Today, after a rather nice holiday (I didn't visit last week), it was back to Nampeidai.
I was a little apprehensive, a bit more so because David was coming to watch my classes.
I had left my teachers with a lesson to teach in my absence. When I got there, I found out they hadn't done it. Since the lessons had been planned to be relatively easy for the teachers to do themselves, I left them to run a fair bit of the lessons, just taking over for some of the pronunciation stuff. On the whole, it went quite well, definitely an improvement over the last two times. As the teachers were more in control, they felt more responsible for controlling class behaviour. The kids still had a very short attention span, and a tendency to start talking loudly given half an opportunity, but it was an improvement over last week. Having David there probably helped also, another knowledgeable adult floating around and keeping them on task.
It also helped that with my worst class, the ringleader spent the lesson in the corridor, for some reason not quite known to me, except he pissed the homeroom teacher off quite badly just before the lesson was supposed to start.
Having said that, at one stage during that lesson, while playing alphabet karuta (small groups have letters A-Z spread out in front of them, I say a letter, and the first one to grab it wins that round), I looked over to one kid's desk, to find the words "munty sex" spelt out...
I had a really good meeting with the teachers after school, and I am cautiously optimistic that we have put together a lesson plan (quite different from any I've done for that lesson at any other school), that will hopefully keep them focused and active for most of the lesson.
Just to balance that out, I couldn't find my year 5 teachers for a meeting. Oh well...
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Caught a Japanese cold ('cause the ones in Australia weren't exciting enough)
Monday I was feeling a little iffy, but got through the day ok.
Tuesday, I got myself a face mask, like the Japanese are fond of wearing to prevent the spread of germs, and went to school. The face masks are horrible. They add to your misery by being hot and stuffy and making it hard to breathe. In my case, it also had a way of funneling hot air behind my glasses so they fogged up. I finished my 4 lessons, (mostly without the face-mask on, as it killed my ability to demonstrate pronunciation), did up some basic lesson plans for the next lesson, found someone to show it to, and then the vice-principal let me go home. I navigated the bike trip back, and went to bed.
This morning I woke up with what felt like a giant weight of phlegm on my throat. I can talk, I hadn't exactly lost my voice, and my throat wasn't sore, but I could feel a definite comfortable volume limit that, while sufficient to hold standard conversation, was not up to pretending to be super energetic to an excitable class of primary school students. It is also very croaky. I called Dave to tell him I wasn't up to school. He asked me to call the school. Surprisingly, the phone conversation was easy, I was quickly understood, and it was sorted.
I read a bit, slept a lot, and am now feeling significantly improved, and should be up to work again tomorrow.
Tuesday, I got myself a face mask, like the Japanese are fond of wearing to prevent the spread of germs, and went to school. The face masks are horrible. They add to your misery by being hot and stuffy and making it hard to breathe. In my case, it also had a way of funneling hot air behind my glasses so they fogged up. I finished my 4 lessons, (mostly without the face-mask on, as it killed my ability to demonstrate pronunciation), did up some basic lesson plans for the next lesson, found someone to show it to, and then the vice-principal let me go home. I navigated the bike trip back, and went to bed.
This morning I woke up with what felt like a giant weight of phlegm on my throat. I can talk, I hadn't exactly lost my voice, and my throat wasn't sore, but I could feel a definite comfortable volume limit that, while sufficient to hold standard conversation, was not up to pretending to be super energetic to an excitable class of primary school students. It is also very croaky. I called Dave to tell him I wasn't up to school. He asked me to call the school. Surprisingly, the phone conversation was easy, I was quickly understood, and it was sorted.
I read a bit, slept a lot, and am now feeling significantly improved, and should be up to work again tomorrow.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Japanese "gorumet" dining
On Friday evening, I went out for dinner with the Year 6 teachers from my Friday school. This included the homeroom teachers and the support staff, and me.
The restaurant was one where you order a number of dishes and share them around the table - a very common way to eat out in Japan.
Eating out with a group of Japanese people, I finally had the "opportunity" to sample Japanese "delicacies".
