The X-Pat Files
June 2009
(Brought to you by H&R
Consultants)
The
X-Pat Files Community E-Newsletter provides a forum for the spread of
information useful for English speakers living in Aichi. You can use the
newsletter as an informational resource, and of course you can send in
information you would like to share.
This
newsletter is a community service from The Japan Real Estate and Relocation company, H&R Consultants (www.japanhomesearch.com), and is edited by Sue Conolly (http://web.mac.com/conolly).
Contents for This Edition
1.
New Directions
2. Piano
Teacher
3. Rain, Rain, Go Away
4. Luzviminda – Charity Concert
5.
Studio A Hair Salon
6.
ANZCCJ Event
7.
Meet and Greet Luncheon
8.
Google Maps
9.
Lunch and a Bath
10.
Goodbye, X-Pat Files.
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1. New
Directions
This
month marks the final edition of the X-Pat Files.
From
July, another website, blog and newsletter will be
reborn, at the address below:
Those
of you who are subscribed to the X-Pat Files monthly newsletter will continue to
receive a compilation of useful blog entries at the
end of each month, and those who care to subscribe to the RSS feed can take
themselves off newsletter format and receive news as it is breaking. The
interactive format means you can make comments or ask questions online, and
there is even a classifieds section for your going away sales.
We
hope you enjoy Japan Info Swap and the new format – if you have any
questions or comments please drop us a line on ContactUs@JapanInfoSwap.com
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2. Piano
Teacher
My
daughter is taking lessons with a new teacher, and she’s having such a great
time I wanted to share the joy!
Stella
Marsh is a professional jazz pianist and she teaches children and adults in
their homes. She doesn’t only teach jazz, but my daughter prefers to learn jazz
and so we’ve asked to work on this. We’ve only had a few lessons, but my
daughter is already highly motivated to keep practicing. The piano is open all
the time and our daughter will just sit down and play at any given time of the
day.
The
preparation that goes into each lesson is astounding. The homework is laid out
ahead of time, and often there will be a little story about a jazz musician,
who is one featured on one of the CDs she has provided us to listen to for the
week.
Here
are her details if you want to contact her for more information:
or
call before 10pm on 050-5203-8542
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3. Rain,
Rain, Go Away
Those
of you who were here in Japan last year and the year before that, and all the
years before that, will not be surprised that your umbrellas get a workout in
the month of June. With the exception of Hokkaido, Tsuyu or the rainy season is a
not so welcome visitor to those who enjoy the outdoors.
Yet
it is the tsuyu
that allows the rice crops to grow, and Japan to retain it’s
lush green mountains. The hydrangea or ajisai
are a rainbow of cool colours at only this time of
year. No matter what we feel about tsuyu when we are pulling on a pair of wet leather boots, we
wouldn’t want to be without it. I come from Australia, where a predictable and
steady rain for one month of the year sounds like a really good idea.
So
we don’t really want the rain to go,
go away. But we do need to learn to
live in it. Here are some tips that you might find helpful this rainy season.
Learn to Love It
There
are many beautiful things you can do outdoors in the rain. Last rainy season we
detoured off the road to Takayama to find a hidden
waterfall surrounded by blue and purple and pink ajisai. We stood there in the
rain and felt the glory of nature. The hot spring bath we took later that day
was particularly sublime. Buy a raincoat to save from carrying an umbrella, and
away you go.
Get Ready, Get Set
One
major problem with the rainy season is the havoc it plays with your home.
Towels start smelling like used dish rags, shoes have
the rancid odor of a wet dog. On every sunny day, open every window in your
house and doors in every closet to let the air circulate, and stock up on
drying agents for rainy days. There are drying agents to put in your closet,
ones to slide into your shoes, for every damp occasion there seems to be a
product.
Go Natural
The
kitchen is a magnet for dampness and germs in this season, and food poisoning
is a worry so don’t leave food out of the fridge.
Disinfect when you can, with products as natural and simple as baking soda and
vinegar. Both are edible products as well as natural cleansers. Vinegar and
scalding hot water leaves no chance for germs, and moisture is no match for
baking soda (I use this to sprinkle in the rubbish bin at all times of the
year, but it makes a big difference in this season!!).
Living with Air Conditioning,
Living Without
It’s
such a breeze living in a wealthy society where heat and humidity-free rooms
are just the press of a button away. On the ninth day of solid rain, anyone
would be reaching for the remote control! Use the dehumidifier function rather
than the cool function (no point in being cold and wet, is there?) for the best effect for your room. For a
cooling breeze, try an electric fan that sits on the floor instead. As there is
a lot of moisture already on your skin, the circulating air will have a very
cooling effect. And remember as you walk in and out and in and out and in and
out of air-conditioned shopping centers this summer – don’t pick up the
flu from the extreme temperatures.
