AJET Newsletter

Peace Street Gets It’s Just Peace Street Gets It’s Just Peace Street Gets It’s Just Peace Street Gets It’s Just Dessert!Dessert!Dessert!Dessert!

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009

Toyama AJET Newsletter

Most of you will recognise thedashing gent pictured below as MichaelGrudzinski, the food critic for Toyama’sAJET Newsletter. The lady beaming besidehim in the picture below is Yoshida-san,owner of the Peace Street Kitchen, whichwas featured in March’s Newsletter.

With the translation help of CoryPotwin we were able to present Yoshida-san with a framed, bilingual version of thearticle for her to hang in her restaurant.Hopefully this will help Yoshida-sancontinue to draw in customers to supporther wonderful restaurant.

Meet the new AJET Council 2

Charity Show Interviews 3 – 4

Competition - Win a Free Ticket! 4

We’ve reached the final edition of the Toyamanewsletter Volume 1. Volume 2 will start withJuly’s edition. Since the newsletter has grownto compete with some of the biggest kens inthe country we felt it appropriate to rename herwith something more encompassing. So fromnext month you can look forward to receivingyour first copy of the ToyamaToyama TimesTimes..

XYoshida-san is presented with a framed

Newsletter article by Michael Grudzinski.

Restaurant Review ‘Someday’ 5

Leaver’s Weekend 6

Nanto International Festival 7

Do I Have Worms 8

Charity Auction 9

Charity: Room to Read 10 - 11

Fighting for the Pride of Toyama 12 - 13

Recipe: Spaghetti Meatballs 14

Film Review: Red Cliff Pt 1 15

JET Efftect 16

Haiku & Photo 17

National AJET Competitions 17

Blog Review 18

Cartoon 18

June Calendar 19

http://ajet.net/modules/articles/article.php?id=243 AJET on Facebook http://kanko.toyamaken.jp/english/access.html http://kanko.toyamaken.jp/english/travel_guide.html

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


Hilda Solomon AJET TreasurerContact: [email protected]

Introducing the new AJET councilIntroducing the new AJET councilIntroducing the new AJET councilIntroducing the new AJET council

Paula Kerrigan AJET Prefectural Rep.Contact: [email protected]

Cory Potwin & Rebekah O’BrienAJET Social RepsContact: [email protected]

Ally Lomas & Michael GrudzinskiAJET Charity RepsContact: [email protected]

Maddy RodellAJET Excursions RepContact: [email protected]

Jonathan PerryAJET Publications RepContact: [email protected]


First PerformanceFirst PerformanceFirst PerformanceFirst Performance

When: June 13

Where: Uozu, Niikawa Bunka Hall

Second Performance Second Performance Second Performance Second Performance

When: June 20th

Where: Takaoka, Wing Wing Centre.

How do I get tickets?

To buy tickets or to get more information

talk to anyone involved in the show or

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


CHARITY SHOW!CHARITY SHOW!CHARITY SHOW!CHARITY SHOW!

RUTH KINGDON A.K.A. ALICEQ) What’s she like?A) Totally and utterly clueless. Most of the time.

Q) Do you think people will be able toidentify with your character?A) Singing songs from Aladdin with a cat-boyand watching Tokyo Hosts do Michael Jacksonnumbers happens to people everyday, so yes.

Q) Final word?Ever heard me try to speak Japanese? Exactly.Come if only for the entertainment value ofwatching me butcher a bit of Nihon-go. Oh, andto give money to charity of course.

send an email to

[email protected]

Can’t wait? Me either! Thecountdown is on. With just a couple ofweeks to go I thought I’d give you a sneakpreview into some of the characters (and Ido mean characters) you can expect to seein just a couple of weeks.

This is Alice in Wonderland as you'venever seen it before--street punks,

maids, and TV queens. Make sure your eyesare well-fastened in their sockets and thatyour jaw is securely hinged because thisshow will be an eye-popping, jaw-droppingall out assault on your senses!

I'd like to extend my profoundestthanks to the entire cast, stage managersand crew, producers and language coach--you have all been tremendous throughoutthe past 5 months and are the reasonI can find the energy to be at every everyrehearsal.

First, a word from director, Rachel Chaffin:


Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


CORY POTWIN A.K.A. HAKKYOU HATTA-

Q) What’s he like?A) Fruity and delicious, a dancer, a madman, some say creepy.

Q) How are audiences going to react to him?A) Laughing and the word 'creepy' in the highest high school girl pitch you can imagine

SHAMBHAVI KADAM A.K.A. YURI

Q) What’s she like?A) Bitchy slut who likes metal.

KYLE JEWETT A.K.A. BADASS-SUKE

Q) What’s he like?A) Massively inflated ego - but is it justified?

Q) Do you think people will identify with him?A) Yes, but hopefully they won't know him intimately!

RAEWYN MCGREGOR A.K.A. CAT MAID

Q) What’s she like?A) Ditziest, cutest cat/human/maid thing this

SARA CONTINENZA A.K.A. USAGI

Q) What’s she like?A) Usagi is a sassy, fun-loving, genki-ass school girl!

