Kaho Gekijou meets Hip Hop

Busy weekends like these make me truly appreciate the other weekends I occasionally have where I just sit at home all day and relax.


On Saturday, my friend's dance school was having its 15th anniversary dance showcase event. The cool thing about it was that they rented out a traditional Japanese theater for the venue, so it was my first time seeing one.


My friend needed people to help out with "pushing a huge thing for the stage." That's what she told me - I had no idea what she was talking about, but I figured I'd help out anyways. When I got there on the day of the first rehearsal, I found out what it was:


The stage actually sits on an axle that allows it to rotate and turn. Below the stage, there are 12 wooden poles attached to the device and when pushed, the stage rotates (you can see the circular shape on the stage in the other pictures). I think they said that the stage was about 500kg but either way, it was pretty heavy, not to mention with the added weight of the dancers on top. The very first time we tried, we realized we couldn't even get the thing going unless someone shouted a "1, 2, 3 GO!" signal. Pushing this thing with 11 other people brought to my mind images of slaves below the deck rowing a Viking boat or Israelites building the Pyramids. This was a little more fun, though.

On another note, I'm always impressed by how Japanese people do such a good job at dressing right for the occassion. The childrens' hairstyles, costumes, everything were crazy!

Hanami: The Only Time of the Year When It's Okay to Spend the Whole Day Drinking

Every year, for just 2-3 weeks, or even shorter, the pinkish white cherry blossoms bloom, signaling the start of Spring and along with the blooming flowers, the people, their mats, and their beer come out as well. At every park, you'll see people everywhere sitting on their mats drinking together, as well as tents set up for selling food, drinks, and toys.


Japanese people say that the harsher and colder the winter, the more beautiful the flowers will be. I remember hearing something like that before so I looked it up and found it:

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.
- Fa Zhou (Mulan's dad)

Anyways, with the weather finally coming around, we decided to head out to the park and "do hanami." Armed with our beers, a lot of snacks, our mats, and Taboo (the word game), we ended up spending about 6 hours at the park just chilling, drinking, and enjoying each others' company under the cover of the beautiful trees!

the petals were falling like snow

I can't help but admire the Japan's appreciation for the simple pleasures in life such as this. And fine, I'm sure there's other days that the Japanese devote to drinking all day like this, too.

after kicking the tree, he said, "Japan is K1!"

everyone loves hanami

Until next time!

New York Burger, Iizuka

One of the things I absolutely love about my living situation in Iizuka is the sheer convenience of where I'm located. Everything I need to function and live is no further than a 15 minute bike ride away. And that includes food!



Our most frequented place is the "old lady restaurant," but every now and then, when we get a severe craving for burgers, this is where we go.

teriyaki burger

egg burger

And everything comes in these easy-to-read, foreigner-friendly signs with English titles (: They've got about 16 different burgers on their menu from what I remember.




From Shin Iizuka Station, walk left and look for a building significantly taller than the rest - this is the Shin Iizuka Station Hotel. It's a 3 minute walk or so from the station to the hotel. From there, New York Burger is just on the other side of the parking lot - about a 30 second walk away.

A Simple Compliment Goes a Long Way

posing with one of the guys in the office

Drinking parties with the people you work with in Japan have a special culture to them that all foreigners love to talk about.

That guy at my school never spoke to me once - I actually thought he didn't like me - and then at the party the other night, he just came up to me to talk and his English was amazing!

...or something to that effect. These drinking parties are often the few times in the year where we, the ALTs, get to really interact with, learn about, and get to know the people in our office.

My office (I work at a Board of Education office as opposed to a school) is really laidback and everyone is really friendly actually, but because unlike us (the ALTs), everyone is typically busy, we don't often get the chance to hang out and talk. That's why these parties are so great and I love them.

us and our supervisor! he's at a new office now

Last night was the farewell party for all of the people leaving our office. The whole time I've been working here, I always noticed that one of the guys (he was leaving) from the accounting section always wore pretty nice ties, or he at least matched them well. I never spoke to him before - I never had any reason to do so, really - but tonight, with the alchohol flowing and the party coming to an end, I walked up to him.

Hey! We've never had the chance to talk, but I just wanted to tell you that I love the ties you're always wearing. They're great!

Ohhh, thank you so much! Ah you know what? Here! You can have my tie!

Dannng, thanks! Wait, what's your name? I'm Toma.

Oh, I'm Ikuta.

And I became the owner of a new...er, used tie.

The Ultimate Planner...sort of

In an effort to become more organized with my (and some other person's) life, I realized that despite how good my cell phone calendar is, and despite how good google calendar is, sometimes I just need a physical, tangible reminder of what's coming up.

As a result, I decided that I need a planner!!



But thinking back to when I used to use the free JET Programme planner that was given to us, I remembered how I rarely used it because of its awkward proportions and just because of the fact that I didn't want to carry around JUST a planner. Remembering those things, it got me thinking...

What do I really need in a planner? Why didn't I carry around the JET Programme planner?



And eventually, I came to this conclusion:

Hey, I'm a designer, so why don't I just design my own planner?



And thus, I began my journey to design the planner perfect for myself.



I began to brainstorm, trying to figure out my own thoughts and understand what exactly it was that I needed and wanted in a planner. After some brainstorming and some research involving looking at other planners, I figured out what I wanted:

• something that was comfortable to carry and even more important, something that was easy to open up and write in (some planners are so small and thin that you have to force them to stay open, thus making them difficult to write in)
• something that provided me with space to sketch, to doodle, to journal, etc.
• more specifically, i realized i didn't need a page for every week
• along the same lines, a 2-week page or 1-month page would be good
• and i would like a space for general weekly/monthly notes

With that, I began doodling and experimenting with different layouts and ways of organizing things. I realized along the way that organizing a page layout is very similar to organizing space in a plan or section for a room or building, as well!



With these thoughts, I stumbled upon a number of layouts and designs, some better than others, some more successful than others, and some just straight up cooler than others.

Here's the result of the 2 week process, done slowly over 2 weeks:

those first 2 were supposed to be "full scale sketches" but i figured i'd just try them out and see how they work out. after drawing those 2 out, i brainstormed a little more and eventually was able to break away from the rigidity that accompanies typical planners.

the following pages haven't really been used yet or sketched on.

Fun stuff! May 25th to June 5th might be a little hectic, though...hehe

Come August, when I'm completely finished with every page, I'll be able to see how each page has transformed with the addition of doodling, random notes, and scheduling. Just like any architectural design, a space fully-utilized, bustling, is something completely different from when it was just completed and not in use yet; and so it is with this blank planner.