http://www.city-cost.comTue, 17 Mar 2026 00:34:27 +0900An American woman living in southern Japan. Check out my main blog at: journeyingjodi.wordpress.com/enCopyright © 2015 - 2026 City-Cost All Rights Reserved.webmaster@city-cost.com (CC Team)http://img.city-cost.com/static/blog_campaign_icon.pnghttp://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GRgvw-food_miyazakiI was recently lucky enough to participate in a cooking class held by the MCIA (Miyazaki Center for International....something that starts with an A). We learned how to make Chicken Nanban (southern barbarian chicken), Miyazaki's speciality dish. I have had many different variations of Chicken Nanban in my years living here (all from different places that all claim to have invented it), but the dish seemed too daunting to make on my own. WhenI saw the chance to participate in the cooking class, I jumped on it.The following recipe is courtesyof the MCIA staff and the class's teacher.What you'll need (Makes five giant servings, or 6 normal sized ones)For the chicken:1.750g chicken meat 2.4 eggs3.Salt as appropriate4.White pepper as appropriate5.Vegetable oil for deep frying6.Wheat flourFor the Nanban Sweet/Sour Sauce:1.60 ml regular soy sauce2.60 ml light soy sauce3.120 ml vinegar4.60g sugar5.Pinch of salt6.Red chili as desiredFor the Tartar Sauce:1.300g mayo2.25g sugar3.20g ketchup4.1 hardboiled egg5.1 cucumber6.1 small onion7.1g parsleyGarnish:1.75g cabbage2.10 mini tomatoes3.100g lettuceDirections:1.First, prepare the sweet and sour sauce. Put all the sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a pot and stir well. Bring to a boil then turn off heat.Tartar Sauce1.Prepare the tartar sauce. Finely chop the hardboiled egg, cucumber, onion, and parsley. 2.Season the cucumber and onion by rubbing with salt (about 5g, not included in the list of ingredients). Rinse with water and squeeze well in a paper towel to dry.3.In a bowl, addthe mayo, sugar, ketchup, and mix well. Add the chopped egg, cucumber, onion, and parsley. Blend well and set aside.Chicken4.Now, prepare the chicken. Cut the chicken into pieces (about 40g per piece), season with salt and pepper. Coat the pieces with flour.5.Crack one egg in a bowl and beat well.6.Dip the flour-coated chicken pieces in the beaten egg. This works best if you don't dip the chicken into the egg until right before you put it into the oil. Don't set it back down in between.7.Heat vegetable oil on the stove and fry the chicken until golden. 8.Immediately after frying, dip the chicken in the sweet and sour sauce. Keep in the sauce for 30 seconds.9.Drain the excess sauce and place the chicken on a plate. Serve with the garnish and tartar sauce.And that is how to prepare Chicken Nanban. To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GRgvw-food_miyazakiMon, 11 Jul 2016 08:54:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GRgvw-food_miyazakihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/MYdLw-living_food_miyazaki_nichinan-shiMost people have never heard of my prefecture, Miyazaki, let alone one any of the specific cities here, but Nichinan's Omotenashi efforts are trying to change that. As part of their ongoing efforts, I was offered a spot in one of their tours' trial runs. The deal was as follows: the Nichinan tourism/ cruise department was doing a trial run for the tour they wanted to offer for people visiting on cruise ships. They had done two previous runs, but both had been just for Asians (which is primarily who comes on cruises to Nichinan). This one would be for Westerners and Middle Easterners. All we had to do to participate was provide feedback throughout the trip and get ourselves to Miyazaki Station at 9:30 on Saturday morning.From there we had an hour long ride to our first stop in Aburatsu. The area known as Nichinan City is divided into many different parts or neighborhoods. At one point, each of these parts was its own town, but like many areas in Japan, smaller towns were glued together to make a larger “city.” In Aburatsu we were taken on a walking tour of the area. Though our tour guide for that part was incredibly friendly, the tour was a little lacking. It was hard to hear what he was saying most of the time and there were none of the stories and legends that make a tour really engaging. However, the area was beautiful and is definitely worth taking a look around.The curve of the roof is meant to mimic the curve of the boats which were traditionally made from Obi Cedar.Between the tour and lunch we were taken to Aburatsu’s shopping arcade, a covered street that is mostly for pedestrian traffic, though cars do occasionally go through them. I forgot to take a picture of it, but the city is doing a lot of work to revamp and redevelop that area. There was a small part of the shopping arcade that was called something like, “Container Garden.” Shipping containers had been repurposed as small shops. The whole area looked a lot more urban and trendy than you would expect to find somewhere in Miyazaki.Once that was finished, we headed to our first meal of the tour. Lunch was at a really cool restaurant that