I guarantee that you will go home with more than you need or want. Also, make a shopping list and try to stick to it. It’s easy to get sidetracked and end up with lettuce, broccoli, chips, snacks, drinks, sauce, more snacks, some fruit and some bread when all you really wanted was a carton of milk.

Cook!

It’s amazing just how much you can spend eating out just 2-3 times a week. A decent meal will run you anything from ¥1500 upwards. Cooking for one is hard, I know, but if you find yourself making too much, save it for the next day, freeze it if you can, or share it with the people around you. Even for those of us who are culinary-ly challenged, cooking at home is doable and there are plenty of resources on the internet that have fun, easy recipes.

Do stuff outdoors!

Chances are there are plenty of mountains outside your window. Climb one or something. If, like me, climbing’s not your thing, go for walks, go to your local swimming hole (not recommended at this time of year), ride around your town, play mallet golf, or meet up with friends for a picnic.

This has been about saving money, but there is such a thing as saving TOO much money. Don’t make yourself miserable trying to save every single yen. Don’t forget that money is only that it’s made to be spent - but how and when you do so is up to you.

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Molly Asked Facebook: What do you wish you’d known, you first year in Japan?

Em Hayams: That ramen is always made with meat broth and those little pink flakes in grocery store sushi is actually fish.

Ike Glinsmann: The importance of getting out and seeing as many things as often as I could.

Anonymous: That it wouldn't get any easier in the 2nd or 3rd years. Also: Japanese.

Joe Stephenson: I'll second "Japanese."

Chris Chu: ...about this place sooner.

I wish I'd known .... that the sun would rise too early.

Lifestyle

the right trail to take on the way down from Fuji. that my water heater will run out of kerosene this evening, just after the village gas station closes. the day of the year when my cardboard and paper gets collected.

that my sewage tank needs to be pumped. that I would walk home tonight at 6:00 pm in pitch blackness without a flashlight the "right" day to take my road test. someone who can lend me an ETC? how lonely it can get in the inaka....

what 'mada' meant, before I got off the train 3 stops too early.

I wish I HADN'T known...

how to politely refuse that raw chicken…

all the things I've eaten in my school lunch.

...and how to read the dosage instructions on this medicine for acute food poisoning from eating raw chicken.

about the mukade hiding in my house.

that the teachers would show up in formal attire today. to bring a bento today. to bring my own shoes. what all the teachers do at school after I leave until 11pm.

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that the sign I just drove past said road closed 15k ahead.

about the frequent rock slides where I drive daily. what this chorus of teeth sucking meant. anything at all. Because learning the hard way has been so much more entertaining for everyone.

By: Emma Pierce

So You Wanna Take the JLPT?

By: Joshua Friedman

“With all the south east Asian girls working the snack bars I'm sure there are plenty of Pros taking the JLPT. However, with the low crime rate in Japan I don't think there are many Cons taking it. ...

“I'll be here all night.”

-Anonymous

M

Lifestyle

any of us are going to take the JLPT this December. So how can you best prepare for the test? Most of my advice applies to JLPT2, but no matter what level you’re at, this test is hard. Really hard. So what can you do to make sure that you pass?

My advice alone certainly isn’t going to help you pass, and if you’ve taken JLPT before, then a lot of the information provided here may seem redundant.

--Don’t use study materials that rely heavily on English translation if you’re above level 4 (provided you can avoid them). Sometimes grammar translation is necessary, but remember the test isn’t going to give you any translations, so if you can wean yourself off of them early it’s for the best. You can usually find study materials in Heiando, but remember to get books for N1-N5.

Anything that says １級、 ２級、 ３急、or４級 is outdated.

--Know your kanji radicals. Every kanji either is a radical or is made up of radicals. For example, the very left portion of the kanji: 侍、働、信 is called “ninben,” which means that it stands for “people.” Knowing the meaning of Kanji one-at-a-time is frustrating, and you’re likely to forget when it’s crunchtime.

