Author Archives: Jess Damerst

Around Koga

Transition and Translation

Waiting for the train

As the dust begins to clear from moving, I am truly starting to see what my life has become. It’s boils down to spending all day moving between Japanese and English, in an effort to better understand both. Usually, by the end of the day, I have a substantial headache and I am exhausted. In honor of the title of this blog, it’s only fair that I share both my adventures in Japan and my thoughts about them. You see, I always thought that I would “find myself” in Japan, but it’s been quite the opposite. Everyday, I feel a slightly more lost in translation than before. No pun intended. Continue reading →

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Travel

A Festival, a Birthday, and a Tiny, Giant Buddah

By Kris Brackin

In celebration of the birthday of another fellow ALT, a handful of us decided to meet in Kamagaya for the weekend. Our top priority was the festival in Asakusa, the Sanja Matsuri. It’s generally considered one of the largest festivals in Tokyo and attracts around 2 million locals and tourists over the course of 3 days. It’s a weekend long Shinto festival, where three portable shrines are paraded around Asakusa. While those bad-boys are out and about, there is a large array of traditional Japanese music and dance to enjoy. We spent Saturday there on request of Joey for her birthday! Continue reading →

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Around Koga

A Day in the Life

As life slows to a crawl here in Koga, things have become quite regular for me. I figured it’s time for the quintessential travel blogger post: a day in the life of yours truly. I’ll try to remember to add all the quirks of daily life. We’ll go with a Monday. Usually I wake up bright and early at 6am to the song “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye. Then, I hit the snooze, twice. I’ve been on the planet long enough to know that it’s going to take more than one alarm. At 6:30am, a second alarm goes off with the song “Parks on Fire” by Trifonic. This song has considerably more edge to it, and impossible to sleep through. Thus, my day begins. Continue reading →

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Travel

Golden Week: Second Half

At Yokohama Chinatown

After a rather disappointing day of lessons on Wednesday, I was really looking forward to Golden Week part 2. Carolyn and I were off to an early start on Thursday morning to head into Chiba-ken. The plan was to meet our friends coming from Mito-shi (the capital of Ibaraki-ken) and spend the day seeing some of the historic cities in Chiba-ken. As it turned out, the weather had other plans in mind. It was raining, a lot. About half way there, we get a call to meet in a different city and end up loosing an hour of driving time. We stopped through Moriya-shi to grab our friend Becky (remember Becky?). After a long, rainy drive, we ended up in Kamagaya-shi where we met up with our friends. Thus begins the story of Golden week, part 2.

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Travel

Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク)- First Half

More vibrant fish

I didn’t realize that it’s been more than a week since my last post! I am so sorry! I normally try to keep it at a steady two per week. Not only did I fail last week, but I will fail again this week! It’s Golden Week all over Japan. Basically, it’s a bunch of national holidays that happen to fall within a week of each other. The good part is you get a bunch of paid holidays. The bad part is you have to go to work on the days that aren’t holidays. For me that was Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Fortunately, I went into school on Tuesday and they said it was a School district-wide holiday. Then they said to please go home. I didn’t argue. The first half of Golden Week (last weekend) was spent in Mito! For the full adventure, read on.  Continue reading →

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Around Koga

Koga, Japan vs. Orlando, Florida

I ate everything you see here.

Lately my life has been an endless list of more things I need to purchase. So, needless to say, I’ve done a lot of shopping. As much as I know you are dying to hear all about the toothbrush I bought last weekend, I’ve decided to save you from that triade. Today, I figured a topic might be appreciated. Koga is basically a suburb of Tokyo. Of course, Tokyo being the largest city in the world, the suburbs stretch wide and far. However, I was shocked at the amount of similarities between my hometown and my new town. Without further ado, here is some insight into what it’s like living in the ‘burbs of Tokyo.
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Around Koga

Apartment Tour

Alright, this is a video of my (tiny) apartment here in Koga! It’s pretty short and quite informative. It was shot when I first got here, so my room looks a bit more complete now, with decorations, flowers and the like. Either way, you get the idea. Please don’t mind the mess!
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Around Koga, Travel

Sakura Flower Viewing (桜花見)

As I wrote in my previous post, mono no aware is such an important part of Japanese culture. It’s only been a few days since the blossoms were in full bloom and they are already beginning to pool at my feet. The petals flutter around like snow flurries and coat the ground in a fine dusting of white and pink. It’s almost heartbreaking that something so beautiful is so brief, but then again, that’s all part of it. It really drives home this idea of appreciating the now. It’s not something to be sad about, but something to cherish. I was lucky enough to enjoy the cherry blossoms and really learn to appreciate them. Now, I can look for other amazing things to celebrate about life, here and now.
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Around Koga

Mono no Aware (物の哀れ)

This past weekend was all about “mono no aware.” This idea is a very important part of Japanese culture, and the aspect that I respect the most. It literally translates to “a pathos of things.” Basically, appreciate the things in life that are fleeting or impermanent. The best example I can give is cherry blossoms. They bloom once a year and only last about a week. That is why hanami (cherry blossom viewing) is so popular here. The Japanese have a festival for nearly everything that is notoriously short-lived.They have plum festivals, peach festival, cherry blossom festivals, and even snow festivals. It’s always about taking the time to enjoy life, because it is truly, very brief. So, I invite you to try “mono no aware.” This weekend, gather a group of friends an family, take out a picnic blanket, and go celebrate the most beautiful, yet brief, part of spring in your town. This idea stretches beyond physical things, but you get the jest of it. Continue reading →

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Travel

The Calm Before the Storm

School officially started yesterday. It was mostly opening ceremonies, so lots of bowing and congratulating. Very different from how we handle the first day of school in the states. Here, I would probably feel a greater sense of pride for my school. But, before I talk about today, I should talk about what I have been up to! Earlier in the week was mostly shopping for stuff, getting sick, and playing lots of video games. I was relaxing and recovering to say the least. Tuesday, I banded together a group of local ALTs to go to Nikko (日光), a city famous for it’s rich religious history. It’s basically mountains covered in shrines. Breathtaking.
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