Skiing in Japan

Japan’s fantastic skiing and snowboarding conditions have long been a well-kept secret, but word is slowly getting out and more people are discovering this hidden gem. Japan has some of the best ski resorts and soft powder snow in the world. There are more than 600 ski resorts through-out the country with the ski season officially starting in December. The best months are considered to be January and February with the best conditions offered during this time. The three best areas for skiing in Japan are Nagano in the Japan Alps on the main island of Honshu, Hokkaido, the island furthest north in Japan with Siberian-blasted highlands, and Niigata also on the main island of Honshu on the Sea of Japan coast.

Nagano 

Nagano is only a short two hour bullet train ride from Tokyo, and offers some of the best resorts in Japan. It was home of the 1998 Winter Olympics and a fabulous place to ski or snowboard. Nagano’s winter season is December to early April. One of the highlights is Hakuba, with its snow laden peaks and valleys. Hakuba has deep winter snow falls and plenty of soft powder snow with seven different ski resorts. One of the best ski resorts in Hakuba is Happo-One with excellent mountain views and runs for beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders. Shiga Kogen is also highly recommended and hosted several events at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. It is in fact one of the largest ski resorts in the world. It offers 21 different areas with a variety of terrain to suit all styles and type of skiers and snowboarders.

Prices

Happo-One Ski Resort Day Lift Ticket 4600 yen ($46 USD)
Equipment Rental 2500 - 3000 yen ($25 - $30 USD)
Shiga Kogen Day Lift Ticket 4800 yen ($48 USD)

Hokkaido 

Hokkaido is about a 90 minute flight from Tokyo and was also a Winter Olympic venue in 1972. Hokkaido’s winter season is November to early April with some ski resorts still having snow until early May. Sapporo is the cosmopolitan main city on Hokkaido, but does not get a lot of snow until early December. The best places are ski resorts like Niseko, Furano, Rusutsu and Kiroro. Niseko is probably the best ski resort in Hokkaido and can be reached either by bus or a picturesque train journey through beautiful winter landscapes. Niseko is exactly what you would expect a Japanese ski village to be. It is a blend of traditional Japanese houses and environment with modern touches such as traffic lights, apartments and hotels. The skiing in Niseko is first class, featuring deep snow, long runs and soft powder snow. The Niseko ski area usually receives around 15 meters of snow every year. Day tickets are cheap, usually about half of what you would pay in Australia and with no long lift queues as there are 43 lifts. Niseko United is the name of a group of four connected resorts here that you can ski or snowboard on with a single all-mountain pass.

Prices

Niseko United One Day Pass 5900 yen ($59 USD)

Niigata 

Niigata located on the Sea of Japan coast in the Chubu region of Japan is just over 2 hours away from Tokyo. Niigata offers over 50 ski resorts and excellent skiing and snowboarding conditions. Most of the resorts are either located in the Myoko or Yuzawa area. One of the best is the Naeba Ski Resort in Yuzawa with 27 courses of varying skill level. It has been very popular now for many years due to is easy access from Tokyo (80 minutes by train) and long snow season. The ski season runs from November to May.

Prices 

Naeba Day Lift Ticket 4000 yen ($40 USD)
Equipment Rental 4300 yen ($43 USD)

General Prices 

Lift pass usually range in price from 4000 yen ($40 USD) to 5500 yen ($55 USD) a day. Ski gear and clothing can be hired at most resorts, and is very reasonably priced. Full equipment rental might cost you around 5000 yen per day ($50 USD).

If you have any recommendations of places, please leave them in the comments below.

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McDonald’s Japan American Vintage 1970s Soul Food

McDonald’s Japan recently released their new menu series called ‘American Vintage’. The first in the series was the 1950s American Diner, which went on sale across Japan on January 7th. The next to feature in the series is 1970s Soul Food with the Hot & Groovy Burgers. It features the Hot & Groovy Beef and Hot & Groovy Chicken. The burgers are topped with a special Hot & Groovy salsa sauce. The burgers went on sale at the end of January and will remain on the menu until mid-February.

