Unique opportunities with my work in Tokyo

One of the really fun things for me in my work in Tokyo is the opportunities that I have to do things for the school that get me into worlds that would otherwise be totally inaccessible.... like the Tokyo Canadian Ambassador's residence:

On June 30 (1 day before Canada Day) the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of Japan co-hosted with the embassy a glittering gala event to celebrate Canada's 150 anniversary. This event had 400 invited guests including CEOs of some of the biggest Canadian companies in Tokyo (Air Canada, ManuLife, Bombardier etc.) as well as the top military brass as well as two ministers from the Abbe government. This was a "Canadian Who is who" of Tokyo event.

Through the years I have developed quite a few connections at the embassy and the CCCJ who knew some of the good work we do at our school so I was delighted to be asked to have one of our students sing Oh Canada in English, French (!!) and Japanese. Though it was one day before exams our student was thrilled to be part of the event. She worked very hard over the month of June to learn the French and memorize all parts. 

After the sound check we hung out with some "friends" in the library waiting to perform:

I was able to arrange for her home room teacher to be there to film...

and her parents could also be there for this special event.

The staff at the embassy were so kind; they had one of the staff assigned to us to ensure we knew exactly where to be when. 

After a month of practice the big event started. Our student was warned that, with 400 people in attendance, there might be quite a bit of background chatting so not to take it personally. 

Our student and our school were introduced by the MC...

And our grade 12 student poured her heart and soul into the song. Listen to her voice... and how totally quiet the entire room is; she was great!!

After Oh Canada, there were several speeches (here one of Abe's Ministers) and each speaker praised our student for her song. 

Afterwords, in the garden around the pool and the traditional Japanese garden there were tents set up with delicacies from every province in Canada. It was quite lovely because the Jamaican Ambassador (the gentleman wearing glasses and short cropped hair that appears in the video) came rushing up to congratulate our singer and gave her his business card. 

During that time the embassy arranged for special photo shoots for our student with the Ambassador and the two Abbe Ministers...

And the parents and me... quite fun!

After the photo shoot I had the opportunity to introduce her to some of my contacts including the retired Japanese ambassador to Canada and Pakistan who was also the interpreter for the Japanese PM for meetings with Reagan, Ford, Nixon and Bush as well as the Emperor and Empress when they visited Canada. He is a fascinating man!

Part of the entertainment included a fascinating Rakugo monologue (see here for more about this art) performed by the only non-Japanese artist ever to have passed the Rakugo exams. He happens to be from Ontario.

Two days later it was off to the Regency Hyatt to present to a crowd of 110 Cram-school directors and teachers about our school. 

I find it a bit humorous to look around the room and see my image plastered on huge posters! 

After my speech part of my job is to hand out my business card and meet many of the guests (who are uni-lingual Japanese; today I was lucky to have my office assistant there to help fill in my broken Japanese.)

The highlight of the event was the fashion show to demonstrate the new school uniforms for next year when the school is going co-ed. Check out the professional models:

Then I raced back to school to run a staff meeting for the rest of the day. 

These activities really provide a nice way to get out of our hot and stuffy apartment to spend a rainy and humid monsoon season day in Tokyo!

Hobbies... Japan style

One of the good conversation openers in Japan is: "Shomi-wa, nan des ka?". Roughly translated this means: "How about your hobbies?"

This last weekend I had the opportunity to experience first hand and submerse myself in the unique world of Japanese hobbies during a two day bicycle tour I did of the Chiba peninsula.

I took the ferry at Kurihama, crossing Tokyo Bay to explore the coastline along the tip of Chiba Peninsula. Beautiful little bays, broad long beaches, many places to take secondary routes to avoid the main traffic, it would have been an ideal trip in the sun.

But, just after these photos were taken, it began pouring in the Tokyo way of pouring rain; sheets of steady, unrelenting, warm and soaking rain! I tried to extend my lunch at a cafe as long as possible but no luck. It was pouring for the afternoon!

I was thrilled to finally get to my Airbnb host's house and drip dry under one of the many shelters while I waited for my host to arrive. 

My host... and his home were a first-hand glimpse of the fascinating world of hobbies in Japan. My host had quite a varied professional background having worked in import/exports, as a principal at a private school among other things. He has traveled all over the world. His family currently lives in Hokkaido while he has an apartment in Tokyo and the home where I was staying (his "cat/hobby house") and the home he actually slept in.

