last updated 3rd May 2010

Year-in-Japan Program at Konan University (Facebook Group)

2009-2010
Jayson O’Reilly – Leeds student studying at Konan who’s said you can contact him if you have any questions Facebook Profile
Kansaibence (US) (Starts here)

2008-2009
Darlo’s World (UK) (September to February starts HERE, February onward starts HERE.)
I Think I’m Turning Japanese (US) (Starts HERE with a general review HERE)
Fabian Fier (Germany) (Starts HERE)
A German Physicist In Japan (Germany) (Starts HERE)
Spirited Away To Japan (US) (Starts HERE)
Red Sunset XIII (US) (Starts HERE)
My Year In The Land Of The Rising Sun (US) (Starts HERE)

Nothing like starting the day like a disgruntled old man, knarked at something he could never control to begin with. Well that’s a partial lie since I went to bed feeling that way anyway. No I’m not going to bang on about how much harder the Japanese course at Leeds has become, pointing in particular reference to how by skipping an entire book we’ve almost caught up on the final year students (i think we’re one chapter behind them and they’ve had an extra year) because I’ll save that for the Japanese blog itself, since it’s been a while since I wrote anything there.

Think of a time you’ve been asked to give feedback on an experience you’ve had so it can be made better for the next group. What kind of thing did you write/say? Surely whatever words you gave wouldn’t really matter to you because you’ve had your time, and you would receive the benefits of any improvements anyway right? Still though you put down what you think and be on your way. Well I was chatting to a friend of mine who’s studying at Konan this year and it seems some of our words were taken on board for this years new group of exchange students.

With the exception of a couple of students who are doing a shorter exchange program, everyone has a homestay. This is something I said from early on was crucial and hated the idea that (in my year) only student from the IC (Illinois Consortium) were guaranteed the homestay, especially when IC students wanted to change famillies and new ones were ‘discovered’. So I am actually genuinely glad that all the Leeds students now have the chance to live with a Japanese familly as I know this will help there Japanese skills greatly (not to mention it’ll save them a hell of a lot of money).

What really caused me a great deal of pain on the inside to such a degree that I was wretching over my laptop, almost vomiting everywhere was in relation to the scholarships. If you read the blog last year you’ll know I was exploring Japan (a small bit of anyway) on pretty much a shoe string budget, and how I hated when students (mainly the already wealthy ones) would waste their JASSO scholarships on things like hangbags and shoes. The JASSO (Japan Student Services Organization) scholarship is large cash amount (80,000 yen a month, plus an 80,000 yen relocation allowance on arrival) given to students so that they can get the most out of their time in Japan and learn more about Japan’s culture etc. Within the Leeds students we were allocated 1 JASSO scholarship, which I’m happy to say it was given to a student living in a dorm who really did make the most of it.

Those who didn’t get JASSO were given a smaller scholarship of just 8,000 yen a month to try and live on (as I mentioned us living in a dorm still had to buy food a lot of the time. During the conversation with my mate it seems that “pretty much everyone out of the 45 ryuugakusei got jasso because they apparently had loads left over this year”. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy that all the Leeds students got it this year, and it’s nice to see that our comments about our financial worries (especially when the exchange rate died) were responded to, but it was the “left over” part that really made me feel well and trully shafted.

I’m off to do some housework. I don’t really feel much like studying this weekend. Though funnily enough I had an idea for a shirt design: “Things aren’t fair, so get over it!” ^_^

I was in town doing a little shopping, when all of a sudden, suitcase in hand, I saw one of my teachers from Konan University (Japan). At that time I was heading to the Virgin Media shop, so nearly ended up going down another street. Unfortunately we didn’t have long to stop and have a good chat, but I guess it goes to show how small the world is.

I’ve already hit my old pizza place and made use of the great (well, not bad) Leeds free city bus, but this time around I want to actually take a real bus at some point. Actually that’s not so much want, but need to. I haven’t brought a car with me this time because of what happened to the last one. I know it’s wrong to blame an entire city for what happened to it, but since I’m living pretty close to where I was before I didn’t fancy risking it either way.

On the subject of unfortunate things, my beloved television that I bought with my paper round money when I was 14 (I’m 25 now) and has travelled with me on many adventures (not to Japan though), has finally died. At some point between leaving Telford and arriving in my new room in Leeds, it suffered damage to the power button and won’t turn on. It’s also making strange ‘ticking’ noises when I try to power up. It’s gutting I know, but I know I will have to move on (and get a new TV).

So what happens now for this Anglo-Carribbean student of Japanese in Yorkshire? Tomorrow I’m off to the Parkinson Building to work on my Japanese, and also write up my final report of my year of studying at Konan University. Why not tonight I hear you (Simon) ask? Because I’m gonna pop t’ pub.