Cooked foods I ate:
Teasing, I tried to explain to the teachers that a long time ago, man discovered fire, and found that food cooked on it was tasty. Of course, what I said was nowhere near as eloquent as all that, but it got me a laugh.
All the bizarre and mostly unappealing foods aside, I had a great time, some of the best fun I've had since coming to Japan. We communicated in a mixture of Japanese and English (they all had quite good English), and were able to share a lot of laughs. They also taught me a bit of local Japanese dialect. "Nandeyanen" doesn't exactly translate into English, but is used in response to a clearly false claim, kind of a "Yeah, whatever". I was able to use it appropriately later that night, and got high fives (or high touches) all round.
As an aside, on the way home, I heard a kid call out "Rushi Sensei" - no annonymity for me!
The restaurant was one where you order a number of dishes and share them around the table - a very common way to eat out in Japan.
Eating out with a group of Japanese people, I finally had the "opportunity" to sample Japanese "delicacies".
Cooked foods I ate:
- prawn - yes, boring
- crab - two different ways, quite nice
- eel - very strong fishy flavour, not particularly appealing
- octopus - tolerable
- "soft chicken bones" - looked like popcorn chicken, but not quite the flavour... This was one of my gag moments, I managed to swallow about half of what I put in my mouth, but the other half was just too much, and I had to spit it out
- some tasty versions of beef - yay!
- salmon - very mild flavour, with a not all that unpleasant texture
- tuna - much like salmon
- squid - mild flavour, but extremely unpleasant texture. It coated my mouth and was extremely difficult to swallow, invoking a strong gag reflex
- salmon caviar - mild and not unpleasant, with a popping sensation
- octopus - this was medium rare, I chickened out on the raw. This wasn't as bad as the squid, but still invoked the gag reflex.
Teasing, I tried to explain to the teachers that a long time ago, man discovered fire, and found that food cooked on it was tasty. Of course, what I said was nowhere near as eloquent as all that, but it got me a laugh.
All the bizarre and mostly unappealing foods aside, I had a great time, some of the best fun I've had since coming to Japan. We communicated in a mixture of Japanese and English (they all had quite good English), and were able to share a lot of laughs. They also taught me a bit of local Japanese dialect. "Nandeyanen" doesn't exactly translate into English, but is used in response to a clearly false claim, kind of a "Yeah, whatever". I was able to use it appropriately later that night, and got high fives (or high touches) all round.
As an aside, on the way home, I heard a kid call out "Rushi Sensei" - no annonymity for me!
A quiet day's (not) teaching
On Friday, I was supposed to teach 3 classes. In the end, due to poor communication between the person responsible for class scheduling, and the class teachers, I only taught one class. It was an excellent class, with an enthusiastic teacher, which always translates to keen and enthusiastic kids. However, I did feel a little put out that I was at the school all day, and only teaching one class.
I therefore spent a lot of time making materials. The alphabet flashcards were in very poor condition, so I created a new full set of A-Z and a-z. I created other flashcards, and laminated random things I discovered in the drawers that I thought could benefit from being laminated. I ran through an entire box of 100 sheets of laminate. I peeled magnets off the back of the old flashcards and re-used them, and then I ran through probably another 50 self-adhesive magnets. I labeled the backs of flashcards, and I numbered things. I ordered cards, sorted things, and planned ahead for several lessons. Except for the fact that I have extremely limited storage space at that school, I believe they now have the best set of English materials of any of my schools.
I was told that I would have a meeting with my coordinator after lunch, so I couldn't afford to get up and wander around, or find kids to play with. At 4:15, I finally saw him, and asked him about the meeting. He said later. I asked when. He laughed and told me to wait a bit. Then he disappeared. At 4:40, I found some of my year 5 teachers and had a quick meeting. Then, at 5:00, I left, without having had the meeting with that teacher.
Despite these problems, I do love that school, the teachers are very friendly and also good at their jobs, and it shows in the children being keen, energetic and responsive.
