The K Experience

Japan, 日本, The Land of the Rising Sun, the home of the ninja, the samurai, sushi, Mount Fuji, manga, anime, the original suicide bomber aka the kamakazi pilot (dont give all the credit to the Middle Easterns), and not to forget... the Tamagotchi.

I have already giving three journal entries about my escapades in Japan, which were on my favourite convenience store the Daily Yamazaki, the Takaoka Float festival, and Kyoto's Golden Temple, all of which were near the end of my time in Japan. Now I shall start from the beginning, the very beginning, actually from slightly before the beginning, BEFORE IT ALL BEGAN!!!!

So, it all started at uni. I studied Engineering at King's College, London and as part of the course all the students had to do 1 hour a week of a language for the first two years of the degree. As I had studied French through my primary and secondary education, I thought I would branch out a bit and do something different. Also, my brother, a product/graphic designer had been interested in manga and anime for years, owning copies of programmes like Crying Freeman, Akira etc etc, and had got me interested in all things Japanese, so the interest led me towards the Japanese language classes which were offered at King's.

It turned out that the 1 hour a week of Japanese that I had with Godoy Sensei was the most interesting lesson of the whole four year degree. So when she suggested that people should sign up for the JET programme (Japan Exchange and Teaching) after we graduated, I knew I would definitely give it some serious consideration.

When the time came, which was about a year or so after my last lesson with Godoy Sensei, (only graduates can apply, so I had to wait until near graduation) I applied, went through the application process, and the grueling interview and managed to worm my way into a year teaching in Japan. Being a JET, as we call ourselves, is generally a sweet gig. Flights to and from Japan are payed for, at least half your accommodation is payed for, and you get a very decent wage. The work and other situations are pretty much dependant on where you are, and who is responsible for taking care of you. ESID, Every Situation Is Different, is a very common phrase used in JET.

So three days after my King's graduation ceremony in 2003, and not a day too soon, I flew out with the other first year hopefuls. First stop, the Keio Plaza, Shinjuku, probably one of the best Hotels in Tokyo, in one of the best locations (not that I've been to any of the other hotels, but it was definitely top notch).

We spent three days in Shinjuku, before we all went off to our separate locations. Most of this time was supposed to be used for training, getting to know the programme, etc etc. But we were given free rein of Tokyo, and we all went out to explore and enjoy our new found Japanese life.

Venturing out into the streets, the place looked pretty similar to every other westernized country, but with lots of Japanese people. Lots of cars, buildings, shops. The store workers would stand outside trying to entice passers by to come in and spend their hard earned yen. Not only the electronic and clothing stores, but also the erotic entertainment stores. Usually shifty looking men with flyers would hang around and talk softly as not to arouse suspicion, asking you if you wanted to have "some fun".

It wasn't as different as I expected. To be honest I didn't know what to expect of Japan. However, there were most of the usual things that could be found in other places, like the famous evil fast food store, or ma-ku-do-na-ru-do ha-mu-ba-ga as it was pronounced in Japan. The food was pretty much the same apart from smaller portion sizes, compared to the UK (compared to the USA the whole world has smaller portion sizes!). There were also a few extra additions to the menu, which I don't quite remember now. Oh yes, there was a sweet potato...em...thing..that I bought once. It was ok.

 The nightlife was pretty cool. There were enough bars and clubs to keep the average Joe happy. For some reason a large number of the JET participants congregated at the Irish pub, quite imaginatively named "The Dubliners, Irish Pub". So much for travelling afar to experience new cultures.

There were lots of other activities that took our time in Shinjuku like the trip to the British Embassy in Japan. This was where some of the top ranking British and Japanese officials decided to entertain us by dressing up in traditional Japanese clothing and play the Taiko, Japanese drums. There is nothing funnier than white people pretending to be Japanese, (apart from black people pretending to be Japanese of course).

We did also manage to find ourselves a Shinjuku at night time tour guide, who was just some random girl who decided to show a few friends and myself some of the sites of Shinjuku, mostly around the red light district. (Now don't let you mind wonder!) She showed us this very very nice establishment, like a coffee shop that sold absolutuly any beverage you could want, and gave you free peanuts ( At least I think they were free.) She was a lovely lady, and turned out to be very reluctant to let us go back home. But it was a great tour. Where ever you are, Thank you.

All in all, the three days in Shinjuku were amazing, but not a very good example of how the rest of our Japanese stay would be.

Part II

Check out the pictures in the gallery

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Mark  - Jealousy |05-09-2008 08:05:01 After reading, im hugely jealous of the opporutnity your university gave you. My Uni dont really offer anything similar, but if they did i would have followed the same route. Im currently looking into teaching English in Japan for a year once i've finished my degree. But well done on everything you've achieved so far! Reply | Quote

K |05-10-2008 00:28:39 Thanks for the comments. I do feel very blessed with the things I have been able to do. I would definitely recommend teaching in Japan. It was truly a learning experience for me. Reply | Quote

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