was made from two houses that had been joined together. We had all selected our meal ahead of time, so all dietary restrictions were taken care of. In fact, I was incredibly impressed with how far the people planning the tour went to make sure everything was safe, especially for the members of the tour who kept Halal. I chose chicken nanban, the dish Miyazaki is known for, because I always like it. I have yet to eat at a restaurant that is able to make it taste bad. (As with all the meals on the trip, the food was delicious.)After lunch, we had a ride on the Marine Viewer Nango, a boat with an observation deck below the water. The view wasn’t crystal clear, but it was still very cool to be able to see below the water like that. I’m sure in the summer the area would be great for snorkeling.Next we were supposed to go to a large highway rest stop, but some people made a bit of a fuss about not being able to see the replica Easter Island heads that Nichinan is known for, so the tour guides were incredibly accommodating and took us there instead. I was actually a little bummed about the change. While a rest stop might not seem like a good place to go on a tour, Miyazaki’s rest stops are always filled with cute shops that have great local snacks and souvenirs. A lot of the coastal ones have great views too.Still, I can finally say that I have been to Nichinan’s Sun Messa, one of Nichinan's most famous spots, and I have the pictures to prove it.From there we went to the hotel. I thought we would have to share rooms or something. It was a free tour, after all. But, no, Nichinan’s city hall managed to get everyone but the couples their own single rooms. The hotel was old and worn, but it was as clean as Japanese business hotels always are. Japanese business hotels are great for traveling cheaply. They are perfect for when you want a place to sleep and your own bathroom, and nothing more.Before dinner we walked over to some office building (maybe it was city hall? Not really sure). We sat in a conference room and heard a short presentation on the types of cruises that visit Nichinan every year. Overall the cruises are from Asia, but there are one or two that come from Canada. We discussed what city hall should and should not change about the tour we were on. Our work done, we headed on to dinner.The next morning, I was up bright and early. We had a choice between a Western or Japanese breakfast and both looked delicious. Once everyone had had their breakfast, we gathered in the lobby at 9ish and headed out to our first stop of the day.First up was walking around the castle town around Obi-Jo (castle) ruins. The local government has gone to great lengths to try and make the main street leading up to the main gate look like it would have looked when the castle still stood. There are no cable lines and all of the street lights are hidden behind frosted glass to give the appearance of candles, not electricity, illuminating the streets.After our tour of the area, it was time for a round of "experience" activities. Four people were chosen to try on kimono. As much as I love the experience of wearing kimono, a few others wanted it more than I did, so I figured I should pass this time. Instead, I ended up dressed like a ninja, which is just as ridiculous as you would imagine. After we were dressed, many of us went to try our hand at some traditional archery.From there we went on to lunch. The food was delicious and all the fish was pole-caught, versus being caught in a net. The fish was meant to be eaten in one of three ways: raw, cooked on the little grills we had, or cooked in tea. I had never even heard of the tea-cooking method before, so that was particularly fascinating. You put your fish on a bed of rice and pour hot tea over it. I was too hungry to try this method, but I can attest to the deliciousness of the raw and grilled methods.Besides the fish, there was miso soup (of course), rice (also of course), a small salad, pickled vegetables, some sweet dessert thing with fruit, mochi, and jelly, and the local specialty dessert. The orange rectangle above the fish in the picture is actually made from eggs and mango. I don't normally like the sweet egg rolls but this one was pretty good.After lunch we were given about an hour and a half to wander around the town. Nichinan has a very cool map that they give to tourists. On the map are five vouchers that you can exchange for free goods around the castle town. I managed to get a keychain, a pair of chopsticks, a rice cracker, a small cloth bag, and one more thing that I can't remember. Definitely a good haul considering it was all free.Finally it was time for our last stop. This is another one of Nichinan's famous spots with a beautiful coastal shrine and cave. With that, the tour was done. I recommend Nichinan not only for the beautiful historical spots, but also for the fabulous beaches and great food. To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/MYdLw-living_food_miyazaki_nichinan-shiSun, 10 Jul 2016 