-- When you learn new vocabulary, make sure you can describe what the words mean in Japanese—and also its part of speech as well You may be asked on the test to use the word in a sentence. If you can describe the word, then at least make sure you know enough to eliminate whatever words/grammatical phrases are wrong.

--In the reading section, DO THE SHORT QUESTIONS FIRST! Your worst enemy is the clock. The big reading section eats up a lot of time, and it’s possible to spend too much time on the one big article that you can’t properly read than processing the smaller articles.

--Also in the reading section, read the questions first. Whatever answers they are looking for are written—sometimes verbatim—in the actual article. You don’t have time to read and digest the whole article. Just get whatever information you need and go on.

-- Unlike real conversation, the listening section is specifically designed to screw you up and make you choose the wrong answer. Seriously. Listen to the JLPT practice materials. Nobody really talks like that. Always listen carefully until the end. Quite often, the answer changes due to the last 2 or 3 words in a listening passage.

--Get a good amount of sleep the night before. If you can afford it, stay the night in the town where you’ll be taking the test (usually Matsumoto or Ueda if you’re in Nagano-ken). Also, keep yourself well hydrated and well fed.

--Work as hard as you can, study as well as you can, but allow yourself to fail. According to Wikipedia, the passing rate for JLPT2 in 2009 was approximately 30%. This test is tough, and many people fail. If you fail, remember, this isn’t college or university—a bad grade won’t haunt you forever. Just keep going.

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Fall is a woman with straw in her hair and bells on her heels.

A husky ginger bitch who laughs too loud and smiles with teeth. Her damp odors are muted by familiar wafts.

It's possible she's smoking a clove cigarette or slugging some bourbon.

Underneath glossy reds, she's got pumpkin seed toenails and oatmeal lips, dotted with freckles. Her eyelashes are spun by silkworms and she's got a big ol' rump that surges the forest's pulse.

Crow and Owl regard her wily smile as she ambles through wooded patchwork. She's got granny panties on and dirt on her legs and she's about to detonate the trees.

Prose & Poetry

They begin to hum into the electric current of the underground.

Unaware a trigger is snuggled in between the woman's oat-bran drawers and sneezeweed skirt.

She walks along through September and October.

Drinking, Laughing, Grinning, Smoking.

Twirling, Whirling, Drumming, Toking.

She's like a pachouli dust cloud.

She greets creatures that come to greet their fate.

Then with a greedy smile stomps the button with a fat thumb.

The woods ooze blood red and orange and they will wither within a calendar month.

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By: Sarah Anders

"Seasons 1 & 2" The spring beetle lays a feeler to my toes, which are wet from having lain in the river where the carp bit at flakes of my skin. Its feet then crawl up to the top of my knee, where they stop to rest until I lean forward in greeting and the creature flies off, the panicked motions jarring the scene.

A group of butterflies takes no notice, continuing to lie patiently in the dirt road.

--

--

--

Prose & Poetry

The lone deer trudges up the mountain side, coat too thin for the snow. A change in the wind throws it onto my scent and it pauses, taut, ready to lunge away at any moment. Safety to my rifle on, I pluck some strings of my guitar until the animal tucks its legs under its stomach, the fragile body indenting the snow beneath its chest.

The birds that sweep overhead look for the fish scouring the water's surface for the bugs we slap off our necks. A heron diving down has wings wide enough for us to throw out a string and catch it so we do, flying out new kite until dusk when we cut the thin thread as the sun begins to fall into the river, shedding it's flames to become the reflection of the moon.

The leaves fall in such number that they almost blind us, and we just about step on a large garter snake lying across the path. As we jump back its eyes regard us casually, and we fail to realize its size until it unwinds and forces itself through the hollow of a nearby trunk, bark scratching its sides for days until the tail disappears from view.

By: Wes Robertson

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The Brook, the Sea; the Brook, the Sea

Prose & Poetry

All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full.

