Previous Teacher's Comment
My life in Kushiro by Matthew Grillo 2007.
January 2007:
The arrival to Kushiro by my wife and I was marked by one thought ... cold! This was not necessarily because Kushiro is colder than any other place near the 45th parallel, but because 13 hours earlier we had been in southern Thailand with balmy 30 degree temperatures relaxing on a sandy beach.
We were scooped up by our new boss, Mr. Funaki at 5:00 in the morning on New Years Eve and quickly brought to our new home. Although we were excited to explore our new surroundings we were soon sleeping the day away due to our previous nights travels. Okay, to be honest...I slept while my wife cleaned and unpacked before she also joined me in a coma-like state.
When we awoke later that afternoon we were invited to spend the evening with our boss and his family for a New Years Eve dinner. It was an excellent introduction to Japanese food, culture and truly generous people. Unfortunately we were still very tired from our travels. It was an early New Years night for us and we failed to see the clock strike midnight. We were sound asleep! How pathetic!
January was filled with exploration, (made possible by the use of the company car) shopping in an attempt to make our apartment feel more like a home, and experiencing the many stages of culture shock. Highs and lows that at times put you on the top of the world and other times made you feel nothing but the desire to be somewhere you understood the language.
I found work at Alpha English Academy never failed to improve my mood. The laidback yet professional atmosphere agreed with me and I found myself right at home from day one. My students ranged from a two year old boy who loved to crawl all over me to a seventy-six year old woman who would play me classical Japanese music on her tape recorder. Classes were wonderful and I had the freedom to design my own lessons by incorporating information and advice left by the previous teachers.
Before we knew it January had slipped away. We had successfully made a home for ourselves in our little apartment in Kushiro. We now knew where the best places were to go shopping, buy groceries, see a movie in English, eat out, and thanks to Mr. Funaki we even found a neighborhood gym.
February 2007:
With the beginning of February we began to enjoy more 'normal' lives. By this I mean my wife and I developed our own routine. Every morning we started going to the local gym. We also had the internet and cable tv connected in our apartment. Internet and cable tv was something we were very happy to have because it was still the dead of winter and we really had no clothes for outdoor adventures. We often went out at night to catch a English language film at the local cinema and found that there were usually one if not two playing at any given time. After being invited out one night in February, we discovered our now favorite friendly little bar. We also realized that having a few drinks in a bar in Japan was a wee bit more expensive than in North America. However, the higher price of drinks was easily forgotten after a few cold 'biiru', 'cho oishii' French fries (one night...whale!) and the homely atmosphere that made snacking, drinking and singing karaoke so ridiculously fun. Most bars in Japan, much like the one we favour, have felt more like converted living rooms adjacent to someone's home than the more typical pub style places we've enjoyed in other parts of the world. Makes one's night out quite comfortable!
During the second week of the month I was able to go skiing for a day with a co-worker, my boss and his daughter while my wife enjoyed the time to herself at home. She was not only working a few days a week at the school, but completing her university degree online through her school in Canada. She was very busy. Much to my chagrin she was always able to find time to make a trip to the local 100 yen shops or Oki Doki recycle shops which were also one of our new and exciting Kushiro discoveries.
March 2007:
Still cold! Although the days were getting noticeably longer the winter chill was still in the air and there was plenty of snow on the ground. The month was highlighted by a trip to a ski resort in north of Akan where I experienced some truly fine Japanese powder and taught my wife how to snowboard. The cost of a day at a ski hill in Hokkaido was considerably cheaper than back in North America. We paid the equivalent of about $25 for our rentals and $25 for our lift tickets each. Therefore the total for the two of us for our day was about $100. Not too shabby! The ski hill was amazingly beautiful, quiet and pristine. That is until my wife got there! The serenity of the environment was slightly altered by the frustrated cursing of my wife as she learned how to snowboard and as I attempted to teach her through crippling laughter as she went face first into countless snow banks. We had a blast! Work was slightly busier as our Dutch co-worker went back to Holland and I was teaching at the elementary schools in mornings. I enjoyed the opportunity to experience the Japanese school system. I found the students to be just like any kids I had ever taught before. Some good, some bad, kids will be kids. Teachers were friendly and usually very helpful. The school lunches weren't too bad either!On the weekends my wife and I enjoyed our new ritual of coffee and a long drive in the countryside. Navigating was very easy with plenty of English road signs. Each drive we took brought us further and further into the mountains and the beautiful scenery that Hokkaido has to offer. Our scenic drives included areas like Akan, as well as Teshikaga to Akan through a winding mountain pass. We also traveled to the city of Obihiro about two hours away. There we stumbled upon a shopping centre downtown that had a foreign food section on its lower level with all sorts of good things. My wife actually squealed with frightening and over enthusiastic joy when she discovered couscous! It was kind of embarrassing. Anyways, we also found a great restaurant also in downtown Obihiro that sold some of the best pizza we've had since leaving North America and to top it off we enjoyed a thirst quenching pitcher of amber ale (Tokachi Beer). We were in heaven.
