Ghoulish

While Halloween is recognised in the UK as an excuse to watch horror movies, buy fake blood and indulge in childish shenanigans, it is celebrated on a greater scale in Japan, with seemingly every shop taking on a supernatural theme. My personal favourite was the giant inflatable vampire Mickey Mouse outside the Neo Mart in Shijo, complete with cape and pointy fangs. Try telling the kids that their favourite Disney mascot has become a blood-sucking Lord of the Undead - though admittedly, he has done far worse; how's about raping a snowman while Goofy does the nasty with Minnie?

Two Halloween parties were on the agenda this year, with the first being held for residents at Mukaijima Gakusei Center and Kyoiku Daigaku students. Looking around the shops for costumes proved somewhat fruitless, with few under the 3000 yen mark (£15 for a novelty item of clothing I will wear twice?). Among the ghosts and witches, there were some particularly Japanese cozzies, with Ringu-esque wig and robe kits, and, of course, Hard Gay accessories (if you don't know who I mean by that, don't be afraid to click the link, as it is mostly innocent).

I decided to create my own costume, and thanks to the local 100 yen shop, my total costume price amounted to around 400 yen total. I give you the most evil medical practitioner known to humankind...Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon. The outfit consisted of a shirt and tie (already owned), a raincoat, a red permanent marker (for blood splatters), pinhole glasses (to make reading/watching TV/driving/etc. less harsh on the eyes) and driving gloves with the fingers snipped off. All in all, I think it was a very effective costume indeed.

I had already helped make a couple of decorations for the party - a couple of pink pumpkins (the orange paint had run out), which were displayed on the wall as we entered the hall near Sumizome station. There were familiar faces (a bunch of fellow Doshisha amigos plus Taavi, Risto and Marcus) and many unfamiliar ones too (I was surprised to see adults and small children present for what I expected to be more of a student shindig). Anyway, there was lots of food and punch to keep us happy and while not a lot happened, apart from someone turning off the lights mid-munching, it was a good try-out of my costume for a bigger party on actual Halloween organised by Kyoto Gaidai at an underground bar called Den-en near Sanjo.

While the food and drink was a complete rip-off, most of Kyoto's costumed youth appeared to be gathered here. The Nightmare Before Christmas played on a big screen, people posed in their spooky get-ups and various party games were organised, including a rock, paper, scissors tournament and bingo (after a disastrous start I was one away on two different lines, but, alas, those numbers forever eluded me). Highlight of the evening were the two live bands, one playing mellow jazz and the next playing some groovy funk, followed by good ole party standards like Johnny B. Goode. I got my groove on, I can assure you - it was like the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance all over again! Then came the costume competition, which I entered but failed to even make the audience judging round! I mean, it wasn't the best, but it was certainly the cheapest and completely home-made! Surely there must be some kind of achievement prize for that! Never mind...Tal and Anthony were runners up for their samurai garb, so I guess that's some consolation. Of couse, no-one can compete against a transvestite - particularly when he had the uninitiated completely fooled.

You can view my Halloween party pics on my Flickr page. Halloween is also central to my Engrish of the week. While scouting for costumes, nestled next to the official Jason Voorhees Friday the 13th hockey masks were unofficial imitations that chose a rather roundabout way of differentiating themselves from their inspiration:

FRIDAY 13 DAY
KILLER MAN MASK
SHOCKING HORROR
THIS PRODUCT
GLOWS IN THE DARK

And as an extra special treat, I knocked out a new movie edit on YouTube. I downloaded footage of Biohazard 4D-Executer, a 3D thrill ride a la Terminator 2: 3D, or maybe Captain EO, based on the Resident Evil series. It was entertaining to watch, even if the CG is rather basic by today's standards, and it probably loses its impact on a little 2D screen. Neverthless, I've cut it up with the Gorillaz track 'M1 A1', which features samples from George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (see what I did there?). It's no Cheeky or Bouncy, but it only took me an hour, and for that I think it's fine.

NOTE: Said movie has been removed from YouTube for Copyright Infringement. Oopsie-daisy!

