Japan's Day of the Dead (and other news)

Starting today, I have a few days off for the Obon break. For those not familiar, Obon is Japan's equivalent of the Day of the Dead, with people paying respect to their ancestors and loved ones who have passed away. During this time, people will go back to their hometowns, clean their ancestors' graves, and leave offerings at shrines. Working as an ALT previously, the entire month of August was a break for me, so I actually did not observe or even notice this period of time. I may actually do something during this time - of course, I have no ancestors buried here in Japan, but I feel I should do something in remembrance of loved ones that have passed away - and in recent times a lot of extended family members have passed away 

In other news, we had a bit of a scare in the office recently, with somebody apparently testing positive for the Wuhan flu. Fortunately, my employer was pretty swift about it, firstly disinfecting the person's desk (they went home obviously), and those that have either had close contact with him, or have desks within his vicinity needed to take a PCR test immediately, myself included. Unfortunately, my test result turned out invalid for some reason, but fortunately, a second test I took when I went home came up negative. While everyone else on that day also came up negative, a few more people in the following days weren't feeling well and took a few days off to recover, which later turned out to be just a cold and not the CCP virus. I kept an eye out for any symptoms popping up, but fortunately, I've been pretty lucky, and it's been over a week since it happened. 

Also, it would seem the Omicron/Xi subvariants have hit hard in Japan for the official 7th wave now. Tokyo has been seeing daily cases of over 30,000, whereas Saitama prefecture has weirdly been bouncing back and forth between 7000 and 13,000 cases a day. I won't deny I am a bit nervous as I have to take a crowded train daily to get to work, but just about everyone is wearing a mask, and keeping quiet - I mean, you really can't blame people for not being in a talkative mood when you have to take the train early to get to work, can you?

On the other, this summer weather is unbearable. Sometimes, I do miss having a car, as walking around in hot and humid weather sucks, especially when working out of town which requires walking for long periods without shade. Not to mention my apartment when I get home is pretty much a sauna, due to facing the sun - even with the curtains shut, it's still boiling hot inside. Though oddly, today has not been too bad actually.

Japan easing border controls from March

Recently, the Japanese government announced that it will start easing up on border controls from March. This will include increasing the current cap of international arrivals from 3500 people to 5000 people a day, and cutting the quarantine period upon arrival from 1 week to 3 days. These rules will apply not just to Japanese citizens returning home, but also foreigners who are entering Japan for purposes besides tourism. Furthermore, those that have received three doses of the vaccine for the CCP virus will be exempt from any sort of quarantine.

This will be good for many companies that rely on employing foreigners - especially ALT dispatch companies, who are looking for new ALTs for the new school year starting from April. This will also be good for students who had planned to study in Japan before the strict borders came up in November last year in reaction to the omicron (aka Xi) variant of the CCP virus.

More online classes! (and other stuff)

Due to the increasing number of cases of the Xi(aka Omicron) variant of the CCP virus across the country, including Ibaraki Prefecture, for the past two weeks elementary schools have been doing classes online. However, since there has not been a significant drop in cases at the moment (for the past few days, there have have been over 1000 cases in Ibaraki prefecture alone), online classes have been extended for one more week. I have mixed feelings about this.

I have no problem with this going on for my 3rd and 4th grade classes, as I can make progress even if they haven't taken the textbooks home with them (and I have the digital materials anyway), and I can make activities that involve everyone in some capacity. My 5th and 6th grade classes on the other hand... it is getting a little difficult without them being at school to really make progress. However, I am trying to take advantage of the school's online learning system to create some activities/exercises for them to practice what they (are supposed to) have studied. I'm preparing a listening activity which is similar in style to the listening tests that I have prepared, but I'm not preparing this as a test, meaning I'm allowing them to check the resources that I also intend to upload before the lesson.

In other news, I did submit my official resignation to my employer finally. I was bracing myself for some sort of grilling/haggling to get me to stay on board, but surprisingly it never came. I told them how I felt, but was careful not to tell them that I left because of money (even though that is part of the reason I am leaving). The truth was, I've been working as an ALT for over 5 years, and I have just gotten tired of it. Matters that came up back home just before school started last year really hit me hard, and the amount of difficult students I've had to deal with this year have really sucked the drive to continue any further. They extended an olive branch offering me some other positions elsewhere, and while I didn't openly refuse them, I did say I would consider it and let them know. I was expecting some sort of roasting about me quitting the HR training they were giving me, but given that I quit after two weeks, the damage and fallout was minimised on that front, not to mention that the position was never guaranteed in the first place. Besides, they didn't really assign me any important work aside from screening a few sessions with some ALT candidates and assessing their demo lessons. 

