As luck would have it the day I break my camera is the day the photo gallery on the site is finally fixed. I installed it about a month ago, when my mate Dave tipped me off that the plug in had been updated for Wordpress 2.1, but then it was only working for me and unviewable by anyone else. Which was frustrating to say the least.

So after much mucking about and asking various friends for help and advice, seeing as I’m still learning much about php and things like that, it was Andy who fixed it by figuring out that it was the Google Analytics plug in that was making the page bug. So massive thanks to And for sorting that one out and to Dave for cleaning up the template too. Looks like I’ve still got quite a bit to learn when it comes to things like php :grin:

So anyways you can now access the photo gallery directly by clicking the link in the top menu. The gallery holds all the Flickr albums I’ve published and once you choose an album you can browse its pictures using a nifty flash plugin that will overlay the pics onto the page. Check it out and let me know what you think! I’ll be uploading the last of the pictures I took over the last few weeks today. Now I just need to fix the camera!

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written by Laurent

First I catch a cold the day after going to the park to see the Sakura, because as usual I’m telling myself ‘Oh it’s spring, no need for a coat anymore’ and two days later I’ve got a violent bout of flu. You’d really think I would have learnt by now seeing as this happens to me pretty much every year.

So today, on my day off, I decide that the best option might well be to stay inside, and sweat the bugger out by doing sweet fudge all. But then I get itchy, so I thought ‘hey let’s go and see the Sakura near where I live’. There’s a big cherry tree lane near my house and I had a feeling it would be a sight to behold today. And it was - it made me feel better for it. Nice weather, sun, loads of people about, and loads of pretty cherry blossom.

There I am, biking around feeling slightly dizzy and taking loads of pics. When I stop to take one last picture before going home, and trip on my bike and drop the cam… :mad: Yes as it’s already been pointed out I sometimes am an idiot. I press the power button, cam comes on (my mind is relieved) and suddenly goes off (my mind flips). Oh snap. The lens got damaged in the drop and the cam is now totally out of order. A mere 4 months after I got it - and it was a leaving present too. Wicked, by this point I’m proper pissed with myself, my headache’s got worse and all the niceness from being out is gone swiftly.

I get home, check the warranty and realise that I’m totally screwed. On the off chance I decide to call the Japanese service point mentioned in there, thinking ‘what the heck they might well speak English’. Well they didn’t but I managed to understand after speaking to them that they don’t do digital camera repairs. Great. 300 pounds down the drain, and a fat chance I won’t be able to get it repaired, seeing as a/ my Japanese is still pretty basic and b/ it might well cost me more than a new cam to repair it. And c/ I’ve got to travel over 1h to try my luck with a repair anyways, as the only place I can think of doing this is Akihabara, the electronics avenue of Tokyo. (PS: anyone reading this who can advise on a repair please do - I would be eternally grateful)

Ok, I should have stayed in bed and not been so stupid. So I decide to go to the Ofuro (public bath) to sweat my flu out in the sauna. So far so good, I feel a little better if still pissed at my bad luck and stupidity. As I get back I notice that my bike’s wheels are a little flat. So I grab the pump and see to it. As I pump up the front wheel I get a feeling it’s actually fine but tell myself ‘a couple of pumps can’t hurt’. I unhook the pump, walk away and hear a mighty bang… :???: At which point I think to myself, that’s funny I’ve just pumped the wheels and there’s this lound explosion noise… doubt creeps in, so I walk back to the bike only to find the front wheel completely flatened… ohhhhkay. Time to go to bed I think.

Someone is obviously trying to tell me something - and that is ’stop trying to do sh#t when you’re ill and should be resting’. Ah well the afternoon’s misadventures have cost me more money than I have, and I’m now without a camera (out goes my plan to picture lots of sakura and generally document the arriving spring) and needing to once more carry (or hopefully just push!) my bike to the shop tomorrow morning.

It’s been one of those days I want to forget. So I’m tuning out and going to sleep.

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written by Laurent

Yeeeeees! :mrgreen: Spring is finally here and with it comes nice weather (I can finally ditch the winter coat), smiles, good mood and sakura aka cherry blossom. Sakura is one of the things I’ve been looking forward to the most since coming over - I’ve known about it since I was a kid and seen it in all kinds of movies, anime and pictures but being able to experience it first hand makes all the difference. Finally being able to experience a proper spring after ten years in London is also a great thing. As Ella remarked, spring here is like the British summer - nice and warm. Not looking forward to the actual Japanese summer so much though, which is more like an intolerable sweatbox according to everyone. Ah well, at least we get a good three months of lovely, warm weather and sunshine. Once summer hits I’m legging it up to Hokkaido!

