Finally online!!!

(First day of training)



M: Firstly, my apologies for not updating the blog sooner – since we arrived on Monday (22nd september), we’ve been trying to get the internet in our flat sorted which has proven to be a total nightmare. We were straight into our training on Tuesday morning so there hasn’t been much time to get things up and running properly… It was Jack’s birthday on Thursday – we had training which kind of sucked but our trainer Rob was definitely the most down to earth guy we’ve had so far so that was ok.
J: We went out in the evening for some okonomiaki after meeting a departing teacher who lives (noisily) above us with his girlfriend.
M: It was certainly reassuring to meet someone who had been through everything that we are embarking on, showing that it is possible as it can feel quite overwhelming and frustrating at times. The meal was great fun, we couldn’t understand the menu and the waitress couldn’t understand us and vice versa but through some gestures and animal impressions (Jack’s of course), we ended up with a lovely meal, even if we weren’t quite sure what it was that we were eating!
J: After the okonomi we went for a walk following a tip from the upstairs neighbour on what I thought was a baseball ground. Shit a ruddy stick! It turned out to be the local kierin circuit. My reaction is captured below.


(Birthday boy with some birthday cakes)




M: We went to the Kierin circuit on Sunday to check out some racing, we were really excited and when we arrived we got taken through to the main building and given a timetable. When we got in though – well, it was like a betting shop – loads of old men placing bets on the races that were being shown on little tv screens everywhere. After a few minutes it was obvious that there was not going to be any live racing there that day and that we’d paid for the privilege of sitting with some interesting characters and drinking some rank hot drinks from a vending machine
J: Personally I had a great time and look forward to hanging low and lean with my new gambling buddies, though the one ‘tip’ we were given was a bit wide of the mark. The best bit for me at the kierin other than the bro’s was the hoes. All the ladies there seemed to really have to grovel to the guys which was a bit weird (I know), even for me. I was probably quite an oddity – white, looking a bit daft – wearing a pink hat may bought me, young and expecting to see cyclists. Before it became as May puts it ‘obvious’ that we were not going to see any races I was taken to the information booth at the circuit and was taken into hand by the lovely ladies there. All very nice and incredibly helpful, it’s such a shame I never mustered the energy to be that nice at the museum to any of the tourists. They all sucked hardcore in London, but now the shoe is on the other foot I have gained new respect for the service industry. Other than the lack of racing the day was quite fun, see below for pictures of the sweet bikes and frames that were on display.




The detailing on these bad boys was beyond anything I’ve seen in London barring my main man Barry Witcomb. After the kierin debacle we went out for a ride to Chiba city from our flat in the evening, a bold move considering it was dark, we didn’t know where we were going or how to deal with Japanese motorists. As it turned out cycling here is a dream, the roads feel newly laid everywhere, no glass in the streets and the motorists give way all too easily to aggressive cyclists. Chiba was a hoot too, a plethora of bright lights, hostess clubs, patchinko halls – possibly the loudest slot machine game in the world, literally deafening in the halls with hundreds of people throwing what look like large ball bearings into machines and piling up there winnings of shiny balls in baskets – I really cannot see the appeal.

General observations so far…
- everyone is very well turned out, even the teenagers trying to look scruffy and unkempt do it very neatly
- fresh fruit and vegetables are quite expensive and no sign of any tinned goods really, who would’ve thought that something as basic as a tin of tomatoes would be a rarity!
- the monorail is mental, rather than running on a track, it hangs down from one with nothing underneath (see below) – shits on the dlr!




- they seem to have ironed out all the stupid little problems that bug people in everyday life in the UK e.g. something as simple as where to put your chewing gum when you’ve finished – the packet that it comes in actually has a little pocket to put used gum in
- vending machines are everywhere, and I mean everywhere! Apparently there are more vending machines in Japan than the rest of the world put together. We have one outside our apartment selling an array of bizarre drinks, and the one at the end of our road has cartons of milk, I really like the pot noodle ones, they’re surprisingly good! - We’re yet to see any saucy ones – as in carrying pants or sexy bits etc
- Trannies a plenty in our hood – none of them good – though may didn’t notice the best one.
- Its constantly damp, it’s like being in a steam room most of the time.
- Grape flavour is an acquired taste.
- Shinjuku is really peculiar but we will endeavour to investigate further.
- Eating out is literally cheaper in most instances than eating at home – especially if you like fairly ratty foods.
- They eat everything in a chicken – Mr Cooper I know you’ll want to give this a go – Chicken cartilage deep friend in a batter, chewy but rewarding. I would describe it as the kind of thing if put in front of you on either a first date or at a friends parents house that you would persevere with just to save face, here they literally cannot get enough of it.

J: we went for our gaijin registration cards today – Mr Fowler, I know I said that I would address you for every entry on here, which might have been stretching the truth. But, this one is for you in lieu of your birthday wishes. While walking around the town hall trying to find a photo booth we were offered help by a fly looking older guy (60+) who spoke very basic English. He directed us down to the lobby and then asked us to follow him outside proffering the kind words – “2 minutes away, don’t worry”, little did we know that he meant to take us to a waiting van. Once inside the van your message came flooding back to me, my life flashing before my eyes beginning to ooze bodily fluids thinking that I might indeed end up in a bath full of salt with May. Happily though rather than skin and eat us, he took us to his friend who just skinned us. Only financially though. His friend owned a photographers studio that was indeed 2 minutes away but a whole lot more expensive than the 250 yen that a machine would have cost. However, in saying that we will have the most professionally taken photos on any i.d. that I have ever had. Not a patch on one person I knows passport photo that was shopped to reduce a kink in their nose – answers on a post card for who that was….. I’ll send something from a vending machine to whoever gets it right.



M: 4 days of teaching down and 1 to go until our day off on Sunday, can’t wait. Today was by far my best (so far) but that’s because I only had three classes and plenty of time to plan in between – we are able to arrive 1 hour before our first lesson and plan the whole day’s teaching in that time which at the moment seems impossible. We can’t plan at home as all the textbooks are kept in the schools because there are soooo many different ones. Apparently it gets easier with time, needless to say that at the moment it is incredibly difficult and we are both finding it hard going! On plus-side the internet people are coming tomorrow evening so hopefully we will be in touch with the world again which would be wonderful. We’re writing this blog on Word on out laptops at the mo so that we can upload it to you all when we’re finally connected, woot woot!

Further observations…
- the receptionists/school councillors are lovely, very very friendly. The lady at Motoyawata is married to an English ceramicist and said that we can go and stay with her and her husband at their house in the mountains (Maja – that one’s for you) and then yesterday the lady bought me some snacks in the evening. Today, the woman was very friendly and gave me directions for a shorter route to get to the school which I took on the way home tonight which worked out very well.
- The ‘playgroup’ kids are mental, their attention span is sooo short and they are unforgiving. I had a kid yesterday who cried the whole time but refused to have his mum come and sit with him. Apparently today, Jack had a little girl who just screamed when she saw him!
- they have arcade versions of everything - George and Alma, these are for you...