So I’ll leave you with something weird; the cast from Spongebob dubbing three classic films (Godfather, Singing in the Rain & Casablanca).

Between trying to pack my life into various boxes and send things home via the Japanese post office (an expensive, time consuming and freakin’ heavy task by the way), I’ve tried to fit in a few more of my “When in Japan” wants and desires including making a few new ones which did kind of jump on me spur of the moment. So I guess now with my big ass hefty bag packed and my smaller hand luggage missing a few things (this laptop, my PSP and DS which are charging etc), I should tell you how I’ve spent my last week in the land of the rising sun.

First off I’ve not been able to go into university at all this week which was really gutting. As I keep banging on, at uni’s one of the few places I can meet up with Japanese friends who happen to live in a different prefecture from me. It was not that I physically couldn’t go, it’s that at the moment a lot of schools in Kansai have been closed down since the breakout of the Piggy Flu in Kobe, which in turn has spread to my own Osaka. Thankfully no one I know has been infected, though a couple are nursing regular colds.

During the week I managed to get in a final trip back to Kyoto with two friends (European and Japanese). Between the three of us there were similar things we wanted to see, as well as our own individual interests to follow. Buying bus passes for 500 yen (£3.33) which gave us travel across the city, we set sail for 金閣寺 (kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillion Temple).

The only thing that was against us was the weather. It was warm, so definately t-shirts, but it rained. This meant that the nice views of the Golden Temple could have been spectacular views. Not only that but it’s a pain in the arse trying to take photographs holding a brolly. During our time in the park we came across an interesting vending machine which sold disposable cameras and film, though this was not the strangest vender of the day. Walking to the bus stop we passed a vending machine selling neck-ties (fair enough), and hoover bags. Yes … hoover bags. The thing you stick in a hoover.

Next on our group voyage was one for me, a visit to another one my Leeds based Japanese teacher’s universities, Doshisha University. Carrying on from my adventure in Hiroshima, this was the second of three universities on my list. After taking a video (where the sound didn’t record properly) we headed off for a quick lunch.

Altogether we then went onto the 銀閣寺 (Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion Temple). Although the building was under construction, well, renevation, the Silver Temple (though actually brown and woody) was still a nice site, and so was the park area that accompanied it. At this point we split up, and I headed Southward towards 清水寺 (kiyomizudera).

In English we have a saying about “taking a plunge”, in Japanese the equivalent is “jumping off the stage at Kiyomizudera”. An awesome temple that is supported by strong 13 meter high wooden columns, Kiyomizudera gave spectacular views and good photos despite the crappy rain.

Before going home I wondered the streets of Kyoto’s Kawaramachi area before eventually meeting a KFC Colonel Sanders (life size model) in a kimono and Happi coat.

On Wednesday we all got together again for a trip down the Hankyu line to the 中山寺 (Nakayamadera). Nakayamadera is a Buddhist temple in 宝塚 (Takarazuka), and is known as a temple to pray for an easy childbirth. Though none of us were expecting (wanting) kids anytime soon, the excellent weather compared to Kyoto made for a nice day out (and also this was the first temple I’d been to with an escalator). After a bout of karaoke, we then went our seperate ways.

Time Check … 02:08 … crap. Sodding distractions.

That night me and a guy from France went to the Speak Easy darts bar in Umeda for a final drink. Originally due to the fact I still had a lot of crap to sort out I’d only intended on stopping for one or two (much like how I intended on writing this entry a lot faster so I’d be in bed by now), but as one thing led to another we ended up staying until the bar closed at around 5 am; hello sunshine. It’s thanks to this darts bar that we’ve been able to practice spoken Japanese with native speakers outside uni (the bar staff), but also I’ve developed a taste for Soft-tip darts (though am still not very good at it).

So yesterday (Thursday) I managed to tick off two more things off my list. First of all I finally got around to going to a media cafe. Most of my fellow foreign students use these as a cheap(er) means of having somewhere to sleep when you miss the last train, but because I normally don’t venture far enough away that I couldn’t get back on Shank’s Pony I’ve yet to have the need to kip in one. Now I know that these vary from place to place and company to company, so I’ll just give a quick overview of the one I was in, Cats. Cats is a mens only cafe with shower facilities (at an extra charge I think). The room I got was small, but comfortable, with fast internet access, reclining leather seat and access to the plentiful DVD and Manga library. I wish I could say I nosed around a bit more, but I had something I needed to find online; the final university.

I was lucky in that my final teacher studied in Osaka, but I was unlucky that it was Osaka prefecture rather than Osaka city. I’d never taken the monorail here, but because it’s very similar (aka pretty much the same) to taking the regular train I didn’t have to worry. The Osaka University of Foreign Studies in the Minou area of Osaka, had merged with and became a part of the Osaka University in 2007, but remains in the same location.