Q) What would Usagi say to encourage people to come and see the musical?A) Come on guys, follow me...you know you want to

LESTER CLARK A.K.A. THE CHESHIRE CAT

Q) What’s he like?A) He’s goofy, caring, loyal, responsible, oh and

he’s a cat!.

Q) What will the audience think of him?A) The Cheshire cat helps Alice make sense of

her crazy environment. They’ll see that his heart is in the right place. Nyao!

Can you guess who these costumes belong to? AJET Newsletter is giving away 1 free ticket to the performance of your choice to the first person to identify all 7 people in the pictures below. Send your entries to [email protected]. Deadline is June 5th. Cast and Crew members may not enter.

Q) How are audiences going to react to her?A) They’ll wonder where her whip is.

Q) Do you think people will identify with her?A) Man, I hope not.

A) Ditziest, cutest cat/human/maid thing this side of the Alps.

Q) Will people be able to identify with her?A) Yip, just like people can identify with blondes. She's as idealistic as a 4 year old!

TAKUMA FUKUMORI A.K.A. THE QUEEN

Q) What’s She Like? A) She's a bitch who looks down on ugly/unfashionable people.

Q) What will the audience think? A) They will think I’m non Japanese but that I’m very fabulous.


Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


Zcramped bar with narrowstools that appear to be madeout of logs.

Immediately after you sit,you’ll be greeted and handeda hand-written menu byeither a) the cutest littlebespectacled woman you everdid see or b) a wide-eyed,

extensive music and beverageselection (FYI: Guinness ontap), the museum décor, andthe fact that Someday is atwo-person operation—this isindeed a restaurant. The pizzais intoxicating. And pleasetrust that I am not hookedsolely because its toppingsdon’t include mayonnaise andcorn. The side dishes mayseem a little pricey, but I endup ordering them anywaybecause—I promise you—youcan taste the precision in them.Order the fried potatoes andtell me I’m wrong. When youpeek into the kitchen and seethat Akemi—a self-taughtchef—is cooking all by herself,you may feel a little bad for

Eat, Drink, Rock: Inaka StyleBy Haruko Castro

Your first ride on theJohana sen from Takaoka canhit you hard. The limitlessexpanse of rice paddies, thewiry cranes swooping on tothem, the toddlers beside thetracks who wave at you as theirgrandmothers hold their tinyhands: all of it beats into you

SomedayPhone: 0763-22-6356,Closed: TuesdaysHow to get there:Take the Johana sen toFukuno station. Walk out ontothe main street and make aleft at the 2nd intersection,where the eyewear shop is.Walk a couple blocks, and youshould see the white sign onyour right.

did see or b) a wide-eyed,shaggy-haired man eager touse his English (but not in theannoying, drunk izakaya dudeway).

They are Akemi and Koji,the married couple andFukuno natives who own andoperate Someday. Somedayopened in 1983 after Kojireturned from L.A. withenough Americana to, well,open a store. As the rock n’roll goodies ran out, the menugot larger, and Somedayturned into what it is today.Someday’s current LPcollection is at 3 to 4thousand, and the same goesfor its CD collection. TheDVD/VHS collection is alsoimpressive, and some classicartist is often performing onone or both television sets.

When your food arrives,you’ll be forcefully remindedthat—despite the

you may feel a little bad forhaving wondered what theheck is taking so long. Whenyou take your first bite, youconclude that you’d happily sitthrough the wait next to youcome here.

If eating home-cookedfood and listening to awesomeclassics isn’t your thing, visiton a Saturday night when theyhave live performances (checkhttp://someday1983.hp.infoseek.co.jp for schedule). Most ofthe audience will be friendsand family of the localperformers and shout lovablejabs at them mid-set, but thefamiliarity in the room is not sooverbearing that you’ll feel leftout. With pizza in one hand, acorona in the other, andoriginal music blasting fromthe amps, you’ll need to walkback out into the quiet night toremember that you are,indeed, in Fukuno.

hands: all of it beats into youthe inescapable reality that

YOU ARE INRURAL JAPAN!!!

Yet, while Nanto City’sfrighteningly boring qualitywears off after a month or so,sometimes it’s still nice toescape the ubiquitous reminderthat you’re not in the mosthappenin’ part of a town thatisn’t home.

Welcome to Someday.Entering this place is likewalking into the outcome of aclassic-rock paraphernaliaexplosion, after whicheverything just happened toland on the walls in anartistically spaced-out fashion.You’ll find haphazard shrines toThe Beatles and Hendrix,among others. If you come inon a weekday night, you’ll haveyour pick of where to sit, fromthe low wooden tables the

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


LEAVER’S WEEKENDBy Cory Potwin

The JET adventure is one of trials and turmoils: of classes sprung upon us; of JTEs who don’tspeak a word of English; of days alone at our desk trying to find some way to pass the hours.