Finally, I have an appointment lined up to inspect a potential apartment on the 26th. I am a little bit concerned, as racism is rampant when it comes to renting an apartment in Japan. Up until now, I have been using Leopalace, a rental company that is known having no problems renting out apartments for foreigners, but this specific apartment is not a Leopalace apartment. The company that I have been dealing with asked me some standard questions, althought the questions have the potential to be grounds for refusing to lease an apartment to me. They asked my nationality; how long I lived in Japan; if I had an emergency contact in Japan; if I was a student or company employee, and why I wanted to move. Worst case scenario, I settle for Leopalace apartment that is maybe one or two stops away from my ideal spot. Hopefully, this won't be the case. 

It's not called Omicron. It's supposed to be the Xi variant.

Well, things have started going to shit at one of my schools. Since last week, it seems that the Wuhan virus has finally made a splash at school. It started off with the majority of 6th graders from one of my classes being absent - apparently they weren't all infected, but were considered close contacts to the person that was. Come today, and find out that the entirety of that 6th grader class is now taking the week off, the entirety of one of my 5th grade classes is also taking the week off. Furthermore, the remaining 6th grade class was down to around 10 students today, so I ended up cancelling my scheduled class, as there was really no way to continue progress with the text book, with 80% of the class not at school for this week. I spoke to the home room teachers, and we agreed to do a online/hybrid style lesson for the 6th graders this Thursday, but have to make the lesson in such a way that doesn't require the text book, as the students at home didn't take their textbooks home with them - which is understandable, as I never give them homework anyway. 

As a result, the school had a meeting on how to continue forward. From what I understand, any siblings of the students from those absent 5th and 6th grade classes are also required to stay at home for the week, which is a good approach at trying to contain the problem. Furthermore, while in the past, students could take their masks off during P.E. and break time, students are now required to keep their masks on at all times at school... except when they're eating lunch, obviously.
It is a bit concerning, given I have regular contact with the students. Since finding out about this last week, I've avoided playing with the students outside during break time. On the other hand, it gives me an opportunity to prepare for future lessons during that time, but it does kind of suck. 

Speaking of things sucking, my city seems to be in a State of Emergency again - where restaurants will close at 8pm, no alcohol to be served during that time, and some places have chosen to close during that time - including my regular gym. Again. Fortunately, the other gym near my apartment seems to still be operating, so it looks I'll be going there in the mean time until my usual gym opens up again. 

ALT companies desperate for foreigners

 I came across an article on Mainichi Shinbun regarding the effects of the CCP virus on companies that largely rely on employing people from overseas. This article covers the impact on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching program (or as it is more commonly known as the JET program), where foreigners will come to Japan and help teach English as an ALT to elementary, junior high, and high school students, while at the same time taking the opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture. The catch with this program vs. working for a ALT dispatch company, is that you can only stay in the program for 5 years max, as this is never intended to serve as long term work - only a "cultural exchange". 

I have heard from other people also that ALT dispatch companies are feeling the pinch, and - if rumor is true - Interac is apparently not doing so well in terms of retaining or recruiting foreigners. The fact that the Japanese government has effectively locked out foreigners that aren't permanent residents from entering the country, has forced ALT dispatch companies to look within the country for prospective candidates. Most cases though, foreigners living in Japan will probably already have a good job, or at least hold on to the current job, especially given the stress that comes with moving to another part of the country. My current employer has also been pushing on us to recommend anyone to sign up with them, but I always give the same answer: I don't know anyone (or at least, anyone that would want to sign up with them)

I will need to submit my resignation some time soon also, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. My coordinator has made it clear that they would like me to stay on in my current city for one more year, and upper management has finally got its act together in interviewing me and trying to train me up for a position at one of their offices. Fortunately, the pay they're offering is significantly less than the company I'm choosing to jump to, but I still need to confirm some things about this training before dropping the bomb on them.

Merii Kurisumasu---!!!

メリークリスマス皆！

Merry Christmas everyone. Despite not being able to go home for Christmas (for the second year in a row...), my girlfriend and I went out with some friends for some yakiniku. In a post I made years ago about traditional Christmas meals in Japan, yakiniku is bit unusual in comparison. Even so, the yakiniku restaurant that we went to on Saturday was very busy. Fortunately, my girlfriend booked a table in advance for us. We also made sure to skip breakfast and lunch so we can eat big for dinner. 

In terms of presents, I got my girlfriend some nice chocolates and a nice one piece dress for her (which was also to make up for her belated birthday present), while I got myself a Gundam kit, but not just any Gundam kit, a solid clear version of the Master Grade Gundam 3.0. It was from an Ichiban Kuji campaign back in 2018, but I was very surprised at how cheap I was able to find a copy of it on Rakuten. It was around 4,000 yen (around $40), which is comparable to most regular release Master Grade Gundam kits, so I'm happy with my purchase. My girlfriend will be getting my Christmas present a little later this week. 