17:57:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/MYdLw-living_food_miyazaki_nichinan-shihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GljbM-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiFor those of us in the south, rainy season has already started (though we do seem to be enjoying a brief respite). Rainy season can be difficult to get through if you are not properly prepared and equipped. If you have a car, you can escape the weather a bit by ducking into the delightfully climate-controlled vehicle, but if not, you are stuck with the problem of needing a rain-suit or an extra large umbrella for your daily commute. After three years of extensive research and analysis, I am here to present my findings.If you are like me, you have two choices when it comes to your commute. You can either bike (the quicker but often wetter choice) or you can walk (slower, but your head will stay drier). Either way, you have to be willing to sacrifice some part of your body to the rain. For me, the choice normally comes down to one factor: which way is it raining? Is it raining straight down? Or is it raining diagonally and seemingly completely horizontally? If it is raining straight down, I normally opt for the umbrella route. For that, you will need:A change of socks (this is always good to have on hand, because you never know)Waterproof shoes: I had a really hard time finding rainboots that a) fit my calves and b) fit my feet. In the end, I realized that in the past I had just coated my hiking boots with a hydrophobic spray and used those. It took a little searching, but I was eventually able to find a waterproofing spray that works really well. I was even able to make my canvas slip-ons waterproof. The spray I used was: 万能防水スプレー Quick drying pants: If you are wearing pants and not a skit, they are probably going to get a bit wet at the bottom. Either from just walking or the occasional car passing you without concern for spraying you.An umbrella, obviouslyA small towelIf it is raining any other direction (diagonally, horizontally, whirlwind-ly), then I bike because I’m going to get wet either way, so I might as well have a shorter commute. This does require more prep, though:Running tights or shortsWicking/quick drying shirtGlasses caseWork shirtWork pantsTowelRain pantsRaincoatWaterproof hiking bootsHelmetWaterproof backpack cover (sometimes, normally my backpack is waterproof enough)At work I also have all the needed things for a sink-shower in a locker in the ladies' changing room. I get to work a little early, change into my work clothes there, and hang everything to dry in the locker. With a moisture-absorbing pack in the locker, my things are almost completely dry and ready to go by the end of the day. With all of these preparations done, rainy season is already looking easier and more manageableTo view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GljbM-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiWed, 01 Jun 2016 16:32:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GljbM-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wX4Bw-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiJodi has just moved to Hyuga, Japan after landing her first real job. After toughing it out in the teacher’s housing for over six months, she is looking for somewhere close to her work and with modern amenities, but she knows that money is an issue and will have to keep an eye on her budget. Will she be able to find her perfect second story apartment without breaking the bank? Find out on today’s episode.Here’s Jodi’s wish list:At most a 10 minute bike ride from work.1LDK-2LDK (LDK means living room, dining area, and kitchen. The dining area is typically just part of the kitchen)2 floor or higher.Built within the last 10 years.Apartment one is a two bedroom, first floor apartment. It’s a five minute walk from her work. The rent is the low end of her budget and was built in 2005. It’s a corner unit and it has all the modern amenities Jodi is looking for. There is no key money, but the first and last month's rent are needed upfront. Apartment two is an 18 minute walk from work and the train station. It is on the second floor with a private staircase and is the middle of her budget. The building was built in 2005. There is no tatami in the apartment and somewhat of an actual inclusive bathroom. Though it’s technically still in the same area of town she currently lives in, it is significantly closer. It is a one minute walk from her dojo and another member of her company. As it is owned by the same real estate company as apartment #1, it also has no key money, but a deposit is required. A cleaning fee is also tacked on to both of the apartments.Apartment 3 is an artistic townhouse style building built in early 2012. The unit is 1LDK and has two floors. The living room features a large window and an picturesque view. The building is located in the western part of the city and is a 14 minute walk to school. Though the building is modern and beautiful, it is a bit cramped and strangely arranged. The bathroom sink is located under the stairs and the toilet is right inside of the entryway.Which apartment will Jodi choose?Jodi: Well, after the mukade incident, I don’t think I can deal with being on the first floor. I also feel a bit claustrophobic at the idea of being on the bottom floor. I need to be up higher. I think we can go ahead and eliminate apartment number one.So what will it be? The spacious second floor apartment that’s a little bit of a longer commute or the artsy apartment with the picturesque bedroom loft?Find out, after the commercial break.