Mothers day in Aomori

22nd March 2009 was Mothers day in England so Yuuri and I had decided to take my parents out. We sent them a brochure of Aomori previously and my parents were interested in visiting the southern city of Aomori prefecture called Hachinohe.

(Japan is split into "prefectures" which are similar to American states in the sense they are huge areas of Japan that were once parts of different kingdoms. I live in Aomori prefecture and the capital city is Aomori city which is in in the northern bay)

We took the express train down to Hachinohe city and went around the fish market.

From Dads Pictures

And my mum bought some fresh fish which we intended to cook and eat in the fish market but it was too crowded. So we decided to try one of the restaraunts where dad and I had ramen.

From Mothers day 2009

Ramen is kind of noodles in a fish based soup, my mum had tempura which is fried shrimp in batter. Very Japanese!

After we were full we headed over to a shrine. Everyone who visits Japan should visit a shrine, they are free and very beautiful places.

From Mothers day 2009

By now it was time to head back so we got the train and headed to Misawa, a town between Aomori and Hachinohe. I wanted to take my parents to the hotspring (onsen) there and Yuuri had arranged for us to see a show based on the Nebuta/Neputa festivals.

Hotsprings in Japan are usually natural and many people go to relax. I went in with my dad and Yuuri took my mum in. It's always intimidating because you have to get naked and take only a towel in. Once in the hotspring room you can take a shower and clean yourself before getting into the bath. We tried the cooler bath which was about 39C and then went in the sauna.

This hotspring also had an outdoor section which was really nice in contrast to the cold weather. It even started to rain a little bit and although you were hot all over you could feel little bits of cold droplets hitting you. It was nice and relaxing.

We went on to have a meal and watch a show about the festivals in Aomori including Nebuta and Neputa. The served Japanese steamed food.

From Mothers day 2009

This was a little confusing at first.

From Mothers day 2009

But we figured it out!

We could eat as the show went on. They showed music and singing from the festivals and even asked us to join in, which can only lead to bad things!!!




As you can see from the video, dad even took part, merrily jumping along to Aomori cities most famous festival.

From Mothers day 2009

That was before he pulled a tendon in his knee from jumping. For the remainder of the day he could hardly walk. We still watched the rest of the show and mum, Yuuri and I took part. This was mine and Yuuri's present to my parents for mothers day.

After that we caught a shamisen show downstairs. The shaimsen is a three stringed guitar that Japanese people play.

From Mothers day 2009

By the end we were all tired and my dad was in pain. We got home just before midnight and I think we all slept well!

All singing and dancing - parents have a a bash at karaoke

One thing everyone always says when you go to Japan is try Karaoke. So they were really keen to see it but not so forthcoming to try it. So one night I asked them to come drinking with me and I took them to a nice bar.

The original plan was to go out with the Aeon staff but they had to cancel. Yoko had a cold, Megumi had hay fever and Mifuyu was still ill from being pregnant. So we went out with Yuuri and had a really nice time drinking. After I recommended karaoke and we got a taxi to place that had private karaoke booths (which are very comon in Japan).

You get a private room, some mics, a TV and a phone. You sing songs and you can order drinks over the phone. Usually you pay for the room for an hour or however long you want and drinks and food are included.

We settled down in a booth, dimmed the lights and got some drinks. I quickly set up a song and soon enough we were away. This has to be a rare sight for me so I made sure I got it on camera albeit I wish I hadn't got so much audio footage!!!



You can also check out some stills here.

Parents Karaoke

My parents and Yuuri

On April 4th 2009 it had been a year since I first landed on Japanese soil. A few weeks earlier my parents came to visit me in Aomori and I got to take them out for Mothers day and celebrate my 23rd birthday.

Due to my working schedule I could only get 3 days off, the rest of the time I spent with them was late at night. My fiancée Yuuri was able to take some time off to spend with them and was first to meet them at the train station and make sure they got to the hotel. I was able to take a break soon after their arrival and we all went to Coco Ichiban for some curry. It was good to see them, they both looked very well and pleased to be in Japan. This was their first meeting of Yuuri too and I was glad to see them getting on so well.

