Me feeding some goats at a dairy farm near Obihiro, Hokkaido.
05 October 2006
Welcome to Hokkaido
It's about time for me to post the pictures from my second trip to Hokkaido, back in July of this year. I'll start with a picture of our arrival at the (very small) airport in Obihiro.
03 October 2006
Japanese models in Japan? That's so 1950s...
Unlike many ex-pats here, I try to avoid Japan-bashing when I can. After all, Japan is Japan, and the U.S. is the U.S. But I’ve noticed something there that’s really starting to irk me.
If you look at the advertisements in this country – TV, magazines, subway, etc. – you have to be amazed at the sheer amount of foreigners that adorn them. Go into a clothing store, and see pictures of foreigners wearing Japanese-made clothing. Watch TV, and see foreigners drinking alcohol only made in Japan, or driving a made-for-Japan automobile in the streets of Japan. (It should be noted that 99% of the time, these foreigners are Caucasian.)
In addition to that, I guarantee you that if you look at any advertisement or catalog advertising pajamas, underwear or lingerie, 9 times out of 10, the models will be (white) foreigners. (And not the type of mature models we see in the States, either; usually they’re skinny and high-school-student-looking.)
This drives me crazy. After all, this is Japan, where about 95% of the population is ethnically Japanese. Why in the world do a disproportionate number of ads have foreigners? What makes Japanese advertising companies want to whip up ads with white people?
I truly don’t understand this, even though I’ve heard two reasons for this. a) Japanese have an inferiority complex, and b)Japanese think foreigners look more beautiful. I don’t by any of that. First, the Japanese I know always defend their customs and heritage. They tend to not bash themselves (unless they’re talking about yamanba). Second, there are plenty of beautiful Japanese out there. How many girls want to be like Ayumi Hamasaki, and how many girls drool over those stupid Johnnies boy bands?
My family and relatives used to subscribe to prominent African-American magazines like Jet and Ebony. You would see nothing but blacks in the ads, whether its McDonalds or Buick. Could you imagine the outcry if they instead had white models, or Hispanic ones? Back home every now and then, I would watch Univision or Telemundo, just for kicks. The commercials, 9 times out of 10, had Hispanics in them. What if they started to put Asian models in them? Do you think Hispanics would be satisfied?
Maybe it’s just me, but it just makes sense that if you are going to target a group of people, you want your ads to represent that people well. Apparently, many Japanese advertisers have a different philosophy, one I can’t figure out.
If you look at the advertisements in this country – TV, magazines, subway, etc. – you have to be amazed at the sheer amount of foreigners that adorn them. Go into a clothing store, and see pictures of foreigners wearing Japanese-made clothing. Watch TV, and see foreigners drinking alcohol only made in Japan, or driving a made-for-Japan automobile in the streets of Japan. (It should be noted that 99% of the time, these foreigners are Caucasian.)
In addition to that, I guarantee you that if you look at any advertisement or catalog advertising pajamas, underwear or lingerie, 9 times out of 10, the models will be (white) foreigners. (And not the type of mature models we see in the States, either; usually they’re skinny and high-school-student-looking.)
This drives me crazy. After all, this is Japan, where about 95% of the population is ethnically Japanese. Why in the world do a disproportionate number of ads have foreigners? What makes Japanese advertising companies want to whip up ads with white people?
I truly don’t understand this, even though I’ve heard two reasons for this. a) Japanese have an inferiority complex, and b)Japanese think foreigners look more beautiful. I don’t by any of that. First, the Japanese I know always defend their customs and heritage. They tend to not bash themselves (unless they’re talking about yamanba). Second, there are plenty of beautiful Japanese out there. How many girls want to be like Ayumi Hamasaki, and how many girls drool over those stupid Johnnies boy bands?
My family and relatives used to subscribe to prominent African-American magazines like Jet and Ebony. You would see nothing but blacks in the ads, whether its McDonalds or Buick. Could you imagine the outcry if they instead had white models, or Hispanic ones? Back home every now and then, I would watch Univision or Telemundo, just for kicks. The commercials, 9 times out of 10, had Hispanics in them. What if they started to put Asian models in them? Do you think Hispanics would be satisfied?
Maybe it’s just me, but it just makes sense that if you are going to target a group of people, you want your ads to represent that people well. Apparently, many Japanese advertisers have a different philosophy, one I can’t figure out.
