Taking the Local Train

Sometimes, to get where you need to go in Japan, you need to take a train. In Kumamoto, you might want to go to a nearby city or town where a festival is taking place. Right now, there is a nice shopping mall called Yumetown that we can reach by 10 minutes on the train, but for future students that come here, they are building a new Yumetown much closer.

Anyway, we decided to make a short video about using the ticketing machine and the train schedule. It is fairly easy to understand, but it is nice to have an idea in advance of what you will encounter.


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Important Things to Know

I've made a list of some things I think people should review before coming to study Japanese in Japan. Within the first few weeks, and over the course of the first semester here, I encountered a few words or phrases that I didn't recognize at first, or that I saw other people having trouble with. So, reviewing these things before coming can help you avoid some awkward situations. I'll break it into two categories: Stores/Restaurants and In Class.

Christmas in Japan

Being Canadian we’re both used to a Christmas that is worlds apart from what we experienced here in Japan this year. At home, Christmas means presents, family, lots of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pies, snow, cold… you get the idea. In Japan though, Christmas means different things. The family aspect is there to some extent, as are presents, but no turkey dinner, and no cold or snow (for us in Kumamoto anyway); Christmas in Japan is more of a couple’s day than anything else. It’s easy to forget, but Christmas is not a Japanese holiday, at all. It’s just another day for a lot of people.

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!