photo by digicla

Japan’s First Lady Miyuki Hatoyama has won the Best Jeanist Award for 2009.  Organisers Japan Jeans Association described how the wife of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama wears her jeans in “a classy but revolutionary style” that “projects a positive spirit representing true denim” (Taragana breaking news)

“This is the prize I have long wished to win. I’m a jeans lover. I’m always putting on jeans as they’re easy to wear,” Sky News quoted Mrs Hatoyama as saying. (Taragana breaking news).

Ride on Miyuki, keep up the modern fashion and hope you can keep the title next year!

Without living in Japan and being able to immerse you into the language on a daily basis, learning Japanese with audio is without doubt the fastest and most efficient way to get started. If you are lucky enough to have some Japanese friends who can help then you are already ahead of the game. In most cases people will look to evening classes at their local college or on the internet for online basic Japanese lessons.

Of course the best way to learn any language is in the country itself. This has obvious advantages but for most of us this is not possible and we have to choose more practical methods of how to learn Japanese.

The more you learn about Japan and its people you quickly realize that they are the masters of efficiency. You would do well to model them in this respect and apply their meticulous methodology to some research which will allow you to begin your adventure in Japanese language study in a way that lends itself to providing maximum returns for the time that you invest in studying.

OK so we might all admire the Japanese mindset but just don’t have the time or resources to spend on the research, lucky we have done it for you then!

Why study Japanese?

There are many advantages to learning any new language, in this case the growing importance of Japan in the global markets could mean that having some knowledge of Japanese culture and language may give you an edge if you are employed in such areas as tourism, journalism, technology and many other areas of employment.

Of course it would be remiss of us not to mention how incredibly beautiful Japan is itself and how truly fascinating their culture is. Learning how to speak Japanese with a view to visiting the country at some point is in our view enough of a motivating factor and reward in itself.

Although it may seem a daunting prospect if you plan your strategy in advance and put some regular time aside for studying, learning Japanese with audio is achievable. We recently came across a young man whilst researching the subject who’s learn to speak Japanese tips included,”learning Japanese on his palm pilot”.

Having spent a lot of time in the forums and researching the best way to learn Japanese we have come up with the following conclusions.

Learning about the language and culture is best done in Japan itself. If at all possible enlist the help of some Japanese friends. If using Japanese MP3 downloads or inexpensive language CDs, ensure that they come from only the very best sources like the ones offered for sale by Dr Paul Pimsleur, Dr Robert Blair and the publishing house Harper Collins. All have proven track records for learning Japanese online with audio.

Whether your motivation is personal or professional you can be assured that this adventure that you are about to embark on will be truly rewarding. Many scholars have spent their whole lives immersed in the beauty of this language, its people and its culture. You could do a lot worse than choosing to invest some of your precious time in learning Japanese with audio.

OK it’s probably predictable to say Sayonara (Sa-yo-na-ra). (goodbye) but we’ll add a little as hate being predictable:

Saying goodbye to a close friend (informal) is said like this “Ja-ne” (pronounced) jar-neigh!

Have fun learning the Japanese language, Ja-ne!

“We may simply have lost our appreciation for handmade goods.”

Photo by andyket

Igarashi san has been making chochin paper lanterns in his small shop for his whole life. His father too, and his grandfather and great grandfather and even great, great grandfather. The tools & equipment that surround him today, in fact, have outlasted his ancestors, their wooden surfaces worn smooth with age. Since the start of the Meiji era (1868 – 1912) Kanazawa citizens have been buying Igarashi chochin from the store, in the heart of old Kanazawa’s merchant district, near the back of the castle. The shelves are stacked high with beautifully decorated lanterns – vibrant bursts of colour peppering the dusty confines of the little workshop.

Chochin lanterns have a fairly long history in Japan – there is evidence of them being used in temples in the 10th century – and were used primarily as a portable means of lighting. Only occasionally used inside, they customarily hung outside a house, temple or business or else in the entrance, ready to be suspended on a pole and carried before anyone going out at night. Igarashi-san reckons that at one time they were so widely used there would have been around 40 or 50 chochin shops just in Kanazawa. Nowadays there remain only himself and one other local craftsman in the trade and the other fellow (Matsuda-san) has long since diversified, making traditional umbrellas his mainstay.

Making a chochin is a fiddly, fairly delicate procedure despite the attractively simple appearance of the end product. And, when asked what are the most important qualities in his profession Igarashi-san replies, his bright eyes dead serious, “patience and concentration.” The average sized lantern according to Igarashi-san, at about 30 cm across, can be produced at a rate of about two a day by one man including most of the painting. However some truly huge ones have left the Igarashi shop over the years – his biggest was a matsuri monster measuring 5 shaku (1 shaku = 30.3cm in the old Japanese measuring system) in diameter with an intricate year of the rabbit design on it. The old lantern maker is realistic about the fact that people want cheaper, mass-produced, plastic covered lanterns these days – he even sells them himself – but he is confident in the knowledge that a well-made paper lantern is a lovely thing, superior in many ways to these garish modern impostors.