April 2007:
Spring where are you? After the early part of April most of the snow was gone, but the weather was still quite cool. My wife and I coined a little term we like to refer to as "Kushiro gray". If used in a sentence it would be used like so, "Honey, what's the weather like outside today?" followed by my wife's reply, "ummm...Kushiro gray". Despite the somewhat somber weather, we enjoyed the odd sunny (albeit still snowy) day by taking short walks around the area - often to our local park or downtown to the MOO and EGG. The MOO is referred to as a 'waterfront resort area' and has gourmet food shops on one level looking out to the water, restaurants on another level and finally - a gym and swimming pool on the top level.
The EGG is a small greenhouse and is connected to the MOO. It is kind of nice to stop there and smell plants and dirt when its cold and snowy outside! Just beyond the EGG is the Nusamai Bridge, said to be one of the most beautiful bridges in Hokkaido. It's lined with bronze statues symbolizing the four seasons. My wife and I took the obligatory tourist photos on the bridge one day in early April and then warmed up across the street the next block over at our favorite coffee shop - Tully's.
April was also the month my wife was featured in the Hokkaido wide newspaper, the Hokkaido Shimbun! There were a total of seven articles detailing her adventures at the Akan International Crane Centre. Very exciting!
May 2007:
May would begin with the departure of my wife back to her home country for twenty days to work and visit with her family. It was also the month that spring arrived here in Kushiro. No more jackets, no more sweaters. It was finally t-shirt weather and I was loving it! To pass my new found free time I started exercising more. I began running through the cherry blossoms in our local park in the morning and riding my bike in the evening (Mr. Funaki provided us each with a mountain bike).May also brought Golden Week - a Japanese national holiday. Everyone in the country had the week off and took the opportunity to enjoy a holiday, and thankfully I was no different. Mr. Funaki invited me to go along with his family to a resort in central Hokkaido where we went rafting and took a trip to the zoo. I also enjoyed playing my first game of park golf. What is park golf you might ask? Picture a half-sized golf course filled with families, golf balls made of plastic the size of baseballs, and golf clubs with oversized heads that are only three feet tall. Strangely different but amazingly fun. If you think you might like golf but not the typical expenses or country club atmosphere that usually come along with it, you will love park golf.
Near the end of the month my wife returned home and it was good to have her back. With her came delights from home - Kraft Dinner, tortilla shells, Indian spices and iced tea mix! Her arrival home also seemed to bring the famous 'Kushiro mist'. This is something more easily experienced than explained. The air became thick, gray and seemed to softly blanket you and everything around you with its presence. The weather was getting warmer!
June 2007:
June began well with a hiking trip in Akan National Park with Jordi, our co-worker from Spain. We left kind of late so only hiked a short way up Meakandake, but we enjoyed every second of our two hours on the trail. We went through snow and forests and even past venting steam and the smell of sulfur. Meakandake closes periodically due to volcanic gas emissions!
After our short hike we visited Akan-kohan, a great little resort town famous for its lake and its Ainu village. Lake Akan was a gorgeous crater lake and home to a weird phenomenon known as marimo - a rare algae species that forms itself into green balls of various sizes. The small Ainu village was called Ainu Kotan. For those who are unfamiliar with the Ainu, they are Japan's indigenous people who we found to share an uncanny resemblance in facial features and traditions with our own North American indigenous peoples. Not experts on the Ainu by any stretch, we look forward to learning more about them as we also become more familiar with Hokkaido! The new warm weather also made it possible for us to enjoy our first camping trip. Our employer, Mr. Funaki, was more than generous and lent us all the camping equipment we could possibly need. From lanterns, camping stoves, to a four person tent we were outfitted like experts! The best part was the perfect weather and the worst part was we enjoyed it alongside copious mosquitoes! We left around midday after getting a quick coffee and a few extras from the Posful grocery store and were at the shore of Lake Kussharo-ko at the Wakato-hanto Camping Ground with our tent up and our hiking boots on before we knew what hit us! While there we took the short hike traversing the peninsula through thick woods and alongside the lake. The woods were strikingly green and lush. When we noticed the smell of sulfur we looked over the edge of the trail and saw steam venting out of the shoreline! Near the end of our hike we found a small wooden building at waters edge and upon more careful inspection discovered it was a public onsen for both sexes. We later discovered through the head shaking, arm crossing and 'iiees!' of an older gentleman that we indeed were supposed to be naked in the public hot springs, not wearing our bathing suits - which we were of course doing. Life in Japan is all about trial and error and sometimes when you're us it's also about looking like a total moron, but we really love it!