Unrelated, I was able to get back to going to the gym these last two days. After 3 months of resting (after fucking up my back doing something stupid in the gym), I was finally able to do some training. Of course, I'm still not 100%, but it definitely does feel great to be back. Though the gym will be closed for the New Year break, I'll be looking forward to going back afterwards. As long as I'm careful and avoid exercises that affect my back for the time being, and as long as I don't do anything stupid at the gym again, hopefully the recovery will continue without further issues.

As for plans for the New Year, I have none. We were planning to do a little bit of travelling, but unfortunately, with the Omicron variant of the CCP virus in Japan now, and everyone else most likely planning to travel during this period, we decided to hold off on travel until after the winter break has finished, and instead go during a period where not everybody is going to be travelling at the same time... possibly for my birthday maybe? Who knows. 

While I will be having a quiet one again this year, I hope you will have a safe and happy New Year. 

Why have CCP virus cases drastically decreased?

Following the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games, cases of the CCP virus have been steadily decreasing, and the State of Emergency that was in effect across many prefectures was finally lifted at the beginning of the month. Even more surprising is that Tokyo has finally reached its lowest number of cases since last year. 

Apparently though, nobody can seem to agree on why cases have seen such a significant decrease, especially following the chaos of the Olympics back in August. The most obvious conclusion would be that enough people are getting vaccinated. Apparently, Japan's rate of those fully vaccinated is 64%, which is a pretty respectable number. Also, for the most part, people seem to have no qualms about wearing face masks, which I guess is due to the fact that it was fairly common for people to wear face masks during the flu season. Also, the fact that only hundreds of people of anti-vaccination folk turned up to a Tokyo court in support of a current case that has been put forward that is opposing CCP virus vaccinations. The feeling I'm getting from all this, is that while the people that aren't jumping to take the vaccination aren't necessarily anti-vaccination, they're opting more for a wait and see approach, with concerns that there may be some side effects that may arise later on, months after the initial two doses of the vaccine. My girlfriend is taking this approach, and while I'm not pushing her to rush out and get the vaccine, she is also pretty careful when she goes out and about. However, at the same time, she is a bit annoyed when some of her friends and co-workers are pressuring her to get the vaccine. I feel the heavy handed approach in forcing people to get vaccinations will have the opposite effect, and people will dig their heels deeper in the sand rather than get the vaccination. Making it free is a good start, though I admit, I'm not really sure how to provide any further incentives to get the vaccine. I personally don't agree how some countries, such as Australia, that are threatening to sack employees to get vaccinated. Or supermarkets will turn away those that haven't been vaccinated. This seems like a very dangerous path to go down - I'd dare say this kind of thinking is in line with the CCP itself, and people don't seem to realise it.

Ultimately, I have no clue either why the number of cases have drastically decreased. Despite that, I'm just happy that they are decreasing. The only thing I can really hope for, is that this is not a prelude to 6th wave.

(Hi)New Gundam kit sold out in a day

Kind of following from an earlier post about an apparent shortage of Gunpla, I thought I would talk about the recent release of the Real Grade Hi-v Gundam, and how that sold out on the very day of it's release (last Friday). What surprised me the most was seeing images in the above video of people lining up for hours just to get their hands on a regular release Gundam. Just a reminder: this is not an event exclusive, or even a premium bandai limited run Gundam kit - this is a kit that (was) being sold in all stores. 

This kind of thing seems to be in response to a few things: first, as I mentioned in the past, the Wuhan virus has led to more people finding a hobby that they can do at home, leading to an increase in Gunpla purchases. Consequently, supply doesn't seem to be able to keep up with current demand, leading to people missing out, and a lot of people still scalping kits at a significantly marked up price (with the RRP being 4500 yen, and scalped prices are going for around 10,000 yen - in one instance on Amazon Japan, I saw it selling for as much as over 20,000 yen!). Second - and while I didn't follow news of this closely at the time - this seems to be a reaction to the recent releases of the High Grade UC Nightingale, and Master Grade Eclipse Gundam, with both kits also selling out in Japan fairly quickly, and this time people didn't want to miss out - which, unfortunately, happened anyway. Even with limiting it to one kit per customer, stores just didn't have enough of the product for everybody.

According to the Bandai Hobby Site, they will be doing at least two more reissues of this kit, with the first one being in November, and the next being in January 2022. 

As for myself, I was lucky enough to be able to order one through Hobby Search. I was working from home last Friday afternoon, and started keeping an eye on many online shops, including Amazon and Rakuten. By pure chance, I saw that Hobby Search was accepting orders for the RG Hi-v, and was able to put my order through before it sold out a few minutes later. To be honest, I was going to try my luck at my local Yamda Denki store on the day of release, but I was fortunate enough to see a window of opportunity to get the kit online.