Such Sights To Show You

Here's a selection of images I have gathered from the past month and a half of my time in Kyoto that defy categorisation, logic and explanation. But despite all this, I'm going to try my darndest to make sense of them all. Give them a click to enlarge (reminds me of some spam I've received before).

I tells ya, you try to start a conversation with a lady and she just freezes up and ignores you. It's like Mannequin all over again! Just joshing of course. This was at the Nishijin Textiles Center, which was informative but had some bizarre elements, namely the kimono show. Hordes of camera-toting tourists gathered round the catwalk to see kimono-clad models walk a bit, smile enigmatically, stare into middle distance and walk off. I didn't know how to react - do I smile politely at them? Should our eyes make contact? I just found the whole experience rather strange (plus fellow Doshisha student Josh was convinced one of them was really a guy).

This is the Godzilla statue outside the local entertainment emporium. Its such a strange, brilliant shop. I've only bought a YMO CD off them, which I had to quickly return (this being Japan, it was a Super Audio CD, only compatible with special Sony players, but, of course, this being Japan, where customer service is top priority, I got a full refund), but it is purchase haven. CDs, DVDs, comics, capsule toys and a vast library of console games from all makes and eras (the Super Famicom corridor is something to behold), and all at competitive prices. But past the card games section, it reveals a further section, with clothes, arcade machines, imported action figures, and guns and ammunition (well, the BB variety). It's certainly worth a trip for anyone around Mukaijima way.

The front gate of Doshisha always has big painted boards advertising upcoming events which always catch the eye, none more so than 21th Century F.B.I., concerning films about everyone's favourite alien-chasing bureau. Someone could make a fortune proof-reading English in Japan, but it would make it all less fun, wouldn't it?

The Shijo covered arcades are weirdness central. What better way to demonstrate than Colonel Sanders outside the KFC (or just 'Kentucky' as it's predominantly known in Japan), dressed in samurai attire.

Or how about Mr. Giraffe Man, advertising the nearby Cybex internet den? We first saw the giraffe outside without a man inside, just resting by the building. It was only some weeks later that we realised it was a costume, and the giraffe could go walk about. I love how his little legs don't really fit the rest of the character.

Unfortunately, this photo isn't so clear, but it is a lit up sign for a very scary looking hair-dresser. In tight white suit and pink-orange hair, he looks like he was kicked out of the Scissor Sisters for being too camp. Would you let this man near your head? The sign does attract attention, but everyone who passes just points and laughs, so I don't know how he keeps in business. I assume it's all a front for some seedier operation, but I'm never going up those stairs for a look.

And finally, a pic of me in an electronics shop, playing Everybody's Tennis on PS2 through some telly-specs, which were glitchy, not especially comfortable and tricky to view the entire screen with. Another case of technology before technique, but it makes me look like a member of Polysics, so I enjoyed it anyway.

In other news, I'm referenced on the Adam and Joe Xfm Podcasts! Download episodes 4 and 5, and while my voice isn't featured, I get namechecked at the end of the former and start of the latter. I had phoned into Crap Commentary Corner, where they play an excerpt from a DVD commentary and you have to name the film and people speaking. As it was Resident Evil, I knew immediately, phoned in and won. Then I had an in-depth conversation with Joe about zombies and Resident Evil 4 at which point he said "Let's meet tonight at the Virgin Megastore Piccadilly Circus". Later on in the show, they joked about meeting up with me later and I thought I'd text to see if they were serious. No reply, but me and Pete went along anyway as I wanted to buy a few CDs. No show, but no real disappointment.

The following week I think I went back to Somerset, but listening to the subsequent podcast a year later, it turns out that wasn't the end of it. In podcast 5, Joe says that he feels bad he didn't meet up with me. Apparently, not only did he get my following text, but other listeners texted in to ask if we had met up! He then asks "Rory, if you're listening, please call in" - but that week I wasn't listening...oh, what could have been! Never mind - at least I am forever enshrined on the podcasts...and I will be sure to make reference to it next time I enter a competition. That's if the show is on when I'm back in London. Anyway, be sure to check out podcasts 4 and 5, but it's worth listening to them all, as they are funny shows indeed (especially Joe's diatribe on R. Kelly's In The Closet single soap opera).