July 2007:
July was a rather busy month. The weather improved and the sun shone! We took advantage of the warm weather by heading out to Japan's largest marshland - Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. We decided to visit the Kushiro City Marsh Observatory, less than a half hours drive out of Kushiro. Upon arrival we paid our 400 yen entry fee and made our way up the stairs to the top of the observatory. We ventured outside on the highest level of the building to see a view of the wetland, the city and surrounding wilderness. My wife and I took a few photos and enjoyed the fresh air and amazing views from the top. Outside the observatory, we followed the signs that indicated a hiking trail. What we discovered was a weathered wooden trail through lush, green, and silent woods. Just about half way through the short hike the woods opened up to a view of the vast wetland. It was awe inspiring! I highly recommend this walk in the woods.
The following weekend, my wife and I accompanied our co-worker, Mr. Funaki, his daughter Nanako and her friend to Tsurui Green Park. Tsurui is a small village less than an hour from Kushiro. I was really impressed by Tsurui Green Park! it had every kind of fun activity imaginable. There was mini-golf, tandem bikes, playgrounds, tennis courts, a go-cart track and swan-shaped paddle boats. Mr. Funaki suggested we try something called laser gun golf, which was a game where we took turns taking shots at an 18 target course. Even my wife loved it and she is not really all that keen on guns! Afterwards, we enjoyed lounging in the grass on one of the most relaxing, warm and sunny days so far.
In need of some cultural activities, my wife and I decided to visit the Kushiro City Museum and the Kushiro City Art Gallery. Our first stop was the museum, located next to beautiful Lake Harutori. The entry fee was a reasonable 400 yen. I was really amazed by exhibitions and my wife and I spent at least an hour and a half learning about Kushiro past and present. We found the Tancho Crane exhibit located on the top level of the museum to be especially astonishing. The dome-shaped room was painted to represent summer and winter in the wetlands, home to the Tancho. What was so amazing was the absolutely realistic nature of the paintings of the wetlands. One almost felt as if they had left the confines of the indoors and stepped outside.
After the museum, we ventured to the art gallery located near the MOO. Thanks to a student of my wife's who took her to both the museum and art gallery, we knew that the city art gallery was hosting an exhibition of the Czech artist Alfons Mucha. The entry cost was 900 yen and we felt it well worth the money. It was a very well presented and extensive show . Again, we easily spent an hour or more taking in the art and enjoying the serene atmosphere.
Towards the end of the month was the Kushiro Mist Festival, described as the biggest summer event in Kushiro. Apparently the festival was created to reverse the negative image of Kushiro's renowned mist. My wife, some friends, and I enjoyed the various food (and drink!) stalls, the laser show and fireworks. The festival was a lot of fun and well attended. After the event we all enjoyed the nightlife in downtown Kushiro.
August 2007:
Summer has finally arrived and with it sunny days, festivals almost every week, and best of all, nine straight days off. Kushiro really came alive this month. It was great to have the opportunity to go to a different festival every weekend and we did just that. There were parades, fireworks and food venders all waiting to stimulate our senses.The best part of August for us was summer vacation. We decided to head to Sapporo and then camp in the small onsen village of Shirogane. After about a six hour drive from Kushiro we arrived to Sapporo tired, excited and completely ready to take it all in. We weren't disappointed! We were greeted by the busy, cosmopolitan city streets of Japan's fifth largest city. Clean, friendly and alive! I'm sure we walked around with our mouths hanging open taking it all in like typical tourists. There were so many things to do and see - Odori Park, Sapporo Factory, the Susukino entertainment district, the breweries, the TV and Clock Towers, and many restaurants (and so much more). We were especially excited to eat Mexican food at a restaurant beneath JR Sapporo. We loved our time in Sapporo! Three days later coffees in hand, we drove north to find the perfect camping spot. It was a nice change to drive through the truly stunning scenery of Furano and Biei. Once we reached our destination we easily found a place to set up camp, thanks to the helpful and friendly staff at the campground. We spent our time enjoying food and drink around our small hibatchi while I played my new guitar and listened to the sounds of the nearby river. We would have never left if the last two weeks of sun had not finally come to end on our third day with a rainstorm. We did not mind though. Our spirits were high and it was nice to get back to our home and to the next night of Kushiro fireworks.'Oakandake?' We had been wanting to hike this local mountain of over 4000ft overlooking Akan Kohan for some time and the weather was going to be just right. So the next morning, with a typical late start as always, we headed up to Akan National Park. We were in for quite a day. Let's just say we were not exactly well prepared. Our breakfast consisted of splitting a large croissant and a cup of coffee. Not exactly an appropriate pre-hike breakfast. I think those calories were burned just walking through the parking lot. Lunch? How about ONE snickers bar for the two of us and ONE bag of peanuts. Oh it doesn't stop there. On this beautiful, sunny, HOT day, I decided that only three bottles of water would be just fine for both of us. Yeah well, that was gone within the first hour and a half of the hike. Oops. We managed to nearly complete it, but were forced to turn around due to severe hunger and dehydration. Needless to say we are determined to finish this hike. We will not be bested by Oakandake. We first need the use of our legs back.