I therefore spent a lot of time making materials. The alphabet flashcards were in very poor condition, so I created a new full set of A-Z and a-z. I created other flashcards, and laminated random things I discovered in the drawers that I thought could benefit from being laminated. I ran through an entire box of 100 sheets of laminate. I peeled magnets off the back of the old flashcards and re-used them, and then I ran through probably another 50 self-adhesive magnets. I labeled the backs of flashcards, and I numbered things. I ordered cards, sorted things, and planned ahead for several lessons. Except for the fact that I have extremely limited storage space at that school, I believe they now have the best set of English materials of any of my schools.
I was told that I would have a meeting with my coordinator after lunch, so I couldn't afford to get up and wander around, or find kids to play with. At 4:15, I finally saw him, and asked him about the meeting. He said later. I asked when. He laughed and told me to wait a bit. Then he disappeared. At 4:40, I found some of my year 5 teachers and had a quick meeting. Then, at 5:00, I left, without having had the meeting with that teacher.
Despite these problems, I do love that school, the teachers are very friendly and also good at their jobs, and it shows in the children being keen, energetic and responsive.
Rotten children
Internet has been down for a few days, so here is a slightly late update.
On Thursday, I went back to the school with the nasty year 6s. Firstly, I taught two classes of year 3s. They were absolutely gorgeous.
Then I taught 3 classes of year 6. They were not even remotely gorgeous. Even the class that had behaved well last time misbehaved badly. Given half an opportunity, they started talking, and getting them to stop was almost impossible. I think part of the problem was that I taught them in the reverse order to the last time, so last time, I learned what worked and what didn't a bit, and by the last class, I had some tactics. This time, I was on a different lesson, with different activities, so I needed, in a way to start learning tactics afresh. Activities that worked brilliantly at other schools just fell flat because of the incessant chatter. I started each class with explaining that teacher puts hands on head = students put hands on head and be quiet, but it simply didn't work, because several of the students flat out ignored me, and if they ignore me, I have no recourse, of which they are well aware.
Having said that, with the later classes, I was able to adapt the activities a little, and they worked better. The main key seems to be to keep them constantly doing something without a chance to start talking, as as soon as they start chattering, I've easily lost 5 minutes before I can get enough attention back to be able to proceed.
I have been told (by a teacher from another school) that in the area of this school is a "home for children with no parents". I'm not quite sure of what this is, but I think it might explain the higher number of delinquent children.
Another observation is that I have seen many kids like the Nampeidai ringleaders at other schools, the difference is that at other schools, the homeroom teachers don't take the rubbish, and the kid doesn't have a chance to get up a following of other kids to cause trouble. The homeroom teacher makes so much difference!
On Thursday, I went back to the school with the nasty year 6s. Firstly, I taught two classes of year 3s. They were absolutely gorgeous.
Then I taught 3 classes of year 6. They were not even remotely gorgeous. Even the class that had behaved well last time misbehaved badly. Given half an opportunity, they started talking, and getting them to stop was almost impossible. I think part of the problem was that I taught them in the reverse order to the last time, so last time, I learned what worked and what didn't a bit, and by the last class, I had some tactics. This time, I was on a different lesson, with different activities, so I needed, in a way to start learning tactics afresh. Activities that worked brilliantly at other schools just fell flat because of the incessant chatter. I started each class with explaining that teacher puts hands on head = students put hands on head and be quiet, but it simply didn't work, because several of the students flat out ignored me, and if they ignore me, I have no recourse, of which they are well aware.
Having said that, with the later classes, I was able to adapt the activities a little, and they worked better. The main key seems to be to keep them constantly doing something without a chance to start talking, as as soon as they start chattering, I've easily lost 5 minutes before I can get enough attention back to be able to proceed.
I have been told (by a teacher from another school) that in the area of this school is a "home for children with no parents". I'm not quite sure of what this is, but I think it might explain the higher number of delinquent children.
Another observation is that I have seen many kids like the Nampeidai ringleaders at other schools, the difference is that at other schools, the homeroom teachers don't take the rubbish, and the kid doesn't have a chance to get up a following of other kids to cause trouble. The homeroom teacher makes so much difference!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Rain rain, go away...
Yesterday it was pouring on the way to school, and drizzling on the way home. I only got a bit damp (and my shoes soaked thanks to a passing truck!) but the other two girls have discovered that their rain pants are not at all effective, as they got soaked through to their underpants.