More Things Keep Happening

Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd October

As promised, here's last weekend's adventures. It's super-long, but at least there're pictures to break up the brain-numbing waffle elsewhere...

Tokyo Bound



Today, I was missing lessons to head to Tokyo for a two-day trip. I caught the 7:46 Nozomi Shinkansen from Kyoto station to arrive at Shinagawa station in Eastern Tokyo just after 10am. On the way, I did a little bit of Japanese practice, but as my folder was missing after lessons the previous day, I had to make do with SOAS materials. While I slept for most of the journey, I did get to see the vast silohuette of Mt. Fuji from my window, surrounded by fog, looking far larger than I remembered it being.

Foundation Meeting

I travelled to Roppongi to the 33rd floor of the Ark Mori building to visit the Heiwa Nakajima Foundation, who were providing my scholarship for my study in Japan. My ears popped in the lift and the view from their window was filled with fog, but the nearby Tokyo Tower was in plain sight. Another scholarship student (a girl from Vietnam studying in Tokyo) was also present, and we sat at the table at the end of the office as I was presented with a folder filled with facts and information, as well as a booklet on the Foundation's founder and a dictionary for correct kanji use.

The office then gathered together (about eight employees total) for a sushi bento lunch which I happily munched through, but, try as hard as I might, I really couldn't finish it all. While we spoke in Japanese, they were all very attuned to keeping the questions as easy to answer as possible, and were very interested in my thoughts on Japan, my study and interests. I also brought along a few photos from Somerset and East Anglia, which helped no end as a focal discussion point and a visual aid for talking about my family and where I live. I had my photo taken a few times, and they also showed me photos of Tanaka-sensei visiting the office, and a Heiwa Nakajima representative visiting other members of the SOAS Japanese faculty in London. They were all very friendly and helpful (even offering to help track down my childhood friend Kitaro) and were extremely appreciative of my British prezzies of Duchy Original choccie biccies and a National Trust calendar. I had been a little nervous about meeting them and hoping I'd live up to their expectations, but they were all supportive and enthusiastic, leaving me feeling suitably buoyant.


Pete's 21st Birthday Party


Last time I had seen Pete, we were shaking hands at Green Park London Underground saying, "Next time we meet, we'll be in Japan". Jump forward a month or so later, and we're outside Waseda Underground meeting again. Bizarre, but cool. I get a brief tour of one of Waseda's campuses, and then I to visit Pete's space prison quarters which aren't quite as oppresive as I had envisaged, but then I guess I didn't encounter any of the 'wardens' (or forced to fight to death on a spiky turntable platform a la Flash Gordon). We meet with Hanako for coffee (hot chocolate for me, thank you) and soon we're ready to go out. Now that Pete's a man of 21 years, my present is a Nishijin textiles tie; perfect for job interviews for management positions in Japanese zaibatsu.

We all head out for an all you can drink session in Shinjuku and I'm reunited with most of the SOAS Waseda alumni, plus John Dykes, Esq. currently mixing it up in Tokyo Gaidai. I also meet a couple of Edinburgh University Waseda posse, and we exchange information about the Edinburgh University Doshisha students I've come to know - it's a small world after all. We all squeeze into three tables of space, but most of the screaming, chanting and drinking games come from the central table, buoyed on by the organisers, two mad Japanese girls. I decide to spend my time drifting from table to table, before settling down with Dykes and Rory Chu, topping up each other's beers while catching up, telling tales and making plans for the year ahead. When the evening comes to an end, I am muchly sloshed, but lucid. While the majority our heading karaoke-wards, I decide that if I'm going to make it to the hostel I have booked into in time, I should make tracks. I bid the partygoers adieu and take the train across town to Minowa.

