Yabusame at Suizenji Park

After we returned from Pre-English Weekend, we made a final stop at 水前時公園 (Suizenji Park). This is a park not too far from our university; probably about a 10 or so minute bike ride. On this particular day, there was a traditional Japanese sport being demonstrated: 流鏑馬 (yabusame). Yabusame is horseback archery. I won't spoil the video too much, but basically there were men dressed in traditional attire who performed Yabusame. It was really quite something to see, and I'm really glad we got the chance to see it.

Have a look at the video we uploaded to YouTube to see it for yourself; hope you enjoy it folks! Until next time :)

Getting a Cellphone in Japan

Graham and I got our phones about 3 weeks after we arrived in Japan. Some people have gotten by without phones until even now, but having one (particularly a smartphone) makes it so much easier to navigate around the city, meet up with your friends, and communicate with members of group projects. If you aren't confident on your ability to communicate in Japanese in the event of an accident or other trouble, a cellphone can put you in contact with someone who can help you.

The instant messaging application Line is used by most Japanese students we've met, and we use it a lot for organizing and getting details about social outings.

Read on for information on getting cell phones in Japan, and the process we went through.

Photos from Recent Trips

We've been busy lately with different activities that were arranged either by the school or with friends. I've made a few albums of pictures from the different things we've done, and I'll post them here with some notes.

Kumamoto Zoological and Botanical Gardens

We focused on the zoo this time, and picked a good, cool day so the animals would be more active. We got there by taking the city tram, which is the cheapest option at a 150 yen flat rate. Entry is regularly a couple hundred yen, but we got in free with the "Welcome Passports" we received from the city when we arrived.

Miyazaki Bus Trip

The Office of International Education arranged a bus trip for exchange students to Gokase Winery and Takachiho Gorge in Miyazaki. We left early in the morning, stopped at the winery for lunch and went to the gorge for a hike and some souvenir shopping.

Minami Aso

We went with a grad of KGU to nearby Minami Aso for the Cosmos Festival and to go to the Shirakawa spring. It was really nice! We finished off the day with an all-you-can eat buffet with horse hamburger! Horse meat is one of the local specialties of Kumamoto. It's similar to beef, but a little sweeter.

I also have pictures from the Pre-English Weekend and yabusame (horseback archery) demonstrations from last month, but I'd like to write separate posts for those. 

Academics at KGU

For students who are planning to come to KGU, I'll give you a bit of information about what to expect with your classes. This might not be interesting to everyone, but read on if you're planning to come to KGU!

Martial Arts at KGU

Last week, for our Special Lectures on Japan class, the lecturer took us to several of the dojos on campus to learn about the martial arts that are offered as extracurricular activities at KGU. We went to four different dojos, and students are joining most of them.

I'll start where we started our tour, the Kyudo dojo:

Australia Week Taiko Performance

This September 16th to 23rd was Kumamoto Australia Week, which was put on by the Australia-Japan Foundation. One of the events was a taiko performance by the Australian group RINDO. Graham and I and a few other students went to see the performance at Kumamoto Castle on Saturday. 




This particular video is of a collaboration between RINDO, the Kumamoto Prefecture #2 High School Alumni taiko group, and the Kumamoto Hitsuyuukan Municipal High School taiko group.

Orientation Week at KGU

Now that we're good and settled in I figured it was about time for a blog post about stuff that has gone on since we've arrived here in Kumamoto. For this post, I’ll be talking about our first week at KGU, which was our orientation week. Our orientation ran from Wednesday, September 11, 2013 to Wednesday, September 18, 2013, excluding the weekend of course. There was a different activity or two for us on each day, so it was quite a busy week for us. After the cut, you'll be able to read about each of our orientation days detail.

Fujisaki-Hachimangu Festival

Yesterday was "Respect for the Aged Day", and also the day that the main events of the Fujisaki-Hachimangu Festival were held. In the downtown area, there was a huge parade, lasting most of the day. People dressed in festival jackets ("happi") danced down the street, and people chanted from floats. The focus of the parade was the horses that "danced" down the street. I posted a short video in the entry about Suizenji Park, but here it is again.

Another feature of festivals in Japan is food stalls (屋台）! People set up stands to sell various fried or frozen treats and drinks. There are also games to play and toys for sale. I was most looking forward to takoyaki and taiyaki, and I got to try both! The takoyaki was so great that I didn't get a picture of it before devouring it, and the taiyaki was cold and soggy, so I was disappointed and didn't take a picture. 


Graham and I both enjoyed some shaved ice though! I had mango flavour with condensed milk, and Graham had cola flavour.

I also took a video while we walked down the street with the food stalls. You can see some of the interesting things that were offered. Have a look!

We didn't get much good video of the actual parades, but some other students did, so if I can get a hold of one (or a link), I'll post it here!

