The
X-Pat Files - November 2007
(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. Babysitting Options
2. Body Care and Makeup Stores in Nagoya
3. Change in Immigration Entry Procedures
4. Winter Illumination
5. Champagne Ball and Awards Evening
6. Meet and Greet Luncheon & CCEA
7. Hope International Christmas Gift Ideas
8. Ukiyo-e Exhibition and Cirque de Soleil
9. Pottery Exhibition, Walking Tour and Classes
10. The Gift
**************************************************
1. Babysitting
Options
Finding a babysitter for your little one may be one of your major
challenges as a foreign mother in Japan. A relatively new
concept, babysitting has not been the norm in a society which
encourages extended families to live together. When Baa-chan
(Grandma) is not available, however, there are other options you can
explore.
The first, and most obvious idea is to ask other mothers what they
do. Ask anyone that you meet. There are a number of high
school kids who speak English (such as NIS or Nanzan International
students) who make a fortune in pocket money by watching other smaller
kids, but the only way you will find one of these is by word of
mouth. Good places to meet other mothers are:
..............................................
The Nagoya Foreign Mothers Group - a must for anyone planning to
give birth in Japan, this group also is a great place for mothers of
young babies. It's a group with a long history of foreign mothers
helping each other out in Nagoya. The group meets every second
Saturday, 10:00 - 12:00 at Nagoya City Women's
Center.
The Meet and Greet Luncheon -
(see details for this month in item number 6 below) is a veritable
craiche of mothers and small children who meet once a month to have
lunch together. However, it's not a playgroup, it's just a
monthly lunch for women, so some of the people you meet are likely to
have high school children themselves. The lunch is not limited to
short-term transferees, so some of the people you meet at the lunch
will have been in Nagoya for more than ten years, and they are a wealth
of good advice.
The
Cross-Cultural Exchange Association "CCEA" is a non-profit
organisation promoting cultural exchange and understanding among all
nationalities. General meetings are held on the 1st Friday of the
month, and babysitting is often provided for the meetings. Its
many interest groups include a book group, a cooking
group, needle arts, discussion, mothers and babies, golf trips,
yamato-e painting, kimekomi doll making and ikebana. For more
information contact Joan Stewart (joanstewartjp@mac.com) or check out
their website (it is in its early stages) at http://www.cceanagoya.com/
The CCEA Baby and Toddler Group
meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. Contact Misty
Johnson 050-5206-2375 or e-mail to mistysuejohnson@yahoo.com
The Chayagasaka Cooperative Playgroup
meets on Wednesday mornings. Members must have at least one
non-Japanese parent who uses English as a first language. See http://www.nagoya-english-playgroup.org/index.shtml
Nakamura English Playgroup meets every Saturday. All
foreign, bi-cultural, and returnee families, and others who are
committed to raising their children bilingually, are welcome to join
the group on Saturday mornings from 10:00 to noon at the Nakamura
Lifelong Learning Center 300m south west of Exit #4 of Honjin Station
on the Higashiyama (yellow) subway line (click here
for a picture of the building and scroll down for a map in Japanese).
The cost for each time is 300 yen, but your first time is free! To
join, please fax (050) 7558-5886 or send an email to
neplaygroup@hotmail.com.
Using contacts you make at clubs and
playgroups, start your own babysitting club! - One idea I've
tried and is certainly very suitable for the Nagoya expatriate
community, is to have a babysitting club, or at its simplest, a
babysitting arrangement with one other family. My friend and I
did it like this: every month, she would have one date with her
husband and I would have one date with my husband. On that given
mutually agreed date, either she would come to my house to watch my
kids or I would go to her house and watch her kids. Our own kids
were left at home in this case with our husbands, but depending on how
many kids were involved and how they all got on, there would be no
reason it couldn't be a sleep-over for the kids as well. Without
the kids, however, it is so easy - you just drive home after the happy
couple roll in after their date. Making it once a month worked
very well for us, because neither of us wanted to give up our "right"
for a date, so we really made the time to be with each other.
More complicated Baby Sitting clubs can work really well for about ten
to twenty members, please click here for
an example of how one would work.
..............................................
Another way to find a babysitter in the Japanese community is for your
entire family to be adopted by a kindly Japanese grandmother.
Just in case you find it offensive when Japanese housewives approach
you in the supermarket for English lessons, it might be one idea to
think about what kind of symbiotic friendship might form if you are
only open to the possibilities. I know one expatriate mother
whose children are regularly looked after "Baa-chan" with a weekly
playdate. Neighbours are always good - nice and close - but you
must keep in mind that it will always be a two way street.
..............................................
For a "Baa-chan" who is paid to look after your children, the Silver
Service might fit your needs. This system will take a bit of
setting up in Japanese, as the city where you live will be responsible
to introduce you to an appropriate over-65-year-old to look after your
children. (By the way, the Silver Service can also introduce you
to someone to clean your house, or do your garden, or any number of
small jobs around the house). The system works like this:
you call, tell the office what kind of thing you want doing, then a
representative from the office will visit you in your home for an
initial interview. Then the representative will visit your home
for a second time bringing the babysitter she feels would be most
appropriate to your needs. The system is set up, and you get
monthly bills which you will have to pay at a bank or post
office. The setting up of this system is the most difficult, and
it's not for you if you don't like to speak Japanese or have a Japanese
speaker to help you, but if you can get through this initial red-tape
process, the best case scenario is that you'll end up with a very
lovely "Baa-chan" babysitter at a comparitively low price (about half
the price of other babysitting services listed below!).