THETHETHETHE RUNDOWNRUNDOWNRUNDOWNRUNDOWN::::Date: Saturday, June 27th starting at 4PMDon’t forget to check out Nanto International Festival before you head up!

Location: Toga International Campgrounds ��Maps will be included in the e-mail to be sent out soon!You WILL need to drive or carpool up! Sorry, I asked them if they could move thecampgrounds anywhere closer to a station and they just told me I didn’t quite grasp the conceptof simple physics.

Cost: Refer to this handy chart!

speak a word of English; of days alone at our desk trying to find some way to pass the hours.Throughout our year(s), we have punctuated this time with journeys together, whether it be tripsto bigger and better cities, the occasional weekend party, or just chatting it up on gmail, and wehave made friends among other JETs in the community. As some leave for greener fields andpossibly weaker economic climates, let’s get together to celebrate the times we spent with oneanother and enjoy one last crazy night up in Toga.

Join me and all your JET friends on the 27th of June, at the Toga International Campgroundsfor a jolly romp in the woods, complete with cabins, yakisoba, ghost stories, award ceremonies,hangovers, PB&Js and more hugs than you can shake a stick at. It’s bound to be a grand ol’ time.

AJET Non-AJET

Leavers Free! 1,000 �

Non-leaving JET/Non-JETS

3,000 �

3,500 � Contact: [email protected]

Or talk directly to Cory Potwin or Rebekah O’Brien

SeeSeeSeeSee youyouyouyou theretheretherethere ☺☺☺☺

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


The big Leaver's Weekendparty is up in at the TogaCampsite the samenight, so most of you shouldbe in Nanto during thatweekend anyways!Fukumitsu is a village on theway out to Toga village, socome hit up the Fukumitsufestival for a couple hoursbefore booking off to Toga. Itcould be a good place to meetup for carpooling.

This is a great event, andits success is largelydependent on the volunteersrunning the affair. I wouldreally appreciate it if anyonewould be willing to volunteer

Nanto Summer Festival!By Will Moore

The Nanto GoodwillExchange Association iscurrently in the planningstages for the Nanto SummerFestival! Think of it like asmall versionof JETFest in southwestToyama.

Features include:

•Stage Acts (Andean music by

master Peter Lopez, Taichi demon-strations, Hula

dancing, perform-

When: 27th June (Saturday) 12pm - 3pm Where: Fukumitsu Fukushi Kaikan.

would be willing to volunteerfor Face Painting in the KidsCorner, cooking InternationalDishes for a hungry audience,or even with general help atthe event. We are alsolooking for those interested inrunning a country booth. Ican call up your embassy andreceive more materials if youwant to present but havenothing to show! Did youhave fun with the countrybooths at JETFest? Were youenvious of those who did?Here is another chance!

I would really appreciateany help or ideas with ourNanto Summer Festival! Shootme an email [email protected] give me a ring, 0763-52-3022. Even if you don'twant to volunteer, I hope tosee you in Fukumitsu on the

27th!

dancing, perform-ances by the local

Preschools)•Country Booths •Panel Exhibits

(set up by High and Junior High schools

in Nanto) •Booths by various

organizations around Toyama

•Kids Corner •Face Painting •Tea Chatroom

•Cultural Costumes •Tons of

international food•Things there aren’t

even words for!

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


particularly the case forall things ‘medical’.A classic example of headspinning moment was a

– only in Japan (I hope,anyway!). It also makesme smile when I imaginethe worker, in April,finding out that they areon bum tape checking inToyama Ken for at leastthe next year.

Throughout the nextmonth my boys will alsobe weighed, andmeasured (as is doneevery month), have theirwee inspected – onceagain there will be a lineof children, this time withtheir little bottles of wee,not a drop will be spilled,let alone a bottle pouredall over someone’sneighbor – and their

Do I have Worms?By Kieran Murphy

Every JET has aunique perspective whenthey talk about theirexperiences in Japan. Thatperspective is influencedby their work, friends,where they live etc. Myperspective of Japan isvery much influenced by aview delivered at a heightof about 110 to 120 cms,this being theapproximate height of myboys, Darcy (5) andBryn(4). They, along withmy wife Lisa, are havingthis ‘JET experience’ withme.

When I talk about myboys and theirexperiences in Japan it is

spinning moment was aconversation I had withBryn.

Bryn: Hey dad, do youknow what is happeningon mum’s birthday?’Me: ‘No, are we going outfor sushi?’Bryn: ‘No. It’s the dayyou put sticky tape acrossmy bottom.’Me: ‘Oh….. Okay.’

This was a conversation Inever thought I wouldhave with anybody, letalone my son.It turned out that thesticky tape was beingused to see if any of thechildren at kindy hadworms. It makes mesmile when I imagine 50children lined up withtheir little envelopescontaining their speciallyprovided bum tape inside

neighbor – and theirthroats, noses, ears, eyesand teeth inspected.