Hot & Groovy Beef 

The Hot & Groovy Beef Burger features two beef patties, two types of cheese (cheddar & white cheddar), shredded lettuce, spicy salsa sauce, jalapeno sauce and buns topped with grinded corn. They were going for a Tex-Mex flavour when designing this burger.

Hot & Groovy Beef

Hot & Groovy Chicken 

The Hot & Groovy Chicken Burger features a crispy chicken patty, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, spicy salsa sauce, jalapeno sauce and buns topped with grinded corn. This one is also meant to have a Tex-Mex flavour.

Hot & Groovy Chicken

The Taste Test 

Japan Australia headed to our local McDonald’s to check out the Hot & Groovy Beef. Unfortunately, we didn’t bump into the Groovy one Austin Powers, but did get our hands on the burger. The Hot & Groovy sauce is nice and spicy and is a good combination with the two beef patties and cheese. We really liked the two types of cheese which gave the burger a strong taste. The buns were soft and fluffy and a little more fancy than the regular McDonald’s buns. The only let down was the jalapeno sauce, which was kind of like a creamy wasabi mayo. It didn’t fit the theme or match the taste of this burger and left us with a funny after-taste. It should have been left out in our humble opinion.

There you have it! If you are in Japan and want to try something Hot & Groovy, give the Hot & Groovy Burgers a try.

Hot & Groovy Beef all boxed up

Hot & Groovy Beef opened up

Hot & Groovy Beef close up

McDonald’s Japan Website

1970s Hot & Groovy Burgers

Setsubun 2014

February 3rd is Setsubun no Hi (節分の日) in Japan, which is a day that marks the change of the season. The word Setsubun literally means a division of the seasons. Setsubun no Hi is not an official national holiday, but a traditional event. It is celebrated in ways meant to drive away evil spirits and bad luck and bring in good luck and happiness. Setsubun is also known as the Bean-Throwing Festival, and is one of my favourite festivals here in Japan.

The next day, February 4th, is called Risshun (立春) and marks the official start of the spring season in Japan.

Setsubun Traditions and Customs 

It is custom on Setsubun for people of all ages to throw soybeans and shout “Oni wa soto. Fuku wa uchi”, which basically means out with the demons and in with good luck! It is traditionally believed that the throwing of beans and shouting would drive away the demons of misfortune and thus allow prosperity. In many Japanese homes the father or oldest male in the house will play the role of a demon and wear a mask such as the one below.

'Oni' Demon Mask and Setsubun Beans

When we throw beans outside of the house, we shout “Oni wa soto”, which means out with the demons. We also throw beans in different rooms of the house to scare away the demons and invite good luck. We do this by facing the good luck direction and shouting “Fuku wa uchi”, which means in with the good luck.

Children will often wear masks representing these bad luck demons.

Oni wa soto

The most famous custom of Setsubun is the mame-maki, or bean throwing. This is held at many Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines in Japan, where dried beans are thrown to the spectators. People try and catch these beans usually with plastic bags or hats. Some of the more popular Temples and Shrines invite celebrities to throw the beans from the stage.

Mame-maki at Kano Temple in Gifu

Another tradition is to eat the number of beans corresponding to your age in the current year (2014). This is meant to bring you good fortune and luck.

Another way to celebrate is by eating a big, long, fat, uncut sushi roll called ehomaki. Eho means “good luck direction” and maki means “roll”. You are meant to face the good luck direction (this year it’s east northeast) and eat the ehomaki with your eyes closed and without talking.

Ehomaki

Every year we visited the Setsubun Festivities at Kano located near the south exit of Gifu JR Station. This place is famous for its huge oni. There are also many street vendors selling all kinds of Japanese festival food.