September 2007
The festivals of August have come to an end and fall has officially arrived. Just as our boss and students predicted, with fall would come the sun. The past month we have enjoyed the sunniest weather of our stay. Fall in Kushiro is truly magnificent. Although we enjoyed many nights karaoke fun this month, our best weekend would have to be the one we spent exploring central Hokkaido by car. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall day. We turned down roads without a real clue where we would come out. Thankfully, we found ourselves at Lake Onneto, an aqua colored lake on the north side of Meakendake. After snapping many photos we continued on to Akan-kohan and stopped into a local hotel where we enjoyed delicious plates of curry-rice while sitting comfortably. We devoured our curry while gazing out at Lake Akan and the stunning gardens just at its shore. It was a truly relaxing day that we both needed and enjoyed. Other highlights of the month included an afternoon at the batting cages with Fumio and my co-worker, bringing my wife to one of my kindergarten classes, and our first experience with the Wii game system. We could not understand one Sunday afternoon why both of us were so tired and suffering from severely sore muscles. We had gone to bed early the night before and I had even taken a break from my usual exercise routine the two previous days. What was wrong with us? Then we realized - the Wii! The night before we had spent hours swinging our imaginary golf clubs, baseball bats and bowling balls. It had actually made our muscles ache the next day! We had a good laugh and agreed that it was at least something positive for the millions of young kids who insist on getting their entertainment from these game systems. At least they'd be getting some excercise in the process. We certainly did! We slept well that night, vowing to get into better shape. As the summer has come to an end, so too has our time here. We will depart for home in November and are busy making final arrangements for our journey home. Although we are excited to see our families and start the next phase of our lives, the thought of leaving this place we have come to know as home saddens us. We will surely do our best to enjoy the time we have left and will make sure our finals memories are filled with good times and lasting memories.
Final Thoughts
Oct 2007 Last Month in Kushiro, my last month in Kushiro. How fast it goes. Throughout the year Fumio and all my students told me that the fall here was the most beautiful and sunniest time of the year. They were not kidding. I think about 40 days out of the last 45 have been filled with sun. My morning jogs turned into morning walks and I tried to take on a more reflective approach to the last month here. I made sure I took my time and walked through the beautiful park that welcomed me each morning and not just run through it unaware. As usual, just when a place starts to really grow on you it is time to leave. My wife left two weeks before me so my last two weeks, although good, felt a little empty without her. I was left to do the majority of the cleaning and packing myself and I would be lucky to get my luggage down our stairs, not to mention half way around the world they were so heavy. Where does it all come from? We arrived with nothing but one small backpack each. The highlight of the month was the Halloween party. Decorations, a pinata, a haunted house and so many kids. I could not believe how many people came. It was a blast and everyone had a good time. All of my student were very kind in saying their goodbyes and I will miss many of them. I didn't realize it until these last few days, but the students at Alpha were like having an extended family. My momories of Japan will include camping in the mountains and on lakes with my wife, skiing with Fumio, my first wedding anniversary, drives in the country side, our local pup (with a name that I still can't spell and will not try), karaoke, summer festivals and late nights downtown and a wonderful job and boss. I hope someday I will be able to return and do it all again. I can only hope that Fumio and his family understand how grateful to them I am for all there generosity and kindness. I will leave Kushiro with nothing but positive thoughts and memories. So thank you Japan. Thank you Alpha English Academy. And Thank you Fumio!
Thank you Matt. It was pleasure to have you at Alpha.
