Dragon Boating in Kagoshima

Where: Kagoshima Prefecture waaaay down south (see map)

When: Last weekend (Halloween weekend)

How: By car, express train, shinkansen (bullet train), rental car, and ferry

Why: For DRAGON BOATING!


When the call for volunteers for dragon boating went out months ago, I signed up without really thinking about what I was agreeing to do. I knew the basic premise: join a team of Oita-ken folks and race a dragon-like boat against others from all over Japan and the world. What I didn’t know was that the journey to get to the race would be so epic and how (thanks to Lisa's organizational skills) the trip would be so fun.



Sakurajima, one of the most active volcanoes in Japan (and pit stop on the way to the race). We went by ferry from Kagoshima City to the fire mountain and spent some time driving around going, “Oooohhh, wow.”


Me looking awesome at a volcanic rock viewing park (and that's Randy on the left).


This is the Oita-ken team practicing 10 minutes before our race. None of us had ever seen a dragon boat up close until the day of the race and it was only right before we loaded up and competed that we decided our placements and how best to row. The Japanese people enjoyed watching us practice.


The Oita-ken team in all our glory. We came in 5th (out of eight) in our race and felt proud to have managed to stay afloat and finish the race.

Happy Halloween!

Shark Friend, the Halloween Special

We all almost died

The events of this post happened a few weeks ago, but it is only now that I’m able to talk about them. The story is a familiar one…an afternoon of friendship goes horrible wrong and suddenly the day turns into a harrowing struggle for survival. But this story has something special added—a curse! And that’s where my tale begins…

Long ago, in a time now covered by the fog and dust of memory, I took a walk around my town of Ajimu and glimpsed in the distance a proud mountain. I looked with awe upon that green and brown monument and declared that one day I would go and climb it. Later, I learned that the mortal name for the mountain was Yufudake and I set out to organize an expedition to scale its heights.

My first expedition was called off due to intense heat. My second attempt was washed away in torrential rainfall. And my third endeavor was stopped abruptly by a landslide that had destroyed the road to the mountain. See the carnage below.



Thus, I assumed I was cursed. For some reason Yufudake, the “Mt. Fuji of Kyushu” was denying me access to its rocks and soil.

Time passed, and my courage returned. And then finally, on a Saturday a few weeks ago, I knew it was time to attempt the adventure once more. I gathered my friends and we set out to scale Yufudake and clear me of my curse.


Here we are at the base of the mountain (I’m behind the camera). Look how happy and ready we are! If only we knew what was so come…


Behold the mountain, its summit concealed by clouds.

The initial climb went well. The five members of our expedition were in good spirits and the weather was perfect. We followed the trail through the trees and rocks and sang little songs as we went. Everything seemed good and I felt confident we would make the top no problem. BUT THEN, Yukudake was awakened to my presence and before we knew it we were lost.

The trail simply vanished…and our minds became clouded. We were held in the Siren song of summit success and we simply kept moving upwards…and without a trail, we soon were wondering in amongst unholy rocks and vines and thorns. Our hands and arms and legs were cut and bashed…but we kept going not wanting to give up.

Minutes of uncertainty turned into hours of despair. Our team of five had become a wondering band searching on the side of the mountain for some manner of trail or sign. We climbed higher and higher through precarious terrain and at one point were covered by cold clouds. See below…



At last, we knew we were defeated and decided to head back down the mountain. Never having reached the top, the descent was a difficult one for both body and soul. But at least we were all still alive…and at least the mountain allowed us to reach the bottom again.

Yufudake still stands in the distance and I still see it everyday from my town. One day, I will make another attempt to climb it…and I will break my curse!

Shark Friend, the finale

Finally, we can all have some closure in the Shark Friend saga. Enjoy!!!!1!!

Needless things from the internet

Green is my favorite color. But it wasn’t until today—through this insightful test—that I realized what specific shape of green I identify with most.

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

I should also tell you that my character in Halo 2 wears teal green armor. Sugoi!

Thoughtful Perspective

Sometimes the difference between being happy and being miserable in a situation is dependent upon your perspective of that situation. Take today for example: it’s Saturday and I was at school working my normal hours because we’re having our yearly culture festival. Why did the school schedule the event for Saturday? I don’t know…it’s a Japanese thing…but the point is I started this morning at 7AM thinking, “Oh man, it’s Saturday! I’m supposed to be sleeping and playing video games today…not getting up, shaving, and going to school.” Thus, my initial perspective on the day was “less than happy.”