Kano Temple in Gifu

Large Oni at Kano in Gifu

Another Large Oni at Kano in Gifu

Street Vendors

Here is a video of the mame-maki at Kano in Gifu

KFC Colonel Crispy Potato Chips

KFC Colonel Crispy Chicken flavoured Potato Chips are a collaboration between Japanese snack maker Calbee and KFC. Calbee has long been our favourite Japanese snack maker, famous for their jyagariko potato sticks and light crispy potato chips. These potato chips are flavoured to taste like a piece of the Japanese original Colonel Crispy Chicken that is sold at KFC stores in Japan. It is basically a crispy boneless chicken strip with a hint of garlic and soy sauce.

They went on sale at convenience stores across Japan on January 6 and other stores from January 13, and will be available for a limited time. The potato chips sell for 148 yen (USD$1.48).

The package features the famous logo of Colonel Sanders on the front, while the back of the package has a discount coupon. The coupon can be used to receive a piece of the Colonel Crispy Chicken for 140 yen instead of the usual price of 170 yen. It is valid until March 23, which is not a bad spot of marketing if you ask me.

KFC Colonel Crispy Potato Chips

How Do They Taste? 

Pretty good! The smell of fried chicken hits you straight away as you open up the bag. There is a generous amount of chips and the chicken flavour is spot on. It really does taste like a piece of the Colonel’s Crispy Chicken.

Check out our Video below

Calbee Japan Website

Sumo Japan’s Traditional Sport

Sumo is Japan’s traditional national sport and is one of the most popular spectator sports in the country. Sumo has its roots in ancient Shinto religious rites to ensure good harvests. It is believed to be at least 1500 years old. For me it is the traditional aspects and rituals of this ancient sport that really appeal. I will briefly explain about some of the more common traditions and rituals in this post. Sumo wrestlers are known as rikishi and compete in a 4.55 diameter ring called a dohyou (土俵). The ring is made of rice straw bales topped by a platform made with clay mixed with sand. A new dohyou is built for each tournament. Even today, special offerings of Japanese rice are buried in the center of the dohyou to appease the gods.

The rules to sumo are quite simple but it’s the rituals surrounding the sport that most find complicated. In many ways the rituals are just as important as the match itself. The rules are the wrestler tries to either push his opponent out of the ring, or unbalance him so that some part of his body other than the soles of his feet touch the ground. Rikishi make distance attacks by using open handed blows, slaps, leg sweeps as well as wrestling with a grip on each other’s belts.

A key concept in sumo is kokyu or coordination of breath and movement. The sumo match begins when both rikishi believe they have synchronized their breathing. The concept of kokyu is considered to be uniquely Japanese.

Professional sumo is run by the Japan Sumo Association and there are no weight classes in sumo. Sumo wrestlers start young and at the age of around 15 years old traditionally join one of the training stables heya of wrestlers. The stables are usually run by retired wrestlers oyakata and the young wrestlers work their way up through the ranks. The wrestlers are required to live in a communal setting where all aspects of their daily lives are dictated by strict tradition.

Modern sumo started back in 1757 as a functioning sport with ranks and record-keeping in place. The sumo rankings are based on a strict hierarchy that dates back to the Edo period. The wrestlers are promoted or demoted according to their performance through-out the six official tournaments held during the year. There are six divisions in sumo with the top division makuuchi receiving the most attention. The majority of wrestlers are maegashira and are numbered from one (top) down to about sixteen or seventeen. In each rank there are two wrestlers with the east designated a higher rank over the west. For Example, #1 east, #1 west, #2 east, #2 west, etc. Above maegashira are three champion or titleholder ranks komusubi, sekiwake, and ozeki. These are not numbered and are in ascending order. At the top is the pinnacle of yokozuna or Grand Champion. It is very difficult to become a yokozuna and the criteria is very strict. An ozeki must win consecutive tournaments or have many strong performances to even be considered for promotion to yokozuna. It is possible for more than one wrestler to hold the rank of yokozuna at the same time.

