Not Just Ninjas

The last day of the semester at the high school was Monday, which means… it’s sports week! Between terms, instead of taking a few days off like we do back in the States, the high school students participate in a 4 day long sports festival, in which the various classes and a teachers’ team all participate in bracketed sports competitions. It’s really pretty cool, in a way, because the focus seems to be more on participation than competition, so everyone plays, whether they’re personally sporty or not, and everyone gets lots of support from their teammates. How better to fuel the competitive athlete than with the pizza and donut I ate for lunch. You gotta take one for the team.
Unfortunately, the one sport in which I have any modicum of skill, volleyball, is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, when I am off at other schools. :( However, somehow I am on a basketball team. I’m sure all 5’1″ of my towering hulk will be a huge asset. :) I was also drafted for softball, even though I protested several times that I was unable to hit, out of deference to my long standing back injury. I had my doubts, but the game ended up being quite enjoyable, and I even caught a fly ball! Hot damn! After an hour of play, we ended up tied with the seniors. We settled the game with rock-paper-scissors (janken), if you can believe it. Where the Japanese school system would be without janken, I can’t imagine. It would be sheer chaos.

Yesterday everyone surprised me by coming to the office in suits; the equinox was on Saturday, and I guess it’s like Labor Day, in that it dictates an unofficial clothing calendar. Autumn to Spring equinox: suits and ties are required for the teachers. I get a little more slack, cause I’m a chick, and our wardrobe is a little more flexible. I think I recall the story of another JET who dared to wear short sleeves and a skirt before the Spring equinox. Even though it was humid and beastly hot, there was still a big scandal.

So, who wants to hear about our field trip to a mine on Sunday?

We went with the folks from our Japanese language class at the community center. Transportation, which is always the main stumbling block, was magically paid for. I guess this class does some activity together once a season. There is a real sense of camaraderie between students, because most of the class consists of family members who have recently moved to Japan. This also means that there are kids constantly running around like crazy, which adds some… “atmosphere”. We all piled in 3 minibuses for the 2 hour trip out to Kazuno, east of Noshiro by the Iwate border.

I had an awesome time climbing through tunnels, and just soaking up the weirdness that is Mineland Osarizawa. How often can you visit a mine which has been operational almost continuously for the last 1,200 years? Well, if you lived in Kazuno, Akita, everyday! The mine was closed in 1978, and now it has been abandoned and turned into… an amusement park! Wheeee! It was kind of like Disneyland, with animatronic miners, and a weird ride where you go through space and get to shoot aliens. Oh, and let’s not forget the traditional Japanese dancers by the entrance. I LOVE this type of crazy stuff. Ok, the price was a little steep considering the payoff. But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet in Tohoku and just suck up the B rate tourist attractions. It’s not ALL about pagodas and temples.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 at 11:44 pm and is filed under Ambiance, Festivals and Events, Travel, Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.