To be truthful, my fearis that at the end of ourtime here while I will havetwo bilingual boys; whoare well adjusted, versedin a very wide range ofsubjects, have a love formusic (unseen in Australiaat their age) andknowledge of Japan’s 4seasons; they will alsohave a love of all things‘medical like’ with a desireto have bodily fluidstested regularly and beprodded on at veryregular intervals – weshall wait and see.

Oh and a very importantpostscript – Do I haveworms? – No, both boyswere clean.

experiences in Japan it isvery hard for me not toturn it into a love letter tothe country. Darcy andBryn have experiencedthings which will stay withthem for forever andlearned skills which theywill use throughout theirlives. I don’t think thoseskills and experiencescould have been taughtmore caringly anywhereelse in the world. Ingeneral, Japan’s approachto young children is veryprotective, children aregiven the chance to growand mature in a safeenvironment with a lot offreedom.

This love affair I amhaving with Japan doeshowever, at times, leaveme shaking my head andwondering what I havegotten us into - this is

X

When? 18:30 on Saturday July 11th at Peace Street Kitchen, Toyama City. See map at http://toyamajets.net/map/.

How much? 2,000� (1,000� for Room to Read, 1000�for a delicious Peace Street vegetarian buffet!) plus somethingto sell.

What should I do/bring? Please bring or make anythingthat you think we can auction. All money will go to Room toRead. This is a great chance for leavers AND stayers to cleartheir apartments of useful or interesting things they never use orcan’t take home! For stayers, it’s also a chance to picksomething up you might want! If we can’t auction it we’re afraidyou will have to take it back home.

Toyama AJET Leavers’’’’Charity Buffet Dinner and

Auction

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


17:00. Peace Street can fit 50 people, so it’s firstcome first served! If you RSVP and are later unableto come, but fail to notify us before the above cut-off date, you will be responsible for you portion ofPeace Street's food costs. We’ll send the ��

round for your 1000�.

you will have to take it back home.

What will happen with all that money? We will sendit to Cambodia. Our chosen charity, Room to Read, will use it to build a library to improve

Anything else? Please RSVP to [email protected] by Sunday July 5th at

the lives and education of some of Cambodia’schildren. We need $19,000 to reach our goal - alibrary funded entirely by Toyama’s JETs.

For more information about the charity and whywe chose it, read the article on page 10 and 11of this month’s Toyama AJET Newsletter.

Room to Read’s website can be found at:www.roomtoread.org

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


Toyama For Charity This year, charity work is taking a front seat in the Toyama AJET world. With two reps on our council thefirst thing you’re probably wondering is which charities we’re going to donate to. Over the next feweditions of the newsletters our reps will be explaining which charities have been chosen and analysing why.To start us off, Ally talks about a charity that we have been donating to for some time.

As AJET charity representativesthis year Michael and I havedecided to continue to supportRoom to Read, and hope to raisemoney towards building a libraryin Cambodia. Our long-termgoal is to raise $19,000 – alibrary entirely funded byToyama’s JETs! Whilst I am suremost members of the JETcommunity in Toyama haveheard of Room to Readmany willbe unaware of what exactly thecharity is and what it does. As it

Why Room to ReadBy Ally Lomas

First perhaps, whyCambodia? Why notsomewhere else? Look at thisgraph and press play:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW GRAPH

‘Vietnam’ war, helping to cause amassive famine. This enabledthe Khmer Rouge to take over,and between 1975 and 1978(three years – the average termof a JET) this regime killed or ledto the deaths of between oneand three million people – half ageneration - all in the name ofcreating the agricultural ‘utopia’of Kampuchea. Everyonedeemed ‘too clever’ wasexecuted or fled. This includedteachers, scientists and peoplewho wore glasses. It onlystopped when the Vietnamesearmy marched in. So that’swhy we feel Cambodia isdeserving of ourattention.

Why Room to Read? Well,with a median age of 22 years(CIA, 2009) and 37.6% ofCambodia’s population aged

charity is and what it does. As itis your money we are going tobe giving to them you may beinterested in why we think youshould part with some of yoursalary.

Cambodia is one of the poorestnations in the Asia-Pacific region,hanging well behind the othersin terms of income per personand life expectancy. Payparticular attention to whathappens between about 1969and 1978. Whilst things haverecovered more recently, andhave seen a boost within thelast ten years, it still lags behindneighbouring Vietnam, Thailand

and even Laos.Why is the situation so bad?

Let’s look at that blip. Between1969 and 1973 U.S forcesbombed and invaded the alreadypoor Cambodia as part of the

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


S o u r c e s a n dR e f e r e n c e s :

• CIA. (2009, May 14). CIAWorld Factbook - Cambodia.Retrieved May 25, 2009, fromCIA - The World Factbook:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html#People

• Mydans, S. (2009, April 7).Pain of Khmer Rouge Era Lost onCambodian Youth. RetrievedMay 25, 2009, fromwww.nytimes.com:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/world/asia/08cambo.html?_r=1&ref=world

• Room to Read. (2008). Wherewe work - Cambodia. RetrievedMay 25, 2009, from

under 15 (UNDP, 2005), thereare a lot of children. It’s a much-worn cliché, but children are thefuture. Cambodia has relativelydecent primary schoolcompletion rates at 85% but only34% go on to secondaryeducation (UNESCO, 2007). Theunnatural demographic as wellas a large number of landminevictims needing support forcesmany children into working.With few educated role-modelsand few history books even therelatively recent horrors of theKhmer Rouge regime have beento reduced to ghost stories forlarge parts of the population andmost are unaware that its lastsurviving members are currentlybeing tried (Mydans, 2009).