Anyway, in the end it was a very eventful weekend, going to Suizenji, shopping, the castle, restaurants, the festival and more shopping. My legs still hurt, but we made a lot of good memories. We're back to orientation now, and classes start on Friday. I or Graham will write a bit about orientation soon, and we'll keep updating as interesting things happen! Stay tuned!

Kumamoto Castle

This weekend, in addition to going to Suizenji park, Graham and I also went to Kumamoto Castle with a few of the other students who didn't do homestay. 

Check below for more pictures and details!

Suizenji Park in September

Today, Graham and I and a few other students went to Suizenji Park and the downtown shopping area. Before we entered the park, we heard drums down the street and went to see what was happening. This coming Monday is the Fujisaki-hachimangu festival, which includes a huge parade of people, portable shrines, lion dancers, and decorated horses. All around town, we saw groups of people and horses practising for the festival. The particular group we saw at Suizenji was performing for the seniors of a nursing home. 


 
They get the horse to "dance" by pushing it around a bit and running with it. It might look a bit stressful, but the horse seemed fine, and it was pet and fed carrots by the seniors afterwards. I heard that in the past they used to get the horses drunk...? Not completely sure if that's true or not!

We'll be attending the festival on Monday with a group of students and friends. It will be extremely busy downtown then. 

There are a lot of shops and restaurants around Suizenji park, selling specialty products from Kumamoto (a ton of Kumamon-themed products) and other knick-knacks. I bought a little Kumamon to dangle off my backpack. Within the park, there are also souvenir shops, a large shrine, tea house, and a place where you can get good-luck charms and fortunes. It's an interesting place! We took a lot of pictures.


The best ones are here. 

After the park, we went to shop in the downtown shopping area. Tomorrow we're going to Kumamoto Castle, so we will have lots more to post about!

Narita Airport Rest House

Graham and I arrived in Tokyo at about 7pm last Wednesday, and the last flight to Fukuoka was at 7:45pm. Since we couldn't make that flight, we stayed overnight at the Narita Airport Rest House. It's a hotel located within the airport grounds. A shuttle bus takes you from the terminal to the hotel in about 5 minutes. It's really convenient, and reasonable quality. We also appreciated the breakfast that was included in the stay.

Here's a short video that we took at the hotel before leaving for the airport in the morning:

Arrival and Dorm Photos!

Now that we're a bit more settled in, we've got a few pictures to share of the dorm and the views outside it from our balconies (check the link below). Hope you enjoy it, and if you have any questions, ask away!

Photos here!

One important thing for incoming exchange students from Canada: there are three-prong outlets in your room, but they're by the bed, not the desk, so you might still want an adapter for your laptop charger (if it's three-prong). Most outlets are two-prong, polarized.

Arrival!

Graham and I are now in Japan! We arrived at the KGU International Residence yesterday and did a bit of unpacking, met some of our roommates, and tried out the KGU cafeteria (カレーライス!). It was a looooong journey, but there were no problems!  Here's how it went:

Packing

Packing for a whole year away has been a challenge! Between the two of us, Graham and I have one large duffel bag, one hiking backpack, one large, wheeled duffel, and one wheeled duffel with straps. I find that bags with wheels are easier to move around, but you should consider the weight of a bag and how much you need to pack. Bags with wheels and frames are normally heavier.

For most airlines, the weight limit per checked bag is 23kg or 50lbs. It's surprising how much clothes weigh! Thankfully, we're under the limit on each of our bags. As far as what to pack, we had to do a little bit of research beforehand:

Some of the things to consider when deciding what to pack include weather, sizes, and availability of your favourite products.


Kumamoto has a climate that is very different from Nova Scotia. Half of the year is hot and humid, the rainy season is long, and winters are mild and short (no snow!). Other parts of Japan have more severe winters, with lots of snow. Check out your destination well before packing, so you know what to expect.

You can find large clothes and shoes in Japan, but the availability is limited compared to Canada. I've heard that Uniqlo is a good store for larger clothes, but if you wear large shoes, pants, bras, etc., I get the impression that it's wise to bring a little extra when you pack. Of course, there's always online shopping if you can't find what you need in the stores around you. 

If you have certain products that you can't live without, you might want to bring a little extra in case it's not easy to find in Japan. Many Canadian/American cosmetic/toiletry brands are available in Japan, but the prices can be higher. OTC medications are similar to what's available in Canada, but painkillers are often in lower doses. Check the generic name of any OTC medicines you need, as brand names will differ. For prescription medications, you can check my previous blog post. For food, if you have the luggage space, consider bringing a couple of your favourite snacks for the times you get homesick.

NOTE: Make sure to pay attention to airline regulations and customs regulations to be sure you aren't bringing anything prohibited. 

