No Strings Attached - AJET

Toyama AJET Newsletter 

Vol.1, No.3, September 2008 Page 1 

A message from the pres… 

We’re alive…WE’RE ALIVE!! Okay, okay…so probably 

not all of you are shocked when you come out of the 

disgusting, awful humidity of August unscathed; trust me, 

you’re a lucky bunch. As fun as summer vacation can be, 

what with new and veteran (dare I say OLD?! Hahaha) 

JETS getting to know each other, I definitely find myself 

looking forward to September! To me, September feels 

fresh—it’s comfortable to go outside again, I get a fresh 

start with my students, and new JETs start really getting 

accustomed to life in Japan. August was filled with 

orientations, trips, English Camps and countless other 

events; September is undoubtedly going to be a bit more 

casual for many of us. My advice: use this time to catch up 

on some much-needed R&R, and possibly build that 

savings account back up in the process! 

--Tiffany Dyer 

No Strings Attached 

Lee Randall Performs Puppet Show 

with New Japan Symphony Orchestra 

By David Myers 

THE VARIETY SHOW LAST FRIDAY 

night, entitled "Let's Play With the Orchestra: 

Volume 2" had everything: JETs, giant puppets, 

spooky music, and a wild circus 

atmosphere. Several hundred attendees filtered 

into the luxurious Aubade Concert Hall across 

from the north exit of Toyama Station, each of 

them fishing out ¥4000 to pay for the two hours of 

live entertainment. Though a bit skeptical of the 

seemingly high ticket price for a variety show, a 

handful of JETs and I sauntered in at 7:30 to cheer 

on two of the show's stars, Lee Randall and Ally 

Lomas. Unsure of what to expect of a Japanese 

variety show, we waited in anticipation as the 

eclectic show began. 

A charismatic, bald-headed conductor led the 

orchestra as if possessed by a demon, flinging his 

arms about wildly before shrinking into the shape 

of an old man to perform in several comic 

skits. A typewriter-percussionist kept the beat of 

the orchestral music with his clicks and 

In this issue… 

No Strings Attached 

Interview with Lee 

Comics & Poetry 

Murakami 

Yacchin 

Brazilian Festa 

Sekkusu in the Shi 

Competitions 

T.R.A.M. 

National AJET 

What’s Happening 

Upcoming Events 

p. 1-2 

p. 3-4 

p. 5 

p. 6 

p. 7 

p. 8 

p. 9 

p.10 

p. 11 

p. 12 

p. 13 

p. 14-16 

A life-sized puppet created by Hirota Ikuya, manned 

by Lee Randall, greets its fans 

clacks, while a tipsy xylophonist in an apron hammered 

out off-key notes to carry the romping 

melody. Elementary students of the Toyama Junior 

Choir chanted lines like "fatty fat fat" and "how are 

you?" before launching into discordant harmonies 

straight out of a horror movie soundtrack. After an hour



of droning horns, staccato bass 

lines, and melancholy strings 

came the finale, an extravagant 

shadow puppet show entitled 

"Gayeneh." 

"Gayeneh", named after an 

Armenian ballet, is the 

protagonist of the puppet show, a 

fair bread-maid from a small 

country village. On one fateful 

bread delivery, she is caught 

between the desires of two lustful 

stoneworkers, who immediately 

fall for Gayeneh and compete 

intensely for her 

affection. "Which man will she 

choose?" the conductor, who is 

the sole spoken narrator of the 

performance, asks the 

audience. The fable-like story of 

Gayeneh, brilliantly written by 

Lee Randall, was an exciting tale 

of trickery, jealousy, humor, and 

of course, love. 

Although the puppet show itself 

lasted only twenty minutes, every 

moment was packed full of 

character and expression. Four 

forms of overlapping narration 

were woven together to tell the 

story: moving projections of 

paper-shadow puppetry; giant 

hand-maneuvered cloth puppetry; 

live orchestral music; and the 

conductor's own spoken 

commentary. The combined 

effect of the four mediums was 

mind-boggling. Kaleidoscopic 

Larger-than-life 

Lee’s forte: An eerie-yet-beautiful puppet show 

lights spun all around the 

orchestra in a daze while shadow 

slides and hand-cut puppets 

illustrated the fairy-tale story 

behind the screen. In one 

memorable scene, the silhouette 

of the bread maid puppet shuffled 

across a shadow-slide tavern, 

passing through each bright 

window frame until reaching the 

door and stepping out into the 

dark night alone. Later, in a 

climactic burning scene, red 

sheets were shaken along the 

ground, writhing about and 

creating the image of flames. A 

fiery light-show swirled around 

the stage to electrify the conflict 

of the giant puppets encircled by 

the fire, clinging to one another in 

love and desperation. 