Room to Read aims to helpchange this trend, by buildinglibraries and publishing Khmer-

completed 1105 libraries acrossthe country (Room to Read, 2008).

JETs often choose AngkorWat and Cambodia as adestination for a holiday duringtheir time out here. They havebeen and will continue to bedeeply moved by the country andits people. On a personal level Iwill never forget my trip to theKhmer Rouge killing fields, TuolSleng prison, and the long tuk-tukride through the desperate slumsof Phnom Penh between them.

I will especially never forget,as we sat down for a meal oneevening near the city’s river front,a small boy, perhaps the sameage as the ones we hope to help,who sold books from a tray roundhis neck to earn his keep. I chosenot to buy from his tray; therewere many young children sellingthings, and I couldn’t buy from May 25, 2009, from

www.roomtoread.org:http://www.roomtoread.org/countries/cambodia.html

• UNDP. (2008). 2007/2008Human Development Report -Cambodia. Retrieved May 25,2009, from United NationsDevelopment Programme:http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_KHM.html

• UNESCO. (2007). UISSTATISTICS IN BRIEF - Educationin Cambodia. Retrieved May 25,2009, fromhttp://www.uis.unesco.org/:http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=4060&BR_Region=40515

ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALLY LOMAS

libraries and publishing Khmer-language to encourage moreyoung to people to stay ineducation and improvestandards for those alreadythere. The long term aims are toestablish a book culture and helpreplace the educated classesthat were entirely wiped out inthe Khmer Rouge years. Sincestarting in 2002 the charity has

things, and I couldn’t buy fromthem all. As he realised hewasn’t going to make a sale,frustration got the better of him,and he began to pound his tinyfists into my arm. With your help,he and children like him inCambodia will be reading books,not selling them.

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


shocked as their fans to beingin the realms of professional

The season’s opening gametook them down to AvispaFukuoka in Kyushu, wherethey battled well for acreditable 0 - 0 draw againsttheir former J1 opponents,with one headed effort fromcaptain Hamano bouncingtantalizingly off the crossbarin the final minutes. Losses athome to Ehime and away toTokyo Verdy took the shineoff this first result (the localnewspapers, optimistic to theend, nonetheless celebratedthis second loss as itcontained Kataller’s first J2goal whilst cleverly two-stepping around the fact thatthey were defeated), but theteam bounced back to record

Kataller in the J2!After last year’s fine

efforts in making promotion,the 2009 season is sure toprovide the sternest test inthe young club’s history.Promotion last season wasunexpected, given that theteam was only formed in 2008by the merger of YKK FC andHokuriku Denryoku FC. Thatthey managed to form suchfine team spirit and chemistryis an achievement in itself,and to haul themselves in thesame season up to third placein the JFL was quite amazing.So, can they pull off a similarshock this year, by finishing inthe respectable safety of mid-table?

Kataller: Fighting for the Pride of ToyamaBy Jon Perry

in the realms of professionalfootball. It is the mostpatronizing of football clichés,but they really have alreadyexceeded all expectations.

They will be up againstteams like Cerezo Osaka,relegated from J1, hungry toget back up and with nationalteam players like AkinoriNishizawa and Shinji Kagawain their side. Or VegaltaSendai, who have brought ina batch of foreign talent tohelp them over the line forpromotion that they came soclose to crossing in 2008.Pointing out thedisadvantages that Katallerface is about as difficult asfinding a tuna in the middle ofTsukiji market at 6am on aTuesday morning.

Given this, their currentstanding of 14th out of 18teams does not look terriblyshoddy. Their record is threelosses, two draws and a win.

team bounced back to recordanother scoreless draw awayto Yokohama FC. They playedhost to Gunma outfit ThespaKusatsu the following Sunday,and claimed a hard-foughtinaugural season win, with asingle goal from the tirelessToyama midfielder Asahi

Daisuke separating theteams after 90 minutes. Alas,this did not inspire a winningstreak, and a failure to pickup any points at home lastweek against TokushimaVortis, one of the weakestteams in the league, may beseen as a lost opportunity.The eagle eyed among youwill have spotted the mainproblem faced by theToyamans already. They havescored just two goals in sixmatches. Unlike last season,when they were on occasionwasteful in front of goal, thistime around they are simply

table?Relegation is not an

issue; as the leagues are inthe process of expansion,there is currently norelegation from J2 into theJFL. This will comfort Toyama,who were widely regarded aspotential whipping boys alongwith fellow J League firsttimers Tochigi FC when theseason began. So, how arethe underdogs doing so far,six games into the newseason?