Once you're packed, all you have to worry about is dragging all your bags around the airport and to your destination! In my opinion, that's one of the most aggravating things about travelling. Though, once my bags are checked, I'm a "happy camper".

The Visa Process

Alright, so you're all set to go to Japan for the first time. All packed? Check. Passport? Check. Said goodbye to family, friends, and loved ones? Check. Got your visa? Nope?! Well, you're not going anywhere yet then!

Just a bit of a pretext: we’re Canadian, specifically from Nova Scotia, so the information below is the process for getting a Visa at the Montreal Consulate. If you're not Canadian, sorry! Also, if you're from anywhere west of Quebec, you'll need to check with the appropriate Consulate for you. That said, read on for more information!

Bringing Prescription Drugs to Japan (and the Yakkan Shoumei)

If you take prescription medications and are planning to study abroad in Japan, there are things you need to consider. Unless you apply for an import certificate, you are only allowed to bring 1 month’s supply of prescription medication and/or 2 months’ supply of over-the-counter medication.

If you need to take more than the limit’s worth of prescription medication, you can either:

A)     Take 1 month’s supply, then see a doctor in Japan and get a prescription there; or

B)      Take enough for your entire stay in Japan, and get an import certificate (see below)

The Application Process

The decision to study abroad is not an easy one! Depending on the program, studying abroad requires you to spend some money, possibly delay your graduation date (if you can’t transfer enough credits) and live away from your family in a totally new environment. Needless to say, you need to do a lot of planning, but the benefits are extensive. Take the opportunity!

At Saint Mary’s University, you can get help from International Activities when deciding whether or not to study abroad and where to go if you do decide to study abroad. SMU has partnerships with MANY universities across the world. Graham and I chose to study in Japan because we’ve both been studying the language and we are both interested in certain aspects of Japan (I’ll likely be blogging a lot about food, while Graham will blog more often about nature and geography).

Step-by-step, the application process at SMU can go like this:

• Research destinations and options (semester vs year vs short program)
• Apply for mobility awards (November)
• Apply for the exchange (Jan-Feb)
• Be interviewed for the exchange
• Apply for mobility awards again if you didn’t get one the first time around (March)
• Be recommended by SMU for the exchange
• Apply to the host university
•  Be accepted by the host university
• Complete a Letter of Permission to transfer credits
• Attend information sessions with International Activities
• Apply for a Visa for the host country (if applicable)
• Book flights, make final preparations, pack and GO

I won’t go into detail on any of these here; if you would like more information, please visit SMU International Activities. Applying to study abroad and planning your study abroad are made so much easier by International Activities.

In addition to speaking with International Activities, if you need any advice during any of these steps you can speak with students who have gone on exchange before, an Academic Advisor, or a trusted professor. There are even career and other counselling services at SMU that you can use. Of course, if you have any questions for me or Graham, leave a comment below!

Tickets Booked!

Recently, we booked our flight to Japan! September 3 we will fly from Halifax to Toronto to Los Angeles to Tokyo to Fukuoka, then take a bus to Kumamoto. It's going to be quite a journey, but I'm not looking forward to all that time on an airplane... 

I chose this way because I've heard that SingaporeAir has the best economy flight experience, and our LA to Narita flight is with SingaporeAir. Also, breaking up the flight into a few legs ensures that I remain sane by the end. Spending 15 hours in a cramped airplane is NOT enjoyable in any way.

3 months is still a long time to wait, but in the meantime we have a lot to get done. Insurance paperwork, Visa paperwork, medical paperwork... basically a lot of paperwork!

More updates to come as more happens!

About Kumamoto

Kumamoto City is the capital of Kumamoto Prefecture, in the southern island of Kyushu in Japan.

The kanji in the word Kumamoto (熊本) translate directly to "bear origin" which explains why the prefecture's mascot, Kumamon, is a bear!

Kumamoto City's population is around 730,000 people, and it has a density of 1,880/km², (for comparison, Halifax's urban area is 1,077.2/km²).

It has a history as a castle town, and Kumamoto Castle is a popular tourist destination in the area. The view of the city in the picture above was taken from the castle.





As Graham and I discover interesting things about the city and the prefecture, we'll be sure to post about it here!

About the header, Kumamon

The bear featured in our blog's header is Kumamon, the mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture. He won the 2011 "yuru-kyara" contest, claiming the title of number 1 mascot in Japan for the year. Goods featuring Kumamon are very popular in Japan, and the mascot makes appearances at events and in television shows. You can see some of the Kumamon-themed goods here.

I fully intend to create a small Kumamon collection during my time in Kumamoto.

ブログのヘッダのくまはもちろんクマモンです！大人気なゆるキャラで、色んなグッズに表示されます。熊本にいる間、クマモングッズのコレクションを集めたいと思います！