In early March, nearing the end of the Japanese school year, I was asked to give a farewell message to the students of one of the junior high schools where I am an ALT. Even after living here for a year, my Japanese is quite poor. But I wanted the students to understand my message … Read more
Approaching the 1 year mark of living in Japan and working as an Assistant Language Teacher in 2 Junior High Schools in Toyota city, Aichi prefecture, I’ve started remembering the months leading up to departure from Australia last year. What stuff do I need that I might not be able to find easily in Japan? … Read more
Last month marked my first 6 months of working and living in Japan. Since I arrived in Japan, I’ve been living in Toyota city (Aichi prefecture, near Nagoya), working as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) at 2 local junior high schools. This post has been in the works for a few weeks now, whenever I … Read more
Most people when they come to Japan will see Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto… and little else. In Kyoto you can experience traditional Japan, but it can be a bit crowded… Take a look at Narai-juku which is on the Nakasendo, an old highway from Edo (old Tokyo) and Kyoto. 11 post towns, some preserved as … Read more
Finally I have acquired one of my favourite staples for breakfast… Weet-Bix! A typical breakfast in Japan would be rice, grilled fish, raw egg, pickled vegies and natto. As this is almost exactly what I have for lunch, I need my cereal! There aren’t many cereals to choose from here, there are a few Kellogs … Read more
Here is a video I took, driving from my house to Toyota city. Originally the video was supposed to help me remember a new route to drive to work, but found it interesting at how many vending machines there were, and where they were. Vending machines in Japan are known as 自販機 (jihanki, which is … Read more
Here are my new wheels… oh yeah… This is a company car, my commute to each of my two schools is 15km and 20km. The Mitsubish Minica has saved me from an extremely lengthly journey of multiple bus and train rides. This is a 7th generation Mitsubish Minica. Under the hood is a 657 cc three … Read more
So after training in Nagoya, I finally settled into my apartment in Toyota City. Here is a walk-through video of my empty place… 1LDK means 1 bed, a living room and a kitchen and dining room. It really is not that small, and in comparison to Australia, it is actually quite cheap to rent. My … Read more
With a departure from Sydney, 1 hour stopover in Singapore and lugging a 30kg + suitcase, so begins round 2 of my Japan adventure… This time it is Toyota city for me. Toyota city is about 30-40 minutes from Nagoya in Aichi prefecture. It is about 250 kms from Tokyo. I’ve been considering where to … Read more
Japan Travel Mate is a new hobby site of mine just launched, a Japan Blog and Japan Travel website.
こんにちは, みなさん! しゃしん を みって ください。 Here is some Japrish (my version of Engrish): おもしろい でずね。