Go Japanese
If
you’ve ever been in a traditional Japanese home and rummaged around in the
closets, you may have noticed that many people use raised wooden slats (called sunoko)
to keep the air moving around futon, blankets and other things in the house. I
use sunoko
shelves in the kitchen and in my towel closet, and it does seem to make a
difference. You may also have noticed that outside of some windows there will
be an overhanging reed or bamboo screen to keep out the sun. One that hangs is
called a sudare
and one that leans against your house is a yoshizu
– no need for installation. Bamboo, by the way, is one of the cooler
things you can get acquainted with this summer – there are also mats made
from bamboo that keep your body feeling dry and cool when you lie on them. Buy
a wind chime (fuurin)
and hang it in the window you most open. Pretty soon your mind and body will be
relaxed into a healthier way of easing into summer.
Remember your Umbrella
There
is absolutely no excuse for forgetting your umbrella in Japan. Virtually every
shop is lined with them, in every colour, in every
size. Keep a fold-up one in your bag, keep a couple in
your car. If you’re not the umbrella type then raincoats are similarly
available – even in the 100 yen shop. If you
have forgotten yours and you’re trapped in a sudden downpour, then there’s
always the 500 yen convenience store brolley, and like me, you can grow your collection at home.
When it rains
The soft grey sky
Drifts to the
ground
Brown rivulets
Trickle away
Trickle away
Washing sadness down
Weather vanes
Weep and turn
Weep and turn
Forgetting in
the damp and grey
That by and by
The sun will shine
Sun will shine
By and by
The sun will shine.
Poem
by Louise Rill, from e-poems.org
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4. ANZCCJ – A Real BBQ in
Japan with the Meat Boy
AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN JAPAN (CHUBU)
~ invites members and guests to ~
A
REAL BBQ IN JAPAN WITH THE MEAT BOY!!
Jason Morgan, the one and only “Meat Guy” (or
“Meat Boy” to the girls); long-term resident of Nagoya, will provide
insights into his hugely successful online food business while demonstrating
his skills on the BBQ.
Learn about building a retail sausage empire in
Japan, as well as some secrets of delicious BBQ cooking!
Date: Sunday Jun 7th, 2009
Time: 11:00am - 4:00pm
Place: Shonai Park,
Nishi-ku, Nagoya
Take
Exit 2 from Shonai Ryokuchi
Koen Station (Tsurumai Blue
Line), turn right and into the park. We willk be
beside the picnic area next to the boat lake.
MapLinks:
http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=35.213193,136.884885&spn=0.016409,0.027466&z=15
http://www.nga.or.jp/institution/syounai/map.html
Members:
JPY2,500
Non-Members: JPY3,500
Students: JPY1,500
The
cost includes an extensive BBQ by Jason (meats, salads, bread and all your
eating utensils). Drinks are BYO !!! - bring your own choice of beverage. We will have an esky available
RSVPs
Close: COB Friday 5th June, 2009
(Bookings
required for catering purposes)
http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=35.213193,136.884885&spn=0.016409,0.027466&z=15
http://www.nga.or.jp/institution/syounai/map.html
So
BOOK NOW!!
Online
at www.anzccj.jp/events.php
Reservations
can also be accepted by email to events@anzccj.jp
Reservations
and inquiries can also be accepted by email to
ON THE DAY LOOK FOR THE AUSSIE & KIWI FLAGS
If lost, call; Bryce Conlan on 090-9898-4009 or Steve Burson
on 090-9942-8292
Look
forward to seeing you there!
RSVPs
Close: COB Friday 5th
June 2009
'No shows' and cancellations after this date will
be charged in full.
If you can, please remit payments by to the
following account:
Mitsui Sumitomo Bank: Akasaka
Branch
Ordinary Account #7923681
Account Name: ANZCCJ Events
or
Cash will be accepted on the day
(Receipts are available, but we are unable to
“invoice” your company)
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5. Studio A Hair Salon
Thank you to Alice Knoebel for this submission
Studio
A Hair Salon
Tel:
052-773-2003
Hours:
Tue~ Sat 10:00~20:00, Sun 10:00~19:00, Closed 2nd & 3rd Tue
Website:
http://studioa.ciao.jp In Japanese, but
it includes a map and coupon.
My
first experience having my hair cut in Japan turned out OK, but I
was a
little disappointed because the result wasn't worth the
communication trouble. Luckily, a
co-worker introduced me to Studio A
near Issha
station (Higashiyama line). The stylist, Akihito Kawamoto,
worked 5 years at Coiffuer
salon in New York City before returning to
Japan
and opening Studio A. Each visit Aki-san considers my requests
and
then offers his suggestions, which have included cutting the bangs
such
that they grow out more gracefully. I always leave feeling
pampered and excited about my haircut!
