 As children, the excitement of no school during summer quickly devolves into crippling boredom. To pass the time, siblings may wage war, disasters are delivered unto kitchens, and the backyards have never before seen such ruin. As ALTs, our outlets may change, but ennui is just as likely to set in. For activities…
Finally the holidays are here! Classes are drawing to a close, you have more free time than you can wave a stick at and the humidity has finally reached a level where you begin to wonder if jumping into the school pool would actually make any difference. It also means it’s summer festival season, so…
 Below you will find the answers to such pressing questions as “What is your favorite Japanese food?†and “What advice do you have for me, sempai?†These nine JETs have courageously risen to the challenge of satisfying our curiosity. Caution: Some reading between the lines is necessary. New JETs, we’d love to have…
Chapter 1 Fire  Sometime last week, the birds in the attic started whispering.  They want a new leader but can’t decide if the Mohawk or Fireflight is preferable. I told them I endorsed the Mohawk so I think they will choose the other. On my way down from their congress, I stopped to…
(Food processor required) Living in Japan, there are times that we miss certain foods or tastes from back home. For me, avocado is one of these refreshing tastes I like to revisit now and then. Here’s a super fast and simple recipe for those tiring days where you just want to whip up a quick…
Working as an ALT, especially during the summer holidays, can wage war on your senses. Often, we have nothing, or less, to do. It can be so easy to slip into the abyss that is the internet, wasting countless hours checking Facebook, reddit, tumblr, imgur, and many more. For those who want to feel…
After reading the most recent Hyogo book club selection, From the Fatherland, With Love, I felt I already had a connection to the city of Fukuoka, where most of the novel takes place. Fortunately, there have been no recent attempts to invade the prefecture’s capital, though interestingly enough, the origin of kamikaze stems from one…
As we start a new JET year, we’d like to introduce you to the Hyogo AJET council. These great JETs volunteer their time to organize awesome events and support all of us here in fabulous Hyogo. Aiko Lignon Hi, I’m Aiko from Itami. I’m a third year JET. I love…
The cicadas are chirping, the sun is melting everything, and for some unexplained reason your neighbors are wearing yukata on a random Tuesday. That’s right folks; it’s August here in Japan and that means a few things. First of all, it means hundreds of new JETs have just arrived in Japan! To them I say,…