The puppet-masters themselves 

dressed all in black as they hid 

behind their seven-foot-tall 

puppets or galloped horse dolls 

around and through the 

audience. Among these men in 

black, Lee Randall played a lead 

role, manipulating the more 

gentlemanly stoneworker who 

marries Gayeneth at the story's 

end and lives happily every 

after. As well as Randall's calm 

face, Ally Lomas' could also be 

seen on a giant video screen 

backstage before working the 

elaborate shadow slides. Both 

JETs worked hard every day for 

the two months prior to the show 

in preparation for the one-night 

performance. All their blood, 

sweat and tears were much 

appreciated and, if Lee’s next 

endeavor (rumored to already be 

in the works for next October) 

takes its lead from the success of 

this production, it will be a show 

not to be missed! ◙ 

Photos courtesy of Stephen Reid



JET Spotlight: Lee Randall Interview By Tiffany Dyer 

I’D ONLY SEEN TWO OF LEE’S PUPPET 

shows before: one at the Uozu aquarium well over a 

year ago, and one at the 2008 Toyama International 

Charity Show. Though the show at the aquarium didn’t 

have any human characters or a storyline like his 

performance at the Charity Show, and was not yet 

close to the same caliber of his most recent show, I was 

struck immediately by this incredibly atmospheric, 

ethereal form of art. After seeing the Charity Show and 

hearing about his latest performance, it’s clear that Lee 

is a very talented and unique artist. 

It's 自己紹介 (jikoshokai) time! Name, age, 

college major, year in JET, schools you teach...you 

know the drill… 

My name is Lee Randall and I teach at various 

elementary and junior high schools in Kurobe. I'm 32 

and I graduated with a major in philosophy and a 

minor in theatre arts. I'm actually not a JET 

anymore. I was for 5 years here in Kurobe and now 

that my time is up they've allowed me to stay for one 

more year as a private ALT. 

How and when did you get started doing shadow 

puppetry? What sparked your interest in this art? 

In Atlanta, there is a large puppet theatre called The 

Center for Puppetry Arts. My roommate at the time 

began working there as a groundskeeper and so I 

started to go see shows there. I had an image of 

puppetry as something for kids, but the shows I saw at 

the theatre broke all of my preconceptions. It's hard to 

describe the types of shows there because there is such 

a wide range. From Shakespeare to conceptual shows 

about fire; from family-friendly to highly explicit; 

shows with live actors and dancers and live bands; 

shows with puppets that look real and shows with 

bricks as puppets. Basically, if you can imagine it then 

you can do it. And every time I saw a show there I 

thought, "I want to try that." So when auditions came 

around, I auditioned and they took me on as an 

apprentice, and soon I was working there full 

time. Typically, shows there don't use just one 

style. In the same show you may have rod puppets, 

marionettes, live actors, and shadow 

puppets. In Japan, I started making shows 

using only shadows simply because I don't have 

much space to make or rehearse bigger 

puppets. But I can make and rehearse shadow 

puppets in my apartment. Of course with the 

show at Aubade Hall, we used both shadow 

puppets and 3-D puppets. And because the 

stage at Aubade Hall is big, the puppets were 

also giant. 

What goes into making a shadow puppet 

show, from start to finish? 

For a shadow show, first you choose a story 

that you feel can be presented visually. Then 

you make a storyboard of each scene and 

decide which scenes will have what kind of 

movement. Once you have the basic action 

defined, you then draw it out, trace the drawing 

onto cardstock and cut it out. If it's a puppet 

that needs to raise an arm, then you'll have two 

parts to cut out, the body of the puppet and the 

arm. Once you have the pieces cut out, you put 

them together and see how they look in 

shadow. The show we did at Aubade Hall 

recently had about 70 scenes. Once all of the 

scenes are completed you rehearse. Often, the 

way you imagined it in your head doesn't turn 

out as well in real life, so as you rehearse you 

add and cut out scenes as you need until the 

story becomes what it should be. 

(continued on next page)



When was your first public performance? What 

was it like? 

My first public performance as a puppeteer was at 

the Center for Puppetry Arts when I was 19. There 

you don't just do one show and it's over, you often 

do about 13 shows a week. The two things I 

remember most about that show was 1) it was really 

fun; and 2) I was really bad. 

Any other memorable performances? 