-----------------------------Jodi is a young Assistant Language Teacher living in Hyuga, Miyazaki-ken, Japan. After a whirlwind week of deciding she needed to move, having her parents tell her she needed to move, and looking for apartments, she’s narrowed her search down to two apartments.So what will it be? The artsy modern building with a bedroom loft? Or the spacious two bedroom apartment with the private stairs?Jodi: I’m going with Apartment number two. The spacious two bedroom.Jodi has chosen the two bedroom apartment. It’s still a little further away than she had hoped, but she knows the area well and it’s a good amount of space for the price.Now that she’s decided, all that’s left to do is call the real estate company.----------------------------------------------------------The whole process of finding a new apartment went fairly smoothly, though it happened a lot more quickly than I thought it would. I had to start my lease only a week or two after I found the place, at the start of the month, or risk losing it. The many small costs started to add up quickly and the whole moving process cost me about 200,000 yen. In the end, though, the move was well worth it.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wX4Bw-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiTue, 02 Feb 2016 12:22:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wX4Bw-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wm8KG-education_miyazaki_hyuga-shiThough speech contest season is still months away, some schools have already started preparing their students for the event. I have already started discussing who we want to approach about participating with my co-teachers. As we coach the students, I always try to keep my experience as a judge in mind. While judging standards can vary from competition to competition (and judge to judge), here are what seem to be the most common judging criteria amongst the other foreign ALTs*:Pronunciation is important.Thatprobably goeswithout saying, but while judging the junior high school competition, we listened for the typically mispronounced sounds: r/l, th, b/v, and wo (like in would or woman). Pronunciation was given a lot of weight, more than memory or loudness.Clarity can make or break a speech.Simply put, if the judges can't understand what the student is saying, nothing else matters. I will admit that if I could not understand what a student was saying at the beginning, I had a tendency to tune out and stop working to understand. A lot of my speech contest students struggle with opening their mouth enough when they speak. As a result, their words sound mumbled and jumbled.Intonation can keep the judges from falling asleep.While not as much of a problem as last year, some students still struggled with intonation. They delivered their lines at the same exact pitch (normally while shouting them as well). By using some intonation, students can make their speeches more engaging. Intonation can also help with clarity by making a distinction between one word and the next.Smoothness shows comprehension.Many students take long pauses between words, which is not how native speakers speak English. We tend to smoosh our words together into one big breath.Native speaker: "I went to the store after work to get some milk."Japanese student: "I. Went. To. The. Store. After. (you get the point)"This might just be my opinion, but when a student barks out one word after another, it seems like they have no idea what they are saying, they just memorized those words in that order because their teacher told them to do so. If a student can speak smoothly, their delivery score will go up.Gestures are a perpetual mystery to all involved.When it comes to using gestures in speech contests, no one can really agree on how and when they should be used. Most of us agree that they need to look natural, to add and not detract from what the student is saying, but I think a lot of ALTs (myself included) struggle with how to achieve this. Gestures need to match the tone of the speech. If the student is reciting a kids' story, then their gestures can be a bit bigger and more comical, because it makes sense in the context. If the student is reciting a UN speech, they should not be using their hands to draw a circle in the air to represent the Earth (thankfully this did not happen, but last year we had a student make a bird with their hands, it was a little over the top).When I try and teach my students gestures, I will normally read through the speech and pay attention to how I'm gesturing. It doesn't always work when I try to teach them the gestures (they look practiced because theyare), but when it comes to gestures, less is more.Make sure the speeches are proper English.I thought this one would be obvious, but some schools still let the students give grammatically incorrect speeches. Case in point, the first speech's title was, "I'm scare of steamed buns." Unfortunately, this might not be something that the ALTs can change. According to some ALTs I spoke with, a lot of Japanese teachers either did not ask for the ALTs to correct the speeches or did not listen to the corrections that were made. Thankfully, it was not something that too common, but it was common enough that I felt it needed to be said.