To find a Silver Service office near you, click the following links:
Nagoya
East Division
Nagoya
West Division
Nagoya
South Division
Nagoya
North Division
Seto
City
Kasugai
City
Komaki
City
Owari-Asahi
City
Nisshin
City
Ichinomiya
City
Tsushima
City
Inuyama
City
Kariya
City
Okazaki
City
Toyota
City
Toyohashi
City
If your city or area does not appear above, there is a more
comprehensive list on this Japanese website.
..............................................
Last but not least, there is always the option of professional Japanese
babysitting services. Most of the babysitting rooms around Nagoya
are staffed only by Japanese, and some places do not accept children
from foreign families as they do not have the English speakers to be
able to communicate effectively, but the list below gives you a few
options for babysitting services that do accept children from expat
families.
Please keep the following in mind before arranging for a professional
babysitter:
*Japanese babysitters usually do not prepare food or drive for pick-ups
or drop-offs at schools
*Housekeeping services may be arranged for additional fees, depending
on the company
*5% consumption tax will be added to all service charges
*All travel expenses incurred for the babysitter to get to and from
your house must be covered
*It is advisable to have a Japanese speaker call any of the numbers
listed below
*English-speaking sitters are few and far between. It is worth
booking well in advance
Childcare Service PiyoPiyo
(Japanese staff only, but a couple speak basic English)
Telephone: 052-262-9671
Fax: 052-249-3911
Address: 4F, Kyowa bldg., 5-23-19, Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi
Map to Sakae Babysitting
Room
Map to Toyota
Babysitting Room
Cost (2 hours minimum):
8:00-18:00 1,350 yen/hour
18:00-22:00 1,650 yen/hour
22:00-8:00 1,850 yen/hour
Weekends + Public Holidays
8:00-22:00 1,650 yen/hour
22:00-8:00 1,850 yen/hour
Membership fee 10,000 yen/child
..................................
Mama Nagoya Office Palette (Japanese staff only, but a couple
speak basic English)
Telephone: 052-562-5005
Fax: 052-562-5004
Address: Aquatown Nayabashi Seikatsu Shienshisetsu 2F, 5-33-21 Meieki,
Nagoya, Aichi
Map
to Fushimi Babysitting Room
Cost (2 hours minimum):
9:00-18:00 1,500 yen/hour
1,800 yen/hour for each hour after and before
Coupon: 27,600 yen/20 hours
..................................
Poppins Service
Nagoya (Japanese staff only, but a couple speak basic English)
Telephone: 052-541-2100
Fax: 052-541-2112
Address: Dai Nagoya Bldg. 6F, 3-28-12, Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya,
Aichi
Map to
Nagoya Office
English Website
Cost:
9:00-19:00 1,800 yen/hour
2,200 yen/hour for each hour before and after
Membership fee 21,000 yen/child
Annual fee 10,000 yen/child
..................................
Tot Mate (Japanese Staff Only)
Telephone/Fax: 052-972-6069
Address: 6F Sugiyama Bldg., 1-14-1, Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi
Maps and
details for each babysitting room
(Babysitting rooms in: Sakae, Umemorizaka in Meito-ku, Shin-Seto,
Komaki, Tokai, Obata, Chayagasaka, Arimatsu, Kami-Otai, Sunadabashi,
Shonai-Ryokuchi, Nagakute)
Cost:
Weekday 9:00-18:00 1,480
yen/hour
Weekend and 8:00-9:00 1,680 yen/hour
18:00-22:00
Annual fee 5,000 yen
The X-Pat Files and H&R Consultants do not have any first-hand
experience of the professional services listed above so cannot
recommend any one over the other, but we are always interested in
hearing about your experiences so that we can pass the information
along to others in the community. Please e-mail us at
info@xpat-files.com.
**************************************************
2.
Body Care and Makeup Stores in
Nagoya
(Thank you to Geri
White and many others for information contained within this submission)
When long-term Nagoya resident Geri White wrote to me and suggested I
should let people know where the "Body Shop" is in Nagoya, I asked a
few friends what other places they purchase their make-up and body care
goods. I got so many answers, and the following list is compiled
from that!
.............................................
The Body Shop
Body
Shop Nagoya Termina Shop (basement)
Ph: 052-533-7643
Open Times: 10:00 - 21:00
Body
Shop Nagoya Parco Shop (Basement)
Ph: 052-264-8099
Open Times:10:00 - 21:00
NB: Also in the basement of Parco
right beside The Body Shop is store called Rosemary, a drugstore that
stocks many international products including cosmetics. (Ph:
052-264-8013)
Body
Shop Aeon Atsuta Branch (1st floor)
Ph: 052-884-0217
Open Times: 9:00 - 22:00
Body
Shop Aeon Okazaki Branch (2nd floor)
Ph: 0564-59-1065
Open Times: 10:00 - 22:00
Body Shop Aeon Mall Kisogawa Kirio Branch (1st Floor)
Ph: 0586-84-2927
Open Times: 10:00 - 22:00
Body
Shop Aeon Mall Higashiura Branch (1st floor)
Ph: 0562-82-2724
Open Times: 10:00 - 22:00
.............................................
Lush
Lush Nagoya
Parco Shop (West Basement)
Ph: 052-249-3420
Open Times:10:00 - 21:00
Lush Hoshigaoka
Terrace Shop (West 2F)
Ph: 052-788-2410
Open Times:10:00 - 20:00
Lush Nagoya
Central Park Shop
Ph: 052-973-0886
Open Times:10:00 - 21:00
Lush Aeon
Mall Kisogawa Shop
Ph: 0586-87-8378
Open Times:10:00 - 22:00
.............................................