I've been lucky to be a part of several really 

interesting shows. One was "Wrestling MacBeth" at 

the Center for Puppetry Arts. It was Shakespeare's 

MacBeth, but set in the world of professional 

wrestling. But if I had to choose one show, it would 

be "Kwaidan", based on 3 ghost stories from the 

book by Lafcadio Hearn. It was a collaboration 

between The Center for Puppetry Arts, the director, 

Ping Chong, and a Japanese designer, Mitsuru 

Ishii. As part of that show I got to perform in many 

places, including New York twice, at The Kennedy 

Center in Washington DC, at The Barbican in 

London, and probably most importantly, here in 

Japan. It was during the six weeks that I was doing 

"Kwaidan" in Japan that I decided that I wanted to 

try and live here. 

Do you use this type of art at your school(s)? 

Unfortunately, not yet. That's not a good answer, is 

it? I have some ideas that I would like try, but I 

haven't had the opportunity to implement them yet. 

How did you get in contact with The New Japan 

Philharmonic Orchestra, and what was it like 

working with them? 

WRITE FOR THE AJET NEWSLETTER! 

Aubade Hall began a series last year called “Let's 

Play with the Orchestra”. It's goal is to introduce 

new listeners to the orchestra. The second act is 

what they call "the musical picture book". Last year 

I was one of the puppeteers and made the shadows 

for "The Firebird." But this year, they also gave me 

the chance to create the story and direct. During our 

rehearsal we used a CD of the piece. The day before 

the show the orchestra arrived and we rehearsed for 

the first time with live music. It's just amazing to 

be on stage, and to have a live orchestra playing 

right behind you. The only person with a better 

listening point is conductor himself. The sound 

becomes this pure energy that passes through you on 

its way to the audience. 

Do you have anything scheduled for the near 

future? 

There are some tentative plans for a collaborative 

show in October, but we haven't finalized it 

yet. Once it is, you can check my website 

www.leerandall.org for more information. There are 

several more projects in the planning stages now too. 

Where do you want to go with this art? What's 

your long-term vision? 

I'd like to create, direct, and perform more shows 

like this full time in Japan. 

What are your other talents and interests? 

I like to play guitar, watch movies, and we have a lot 

of poker nights here in Kurobe too. ◙ 

We are currently looking for volunteers who would like to write regularly 

for the newsletter! If you are interested in writing about events in the 

community, restaurants, books, movies, or something else, please send 

us an email at ajet.newsletter@gmail.com. Of course, if you have any 

ideas, pictures, or suggestions of your own, don’t hesitate to send them 

too! Submissions for the October newsletter are due by September 24 th .



Entertainment 

Cartoon art by David Piper, Takaoka 

Poetry Corner 

Photo by Riona McMorrow, Himi 

A Whole New Section…a 

Whole New World! 

Welcome to the section that lets you know about 

what to eat, read and do in Toyama and surrounds. 

If you have eaten, read or done anything that you 

think others would enjoy, please send your 

articles to ajet.newsletter@gmail.com. 

We’re also hoping to feature some of the local 

talent in the JET community in this section. If 

you make art (performance or visual), or are 

interested in reviewing it please get in touch as 

soon as possible so that we can feature either your 

work or your opinions in a future issue. 

Finally, be sure to check out the 

competitions section on page 10. We’re 

running a T-Shirt Competition to see who can 

send in the wackiest Japanese T-Shirt Slogan. 

We’ve also got a photography competition on the 

go with the possibility of seeing your picture 

published in a calendar (with dates and 

everything!). For more details see page 10… 

Entertainment Editor: Paula Kerrigan, Takaoka 

Koi Drift in the Pond 

Tulips Hang Heavy, I hide 

From the Showers. 

Bryce Rawers, Takaoka 

As summer ends 

Climbers on the windy trail 

Gaijin face their doom. 

Stephen Reid, Kurobe



Murakami, My One True Love. 

Written by Ruth Kingdon 

I discovered Haruki Murakami in 

my last year of high school. I was 

going out with a 21 year old 

University student at the time and, 

due to the four year age gap, I 

naturally took everything that fell 

from his lips as gospel. When 

starting University myself, just 

over a year later, I soon realised 

that perhaps we were not going to 

get married and live in a cottage 

in the English countryside, and 

that some of the things that he 

took as truth were maybe not so. 

He was right about one thing 

though: Murakami. 

As a page-turner junkie I did 

not expect much from it when my 

post-modernist boyfriend gave me 

Norwegian Wood. But, I was 

wrong. I devoured the book and 

made it my new official favourite, 

then even decided to tell it to the 

world in that ever committal act 

of putting it on my ridiculously 

over-accessorised Myspace page. 

I started eating up every 

Murakami book that I could, (or 

whichever were available on 

discount), and made my way 

through The Wind-up Bird 

Chronicle, Dance Dance Dance, 

Kafka on the Shore, and Hard- 

Boiled Wonderland and the End 

of the World. I loved the books as 

a collection, but also as individual, 

for Murakami could not be 

quashed. My enjoyment for his 

books has stayed with me to this 

day, and the battered paper-back 

riding with me in the aeroplane as 

I flew to Japan happened to be 

one of my first loves: The Windup 

Bird Chronicle, one of 

Murakami’s more challenging 

works, in my opinion. 

