Mt. Fuji Taiko Drum Festival

This weekend was the Mt. Fuji Taiko Drum Festival.  Teams from all over Japan come to Mt. Fuji to play Taiko drums in a weekend long competition.  No idea what they're judged on but there's a bit of money and some drums as prizes.  The committee that organize it have created this massive Taiko drum which I think is one of the biggest ones you can find around the place.  The sound of it is incredible.











Shaved ice or 'kakigohri' is especially famous in Japan's hot and humid summer and you can find any flavour at all the festivals.

My first Japanese Candy

Japanese candy is infamous for being weird crazy and mind bogglingly fun.  An entire food science industry is devoted solely to making sweets more interesting to the senses.

Sometimes you can find your normal pop-candy which seems to be a supercharged version of what you get at home, but other times you can find full kits of 'mini - food' which you assemble yourself into mini burgers, mini yakisoba or pancakes.

Today I bought my first kit.  Sushi.  I had fun making it.  The creation and the sheer satisfaction had by a mini chemistry set on your kitchen bench is enough to satisfy any inner child.  What an amazing use of science!

I'll be trying more of these for sure!

Enjoy my video!

My first time Disciplining

There aren't many opportunities for an ALT to get angry and discipline.  Most of that job is handled more than well enough by the Japanese teachers.  Sometimes who can seemingly go from being happy and all smiles to yelling scarily and threateningly at students who were talking to much or not doing something or forgetting a book.

Today the teachers all went to a meeting and the students run their sports activity clubs by themselves again.  Now normally Japanese students love to rough-house around.  Like play fight.  Between classes it's uncommon to NOT see kids in headlocks and girls stealing eachothers things and play fighting.  It takes a bit getting used to.  So when you see fighting, you start to tune out a bit.  But today at basketball there was a tousle that just looked a little too serious.  The kids weren't smiling like they usually do.  While the wrestles weren't any different to normal it just felt more serious.

I checked with one of the other students just watching to ask if I should break it up and with a nod I got to be superman and split them up and raise my voice like one of the Japanese teachers.  It doesn't matter what you say, you just make your voice big, loud, deep and threatening.  I can't even remember what I said.  It might have been as simple as 'ENOUGH!'.

The kids instantly stopped what they were doing.  Bowed in apology and went their separate directions and continued to play basketball.  It was so surreal.  It really is amazing how much respect for Authority these kids have.  That kind of power should be used in moderation haha.  With great power comes great responsibility or so they say!

The best part was, later one of the students came up and apologized again and said thanks for stopping him.  Because the other guy was 'An angry spawn of the devil'.  No idea where he learnt that English but it made me chuckle haha.