After orientation in Tokyo, we boarded a plane for a one
hour plane ride to Izumo Airport in Shimane. I was beyond excited to see what
Shimane was like. It was a clear day so we were able to see Mt. Fuji out of the
airplane window as we passed by it (pretty hard to miss!). As we descended, I
could see land and some large lakes on one side of the airplane, and ocean on
the other. Even from the airplane it was beautiful, and after Tokyo, I was
relieved to see a lot less buildings and civilization and a lot more mountains
and rice fields. At the airport, I was met by my two supervisors (a man and a
woman who both work at the Board of Education… both are very nice and
friendly), and the other two BOE JETs in Yasugi. We all went out to lunch and
then drove the hour back to Yasugi. We went to the BOE so I could introduce
myself to the people there, and then we went to my new apartment!
Apartment
I live in the central part of Yasugi as opposed to the outer
towns, so my apartment is in a pretty populated area. There are apartments all
around and I’m very close to one of the main roads in Yasugi (as well as the
freeway). But, there is a rice field directly behind my apartment and a large
river that runs alongside it, which reminds me of how “country” this place
really is. I love it though! It makes for an interesting view with houses,
power lines, and a rice field right in the middle J
Here are some pictures of my apartment. I was really lucky
that my predecessor left it completely furnished for me… I didn’t have to buy
any essential items during my first days. Also, the building is pretty new so
not many bugs have gotten into my apartment yet (knock on wood). The apartment
is in a Western style rather than Japanese, so the floors are wood rather than
tatami. Tatami is a traditional mat made from igusa (a type of grass) and is in
a lot of Japanese homes. I really like the smell of tatami (it’s sort of earthy)
and it’s more comfortable to sit on (a lot of Japanese people sleep on futons
on tatami floor), but wood is easier to clean so I can’t complain.
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| The main room of my apartment |
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| My kitchen... excuse all the luggage |
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| The views from my window |
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| The river near my house... really dry because of the lack of rain |
Driving
I realized pretty quickly after arriving in Yasugi that
having a car is pretty much essential here. For two days after my arrival I was
car-less and so my supervisors had to drive me around everywhere. There is a
train that runs through Yasugi and connects it to Yonago and Matsue, the two
larger cities that Yasugi sits between. But as far as getting around within the
city itself (Yasugi is about 260 square miles, but the area I mostly drive in
is maybe 50 or 60 square miles), there are only buses. Most everyone drives though,
because the buses are not very frequent and of course, don’t go everywhere.
My aunt who lives in Osaka has a friend who is a car dealer
and he was able to find me a pretty good deal on a car. It is a kei car- kei
cars are a lot smaller than the typical cars in the States (those are called
white-plate cars here) and have smaller engines. Mine is about 15 years old but
with only about 50,000 miles on it. I call him Trooper because although he’s
not the newest car and sometimes makes creaky noises, he gets me where I need
to go. Kei cars sometimes feel like toys car to me- not only are they pretty
small and boxy, but because the engines are so small going up slopes always
makes the car slow down considerably. Sometimes it feels like I’m driving a
golf cart :D
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| The hill-killing machine |
One thing I was a little worried about before I came is
driving on the left side of the road, but it was surprisingly easy to get used
to. I never went the wrong way down a street or anything, but I did
accidentally hit the wrong lever many times in the first couple weeks (turning
on the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers). The harder thing was getting
used to the narrow roads. All the roads in Japan are much narrower than they
are in America. Not dangerously so, but just enough so that you have to slow
down when another car is coming towards you and pass by each other carefully.
Also, the shoulders are pretty much nonexistent- maybe a foot at most. So in
areas where there are no sidewalks, people just walk on the street and you have
to give them a wide berth.
One more thing about driving… gas! Gas is sold by the liter
here and right now, one liter is around 142 yen, or about $1.80. Doing the
math, it’s almost $7 a gallon… ouch. My car is about a 20 liter tank, so to
fill it up usually costs me about $40 and lasts a week or two, depending on how
much I drive. Expensive stuff!
Overall though, I think having a car might be contributing
to my loving this place. I love having the freedom to go anywhere, anytime, and
find new things on my own. It’s a great feeling!
Food
Going to the grocery store also takes a bite out of my
wallet; food is definitely more expensive here than back home. There is a
discount grocery store in my town that has pretty good prices though, so I
mainly shop there. Some differences from the States that I’ve noticed:
- Fruit is a lot more expensive here, which is
probably the biggest bummer for me. I’m used to eating a lot of fruit, but
here, pretty much the only fruit I eat regularly is bananas. They’re about the
same price as they are back home. Oranges are about $3.50 for 5, but apples are
worse. Right now because it’s fall, they’re “cheap,” but still about $1 each.
Asian pears and persimmons are also in season so I’ve been buying those lately.
But anything not in season or not grown in Japan is usually crazy expensive.
It’s hard to get used to paying a ton for fruit!
- There are a lot more fish and seafood varieties
here, most of which are things I don’t think I’ve ever eaten. It’s also pretty
cheap, so I’m going to try and experiment with new things. Meat is also not too
expensive, especially chicken and pork.
- This isn’t really about food, but at the grocery
stores, everyone brings their own reusable grocery bags. If you forget them,
the plastic bags for your groceries cost about 5 cents each. It’s interesting
because there are those reusable bags in America too, but I don’t see many
people using them. Here, you have to use them or you pay. Really interesting to
see how environmentally conscious behavior is sometimes enforced in this
country while in America, it is only suggested.
Garbage
Speaking
of the environment, the garbage system here is crazy! Each city has its own
rules for garbage, and in Yasugi, garbage is sorted into about 16 different
categories. Burnables, plastics, plastic bottles, cans, glass, paper, and many
more. Milk cartons even have their own category! While I’m sure having the
consumer sort the garbage and recycling makes it easier overall on the
sanitation workers, I have to say I miss the simple two “garbage and recycling”
categories in America. Also, all of these categories are picked up at different
times and at different frequencies. So while burnable garbage (which is what
leftover food goes in) is picked up twice a week, plastics and paper are only
picked up twice a month.