Today it was drizzling on the way to and from training (no school today!), but we decided to go out for lunch. It wasn't raining on the way to lunch, so I didn't bring my rainsuit or umbrella. I learned a lesson then, as I got caught in moderate rain on the way back. Also, we had to go to a local school for an English teachers' workgroup, and it was absolutely bucketing down then. Riding with an umbrella is an interesting experience, one that feels inherently unsafe.
It is supposed to rain all day tomorrow, with showers expected Friday afternoon also.
I've run out of dry jeans, and am running out of dry shoes... Washing is not drying very well. However, the weekend is supposed to be clear, so we should be able to enjoy ourselves then!
Today it was drizzling on the way to and from training (no school today!), but we decided to go out for lunch. It wasn't raining on the way to lunch, so I didn't bring my rainsuit or umbrella. I learned a lesson then, as I got caught in moderate rain on the way back. Also, we had to go to a local school for an English teachers' workgroup, and it was absolutely bucketing down then. Riding with an umbrella is an interesting experience, one that feels inherently unsafe.
It is supposed to rain all day tomorrow, with showers expected Friday afternoon also.
I've run out of dry jeans, and am running out of dry shoes... Washing is not drying very well. However, the weekend is supposed to be clear, so we should be able to enjoy ourselves then!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Ankle update
My ankle is still a bit swollen with an interesting streak of purple, but I can walk around with only a slight limp. I did very little on Sunday, letting my ankle recover, and yesterday and today I have been able to get around school pretty well, yesterday I minimised walking, but today I was almost back to normal, except going down stairs. Fortunately, the steps are quite shallow, so as not to be too hard on the little ones' legs, I suppose. So if you were worried, don't worry, and if you weren't worrying, no need to start.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Mountain Climbing
Today Hunter and I went for a hike with Koji, a Junior High School English Teacher associated with the AET program from the time when AETs taught at the Junior High level instead of Primary School. We climbed Mt Atago, a little past the edge of Kyoto. Wikipedia tells me it is 924m high.
It took us about 2 hours to climb up the mountain. The first half an hour or so was incredibly steep. Koji and his friend seemed to effortlessly bound up the track, with me glaring at their backs. Koji has been a teacher for 30 years which must make him about 50, and his friend is retired. Both run Marathons for fun, so they easily outclassed us young whipper-snappers. Fortunately, it leveled out a little after that, with the track winding a bit more and even going flat for a few sections, punctuated by some steeper uphills. The scenery was impressive, a dense pine forest, interspersed with maple, very different from the Australian scrub and sub-tropical rainforests I'm used to. We never walked far withough seeing a mini-shrine by the side of the path, reminding us that people have been walking this path for a very long time.
At the top, we stopped for lunch, and then I was presented with a rather rude shock. We weren't at the top. There were a couple of really nasty flights of stairs to climb before we reached the 1300 year old shrine at the top.
The shrine was much simpler than some of the famous ones I've seen lately, but still had some very intricate and beautiful carvings. As always, there was the ever-present commercialism in the form a stall selling trinkets, which to my eyes significantly degrades the "spiritual" significance of such a space.
We then proceeded to head down by a different, less used path. The landscape on the way down was a lot more open, and there were some spectacular views. The path down started off very easy, with just a mild downhill slope. Then we turned off down another path, and suddenly we were slipping and sliding down a very steep downhill, alongside a little streamlet that we occasionally criss-crossed. I slipped a few times, but wasn't hurt. Then, after a bit, we reached the bottom of the gully, and the path leveled out again, and walking was easy once more.
Suddenly, I was sitting on the ground clutching my ankle. I don't really remember how I got there, only that I somehow stepped badly on the now level ground. We were only halfway back down, one out of two hours.
After a few minutes, the pain subsided enough that I was able to get up and test my ankle. After attempting a few shaky steps clinging to Hunter's arm, I suggested that a stick might be better, and very quickly, Hunter and Koji's friend had rustled up a couple of large, slightly springy sticks, which were soon after replaced with a couple that were a bit more solid. With these functioning as not-quite crutches, I was able to keep most of the weight of my dud ankle, and kept moving.