Murakami, it seems, can 

successfully write a novel in any 

genre. When writing Norwegian 

Wood he had decided to try 

something different from the 

books he had written already and 

write something simpler, a love 

story. Murakami completely came 

out of his comfort zone of bizarre 

rollercoaster stories, with 

intertwining narratives, to write 

something he had never tried 

before and it was the best and 

most beautiful love story that I 

have ever read. Saying this, he 

still held on to that certain 

something that makes his work 

different from that of other 

writers, and that which makes 

him great. Norwegian Wood 

could not have been written by 

anybody else. 

Most love-story writers reel the 

reader in by tugging at their 

heartstrings. Character development 

in novels is a very important 

element and to care about the 

book, the general rule is you need 

to care about the character. But 

Murakami often creates fairly 

half-formed blank-canvas type 

characters as vessels to carry his 

elaborate stories through the 

pages. Only on occasion do I 

thoroughly care about the 

characters I meet in Murakami’s 

stories. It is always the beauty of 

the tales that he is spinning that 

keeps me reading them, rather 

than a crude attachment to some 

20-something singleton who 

reminds me of myself. 

Murakami is a big fan of 

reoccurring themes: labyrinths; 

salary men with more to them 

than meets the eye; the reaching 

of the conscious mind through 

dreams and hallucinations; and 

the introduction of characters 

based upon their ability to dress 

to perfection. The recognition of 

these themes is only available to 

those avid readers of Murakami, 

as an invaluable prize for their 

dedication to his work. 

The first step toward this prize 

is to read your first Murakami. I 

have a specific, individual love 

for every one of his novels, but I 

believe a good place to start 

would be where I did, with 

Norwegian Wood. The 

unpredictable direction of the 

narrative in this book makes it 

what it is, and will therefore 

undoubtedly become the first 

book in the rest of your 

Murakami-infused life. 

I am a fairly indecisive person. I 

can’t name my favourite film, 

band, song etc. But with authors, 

there is only one. Murakami 

remains at the top of my list, and I 

wouldn’t be surprised if he stays 

there for quite some time. ◙



‘Yacchin’ 

By Maurette ‘Mo’ 

Kirwan 

Address: 7-8 Takaramachi, 

Takaoka, 933-0064 

(10 min tram ride from 

Takaoka train station). 

Tel: 0766-26-1922 

Opening hours: 11:30- 2 

(lunch) 5:30-9:30 (dinner). 

Closed on Mondays and 

the Tuesday after a bank 

holiday. 

Booking is recommended 

and take-out is available. 

When one of my Takaoka 

friends suggested dinner at an 

okonomiyaki restaurant, I was 

more than a little excited. 

After hearing the word 

mentioned several times by 

my students back in Dublin, I 

was dying to try this stuff out 

for myself. So off we toddled 

down to Yacchin for my first 

okonomiyaki experience. The 

restaurant itself is tiny, 

consisting of two low 

Japanese-style tables and a 

small counter in front of a 

teppan (hotplate). The staff 

are extremely friendly and 

speak very good English, 

which made the lives of the 

vegetarians at the table much 

easier when ordering. Yacchin 

offers both regular 

okonomiyaki, and Hiroshimayaki 

(with noodles) as well as 

yaki-soba, yaki-udon, and a 

range of sides (including 

sausages!). Dessert consists 

of a decent selection of 

kaki-koori (shaved ice) 

flavours. All of the above 

can be washed down with 

an ice-cold Asahi, fruity 

chu-hi or soft drink. 

Fillings for both the 

okonomiyaki and 

Hiroshima-yaki include 

pork, squid, shrimp, 

scallops, mochi and even 

natto (if you’re feeling 

brave!). On the night I 

opted for the buta-ebi 

okonomiyaki which 

consisted of pork, shrimp, 

scallions, and a touch of 

pickled ginger which was 

folded into an egg mixture 

and finished off with a 

brushing of a sweet 

teriyaki-like sauce and a 

sprinkling of bonito flakes. 

Some people call 

okonomiyaki “Japanese 

pizza”, but to me it was 

more like an omelette, and 

an extremely delicious one 

at that. In fact it was so 

delicious that my taste buds 

are still thanking me for the 

escapade! Washed down 

with the glorious amber 

nectar that is Asahi, I was 

as happy as a pig in pooh 

What’s more, a trip to 

Yacchin won’t break the 

bank. My buta-ebi and beer 

came to a total of ¥1200! 