28 September 2006
Down Time
Hey, sorry about not posting much in recent months. I've hit a wall with my blog; I've lost my motivation for it. I've just been posting about my life, but some of you have said that's boring.
I do have to admit, my life is kind of boring, though.
So, here's what I'm wondering. Since you guys read this blog, what would you like me to post about? More details about my life? Happenings in Japan/Osaka? Anything that I don't do often that you would like me to do more often?
This blog isn't dead (yet) - just suffering some down time while I figure out what to do. Don't give up!
I do have to admit, my life is kind of boring, though.
So, here's what I'm wondering. Since you guys read this blog, what would you like me to post about? More details about my life? Happenings in Japan/Osaka? Anything that I don't do often that you would like me to do more often?
This blog isn't dead (yet) - just suffering some down time while I figure out what to do. Don't give up!
17 August 2006
Pharrell "In My Mind" Review
I’ve listened to Pharrell’s new CD In My Mind for a few weeks now, so I thought I’d give my first-ever CD review.
The CD is pretty cool. I like the beats and the production a lot, but I have to say this: Pharrell makes better productions when he works with Chad as the Neptunes than he does by himself. Listening to this CD, you can easily tell how much of an effect Chad has on the great Neptunes productions.
That said, it still is a great CD, and I find my head bobbing to a lot of the tracks. However, this is not near the level of N.E.R.D.’s Fly or Die, my all-time favorite CD. Fly or Die was different than anything else out there, and it was well-produced. Plus, it sounds like the kind of music I would make if I had some musically-inclined friends and production skills. I could relate to that. But on In My Mind, we find Pharrell being mostly materialistic on many of the rap tracks, just like most rappers out there today. That threw me off a bit.
Anyway, there are many cool songs on this CD. I don’t like the first two singles, “Can I Have It Like That” and “Angel,” too much. I love the next one though: “Number One”. Great song. Other good songs: “How Does It Feel”, “Best Friend”, “You Can Do It Too”, “That Girl”, and “Young Girl/I Really Like You.” With so many songs I like, it’s the best CD I’ve bought this year.
The CD is pretty cool. I like the beats and the production a lot, but I have to say this: Pharrell makes better productions when he works with Chad as the Neptunes than he does by himself. Listening to this CD, you can easily tell how much of an effect Chad has on the great Neptunes productions.
That said, it still is a great CD, and I find my head bobbing to a lot of the tracks. However, this is not near the level of N.E.R.D.’s Fly or Die, my all-time favorite CD. Fly or Die was different than anything else out there, and it was well-produced. Plus, it sounds like the kind of music I would make if I had some musically-inclined friends and production skills. I could relate to that. But on In My Mind, we find Pharrell being mostly materialistic on many of the rap tracks, just like most rappers out there today. That threw me off a bit.
Anyway, there are many cool songs on this CD. I don’t like the first two singles, “Can I Have It Like That” and “Angel,” too much. I love the next one though: “Number One”. Great song. Other good songs: “How Does It Feel”, “Best Friend”, “You Can Do It Too”, “That Girl”, and “Young Girl/I Really Like You.” With so many songs I like, it’s the best CD I’ve bought this year.
13 August 2006
Breakin' A Sweat
For me, there's nothing I like better about Japanese culture than the bathing culture. Onsens, sentos... they're all good. That was confirmed once again yesterday, when I went with my GF to a nearby super sento, or lavish public bath facility.
This place was good. They had clean, spic-and-span bathing areas. They had an outside bath with a big screen TV, where all the men had crowded around to watch the national high school baseball championships. I don't like baseball all that much, but I joined in for a few minutes.
Besides just bathing, I also had a very good (but expensive) massage. It lasted only 20 minutes, but I still feel the benefits of it. My GF had some kind of face massage as well.
However, the highlight of our trip (actually, the lowlight for me) was a "sweat sauna". You just go into this hot room, wearing this special bathrobe, lay down and sweat heavily for about 35 minutes. I guess you're supposed to feel good after sweating all kinds of garbage out of your system, but I just felt... well... sweaty. Didn't feel good at all. That was money down the drain for me, but my GF just loved it. I guess that means we're going back, huh?
This place was good. They had clean, spic-and-span bathing areas. They had an outside bath with a big screen TV, where all the men had crowded around to watch the national high school baseball championships. I don't like baseball all that much, but I joined in for a few minutes.