To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

Ecclesiastes I found myself alone one spring evening, The flowers closing up, the crickets singing, Watching the golden sun sink into the Purple waves of the western horizon, The last rays of the lamp making red the sea As the painted clouds slowly shuffled on.

The fair nymphs and the satyrs were now gone, Not to live again until the morrow's dawn; The babbling brook flowed into the main, Laughing like a child, forever more To be the sea, the clouds, the spring again, And make the round again to what it was before.

By: Justin K Ellis

Winter winds approach!

Flowers close their legs in fright Nostalgia shudders.

The seasons are dead.

It is but one, long night now.

All thirst for the web.

Clouds have receded, But I still hear the thunder Will the sun return?

You would not dye leaves; They do it fine without us.

A bleached gold hair falls.

Harvests of summer— Starches fuel my marches To and from school.

A train tumbles past A gazillion golden grains.

I am so lucky.

During a dusky walk A blind cat stalks me, Though my pockets bare.

The day’s husk’s are burnt, But today’s work is cut short.

Rain falls with the sun.

Like a traffic light, Apples signal the seasons.

Green fades into red.

Cold creeps like a cat Awaken by stout hunger, Soft steps— Staring— Pounce!

By: Sam Buchanan

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A Pock et Dic tion ar y

by Molly Conner 1. Editor of YomoYama magazine 2. A friendly woman who loves writing and cooking

Prose & Poetry

Seal 1. Mid-90’s pop singer who landed Heidi Klum. The realization that your students have absolutely no memory of the movie attached to Kiss From a Rose serves as both a comfort and a reminder that middle age is near. So very near.

2. What you ought to do to ripped Shoji, but never do.

3. Sticker. A good bribe. [Ed (who is a more involved teacher): Scented sticker: a better bribe, until an ichi nensei likes a smell so much that he folds the sticker into a ball and shoves it up his left nostril. Scent: Licorice. Odds of Hemorrhaging: minimal, but still a concern. Remedy: peppermint.]

Cleaning Time 1. Wipe surfaces with dirty washcloths time.

2. Wear a headband poorly time.

3. Hide in a closet time (your luck: it is never closet cleaning time).

Boyfriend 1. Any boy you spend time with in public.

Girlfriend 1. Any girl who decides that you are her boyfriend.

[Ed (who is very pushy about it): I’d like to pause here -- you’re midway through this thing anyway, so just go with it -- I would like to pause here and insert that they are 12 years old. And couldn’t you be anyone at 12? They are 13 years old, and couldn’t you be anyone at 13? They are 14 years old, and who could you be at 14?]

Four Years 1. A number generally ignored at disorientations.

Club Activities 1. The reason your JTEs do not get weekends.

Distance 1. Something you try not to think about. That stretches and molds itself into places it was never meant to be.

Morning Meeting 1. The reason some of you don’t have to be at school until 8:40. Jerks.

Sleeping Until Noon 1. This thing you used to be so good at.

Enkai 1. Fuck.

Headache 1. Can you use chopsticks?

2. Do you like Natto?

Belt Buckles 1. Indicative of Bad Assness. The bigger the belt buckle, the pinker the belt buckle, and the more glittery the belt buckle: the manlier the man.

Hair Gel and Yellow Ducky Barrettes 1. See Above.

Maybe you would like to 1. You really would like to.

Kanji 1. Mysterious and ancient, until you learn enough to read “toilet not working” and “this festival brought to you by Nishizawa Shoppers”.

[Ed (who doesn’t trust the obvious and is about to patronize): and I’m trusting you to understand that when it’s all bad we can only talk about the good. The reverse, too, must hold.]

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Book Review: The Thousand Autumns of David de Zoet

Prose & Poetry

by Matt Keighley

O

ne thing I did while back home in England for a few weeks, which perhaps gave me a hint that I wasn’t quite ready to finish my time here in Japan, was read David Mitchell’s latest novel The Thousand Autumns of David de Zoet. I suppose that this was my attempt at anchoring myself to my current home, like a Dutch ship harboured at Dejima. Apart from Japan, but somehow still a part of it.