Crabtree & Evelyn
Sometimes this brand goes under the name "House of Rose", and
you can find it in the following places: Maruei Dept Store 7F,
Takashimaya Dept Store 9F, Mitsukoshi Dept Store Hoshigaoka 7F,
Matsuzakaya Dept Store North Wing 1F, Mitsukoshi Dept Store 6F,
Meitetsu Dept Store 7F
.............................................
L'Occitane En Provence
Open Times:10:00 - 20:00 (for all locations)
L'Occitane
JR Nagoya Takashimaya (3F)
L'Occitane
Matsuzakaya Nagoya (6F)
L'Occitane
Matsuzakaya Sakae (3F)
L'Occitane
La Chic Sakae (1F)
.............................................
DHC
(Thank you to Betty Mizutani for this
section of the submission)
"For daily beauty stuff and some base coat for foundation I order
through DHC. My
sister in law here got me turned on to the stuff. You can buy the
basic cleansers and lotions at the convenience store if the mood
strikes, but they also have a counter at Ito
Yokado in Narumi. You can see the English description of the
products on the U.S. site. I
like it because it's generally gentle on
the skin and is olive oil based."
.............................................
www.sasa.com
(Thank you to Leanne for this section
of the submission)
"The Hong Kong website www.sasa.com
has a large range of products. I have been ordering stuff from them
since from Sydney and ordered 2 times from here (Japan). They are
reliable and genuine, I have compared their prices from the department
stores here, they are yet cheaper. If you order any thing over US$50,
shipping is free. I only order skin care products."
.............................................
Organic Products Online
(Thank you to Carla Lotte
Maruyama for this section of the submission)
The following information leads to
several websites, some of them only in Japanese.
"WELEDA
International - Some of
their Body Care products I have been
using myself since I am a child and I also used several products for my
adult daughter, so over 20 years and it is great! Weleda has a Japanese website. The online
shopping is organized by
the Company which first introduced Weleda in Japan approx 15 years ago,
Nature's
Way.
Also the German brand "Dr. Hauschka".
The company is old time traditional and
has a solid research. Not just the type of stuff which is sold as
"trendy". In
recent years for my skin care I
have been using that brand. This is also traditional organic!
You can also buy online cosmetics at Strawberrynet.com. I personally never use above "online
shopping" but friends do and have positive experiences!"
**************************************************
3. Change
to Immigration Procedures
You may or may not have heard that from November the 20th 2007,
immigration procedures upon entry to Japan will change for foreign
nationals.
The new law is controversial, however it includes all holders of
foreign passports except those under 16 years of age, foreign
diplomats, and some special permanent residents such as Zainichi Koreans. It applies
whether this is your first entry to Japan, re-entry after a temporary
trip overseas, or you are a holder of permanent residency (eijuken).
Two videos (one made in June, and
one in October)
are available online to explain the procedure. Also please note
that the new law means that all holders of foreign passports must go
through a special dedicated line, so it may delay your exit from the
airport if that line moves slowly. The English website of the Immigration Bureau
of Japan has links to other PR material and information about this
issue.
Since the law has not been implemented yet, nobody knows (but several
expatriate groups such as the ACCJ hope)
that special provision is made for permenant residents of Japan to
provide their biometric data just once and not each time they re-enter
the country.
Many associations, including the Japan
Federation of Bar Associations, do not agree with this law and have
released statements to this end. This article in Japan Today also
gives a good argument, as does this (rather evocatively worded) article
from Stippy.com.
It seems that the Japanese Government is still rather divided on the
issue according to this article from the Japan
Times, but there also those in the government who claim to know of
an actual al-Qaeda terrorist (a friend of a friend, apparently!) for
whom fingerprinting was an effective trap, according to this article
from the BBC
World News.
What needs to be stressed is that however controversial, the new law
comes into effect on November the 20th, and any who do not comply to
the new rule will be deported. So get out your pointer fingers,
and smile for the camera! :-)
**************************************************
4. Winter
Floral Illumination
Anyone who's been in Nagoya over the winter knows of the
wonderful illuminations that appear in the streets of Sakae and in
front of Nagoya Station. In fact, there are many winter
illumination displays all over Japan, notably in Sapporo, Sendai, Niigata, Osaka, Kobe, and Hiroshima. I took my
children to the whimsical fantasy that was the "Dreamination"
(Dream+Illumination) in Hiroshima, and I can tell you, that there are
few things that will keep small children happier than when they are
running through a snowy park lit up with fairy lights twisted into
pretty designs.
Closer to home, though, you will be able to find illumination festivals
on a smaller scale. Many parks such as Nagoya City Togokusan
Fruit Park have their own small version... these smaller events are
called "Light Up" rather than "Illumination" but are just as pretty for
a quiet moment under the trees. Here are some places around
Nagoya you'll be able to find twinkle lights.
.............................................
Nagara Park
in Gifu City lights up trees such as the Metasequoia from the 16th of
December to the 3rd of January, from 6pm until 10pm. On Christmas
Eve they leave the lights on until midnight, and on New Years' Eve they
leave the lights on until 1am so you can see in the New Year under the
pretty lights. The best way to get to the park if you are not
driving is by bus or taxi from Gifu Station (Meitetsu or JR). If
you are getting the bus, it is the bus for Obusa, and it is three
minutes walk from the "Nagara-Kokomae" bus stop. There will be
issues parking, so the suggestion is to take public transport if
possible.