A little later, we worked out that if I put one arm around Hunter, and held a stick on the other hand, we were able to move in a three (or maybe 5 - with sticks) legged race style, which was very effective, and allowed me to move at a reasonable pace, with a minimum of discomfort, except the odd mis-step. Along the way, a lovely group of Japanese people overtaking us rubbed some sort of gel on my ankle, and then sprayed it with what must be ice-pack-in-a-can. The gel seemed to at least temporarily help. Nevertheless, what should have taken us roughly an hour took two. By the end of it, I was exhausted, and now doubt my gallant knight was a bit worn from carrying a fair bit of my weight, although he claimed to be fine.
Once we reached the bottom, we should have walked a bit further to a bus stop, and caught a bus, then two trains back to Takatsuki. However, Koji called a taxi, which took us to the train station, and saved a bit of a walk, with only two trains left to navigate.
Once we got back to Takatsuki, I needed to ride my bike back home, but that turned out better than I feared. I took it easy, and it was barely a discomfort. Three cheers for bikes!
Hunter cooked dinner (spaghetti bolognese - from scratch), and went and got me an elasticated bandage, and I'm set, although planning to take it very easy tomorrow, hopefully not leaving our 3rd floor apartment. Nothing that a little rest won't fix.
It took us about 2 hours to climb up the mountain. The first half an hour or so was incredibly steep. Koji and his friend seemed to effortlessly bound up the track, with me glaring at their backs. Koji has been a teacher for 30 years which must make him about 50, and his friend is retired. Both run Marathons for fun, so they easily outclassed us young whipper-snappers. Fortunately, it leveled out a little after that, with the track winding a bit more and even going flat for a few sections, punctuated by some steeper uphills. The scenery was impressive, a dense pine forest, interspersed with maple, very different from the Australian scrub and sub-tropical rainforests I'm used to. We never walked far withough seeing a mini-shrine by the side of the path, reminding us that people have been walking this path for a very long time.
At the top, we stopped for lunch, and then I was presented with a rather rude shock. We weren't at the top. There were a couple of really nasty flights of stairs to climb before we reached the 1300 year old shrine at the top.
 |
| This photo does not do the stairs justice. They were much steeper than they appear. |
We then proceeded to head down by a different, less used path. The landscape on the way down was a lot more open, and there were some spectacular views. The path down started off very easy, with just a mild downhill slope. Then we turned off down another path, and suddenly we were slipping and sliding down a very steep downhill, alongside a little streamlet that we occasionally criss-crossed. I slipped a few times, but wasn't hurt. Then, after a bit, we reached the bottom of the gully, and the path leveled out again, and walking was easy once more.
Suddenly, I was sitting on the ground clutching my ankle. I don't really remember how I got there, only that I somehow stepped badly on the now level ground. We were only halfway back down, one out of two hours.
After a few minutes, the pain subsided enough that I was able to get up and test my ankle. After attempting a few shaky steps clinging to Hunter's arm, I suggested that a stick might be better, and very quickly, Hunter and Koji's friend had rustled up a couple of large, slightly springy sticks, which were soon after replaced with a couple that were a bit more solid. With these functioning as not-quite crutches, I was able to keep most of the weight of my dud ankle, and kept moving.
A little later, we worked out that if I put one arm around Hunter, and held a stick on the other hand, we were able to move in a three (or maybe 5 - with sticks) legged race style, which was very effective, and allowed me to move at a reasonable pace, with a minimum of discomfort, except the odd mis-step. Along the way, a lovely group of Japanese people overtaking us rubbed some sort of gel on my ankle, and then sprayed it with what must be ice-pack-in-a-can. The gel seemed to at least temporarily help. Nevertheless, what should have taken us roughly an hour took two. By the end of it, I was exhausted, and now doubt my gallant knight was a bit worn from carrying a fair bit of my weight, although he claimed to be fine.
Once we reached the bottom, we should have walked a bit further to a bus stop, and caught a bus, then two trains back to Takatsuki. However, Koji called a taxi, which took us to the train station, and saved a bit of a walk, with only two trains left to navigate.
Once we got back to Takatsuki, I needed to ride my bike back home, but that turned out better than I feared. I took it easy, and it was barely a discomfort. Three cheers for bikes!