I was worried what they may have thought of Yuuri. I know she is a wonderful person but my parents might judge her worthiness to be with their son (as all parents natrually do). I also thought Yuuri might judge my parents attitude and make comparisons with mine. They are from very different backgrounds with very little experience of each others cultures. Even now, for me, it's very hard to deal with some Japanese customs and understand why they exist.

I knew my dad would try and be very charismatic and crack a few jokes and my mum would be very friendly and open but both wouldn't know how far they could go or how it would be perseved. Luckily Yuuri is a very friendly person who loves people and has an ability to warm the mood.

Here my dad took many pictures of his journey with Yuuri and the family.

Dads Pictures

After meeting my parents I showed them round my apartment and we had a few drinks together. I took them to Aspam and we could see from the top all over Aomori. They liked the town, it was much busier than they expected with a sea of cafes and restaurants as well as multiple department stores.

Later that night came the big even of my family meeting Yuuri's family. Yuuri's family don't speak much English and they are typical Japanese. I say typical Japanese because I think Japanese people who study English have an interest in western life style and have an idea of what to expect but most other Japanese people have no need to do this.

We sat at a long table, I was centre and to my left was my dad and to my right was my mum. Opposite me was Yuuri in her kimono, opposite my dad was Yuuri's dad and opposite my mum was Yuuri's mum, at the end sat Yuuri's younger sister. We ate Japanese food in a very traditonal Japanese restaurant in a private room. My dad was very nervous, carefully watching other people before he attempted to try something. My mum was a bit worried about the food, especially regarding the raw fish. Both of them talked through me when they wanted to ask something to Yuuri's family but they didnt know how to ask.

(This is what I call translating English to English which I seem to do a lot in Japan but more on that another time)

We talked a little, showed some photos and had a fun and enjoyable evening. We were all very grateful to Yuuri's parents for meeting with us and we exchanged some gifts. Then we took the photos.

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From Engaged

Yuuri's family

From Engaged

This is my favourite because you can see Yuuri's father put his arm round me which is not usual in a culture that don't touch. Yuuri's father is said to be very strict but to me he has been very welcoming and cooperative, for what must be very difficult for him.

From Engaged

Yuuri and my family

From Engaged

The whole family

From Engaged

Yuuri and me.

I'll leave the rest of what happened to my next post.

Propose to a Japanese Girl

 

We all have that special someone who we one day meet. Sometimes it’s your best friend, other times it’s the person you least expect and usually we can’t predict these things, as much as we’d like to.

I have never considered going out with an Asian girl, mainly because I didn’t know many Asian people in England. Even after deciding to come to Japan I didn’t really consider dating an option. It seems difficult to date abroad, people don’t understand you and you never know how long you will really be there.

When I met Yuuri I instantly thought she was a lovely person, she seemed to go out of her way to help me best she could as a tourist information person. We had a huge festival here in Aomori called Nebuta and so I wanted Yuuri to join me in celebrating it Nebuta website 

After that I found her interesting, kind and lots of fun so I began to take her out more often. We went to restaurants and bars and I asked her out.

Next month I got very sick with chicken pox and had to stay in hospital. We hadn’t been going out for very long and even after I came out of hospital I didn’t look great. My chicken pox was very bad and I couldn’t shave or get a hair cut or even have a wash. I looked like Cast Away’s younger uglier brother. Despite this she stuck by me and took good care of me. It’s tough being ill in a foreign country, not just because your ill but because of the depression. It’s hard having no one there for you and not really knowing what’s going on.

 

Well I’ve almost made a full recovery now and Yuuri is still by me and we are still having lots of fun together. I’ve met her parents and they seem like wonderful people and she will meet my parents on the 19th march 09. So yesterday on White day (14th March 09) I decided to propose to her. I bought my ring from England so I knew what I was getting and booked a table at a restaurant.

The restaurant is on the top of Aomori grand hotel which you can see here. The View overlooks the bay and you can see the bridge.click to see the view.