Speaking of Yamda Denki, I went there after school today to check out the model kits section, and the amount of product available for purchase has dwindled significantly. Obviously no RG Hi-v, but I noticed that it's not limited to just model kits, but there was also very little variety left in toys in general - and from what I've heard, this shortage is happening for many other products, including printers (my girlfriend and I were looking to get a printer earlier, and the staff warned us of the backlog of orders, even if we decided on a printer there and then.)

This will probably be the last kit I will purchase for this year - aside from the P-bandai High Grade UC Messer F-02, and trying my luck with the Ichibankuji Gunpla campaign that will be starting later this month. But besides those, I've got a pretty decent backlog of kits that should last me well in to next year.

Has Japan changed me?

 So I just had a quick read about this post, and figured I should write about whether any of those applied to me, and why/why not. I mean, I've lived in Japan for 6 years now - five of those years dedicated to working in rural towns in Ibaraki prefecture.

 1. Your English will change.

Eh... not really. However I do feel my accent has changed a bit. Given that I'm from Down Under, I have to adjust my accent accordingly to teach English to students, as they're learning based on American English. The rare times I tell off students, or just having a bit of fun, I'll let loose the Aussie accent. At the very least they'll stop what they're doing and stare at me in surprise, confusion and horror that I can talk like that. 

When I'm outside of the classroom though, I swear like a madman, much to my girlfriend's annoyance - though I try to cut back on it. Also, hanging out with non-Japanese friends does help in avoiding the use of loan words.

2. Your alcohol tolerance will increase.

My case is a bit unique in that I quit drinking since coming to Japan, and haven't really been drinking ever since I graduated over 6 years back. Partly due to health reasons, partly due to being the only one among my friends and girlfriend who can drive us anywhere. So yeah, no alcohol for this guy anymore... though I do miss the cocktail parties, I'm not gonna lie.

3. You'll travel more around Japan than abroad.

Before the pandemic, I would often go to Tokyo to visit my girlfriend.  Unfortunately, Tokyo is the last place I want to visit right now, especially how cases of the Wuhan virus have spiked since the beginning of the Olympics. During this pandemic, my girlfriend and I have traveled to other towns - whether it be for berry picking, or going to an outlet mall where you can usually find a good bargain on retail goods. Also this year, before the summer break concludes, we're planning to go to a ryokan in Gunma.

4. You’ll find yourself automatically following the rules

I feel this is partially to do with the common Japanese expression "The nail that sticks out gets hammered in" (出る釘は打たれる) - and this applies especially to foreigners. For some weird reason, Japanese don't like the idea of people stick out or being unique. And when it comes to following rules, if you break them as a foreigner, you stand out even more - not to mention give foreigners a bad name. 

Also, while Japanese people generally follow the rules, the pandemic has shown me that this is not always the case.

5. You won’t worry about being single 

Given that I've been in a steady relationship for a number of years now, this really doesn't apply to me.  

6. You will join the church of the konbini 

 Anyone who has been to Japan for any period of time will know that convenience stores in Japan are pretty awesome and... convenient, especially in big cities. Though in rural towns, while there are convenience stores, your mileage may vary. In the previous town I was living, there were 3 convenience stores within a 5 minute walk from my apartment. In my current town? It's more like a 15 minute walk to get to two of them.
However, supermarkets are in most cases going to be the cheaper option. The only difference being that they're usually not open 24/7. But it cannot be denied that convenience stores in Japan are great for those times you need a quick bite or need to pay your bills.

7. You take an umbrella everywhere – even when it’s just drizzling

Haha. Nope.

8.You appreciate the seasons more

I appreciate that I would rather spend summer back in Australia than in Japan.

Also, before the pandemic, I enjoyed going to the summer festivals, especially when I was living in my previous town. Since I was living in the town center, where the summer festival was also held, it was a two minute walk to get there. Plus it was always a nice surprise to bump in to my students who were also attending.
Yeah, I really miss the summer festivals.

As for other seasonal events, I never really did pay that much attention to them. I haven't been to see the autumn leaves since I was in Kyoto 6 years ago, haven't been to any hanami-related events for perhaps 3-4 years now. However, I did go to a temple for New Year this year. 

So, has Japan changed me? If we were to use the above as a benchmark... no, not really. However, there is one aspect I feel that Japan has changed me that the article hasn't covered: patience. Since coming to Japan, I've learned to be more patient with things, and come to understand that Japan does certain things differently to Australia - for better or for worse. Also, despite working in elementary/junior high schools, it is generally better than working in hospitality in that I don't have to deal with drunk people. 

Searching for a (temporary) new gym

With the number of cases of the Wuhan virus escalating around the country, the city I'm in is not immune to all this. Numerous prefectures, including Ibaraki, have implemented their own states of emergency. Again. Businesses and have shortened their hours. Again. The gym I usually go to, however, has decided against shortening their business hours and, instead opted to close up for the month - much to my annoyance.