I should also tell you that recently I’ve been kind of bummed and dazed about life here. I’m still adjusting to old friends leaving and new ones arriving and while teaching has been going well, I feel drained and stretched for new ideas of what to do in the classroom. I’ve also been going through an episode of “Oh gosh, I’m single!” that just makes life exhausting…and the changing of the seasons from summer to fall makes me so homesick for Chapel Hill and long afternoons in the sun with friends.

So all of this combined in my mind this morning as I was eating toast and watching a spider the size of a cat making a web outside my kitchen. I kept thinking, “What am I doing out here in the inaka?! There’s nothing here! Even Japanese people are amazed that I live out here!”

I arrived at school with a few tired grumbles rolling around in my head and was greeted by excited students and teachers who were gearing up for an eventful day of performances and festivities. My mood began to lighten.

A little while later I was sitting in an auditorium next to one of my favorite teachers and surrounded by all the students. The energy of the room was positive and I tried to let go of my grumbles and enjoy what was to come. I had planned on sitting in the back and catching some sleep during the 3 hour assembly, but my teacher-friend had asked me to sit up front with him…and it was this invitation that started a change of heart in me. Sometimes when I’m sitting in a long Japanese-only assembly, I have the tendency to zone out and separate myself from what’s going on. This is a reaction to not knowing the language all that well and not relating to the different culture. BUT THIS IS A MISTAKE. And today I didn’t make that mistake.

Long story short, I enjoyed the assembly and even made it up on stage myself. My teacher-friend turned to me during a student choral performance and said, “These students are so precious…many young people are going to cities and leaving the inaka…but these young people are still here...and they are so pure…and they make me happy.”

And in that moment I realized he was right…and that I should be embracing my time here in the inaka. I shouldn’t be looking to other places and things to be happy when I’ve got so much RIGHT HERE in my little town. I have a good life out here and I should focus on the beautiful scenery, the simple flow of life, and the amazing people around me. I then remembered a conversation I had had with student the day before…

Super genki, super wonderful student: “Jasten, why…uh…why do you…did you come to Japan?”
Me: “Coming to Japan has always been a dream of mine…since I was a little kid.”
Super genki, super wonderful student: “Oh! So this is your dream! Your dream!”
Me: (laughing a little and smiling deep down inside) “Yeah, I guess so…I’m living my dream.”

Shark Friend, the sequel

Part Two of what's becoming a YouTube phenomenon.

Shark Friend

I made this so I'd get famous on YouTube. And because it's kind of true.

STAR TREK at last

It was after Jean-Luc Picard had been assimilated by the Borg but before Karl dropped my Barbra Streisand biography into the toilet that I realized how awesome small house parties can be.

Let me start at the beginning...

Living in a small town out in the inaka that's accessible only by car and helicopter usually means I don't have many visitors. This past Saturday, however, was a wonderful change to this as Karl, Lisa, Phil, and Tamara all made their way to Ajimu for a visit and some Star Trek watching. Gathering everyone up in my little car in Usa (five people maxing out the engine's power capability), we made our way from the train station to the legendary Usa Shrine.

Happy sweaty people


Tamara and Karl fighting to the death

After the shrine, we headed south into the mountains towards Ajimu. Having five people in a small car like mine is not only a little cramped, but it's also illegal (sorry mom). Fortunately Lisa is a quick thinker and managed to always duck when a police car was near. We managed to dodge the po-po all the out to Higashishiiya no taki--the tallest waterfall in Kyushu that's located about 10 minutes from my house. We swam in the coldcold water with a lot of laughing and screaming as Japanese people watched us at a distance. When we were leaving, we saw a very different kind of site...a young woman accompanied by a man with a camera nonchalantly and quickly removed her top to pose for a picture in front of the waterfall. Sugoi! Nudie photos in the wild!



Trekking to and swimming in the falls...no one is nude in this photo.

Later we returned to my house and prepared for the highlight of the evening--watching Star Trek! I had been waiting and hoping for this moment since I returned to Japan with DVDs of the show and now that I had found some fellow fans of the scifi series, it was time to enjoy. To make things a little more interesting, I devised a drinking game we could play while we watched. The rules were simple: drink a "generous mouthful" whenever a crew member says "engage", "open hailing frequencies", or any number of other familiar lines. There were also rules about drinking whenever there was a RED ALERT, Klingon was spoken, or there was sexual tension between characters. By our third episode of TNG, we were feeling pretty good.