In short, not as badly asmight be expected. First, letus put things into perspective.The team has only threeplayers with previousexperience in the J League.Most of them are simply notprofessional footballers, but agroup of talented electricians,factory and office workerswho are probably just as

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


the brink of financial ruin withthe increased gate revenue,

new players and tactics infuture seasons. Also, if it goesto give hope to the thousandsof budding amateurs outthere who plug away weekafter week for local teamsthat just occasionally theunderdogs can win through,then it is entirely worthwhile.

Of the other newlypromoted teams, Tochigi havelooked particularly desperateas their big name signings failto gel, and Fagiano Okayama,whose name is Italian forpheasant, look good for aroasting every weekend.Meanwhile, the Blues grindout the odd result, which willhopefully be enough for arespectable finish above the

Kataller: Fighting for the Pride of Toyama (cont.)By Jon Perry

finding it much harder to getthrough the better organizeddefensive set-ups prevalent atthis level. Their front line,which has collectively not aminute of professionalexperience between them,often look like they do nothave the quality to breakthrough, and so rely on longballs and crosses, using heightadvantage to threaten theopposition goal. Whether thepreseason acquisition ofSakurai Masato, a promisingbut untested youngster fromHamamatsu University, willmake any difference has yet tobe seen, but any optimismmay be tempered by the factthat he has not yet made the

the increased gate revenue,and at the same timeestablish themselves firmly asJ2 mid-tablers.

Secondly, in anadmirable show of loyalty tothe team, there has also beena conscious decision to givethe players who worked sohard to bring the team intothe J League a chance atplaying in it as professionals,for one season at least, ratherthan putting them out topasture and bringing in afresh herd of young faces.This will hopefully strengthenfan loyalty, as they canidentify with the same playersas last season, and give asense of squad stability. If itsounds like mawkishsentiment to keep thejourneymen on for their timein the sun, then perhaps it is.But with no relegation to fear,why not? They deserve it, andthere will be time aplenty for

respectable finish above thebottom three; an importantpsychological victory, even ifthere is no relegation.

Perhaps then, even if youcan’t teach the old dogs newtricks, you can at least getthem to use the old tricks asbest they can.Update: Since this article waswritten, Kataller have wonfour and drawn one out of six,pulling themselves up to 9thin the league.

that he has not yet made thestarting XI.

Why, then, has therebeen no attempt to bolster thesquad with purchases, if thecurrent crop are not up tostandard? Firstly, there is cold,hard, money. In order to keeptheir J League licence, theteam must stand as models offinancial probity, and thusavoid reckless spending at allcosts. Their signings so far forthe new season have been theaforementioned Sakurai, rightback Esaki Kazuhito, anothercollege recruit, and centraldefender Asuke Sho, none ofwhom cost so much as a yen.This is in direct contrast toanother of the promotedteams, Tochigi FC, who havespent themselves to nearbankruptcy in the preseason.They have gambled that bybuying big name players theycan pull themselves back from

��

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


sauce while the meatballscook. Put a large frying panon a high heat and finelychop your onion. Deseed andfinely chop your dried chiliand slice the garlic. Washand coarsely chop the basil or

Spaghetti Meatballs RecipeBy Stephen Reid

Let’s enjoy making meatballs.These meatballs are reallydelicious and the sauce isvery simple to make andadapt to bolognaise if youhave some left over. Youshouldn't have much troublegetting any of theseingredients. The balsamicvinegar might cost you a littleif you don't have somealready and the only place Ihave seen fresh rosemary isin Daiwa in Toyama. Youcould use dried rosemary butit's just not the same. On theother hand dried basil worksperfectly well. If you can,save some money and buyyour dried herbs at the 100yen store.

Method:Get a large bowl or mixing

dish and put your meat inthere. Pull the rosemary leavesfrom the stalk and chop themup well. Finely crush up the

and coarsely chop the basil or(if you are using dried justmeasure out 2 tablespoons.)When the pan is ready addthe onion, garlic and chili anda generous 2 or 3 glugs ofolive oil. Fry until soft thenadd the tomatoes, basil andbalsamic vinegar. Add saltand pepper to taste and bringto the boil. Once it starts toboil reduce to asimmer. Check the taste andadd more salt and or pepperif required, then add yourcooked meatballs to the

sauce.Cook your spaghetti

according to the packetinstructions. Drain the pastaand transfer it to a plate andlet everyone dish their ownmeatballs and sauce on topfrom the frying pan. Servewith optional parmesan andfreshly ground black pepperand maybe some red wine.

yen store.

Ingredients:•500g Ground beef/mince•18 Small crackers (about 3packets)•1 teaspoon of Mustard(real mustard not hot dogmustard)•An egg•1 tblspoon of dried Oregano•3 or 4 stalks of freshRosemary•Salt and pepper•(Freshly ground, if you can.We want to do this right!)•2 cans of Chopped tomatoes•1 Onion•A bunch of fresh Basil•1 tablespoon of Balsamicvinegar•1 dried Chili•2 cloves of Garlic•Extra virgin olive oil•Spaghetti

up well. Finely crush up thecrackers then add those to thebowl with the egg, oregano,mustard, and a pinch of saltand pepper. Mix all that stufftogether making sure therosemary in particular is spreadevenly throughout themixture.