After taking a video message at the university, as done for the others, I then walked the long way back to the train station exploring the countryside area. In a way it seemed to remind me a lot of various pictures of Shirakawa (Gifu) that I’d seen. I guess because I couldn’t get to Shirakawa this time around, Minou was a nice alternative. However for some reason every dog there seemed to get angry at me.

Which brings us to today (Friday), my last day. The time is currently 02:39.

First let me top up your background music. This is one of my favourites to do at karaoke, Anata by Akiko Kosaka.

Me and a couple of friends (the same 2 who I went to Kyoto with) had decided we’d head to Sushiro for lunch (sushi on conveyor belts). On the way we made an important stops though. I have a bank account here in Japan and since I’m leaving the country we (Konan exchange students) have been recommended to close them, unless we intend to return to Japan in which case we need to give the bank our home address. After a lot of explaining and mangled Japanese from me (and a lot of patience and understanding from the girl who served me) my address was changed and we headed off for lunch.

Not really much to report on as far as food goes in comparison to last time we went, except this time we got the worst table at the very end of the conveyor belt, meaning every other buggar got the best choice. Should I make a dorm/homestay comparison I wonder?

After lunch we popped into Softbank so that I could cancel my phone contract. Doing this early meant that I had to pay for the remaining period of time on there, but since I was quite smart at the start (smarmy buggar aren’t I) it was only a few thousand yen. From the sound of some of my friends because they went for more expensive contracts (some as long as 2 years, as well as actually costing more) they’ve had to pay up to £200 to get out of their contracts early. Now what to do with my Japanese handset. Ebay?

We headed back to Umeda for a wander around and ended up eating a crepe; mine being banana chocolate & strawberry, but soon parted ways with some tears.

Right … tonight … nearly done. Pachinko is a funny ol’ game isn’t it. Me and a European friend finally had a go on the game that holds it’s own popularity in Japan. Now because of the fact neither of us had a clue on what we were to do or how to play (other than the fact it used tiny balls pinging into a machine), we found a pachinko parlour that seemed to be quite empty and had a staff member easily visible (for when we cocked up). Splitting a bucket of balls between us we cracked on and after wasting at least half of them found out what to do (thanks to sed staff member). Our 1000 yen (£6.64) bucket was soon gone (after about 10 minutes), so we headed off. I guess once you know how to play and learn how to work the machine, you’re bound to get better.

For dinner a few of us went to our local 鳥貴族 (torikizoku, the 280 place) where after eating my usual Chicken Heart and drinking my huge glass of beer, I tried a black ice-cream. It tasted like burned bread.

We ended the day with a trip to a games arcade where I held my own in Virtua Fighter 5, but got my ass handed to me in both Tekken 6 and some tennis game.

So I guess this is it. The next time I write on this blog I’ll more than likely be in a different country and will have left the land that I have come to love. I want to thank every one that’s made this year possible (except for the jerks … you know who you are (if you’re reading this, you’re probably not one, so rest easy)) and really mean it when I say that I will come back if it’s the last thing I do; didn’t fancy quoting the Terminator.

So to sing us out, here’s Vera Lynn with We’ll Meet Again. T_T (finished @ 3:34 am)

The ceremony hall was full of students, staff members and host families. Initially two of our Japanese friends who had come were asked to leave/come back at 3 (when it finished), but after some convincing of the fact that dorm students had no one to be there with, they were let in. Lots of speeches were made and posh-nosh eaten. Mind you I popped into McDonalds beforehand so didn’t feel like eating. An award was given to the best Japanese speaker of the year, awarded on a range of scores, attendance, improvement yardy yardy yar, and it went to the person in the (almost) fluent class who won the Japanese speech contest (by giving the first bit of their speech in English explaining what the speech was going to be about).

For me though something good did happen, I got some money! Don’t mean for that to sound entirely selfish, it’s part of the initial lump sum we paid at the start of the year for textbooks; we all pay a certain amount at the start of the year and at the end the money not used is given back according to what classes we took (and what books those classes used). After the 10,000 yen we dorm folk were given in Hiroshima (I say given, but this 10k came from the textbook money) to help stay alive, I really wasn’t expecting to get anything back. From conversations with other students mine seemed to be one of the larger amounts given back. I put this down to the fact that I brought and used my own Minna No Nihongo books from home, saving some money.

There was an after party in Okamoto afterward which I skipped. Reason being (and I told this to anyone who asked me) I just don’t like most of the people who went. Harsh as it may sound most people on this programme are jerks or tossers, and a couple being a combination of the two with a pinch of git added in.

Moving on, tonight I hung out in Umeda with one of my Japanese friends who I probably won’t be able to see again before I take that voyage into the big blue. After nosing at a some business bags (laptop bags with enough room for lots of documents), we headed to dinner. I don’t remember the name of the style of meal, but it was like a “make your own tempura” style restaurant.

