Heather McLean
I've moved from Toronto, Canada to Innoshima, Japan. heatherinjapan
Toronto: large city, 5 million people, multi-cultural, English speakers, movie theaters/bars/shops, my family/friends, a car or the subway, my bed.
Innoshima: small island, 30 000 people, countryside, all Japanese, zero English, no theatres, a bicycle, a futon.
These are a few examples of my MAJOR CHANGE!
Technically I'm here to work as an English teacher. In reality, I'm here to play with kids in elementary school, hang out with junior high kids and have high priorities of traveling and exploring!
Welcome to my travels!
Travel Blog Posts
August 30th 2006
It's time to go home. I can't believe it. I've waited until the last possible day to leave, and now I'm struggling with saying goodbye. It was a magical year that I would trade nothing for. I learned so much about other cultures, and a great deal about myself. I saw many amazing places, and met even more incredible people. It's not going to be easy to leave all of this behind. My last few weeks of school were filled with goodbye lessons and games, as well as farewell ceremonies. Each school treated my leaving quite differently. Some didn't do much, as I'm sure they're all used to English teachers coming in and out of their lives. However other schools presented me with gifts and cards, and said wonderful things at school assemblies. At one Junior ... read more
August 13th 2006
Summer in Japan is really an endless festival. Actually festivals in general in Japan are endless....but the summer is the peak season. For my last weekend in Innoshima, I attended the Habu fireworks. I'd like to think is was a farewell party for me, but actually it was the kickoff to summer holidays. Never before have I felt more like a celebrity! Cruising down the mainstreet with Dana, we were pretty much greeted by everyone that passed by. Every student knew either one of us, and stopped with their families to say hello, take a picture, or just wave. It was awesome! It was the last time I saw most of the Innoshima locals....I'm really going to miss that place. The Onomichi fireworks the next weekend were phenomenal! There is a mountain in Onomichi that overlooks ... read more
August 11th 2006
Originally I had planned to visit Vietnam this week, however because of difficulties with getting a Visa (meaning, my travel agent just didn't get one) I found myself with a week of no job, no house and no committments. I decided to head to South Korea. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip. I noticed some similiarities between South Korea and Japan.....mostly in touristy desintations. It could have been the overwhelming numbers of Japanese tourists that did it for me. After hitting up a few palaces and museums, I took to the streets to find the "everyday" Seoul. I had intended to take the ferry from Japan to Pusan....although it would have been really cool, and I hope to do it someday, it really cost the same as flying and took way longer. I chose the easy route ... read more
July 19th 2006
It has been a few months since I left Japan and returned to Canada. In my last few weeks I got so caught up in last minute travels and of course packing up my life, that I neglected my blog. Again the same thing happened when I got back home....visiting and unpacking. I've had a few requests to finish everything up, so I'm going to jump back in time and complete my year with a few entries! During my time in Japan I have developed a few obsessions. One being karaoke, which I have written about a number of times on this blog. The other is purikura, a popular sticker picture collected mostly by girls of all ages in Japan. Photo booths are located mostly at entertainment centres. At these entertainment places you can gamble, play ... read more
July 17th 2006
We arrived at the Kyoto Tourist Information Centre to see a big sign reading ''NO VACANCY IN KYOTO, JULY 17''!!! Uh oh!! Dana, Linda, Zoe and I went through every possible scenario and decided the best option would be to stay up all night. It was the Gion Matsuri (festival), one of the biggest in Japan, therefore the city was maxed out with tourists from all over the country. It sounded too good to be missed, so we hit the streets. We spent the day on Sunday dodging rain drops, and visiting . We mostly took it easy knowing it would be a long night ahead. The streets filled with festival-goers around 6p.m. It is tradition to dress in yukatas for summer festivals...and just about everyone was decked out. The streets were lined with food vendors, ... read more
July 15th 2006
In April I bought tickets to the Colplay concert in Osaka which seemed like a million years away...but it's has now come and gone. It was a long weekend in Japan, so Dana and I planned to visit Osaka and Kyoto. A little while later I found out that my lovely friend Linda was going to be in Japan! She and her cousin Zoe from Hong Kong joined us and it was GREAT! Friday night Dana, Linda and I met at the station in Osaka, checked into Hotel Kinki, and set out for a night to remember! We sang until we couldn't sing anymore at a nearby karaoke bar. I've completely fallen for the the Japanese obsession of karaoke. You just rent a room with friends and stay for hours singing, eating, drinking. It's so much ... read more
July 7th 2006
Ishizuchi Mountain was my second mountain climb in Japan. It is the tallest mountain in Shikoku (the central-south main island of Japan), at 1982 meters. It is a holy mountain, as climbed by many Japanese as a religious pilgramage. Our group of 20 people spent 24 hours together...we climbed, we got wet, we prayed and we partied. The invitation for the climb came from my iaido (martial art) teacher. He and his friends were doing the climb, and asked our class to join them. Dana, Daniel and I tagged along, and I'm really happy that we did. We met at 10:30p.m. on Friday night. We drove on a bus until about 3a.m., when we arrived at the bottom of the mountain. We took a ropeway at 3:30a.m. about half way up, where we also got dressed ... read more
July 1st 2006
June is over! Where has the time gone?! This blog is a couple of weeks late, because I am just realizing now that it's July. I mean, I have known that it is July everyday for the past two weeks, however it hasn't really hit me until now. I have less than two weeks until my job is finished and I move from my apartment. I've been too busy to notice the time fly. Here's a few things that I've done in the last month.... On June 6th,, I went to see Ben Harper in Hiroshima. The concert was held at Club Quattro....a venue for a couple hundred people. It was a nice, intimate setting for a chilled out concert. The band was talented and great, the music impressive. It was my first time to hear ... read more
June 25th 2006
A teacher I used to work with, and now one of my closest friends in Innoshima is Hiroka Katayama. I call her Katayama sensei (because that's the polite way to address her). She always brings me food, and occasionally takes me places. It has been so great having her as a friend. She has introduced me to how a Japanese household works, which I wouldn't have experienced otherwise. She has also fed me many times when my fridge was very empty! This weekend she invited me (as a birthday present) to visit Wakayama Prefecture to see Koyasan, a famous mountain and religious centre in Japan. It was a 6 hour bus ride to get there. The day started when Katayama-sensei picked me up at 5:30a.m. to drive to the bus centre. It was a full bus, ... read more
June 18th 2006
At home in Canada I would rarely consider driving five hours to go to a party for one night. However, since in Japan I've become used to going the distance....and I totally don't mind. This weekend I went to Tottori Prefecture for a beach party...it was a wild time, and a great way to celebrate my birthday! Tottori Prefecture is north-east of Hiroshima where I am, and is on the Sea of Japan. The San-In Beach Party was held on a private beach, for a weekend of camping, relaxing, music, parties, swimming..... Many people headed up on Friday night to get the party started, however Dana and I left Innoshima on Saturday morning. We got there around noon, when most people were just getting up. There were seemed to be a ton of people from Hiroshima ... read more
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