This has definitely been my 

favourite meal since 

arriving in Japan. I can see 

myself frequenting Yacchin 

often during my time here. 

Yacchin = Oishii!!!



The Brazilian Festa! 

By Jon Perry, Takaoka 

On August 17th , a festival was 

held at Takehira Memorial 

Gymnasium cele-brating the 100th anniversary of Japanese 

immigration to Brazil. The 16th had seen heavy rain, and there 

were worries about whether the 

festival would be able to go ahead. 

However, on the day we were 

blessed with continuous fine 

weather. Children playing and 

eating ice lollies in the sunshine 

made for a lively atmosphere. 

At 11am, after speeches from the Mayor 

and other VIPs, the stage performances began. 

Each one showed a different aspect of the 

energetic and vigorous Brazilian culture. The 

beautiful performances by a Bossa Nova band 

and a Brazilian guitarist were truly memorable. 

After these, the samba dancing began! Samba 

being ‘the people’s dance’, many of the 

spectators were able to join in and take part! 

There were numerous other events. 

Inside the gym, a large number of people 

watched Brazilian and Japanese teams battle it 

out in a five a side football competition, while 

a performances of street dance and a recreation 

of Brazil’s “Festa Junina” kept those 

outside entertained. All the while, the sound 

of people eagerly eating Brazilian food from 

the numerous stalls around the site could be 

heard. 

It really was wonderful that so many 

people could experience at first hand the 

Brazilian culture which flourishes in Japan 

today. Going on the basis of this festival 

commemorating the past hundred years, it 

seems we can look forward to plenty more 

Japan-Brazil interaction in the next hundred as 

well. 

ブラジルフェスタ! 

8月17日、ブラジル移民100周年記念祭を竹平 

記念体育館で行われました。16日には激しい雨が 

降ったので、ほとんどのイベントやブースは外にあ 

るフェスタは大丈夫かということは少し心配になり 

ました。ところが、17日は一日中晴れた天気に恵 

まれていました。その日なたで、子供が遊んだりか 

き氷を食べたりして、にぎやかな雰囲気を生み出し 

ました。 

それで、11時に市長とVIPの挨拶が終わった 

らステージの演奏がはじまりました。それぞれのパ 

フォーマンスは活力の溢れ出しているブラジル文化 

の一面を見せてくださいました。ブラジルのギター 

を奏でる演奏や美しいボサノヴァ(Bossa Nova)の音 

楽が忘れ難かったです!その後、サンバダンスが始 

まりました。ところでサンバはいわゆる「庶民の踊 

り」だから、数多くの来てくださった人も参加でき 

ました。 

それ以上のイベントや演奏が多くありました。 

体育館の中で、たくさんの方が国際フットサル大会 

を観戦しました。ストリートダンスもブラジルの伝 

統的な際である「Festa Junina」の再現も行われ 

て、同時に様々なブラジル料理を味わっていた方の 

「おいしい」「うまっ!」という声もしばしばあ 

がってきました。 

現在日本で栄えているブラジルの文化が体験 

できた方が非常に多かったのは、幸いです。この1 

00周年記念祭を踏まえて、これからの100年間 

も日本・ブラジル交流を期待しています。



Sekkusu in the Shi By Paula Kerrigan, Takaoka 

The book, ‘More Making Out in 

Japanese’ is a must buy. Even if 

you’re not interested in making 

out with a member of the 

Japanese public, buy it purely for 

the entertainment value! Here is 

a list of the chapters to get you in 

the mood, including some classic 

lines from each chapter… 

1. Getting to know you 

Classic: ‘I’ve been watching 

you.’ 

‘Anata-no-koto zutto miteta noyo’ 

2. Fun and Games 

Classic: ‘Go! Go for it! 

(this is 

a boring, utility chapter, much 

like this part in a relationship…however 

this line may 

come in handy later...) 

‘Gambatte! Gambare! 

3. Eating and Drinking 

Classic 1: ‘That’s an unusual 

taste.’ 

(Classic entirely for its future 

usefulness in the date/ 

relationship) 

‘Fushigi-na aji-dane.’ 

Classic 2: ‘Stronger drinks, 

please.’ 

(When is this phrase 

not going to come in handy?) 

‘Motto tsuyoi nomimono-o 

kudesai.’ 

4. Clubbing 

Classic: ‘If I get drunk, it’ll be 

okay.’ 

(I’m not making this up!) 

‘Moshi atahi-ga yopparette-mo 

daijōbu.’ 

5. Sweet Talk 

Classic: ‘Kiss me deeply.’ 

(snog me I imagine, has anyone 

ever asked to be snogged?) 