Hunter cooked dinner (spaghetti bolognese - from scratch), and went and got me an elasticated bandage, and I'm set, although planning to take it very easy tomorrow, hopefully not leaving our 3rd floor apartment. Nothing that a little rest won't fix.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Some quirky facts about our apartment
- It is very easy to overload a circuit and trip the fuse-box. Combinations known to cause problems are
- Heater + iron
- Vacuum cleaner + washing machine
- Microwave + just about anything, including lights, or maybe just the microwave on its own
- Our bath drainage is not plumbed in. If you pull the plug, the water drains out the bottom of the bath, swills around the bathroom floor for a bit, before draining out the drain on the bathroom floor. The washing machine drains in much the same way.
- We had a walking washing machine, but we have fixed it my sticking it on a moldy foam bath mat.
- The washing machine lives in the bathroom, but there are no power points in the bathroom as it is a wet room. Thus the power cord is plugged into an extension, which runs up over the "shower rail" (in front of the bathroom door), through the door, across the "room" in front of the bathroom, and plugs in next to the sink. Hunter has improved this somewhat by attaching hooks to the wall and ceiling outside the bathroom to control cabling there, but hooks won't attach in the damp bathroom.
- The sink near the bathroom does not have hot water. Hunter curses this every morning when he shaves
- The hot water system in the bathroom allows you to set the exact temperature you want the water to come out at - some new (wonderful) technology patched over the really old.
- The two main rooms have tatami floors. In this, I think we are quite lucky that our apartments are old, as tatami is less common in newer buildings. Tatami flooring is made from woven straw, and is very traditional. It means we have to be a bit careful about what we put on the floor, but I love it.
- The kitchen has an exhaust fan that is simply a fan sitting in a hole in the wall, going directly to the outside world. Thus, heating the whole house is just not realistic.
- There are two light switches for the toilet light. However, they are wired in series rather than in parallel.
- The sliding doors between rooms and on the built in wardrobes are made of paper. Not rice-paper, like you see in fancy Japanese rooms, but paper all the same. Some of the doors have holes.
- The wallpaper in the bedroom has a very coarse grained sand-effect, and can scratch the unwary. It is also peeling off the walls badly, which has only been mildly improved by me trying to stick it back on using a glue stick. A previous occupant has used thumb tacks to re-attach some sections.
- If the doors/windows are open, you can vacuum, and an hour later, see that the floors could benefit from another vacuum.
- The ceiling in the kitchen is badly blackened above the (not built in) gas burners.
- I am pretty confident that the apartment has not been repainted in the 15 years AETs have been living here, and probably a good bit before that either. Especially in the wet areas, paint is peeling off the wall and external pipes.
- The cabling and plumbing in the apartment seem to have been tacked on as an afterthought. I am sure they didn't build 4 storey apartments before the advent of electricity! One particularly impressive example is the electricity into one of the tatami rooms. It is run from the ceiling of the adjacent room, down the wall, through the doorway, back up the wall, and to the ceiling. As a result, it is not possible to close the (sliding) door properly.
- Traditional Japanese wardrobes provide no hanging space. This can be partially remedied by inserting a temporary rod into the wardrobe, but the available space is not enough to hang a dress or long coat. Thus my clothes are hanging on a portable clothing rack.
- All the above grouching aside, it's home!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Kyoto - Nishi Hongwanji, Nijo Castle & Ryoan-ji
As we had a public holiday today (Childrens Day), Hunter and I went on another expedition to Kyoto. The others either couldn't afford to come and/or were out too late last night to come.
We decided to go and see Nijo Castle and Ryoanji (which were grouped under the same part of Kyoto in the guidebook). I was a bit apprehensive about our ability to navigate the bus system, but we didn't have any problems.