Night at the Hostel

The train journey to the hostel is about 25 minutes, during which I get a little emotional, having just said goodybe en masse to many SOAS amigos and then to receive an elated post-birthday email on my mobile phone from Hamish. It could be a side-effect from all the alcohol though, another one of which appears to be increased Japanese speaking ability. I successfully asked the man at the train platform where the correct exit for the hostel was and once I arrived I had a conversation for over half-an-hour with the lady at reception. We talked about universities, binge drinking culture, the North Korea crisis and Japanese history - in particular, she said I should walk down the block to look at the whore-houses...she was emphasising how this area had been the the Edo pleasure quarters, the floating world, and how a map of Tokyo with the circle line and the Chou line drawn through it resembled the Yin-Yang symbol, with the aristocratic area and the pink district in direct contrast of each other. Not sure I quite bought it, but interesting nonetheless. It brought back a lot of memories sleeping hostel style at the Tokyo International Hostel from my pre-university trips. Chris had recommended the place to me, and at 2000 yen a night in a 10-backpacker dorm, it weren't bad at all. Comfy beds, clean washing facilities, good chummy atmosphere. Of course, noise from fellow travellers late night and early morning, but those are the breaks. While my Japanese certainly impressed the members of staff (the morning receptionist couldn't believe I had written the Japanese for mobile phone myself - as even native speakers forget how to), I kept schtum about my credentials amongst the other guests...didn't want to create a scene.

Ueno Park

With the morning free, and having to change trains there anyway, I decided to take a stroll around Ueno Park. I had been there before, but mainly just to visit the Tokyo National Museum (one of many museums that are situated there), so I took the opportunity to stroll around the grounds. I visited the statue of Saigo Takamori, samurai and dog-handler; Kiyomizu-Kannon-do, a temple modelled on Kiyomizu-dera which I had visited the previous weekend; the Gojo fox shrine, atmospherically filled with ominous cawing crows; a big pond with paddle boats...I took some pics, but haven't uploaded them yet as they're not very good or interesting. Also took a quick trip to the big toy shop near the station, but there was little that took my fancy.

Meeting Ian


I met Ian for Lunch in Mejiro where we had a tasty pasta set lunch and talked at length about Japan and the pros and cons of the Japanese experience. It seemed that even now my fresh observations of food, finance and frivolity here clicked with Ian instantly, and he gave me lots of little pieces of advice for surviving life in Japan. It was a very enjoyable meeting and he was over the moon with my gift of Gentelemen's Relish. Hopefully, he'll be able to come to Kyoto at some point, but if not, I will return to Tokyo in a few months time.

Mikael's in Town

While in Tokyo, I got a message that Mikael was in Kyoto this weekend for the big festivals. Once I had got off the Shinkansen, we endeavoured to meet up but meeting with Baptiste was a mission unto itself, involving much running around, exasperation and telecommunication - if it wasn't for the fact my phone died, it would have been just like 24. After 30 minutes, we finally met up and kept the anger to a minimum for the sake of everyone. Tal and her Gaidai chums were having all you can eat pizza at Shakey's (yes, Shakey's) in Shijo, but by the time we got there, they'd already sodded off. But that didn't stop myself, Baptiste, Mikael and his Nagoya buddy fitting in half-an-hour of pizza and assorted junk for ourselves. We then decided to decamp to a karaoke box for an hour of soul-filled singing and called it a night.

Jidai Matsuri

The Jidai Matsuri is one of Kyoto's big three...and we missed it. Baptiste and I miscalculated when the festival was going to end, and turned up to find everyone leaving and packing up. Bum. However, we still managed to savour a bit of post-festival atmosphere, and visited the Heian Jingu shrine where it climaxes (there was still a bit of pomp and circumstance going on behind closed doors). Ah well, there're two other big Kyoto festivals in the summer we'll make certain not to miss. Besides, our day of festivity had only just begun.