The rules (numerous, but funny)


Phil is energized for adventure

But then Karl had to go and drop my Barbra Streisand biography into the toilet. Sigh, this is where events took a very different turn. Feeling the need for justice, I challenged Karl to a fight in the elementary school playground next door (remember, I live in the middle of no where with no neighbors so this kind of thing is okay to do). I think I won the fight, but I wanted to face another challenger so I called Phil out into the dirt (and he was calling me Little Bo Pete and stuff so in the spirit of Klingon honor I felt the need to take him down). This fight didn't go as well...see photo below.



Nonetheless, the night was still awesome. Lisa really came through and regulated and made us drink water and eat bread (thanks Lisa). By latesomething o'clock after Phil had made a random peanut butter dip and Tamara had critically disassembled another episode of Star Trek, we gathered our futons and went to sleep. It was good to have people over and share Ajimu with them (isn't it such a lovely, safe town?). Glad you guys came! Let's do it again!

(remaining 5 of the) Top Ten reasons why I heart Japan

Here is the other half of the Ten reasons. Vote for your favorite!


Cute dogs with owls on their heads. Japan is full of cute little dogs and on this pet shop sign in Tokyo it appears one can also buy owls to go with the little dogs. Maybe a bad idea since an owl could eat some of the dogs.


Kakigori (shaved ice with flavoring and milk…and in this case, sweet beans too). Kakigori is like a snow cone, but better! Found mostly in the summer, kakigori has become one of my favorite ways to stay cool in the heat. Don’t knock the use of milk with the ice.


Isabel and RISK. This particular moment in RISK marked one of the most aggressive—and perhaps most insane—military maneuvers ever recorded in RISK history. Isabel’s yellow army forces (yellow as in the pieces were yellow, not that her soldiers were Asian) swept out on all sides and captured territories seemingly at random. The end result was a shaken world and Isabel gazing out across it as a proud empress.


Black curry. Almost every week I make a trip to Coco Curry and enjoy a large plate of Japanese style curry. The selection is vast and this plate is one of their summer specials. The dark color is from the ink of a squid and I was careful to include a spoon in the photo so you would realize it’s food.


Mist covered mountains. I drive this road all the time and I’ve seen this particular mountain in all sorts of moods. On this rainy day the clouds gathered all around and made me think of Samurai Jack on his journey to destroy the shape-shifting master of evil, Aku. Then the farmer behind me honked his horn so I’d keep driving.

(5 of the) Top Ten reasons why I heart Japan

It’s time for a photo montage! Why? Cause I like them! Here are the first five reasons why I love Japan:


Ikura (fish eggs). These bright orange balls of salty goodness are one of my favorite dishes at kaiten (conveyer belt) sushi. Some other folks think them rancid. Fools!


Soft cream! My love for this omnipresent dessert has required me to institute a rule that I can only eat soft cream in the presence of others (mainly Lisa, my fellow soft cream fan). This particular soft cream sadly has polio and must be supported by a cone brace.


Karaoke. This photo was taken a while ago, but I’ve always loved the emotion it captured. Notice how Natalie in the background is in enthralled by the music while Ben pours his heart out into the microphone. The song he was singing: “A Whole New World” from Aladdin.


Enchanted bridges. This photo was taken at Usa Shrine and shows the special covered bridge that is only opened once every ten years. A representative from the Imperial family came down earlier this year and opened the bridge for just three days—an event most of us were oblivious of. Thus, the covered bridge remains something we can only look at through locked doors.


Enchanted forests. Living out in the countryside gives me plenty of opportunities to search for mythic creatures such as tengu and pokemon out in the mountain forests.

Ka’Plah! (that’s Klingon for “success”)

Cost of toll roads to and from the Oita-ken Driver’s License Center – 4,600 yen

Driving test and course fees – 9,000 yen

Driving lessons early on a Saturday morning – 23,000 yen

Total cost – 36,000 yen (about $350)

Passing the insane Japanese driver’s test on the second try – freakin’ priceless, baby.


It was a long and annoying road…but thanks to the support and guidance of friends and family I was able to pass the various tests and get my Japanese driver’s license on par with the Oita-ken ALT record (2 times, set by Jessica Browning). Now I can zoom around my Japanese inaka home with reckless abandon. AND I got some way cool decals to show everyone that I’m a “new driver”. Whatever.

Tokyo welcomes you

Tokyo is one of the coolest places on earth and I seriously walk around going, “oh wow” and “cool” and “neeeeeat” when I’m there. I just returned from a short trip to the neon light land where I was welcoming, orienting, and inspiring the new JETs who have just arrived in Japan. My 5 days there were busy ones, but overall I really enjoyed myself. All the different kinds of people from all over the world mixing and meeting is great fun and a welcome change to the small town life I usually lead these days.