We talked about many different things and interests but this video gives you a sense of one room. If you look carefully up towards the ceiling you will see a collection of drones as well as a variety of security cameras and radio equipment:

Some of interests/ collections included a large collection of manga videos that he views on a huge screen TV:

A Shinto shrine with a collection of pint-sized functioning robots as well as framed calligraphy that he studies and writes regularly:

Lots of toy cars and car parts including a functioning plastic piston engine above the toilet paper dispenser:

And on the wall behind the toilet: 

He has a wide interest in digital technology doing his own programming as well as lots of radios and variety of electronic gadgets all over the house:

Other interests that you can maybe pick out in the corners of these photos including playing and repairing guitars (he had at 10 around the house), outdoor gear and hiking (he was climbing Fuji this weekend), carpentry (a full shop set-up in a shed), cars (he has a fleet of 10 different cars that he has rebuilt including old Land Rovers, Jeeps etc.), car and motorcycle racing, and machining the parts necessary for his cars and motorbikes (in another shed) He showed me his race car and his motorcycle.

Though the house was quite crammed I was inspired by someone who has so many interests. In Japan we often run into people with their real passions and interests in their hobbies. I look forward to branching out some of my hobbies when I retire as inspired by our experiences here in Japan. 

The rest of the trip was the coast of Japan at its' best'

Lighthouses...

Rocks and waves...

Bike lanes along the tsunami walls...

Pounding waves excellent for surfing...

And not to be missed; mega-public works projects with fancy railings...

And well-endowed mermaids to inspire...

And the tunnels built especially for bikes (lights and safety exits and all)...

All too soon the trip ended with the blessing of the Tory gates...

The sign showing where I had been (for those can read this)..

And a beer and snack looking out over the surfers in the bay.

I folded my bike into its snazzy little carrying bag, hopped on the train (one every 5 minutes of course) then dove back into this metropolis of 36 million for another week of work. 

Visiting Miyake Island... again

As this was Shelley's last weekend before heading back to Kaslo for the summer, we escaped from the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo to head back to Miyake Island for a second time... with a new goal in mind. During our last visit there we discovered that there was a resident pod of friendly dolphins who stayed close to the neighboring island all year. This time we managed to book ourselves into the opportunity of swimming with those dolphins, one of Shelley's special dreams. 

As in other trips to the islands, we loved slipping out of Tokyo harbour late at night after having biked across the city to the ferry landing. The Rainbow bridge is dramatic at night...

And we got a bit of sleep in our comfortable births on-board. We were woken up at 4:30 AM to catch a glimpse of the sunrise...

And debarked at the Miyake Jima dock to watch our ship head off into the sunrise. 

Our first day there we bicycled around the island once again, this time in the reverse direction. All along, as we sweated up steep climbs and swooped down into little bays. There were magnificent views of the ocean, the rocks and the waves. 

We took our time this visit to thoroughly explore the town of Ako pictured here before 1983. It was a large and thriving town with a large school and several temples that was wiped out by a lava flow in 1983. 

The area is regrowing with trees and bushes, but it was fascinating to see where the roads were and then stopped...

The sharp lava flow from a distance looked like tilled earth. Up close, of course, it is extremely pointed and sharp rock. 

It was dramatic to see the remains of the school...

Photo of as it was before:

And the crushed main gym. 

All around the lava fields were these interesting formations created by lava wrapping around tree trunks, incinerating the tree that cooled the lava down to make a tube. 

The rest of the area is marked by dead old trees...

And dramatic rock protrusions where the lava met the ocean. 

On Sunday morning we got up early to be fitted with a wet suit and snorkeling gear.

We were loaded onto one of the classic, solid, seaworthy fishing boats that took us across to the area where the dolphins congregated. 

On the way over we watched pods of dolphins breach all around us.

(The following photos are not ours, but reflect our experience)

Once near the shore we had a look out who would call out when a pod would come zipping by our boat. We all lept into the water....

To try to catch up with them as they darted by. 

Early that afternoon we got back on our mother ship for a six hour trip back to Tokyo harbour and the big metropolis life again. We felt cleansed by bird and dolphin songs, by ocean winds, and the sounds of crashing waves and, of course, wonderful seafood!

We have been here long enough that when the Tokyo Tower emerged from behind the buildings we felt like it was an old friend.