.............................................
Orchid Gardens (Ran no Yakata) is
having their Christmas Illumination from November the 22nd through to
Christmas Day. Gardens are decorated with more than 1.2 million
LED bulbs, from 4pm to 9pm in December (during November they turn off
the lights at 8pm). The display includes a five meter tall tree
constructed by 400 White Orchid plants. Other features are
Santa's House, Flying Santa & Rainbow Tree in the pond, as well as
a Christmas Forest, all right in the middle of Nagoya! There is a
Christmas Wreath contest, during which 100 wreaths are exhibited in the
display hall from December 7 to Christmas Day.
Wonderland Concert: November 23, 24, & 25. December l, 2, 8, 9
& 16
Christmas Concert: December 21 to 25, Jazz & Classic, 3 concerts
each day.
Opening hours: from 10am to 8pm (until November 30)
from 10am to 9pm (December 1st to 25th, special extended hours)
Closed Wednesdays
Admission fee: 700 yen for Adults (free for children under junior high
school age)
Address & Access: 4-1, 4-chome, Naka-ku, Nagoya. Tel: (052)
243-0511
Nearest station: from exit #4, Yabacho (Meijo Line) takes 3 minutes on
foot.
Walking south along Otsu-Dori keeping Parco on your left, you'll see
Ran no Yakata across Wakamiya-Odori also on your left.
Driving Map
.............................................
Nabana
no Sato in Mie Prefecture is close to Nagashima Spa land and
includes inside and outside gardens of flowers throughout the year and
a winter illumination festival. The lights are turned on from
the 16th of November and don't get turned off until the 2nd of March,
so you've got a long time to make it out there. Opening hours are
from 9am to 9pm, and from the 8th to the 25th of December they will
stay open until 10pm. The entry price of 2000 yen includes 1000
yen worth of coupons for use inside the park. If you are in
before 2pm, you'll also be allowed free entry to the indoor begonia
gardens. There is an English guide available on this Mie
Tourism page, and there is a Japanese map online here. It's a
great place to go for a quiet day or even a relaxing bath in an
indoor/outdoor onsen. The telephone number for your car
navigation is 0594-41-0787, or you can get there by Kintetsu Train and
connecting bus.
**************************************************
5. Champagne Ball and Awards
Evening
ACCJ &
TJCS Champagne Ball and Awards Evening
DATE: Friday, November 16th, 7:00pm (Reception from 6:30pm)
VENUE: Hilton
Nagoya
Mark your calendars for the social event of the year! Two of the
most active international NPOs in the Chubu Region, the ACCJ (American Chamber of Commerce in Japan)
and the TJCS (Tokai Japan Canada Society)
are committed to strengthening the sense of community amongst all
foreign national and internationally-minded Japanese. The two
organizations once again team up to bring you The Champagne Ball and Awards
Evening, a celebration of this community.
* Complimentary glass of sparkling wine at reception
* Sumptuous dinner buffet
* Live music by our mistress of ceremonies, renowned jazz chanteuse Prisca Molotsi
* Dance music by Nagoya-based pop band Whoop!
* Community service awards
* Fantastic prizes
* Complimentary entry to Hilton Nagoya's Windows on the World for the
after-party
* Special rates at the Hilton Nagoya for guests staying overnight (call
052-212-1111 for details)
* Babysitting service (call 052-229-1525 for details)
* Big screen live video
* Cigar corner
DATE: Friday, November 16th
TIME: 7:00pm
DOORS OPEN: 6:30pm
VENUE: Hilton
Nagoya, Oogi Ballroom
DRESS: Business attire or formal. Black tie is welcome.
BABYSITTING: Please contact ACCJ office at 052-229-1525 for details
TICKETS: 10,000 yen per person
RESERVATIONS: Please make reservations by November 12th.
TEL: (052) 212-1033 FAX: (052) 212-1007
E-MAIL: champagneball@tjcs.jp
URL: http://www.tjcs.jp/champagne/
VENUE: Hilton
Nagoya
**************************************************
6. Meet and Greet Luncheon and
CCEA Holiday Luncheon
(Thank you to Helen
Braithwaite for this submission)
MEET AND GREET LUNCHEON
For those of you who are new to
Nagoya please come and join us for
lunch. Meet and Greet lunch is the ideal place to make new
friends, have a chat and find out what is going on in Nagoya.
Shooters has a relaxed atmosphere and is closed during the day except
for our event, so we have the run of the place. This means that
it is a VERY easy event for mothers with babies or small
children. It also means, however, that I must ask for an RSVP so
that Shooters can cater for the correct number of people.
Date: Tuesday, 13th November (2nd Tuesday of each month)
Time: 11:30am
Place: Shooters Sports Bar and Grill, Fushimi (http://www.shooters-nagoya.com)
Price: 1500 yen for buffet lunch and a drink.
RSVP: to Helen Braithwaite at helenjbraithwaite@gmail.com if possible
(e-mail RSVPs are easier to count!), or by phone
on 090-2186-3717 as soon as
possible but by Saturday the 10th of November at
the latest. When you are RSVPing for another person, please give
the name of the other person to avoid double bookings.
Note: For those coming by car there is a relatively cheap option,
Toyo Parking for 110 yen per half hour, down the street from Kinkos
which is walkable from Shooters. For those with car navigation,
the phone number of the parking lot is (052) 231-3550. For a map,
please ask Helen for the information from the October Meet and
Greet.