We had a lovely French meal with Champagne and at the end I got up and opened the case containing the ring but the ring jumped out and landed on the floor by Yuuri’s chair. I quickly bent down on one knee to pick up the ring and asked her to marry me.

How to watch DVD’s in Japan

 

Technorati Tags: DVDs in Japan,Region 2,Japan,Japan DVD,How to watch DVD's in Japan,American DVD's Japan,British DVD's Japan,region free DVD player,Divx player,SD card,USB

Ok so when you get to Japan you probably want to keep watching those DVD’s you’ve collected in your home country. If you’re British like me you’re in for some luck, Britain is on the same region as Japan, region 2. America unfortunately is on region 1.

But the bad news for the British is Japan use NTSC not PAL so it doesn’t matter if your DVD is region 2 or not unless you have the right connections etc.

Luckily I have a simple solution for everybody.

First I recommend you buy a region free DVD player in Japan (or you can bring your own from home). The easiest way to do this for me was to try Amazon jp. You will have to use it in Japanese, I managed to figure it out with the use of google translate and common sense and within three days I had the DVD player for 5,000Y

google translate

Region free Divx dvd player AMAZON JP

I also recommend a DVD player with Divx. If you go to amazon jp and search the word 'Divx’ you will be able to see DVD players with this feature (Divx is a brand name so no translation is needed)

The DVD player I use

Now you will able to play all your DVD’s from home and ones from your native country too.

If the player has Divx you can also download films from the internet and play them on your DVD player. Usually this is done by putting the Divx file (usually an .avi) onto a USB stick or a SD card (as used by many cameras). I suggest you pick up the biggest SD card you can afford in your home country but they are wide spread here in Japan and you wont have any trouble getting one.

Now you have your region free Divx player and an SD card now just connect the SD card to your computer (card readers are also widespread if you need one) and copy your film to it. Plug your SD card into your DVD player and watch.

Divx is a very popular file format for films that gives very good quality for a very small file. Films could be over 1GB so make sure you get a big card but most are about 700mb. I don’t know where you should get these films from, people tell me pirate bay has a full range of latest films, TV shows and other media but I’m not sure about how legal it is, so that one is up to you.

Pirate bay

I hope this helps anyone planning to come over to Japan in the future. If anyone has any other questions please comment and I’ll answer as fully as I can.

Also if anyone wants to know about setting anything else up in Japan please let me know.

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****some advice for people before you leave for Japan*****

Instead of taking your DVD’s to Japan why not just convert them all to Divx and keep them on your computer or external hard drive.

DVD to Divx

Maybe you can find that program on pirate bay, I don’t know.

Aomori Aeon Roster

Now I have been working for Aeon for about 9 months I feel I have got to know my colleagues, not just professionally but also socially. I’d like to share with you the people who have helped me getting set up in Japan.

Mifuyu – Head Teacher

When I was ill, this is the person who helped me in the hospital by sorting everything out. She has helped me so much and supported me, I almost think of her as my Japanese mother! I don’t just go to her for support at work but she also helps me with personal problems. I have gone to her for advice about Yuuri and even how to look stylish.At work she has also helped me and supported me. She has helped me where I have struggled with lessons and coached me through foreign procedures.

Mifuyu invited me to her wedding not long after I started AEON which you can see on my other blog or by clicking here

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Megumi (pictured here with Kenji) – Kids head teacher

Megumi has the best English out of all the Japanese staff at Aeon. This makes her a joy to work with! With Megumi you know exactly what is happening. She has helped me a lot where I need some complex translations and recently made the reservation for me for my Christmas meal.

I can always rely on Megumi to give me advice about my kids lessons. She’s very helpful to me and also an easy person to talk to about personal issues.

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Yoko (Left, Megumi right) – Assistant Manager

Yoko is a wonderfully kind person. Her English is not as good as Mifuyu’s but we have worked together on projects for Aeon and had no problems. If I ever need information or advice she is always quick to respond. Although I haven’t seen her as much as the others outside of work, she is always very friendly.