Sumo today still retains traces of its Shinto past with many ancient traditions still followed. This includes the shrine like roof that hangs over the ring and the gyoji (referee) who still wears a dagger. It is said that the dagger was to allow him to commit ritual suicide seppuku if he made a bad referring decision. Some of the pre-game rituals include the wrestlers throwing salt into the dohyou to purify the ring, and stomping his legs and clapping his hands to drive away evil spirits from the dohyou.

Sumo wrestlers are huge in size and achieve this bulk by eating large quantities of a fattening stew called chanko-nabe.

There are six grand sumo tournaments annually in Japan with each lasting 15 days. The tournaments are held in January, May and September in Tokyo, in March in Osaka, in July in Nagoya and in November in Fukuoka.

Each tournament starts on the Sunday closest to the 10th of the month. The top ranking wrestlers appear in the late afternoon, so this is usually the most crowded time. If you want to beat the crowds arrive early and watch the lower ranking wrestlers in the morning.

Tickets range in price depending on the position. Front row seats can cost around 14,000 yen (USD$140) while second floor tickets range from 2,000 – 4,000 yen (USD$20-40).

If you are in Japan when there are no tournaments on, but still want to see a sumo bout, visit one of the sumo stables to watch training. Morning practice starts at around 7 am and the best time to watch it is usually 2 weeks before the start of a tournament.

The season has already started with the first tournament of 2014 the hatsu basho in Tokyo. The big interest this year will be whether yokozuna Hakuho can break the all-time record of tournament victories. He currently stands at 27 victories with the record at 32 set by Taiho. Japanese interest will once again be on ozeki Kisenosato, who had a great year last year and is close to becoming the first Japanese yokozuna in many years. A tournament victory here in the current hastu basho would probably be more than enough to secure him promotion to the highest rank.

The Grand Sumo Tournament Schedule for 2014

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McDonald’s Japan ‘American Vintage’ 1950s American Diner

McDonald’s Japan recently released their new menu series called ‘American Vintage’. The first in the series is the 1950s American Diner, which went on sale across Japan on January 7th. It features three new menu items, which are the Diner Double Beef, Diner Honey Mustard, and Classic Fries with Cheese. Japan Australia being a burger lover and very curious ventured out to our local McDonald’s to check it out.

Diner Double Beef 

The Diner Double Beef looks very interesting and is served with Chicago-style steak sauce and mashed potatoes. It also includes cheese, onions and an egg. The Chicago-style steak sauce includes roughly grounded black pepper, roasted garlic, and is sweetened with apple juice & raisins as well as flavoured with wine. It was created to resemble a typical meal at a 1950s American Diner, or with that image in mind.

Diner Double Beef

Diner Honey Mustard 

The Diner Honey Mustard comes with a crunchy chicken breast, honey and North American mustard sauce, grilled bacon, cheddar cheese and lettuce. It was created with a harmony of flavours in mind.

Diner Honey Mustard

Classic Fries with Cheese 

Classic Fries with Cheese is your standard McDonald’s French Fries topped with a cheese sauce and bacon flavoured topping. It was created with a typical American Stand or Stadium Snack in mind.

Classic Fries with Cheese

The Taste Test 

What did we think?

The Diner Double Beef was pretty good. We liked the double beef patty and egg which made this burger very filling. The Chicago style steak sauce was tasty with strong bold flavours and very peppery. The real winner for us was the silky smooth mashed potato sauce at the bottom, which reminded us of a creamy mayonnaise.

The American Vintage 1950s American Diner Double Beef

The Diner Double Beef  Out of the Box

The Diner Double Beef Under the Skin

The Diner Honey Mustard lived up to its name and had a nice balance of flavours. The sweet honey combined well with the stronger spicier mustard sauce. This wasn't quite as filling as the Double Beef but was the better tasting burger in our opinion.

American Vintage 1950s American Diner Honey Mustard

The Diner Honey Mustard Out of the Box

The Diner Honey Mustard Up Close and Personal

The Classic Fries with Cheese was a real disappointment. The cheese had that fake processed cheese taste and the bacon flavoured topping didn't taste like bacon at all. You also have to assemble this yourself as you can see in the pictures below. Just stick to the regular fries which are great tasting on their own.