..........................................................
CCEA HOLIDAY LUNCHEON
The
Cross-Cultural Exchange Association "CCEA" is a non-profit
organisation promoting cultural exchange and understanding among all
nationalities. General meetings are held on the 1st Friday of the
month, and babysitting is often provided for the meetings. Its
many interest groups include a book group, a cooking
group, needle arts, discussion, mothers and babies, golf trips,
yamato-e painting, kimekomi doll making and ikebana. For more
information contact Joan Stewart (joanstewartjp@mac.com) or check out
their website (it is in its early stages) at http://www.cceanagoya.com/
The CCEA Holiday Luncheon is the biggest event of the CCEA year.
The price for tickets is 5500 yen for members and 6500 for subscribers,
wait listers and guests. The Holiday Luncheon is Friday, December 7,
10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel and is inclusive of
appetizers, a delicious buffet lunch (including turkey and trimmings),
dessert buffet, tea or coffee and a glass of bubbly!
Date: Friday, December 7
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Place: Hilton
Nagoya, Fushimi
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased from any Board Member of CCEA.
Please contact the President, Joan Stewart for details
(joanstewartjp@mac.com).
Deadline: Tickets must be paid for by the 30th of November, 2007
Price: 5500 yen for members and 6500 for subscribers, wait-listers and
guests
**************************************************
7. HOPE International Gift
Catalogue - Gifts that Change Lives
(thank you to Lowell Sheppard for
this submission)
HOPE Gifts bring hope to those who are desperately trying to climb out
of poverty and build a better future for their children. HOPE
Gifts also give the giver a deep sense of satisfaction that they
provided a very practical tool to build a better future.
Give in your own name or in the name of someone else who will receive a
Gift of HOPE Certificate describing the gift given in their name.
Solar Light (SL)
4400 yen (40 USD)
This handy solar light helps a rural family extend their working hours
and enables children to do homework in the evening.
Solar HOME Systems (SHS)
48,000 yen (412 USD)
The Solar homesystem provides energy for several lights and small
appliances allowing a family to have light for 2-3 hours each evening
in their house and gardens.
Send a Child to School
12,000 yen to send a child to school for one year
In the Philippines, poor rural children do not have the means to go to
school. For 1000 yen a month you can do precisely that.
With a better education the children of the poor have a better
future. ( note: five years of schooling = 60,000 yen)
Disaster Packs ( 3 month pack for four
families)
18,000 yen
Unfortunately Disasters Happen and HOPE is always ready to send
emergency aid. HOPE survival packs usually include
blankets, medicine and food aid and have and are being used in places
like Sudan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan
Cow . . . the gift that keeps on
giving
70,000 yen
This exciting project is truly unique and much appreciated by the rural
poor of Cambodia and DR Congo. A cow is purchased by HOPE and
loaned to a family who have use it for 18 months. During that time they
are able to use it for fertilizing and ploughing their fields. But that
is not all. During that time the Cow gives birth to a calf. At
the end of 18 mos, the Calf is kept by the family, and the Cow is
returned to HOPE who in turn loans it to another poor family. This
cycle is repeated 6-7 times leaving behind 6-7 happy families and
calves!
Well
100,000 yen
Water is truly the gift of life. Your gift will allow a well to
be constructed for 5-6 families in Cambodia (Pursat Province) who will
share its resource and work with HOPE on an ongoing basis in leveraging
safe accessible water for better health, sustainable food production
and micro enterprise.
Village Water Systems
In Ethiopia and Sudan, HOPE is providing water solutions to entire
villages.
These systems provide safe, accessible water for thousands of families.
• Southern Ethiopia . . water pipelines from
capped springs for a village of 2000 people
800,000 yen
• Southern Sudan . . . . a borehole that will benefit
120,000 people
1,500,000 yen
Health Clinic
7,000,000 yen
Rokon District of Southern Sudan
The 120,000 people of this district are struggling to rebuild their
community after fifty years of war. Once the clinic is built a
local Community Based NGO in partnership with Government Authorities
will provide the equipment and staff. The clinic will include a
small maternity ward. Currently the nearest medical help is a 2-3
day walk.
HOPE International
Development Agency is chartered member of the Nagoya NGO Centre, an
incorporated Charity in Aichi Prefecture, and part of a world-wide
network of HOPE entities. For more information please visit www.hope-international.jp.
HOPE relies largely on the generosity of people and companies to fund
vital projects that help the poor climb out of poverty. HOPE also
receives limited funding sometimes on a matching basis from
Institutions and the Japanese Government.
HOPE International
Development Agency in Japan
Address: Maison Nenohana 302, 2-8-7 Nenohana-cho
Owariasahi-shi, Aichi, Japan, 488-0002
Map to
HOPE Office
TEL: 0561-54-5560
FAX: 0561-51-4660
Email: info@hope-international.jp
HOW HOPE PROJECTS WORK
HOPE believes in helping the poor help themselves. Our
relationships with them are long term but they are not relationships of
dependence. Rather we act as their coaches, bankers, friend and
cheer leaders. Our programs are ongoing an integrated. Take
Cambodia for example, were we have been working in the same province
for 15 years and have worked with thousands of families and dug over
500 wells. ( there is need for 4000 more!)
Typically a rural family in Cambodia will make 250 USD a year.
This is subsistence! Within one or two years of a well being dug, the
typical family will now be earning 1000 dollars a year. This
translates into better health, education and a bright future.