Fortunately, there is another place I can go that isn't far from where I live. It is nearly double the cost of my usual gym, though there aren't many options around at the moment. All the other gyms around here require you to enter in to a contract, and my usual gym and this alternative one are the only I ones I know of that allow you to pay as you go. My friend mentioned he had gone there before and said that there was a smith machine available to use, so I can at least work on my bench and squats. 

Aside from that, I was able to get a little bit of extra work for the past two weeks. I won't go in to details of the work so my employer (and myself) won't get identified as usual, but I will say it was a good experience. Not to mention getting some extra money that will go a bit of a way to helping me get by until the payday after this one - which will be in  later October. 

Gunpla shortage?

 

Prior to watching this video, I didn't think there was much amiss regarding Gunpla (GUNdam PLAstic model kits for those not familiar). Since there aren't many places in my current city to purchase - as far as I know, only my local Yamada Denki sells Gunpla - I simply dismissed the apparent absence of Gundam kits as the store being slack in stocking new Gunpla. However, after watching the above video, it seems to be a nationwide issue. The video does a better job of explaining the causes of this shortage - mostly the Wuhan virus being the main reason for the increase in gunpla purchases. With more people staying at home, more people are looking to take up new hobbies to keep themselves occupied, and gunpla is one of those hobbies that is pretty accessible to all, especially with the types of kits being produced these days. If I knew of this issue earlier, I would have gone out and purchased the HG 00 Sky Moebius sooner. Sadly, I held off on it, and even the reissues earlier this year did not include Moebius in the line up - plenty of other Re:RISE kits were included though, including the Core Gundams and the armor parts and weapons. 

As a result, it means I need to keep a sharp eye on when Gundam kits will be released and hopefully get my hands on them before they sell out or appear on online stores at inflated prices. I'm hoping to be able to purchase the RG Hi Nu Gundam that's scheduled to be released in September. I know my Yamada Denki will be stocking this, and I was lucky enough to be able to get my hands on the RG Evangelion Mark.06 last month by keeping a close eye on my local Yamada Denki. However, I think the RG Hi Nu Gundam will probably be more sought after over the Mark.06, so I should brace myself for disappointment also just in case.

Aussie mate ship is a myth

 https://www.news.com.au/travel/people-just-dont-care-australians-stranded-overseas-come-to-terms-with-their-own-country-abandoning-them/news-story/a322777fbccf1ac9eb32f88a04844aa4

Reading this article just now, I can't but also feel the same way as other Australians stranded overseas. While I am fortunate enough to have a valid visa, a job, and a roof over my head here in Japan, there are many overseas that are not so fortunate. Some who cannot return home have expired visas and therefore cannot find a job in the mean time, while some are facing the real prospect of homelessness as they're waiting for an opportunity to return home. Many are missing out on being with their families, to witness births of their children, and even missing the chance to say their final goodbyes to dying loved ones. I am also one of those people, and have to live with the regret that I chose to stay here in the mean time as opposed to financially ruining myself for a chance to return home that is not guaranteed. 

While it is easy for me to hate on the government for abandoning its own people stranded overseas, it is saddening to see that Australians back home are backing and supporting the government's decisions for putting a cap on Australians trying to return from overseas. This is supposedly to help ease the strain on the hotel quarantine system, but it's clear that the hotel quarantine system does not work: people who return to Australia who aren't infected risk the chance of catching the Wuhan virus in hotel quarantine, simply because hotels were never designed for that purpose in the first place. Rather than put money in setting up dedicated quarantine facilities away from populated cities, the Federal government would rather continue with this flawed hotel quarantine system. However, state governments are to blame too for demanding border lock downs, gladly ignoring the plight of their own citizens stranded abroad. Then there's the average Australian who believes that those stranded abroad deserve their fate, citing that they had many chances to return to Australia, but didn't take it. I feel that this attitude smacks of tone deafness in that each Australian that is abroad has a reason for being overseas in the first place - many went overseas to find work, some went overseas to see loved ones and family. Especially for those working overseas, returning home is not as simple as packing your bags and going to the airport - it's not like a holiday: You need to give advanced notice to resign from your job, give notice to move out from your house or apartment, not to mention figuring out what to do with many of your belongings - furniture, cars and such - pretty sure you can't fit all of that in to a suitcase. To say that they had many opportunities to return home is also false - since very early on, caps were put in place that meant that the chance to return to Australia became essentially a lottery, and sometimes a very expensive one at that. As a result of the caps, airlines are forced to cancel seats, or prioritise business class passengers over economy class ones in an effort to recover some of their losses. It has also led to the significant increase in airfares, meaning only travel has now become the domain of the wealthy.