*These may be completely different from what another ALT thinks. This advice is just based on how I and my fellow judges judged the speech contest in previous years. Please post your own tips if you have them.Judging the junior high school speech contest and coaching my students for their own is always a highlight of my year. The process can be stressful for all involved, but it always ends up being a great experience.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wm8KG-education_miyazaki_hyuga-shiTue, 02 Feb 2016 12:00:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wm8KG-education_miyazaki_hyuga-shihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GoPYw-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiJapan’s stance on religion hasalways fascinated me. On one hand, mostof my friends say they do not know anything about religion. I have tried to explain the differences betweenIslam, Christianity, and Judaism, but we all end up confused (myself includedas I normally trying the explanation in Japanese). On the other hand, everyone I known has beento a shrine, not just as a tourist, but to throw coins into the box and make afew wishes. Most people I know have at least one omamori, or good luck charm,they bought at a temple or shrine. I have tried many times toexplain this version of religion to my friends and family, but there isnormally only one explanation that somewhat gets across: Japanese people do not go to shrines as apart of a religious culture, but as a part of Japanese culture. Those are not Shinto shrines they areflocking to, but Japaneseshrines. Of course, there are plenty ofpeople who are genuinely religious, as we would define it in the West, butoverall the practice seems to be one of Japanese-ness, rather than Shino orBuddhist. This is something I love aboutJapanese culture, as well as the persistence of traditional events and ritualsin modern day life. Last year I had the privilege ofgoing to one of the biggest shrines in my city on January 3rd. Japanese culture dictates that you should goto three different shrines on the first three days of the New Year. When I asked my friends why this was, I wastold that it’s, “To get better odds.” Ifyou spread your prayers and wishes around to three different points, there ismore of a chance of it coming true than if you go to the shrine every day. (Besides, one shrine might offer you a betterfortune than the other.)When I arrived at the shrine, thefestive atmosphere in the area amazed me.I didn’t think it would be a somber experience, but I also didn’t expectthere to be takoyaki and karaage stands set up out front as if we were at asummer festival. The entire streetleading up to the shrine had been blocked off.Once inside the shrine, however, things were more as I expected. Though the shrine was definitely busier than I had ever seen it, everything was moving around in an orderly, typical Japanese fashion. Apparently most people come after having a large family lunch, so by coming in the morning we were beating the crowds.While people waited in line to get their fortunes or throw their coins into the offering box, a dragon (well, two men dressed as one) was wandering around biting people on the head. Apparently, a bite from the dragon endows you with great intellect; so many people were offering their children up as sacrifices. Understandably, most kids were not thrilled with the prospect of being eaten, and made their displeasure loudly known.After we made our offering, we grabbed some paper fortunes, or omikuji.I don’t remember what mine said, but I was informed that it was a good one.Still, we all tied our fortunes to the nearby tree and stopped by the omamori window.We all handed over our omamoris from the last year (I had been unaware that they came with an expiration date, but apparently they are only good for a year) and picked up a few new ones. The omamori I picked up for health ended up being defective. This year I have picked up a few from different temples, just to improve the odds. After all, one can always use a little extra luck.