They are now experiencing a momentum towards a better
future. But they have a long way to go, to achieving the
goal of climbing out of extreme poverty.
Often this is how it works for the first 1-3 years
Step one: A well is dug providing not only accessible water
saving hours of walking every day but also Safe water, which means
their children STOP dying of water borne diseases.
Step two: They borrow a Cow from HOPE. This allows them to
leverage the accessibility of water to create fields that are irrigated
during the dry season and fertilized and plouged by the cow. The
Cow gives birth to a calf and a few months later when the calf is big
enough the Cow is "paid back" to HOPE and the family keeps the calf.
Step three: Electricity . . . by this stage the family is producing
more than their own nutrional need so they begin to sell in the market.
This requires evening work in the fields preparing and bundling their
produce to be taken to market the next day. Also, the children
are now in school so they have homework to do. The Solar systems are
low cost, eco friendly and extend the working hours for families
The family is now well on the way to sustainability!
For more information or place an order please contact the HOPE office
by either phone 0561 545560 or e-mail: info@hope-international.jp
www.hope-international.jp
**************************************************
8. Two "Do
Not Miss!" Events
(Thank you to Azarel Herr for this submission)
There is a great art exhibition called "Masterpieces
of Ukiyo-e from the Victoria and Albert Museum of London" in
Matsuzakaya - 7th Floor in Sakae. (Building across from the Gap)
It's from 20 Oct to 18th November and admission is 1,000 yen
I was amazed to find the "Great
Wave off the coast of Kanagawa" by the legendary Japanese artist Katsushika Hosukai
there. If you have time it's really worth a visit.
Also "Dralion" from Cirque du Soleil
is in town:
October 31st to January 6th 2008 - and tickets are selling fast!
Venue: Sasashima Live (10 minutes walk from Nagoya Station)
Tickets: SS 11,500 yen S 9,000
yen A 5,500 yen Family (SSx4) 38,000 yen
Dralion is the fusion of ancient Chinese circus tradition and the
avant-garde approach of Cirque du
Soleil. The show's name is drawn from its two main symbols: the
dragon, representing the East, and the lion, representing the West.
Dralion derives much of its inspiration from Eastern philosophy with
its perpetual quest for harmony between humankind and nature.
Suspended in time between the past and the future, Dralion is a
celebration of life and the four elements that maintain the natural
order: air, water, fire and earth. Innovation soars to new heights as
it defies the laws of nature. Dralion is a dynamic performance that
transcends the boundaries of the imagination and leads us into a
dreamscape with a new and sparkling perspective.
You can watch clips and explore characters on the troupe's English
website, and order
tickets from here too if you can't navigate the online ordering (which is in
Japanese).
**************************************************
9.
Pottery Exhibition, Local Festival and Classes
Hiroshige Kato is a twelfth generation potter in the Akazu area
of Seto City. Around 400 years ago when war was rife in the land,
his family was one of three families brought back under the protection
of the Tokugawa Shogunate in order to make tea ceremony goods for
Nagoya Castle.
Over the years the family has gone through many incarnations of the
family kiln - forging art by hand and also with a factory for moulded
ceramics. Now it is just Kato-Sensei left at his pottery studio "Kasen",
teaching pottery to individual groups of students and making his wares
by hand.
For the first time in seven years Hiroshige Kato will be holding a
private exhibition
in Nagoya, from the 28th of November to the 4th of December, at Gallery
Kurimoto in Fushimi. Coming out of exit #4 of Fushimi Station,
walk towards Sakae and turn right at the very next street to Fushimi
Station. The gallery is on the second floor of the Dia Palace
building on your right, the second from the corner.
The gallery is open from 10am to 6pm every day, and closes at 5pm on
the last day.
Wednesday 28th November 2007 - Tuesday 4th December 2007
Gallery Kurimoto
2-1-12 Sakae, Naka-ku Nagoya
052-202-1230
.............................................................
If you would prefer to see Hiroshige Kato in his natural habitat, then
check out the 21st Annual "Akazu
Kama no Sato-Meguri" (Akazu Walking Tour) on the 10th and 11th of
November, 2007 (Sat & Sun).
This yearly event is a great chance to see authentic pottery studios in
Akazu in action, and to purchase artwork directly from each studio. All
enquiries welcome by e-mail to Kato Sensei directly, on
mail@kasen-web.com.
.............................................................
Finally, if you're after an up-close and personal look at the Kasen
Studio and a pottery
lesson (great for taking visitors from overseas, because
Kato-Sensei speaks English) then make an appointment with Kato Sensei
by e-mailing him on mail@kasen-web.com. Details of the lessons,
and a special semi-private lesson and tour can be found on Kasen's English website.
Gallery Kasmi: Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm, or by
appointment
Studio Kasen: Studio tours and classes only by appointment
Address: 71 Akazu-cho, Seto-shi, Aichi
Tel/Fax: 0561-82-3255 (phone is Japanese only, fax or e-mail for
English assistance)
Map to Kasen
Studio
Five minutes by taxi from Owari-Seto Station on the Meitetsu Seto Line
or Yamaguchi Station on the Aichi Kanjo Line.
E-mail Contact (English OK): mail@kasen-web.com
**************************************************
10. The Gift
Sue Conolly
The time of the year has come when the department stores start
playing little jingles and we feel the need to rush more just so that
we won't be left over deadline at the post office to send parcels
home. Sometimes it can feel a little less like Christmas is
supposed to feel, and a little more like Bargain Basement Friday.