We had a 食べ放題 (tabehoudai, all you can eat) meal where you take what ever you feel like frying (pre-skewered), dip it in in batter and breadcrumbs and deep fat fry it yourself right at your table. It was a lot of fun, and thankfully the spitting fat didn’t get me too often. After eating we had a walk back and then said our goodbyes on a train.

After leaving my station I experienced (ish) my first car accident. I know this isn’t something to normally get excited about, but since I’ve been in Japan I’ve heard many a foreigner criticise Japanese drivers (and cyclists) and while I’d admit I’ve seen many close calls and horns blown, the cars involved have always just gotten away with it. So this accident (which I heard the crash on the way to the 99 yen shop and turned to reveal the incident in the middle of a busy crossroad near my dorm) confirms that even though it may seem Japanese drivers share a psyche in which they all know what they will do (to avoid crashes), it doesn’t always work.

And so before I sign off and head over to the Japanese blog to make an entry, I’ll leave you with Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt, as my way of saying goodbye to Konan University (though I’ll probably pop in before I leave Japan next week … T_T).

Even though packing and sending stuff home has been going slowly, I received word today that the first package, a doll I bought in Kanazawa, has made it to the UK. When I sent it I was told it’d take 3 months to get there (using the cheapest way possible), but it arrived in just under 2 months. Not too bad. I still have a few things I want to send back before I go, but I was really thankful to read that Emirates have increased their baggage allowances from 20kg to 30kg for Economy customers.

Though possibly a little late for it to benefit me while here, I have started a Japanese section of this site at http://www.darlosworld.co.uk/jp. It’s not going to replicate what I have on here, in fact the style is a complete contrast altogether, but it’s mainly there to help me use Japanese on a regular basis.

Speaking of which I had my Japanese mark from Konan back today. Overall I got an 84%, a very good mark for me. Also by some miracle I managed to score 100% on the reading comprehension test. Too bad this is going to completely contrast the mark I get from Leeds for this year. Oh well ^_^.

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.

This partially explains where I’ve been for the last few days (presumably revising) with the exception of Wednesday where we were given a day off for a national holiday, and last night when I just plain didn’t feel like studying so stopped up watching Family Guy.

Wednesday was みどりの日 (midori no hi, Greenery Day), and while I could talk about the day’s history, I’d pretty much be repeating what I read somewhere else. So rather than do that, you can find out about Greenery Day right here. Personally the only real difference I noticed were a lot more people that normal out on the streets painting and drawing, which to be honest was still quite nice, and given the awesome weather that day I’m certain their pictures turned out great.

I did use the day to take a quit run (it was neither quick, nor did I run) over to Shinasaibashi (again). As well as buying what I severely intend to be the last Higurashi book I buy, I also bought the first Higurashi DS game at a nice cheap price, as well as an awesome とたけけ (Totakeke) firgure. You might know him as KK Slider from Animal Crossing (or the Japanese 動物の森, doubutsu no mori), and am happy to say I didn’t pay anywhere near the $70 that it seems to be selling for online. Here’s hoping I can get it home!

Sorry it’s kept brief today (though I did try to maintain a sarcastic demeanour) but I have somewhere I gotta be. In the mean time, I’ll be updating the Photos at the weekend, so be sure to check them out!

Part way through the contest, while the votes were being tallied, the winner of the first popularity contest (which again I called before nominations were even discussed), the class president, wore a kimono and read out a selection of Haiku poems. Putting aside the fact that he resembled Weird Al in a Duffner and Kimberly lamp costume (all for the occaision I presume), it was all going fine until he began reciting Haiku about his home university (Hawaii). This is where I tuned out, being frank I don’t particularly give a toss about American universities when I’m here to study about Japan, especially as it feels like they’ve been shoved down our throats for most the year, particularly ones of attended by “Ikku-san“s. If it weren’t for the fact I had classes in the afternoon I’d have stayed home.

Which brings us to today, where I stayed home. No I wasn’t skiving, nor was I ill (though I did feel a bit funny this morning). Today’s the 90th aniversary of the founding of Konan University, so students (and I believe staff members) got the day off. I used the better half of the morning in bed, having an awesome adventure-style dream of which I remember very little, but no doubt it was influenced by me watching Brave Story before going to bed last night.

I started packing books away today, filling one large box to capacity and checking its weight to give me some idea of how much it’s going to cost to send home. On that note student loans came through today. Since I’ll be sending my things home via surface mail (cheapest option, but I’ll be in the UK a good couple of months before they arrive), I’ve been wrapping the books in cling-film to try and keep out any water that might get in (they will be on a boat after all … or some unfortunate and underpaid swimmer’s going to carry them), and also to help them not shuffle around too much in the box. I also thank my many years of playing tetris for my applied skills in box packing, or maybe I owe that to my Telfordian-factory background.