Besides just bathing, I also had a very good (but expensive) massage. It lasted only 20 minutes, but I still feel the benefits of it. My GF had some kind of face massage as well.
However, the highlight of our trip (actually, the lowlight for me) was a "sweat sauna". You just go into this hot room, wearing this special bathrobe, lay down and sweat heavily for about 35 minutes. I guess you're supposed to feel good after sweating all kinds of garbage out of your system, but I just felt... well... sweaty. Didn't feel good at all. That was money down the drain for me, but my GF just loved it. I guess that means we're going back, huh?
04 August 2006
Dogo Onsen
The entrance to Dogo Onsen, the oldest public hot spring bath in Japan, in Matsuyama. While I was taking this picture, we heard some ladies say that they could hardly move in the bath, it was so crowded. Needless to say, we didn't go in.
10 July 2006
Back in Time
While we were walking through Matsuyama, Ehime prefecture, we must have accidentally slipped through a time portal or something.
In Two Places At One Time
Me standing with one foot on Ehime prefecture and one on Kochi prefecture.
Picture done yet?
I'm way backlogged on posting pictures here. This one's from my Golden Week holiday trip to Shikoku island. Here's me in front of a temple in front of a delicious udon restaurant in Kagawa prefecture.
07 July 2006
N.E.R.D. is back!!!
Great news, everybody: N.E.R.D. is not dead.
OK, so that’s great news only for me.
Hey, I don’t care. It’s my blog, after all. I’m very very happy that my favorite group has decided to not call it quits. (link: http://musicnews.virgin.net/Virgin/Lifestyle/Music/virginMusicNewsDetail/0,13556,1316969_music,00.html) The leader, Pharrell, said that they’ll try to drop a new single later this year.
This is great news for me. N.E.R.D. has to be the most underrated group out there. Their stuff is better than most pop music on the radio today. It’s fun music – not much of that out there, either. I’m glad they’re coming back. Now, if they’ll only return to Japan for a concert so that I can see them this time...
OK, so that’s great news only for me.
Hey, I don’t care. It’s my blog, after all. I’m very very happy that my favorite group has decided to not call it quits. (link: http://musicnews.virgin.net/Virgin/Lifestyle/Music/virginMusicNewsDetail/0,13556,1316969_music,00.html) The leader, Pharrell, said that they’ll try to drop a new single later this year.
This is great news for me. N.E.R.D. has to be the most underrated group out there. Their stuff is better than most pop music on the radio today. It’s fun music – not much of that out there, either. I’m glad they’re coming back. Now, if they’ll only return to Japan for a concert so that I can see them this time...
15 June 2006
Update - June 15, 2006
Just a quick update on what's been going on:
- Since April, I've been working at a senmon-gakko (like a community college) on Thursday mornings. The best part about the job is that I teach solo. I have complete control of my classes (if not the lesson content - much of which is provided by my company). I have to admit that it makes things run smoothly.
The worst part is that, unlike the high schools, it is extremely difficult to feel part of the college community. First, I'm only there a few hours a week on Thursday. I teach 2 English classes and go. Second, the full-time teachers there hardly talk to me. At first, I thought it was because my Japanese is poor. But there are many other part-time teachers, all Japanese, that come, teach a couple of classes, and go, and the full-time teachers don't talk to them, either, other than when they have a question. The part-time teachers end up talking to each other in the office.
- The World Cup has started, and I'm keeping track of the games. I'm rooting for the USA (which is very unusual. Even American soccer fans root for other teams). Of course, a 3-0 pounding by the Czechs don't do much for national spirit. At least the Japanese here have their own big loss to worry about and don't rub it in.
- I told all you guys about my basketball adventures at my old high school over the last two years. This year, the basketball team at the new school takes things very seriously, so sadly I can't use the gym for hoops. Not to worry... my time after school has been occupied by... kendo! That's right... the oldest Japanese martial art of them all. The kendo coach - who loves to speak English - encouraged me to take some lessons, and I took her up on the offer. It's not bad. I might continue it as a hobby. We'll see.
- Since April, I've been working at a senmon-gakko (like a community college) on Thursday mornings. The best part about the job is that I teach solo. I have complete control of my classes (if not the lesson content - much of which is provided by my company). I have to admit that it makes things run smoothly.
