7 Things to Do in Summer

It's almost summer! I'm soooo happy!

Except for the suffocating humidity, I love summers in Japan. First, I have a month-long vacation. (Actually, it's not really that long. I just feel like it's that long.) Second, my friends are also on vacation. Last, there are a lot of traditional things going on it's easy to fill my calendar. Because with these summer events, I've realized that about this time last year my entries have become far and between. I didn't find the time to write.

To make sure I'll write my summer experiences this year, I'll publish my list of activities. (This blog forces me to do things, I think.) Who knows, someone out there might want to join me this year. This list might also give you an idea of things to do this summer.

This summer, I will...

1. See the Lantern and Fireworks Festival in Kanzanji

Kanzanji Lantern and Fireworks Festival
photo credit: http://shizajet.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/shizuoka-hanabi-2011/

I saw a beautiful picture of my friends in this festival last year. The sight of a thousand lanterns was lovely. I was envious so I'll go this year. This would be on the last Sunday of July.

Lantern festivals are common in Japan during the summer. They coincide with the Obon season. Obon is a time when the dead spirits visit their families, according to Japanese belief. The lanterns are supposed to guide these spirits to their homes.There's also traditional dancing to entertain the dead. I leaned from an old Japanese man that they have to please the dead spirits so bad things won't befall on them. Interesting, I think.

If lanterns are not your thing, summer is the time for Hanabi or Fireworks Festival. Starting this month, there'll be fireworks festivals all over Japan almost every weekend. This would last until the last week of August. In Hamamatsu, the Bentenjima Fireworks Festival draws large crowds every year. Japan Guide has a schedule on the major fireworks festivals in Japan.

2. Watch a Sumo Competition

PHOTO CREDIT: http://blog.instagram.com/post/73775162513/ryogoku-kokugikan-2014

Japan's the only country that has a sumo tournament so might as well see it while I'm here. I've been planning to watch since last year but nobody wanted to go with me. The ticket prices are also expensive. Then I learned that one of my friends wanted to celebrate her 32nd birthday watching a sumo competition. Sumo tournaments happen every other month starting in January. However, they take place in different cities. My friend's lucky cause the Nagoya tournament happens in her birth month. It'll start in July 13 and ends in July 27. She's leaving Japan in August and this would be our last time together. This is a good reason to forget "EXPENSIVE" and just savor the remaining time with a good friend.

3. Go camping!

I enjoyed camping last year at Akiha so I'll do it again this year. It would be better if I can find a different camping ground. There's a campsite I've been wanting to visit- The Tatsuyama Campsite in the mountains but I need a car to get there. How will I have a ride is something I still have to  figure out. <cross fingers>

Japan's a safe country to go camping as long as what you do is within the bounds of common sense. It's easy to find camping sites even for the whole family. To find camping sites in your area, visit your local tourism office. In Hamamatsu, the Bentenjima camping grounds by Lake Hamana is accessible by JR Train.

4. Have a barbecue party by the river

The Keta River in Haruno

A friend invited me to join a BBQ party in August. It'll be in one of the rivers in Hamamatsu. I attended a few BBQ parties last summer and all of them are by the river. I guess, this is a popular summer activity in Japan. The river provides a cooling effect during the hot day. Fishing, sort-of-swimming and some feet dangling are usually allowed in most small rivers.

5. Assist in a Youth Camp

Summer is also the time for youth camps. My church will have one in the second week of August. I've had summers in my youth spent in Christian camps. This time, I won't be a camper anymore ( which means I'm getting older) but one of team leaders. I don't know any details yet except for the dates.

In Japan, language schools also offer English camps to young people. Some ALT's earn extra by helping out in these camps. I've helped in an English camp once but it was in winter. Most activities are indoors but I still enjoyed helping out. I bet summer camps will be more fun with more outdoor exercises. Check Gaijinpot for a summer camp position.

6. Climb Mt. Fuji!

Mt. Fuji from the train

The only thing I look forward in climbing Mt. Fuji is reaching the top. The only reason why I'm doing this is for the sake of saying I've done it! (Yeah, it's pride talking.) I think most people scale Mt. Fuji for this reason, too. Who would happily subject themselves to this exhausting venture? Most people I know who climbed it once are happy to have done it but they wouldn't be forced to go again. Good thing that I've three more friends who haven't climbed it yet so I'll have company. One of my friends will be flying all the way from Hokkaido to climb it with us.

Climbing Mt. Fuji is a popular summer activity in Japan. The Shizuoka tourism office is expecting more than a hundred thousand climbers this year especially on the Obon week- the second week of August. There are tour operators if you want to climb with a group. You can also gather a group of friends who don't mind some adventure this summer.

For more information on climbing Mt. Fuji, click here, here and here.

7. Cycle the outskirts of Hamamatsu

Cycling has become my favorite summer activity since I discovered how lovely summer nights are around my neighborhood. For the past two weeks, I've been cycling almost every night. This gave me an idea to spend 3 or 4 days cycling around the outskirts of Hamamatsu. (Actually, I've originally planned to cycle around Shizuoka prefecture but I think that's too ambitious!) Though I've been in Hamamatsu for almost two years, I still haven't seen a lot of places because of transportation issues. I should have thought of cycling sooner.

Safe roads for cycling is one of the best things about Japan. Anyone can do it in whatever part of Japan. I know a couple who cycled around Shikoku for a few days. They said it was lots of fun until the guy toppled over his bicycle. It wasn't anyone's fault but him. Be careful is what I'm saying.


I'll end this list here. I think it's more than enough to fill my summer vacation. If I add more, I might not have the time again to write.