Riverside Music

While we waited to meet with friends to head to Kurama (see below), we decided to have some drinks and snacks in Sanjo by the Kamo river, a popular meeting place and general hanging out area. A mini-concert was underway, with a big Japanese flag with 'Under the Bridge 55' written on it waving above the amps. The acts were just a bunch of students a mix of open-air music spanning various musical genres. Most interesting was a screeching punk act who represented the first signs of student political activity I had witnessed in Japan. Through the mad synth, kicking microphone stands, river running and megaphone shouting, their message was 'Sayonara Americans, Konnichiwa Japanese!' and their lyrics included 'Showa! America! Showa! America!' - alluding to the feeling that Japan today was designed by the Americans for American purposes (which is kinda sorta true to an extent). It was too dark to get any footage of them on my phone, so instead, here's the act before them, a little male singer, strumming away to his own version of The Monkees' Daydream Believer - with a, shall we say, unique singing voice:



Kurama-no-Hi Matsuri


My final flutter of fun was a trip into Kurama, deep within the mountains of northern Kyoto, for the annual festival of fire. The trains were packed heading there, so much so, we walked to the next station along to avoid the queues at the main change point. We thought we weren't going to see anything when we got there (Tal had already given up, and Mikael, who was already there, was not sure exactly what was going on). Hundreds had descended upon the little town to visit the shrine where the festival climaxes, but we decided to head in the opposite direction, which turned out to be a good idea. Every house had a little fire outside, and the scent of smoke filled the air - it was like a premature Guy Fawkes night.

Then from the end of the road, a procession of torch-bearers appeared, chanting as they walked up the hill towards the temple. We got a good vantage point outside a smaller temple where they were luckily to make a brief stop before heading on. Behind the initial procession, loinclothed men carried massive burning torches across their backs, as others urged them on and kept the flames alive. They were followed up by further torch-bearers and taiko-drumming to keep them going. Once they got to the temple next to our position, they raised the massive torches and aligned them beside each other. After a few minutes, they again rested them on their backs and continued the slow climb onwards. It was a magical and satsifying experience, complete with atmosphere and wonder. Having had our fill of flame, we walked to the next station along. Its a beautiful area at night, looking deep into the surrounding forests and marvelling at the stars above. As there's only one train track, the ride back was absolutely packed, but everyone was so happy to have seen the festival that it was all good fun. Parn, Baptiste, Mikael and myself then headed to Imadegawa for a late-night Mos Burger and so another action-packed weekend came to a close...

Things Keep Happening

Things do indeed. And in order to keep up with my adventures, I'm going to have to do a big old splurge of recent events from the past couple of weeks. I'll do last weekend in the coming week and the weekend before that now...if that makes any sense.

Friday 13th October - Sunday 15th October

• Karaoke Marathon - after having spent all afternoon with my newly installed internet, I was invited to join various Mukaijima residents (studying at Doshisha and beyond) for a spot of karaoke at the local Shidax centre, just a brief walk from halls. Upon entry, the faux-grandeur was overwhelming, with 'gold', 'marble' and a winding staircase in the lobby. We booked a room with the decor of a Spanish restaurant and so began the singing session. Bowie, Beastie Boys, Blur and Beck were my artists of choice (though I did dabble in a bit of Polysics and YMO for Nihongo's sake), but Tarvi and Ritso (the Finnish Jay and Silent Bob in appearance, but anything but in reality) kept things varied with spirited anime themes and angry rock anthems respectively. We soon turned off the score system that would cause cartoon cracks to appear on the screen for woeful renditions (it seems it wanted Anarchy in the UK to be sung by a Celine Dion-alike), and let rip. As the tunes went on and the 'all you can drink' booze flowed, members of our party called it a night, until it was just me, Tarvi and Ritso. At 4.45am. Having started at 9.45pm. Yes, I made up for my lack of recent karaoke by doing it for seven hours straight. Good stuff.

• Thai Dinner - Having finished watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith as part of Mukaijima Gakusei Centre 'Movie Night', we went for a big Thai meal at the restaurant handily located just next to Doshisha's Imadegawa campus, as Parn's mum was in town. As Thai food barely extended beyond fishcakes and red/green curry, it was an eye-opening and eye-watering experience. Some items were super-spicy for my tastebuds, but it was mostly delicious and a very enjoyable evening all round. Araoi! (Apologies to Thai people everywhere for my attempt at writing "Delicious" in your native tongue).

