Koniya meets Kakeroma

On Friday February 3rd, the students and staff of Koniya HS traveled to Kakeroma island, located to the south across Oshima strait, and is technically part of Setouchi, the town whose main hub is Koniya.

The students spent the day either walking or running an 11.5 km course along the Kakeroma coast and back while the teachers and staff waited to meet them at checkpoints along the way. This was my first time on Kakeroma and luckily, the weather was perfect!

Because the Kakeroma ferry was undergoing repairs due to bad weather a few weeks prior, students were split by class to board several smaller sea taxis. We left early in the morning, at around 8 am.

View of Kakeroma from the water. It takes about 20 minutes to get across.

Looking back at Koniya from about halfway across. Hello from the other siiiiidde~ ♫

We're nearing the port on the Kakeroma side. There are a few rocky outcroppings that looked as if you'd find a treasure chest on them if this were a Zelda game.

At 9 am, the run/walk started. I along with a few other teachers decided to go with the students, for a little while at least. The sun was at the perfect angle to get this great shot of a pier looking out into the strait. All it needs is a green light on the other side to complete the Gatsby look. Not a cloud in sight.

On the course, we came across this strange . . . residence? Camp? I don't know what it is. The sign reads "Barefoot Base Camp" in English.

Passing by one of many beaches. The water is crystal clear.

I only ended up going about 6 km into the 11.5 km course before turning around, for a total of about 12 km walked. I took this photo on the way back. If I weren't expected to show up back at the starting point dry, I would have liked to hop in and go for a swim. The temperature was in the low 20s (Celcius) around noon . . . in the beginning of February. Feels like spring already.

The fastest male student completed all 23 km (11.5 km out and back) in a whopping 1 hour and 36 minutes, and the fastest female student did it in 2 hours and 8 minutes. Fantastic performance all around! Hopefully next year I'll do the whole thing with them!

Minato Matsuri - Koniya's local festival

On Friday, August 19 I had just finished cooking dinner when I heard the unmistakable sound of Shima Uta, traditional island songs, emanating from the nearby park. I ate as quickly as I could and headed over, where I found a stage, several stands of matsuri food, and the source of the music.

A shima uta performance, featuring a singer (main singer in the middle and a second singer on the left) and a shamisen player (seated, right). 

The final performance of the night was an island dance, similar to the ones we participated in during the Amami matsuri. 

The next morning I headed down to the park by Umi no Eki, where a sumo tournament was being held for boys representing their schools from all around Setouchi to compete against each other. A sumo ring is a raised, square-shaped mound of dirt on which a round rope ring is secured. Sumo rings often have a wooden roof-like structure built above them. Judges in white are stationed on all four sides of the mound, and from time to time toss some salt to ritually purify the ring. Nathaniel, Setouchi's ALT was roped into competing as well...

Nat (right) lost both bouts, but fought admirably.

First up were the middle schoolers. Two wrestlers entered the ring from opposite sides (referred to as "east" and "west") and got ready on their marks. They would then both stand down before getting ready again, and at this point the bout was on. The loser is the first wrestler to touch any part of his body other than the soles of his feet to the ground, or to step out of the rope ring. When a winner is determined, the loser steps off, and the winner crouches by the ringside, waits for the judges to point in his direction, before stepping off himself. Matches are quick, often as fast as 15 seconds.

Next were the high schoolers (and Nat). Nat got a special round of applause for his bravery (wearing nothing but a sumo mawashi takes guts) acknowledging his participation as a foreigner in Japan's national sport.

In the afternoon, the Minato Matsuri parade was held. Various local groups dressed in matching outfits and performed a dance around the two main streets of Koniya. I ran into the Koniya High School group, comprised of both students and teachers, who asked me to join them! I didn't know the dance, so a few of the students taught me quickly before the parade started.

It took a full 2 hours to make one full loop, but in true Japanese fashion, a water/snack/beer break was announced every 30 minutes over the same city-wide PA loudspeaker system that played the music we danced to. To give an idea of just how slowly we were moving, it takes maybe 20 minutes to walk the loop at a normal pace. Those water breaks were a welcome relief under the hot sun.

After the parade I ran into a friend and some former ALTs who were back on Amami for vacation, so we went to a nearby sushi place for dinner. Then, it was off to the park from yesterday for more singing and festival food! Nat got swarmed with his students, and I stuffed my face with kakigori and the freshest yakitori I've ever had.

We both had to call an early night, as he was to participate in the next day's boat race while I had to leave early in the morning to fly to Kagoshima for a business trip.

Week 2: Alone in the office

Monday: Until 8/17, I only have to go to school between 10 am and 3 pm since it’s currently summer vacation. There are no students except those who show up for soccer, baseball, etc. practice. I spent the day working with my supervisor to book tickets for my first business trip to Kagoshima City. New and returning prefectural ALTs go to the prefectural office once a year for a contract signing ceremony held towards the end of August. New ALTs also attend a Japanese language and culture training camp.

Travel is done through the town’s travel agency, located inside Umi no Eki (seaside station). Also located inside are a few snack stands where you can buy food goodies unique to Setouchi: among the offerings are seaweed, brown sugar candy, mango sauce, and pickled papayas. The station has a small restaurant and stand that sells sashimi, but they were closed today.

Before heading out to the travel agency, the landlord of my apartment came to school to collect my deposit, key money, and rent for the last few days of July. "Key money" is a strange thing that Japan does, where new tenants give a gift of money to the landlord upon moving in.

Today was Nat’s birthday, so we had a birthday party with the Eikaiwa (English conversation) members to celebrate. Some Koniya HS students came and made him a Pokemon cake, and another member made a giant hamburger that was easily 6” in diameter!

Tuesday: After work today (which consisted of me studying Japanese), Nat showed me a ramen place not far from my apartment, where I ate the most delicious chashu ramen I’ve ever had. We went to the convenience store for ice cream and ate it by Umi no Eki, near the only Pokestop and pokemon gym in Koniya. Pokemon GO is quite big in Japan, but less so in Koniya since there are few people and only a small town in which to play.

We then went to a real-life gym to play badminton. Nat knows all of the regulars, and among them are middle school and high school students, and some other Koniya citizens. There was no AC inside, and combined with the 30°C heat and unrelenting humidity, you’re literally dripping with sweat after about 10 minutes of light playing. The sweat towel is your best friend, but as soon as you wipe some away, more appears, so you could call it a futile exercise. I ran out of water after about an hour, so I went home first.

I’ve been taking cold showers ever since I arrived in Koniya, but they never felt as good as the one I took tonight.

Wednesday: Most of the teachers are on summer vacation, so for the better part of the day I was alone in the teachers’ room studying Japanese. At 3 pm, I went up to the music room (across the school and on the fourth floor – getting up there is quite a bit of exercise) to practice cello. Yesterday I obtained permission from H-sensei, the music teacher, to use the room after school so I could prepare my part for Amami Orchestra’s upcoming performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (mvmts 3 and 4) in December. The cello I’ve generously been allowed to use is a well-set-up beginner’s cello, so it’s not nearly as responsive as the instruments I have owned in the past, especially in the upper reaches of the A string, fourth position and above. Even so, it’s decent and will serve me well during my time on Amami.

I went out to the town’s only Pokestop to restock on my virtual pokemon-catching supplies and while I was there I met a few other people playing. They were also young adults who landed a job in town. Together we marveled at the level 20 player controlling the gym (the game’s only been out for 1 week in Japan!) One girl knew a bit of English and could help me out when I didn’t understand a question directed at me, but I managed to get through an extremely simple conversation with the help of gestures and google translate. (Baby steps…!)

Next post(s): Amami summer festival!!