Nishi Hongwanji
On the way to Nijo Castle, the bus stopped at a place called Nishi Hongwanji. It looked like an interesting building, obviously a tourist stop, and so, after a quick discussion, we decided to get off the bus there and take a look. It turned out to be a large Buddhist temple, still in active use, which has only been open to the public for a year, after a decade of restoration work. Inside the main temple building was absolutely spectacular. The floor was tatami, with beautifully painted sliding paper doors, and magnificent bronze panels above them. People were just drifting in and out, sitting on the floor for a bit to pray or meditate, so we joined them for a bit, to soak in the magnificent display. Unfortunately, I have no photos, as it didn't seem appropriate.
The larger side-building looked to be set up as a massive conference room (mega-church?), although I have to say that the original architecture of the building didn't really lend itself to this use, as there were massive wooden posts at regular intervals, which would significantly obstruct view. In this building, I saw a Japanese man with his camera, so I assumed that it was ok for me to take photos too.
When we were finished at Nishi Hongwanji, we wandered back outside, and the bus that we needed arrived at the bus stop just as we did.
Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle)
Nijo-jo was originally built in 1603, although, as seems to be a common theme with the mostly wooden Japanese buildings, things burn down and need replacing. Nijo-jo has two concentric defensive walls, each with its own moat. In the outer complex is a large palace, open to the public. Inside the inner wall is a smaller castle building, which we couldn't enter.
All around were manicured gardens, although Hunter and I agreed that the gardens were probably a relatively recent addition, as tall trees would have offered far too much cover to be a good idea in a defensive castle.
The palace was spectacular. Again, no photographs allowed. In fact, there were even signs up saying no sketching.
The Japanese concept of a palace is completely different to the European one. The palace was a wooden building, or rather, a series of connected wooden buildings, joined by fully enclosed walkways. Each section had a number of rooms, each with the traditional Japanese sliding panel doors, and the rooms together formed a square or rectangle, with a walkway right around. The outside walls of the palace were also all sliding doors, but were kept closed to protect the paintings. All the interior door panels were intricately painted, showing a variety of nature scenes, with a generous application of gold leaf. As we walked the floor sang beneath our feet: Nijo-jo has the most famous example of a Nightingale Floor. Old wooden floorboards sometimes creak, but a Nightingale Floor is completely different. The way the floorboards are attached, when someone steps on the board, a nail rubs against a bracket, causing a gentle chirping sound, which announces the persons arrival, making it impossible to sneak up on the occupant.
Ryoan-ji
We accidentally got on the wrong bus for Ryoan-ji (my fault). It was going the right way, but just not quite far enough, so we had a 10 minute walk when the bus got to the end of the run, which wasn't really that bad.
Ryoan-ji is a Buddhist temple famous for its rock garden. The garden is 25m x 10m, and is enclosed by an earthen wall. In it, 15 stones, with a bit of moss, are adrift in a sea of raked white gravel.
To be honest, although it was interesting to look at the garden and contemplate it for a while, I much preferred the surrounding, more conventional gardens, which with their carefully cultivated carpets of moss, shaped trees, and delicate flowers, captured me in a way that the austere rocks couldn't achieve. Although there was a bit of rather noisy gardening work going on, the gardens were still a very peaceful place to wander, with fewer people around.
We decided to go and see Nijo Castle and Ryoanji (which were grouped under the same part of Kyoto in the guidebook). I was a bit apprehensive about our ability to navigate the bus system, but we didn't have any problems.
Nishi Hongwanji
On the way to Nijo Castle, the bus stopped at a place called Nishi Hongwanji. It looked like an interesting building, obviously a tourist stop, and so, after a quick discussion, we decided to get off the bus there and take a look. It turned out to be a large Buddhist temple, still in active use, which has only been open to the public for a year, after a decade of restoration work. Inside the main temple building was absolutely spectacular. The floor was tatami, with beautifully painted sliding paper doors, and magnificent bronze panels above them. People were just drifting in and out, sitting on the floor for a bit to pray or meditate, so we joined them for a bit, to soak in the magnificent display. Unfortunately, I have no photos, as it didn't seem appropriate.
The larger side-building looked to be set up as a massive conference room (mega-church?), although I have to say that the original architecture of the building didn't really lend itself to this use, as there were massive wooden posts at regular intervals, which would significantly obstruct view. In this building, I saw a Japanese man with his camera, so I assumed that it was ok for me to take photos too.