‘Oishii kisu shite.’ 

6. Making Love 

Classic 1: ‘Lets do sixty-nine’ 

(If ONLY this line said ‘Lets 

enjoy sixty nine!) 

‘Shikkusu-nain-de shiyō.’ 

Classic 2: ‘Take your shoes off.’ 

‘Kutsu-o nugi-nayo.’ 

7. Oops! 

Classic: ‘I guess our protection 

wasn’t good enough. 

(At this point I think 

you should start to worry about 

needing this ridiculous book to 

communicate to your other 

half!) 

‘Chanto gomu tsukenakattandane 

8. Love and Marriage 

Classic: ‘Who might oppose 

our marriage?’ 

(Seriously, you need to learn 

Japanese at this point! 

‘Dare-ka atashitachi-no kekkon 

hantai-suru-kanā. 

*Ironically there is no translation 

for ‘I do.’ in this section! 

9.Health 

Classic: ‘I can’t live without 

McDonalds’ 

‘Makudonarudo nashi-ja 

ikirarenai.’ 

10. Curses and Insults 

Classic: ‘You ain’t got the 

balls!’ 

(Endlessly useful!) 

‘Konjō nashi!’ 

11. Lover’s Arguments 

Classic: ‘I think I was too 

excited.’ 

(perhaps this phrase would 

have been better in the 

‘Oops!’ chapter!) 

‘Sugoku moriagatteta.’ 

12. Broken Intercourse 

Classic: ‘You forget 

everything 

(fantastically comprehensive, 

the book goes on to detail the 

things your other half could 

have forgotten; birthdays, 

anniversaries etc. but I say 

lets not split hairs, 

linguistically this phrase is 

much more useful!) 

‘Anata-wa zembu 

wasurechau.’ 

13. Breaking Up! 

Classic 1: ‘Stop following me 

around’ 

(The stalking of Chapter 1 has 

finally caught up on you!) 

‘Tsuite-kuru-no-wa kiku-nowa 

yamete.’ 

Classic 2: ‘I have another 

boyfriend/girlfriend.’ 

(Well if he/she is Japanese 

this book has been worth 

every penny!) 

‘Hoka ni kareshi-ga iru-no’/ 

‘Hoka-ni kanojo-ga irun-da.’ 

If anyone HAS actually gotten 

married due to using this book 

please, PLEASE write to me 

asap! ajet.newsletter@gmail.com



Calendar Competition 

Starting September 1 st we will be accepting entries for the monthly competition to 

find the best picture floating around the JET community of what life in Japan is 

actually like. Please include a caption of a few sentences describing why you 

took this picture and how it exemplifies your experience here. The winning photos 

of each month will be published in a calendar which will be sold to raise funds for 

charity. To enter your photo, or to get further information please email 

ajet.newsletter@gmail.com by September 24 th . 

*Photographs must have been taken by the submitter. Please do not submit pretty pictures your have found 

on the interweb or anywhere else. 

T-shirt Competition 

I know some of you have 

already started playing this 

game. Lets enjoy finding 

the wackiest T-Shirt in the 

Ken, preferably in the 

country!! Send your entries 

(front & back if relevant) to 

ajet.newsletter@gmail.com 

The winner will be 

presented with a hand 

made T-shirt bearing their 

winning slogan! 

My father owned a Harley Davidson 

Sportster years ago and, for a brief period 

of time in my childhood, I had ridden on 

the back of it around the south east of the 

United States with a local bike gang. I felt 

a connection and a desire to at least make 

contact with these bikers outside a 

kombini with their strange American 

motorcycle. We introduced ourselves and 

as soon as I had my camera out they 

rapidly arranged themselves as you see 

now. I took one shot and it was perfect. 

By Emmett Barton, Takoaka. 

T-shirts on the right 

supplied by Mo Kirwin



RAMEN JOINTS. YES. 

Do you like Ramen? 

Do you like GOOOOOD Ramen? 

I’ll introduce you to one of my favorite places! 

It’s called Totoro’s Ramen. Yes, from the anime. 

Check it out on facebook! 

Next T.R.A.M. is TBA, but 

send in your shits anyway. 

And here is something 

random for you…. 

(For more Toyama Ramen 

Joints, check out Welcome 

Tram 2008) 

Small neat place with meaty guys who have shaved heads. When you walk in, they 

bellow an “IRASHAIMASHEE!!” and when you leave they bellow you out the door too. 

The ramen is pork bones and しょゆ (soy sauce), or so they say. But I think they put 

crack in it. The soup base is a bit heavy, but it’s so delicious. I like to put in the spice 

sauce (which really IS spicy), ginger, and garlic. 