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GoPYw-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiTue, 05 Jan 2016 10:38:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/GoPYw-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wmPaG-living_hiroshima_hiroshima-shiIf you work in Japan, there are precious few long holidaysthat won’t cost you your limited vacation days.For teachers, there are only two you can really count on: Golden Weekand New Years (and every few years there’s a Silver Week in there too, but it’sirregular and tends to throw everything out of wack). However, it is important to remember that,compared to many Western countries, New Years in Japan is much quieter and morefamily-oriented affair. This means thatunlike Golden Week, many businesses and tourist destinations shut down duringthis time.This was a vital fact I had, for one, had forgotten beforeplanning my trip to Hiroshima. However,if living in Japan teaches you anything, it is how to adjust on the fly.Hiroshima is actually a (day) trip that I would reallyrecommend to go on during the New Years’ holiday. Almost everything may be shut down, but a lotof Hiroshima’s beauty and tourist draws are located outside anyway. This means that you can spend hours wanderingaround the Peace Park or Miyajima without worrying about the same kind of crowdyou might get on any other day.The fact that everything is closed also means that you can stick to your own schedule.If you are awake and ready to go at 7:30 in the morning, then you can go.No need to wait for that museum or castle to open.For me (after getting over the realization that everything was closed), this meant that I got to enjoy the castle grounds in peace and silence.I was then able to wander around the Peace Park, ducking a few tour groups, and take the whole thing at my own pace.There was no schedule, there was no stress, and I have never felt freer on a trip before.Miyajima was already a bit crowded when I arrived, but it was still easy to move around the crowd and getting into the main temple was a breeze.I was able to waste a few hours there, just wandering around.The bottom line is if you want to travel for the winter holiday, I recommend doing what most people do: leave the country.If you cannot do that, then pick a location whose main attractions are not behind some gate that can be closed.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wmPaG-living_hiroshima_hiroshima-shiMon, 04 Jan 2016 10:37:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/wmPaG-living_hiroshima_hiroshima-shihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/we1ew-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiThis articlerecently popped up on my Facebook newsfeed. If you don’t want to click the link or suffer through the strange English for the first chunk, I’ll summarize you: an international student (I believe from China) is writing about all the habits he has picked up in Japan that would never fly in his home country. It’s something that a lot of foreigners talk about, I think. We analyze the weird things that we do now that make us feel so out of place when we return to our home countries. We have all adopted new pieces from our host culture and incorporated them into our internalized culture, making a new strange (but also really cool) hybrid.The hybrid doesn’t work completely in any country and, to me, it makes me feel like I’m standing with one foot out of a either culture. I’m American, but am I really completely American anymore? Not to say that I can call myself Japanese. I still very much act and think like an American most of the time, but my first instinct is to bow when I meet someone. To bob my head on the phone when talking to someone. To hesitate responding even when I know the answer immediately.But back to the article that prompted this: here are a few of the new habits that the author picked up (with some of my comments).1. Forgetting to lock the door, or simply not caring when you realize you’ve left it unlocked.This. A thousand times this. I know so many other ALTs who have embraced this thought process wholeheartedly. I have one friend who leaves his apartment open most of the time. When he came home one day there was a plate of cookies sitting on his table. (He later found out that they had been put there by one of his friends, but still.) Another friend leaves his apartment unlocked even when he’s traveling for over a week or even a month. I understand that Japan is a relatively very safe country (in terms of theft at least), but I have never understood that attitude. Locking your apartment is something so simple. It doesn’t even take a great deal of time or effort.2. Never encountering anyone who checks tests your money to see if it’s a counterfeit. Never inspecting money you receive.Before I read the article, I had honestly forgotten that this was a thing that people do, even in the US. In Japan the cashiers never seem to be particularly concerned about the money you are giving them (so long as it’s the correct amount of course) but will very carefully count your change out several times (sometimes even call someone else over to verify that they are counting it correctly if they are new or it’s a larger bill) before giving it to you.3. Leaving things in your bike basket or leaving your bike unlocked when you run errands.This goes along with the leaving your door unlocked. I know an ALT who leaves her laptop in her backpack in her basket when she runs into the store. Plenty of people leave their bikes unlocked around here, but it’s not something I’ve ever been ok doing