Australians have had a reputation of mate ship and always looking out for their own during hard times, but the Wuhan virus has showed me that Aussie mate ship is dead. Australians should be putting pressure on the government to get its own people home, not gladly throw them under the bus. Yes, people are scared, but that is no excuse for turning on each other. Whereas people were up in arms and throwing their support behind drug smugglers like Schappelle Corby, or the Bali 9 to put pressure on the government to get them home rather than leave them at the mercy of Indonesia's very strict judicial system, why should Australians stranded abroad be given the finger in comparison, especially since most stranded Australians have been well behaved, law abiding, and aren't facing life in prison or the death penalty for attempting to smuggle drugs in to another country? 

For those Australians cheering the government on for keeping Aussies abroad out of the country, I can only hope that you don't land yourselves in a situation where you require the help of the Federal government to bail you out. If you do, I hope you practice what you've been preaching and turn down any and all offers of government assistance, and get yourselves out of whatever mess you put yourself in.

Teachers getting fast tracked for vaccines?

Japan Today has posted a recent article highlighting why Japan is dragging its feet on the vaccine rollout, something I briefly talked about briefly in a previous post.

On the note of the vaccine, I sat in on the usual teachers' meetings at one of my schools. What was of particular note was regarding vaccines for the corona/CCP virus. Officially, the city is rolling out the vaccine for the elderly residents. However, it appears that due to there being excess vaccine left over, it is being offered to teachers for the next three weeks, which I think is a good thing, given they have regular exposure to children for extended periods of time. In addition, this seems to be available to teachers at all schools. But, due to most people getting flu-like symptoms that last around 3 days after taking the vaccine, they seem to be utilizing a system where so many teachers from each school at any one time (around 2-3) will go get the vaccine, before the next lot teachers go. This is apparently to reduce the impact of absent teachers needing time to recover from the flu-like symptoms after taking the vaccine.
While this is great news for them, there really hasn't been any mention of whether this would apply to ALTs, who also work at these schools. Since ALTs are subcontracted to work at these schools, we don't fall under the usual school pecking order, and I suspect that we would be ineligible for this time period.
I spoke to a fellow ALT about this, where they mentioned that teachers were asking them if they had any allergies to certain vaccines in the past, though didn't say outright anything about the CCP virus vaccine that all teachers would have access too. Despite no outright mention of it to them, it would seem to match up with what I heard at the teacher's meeting. 

I want to speak to the company about this, though I suspect that they might not know anything about this, as this seems exclusive to my current city. In any case, given that we are working in close contact with children (despite attempts at social distancing), it would be worthwhile finding out if there is any sort of vaccine program available to ALTs if there are extra vaccines that are sitting around being unused.

I'm Tired...

Hello there. Yes, it has been nearly two months since my last post. While things have been happening in these last two months, some deeply personal matters also popped up that really killed any drive to do anything besides working. Despite having to force myself to do things recently (such as going to the gym, work on my site, or even post here), it will (hopefully) keep me distracted from what's been happening in my personal life.

As for what's been happening lately in Japan, well it's currently Golden Week. Parts of Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka are under another state of emergency - but without any real penalties or a proper lockdown, along with a change of thinking for many companies to embrace working from home, I suspect cases will dip down temporarily before going up. However, being Golden Week, and people wanting to travel, I could be completely wrong on this. 

Another issue Japan seems to be facing is that despite having ample vaccines to issue out, the medical system doesn't have adequate means to do so. Anyone who has lived in Japan shouldn't be surprised that unnecessary bureaucratic red tape has once again dragged things out, with vaccines lying around being unused.
I have heard some countries have adopted a system where any vaccines that haven't been used at the end of the day will be issued to anyone who happens to be waiting at the doctor's around that time, or are alternatively put on a special list where they can be contacted to come in for the vaccine. If not enough elderly people are taking up the vaccine, I feel that they should start administering it to people who do want the vaccine - which would be great for people who are in jobs that require regular contact with people (especially schools - good luck trying to enforce social distancing at schools - the best that can be done usually is making sure kids are wearing their masks).

As for what I've been doing during this period, my gf and I went to visit her aunt and uncle in Chiba where we had lunch and yakiniku for dinner. They also gave me an old school MG Nu Gundam model kit - this is related to my personal matter, and they bought it for me with the hopes that it would lift my spirits. They mentioned before we visited that they wanted to give me money, but I refused it, feeling it wasn't appropriate to accept it because of this matter - but they went ahead and bought a Gundam kit for me anyway. Perhaps once I've built it, I may write up a review for it for my site. It's a kit from 2000, and since I didn't get in to gunpla until around 2013, it will be interesting to see the kind of engineering that was used for kits back in those days.

Ibaraki Prefecture's SOE Lifted

 Apparently, starting today, Ibaraki prefecture's state of emergency has been lifted. Kind of appropriate that it's today, given that it's a public holiday (specifically, the Emperor's birthday).
This means that restaurants can resume normal business hours, rather than the 8pm cut off time. Fortunately, this means my local gym can go back to finishing up at 9pm. However, while the number of cases has been decreasing throughout the country, I am concerned what will happen with the spring break, especially with all the hanami (Sakura viewing) that will be happening to signal the beginning of the new beginning for many students and new employees beginning their new jobs and whatnot. Given what happened during the winter break, that saw daily cases in Tokyo reaching over 1000, I am concerned that there could be a repeat of this three months on.

