Blogs from Kamijima, Ochi, Ehime, Japan, Asia - page 6

The autumn harvest festivals have begun. What are the autumn harvest festivals? Good question. In short, they include waking up at the crack of dawn to carry a huge, very heavy portable shrine (in which the rice god lives) and another huge, even heavier carriage (in which four children play the taiko/drum). The portable shrine is called a mikoshi and the carriage for the children is called a danjiri. They are carried on several people’s shoulders all day while they visit different parts of the neighborhood to bless houses and farms for a good harvest season. Then, finally the rice god is carried to its new home at a different Shinto shrine. Oh, one part I forgot to mention is that all of this is done while screaming chants at the top of your lungs and, ... read more

Right, So my plan was to back date everything and start the story from the beginning of arriving and make my way smoothly to the present, but this is proving to be far to complicated and I simply am starting to forget what happened. Plus, the greatest weekend so far took place a few weeks ago and I have been putting off writing about it so that I could catch up with myself, but quite frankly that is'nt that fun. So I will divulge the story of my Aki Matsuri (Autumn festival). No doubt a few of you may have had time to check out Ethan and Jennie's similar experiences but if you haven't then here goes. This is the big one, as far as the festivals go in everyway and is celebrated using a number ... read more

Another week has gone by on the island of Yuge,　and I'm not sick of it yet! In fact, I think I like it more and more everyday. As I get to know my way around, the food in the grocery store, the people's faces and the names to go with them, and my students, this place becomes an even nicer environment to live in. I even successfully paid my first month's bills! I guess that's some kind of sign that I can make it independently in Japan. And,　just in case you were wondering, my fridge continues to be stocked with fruits and veggies from neighbors. It must be fig season, because it seems that I have to eat 3 a day to keep up with the rate I am receiving them. Im also beginning to get ... read more

Well, it's only been about two weeks since I came back to Japan, but it feels like I've been here forever. I am teaching English on a remote island in the Inland Sea of Japan called Yuge. Yuge is part of a town made up of four islands called Kamijima. It is technically part of Ehime prefecture in Shikoku, but it's much closer to Hiroshima prefecture in Honshu. Yuge is only accessible by ferry. There are no roads or trains that connect the island to the mainland. Therefore, life here is much more isolated, rural, traditional, and laid back. There are only about 3,000 people living on this island. My job is to teach English at the nursery school, elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, and adult conversation classes. Luckily each school has a ... read more