Next, pull off a meatballsized chunk and roll it intoshape, setting it aside on abaking tray or plate. Repeatuntil you have all yourmeatballs neatly rolled.To cook the meatballs, you canbake them in the oven (200Cfor about 30 mins) but I preferto fry them. If you fry them,coat them in a little olive oil sothey don't stick and then putthem into a frying pan on amedium high heat. Keep aneye on them so they cookevenly. When they are cookedthrough take them off the heatand set aside.You can get to work on the

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


Liu Bei’s general and SunQuan’s, grand viceroy werenamed Zhou Yu and Zhao Yunrespectively led me to someconfusing moments.My favorite sequence in

the movie is when Zhuge Liang,chief advisor to Liu Bai,attempts to forge an alliancewith Sun Quan. Instead ofusing feats of wit, logic andmilitary might to win thealliance of Sun Quan, ZhugeLiang instead woos him withknowledge, compassion, andmusical skill. Ending with thetwo men coming to anunderstanding from playingmusic together, each readingthe other mans intentions fromthe music he played.

Red Cliff Part 1By Trevor MagsonBy Trevor MagsonBy Trevor MagsonBy Trevor Magson

So by popular demand Ishall indeed do a review ofRed Cliff. But before I do Imust first ask that you pleaseexcuse my very rudimentaryattempts at communicating inwritten format. Anyway herewe go…

Red Cliff is a movie byJohn Woo about the battles ofthe Red Cliffs at the end ofthe Han Dynasty between theImperial army, led by PrimeMinister CaoCao, and twoupstart faction leaders, SunQuan and Liu Bei. Red Cliffuses a considerable amountof CGI with mixed results.Sometimes the CG isseamless and other times it islaughably obvious but over all

fully armored men in thechest to puzzlingly greateffect. Unlike the Matrix,

Another problem I hadwith this film was that I foundit hard to follow who eachcharacter and army was attimes. I found much of thecostuming and the looks ofsome of the actors to be verysimilar. Add to this that two ofthe supporting cast members,

the music he played.laughably obvious but over allI wouldn’t say it detracts fromenjoying the film.

The fighting consistedmainly of spear combat, whichis nice to see considering itwas the main weapon of thisera. Sadly these fightingsequences suffered frommany cheeseball momentswhere one of the herocharacters throws his onlyweapon into a mass ofenemies killing one in theprocess then proceeding toattack the mass unarmed.The hero then punches these

effect. Unlike the Matrix,where heroes flying throughthe air get grabbed by tenmen only to hurl them all tothe ground with ease, theonlyreaction to these scenes inRed Cliff is laughter.

I definitely recommendthis movie. I found Red Cliff tobe fast paced andentertaining despite its strangemoments. What the fightscenes lacked in realism theymade up for with the sheerweight of bodies that the HongKong studio can bring to bear.If your a fan of martial arts warmovies and grandiose Chinesestory-telling then Woo'sadaptation of `Romance of theThree Kingdoms` is sure tosatisfy.

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


with some practical training.The wrestlers then get fittedinto their mawashi (an 8meter-long belt wrapped intothe traditional t-backedthong). The outfittedwrestlers (called rikishi) arethen briefed on the rules,photographed, and thenloosened up before thematch. The event is such abig hit that one year a localTV station did awhole special on the event andthe daily life of the reigningyokozuna!---Then the sumo begins.---A taiko performance by a localgroup heralds the openingceremony as the rikishi paradeone by one into the ring. Thebouts are carried out in atournament style, with the day

pride-consuming thongs all inthe name of cultural exchange?)

If you are considering startingup a community involvement event,this is definitely one that will haveeveryone itching to get involved.For these of you who are, Ms.Danner was full of good advice forpotential organizers.

-Make sure to have opencommunication with the sumoassociation: they'll have rules andtraditions that they will want youto work within.

-Have something foreveryone: Akita's tournament alsohas an international bake sale aswell as the taiko performance andaudience participation.

-Promotion: promote in yourschools and on local family-oriented event calendars. InviteJETs from other prefectures to joinand bring fans.

JET Effect: Akita's JET Effect: Akita's JET Effect: Akita's JET Effect: Akita's InternationalInternationalInternationalInternational Sumo Basho!Sumo Basho!Sumo Basho!Sumo Basho!In Akita, the traditionalSumo pre-bout shikodance took on a less-

traditional groove as JET ALTsand other members of the foreigncommunity took to the ring in theannual Akita International SumoBasho. Blonde top knots shookunder the force of high leg raises,traditionally performed to driveaway evil spirits. The taikodrums rolled, the crowd cheered,and casting rather large shadowsin the summer sun, members ofthe Akita City Sumo Federationlooked on proudly (or was itbemusedly?) at their eagerprotégés.

tournament style, with the dayclosing with the championshipbout and the declaration of anew yokozuna.