Classic Fries with Cheese Ready to be Assembled

Step 1 Regular Fries in the Box

Step 2 Add the Cheese Sauce

Step 3 Add the Bacon Flavor Topping

Classic Fries with Cheese Fully Assembled

McDonald’s Japan Website

Teaching English in Japan

Teaching English is the most common form of employment among foreigners in Japan. The demand for English teachers is still strong, but the market is a lot more competitive than it used to be in the 1980s/90s. Today you need a lot more qualifications and experience to satisfy most recruiters and get your foot in the door of the better companies out there. We will go into more detail a little later on about what recruiters look for and prefer in potential candidates. There has also been a big push recently by Mombukagakusho (Ministry of Education) for English as a compulsory subject in Elementary School in Japan. This will only increase further as the demand for English increases with the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Here is a little about the main types of teaching jobs here in Japan.

Types of Teaching Jobs in Japan 

English Conversation School 

English Conversation Schools or Eikaiwa (英会話) in Japanese are the most popular form of teaching English in Japan. These positions are usually paid by the hour with a mixed schedule involving a lot of evening and weekend work. The students usually range in age from about 2 years old in kids classes to 80 years old. Typical working hours will fall somewhere in between 10am to 9pm. Morning shifts might be from !0:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Evening shifts 1:00 pm to 9:00pm. Classes are usually around 45-50 minutes long, with class sizes typically varying from 1-10 students. Most English Conversation School positions on average will receive around 1-2 weeks holiday per year. Monthly wages on average are around ¥250,000 depending on the company. The most famous eikaiwa schools are ECC, Aeon, Nova, Gaba Corporation and Shane Corporation.

ALT Assistant Language Teacher 

Most ALTs work through a dispatch company in the public school system in Japan. Typically they are placed in Elementary or Junior High with a few working in Senior High. Typical working hours will fall between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm with an 8 hour work day. Class sizes will vary from usually 20-40 students, depending on the school and location. Most ALT positions on average will receive around 8 weeks holiday per year. Monthly wages usually range from ¥200,000 to ¥260,000 depending on experience and the company. One of the best ALT companies in Japan is ALTIA CENTRAL who are based in Nagoya with contracts in the Tokai area and beyond.

Preschool and Kindergarten 

Working with the students at a Japanese Preschool or International Kindergarten can be a lot of fun, but generally require specific qualifications and experience teaching children. These types of teachers typically work 8 or 9 hours a day, 5 days a week with around 4 weeks holiday per year. Monthly wages usually range from ¥250,000 to ¥300,000 depending on experience and the company. It is hard work with a busy schedule, but very rewarding with the chance to bond with your students and their parents.

Business English 

This type of teaching in Japan is aimed at corporations who look to teach their employees basic English for dealing with overseas clients and connections. They are generally paid by the hour and more lucrative than both eikaiwa and ALT work. Lessons can take place either during regular working hours, or in the evening after the employees have finished work.

Basic Requirements 

The basic requirements for most teaching positions in Japan include the following:

1. Native English Speaker 
2. BA / BS Degree (in any field) 

These are typically required in order to secure a work visa for the applicant.

Preferences by recruiters include:

1. A BA / BS in Education/Linguistics/English/Japanese/East Asian Studies 
2. At least a basic level of Japanese ability 
3. ESL or TEFL certification 
4. Teaching or tutoring experience 

Application Process 

You can submit your resume and apply for jobs any time as companies are always looking for potential applicants. The biggest recruiting periods for ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) in Japan is November/December for April starts (school year starts in April in Japan) and May/June for September starts. Most of the major companies now recruit overseas, so you can even set up an interview in your home country, which makes the whole process a lot easier.

The Best Resources for Looking for Work in Japan 

The biggest & best resource for finding a job in Japan is GaijinPot who have a large listing of jobs through-out Japan. I also recommend sites like Jobs in Japan and My Shigoto