If you bring your own pair of chopsticks, you get a free topping. They’re all about ECO. 

They close Mondays, and open till 2am every other day. Check it out on the Interactive 

Map on http://www.toyamajets.net. 

Ps. If you’re in town, hit me up. I 

never say no to Totoro! 

--Van Tran, T.R.A.M. goddess and 

ramen aficionado



National AJET: JET Effect 

JETs aren't just English teachers. We are also in a unique position 

to impact our communities and become envoys of grassroots 

internationalization! This is the "JET Effect." 

Once a month, National AJET will choose one of these JETorganized 

community involvement projects to spotlight on our 

website and e-bulletin. The article will include the who, what, 

when, where, and most importantly HOW, as well as what kind of 

impact it had on the JETs involved, and their community. 

We hope that they will inspire you to get involved with your communities! You can also get in touch with 

the spotlighted JETs to ask them questions about their projects. Just e-mail JETeffect@ajet.net with your 

questions. 

If you know of a community involvement project or event run by JETs that you think should be spotlighted, 

please e-mail nominations to JETeffect@ajet.net 

Sincerely, 

Your National AJET Council 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jeff Morice's Kamicho Town Brochure – A School Project Worth Writing Home About 

The Project 

Students from my school 

were to make an English 

tourism brochure highlighting 

spots around 

Kamicho, our town. 

Designed with foreign 

visitors in mind, it also 

provided small bits of insight 

into Japanese cultural quirks, 

such as onsen 

etiquette, regional delicacies, 

etc. The brochure 

project gave my students a 

realistic and practical outlet 

for English. They took it 

seriously, and I think it kept 

them interested. 

How it worked 

The town office provided all 

sorts of photos of the sites 

we were highlighting, and 

The school not only encouraged 

our work, but 

allowed countless test prints, 

and day trips, and 

ultimately paid for the costs 

of having the brochure 

printed by a professional 

company. 

We were interviewed by 

local and national 

newspapers, featured on 

Kamicho's town website 

and have copies 

of the brochure in the 

town's tourist information 

centre. Also, the Kamicho 

town office and mayor 

have adopted the project 

as their very own English 

tourism guide. 

Advice 

If anyone were to want to 

attempt a project on this 

scope, I would totally 

encourage them. It requires 

a good plan, perseverance 

and a great JTE, and the 

realization that these 

students are much smarter 

than you give them credit 

for. So my advice is simple: 

never underestimate the 

student's ability. Never say 

"They couldn't possibly do 

this." If you plan out your 

project, engage the 

students and keep them 

interested, they'll reward 

you, and the community 

you share with them. ◙



31 

7 

14 

21 

Sunday 

28 

Takaoka/Ton 

ami Book 

Club, SWIC 

Café, 4:00 

pm 

What’s Happening – September 2008 

8 

Monday 

1 

Owara Kazeno-Bon 

Matsuri 

(Yatsuo) 

15 

敬老の日 

Respect 

for the 

Aged Day 

22 

29 

Tuesday 

2 


Matsuri 

(Yatsuo) 

9 

Niikawa 

Book Club, 

Colare, 6pm 

16 

23 

秋分の日 

Autumnal 

Equinox 

Happy 

Birthday 

Maddy 

30 

Wednesday 

3 


Matsuri 

(Yatsuo) 

10 

17 

24 

1 

Thursday 

4 

11 

Toyama 

Book Club, 

Seattles Best 

(CiC) 6:00 

pm 

18 

25 

2 

5 

LOVEBUZZ 

Toyama City 

9pm-all night 

Happy 

Birthday 

Min-Hye 

12 

19 

26 

3 

Friday 

Saturday 

6 

Happy 

Birthday 

Chris M 

13 

20 

27 

Happy 

Birthday 

Sara C. 

Advertise your event (or an event you know about) on the 

AJET calendar! Send info to toyama.ajet@gmail.com. 

4



UPCOMING EVENTS 

Owara Kaze-No-Bon Festival (おわら風の盆) 

Come check out one of Toyama's biggest and most wellknown 

festivals of the year! Locals from Yatsuo dance a 

traditional dance all around town from 5pm to dawn! 

The streets downtown are packed with festival food; 

booths ranging from traditional okonomiyaki, yakisoba, 

and shaved ice booths to delicious Indian food; and 

much more! So if you get tired of checking out the 

dancers, fill yourself up on tasty treats! 

Unfortunately this year it's Monday to Wednesday, 

September 1st to 3rd. But if you can make it, I urge you to 

come!! Arrange with me ahead of time and I'll come 

meet you at the station. However; be warned! The trains 

are SUPER full and so are the streets so plan for a crowd! 