Happy 2021

 I know I'm late, but Happy New Year （あけましておめでとう）.

For those who may not know yet, a number of prefectures across Japan are now currently under a second state of emergency. But like before, this is not a lockdown, as apparently the country's constitution prevents the government from implementing any such policy. However, what this means is that they can dictate to businesses to close earlier (especially restaurants and bars, which currently must close by 8 p.m.), and implement other measures to minimise the spread of the CCP virus. Also, they're urging businesses to have their employees working from home where possible. However, for some companies working from home still hasn't apparently caught on for apparently dumb reasons - basically, they can't seem to trust their employees that they will actually do their work from home.

However, while Ibaraki prefecture is technically not under a state of emergency, places have started taking measures anyway, as numbers had exploded until recently in the prefecture - over 100 cases daily, with a number of them coming from Mito. Fortunately, the city I'm in has only seen single digit number cases for the most part. In any case, restaurants around here are closing by 8pm, with last orders by 7:30pm, and the public gym around here has closed until early next month. While I would have no problem with that, the fact that all other private gyms are not subject to this kind of ... actually, really pisses me off. While it would be simple as just going to another gym, the problem is, I would be required to enter in to a contract, and pay monthly for it, which I'm not interested in doing - the public gym only requires I pay every time I go there, and I'm pretty comfortable with that arrangement.
Also, I had to take a break due to injuring my back for two weeks, and then finding out that the gym went shut down from the 21st of this month (just after fully recovering) really frustrated me, as I did gain weight from the winter break of stuffing my face. Well, I guess I just need to wait for another week before I can finally go again (assuming they do not extend the shut down period).

Also, it looks like I'll be doing another year in this city as an ALT - presumably, due to the CCP virus, the plans my employer had for me for the following next year did not come to fruition, combined with perhaps the inability to hire from overseas due to Japan closing its borders to most of the world. I did rent out my current apartment for two years when I first moved here, just in case I ended up doing a second year here anyway, so I'm not too bothered. However, I will need to plan for next year in the event that there are no vacancies for better positions within the company.

Christmas in Japan 2020

メリークリスマス

Merry Christmas everyone. 

In an unusual move this year, most likely due to the pandemic, there were still classes on Christmas. In past years, winter break usually starts a few days before Christmas (usually around the 22nd - 23rd of the month). But yes, we had classes on Christmas - something my friends and family back home couldn't believe when I told them. While I have worked Christmas back home for my old job, Christmas back home is public holiday. As a result, pay was significantly more for Christmas, our hours were shorter (so we could get home and still catch up with the family), and we usually got compensated with some sort of gift (usually Chocolates or a bottle of wine).
Fortunately, classes were pretty chill on Friday as I expected. The 2nd Graders at my Jr. High School had a Christmas party themed lesson, where we just played games and had quizzes in English (and I ended up participating too). I learned that the green on Christmas symbolizes eternal life. Or at least life on further research in to this. I also learned that Santa Claus has a postal code in America (for those that don't know, it's HOHOHO.) I only ended up with having 2 classes, and the rest of it was spent just studying or chilling out. School lunch was nice - though being Christmas, I was kind of expecting fried chicken (as is tradition in Japan), and ended up with hamburg steak instead. Don't get me wrong, I love hamburg steak as much as anyone else, but I was expecting something a little more... special. Well, we also got a Christmas desert for lunch to go with it, so I was happy with it overall.

After school, my girlfriend and I went out to get some food to prepare for Christmas dinner. A friend who lives in the same apartment complex as us also happened to be free, so we also invited him over for Christmas dinner, and hanged out playing games afterwards. A fun way to end Christmas overall.

Now that the winter break has started, I can take a week and bit of time off. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, going back home to see the family is impossible. However, I did give the family call yesterday to wish them a Merry Christmas. Maybe I'll give the apartment a clean up during this time. 

In any case, have a Merry Christmas and a happy 2021. Hopefully things will start looking brighter next year.

Taking JLPT Post CCP Virus

 So yesterday, I took the JLPT for N1. With the test that was supposed to happen in July earlier this year being cancelled, the organisers seemed to have been able to prepare for another JLPT in a post CCP Virus period. Like the last few years, I decided to stay overnight at a hotel in Mito near the station. With the government's "Go To Travel" campaign still valid at this time, I was able to book at a reasonable hotel for incredibly cheap - less than 3000 yen for a night in a semi-double room. Though I did receive discount coupons to use for the "Go To Eat" campaign, I didn't use it.