Below is a series of pictures taken with my sweet cell phone cam (so for all those non-readers, this post is especially for you).


The city by day. This is the view out my room window at the Keio Plaza Hotel.


Karaoke! I think there are about 3 karaoke places for every 5 people in Tokyo (just a random unqualified statistic).


This is Ollie, my co-presenter for our workshop on Japanese Pop Culture.


This is proof that Olli and I did indeed give a presentation on Japanese Pop Culture (look carefully for our names).


(some of) The new JETs for Oita-ken! Pretty cool group.

Beginnings and Endings

The cyclical nature of life, its beginnings and endings, is a familiar aspect of the human experience and we are familiar with this concept from the first time we hear a bedtime story that beings with “once upon a time” and ends with “and they live happily ever after.” Our lives are balanced by birth and death and throughout life we go through a series of new beginnings and final farewells. Here in Japan, I’m going through one of those moments right now and I decided that writing about it would be a good way to process my thoughts.

Last week I celebrated my one year anniversary of being in Japan and while this date brought me a sense of accomplishment and stability, it also made me feel a bit sad and nervously uncertain (oh the dichotomy). You see, me starting my second year in Japan means that there are those who are finishing their time here and thus I must say good bye to folks who are bound for their home countries around the globe. My story goes on in Japan, but others must pick up and set out on the next part of their own personal epics. Beginnings and endings…

Two of my best friends who are departing these shores are U.K. citizens Ben and Steph. Over the past year we’ve (plus Isabel too) spent a lot of time together from wild nights out to quiet evenings in. We’ve drunk together, discussed literature and society, shot each other in the head, enjoyed various TV shows and films, eaten fabulous meals, sat naked together in onsens, and even sent armies against one another in attempts to rule the world. Together with dear Isabel, Ben and Steph made Japan familiar and comforting…bringing invaluable friendship to me.

To them, and others who have ended their time here in Japan, I wish you well. You will be missed and always remembered…and know that while our stories mixed here, you had a profound impact on me.

To those who remain in Japan, and those who have just arrived here, know that we have an epic waiting to unfold…and I am eager for the adventure.

And to those awaiting my return back home, be comforted that I’ll be home soon…for a year goes by in a flash.

Love to all.


(Steph and Ben at Usa Shrine…walking off into the sunset)

The gods need a ride

Tis the season of summer festivals in Japan and on any weekend from mid-July to late-August you’ll find hanging lanterns, people dressed in yukata, and takoyaki stands (that’s friend octopus balls…like the fried octopus is in a ball shape…not actually the balls of the octopus) at events in shrines, castles, down the length of streets, or even placed simply in parking lots. This past weekend I got a chance to enjoy the celebration at Usa Jingu, one of the most important Shinto shrines for the god Hachimensan in all of Japan (and located close to Ajimu).

While my original plan was to causally enjoy the festival as a spectator, I suddenly found myself becoming an active participant in the day’s events. One of the major parts of the festival at Usa Jingu is the carrying of the omikoshi in and around the shrine grounds (an omikoshi is a “portable shrine” that’s big and heavy and rests on wooden beams so it can be paraded around). From what I understand of it, the deal is that the various gods who hang around Usa Jingu should get a chance to see more of the area, so the Shinto priests pray them into omikoshi and then working as a team, a group of people carry the omikoshi around the town inspiring the locals and giving the gods a fun ride. The event is lively and invokes long standing Japanese traditions, but it’s also a bit exhausting for those who carry the omikoshi (cause even with 15 people lifting together a large wooden vessel with large wooden beams is still really heavy). My Japanese friend Hiro asked me if I wanted to help carry the omikoshi in the festival and after a simple “sure, I guess”, I found myself changing into a pair of short shorts and donning a light robe and a pair of footies that made my feet look like Ninja Turtle feet.





There were multiple “teams” of omikoshi carriers made up of mostly young men from the area (however this year there was also a women’s team) and once we were all outfitted in our clothing, we gathered at Usa Jingu to be rallied and blessed by the Shinto priests. After some bowing and clapping and the handing out of small talismans to wear around our belts, everyone was given a bit of salt and some sake to lick and shoot before the carrying began. I will admit that around this time I started thinking about the Ark of the Covenant and how like the Ark, the omikoshi were box-shaped and carried by poles and I was wondering what would happen if I actually touched the omikoshi instead of just the pole (cause at least one Israelite was struck down by touching the Ark with his hand) and if what I was doing was in any way in contest with my Christian beliefs. But the atmosphere of the event was light and I looked really awesome in my clothes, so off we went to walk the 2 kilometer course.