AT A GLANCE: 

WHO: Danielle and Tiffany, Yatsuo’s dynamic duo, will be around town on all 3 days. If 

you’re looking for someone to walk around with you, call Tiffany at 080-3743-8014. 

WHAT: Kickin’ culture festival 

WHEN: September 1 st –3 rd , 5:00 pm to DAWN 

WHERE: Yatsuo, all over town. Just get off the station and follow the hordes of people 

WHY: To pray for the rain to stop and for a good harvest. 

HOW: Yatsuo is the 5th stop from Toyama on the Takayama line. The trains run as often as 

possible on those dates, so take a number and wait; it’s that simple! 

Questions? Comments? Call or email me! See you there!



Let’s Get Reading! 

Niikawa Region 

Contact: Brett Quimby (bmquimby@gmail.com) 

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 9 th, 6:00 pm 

Place: Colare International Center in Kurobe (please contact Brett for information on how 

to get there, or check the interactive map on www.toyamajets.net) 

RSVP/Extra info: Please contact Brett if you will be joining us! We will choose a book and a 

good meeting time at this informational meeting. 

Toyama Region 

As the new Toyama City Librarian, I thought it would be fun to organize a book club for 

the region. The specifics are flexible, but I figured we could meet approximately once a 

month and discuss a book decided upon by the group. Each month we can meet at a 

different place, be it a house or public area, to switch things up a bit. 

If this sounds like your brand of oolong tea, come out to our inaugural meeting on 

Thursday, September 11th at 6PM. We will be meeting at the Seattle's Best Coffee Shop on 

the Ground Floor of the CIC (directly across from Toyama Station). If you live in between 

regions (Kosugi, Kamiichi, etc.), you are welcome to come as well. If you are from 

Takaoka or Uozu but just love Toyama soooo much, you're invited as well (but don't get 

upset if they get vexed with you). 

We will decide on a first book at the inaugural meeting, so come prepared with ideas and 

suggestions. Feel free to bring a copy of a recommended book so others can glance at it. 

That's it, that's all. Hope to see many of you out on the 11th at Seattle's Besto. 

Read on, 

James ジェームズ 

JET Librarian, Toyama Region 


Takaoka/Tonami Region 

Book: Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami 

Date and Time: Sunday, Sept 28 th , 4:00 pm 

Place: SWIC Cafe by Takaoka Eki 

Contact Info: Shambhavi Kadam; 090-6278-9631; kadamster@gmail.com 

Notes: I think everyone already knows that the Tak book club will be made of awesome. 

All the cool kids are doing it, so be a joiner, sign up today. 

Norwegian Wood is longish, but I think it's do-able in a month. Drop me a line if you think 

we should split it over two months though. We'll also need to start brain-storming future 

book picks, so if you've got a book you're just dying to share, give me a buzz.



LOVEBUZZ 

COME DANCE WITH ME! 


Lovebuzz is Club Mairo's once-a-month foreign music 

dance party! 

Admission is 3000 yen at the door, 2500 if you buy a ticket 

in advance at the info booth at CiC. 

Admission INCLUDES one free drink ticket and a mix CD 

put together by the DJs for the night. Drinks at the bar 

are 500 yen after that, so if you think about it, if you're 

used to Pot Still prices, its practically buy one get one 

free (^o^)v 

Starts at 9, goes all night! 

AT A GLANCE: 

WHAT: Pumpin’ Club night! 

WHERE: Club Mairo, Toyama (behind the CiC, same block as Big Tiger pachinko, in the 

AMUSE building...look for the sign) 

WHEN: Friday, September 5th, 9:00 pm to ALL NIGHT 

PRICE: 3000 yen at door, 2500 yen in advance (can be purchased at CiC in Toyama), 

includes 1 drink and cd 

Come dance with me, people!! You know you want to. 

Questions/Comments? Call or email Tiffany at 080-3743-8014 / ajet.newsletter@gmail.com. 

Toyama AJET Quick Contacts: 

President: toyama.ajet@gmail.com 

Excursions: allylomas@hotmail.com 

Social Reps: socialreps@gmail.com 

T.R.A.M: toyamatram@yahoo.com 

Librarians: (Tonami/Takaoka) TBA 

(Toyama) james.j.floyd@gmail.com 

(Niikawa) bmquimby@gmail.com 

Charity: discolarrence@gmail.com 

Webmaster: tim.lindenschmidt@gmail.com 

AJET Newsletter Staff: 

Editors: Tiffany Dyer 

Paula Kerrigan 

Staff Writers: Michael Grudzinski 

Ally Lomas 

Van Tran 

Cartoonist: David Piper 

Formatting: Tiffany Dyer 

Production: Danielle Lewerenz

No Strings Attached - AJET

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