I’d read a little about David Mitchell a few months ago when a friend of mine sent me a link to a review of Mitchell’s latest effort, knowing my love of literature and of course Japan.

Reading the drooling review that seemed to elevate Mitchell into the great pantheon made me a touch suspicious, just as any reviewer that does that for an author. Literature being such a varied creature I’ve always been loathed to elevate or decry any work too greatly (except Harry Potter).

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Personally, I found my way to the giants of literature via Asterix, Spiderman, my brother’s Tom Clancy and Biggles novels, and probably most importantly Nick Hornby. The very notion of a literary canon, never mind one that someone can be elevated to by a single reviewer, bothers me immensely. Indeed, the most loathsome old bint I ever encountered while working in a library was one who claimed that, “some people just aren’t readers.” “Nonsense, it’s just a case of finding the right book for the right person,” I told her and off she scuttled thinking far less of me. Hence, my annoyance at the notion of the ‘right kind’ of novelthat fits neatly onto a mahogany bookshelf in a country pile.

In the end I approached this book partially on the back of endlessly positive reviews, in addition to a little tidbit of information regarding Mitchell’s life. Namely that he lived in Hiroshima for eight years as an English teacher. As such, I thought that perhaps I’d find a relatively honest depiction of the Japanese, not some product of research or an homage to the Chrysanthemum and the Sword.

The novel itself follows primarily the path of the titular character David de Zoet, though it fortunately takes the perspective of two important Japanese figures in de Zoet’s life as the novel progresses so as not to leave this a one sided depiction of an outsider perpetually looking in.

Like many men de Zoet has ventured to the Orient to seek his fortune and like many men, he has not done so by choice.

Sent by a potential father-in-law who views de Zoet as presently

unworthy of his daughter’s affections, de Zoet arrives on Dejima, the artificial island in Nagasaki harbour (designed to allow limited trade with originally the Portuguese and then the Dutch during the Edo period without breaking the Japanese policy of sakoku, or self-imposed isolation). He’s sent on a daunting and in all likelihood fruitless mission, to clean up the corruption of the Dutch Trading Company. Inevitably this makes him few friends. Couple this with the inevitable mismatch of cultural mores, a clash between emerging modernity and tradition across the land bridge in Japan itself and one has more than enough to keep the pages turning apace.

The Thousand Autumns of David de Zoet is a wonderful novel. It is ostensibly a story of love and longing that doesn’t fall into the usual traps that fiction of this ilk often does. It manages to finely balance the feelings of disconnection and longing for home with the certainties of a life left far behind. The separation from Japan itself feels tangible and the longing to experience life upon shores which foreigners dare not have tread alone is balanced finely with the orientalist mystique that lures them in the first place.

What endears this novel to me so greatly is a feeling of connection with the ideas it articulates.

Despite the multitude of reasons why each of us currently living in Japan chose to venture here in the first place, it is nice to know that the reasons that beguile us and bid us to continue here are shared by others.

Even if they are fictional.

How to Make Goya Chanpuru By: Shannon Lough

T

Recipe for Goya Chanpuru (ゴーヤー チャンプル) • 2 goya • 2 eggs • 1/2 tin of Spam (or thinly sliced pork, or a block of firm tofu) • 3tbs. vegetable oil • 2tsp. katsuo dashi • 1-2tbs. of cooking sake • Salt

Cooking

he island of Tokashiki rests a mere 70-minute ferry ride from Naha, Okinawa and yet this 9-kilometer stretch of land contains a particular energy wrapped around the Aharen Beach. Day trippers come and go with the ferry and by 3:00 p.m. rental umbrellas lend their shade to nothing but white sand. Few people remain at night, but the locals who run the shops, restaurants, and scuba centers come alive once the sun begins to set and the air cools.