Did Christmas shopping always have to be this horrible?
NO!
Why not take the prime opportunity of living in a country where
Christmas is not celebrated traditionally, and skip the traditional
Christmas shopping push-and-shove. Many brand name stores in
Nagoya would like you to think that you can only care for someone by
spending hard cold cash, but the truth is that the Christmas you spend
little or no money could be the most memorable Christmas of all.
How about these ideas from your life in Japan?
1. A DVD of photos, a presentation of your life here. Make
copies for your entire family and bring them just that little bit
closer to your life here. I have a Mac and making that sort of
stuff is like a walk in the park, but Windows systems have similar
software as well so all you need is a computer-friendly person in the
family, and some of the photos or videos you've taken this year.
2. A hand-made recipe book. Find really easy to make
Japanese food, or food from home, family recipes, friend's recipes...
leave room for more recipes! A sturdy spiral-bound notebook is a
really great start to this project, but you can even get more creative
by making a card/box system with materials from the 100 yen shop.
3. Reading on CD/MD/tape: this is easy to do if you have a
computer that can burn CDs, and with a microphone (again, my Mac works
great for this!). Read your kids' favourite books, sing them a
lullaby, even make a CD with different voices (Mummy, Daddy,
grandparents, siblings) reading to them for something special that will
last a lifetime. My Dad did this for me when I was young, and now
that the tapes have decayed we still have his voice on CD, and it is a
treasure indeed! For a Christmas twist on this, make a family
Christmas CD featuring your favourite carols. For a Japanese
twist, learn some simple Japanese nursery rhymes (and there are some
beautiful, haunting ones) and sing them acapella onto a CD. The
effect is beautiful!
4. Beaded things, such as mobile phone straps, bookmarks or key
chains. The five yen coin in Japan is considered to be lucky (go-en, the same word for 5 yen also
means "destiny") and as such is a great place to start, but you can
also pick up other coins with holes, or old Asian-style beads at the
Osu Kannon antique market on the 18th and 28th of each month (in the
grounds of Osu
Kannon temple).
5. Instead of buying something, make something under the
supervision of an artist! For example, the potter listed
above in the X-Pat Files will give you a pottery lesson
for a couple of hours, and it will cost you 2500 yen for the lesson and
500 yen for each item that you keep and choose to fire (he fires it for
you). That means that the more you make, the less the cost per
piece, and what a special way for you to remember your stay in Japan to
your family. Other ideas in this "supervised creativity" category
might be, if you are taking weekly lessons in Yamato-e, make a piece of
artwork for someone to frame. If you go to Meiji Mura and
make a pressed flower key ring - that could be the perfect gift to send
home.
6. Anything that you can make from Japanese paper. There is
a beautiful Japanese paper shop next to Atsuta Shrine called Kami no Ondo,
or you can also buy a more limited range of Japanese paper in
Department stores like Loft. Write a poem on a piece, make a
photo album, make a wall hanging from different pieces stuck
together. The choices are endless!
7. Why not give the gift of charity to someone else (on behalf of
the person you love)? There's an article about that in this
edition of
the X-Pat Files by Hope
International, a charity supporting many overseas aid
projects. 5000 yen could be spent on a meaningless gift
from a Japanese department store - that same money can provide sorely
needed solar light to
a family in a third world country. Many charities from your home
country also have websites
(like this Australian
one, or this
US one) that will make your Christmas shopping easier and more
meaningful this year.
8. Again from the Osu
Kannon Markets, give the gift of recycled junk! Your
imagination is the limit - you can paste old stamps onto a photo frame,
make gorgeous book covers out of old obi, make placemats by simply
laminating old Japanese newspapers or postcards, housewife magazines
from the sixties or prayer cards with Buddhist incantantions scrawled
out in hand script. A laminating machine costs about 3000 yen
from a home centre like Kahma, Ant or Jumbo Encho, and the laminating
sheets cost about 1000 yen for 100 sheets. Once you've started
laminating stuff, you won't be able to stop - it's addictive!
9. Another idea for recycling junk is to visit a recycle centre
like Kimble to see what you can
rejuvenate. For example, you might find a glass coffee jar your
kids could paint, or an old pottery pot you could plant with a tomato
plant for your children to grow and care for. You could do
the same thing with free or cheap recycled goods that you can get
online, via Tell and
Sell Japan or FreeCycle
Japan. You're giving someone something that they need, and
you're also giving the gift of not throwing anything in the land-fill.
10. How about a calendar using photos from your stay in Japan,
and including family birthdays and other special family events? I
can make these quite easily on iPhoto with my Mac, but you could even
do a more home-grown version with a 100 yen shop calendar, your photos
and a laminator.
11. For any of you budding artists, give the gift of your art
this Christmas! Whether you like to sketch, make things out of
cut up clothing catalogues or take photos of the Japanese countryside,
what you create with your mind will reach the heart of your
family. Musicians and singers - back to the CD idea.
Whatever art you can bring into the world will make it a better place,
and it will be your personal expression of the place that you live (and
therefore the perfect souvenir!)
12. Give the gift of your undivided time and
attention. For a spouse, get a babysitter and go out for
the evening. Or give the gift of ten-thousand kisses! For
the kids, tell them each they can plan one day however they want to
plan the day and you will spend it with them. If you're too
afraid they're going to choose Disneyland, give them the money for the
day (if they're old enough to add!) and let them budget for the
activity. This is a particularly great one for birthdays, but can
be used for Christmas as well. What about a family holiday at an
onsen, and everyone gets to buy one gift from the onsen town...
something that will be useful and will also remind you all of your time
there.