The worst part is that, unlike the high schools, it is extremely difficult to feel part of the college community. First, I'm only there a few hours a week on Thursday. I teach 2 English classes and go. Second, the full-time teachers there hardly talk to me. At first, I thought it was because my Japanese is poor. But there are many other part-time teachers, all Japanese, that come, teach a couple of classes, and go, and the full-time teachers don't talk to them, either, other than when they have a question. The part-time teachers end up talking to each other in the office.
- The World Cup has started, and I'm keeping track of the games. I'm rooting for the USA (which is very unusual. Even American soccer fans root for other teams). Of course, a 3-0 pounding by the Czechs don't do much for national spirit. At least the Japanese here have their own big loss to worry about and don't rub it in.
- I told all you guys about my basketball adventures at my old high school over the last two years. This year, the basketball team at the new school takes things very seriously, so sadly I can't use the gym for hoops. Not to worry... my time after school has been occupied by... kendo! That's right... the oldest Japanese martial art of them all. The kendo coach - who loves to speak English - encouraged me to take some lessons, and I took her up on the offer. It's not bad. I might continue it as a hobby. We'll see.
06 June 2006
Ah-choo!!!
For some reason, I've come down with hay fever or something. This has been going on for about 2 or 3 weeks. I sneeze endlessly on days I go to high school and when I'm at home for hours - the only times that I'm around greenery of any kind. It's the first time I've had allergies like that.
What I don't understand is why I got it in June. Doesn't this usually happen in April? It's beginning to get on my nerves, I tell you that. I had a class today, and I was sneezing about what seemed like 30 times, interrupting my lecture in the process. Something's gotta be done about this.
What I don't understand is why I got it in June. Doesn't this usually happen in April? It's beginning to get on my nerves, I tell you that. I had a class today, and I was sneezing about what seemed like 30 times, interrupting my lecture in the process. Something's gotta be done about this.
15 May 2006
Barkley for Governor
Just finished reading Who's Afraid of A Large Black Man by Charles Barkley. What a great book, and what a great format. Basically it's Barkley having conversations with many famous people - such as Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods, Samuel L. Jackson - about race. A lot of what Barkley says makes sense. Gambling problems aside, if he does become governor of Alabama, I just might go back.
10 May 2006
Back to School
For this new academic year, I wasn't expecting to teach at a public senior high school like I have the past 2 years. My boss wanted me to spend less time teaching and more time in the office attending to HR duties. However, it turned out that the company needed an ALT at a senior high school on short notice, so I'm back in the public school ALT saddle once again.
This school is different from the countryside school I taught at the last few years. This one's located in Osaka city. The students are different as well - very different. The kids say "Hello" or "Good morning" to me with no effort. I was lucky to get "Hello" or "Good morning" in Japanese at my old school.
I had to teach my first classes my second day at the school, which was kind of short notice. So I just used the self-introduction lesson that I had used for the first classes at my old high school. That lesson was too easy for these students. Luckily I had something prepared, but still... It's a new world now. Should be an interesting year.
This school is different from the countryside school I taught at the last few years. This one's located in Osaka city. The students are different as well - very different. The kids say "Hello" or "Good morning" to me with no effort. I was lucky to get "Hello" or "Good morning" in Japanese at my old school.
I had to teach my first classes my second day at the school, which was kind of short notice. So I just used the self-introduction lesson that I had used for the first classes at my old high school. That lesson was too easy for these students. Luckily I had something prepared, but still... It's a new world now. Should be an interesting year.
07 May 2006
Update - May 7, 2006
A quick update on what's been happening in the past month:
- A few weeks ago, the GF and I went to see Craig David live in Osaka - the first time I ever saw my favorite singer live. Although I like his music, I heard bad reviews about his live performances. But we were impressed. We'll be there for his next trip to Osaka.
- For Golden Week, we did a massive driving trip all around the island of Shikoku, with some time spent in Hiroshima. It was great; it was nice to be able to breathe clean air and see trees. We covered so much ground and spent so much time in the car during the week that we didn't take a lot of pictures, but I'll post some of the better ones when I get a chance.
26 April 2006
It's Too Early for a Bath
This is me in front of an onsen at Kinosaki last month. I think it was about 8 in the morning at that time. As you can tell, I wasn't quite awake yet.
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