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6. Luzviminda
– Charity Concert
Presented by the Philippine Society in Japan, this
concert will be a Philippine cultural song and dance spectacular. Proceeds will
go to the construction of the PSJNC-APO Gawad Kalinga Nagoya Village.
WATCH US on SUNDAY
JUNE 7, 2009 at 3:00 pm
KOKKAIDO HALL,
TSURUMAI PARK, NAGOYA CITY
Gate opens at 2:00
p.m.
Concert starts at
3:00 p.m.
ph: 052-251-4442
fax:
052-251-4442
alt: 090-3306-7810
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7. Meet
and Greet Luncheon
Thank you to Katharine Burrell for
this submission
Are
you new to town? Do you want to get out and meet new people? Or do you
just want a nice lunch in a quiet, relaxing atmosphere where you can chat with
new friends and old friends? The Meet and Greet is a monthly lunch date which is quiet some months, a party on others! Come along
and see what all the fuss is about!
Date: Tuesday, 9th of June
Time: 11:30 am
Place: Shooters, Fushimi
Price: 1500 yen for buffet lunch
and a drink (Pay at the door on the way out)
Please
RSVP by Friday the 5th of June. RSVP to Katharine Burrell by e-mail to ttkburrell@hotmail.com.
**************************************************
8. Google Maps
The
other day I was trying to make a map of the area around my house, for a vacation home exchange that I’m
doing over the summer.
I
noticed that while this has not always been the case, Google Maps now have
their maps of Japan marked in English.
Look at what I mean by looking at these maps of:
Now,
with a little bit of fancy footwork you can create your own personalized maps
to share with everyone, to your house (in which case you’d probably want to
keep that map private), or to a shop that you like (that you might want to
share publicly).
This
is what you do:
1. First,
get a Google account if you don’t have one already. They’re free.
2. Then,
go to Google maps and type in “Nagoya”. This will bring you to a broader view
Nagoya map.
3. Scroll
around the map and zoom in, until you find the place that you want to pinpoint.
4. Choose
the option “Add to My Maps” and follow the instructions (be sure to choose the
correct privacy and sharing setting). You can put a description in there, you can even add a photo.
5. If
you want to make a map of a big bunch of places (for example, “supermarkets in
Meito-ku”) then you can add new markers to your
existing map, naming and providing a description for each one. You can use different
icons for different things – restaurants, parks, shops etc. If your final
goal is just to make it possible for people to drive to your house, provide
enough icons and markers at this stage for people to recognize the landmarks
where they need to turn.
6. Save
the map, then click the option “Link”, which will take
you to a link to this new map that you can copy and paste into an e-mail to all
your friends.
To
show you what I mean, I’ve created a public map to Sapore
Supermarket in Mizuho-ku. Now, when you look at this map, notice how you
have the option to “Get Directions”. This is the super cool part! If you are
able to type your home address in Japanese (or if you can copy and paste it
from somewhere else, maybe your work colleague sent it to you in an e-mail)
then you’ll be able to drive, OR get the train, to this place. The directions
are in English, but names of roads and names of trains are in Japanese, so
you’d want to print the directions out to take with you. The directions really
work, though… and are an English-friendly way of navigating a very Japanese
landscape. The next article in this X-Pat Files relied heavily on Google Maps
to provide you with links that should get you to where you want to go.
If
you are a bit “Japanese challenged” but still want to make Google Maps a part
of your life, just have a list of addresses (home address, work address, school
address) handy in your e-mail or word software so that you can copy and paste
when you need a quick link. Also, encourage your Japanese friends to e-mail you
their addresses not only in English, but also in Japanese so that you can
always copy and paste, click and link a map to their house.
There
are many more cool features of Google Maps, many of them are much cooler in
countries like the US where many people are making their own public My Maps and
uploading photos. However, what I’ve given you above is a way that expats
living in Japan can find themselves and other people in an unfamiliar landscape.
...............................................................................................................
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9. Lunch
and a Bath
Many expatriates in Japan are pleasantly surprised to
find that it’s not so embarrassing after all to strip bare with your friends,
when you get the pleasure of soaking in one of Japan’s many natural or man-made
hot springs. The very best experience is to stay overnight in an onsen inn, and enjoy the hospitality of the kimono-clad
host.
However, if you’ve only got a day, it can still be sublime to enjoy lunch in
one of these inns, before or after having your bath.
The following suggestions are but a few of the many
options. Websites are mostly in Japanese and reservations
are a must, so if you’re a bit language challenged then please have a Japanese
speaking friend help you make a date.
Phone: 0536-32-1211 (8am – 10pm)
This onsen town is one of
the few onsen towns near a train station, so is
an option for those without a car.