regularly. I’ve maybe left my bike unlocked once or twice when all I’m doing is running into the convenience store to pay a bill, but anything longer that makes me a little nervous. (Part of that is my personality, but another part is that I have a kind of unique bike, one that attracts more attention than others.) Although, now that I’m considering getting a new bike, I might be more comfortable doing this. (If my bike just disappears one day, it’ll be inconvenient, but at least it will save me the trouble of figuring out what trash day is goes on.)4. Bowing to everyone, even strangers.Bowing. So much bowing. Bowing all the time. Bowing to everyone. Doing that quick head-bob bow because you’re rushing and don’t have time for a full bow.5. Never looking around while crossing the street.As someone who has been hit by a car here, the person writing this list clearly has a death wish. There are just as many old ladies driving cars as their are trying to cross in front of them. Both make for a sometimes dangerous situation when trying to cross while someone else is trying to turn.6. Never asking who it is before opening the door.This is one that I’ve fallen prey to. In my old apartment, it was honestly just too much of a hassle to try to see through the peep hole when the doorbell rang. I had to get my step-stool and put it right up against the door. (For those of you who don’t know, I’m short.) Now, though, I have a video display in my kitchen. Whenever the doorbell rings the video display automatically turns on and shows me who is outside. Most of the time I can tell it’s someone delivering a package, but sometimes, even if I don’t know what they’re there for, I’m not as cautious as I should be. Though, honestly, even if I asked who they were, would I be able to understand it? Probably not, most of the time.7. Paying careful attention to where you are throwing your garbage away and when you are putting it out.I have memorized the garbage schedule and can now sort like a pro. It’s going to be incredibly weird when I move back to the States and throw my paper in with my burnables in with my plastic that isn’t recyclable.8. Thinking piracy doesn’t exist and if you dare try it, you’ll be hit with the full force of the law.I remember when I first got here I thought if I so much as streamed a show on the internet I would be locked up for years to come.9. Losing interest in trying new restaurants. All restaurants look the same with similar prices.I can name 10 restaurants in my city alone, all near the train station, that serve basically the same food for the same price. It’s all the pretty standard Japanese food fare. Some of it is better than others, (I think. I still haven’t really developed my Japanese food palate,) but for the most part, it really just all tastes the same to me.10. Never bargaining or even trying.Except for that one time when I accidentally bargained in Okinawa at a sports store and ended up getting about $60 off of my hiking backpack.11. Never worrying about being discriminated against because of my accent.I’m sorry, but what? Where is this person living?!12. Never needing to wash vegetables properly. Sometimes even cooking them without washing.Ew.As I mentioned before, it is really interesting what part of their host culture that people choose to adopt. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, adapting to your host culture is a huge part of surviving in a new culture. Eitherintentionally, or unintentionally, what parts of Japanese culture have you adopted?To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/we1ew-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shiThu, 24 Dec 2015 13:46:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/we1ew-living_miyazaki_hyuga-shihttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/zVX8w-living_medical_miyazaki_hyuga_shi_miyazakiI should state my position: I only had my tonsils out in the States when I was 13, so that’s sort of what I compare my Japanese experience to. I remember a decent amount from then, but I also wasn’t an adult in charge of signing all my own paperwork at the time.First, there are going to be tests. Depending on how soon your surgery is, the tests might happen the day of your hospitalization, or a week before. For my first surgery they happened the morning of my hospitalization (which ended up being the day before we thought it would be), for my second it was a little over a week before my hospitalization.Tests include: getting your blood drawn, urine sample, blood pressure check, and an EKG. Because I’m asthmatic, I also had to do a lung strength test. This all takes about three hours and costs a little over 5,000 yen.After that, you’ll meet with one of the officer workers and fill out paperwork. (They might also ask you to choose your room at this time, or sometime during testing. The standard is a four-person room, though that probably varies from hospital to hospital. At the hospital I was in/am in there are a few different choices of room with varying costs.) You’ll need to have an emergency contact fill out part of the paperwork on their own. Apparently