• Class 5A Daytrip - our appointed class figurehead, Chan from Korea, decided to organise a little outing on a sunny Sunday for those class members who could make it. Little did we realise just how in-depth and interesting it would be. And how many free samples we'd nibble on. We went around Sanjo and Shijo, down familiar streets and the not so familiar, before arriving at an anonymous block of flats. Little did we know lunch was to be a free meal at a Korean Protestant chapel! With the greatest hospitality, we had big bowls of spicy vegetable and rice soup (though I passed on the kimchee) and engaged in conversation with the regulars. This was followed by a trip down Nishiki Food Market for donuts and tofu ice-cream, before a walk through Gion, through Yasaka Shrine, up to Kiyomizu-dera, via many local sweet stores, offering countless samples (accompanied by scary little Geisha bots, that nodded a little like the wind-up razor-toothed dolls from Barbarella).

  I had visited Kiyomizu on my previous trip with Harry, but it was lovely to go again, and I did few things I didn't do last time. For instance, I attempted to walk with my eyes closed from one love stone to another at Jishu-jinja, but missed my goal, therefore dooming my relationships forever...or something. Plus, I drank from the Otowa-no-taki waterfall, which is said to have therapeutic qualities and improve school results (which I guess compensates for buggering up my love life). A return visit at night in the autumn is a must. It wasn't all good though - I left my sunglasses somewhere up the hill (a habit which is continuing rather worringly, having left my file in class, and then leaving a recently purchased storage folder at the supermarket). And an octopus ball covered in horrible Japanese mayonnaise (to my mind, the foullest condiment known to man) left a taste in my mouth that lasted a day. I'm similarly afflicted as I type. Last night, I was all set to cook some bacon with my new frying pan, but what I thought was cooking oil turned out...well...not to be. I decided I'd cook it anyway, but the bacon just burnt horribly. Desperate for a bacon butty, I chowed down on it anyway, and while I liked it at the time, I now have a horrible burnt metallic taste in my mouth over 24 hours later, like I've swigged battery acid and am turning into some kind of ManTank a la Testuo II

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Back on topic, I took photos using Chan's camera, but have yet to receive them back, but once I do, I will stick them up on my brand new Flickr account! For now, I will leave you with a couple of treats for making it this far. First, my mad quote of the week (which actually comes from several weeks ago). I got a message from the Gakusei Centre office informing me that my bank manager wanted to seak to me regarding a bank transfer from my UK account:

...the manager has a duty to clarify what are you going to use the money for, probably to prevent an illegal trade or money supply to a terrorist. (But can you imagine a terrorist saying "Yah, I' m going to buy a nice launcher with this money." ???) Anyway, please contact...

And instead of pics, here're two short little mobile phone videos of Japanese technology in action. First, the aforementioned Geisha Bot:



And, having previously seen animatronic road worker signalmen in Tokyo two years ago, here's the next generation - little digital men on orange screens waving a flag. What's great is how it's not a cartoon of a man, but an actual image of a road worker scanned in. Unnecessary but genius:

The Church of Paragraph Writing

It is about time I actually wrote a bit about the very reason I came to Japan in the first place: to be educated at Doshisha University of course. I've just finished my third week of lessons, so I have a pretty fair idea of how the term is going to pan out from hereonin.

We have 3 hours of Japanese language classes, divided into 2 90 minute sessions, Monday to Friday from 9am. And with the journey from Mukaijima taking around 50 minutes total (with good connections), that means it's an early start every weekday and a lot of commuting time to kill. Luckily, Baptiste is my regular travel buddy, so our strange conversations and earphones of music get us feeling as genki as we can possibly be, given the circumstances. These language lessons are split between those that cover a general set text filled with kanji, grammar and vocabulary for the week ahead and classes that deal with particular aspects of Nihongo (listening, speaking, reading, etc.). Then, after lunch, we have additional courses we can pick and choose.