This year will mark theevent's 5th anniversary, and theorganizers are hoping tocontinue expanding theinvolvement of the localJapanese community. Thisyear's organizer and Room toRead president, Sophie Danner,says they are offering childrenfree admission and studentdiscounts: “Of course studentswould love to see their ALTs inmawashi fighting it out in thering!” Audience members canalso vote on their favorite rikishiand get prizes if their pick wins.Sophie also mentioned anespecially intriguing “new aspectcurrently in the works for thisyear...a women's tournament!”You can't go wrong with aforeigner sumo tournament.(Professional teachers and cityworkers foregoing clothes inexchange for uncomfortable

and bring fans.I will leave you with these

thoughts and images of sumowrestlers charging through yourhead. I will also leave you with arecommendation: search for“gaijin sumo” on youtube. You willnot be disappointed.

JET Effect wishes you thebest of luck!

For more information aboutthe sumo event or the charityorganization Room to Read, visitwww.roomtoread.org. To get intouch with Sophie or JET Effect foradvice or info, or to nominate agreat project that deserves to bespotlighted in JET Effect, send ane-mail to [email protected]

Every summer since 2005,Akita JETs have organized thisinternational sumo event to raisemoney for the charity Room toRead, a non-profit organizationrun by JETs that partners withcommunities in the developingworld to build schools andlibraries, and publish childrens'literature. (Last year they raisedan amazing 125,000yen) Theevent, by nature, is a sure-firesuccess. It's philanthropic aimsand entertaining approach tocultural exchange has evengotten the Academic &International Policy Division ofthe local Prefectural Governmentand the Akita Prefecture SumoFederation involved.

The event begins in themorning with the sumo federationproviding the day's wrestlers

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


The post-sex cig is—by design--anti-cuddle. But at best--pro-nap.

I think it's a quailBut my reference points are few--Eggs, & Doug Funny.

By Bryce Rawers

The National AJET Haiku Competition

Write us a haikuWe'll print it and reward youIf it's any good

National AJET are having a haiku competition, so grab your pen and start writing!The competition is open immediately and will close on Friday, June 12th. Submissions relevant to the JET experience are welcomed from current JET Programme participants. Traditional haiku make reference to seasons and nature, but we're not fussy - clever and humourous poetry is encouraged! In the spirit of our Japan experience, the competition will be conducted in two categories, English and Japanese.

Submissions should be:1. accompanied by the name, address and JET number of the poet2. original works3. written in English and/or Japanese4. if written in Japanese, accompanied by furigana and an English translation

There is a limit of two (2) haiku per entrant total. Current National AJET Council members are not eligible to enter. There is a limit of two (2) haiku per entrant total. Current National AJET Council members are not eligible to enter.

For more details email [email protected] or check out the facebook event

The National AJET PhotoCompetition

The AJET National Council invitesall budding JET photographers tosubmit entries for the third annualAJET Photo Competition. Thecompetition is open immediatelyand will close on Friday, June 12th.Submissions relevant to the JETexperience are welcomed fromcurrent JET Programmeparticipants. We are interested inreceiving "human" and humourousphotos, including images from AJETevents or activities - landscapeshots, for example, are unlikely toreceive much attention.

Submissions should be:1. accompanied by a caption describing the scene2. accompanied by the name, address and JET number of the photographer3. original images4. high quality JPG files; for example, a single image should be at least 400kb in size

There is a limit of two (2) images per entrant. In the case that you submit photographs including people's faces, please receive permission from those featured before submission.

For more details email aaaajjjjeeeetttt....nnnneeeewwwwsssslllleeeetttttttteeeerrrr@@@@ggggmmmmaaaaiiiillll....ccccoooommmm or check out the ffffaaaacccceeeebbbbooooooookkkk eeeevvvveeeennnntttt

Photo by Ally Lomas

Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


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NBLOG REVIEW!

By Paula Kerrigan

I’m never bored at work, here’s why: a list of my top blogs in the ken that will keep you entertained and stimulated through the dullest day:

• Ally Lomas’s photo blog: http://tatemaephoto.wordpress.com/

• Kim Ryan Harper’s photo blog: http://www.kimrharper.com

• Mel Messer and Emmett Barton’s blog: http://tigerspider.wordpress.com/

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19Happy Birthday Trevor O.

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12Happy Birthday Ruth and Sal

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Vol.1, No.12, June 2009


IT’S JUNE!IT’S JUNE!IT’S JUNE!IT’S JUNE!

CHARITY SHOW BUNKA HALL

CHARITY SHOW

WING WING

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25Oyabe Beer Tasting Festival

24Toyama Book Club

232221Happy Birthday Trevor M.

Trevor O.

Advertise your event (or an event you know about) on the AJET calendar! Send info to [email protected]

LEAVERS’ WEEKEND

26Nanto

International Festival

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