trying to fill in the information yourself is a no-no.Once the paperwork is taken care of, you are free until you are admitted. My first time, because my surgery was in the morning, I was admitted the night before. This time, because my surgery isn’t until the afternoon, I was admitted the day of.It’s time to start thinking about what to pack. The hospital should give you a list of what you need, but if you lose it or something, here’s what you will need:Clothes, probably pjs or lounging clothes for the duration of your stay.Basic toiletries for brushing your teeth and showering.A towel, probably a hand towel and a washcloth would be a good idea as well.A cup/mug for the green tea you’re going to get with every meal.A trashcan and trash bag, since they may not be provided for your room.Your own pillow if you aren’t a fan of those bean-filled annoyances.If you are asthmatic, pack any and all inhalers you use.Entertainment of some sort.Most of the stuff you would probably assume, but some things are easy to forget.Now, it’s time to be admitted to the hospital. You will probably meet with your doctor one more time, then get your vitals taken again. (Blood pressure, temperature, and, if you’re asthmatic, oxygen saturation.) Then you’ll be shown to your room. Of course, this probably varies from hospital to hospital. For the first night after surgery, you may be put in a room that’s closer to the nurse’s station, then moved to your actual room afterwards. My first surgery, I was put in my actual room right away. (It was also closer to the nurses’ station than my current room.) This time, I think I will be put in a closer room, but it depends if there is a patient who needs more attention than I do.Given how I was last time, I am thinking I probably won’t have to spend the whole night in that room. I have been trying to do some mental about how long it will take me to shake the effects of the anesthesia. Last time, my surgery was at 10:30 (it was supposed to be earlier but was delayed because of how long it took to place my IV) and my friend says it was finished by around 12. I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next 12 hours or so until I realized I couldn’t get back to sleep around midnight. At that point I called the nurses, asked if they could remove the catheter and if it was ok for me to sit up.This time, my surgery is at 1:30 and it should be finished by 2pm. I am thinking I will be back to normal levels of alertness by 8pm or 10 at the latest. With any luck, they will let me go back to my room and recover there, where I have videos I can watch and stuff to do. I’m on bed rest for the first 24 hours, but I was told I should be able to walk around after that.Back to the informative part of the post: about an hour before the surgery, the nurses will come in to get your IV placed. At that time you’ll be expected to change into the hospital gown and get settled on the bed. For me, that was one of the worst parts. It took 20 minutes and 7 tries to get the IV placed IN THE SIDE OF MY HAND. I still have a few scars from that and had a huge bruise on the inside of my forearm from where they nicked me.Once the IV is in place, you’ll be wheeled down to the OR. If you have asked for general anesthesia (which is not as common as they try to give you only what is the minimal amount of anesthesia that they deem necessary), it will be injected once you’re on the table. It hurts. A lot. They do not put you to sleep before that, which sucks. Thankfully, as intense as the pain is, as soon as it hits your heart you’re out cold.When you wake up, you’ll probably have compression stockings and some pump machines on your legs. The pumps squeeze (every 12 seconds I think. I know I ended up counting at one point) your legs to reduce the risk of economy class syndrome. You’ll probably have an oxygen mask on for at least a little while and you’ll have a catheter in you. All terribly fun things to think about, I know.Thankfully, the oxygen mask came off relatively soon. It was so hot in the room that I kept trying to push the mask off even for a few second of non-humid air, but every time I did that, someone immediately pushed it back into place. It was super frustrating. Also frustrating is the fact that I am always immediately lucid after coming out of surgery, but it took me a long time to be able to keep my eyes open. I am now suspecting they gave me some sort of sedative, though who knows. It could have actually been entirely the anesthesia.So that’s the basics of having surgery in Japan. I have already written a few posts about what it is like to stay in a hospital, so check those out if you are interested. Meanwhile, I’ve been writing this while chilling in my room before my surgery. I’ve got about an hour and a half to go before they start prepping me, so I think I am going to go watch one of the Star Wars movies I rented.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/zVX8w-living_medical_miyazaki_hyuga_shi_miyazakiMon, 07 Dec 2015 11:07:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Jodi/zVX8w-living_medical_miyazaki_hyuga_shi_miyazaki