Unlike the previous years where the test was held at a university, the test this year (at least for those in Ibaraki prefecture) was held in a high school - at least for those taking N1 and N2. I'm not entirely sure where N3 - N5 exams were held, as the high school didn't look like it could accommodate for all levels (unlike a University). In any case, the organisers tried to enforce social distancing and ventilation as much as possible. Every second classroom was being used for the tests, and inside the classrooms themselves, only every second desk was being used. In other words, a classroom that can normally accommodate for 35+ students was only being used by half that number. I definitely liked this approach, as I couldn't stand the crowded rooms of past years. I hope this is the way tests will continue from here on out. 

While there were no convenience stores nearby, there was a Kasumi supermarket within walking distance. As I got to the test site early, I decided to head over to Kasumi and get something to eat, as the test began at 12:30, and I wouldn't have a break for another 2 hours. I ended up settling on a chocolate cream sandwich and some coffee.|
During the break, the high school had ample vending machines around the place. I ended up going to the seemingly main gathering area of the high school, and happened to find a coffee vending machine. Unlike the usual vending machines you find around Japan, this one pours coffee in to a paper cup and dispenses it for you. It was also pretty cheap - around 100 yen for a cup. I settled for a hot chocolate for 90 yen. While the hot choc wasn't anything spectacular, for 90 yen, it got the job done of warming me up. 

As for getting there and back. Fortunately, it was only 1 stop away from the station by bus. As I decided to go early, the bus going to the test site wasn't as crowded. However, as it is the only bus that goes to the test site, getting back was another story. Just about everyone was lining up to get on the bus. Anticipating that the bus was going to be packed as always, and with this whole mess of the CCP virus, and the flu running around, I chose to walk back to the station. Even though it was about a 40 minute walk to get back, it was doable.  

So how did I think I went? I know I didn't even come close to passing this time. While I had a year to prepare, I didn't do as much prep as I would have liked - and I know that's my own fault. Despite being busy at my schools and having little time to study there, it's my own fault for not making time to study. Hopefully I will much better prepared for JLPT N1 next year in July - unless some other global disaster were to occur.

On another note, I noticed a lot of women at the test site taking selfies in front of the school. Why? Why would you even do that? It's just a high school after all. Eh, whatever.

Free vaccines for residents?

 Japan enacts law to make coronavirus vaccines free to residents

Naturally, many foreigners living in Japan who aren't permanent residents (such as myself) will probably be worried if they will also be eligible for the free vaccine. Considering that we received the 100,000 yen handout earlier this year, it would make sense that we would also be eligible for the free vaccine, especially as we also contribute taxes and pay health insurance.

Also, as Japan is approaching its flu season, I decided to get a flu shot while there's still ample supply of it. My girlfriend and I decided go to a different clinic rather that the hospital this time, as this particular clinic allowed for walk-ins to get their flu shot for a fee (in our case, it was 4600 yen each). As we went last weekend, a lot of parents with their children were also coming to the clinic to get flu shots for the kids. Since these kids seemed to be under 5 years old, naturally a lot of screaming and crying accompanied their flu shots. Compared to my experiences of blood tests at the hospital, the flu shot was pretty painless, even with local anesthetic. It did hurt a few minutes after the flu shot, but it was a pretty smooth process. Of course, the doctor told us not to consume any alcohol for 24 hours, but he also mentioned about not thoroughly washing the area where the shot was administered, which I was never warned about until now. 

In any case, my gf and I are set for the flu season. I am curious how this whole coronavirus vaccine will turn out. While tempting to get it immediately, I can see the merits of waiting a few months to see if any unintended side effects spring up, considering the speed in which vaccines have been developed with such a short time period to allow for human trials.

Japan extending the Winter Break

I came across this article recently.

Naturally there are pros and cons for this. One of the pros being long break time during Christmas and New Year instead of the usual few days most people get during that time. Also, the theory is that by extending the holiday period, the crowds will be smaller and scattered around all the major locations associated with the New Year festivities (such as shrines and temples) over a longer period of time, reducing the spread of the virus.
However, the con for this is that while in theory the scattered crowds could work, the flip side is that there could possibly be big crowds but rather than being scattered, it will be big crowds everyday, increasing the risk of spreading the virus (not to mention the flu during this period). Another con is that for many people who are on contracts and only get paid for days they work (people like me), it means we get less pay than normal. This especially irks me, because I get paid a handsome amount, as any unused paid leave days at the end of the year will be added to my December paycheck. 

I am torn on this, as I would like a little more time off, as I only got two weeks off during the summer break (though I did like getting paid for August for once), so two weeks in December/January would be a nice change. On the other hand, I also like getting paid more than normal during this time. Admittedly though, due to this pandemic, my options on where to go and what to do are limited. I am still hesitant to go to Tokyo during this time, even if my girlfriend goes there once a week for work. Though it would be a good opportunity to check out some of the shrines around my city, especially one that is literally right next to one of my junior high schools.