13. Make something out of Japanese cloth and/or from cloth from a
well-loved piece of clothing someone in your family has worn
here. The easy way to do this is to cut the cloth in a square and
use it to back a photograph in a frame, but there are many more things
you can do with cloth creatively - making bags, table centrepieces,
book covers, place mats, wall hangings etc.
14. Give the gift of not needing a gift. The end to the
Christmas-gift-chaos starts with you! When someone asks you what
you want for Christmas, pick a charity! You'll end up with less
stuff that you didn't really want, and someone in the world will be
better off.
15. Give the gift of childcare! In Japan, where finding a
babysitter requires a whole article in the X-Pat Files, a child-free
day or night could be just what young parents need to explore the city
on their own, just for a treat! I heard recently of a couple who
climbed Mount Fuji together while a friend looked after their two young
children overnight - I ask you, what better Christmas present could you
ask for than that?
16. Those who bake have the God-given talent for present
giving. One problem with incessant Christmas presents is that
they last forever and so will eventually end up in a land fill.
The more material possessions you accumulate, the harder your move home
will be, so giving something edible really makes sense! If you
don't cook but the recipient of your present does, then potted herbs
are a great present in a land where supermarkets sell tiny little
plastic packages of basil and mint for hundreds of yen.
17. Get recycled books from Bookmooch,
Peek-a-Booknook
or even Amazon.co.jp, and write
inside the cover why you chose that book for that person. You're
too late for this year, but there is also a yearly used book sale at
the Nagoya
International Center which would serve this purpose just as
well. Also, if you are a member of any kind of international
group (I am a member, for example, of the Association of Foreign Wives of Japanese)
then you can simply ask on your mailing list if anyone would have a
copy of the particular book that you'd like to give. Everyone's
always trying to clear their bookshelves, so it is always worth a try!
18. Give a gift of your skills. If you were a massage
therapist in your previous life in your own country, you will never
need to give anything else to anyone but a lovely back-rub! If
you were French teacher, offer to teach someone French, or write a
little saying in French with an English (or Japanese) translation
included. If you have skills in pressed flower making, give a
class. If you speak Japanese, help someone else out when
they put their mobile phone through the wash! If your thing is
computers, help someone with their gremlins. If you're into AV,
set up someone's living room as a home theater.
19. For the people in your family, track down digital copies of
the newspaper from the day that they were born. This may take
some doing, but how about a copy of the Japanese newspaper? If
this is too much of a task, try finding old photographs from the period
they were born and present them in some sort of album. My mother
was born in 1935, so photographs from Japan from the time when the
second world war was raging, may be very poignant. My Mum had an
idea one time to write her account of the time just after the war had
ended (when she was ten) in Australia, and to contact someone in Japan
so that they too would write their accounts. Such an account if I
could have someone write one, would be a wonderful Christmas present.
20. Collect famous quotes that make you think of someone.
For a Japanese twist on this, give someone a Japanese proverb written
in kanji (if you can find it or make it) with the translation somewhere
on the back or below. Someone who is going through a hard time in
their life might appreciate the proverb, Shichi-ten Hakki (Fall down seven
times, get up eight) or Saru mo ki
kara ochiru "Even monkeys fall from the tree" (meaning that even
experts mess up sometimes). You can find Japanese proverbs online
at many sites like this one.
21. Put together a list of your favourite Japan memories and present
them in a creative fashion. Write them as a "To Do" list for
someone who's just newly in Japan, or use photos as an album coffee
table book style. Write them on cards, then randomly pluck
one out at dinner time and have the whole family remember different
things about that day (which can be added to that card). The
cards can be added to at any time or by any family member.
22. Do something exciting and challenging together as a family -
hike the 9km from Tsumago to
Magome, learn calligraphy together from a home teacher, take a
train out randomly into the Japanese countryside without a map or a
plan and explore for the day. Take a family lesson with a Japanese potter
and aim to make a whole set of matching cups/plates/bowls to take home!
23. Write and illustrate an account of your travels in Japan for
those who will follow you. All the best guidebooks come with
personal stories, so add yours for a really special flavour. It
will be a great souvenir for your family and a wonderful and useful
gift for friends expat friends in Japan who still have some time left
here. For Japanese friends in Japan, it's a wonderful gift
because they see the country through your eyes, and they can also share
it with the next foreign friend they make. It's the gift that
keeps on giving!
24. If you are leaving Japan, leave your street map behind you,
covered in your little dots and notes about where everything is.
I still have a map book from one of my clients in the relocation days,
and using this map as opposed to other map books that I own, means that
I stumble upon new and interesting information. It might not
remain current, but this information always leads to other things in my
head. I sometimes still pull this map out when I am stuck for the
X-Pat Files.
25. Collect meaningful Japan or family photos and present them in
a creative way. There are different designs of photo frames and
photo albums available on the market - my favourite is the refillable
box that I can give to a newly married couple or a just-born baby,
because as they collect photos they can add to the boxed
collection. Alternatively you can make collages with colour
photocopies of the photos - laminate the collages for an instant and
interesting place mat.
These ideas may not keep you away from the department stores entirely,
but they will stop the consumeristic mindset that has become
Christmas. In the end, the greatest give you can give to yourself
or anyone else at Christmas is your undivided time, good will and
thought.
**************************************************
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