Check your route by looking at Hyperdia and
typing in the station name Yudani Onsen as your destination.
.............................................................................................................
Sun
Urashima “Yuukinosato” in Toba (Mie)
Telephone: 0599-32-6111
Fax: 0599-32-5233
This one’s close to other sightseeing like Ise Shrine, Spain Mura and Mikimoto Pearl
Island. It’s on the Kintetsu Train line but you have to
get a taxi from the station, or by car it’s down the Higashi Meihan Motorway and the Ise
Highway.
............................................................................................................
Kotobukitei
at Yunoyama Onsen in Komono (Mie)
Phone: 059-392-2131
Also on the Kintetsu Line
but much closer to Nagoya is Yunoyama Onsen town
in the mountains of Mie Prefecture.
There
are many inns in this town that offer lunch, this is just one of them.
............................................................................................................
Satonoyu
inside Nabana-no-Sato flower park in Nagashima (Mie)
Phone: 0594-41-0787
This is a different style of onsen
– it’s not an inn, but just a bath complex within a flower garden that
you pay to get into. The 1500 yen entry fee gets you
1000 yen worth of coupons, and during the summer they run special campaigns that
cut the entry price down to the value of the coupons that you get. The coupons
can be spent on lunch inside at one of the restaurants, or in the onsen.
............................................................................................................
Phone: 0574-67-0288
Fax: 0574-67-5796
This lonely inn is in a kind of run down wilderness in
Toki where it looks like you’ve dropped into some alternate
time-space universe. There is a lot of wilderness around (the area is called “Oniiwa” or “devil rock”) but also the lonely
streets
are lined with old shops, long bankrupt and now abandoned. But don’t worry
– this particular
inn is like a Japanese haven, and there is also a sister gallery that is up a
little path that looks like it leads right into the heart of the Secret Garden. The
gallery also offers lunch (although not a bath) for which you don’t have to
book, but get there early because they only make a certain number every day,
and every day they sell out.
............................................................................................................
Phone: 0581-57-2532
I’ve saved the best for last. If you can possibly
manage it, plan to stay at this gorgeous Japanese inn overnight
and enjoy the private rock baths, and public hinoki
baths. If you really want a treat stay in the “Kura” room
with its own private outside bath… just heaven. But even if you don’t
stay overnight you’ll be stunned by the food which is
both generous and delicious. I give this inn 10 out of 10 for service, food,
and atmosphere,
and with the private baths to ease the shy foreigner in,
it’s a perfect first experience.
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10. Goodbye, X-Pat Files
Sue Conolly
The
X-Pat Files started as a home grown e-mail list,
inspired by my time as a relocation consultant and an abundance of clients who
always wanted to share information with each other. The first ever piece of
information I was asked to share was about the “Cheese Shop”, aka Sapore in Mizuho-ku, and
this information has since been recycled in 2006, 2007, 2008, and now 2009 as
everyone’s favourite supermarket for treats from
home. The information goes around and comes around – people hear about it
from others and tell their friends, and the next time they think about it, or
are reminded by the fact that they’ve just been able to locate their favourite brand of morning muesli, they sit down a write an
e-mail to someone they think might get the word out to others.
In
those first days, that person was me - their
relocation consultant with the e-mail addresses of many other foreign residents
in her address book. When I left the office of H&R Consultants, I continued
the home-grown tradition of the newsletter in the form
of ALEN – Aichi Living English Newsletter. H&R Consultants were quick
to realize the worth of a central newsletter for the distribution of useful
information in English, and so the X-Pat Files was born. Ten bits of
information each month; some events, some shops, some
doctors, some lists… each of the ten a patch on the quilt of the expatriate
lifestyle in Nagoya.
Some
months were easier than others – bits of information carried over from
last month, enough material for two editions. Some months I was ready to tear
out my hair and lacking even in inspiration to research things myself. I’ve
tried along the way to maintain a balance of longer “list-like” items and short
anecdotal ones, while trying also to provide a spectrum of different types of
information. While it’s not always easy to create an inventory of the
information this way, it has been possible to dig up old information through
the text search tool on the website.
Now
the story of the X-Pat Files reaches the next chapter with a blog and notice-board style
presentation. There won’t be the “number 10” article like this one, there won’t
be the monthly reminder of the Meet and Greet which now can stand on its own.
What will this new project look like? What can we expect?
Just
as the X-Pat Files was the product of expatriates in the Nagoya area wanting to
share information with each other, so too will be Japan Info Swap. It is still
the same sausage machine – you’ll get out of it what you put in, and it’s
still hopefully going to be the place where people go to get the information
they need, a colourful quilt being patched stitch by
stitch for future expats to come.
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That’s
it for the X-Pat Files newsletter. We hope you found it informative - please continue
to read and contribute at www.japaninfoswap.com