Happy summer!

I Love Safe Roads!

K- Car in Japan

The Japanese are probably the most careful drivers in the world. For more than two years I'm in Japan,

• I've rarely heard drivers use their horns. 
• I've never seen a road accident. 
• Drivers have always given way to me when I ride my bike or walk.

These are all good changes for someone from Manila- a city of blasting horns, daily road accidents and drivers pushing their way through traffic. 

I've never felt safer on the road than here in Japan. So safe that I've become confident riding my bicycle on high ways even at night, walk on narrow streets (because streets in Japan are all narrow), and drive in a foreign country. 

I've wondered about this carefulness. I've wondered too why drivers in the Philippines can't be more like these Japanese drivers. The Philippines has wider roads and less traffic lights. There are also more traffic officers on the road. Still, safe is the last word I'll use to describe the roads in the Philippines. 

I think what makes Japanese drivers careful are two things- Education and the Sense of Privilege.

Teaching Road Safety

When I say education, I didn't mean it in an awe-inspiring and fist-pounding kind. It's education in a simple and non-fussy way. 

Every year, schools have a Traffic Education session. The traffic police would visit the schools to demonstrate the proper use of bicycles. They also hold small lectures on road safety. They show a video of the few accidents that happen in Japan. 

Also, not all students are permitted to ride bicycles. Students who live further and can properly use their bicycles are the only ones who can ride to schools. They are this strict with bicycles so you can imagine how much more if it's a car.

In the Philippines, the only lesson I can remember about traffic is the use of stoplight. And I tell you, I don't think a lot of people understand traffic lights in the Philippines. 

Driving is a Privilege

I will suppose that the Japanese see driving as a privilege. Getting a driver's license in Japan is heartbreakingly difficult. Foreigners needing licenses take months to prepare for the driving test. Even Japanese have a hard time getting a license. 

A friend told me how surprised he was to see adult Japanese men crying because they failed the driving test. On the flip side, he was also surprised to see how happy people are when they pass the test. It was like winning the lottery. The driver's offices in Japan must be an emotional place. 

Because of the difficulty of getting a license, the Japanese don't take it for granted. Their driver's license is something they've worked for, studied for and maybe even prayed for. They don't want to lose it to some nonsense on the road. 

I've heard a story why Filipinos have the hardest time getting a Japanese driver's permit. It was said that a Filipina who was applying a permit in Tokyo mentioned how easy it is to get a license in the Philippines. She even said that sometimes, we just pay the office that grants license. Because of her tactlessness (and stupidity), Japan are strict with Filipino drivers. (Well, I think Japan is strict with everyone.)

Whether this story is true or not, there's some truth in what she said. Driver's licenses are given like pancakes in the Philippines. As long as you have two arms and legs, you can have a license.

I Wish, I Wish, I Just Wish...

I wish there'd be more educated drivers in the Philippines like here in Japan. Driving is more than just knowing how to drive. It's also about knowing when to stop driving to avoid accidents and give way to pedestrians. Driving is not all green lights but also reds and yellows. 

I wish driving licenses in the Philippines wouldn't be granted like a soda bought in the nearby sari-sari store. A driver's license is a LICENSE like how professionals use their license as a proof of their professional capabilities. 

And I just wish I'd still be alive when...

• Drivers back home would rarely use their horns. 
• A road accident in the Philippines would be an unusual case. 
• Filipino drivers would give way to pedestrians and to each other. 

And of course, I still hope to ride my bike back home without the fear of being hit (and of being mugged).

More on Driving in Japan: 

Driving in Japan: Passing the Japanese Driver's Test

Getting A Driver's License in Japan

Japanese Driver's License

How to Get a Driver's License in Japan- Part 1

How to Get a Driver's License in Japan-Part 2

For ALT's: How to Know Schedule Changes in School

photo credit: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/416512665509510615/

"Nobody informs me about schedule changes," complained a number of ALT's I know. 

I used to complain about this too during my first months as an ALT. There were mornings when I'd go to school and enter an empty staff room. Turns out, everyone should be in the gym for a program. 

There were also some days when I'd go to a class and there's another teacher readying to teach my class. I didn't know that class periods were changed. 

Then, some days I thought that I don't have a class when I actually do have. Again, thanks to schedule changes. 

Now, I'm a person of habits and I like following  a regular schedule. If a regular schedule is not possible, I like to be prepared for changes. I get stressed out when changes happen suddenly so I decided to find a way to know what exactly is going on in the school. I want to know why everybody knows the daily schedule except for me. 

It wasn't really hard to figure out. All the while, the answer was staring at my face. Literally. 

There's a big board by my desk with Japanese writings on them. I didn't bother reading what's on the board because they're in Japanese. I didn't think I'd understand them. But, I did! 

I understood a portion of what's written on the board. It's the daily schedule of the school. They change it every so often, I didn't recognize at first. No wonder everybody knows. The schedule board is staring down at all of us, teachers and staff. How did I miss that?!

This is the school's schedule board.
The top portion indicates the date.
The next line states the day and the class period.
The kanji written in white and red are memos on what's happening on that day.

Not only is there a schedule board but I realized that the piles of paper in my pigeonhole are memos with monthly schedules on them. I just didn't bother checking them. (Honestly, I didn't even know I have my own pigeonhole in the school the first months.)

All along, the school is informing me about school changes in their standard way. It was me who's not informing myself. I was expecting to be treated specially instead of finding my way to the school system.

Next time, somebody complains to me with nobody-informs-me-about-schedule-changes, I'll probably send this post to them. People just gotta learn by themselves, sometimes!