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| Nishi Hongwanji |
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| The secondary building |
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| Painted doors in the secondary building |
When we were finished at Nishi Hongwanji, we wandered back outside, and the bus that we needed arrived at the bus stop just as we did.
Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle)
Nijo-jo was originally built in 1603, although, as seems to be a common theme with the mostly wooden Japanese buildings, things burn down and need replacing. Nijo-jo has two concentric defensive walls, each with its own moat. In the outer complex is a large palace, open to the public. Inside the inner wall is a smaller castle building, which we couldn't enter.
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| Entering the castle complex |
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| The palace from the outside |
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| Another entrace to the castle |
All around were manicured gardens, although Hunter and I agreed that the gardens were probably a relatively recent addition, as tall trees would have offered far too much cover to be a good idea in a defensive castle.
The palace was spectacular. Again, no photographs allowed. In fact, there were even signs up saying no sketching.
The Japanese concept of a palace is completely different to the European one. The palace was a wooden building, or rather, a series of connected wooden buildings, joined by fully enclosed walkways. Each section had a number of rooms, each with the traditional Japanese sliding panel doors, and the rooms together formed a square or rectangle, with a walkway right around. The outside walls of the palace were also all sliding doors, but were kept closed to protect the paintings. All the interior door panels were intricately painted, showing a variety of nature scenes, with a generous application of gold leaf. As we walked the floor sang beneath our feet: Nijo-jo has the most famous example of a Nightingale Floor. Old wooden floorboards sometimes creak, but a Nightingale Floor is completely different. The way the floorboards are attached, when someone steps on the board, a nail rubs against a bracket, causing a gentle chirping sound, which announces the persons arrival, making it impossible to sneak up on the occupant.
Ryoan-ji
We accidentally got on the wrong bus for Ryoan-ji (my fault). It was going the right way, but just not quite far enough, so we had a 10 minute walk when the bus got to the end of the run, which wasn't really that bad.
Ryoan-ji is a Buddhist temple famous for its rock garden. The garden is 25m x 10m, and is enclosed by an earthen wall. In it, 15 stones, with a bit of moss, are adrift in a sea of raked white gravel.
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| A section of the wall surrounding the rock garden. The walls were made from clay boiled in oil, and the pattern has emerged as the oil has seeped out of the clay |
Takatsuki Jazz Street
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week have been public holidays. For the first two of those days, a Jazz festival was held in Takatsuki. Jazz bands were set up all over town, on street corners, in parks, and in the evening, in the pubs. On the Tuesday, Hunter and I just went shopping, and listened to some of the music in passing. On the Wednesday, we joined up with Jess and Andrea to eat lunch in the park and listen to the music there. The next act was just setting up as we arrived. Listening to the first song, I was thinking that the overall feel of the song sounded suspiciously Gospel. Then, suddenly, I heard "Jesus" mixed into the Japanese, and then a few "Oh Lord"s. So yes, it was Gospel music, something I was definitely not expecting to hear at a Jazz festival in a country where less than 1% of the population identifies as being Christian. It proved to be quite entertaining though. For example, one time, I was sure I heard "fist at me", when it was in fact "set you free", and during "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" I was laughing through most of the song due to the extremely vague pronunciation of a large group of singers.
In the evening we experienced some (not very good) jazz, and some (better) "black" music (whatever that genre is supposed to mean), but the amount of cigarette smoke in the packed room rather killed it for me and Hunter, so we didn't last too long.
In the evening we experienced some (not very good) jazz, and some (better) "black" music (whatever that genre is supposed to mean), but the amount of cigarette smoke in the packed room rather killed it for me and Hunter, so we didn't last too long.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Clothing sizes
I went shopping today and bought myself a new skirt. That's the second item of clothing I've bought, the first being a basic t-shirt. They have come from different shopping centers. Both items have been size L. I think I have now resigned myself to the realities of living in Asia...
Fixing problems with our apartments
A week ago, I complained about a problem in the bathroom. Yesterday, I got home, and the tap had been replaced. Jess also had a new hot water system in her kitchen. While it's great that things are being fixed, it's a bit disturbing that we just come home to discover that somebody was in our apartments fixing things without our knowledge or permission...
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