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Alexis – Foreign Teacher

I used to spend a lot of time with Alexis but since I went into hospital we kind of drifted apart. I had to stop going out drinking and she liked to go drinking (i liked to go drinking too but Dr’s orders told me not to). Either way she is still a great colleague at work. I feel we are connected by being in the same situation and I’m always willing to help her along if she needs it as she has done for me many times.

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Seiko – Part Time Kids Teacher

Seiko is only round the office for a little bit but she is a great person to know. She has helped me travel around and has taken me to the museum before. She loves speaking English and she is never in a bad mood.

I love talking with Seiko, it’s always interesting and usually very funny too!

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I have to say there isn’t a bad member of Aeon here at all. Maybe because our branch is small, things are a little more personal. I think in bigger cities I might be seen as an expendable foreigner but I don’t know, all I know is this is a great branch of Aeon and I hope to continue working here.

Meet the parents

LiveJournal Tags: Japan,Marrying in japan,japanese,teach in japan,aomori,meet the parents,meeting japanese parents,japanese love,japanese girlfriend,aeon,aeon school,TEFEL

^click for album

Ok we all have to do it one day. When we find that girl we really like and we’re young and in love we have to face the meeting with the parents. Nowadays this is usually not a huge deal, parents are mostly welcoming and laid back in England unless you’re some kind of drug trafficker or convicted killer. Maybe they will shake your hand and you will have to watch Tv for an hour with them. But in Japan its a little more formal.

Well, time had come for me to meet Yuuri’s father so I wanted to make a good impression. I dressed smart casual and got my haircut that same day. I had already got him a present (a bottle of single malt whiskey) so I brought that with me and Yuuri and I got a taxi. We drove along the main road for about 20mins before heading into the snowbound side streets for another 10mins we curved around strange little cubed houses.

The shoe thing has always got me and I messed up again this time. There is a tiled surface that shoes stay on and a wooden floor which is for slippers. I took my shoes off on the tiled surface but to take off my other shoe I put my sock onto the tiles giving me a wet sock. Everyone laughed but it wasn’t a good start for me.

Now I’m not the most graceful of people but usually I can handle myself without being too clumsy but the next thing I did was nearly knock over a mirror. This gives you an idea how tense I was. Quickly I told the family about how breaking mirrors in England gives seven years bad luck. I saved the situation and we began our meal. I was offered beer and gave her father the whiskey.

I made small talk about the whiskey and we talked together about it. He told me he liked motor bikes and cars, which I too am fairly fond of so we talked a little about this. Finally at the end of the meal he gave me some whiskey and by coincidence he had bought the same whiskey as I had for him. He put them side by side and sure enough they were identical. So I drank whiskey with him.

None of Yuuri’s family speak English and I speak very little Japanese but I wanted to speak to her father. He excused his family and I spoke to him with Yuuri’s help. I told him ‘Yuuri san to kekkon o zenteini tsukaiatteimasu’ which translates roughly as ‘I want to date Yuuri with the intention of marrying’. He paused for a long time. Sipped his whiskey and held his glass looking at the floor. I watched him and waited eagerly. He turned and asked about my future. I told him Yuuri wanted to be a flight attendant and I would support her in that and would move with her to Tokyo so she could work for one of the big companies. He asked about my education and what I would do in the future. I assured him I would stay committed as an English teacher. Again he sipped his whiskey, I did also.

A few minutes later he called his family back and stated that he wanted Yuuri to stay in Japan but he would support our marriage. He welcomed me into his family and we all drank together.

I am happy to stay in Japan, I would like to move out of Aomori someday. It’s a nice place to visit, the people are wonderful here and life is easy going but it’s cold and not much happens here. The pace is a bit slow especially in winter. I am very comfortable here in Japan though, I have no worries really. I have music to listen to, films to watch a guitar to play. I’ve got friends, people to support and someone to love. My family are only a phone call away.

Sine it’s Christmas here are some pictures of our Christmas party at Aeon and I took Yuuri to a French restaurant for Christmas so enjoy some pictures from then. (at the top)

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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!