“You can repair a good chochin,” he tells us, “you can replace one rib or fix a hole in the paper no problem.” “Plastic lanterns have no internal frame and can’t be patched.” A paper lantern no matter how well made lasts only about a year (natural beauty is always fleeting) whereas a plastic one might last twice that and cost half as much. On top of that, we as a society may have simply lost our appreciation for handmade goods. Price has become our main motivation as customers. We do not care to know how things were made nowadays, or who made them, or else Igarashisan would be the prosperous head of a chain of shops.

The walls of the Igarashi Chochinya and his ready-to-hand scrapbook sport innumerable monochrome pictures and press clippings showing a proud, broad-shouldered young man with strong, thick arms and a fetching grin showing off elegant paper spheres with matsuri lights glimmering in the background. Humbly showing us them, his warm, friendly smile only slips slightly as he tells us that he will be the last of his family line making lanterns here.

Photo by cogdogblog

When signing a contract to teach English in Japan, there can be many things to look out for that you were not aware of or feel “stupid” asking.  Well don’t. We’ll look here at some common things employers sometimes do to trick new teachers and what you can do about it.

If you’ve spent any time at all browsing through forums on teaching English in Japan, you’ve probably run across more than a few horror stories.  Topics range from working hours and conditions way in excess of what’s in the contract, to horrible living conditions and exorbitant rent.  Some of this is avoidable if you take a careful look at your contract and ask the right questions before you take a teaching position. One of the most important parts of the contract are the contact hours. We’ll look at this first.

Contact Hours and What They Are

Contact hours are actual hours spent teaching or being “in contact” with the student(s). The industry standard for full-time sponsored ESL instructors is 22-27 per week.  They are not the same qualitatively as office hours. You can’t get up and get a glass of water, chat with a friend at the water cooler or check your e-mail during contact hours, although you can during regular office hours at most regular jobs.

The point is — if you directly compare office hours and teaching contact hours, you’re comparing apples to oranges. 45 contact hours will grind you into the dirt in no time (in addition to being illegal) whereas 45 office hours won’t. Be careful when you look at ads. And don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Another point to consider when you sign a teaching contract is contact hours and stated hours. Often schools will state 22-25 teaching hours in their contract but they don’t mention office hours. These are hours between classes where you perform services for your students. For example, chatting with students and evaluating and grading their work. If you’re grading reports in between classes instead of preparing them, it makes for a long day. So when you negotiate, make sure you get the total time that is involved in the job.

Teaching Contracts and Salaries

Ah yes, salaries. Expect to be paid 250,000 yen per month for a standard contract. This is the “minimum wage” for full-time sponsored ESL instructors. This is considered an entry-level salary for conversation teachers with little or no experience.

Other Perks

Look carefully at vacation days. Ask for a total of weeks off per year. Expect at least 2. Also make sure to ask if the time-off that is quoted to you is in addition to national holidays. Also be sure to ask which national holidays the school observes. Some schools that are generous with paid holidays will give you every one off, others won’t.

Let’s not forget health insurance.  Most employers provide health insurance for free or at least subsidize it.  If you’re getting stuck with the whole bill, make sure the deal is sweeter in other areas like salary or vacation days.

Teaching Contracts and Accommodations

Living in a nasty apartment will make your stay in Japan, well..er..nasty. Schools that provide you with a working visa, generally take care of accommodations as well. It’s important to make sure you have a private apartment if you don’t want to share. Don’t assume you’ll have your own private place!

Your Rights as a Teacher

Many teachers are easily intimidated by contracts or believe them to be the final word. The reality is that any contract is subservient to established labor laws. Labor laws are the final word and not your contract.

It’s important to know your rights as a worker under Japanese labor laws. If you feel you’re being treated unfairly, you can contact General Union for representation (by joining the union) or contact the Labor Standards Office for help in your disputes.

All in all, make sure you ask questions and check your contract up front and seek transparency from your employers.  If they match what you are looking for then it will be an excellent experience and could be the first step in an ESL teaching career abroad.

Best of luck and let us know your experiences working for ESL companies in Japan below.  Your advice and tips could help someone else looking for an ESL job in Japan.

photo by yellowbird

Kyoto University shows signs of increasing foreign integration and adaptation with the introduction of an Islamic menu to its cafeteria food options. This rare introduction could be seen as a move to attract more foreign students from the region against the backdrop of a competitive international education market. Afterall, a university is essentially a business and will go to great lengths to attract its “customers” (students) and make them happy.  And so it should.

According to JapanToday, the university will “introduce a Halal food corner from Tuesday, avoiding pork and seasonings of pork origin, which Muslims are banned from eating. The new menus include chicken and croquettes made of broad beans”.

This positive move could also not only encourage the growing Muslim population throughout the university and Japan, but also other foreigners hoping to get access to their special food and dietary requirements in local restaurants and cafeterias – such as as vegetarians.

Hopefully this is the start of things to come across the country and this sort of move to accommodate foreigners in Japan is a very positive step forward.

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