The carrying wasn’t too strenuous due in part to the frequent stops we made along the way to have refreshments. The people cheered as we passed and sometimes a shop owner would rush out to give us a bottle of sake to put on our omikoshi as we walked around the neighborhood adjacent to the shrine. After about 2 hours or so of carrying, everyone made it back to where we had started from and with a final lifting of the SHRINE and a dangerous running wildly around in circle maneuver, we laid the omikoshi down to rest.



After a shower and a return to civilian clothes, I finished my evening with a walk around Usa Jingu in the evening crowd eating kakigori (snow cone) and awing at the blazing sparkle of the festival fireworks. The day was hot and tiring, but enjoyable because it gave me a chance to participate in something truly Japanese. And I also got to show off my nice legs.

Disoriented moment of the week

When I heard the buzz about a local festival called “Jamaica Mura” (that’s “Jamaica Village” for those of you back home) I envisioned a small event decorated in red, yellow, and green with a few food stalls selling jerk chicken and snow cones. Maybe there’d be a guy with fake dreadlocks and some reggae playing out of a boom box. Not a bad set up for inaka Japan…you got to take what you can get… and seriously, what does small town Japan know about Jamaica? (I know local folks who think England is INSIDE America and Brazil is close to Florida). So imagine my surprise when I looked down onto a large field in Innai (Ajimu’s neighboring town) to see a crowd rocking to live reggae with loads of delicious authentic Jamaican food lining the sides.



As I descended down into the crowd, I was amazed and inspired by all the people around. The young Japanese folks had their colorful, stylish clothes and mixed among them were a random sprinkling of foreigners. This is when I had my disoriented moment of the week. You see, living out in the inaka where the population is 99.99% Japanese can cause a syndrome in foreigners called “gawk-a-lot at the non-Japanese”. Usually when I see another non-Japanese person in Japan—especially anywhere around where I live—who I don’t know, I stare and think “who is that?!” (much like what the Japanese people do to me). So at the much cooler, much larger Jamaica Mura with the small pockets of gaijin enjoying the festival along with the natives, I felt momentarily disoriented and confused as to where I was.

Once I found my friends, Ben, Keiko, and Isabel (pictured below), I regained my stability and jumped into enjoying the chill atmosphere and sunny weather. At one point I even engaged in a round of badminton—the Japanese sport of choice when hanging around outside much like Frisbee throwing back home. My eikaiwa friend Eri was the owner of the equipment and our game ended due to windy weather that kept blowing our birdy into the laps of people sitting nearby (the last time I had to go over to retrieve the birdy I was met by a slightly upset young lady who passed the birdy to me as if it were actually a dead bird).




The afternoon hanging out at the festival was great and I even got to see some of my students in their hip, non-uniform clothes that I almost never get to see them in (the kids wear their uniforms ALL the time!). Ah, Japan has shown me so much over the last year, but there appears to be so much more to see. Until next time…

Justin goes Japanese

Last Thursday at Gusto I picked chopsticks over a fork. The decision was a simple, almost trivial one…but in that moment I realized something…something exceedingly important. I realized that I’ve become Japanese.

To my friends and family back in America, I write to you today to tell you that I’ve gone over to the other side. And by “other”, I mean Japanese. After 11 months, 2 weeks in Japan, I’ve finally shed myself of rough western individualism and embraced efficient Japanese serenity.


Here’s me with my sensei. Through her guidance I've gained some skill in the Japanese language as well as learned insights into the Japanese culture.


This is me at a temple wearing a traditional yukata—this is what I wear seven days a week now.


This is Pauline (Taiwanese-American) and Lisa (Japanese-American) in their traditional yukata. Nowadays I only hang out with Japanese people or foreigners who have Asian blood in them (aren't they lovely!).


Me and Ted (Chinese-Greek-Canadian) looking oh so serious about being in our yukata.

Okay, so maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. And Pauline, Lisa, and Ted, I have nothing but love for ya’ll (please don’t report my blog to the bosses!). I’m just really hot and kind of delirious and wanted to show pictures of me in my yukata. Forgive this strange post and my tacky use of it as a vessel to display my photos. I assure everyone that I still maintain a very healthy respect for both my American heritage and my Japanese home.

Tedshark, a short film by Pauline

To start off with, here is a short video we made while at the beach last weekend. Enjoy, it's very dramatic.