Darlo's World

So the result of the JET placements is in, and I’m pleased to say that I’ll be heading to Shimonoseki City (下関市) in Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県). Am I pleased? Most definately! Though I did not specify any favoured locations on my application form, mainly because I thought it would be beneficial to show I’d be willing to go anywhere, I did have my eyes on a warmer than North area. Those of you who know me personally will have heard me talking about how I’d prefer a remote island in a warm area to Hokkaido. Though it is quite a distance from my beloved Osaka, I know that I’ll definately have the chance to go back and see some old friends at some point.

View Where Shimonoseki is in a larger map

For the past few months, well … for just under a year, I’ve been reading a Japanese novel that has yet to be translated into English (風の殺意・おわら風の盆 by Kyotaro Nishimura). I finally finished it the other day, and while I had been quite interested throughout the whole book (at sometimes more than others) I felt the ending left a lot to be desired. Similarly I have just finished reading Audition by Ryu Murakami (in English), and although I really enjoyed it throughout I couldn’t help feel it was missing something at the end, one more chapter perhaps. If you’re scratching your heads and asking yourselves where you’ve heard of that story before, chances are (if you’re a fan of Asian Cinema) you’ll have seen the film.

Oh, I read Audition in 4 days. For me, a huge accomplishment.

Two days, two exams, two epic fails. Bad part over and done with, let’s talk fun stuff. So this evening I went with a few friends to a cinema in Nishinomiya to see the second ひぐらしのなく頃に (Higurashi No Naku Kori Ni) movie. This was the first time I’d been to a cinema in Japan, though because I’m familiar with the Higurashi story (this particular arc anyways) despite the fact my Japanese skills are still lacking I was able to follow the plot.

The film itself was a fair adaptation to the original story, but it was the cinema screen itself which was real nice. We saw the final showing (literally, tonight was the last one) and it was in the ‘Premier’ screen. The seats seemed to be divided into two sections; singles and couples. The couples section comprised of two-seater chairs which just reminded me of the term “love seat”. For the singles, we had spacious reclining chairs with a table and storage space between the seats. Getting a special exchange student discount also was a nice little breaker bringing the cost down from 1,500 yen (£10.05) to 1,000 yen (£6.70). Don’t get me wrong this is still sodding expensive, but if I remember rightly cinemas back in the UK are also a frickin’ money magnet.

So what lies on the cards from here on in? Well as far as Konan goes I’ve just got an essay to write on religion, a presentation to make on the Japanese rubbish system, and a final evaluation sheet to fill in. I’m hoping to get these done tomorrow so I can at least enjoy my last few days with my friends here. But for right now, I think I’ll have a beer and watch an episode of American Dad.