On Mondays, there's Japanese Life and Culture 1, which consists of visits, trips and hands-on experiences - so it's my 'fun-time' class; so far, we've been to a traditional sweets museum and shop, a textiles centre, on which I will write more about later, and a kimono-trying on session. I'm particularly looking forward to the 'Incense Listening' class in a month or so...whatever it entails. Wednesdays include my additional Japanese language seminar, which is fast-paced and tricky, but just the kind of thing I should be studying, and Ancient Japanese history, while Thursday features Japanese Law and Politics - which was billed as being taught in English, but has ended up with us flitting between Japanese and English throughout each sentence. Tuesday and Friday afternoons are my free afternoons, but I've yet to really cash in on these opportunities with the amount of homework and various bits and bobs I have to get done.

Ah, the homework. It all seems quick and simple, but there's so much to keep in my mind, I rarely manage to do everything that was needed for the day ahead, but have probably finished another exercise not due for a week. But I'm getting there...one day at a time.

The teaching style is mostly very much like SOAS, though there are certain differences. For a start, while in one week last year in London, we would have only 4 different tutors in the Japanese classes, here we have double that, as there's a mix of full-time and part-time staff. It makes you realise just how hard Tanaka-sensei, Kashiwagi-sensei, et al work, with the same hours and amount of teaching, across different classes and year groups. Another change is we have male Japanese teachers, who turn out to be my favourites.

Matsumoto-sensei would be a legend in the making, if it wasn't for the fact that he seemed to already achieve legendary status based on word-of-mouth via my predecessors at Doshisha. Every class he teaches is just filled with such energy with a healthy dash of self-deprecating humour that you can't help but join in. Now that our class has gotten chummy with each other, it makes for some very entertaining off-tangent discussions, all in an atmosphere where you don't feel like a fool if you make a mistake. Plus, he never fails to give thorough explanations for trickier language aspects, peppered with pitch-perfect textbook-quality examples. I consider myself very lucky to have 3 lessons with him a week. The only other regular male teaching staff member in the Japanese language department is Manita-sensei, who has a rather bizarre sense of humour which others find a little disconcerting, but he always cracks me up, so I can't complain.

Perhaps the most unsual class so far has been a writing comprehension class which has introduced me to The Church of Paragraph Writing, which, via the aid of post-it notes, is designed to optimise one's essay/notice construction to make clear and precise sentences in the best structure possible. The three tenents of Paragraph Writing remind me of the Hardeep Singh Kohli documentary on Scientology (and the opening verse to Queen's It's A Kind of Magic):

1. One word, one meaning
2. One sentence, one point,
3. One paragraph, one topic

I've yet to fully understand what it all really means, but I am intruiged to see how it all plays out. Similarly, the speaking class is built on repetition, repetition, repetition. In particular, the 'Shadowing' exercise, in which we all recite scripted conversation together, turns into a babbling mess, albeit an entertaining one. Perhaps we can all do it to music over the coming weeks; every school and kindergarten I pass on the way to Mukaijima station - and there are a fair few - seems to have singing, music and learning off by heart pouring out every day, so this seems like a university extension of such a teaching method.

As for the actual classrooms, if you've seen Battle Royale, you have a pretty good idea already - chunky sliding doors, raised platform at the front with stand and microphone, big green chalkboard. A green little National/Panasonic is plugged into the wall beside the chalkboard and turns out to be a hoover box for chalkboard wipers, which reveals why the board's are always so immaculate after a day's scribbling. However, my biggest bugbear are the desks. The majority of them have the ability to fold out in front, but that means there is zero legroom and I frequently bash my shins against the folded desk half - leading to frequent cussing and my football shinjury taking even longer to heal (scab gone, still pink and tender). I don't know how anyone can cope with such stunted seating space. And furthermore, the little cubby holes under the desktop cause further knee bashing and make forgetting your work folder even easier (as I did today...very annoying).

So, at the mo, its a bit of a mixed bag, and the schedule is really taking its toll on my waking life, but, in the words of Mr. Bedingfield, I gotta get thru this...

And on a completely unrelated note, in case you hadn't take note, I note that two teaser trailers for Hot Fuzz are now available to view in all their hilarious glory here and here. The self-references! Wells locations! Souljacker Part I by Eels! How's that for a slice of fried gold?