They’re entertained by nightly performances of the eisaa dance, sanshin music, and taiko drumming. Everyone I met was eager to share a part of their lifestyle and culture. One restaurant called Summer Snow invited me to a one-on-one lesson in cooking gōyā champuru the following afternoon. Goya (bitter melon) champuru (meaning “mixed”) is the popular stir-fry of Okinawa. It’s a simple dish to make, and goya is rich in Vitamin C and fiber, while being low in calories.

First cut the ends of the goya, then slice down the middle lengthwise. Scrape the inside of the goya out. Wash the goya. Cut into 3 mm slices.

Cut the spam (or firm tofu) lengthwise into 3/4 inch thick pieces.

Heat the oil, then throw in the goya. Cook for about 3 minutes until soft.

Throw in the spam (or tofu) with the goya until brown.

Add dashi and salt to taste. (I add a couple tbsp. of cooking sake) Scramble the eggs in a bowl then add them to the frying pan, slowly, pouring over the entire mixture. Slowly stir and mix together for 1 minute.

Finished! Serve on a place with a side of rice.

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Oven Free Cookies!

by Ashley Alexander

Editor’s Note: We asked Ashley to share some cookie-baking tips for those of us with no ovens, and she was kind enough to oblige!

Buckeyes:

Cooking

160 grams butter (slightly melty) 2 cups peanut butter (almost two cans--don't use a Japanese brand!)

3.5 cups sugar 1 cup flour Chocolate (4 bars = about 100 buckeyes)

Directions: 1. Mix in this order: Sugar+Butter+Peanut Butter+Flour. Using your hands is the best method for mixing! If you can't make a ball with your mix, just put in more peanut butter or more flour until you have a good enough consistency that you think you could make a ball out of it. You can also put the mix into the freezer for an hour until it becomes harder and easier to roll.

2. Melt the chocolate.

3. Dip the balls into the chocolate until it looks a bit like the Buckeye nut.

4. Consume!!

No Bake Cookies

1.75 cups white sugar .5 cup milk .5 cup butter (Crunchy works best!)

4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa .5 cup peanut butter 3 cups quick-cooking oats 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions: 1. Mix together peanut butter, oats, and vanilla extract in a big bowl.

2. In a saucepan, bring sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa to a boil (for 1.5 minutes). Don't forget to stir!

3. Add the mix in the saucepan to the mix in the bowl and stir!

4. Wait a minute or two for the oats to soak in the mix and cook a bit.

5. Using a spoon, get chunks of the mix and put it onto a baking sheet or saran wrap.

6. Put them in the freezer or fridge to harden and voila!

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Rice Cooker Mac And Cheese

I

By: Molly Conner

’m the first to admit it – I am bad at eating locally. I’ve gotten better at it over the past year. I can make a decent yaki soba, have the occasional miso soup breakfast, and I’m even getting gyoza down. But when the temperature starts to drop I really start to crave warm, traditional comfort foods. Mac and Cheese tops that list, and I’ve settled on a rice-cooker version that does the trick. The following recipe does not recreate the oven-baked Mac and Cheese that we were spoiled with back home. It does, however, yield a quick and tasty recipe that will help you and you friends combat those occasional pangs of fall homesickness.

Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese: 1 cup of heavy whipping cream 2 cups of elbow macaroni, uncooked 1 cup of water or chicken broth 1 tablespoon butter or margarine Salt and Pepper (optional, to taste) A dash of cayenne pepper or curry powder (optional, to taste) 1 1/2 cups of your choice of cheese

1. Usually, you can find whipping cream next to the coffee cream and milk, but some stores stick it random places. It is a small carton and will probably have a spout and plastic bag attached. If you can’t find it, a katana-speak “whip cream wa doko desu ka” should point you on your way. Do not use the pre-whipped stuff that comes in a plastic bottle.

2. Canned chicken broth is very hard to find here and expensive. Buy chicken bullion cubes instead and make your own stock of out them. Do not add hot chicken broth to the recipe. It will cook the pasta too soon.

3. If you find regular Mac and Cheese to taste a bit bland, I recommend adding a dash of cayenne or curry powder to the recipe. If you do add extra spices, add them after the macaroni is cooked but before you add the cheese.

4. Cheese is expensive. There’s no real way around that. When I make this dish, I usually buy 3-4 small blocks of yellow cheddar from the Seiyuu, which totals around 1000 yen. To cut costs, you can replace one of the blocks of cheddar with bagged cheese made for pizza toast, but that only saves around 200 yen and honestly doesn’t taste as good.

5. If you are serving this at a dinner party, the Mac and Cheese will keep in your rice cooker’s warm setting for several hours, but the oil from the cheese does tend to settle. Mix it around from time to time. After a few hours, do stick your leftovers in the fridge. They reheat well in a microwave but not so well in a toaster oven.

Cooking

Directions: 1. Put the macaroni and liquids into the rice cooker and mix them together.

2. Close the lid and switch on your quick-cook setting. Leave the macaroni to cook, just like you would rice. This should take about 20 minutes, depending on your rice cooker.

3. When your rice cooker beeps, open it! Inside should be perfectly cooked macaroni, covered in a thin creamy coating. If there is still a lot of liquid left (a little left is fine), drain a bit of it out. Do this before you add the cheese.

4. Add the butter, stirring until it melts.

5. Pour the cheese and spices into the rice cooker and stir until melted! Et viola! You have rice cooker Mac and Cheese. It really is that easy.

Notes (okay maybe it’s not THAT easy):

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Events In Nagano Nagano Book Club: Looking for the brainy type with a sense of humor, a love of discussion, and passable literacy for intimate meeting once a month in Nagano City’s finest coffee shops. Past encounters have included Charles Dickens, Flannery O’Conner, Orson Scott Card, and Natsume Soseki, but people from all walks of life are encouraged. Potential dates and outings will be discussed upon further interaction. Emo frames and berets preferable, but not required.

Contact patricia.dorsher@yahoo.com for more information.

Ina Guide Club Tours: The Ina Guide Club is a non-profit group in Ina City (Suwa-Ina block) that runs English language tours of the area. The group is run by Japanese students learning English, and organized by CIR Sorin Ridgeway-Browne.

Events

October 23 Hase Autumn Tour: Come down to Ina and visit the Atsuta Shrine, a national treasure, and enjoy autumn!

December 12 Komagane Mochi making tour: Let's celebrate the end of the year with a mochi-making tour and lunch in Komagane!

All the above events are Y1000 (non-profit). Please email Sorin (sorin-ridgwaybrowne-r@pref.nagano.lg.jp) if you are interested.

AJET Events: A few notes from your friendly AJET president, Tom Read, about upcoming events in Nagano.

November 27th: AJET Thanksgiving Here at AJET HQ we follow American Thanksgiving, just because they complain if we don't. As a Brit I'm still not quite sure what it is celebrating: the Natives giving the ousted nut-jobs (forefathers) enough food to survive the winter and thus kill them, or just the chance to get into a stampede on "Black Friday"(?).

Either way it has become my second favourite festive time in November (after Guy Fawkes' Night, where we celebrate the torture and execution of a catholic

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by burning his effigy on a giant fire while eating apples) and I bloody love it!

I don't know if Molly will let me keep any of that in, but if not... [Editor’s Note: Never let it be said that I don’t give the British room to speak. I just don’t listen when they do.]

Come to AJET Thanksgiving. It's by far our biggest annual event. Everybody rocks up, cooks some delicious food together (or brings it pre-made) and then we sit down to roast turkey, squash and all that other deliciously North American grub. We'll have all day to cook and all evening to eat. Everyone is welcome. It's Thanksgiving, not Christmas!

Venue is TBC but keep an eye on the Onelist and Facebook for details!

Fee: AJET members: Free Non-members 500 yen.

Events

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