Today was a lovely day so I headed to Hikarigaoka park near where I work with John who I work with, and we snapped loads of pics of people chilling under the trees and kids enjoying half term. Sakura only lasts for about two weeks, and with the unsually hot winter Japan’s been having predictions for the start of sakura have been varying all month. It was supposed to be the weekend just gone but it seems it’s now going to be this coming weekend, which is generally the right time of the year from what I’ve read. However if it gets too windy or rainy, it won’t last long so I’m hoping the weather stays clement so we can enjoy it in its full glory. I’ve missed plum blossom, so I’d like to be able to enjoy this one!

And the other great thing about sakura is that it brings Hanami parties (hanami means watching flowers) where people get together and sit under the cherry blossom to ahem watch it… and while you’re watching cherry blossom you might as well make it more entertaining by drinking :lol: which is also what Hanami parties are for - getting together with a bunch of friends, drinking and just generally enjoying the weather and nature. Which as John remarked today as we walked through the park is a great way to celebrate the occasion - and while the Japanese might be hard working like no one else, when they relax and have time off (like some people do at the moment) they sure as hell know how to relax.

Already the other day when we went for a bike ride around where we live people where starting the Hanami sessions early, sitting under early cherry blossom (or partially blossomed trees) and drinking the afternoon away. I can imagine what it’s going to be like once it’s all in full bloom.

If all goes well we’ll be going to a big Hanami party at Kichijoji park on sunday - can’t wait. Until then here’s another Flickr photoset dedicated to sakura, I’ll be updating over the coming weeks with more pics of parks, people and of course cherry blossom.

Sakura Flickr set

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written by Laurent

I really do. On Friday I did a cover day in Ebisu, and I was kinda hoping my last student of the day would cancel so that I could leave at 7.30 instead of 9. And I’ve got to say I’m really glad he didn’t. As it turns out my last student was a guy called Asanao, who is the head of SEO at Excite Japan. Doesn’t sound very exciting? Well it is to me, as SEO was my new favourite area of work before I decided to up and leave for Tokyo.

SEO (or Search Engine Optimisation) is a pretty geeky subject by all means - but when you work in online publishing and content management, like I did and still do in my spare time, it’s a pretty big thing. So anyways turns out this guy is the head of SEO at Excite Japan, a pretty big online directory, search engine and portal. Those of you in the UK might know the name quite well if you browse the net regularly. Excite.com burnt out in the US following the burst of the online bubble, but the Japan (and Italian) branches of the company stayed strong, and in Japan it’s doing quite well.

So we get talking and this guy is telling me about all this new SEO stuff happening out here, including the big new mobile SEO stuff which out here is becoming key in 2007, as a huge portion of the Japanese population accesses online content via their mobile and also uses them for email (SMS is pretty much dead in Japan, though you can still use it). And if you’ve ever rode a train out here you’ll know that to be the case seeing as most people are glued to their mobiles constantly - whether they’re browsing or playing games.

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written by Laurent

Yesterday was the Spring Equinox, when day equals night and Spring officially starts. In Japan the day is a national holiday called ‘Shunbun no Hi’ and part of a week long celebration called ‘Higan’ during which Japanese people pay respects to their ancestors by visiting graves, cleaning them and offering incense and presents to console the ancestral spirits. Shunbun no Hi is also a day when people engage in a communion with nature and a celebration of all living things.

This year it was a beautiful day and, with Japan not subscribing to the Daylight Saving System, the first time in my life that I would actually experience a real Equinox with day and night being equal without having to worry about forwarding my clock before going to bed. So we decided to go to Kawaguchiko (Lake Kawaguchi) one of the five lakes in the periphery of Mount Fuji, and apparently one of the best places from which to observe and witness the majesty of Japan’s most famous attraction, and quite possibly one of the world’s best known mountains.

I can see Fujisan (the Japanese name for the mountain - which shows the respect and adoration which the Japanese have for the old volcano) from where I live on a clear day, however no matter how impressive it’s been to see the mountain from where I live and work, nothing could quite prepare me for witnessing it from close up.

The journey to Kawaguchiko took about 2h30, with a beautiful train ride from the west of Greater Tokyo into the mountains, via hills, valleys and quiet little villages - all of which are served by a train which rides all the way into central Tokyo. Once in Otsuki, the terminus of the Tokyo JR line we had to switch to a local train, which took us to Kawaguchiko. As with a lot of Japanese trains it seems that the word express is most definitely used loosely - we took the express train rather than the local, a difference of only 10 minutes and at the pace the train goes you really wonder who in the hell thought it’d be a good idea to call it express.

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written by Laurent

Damn what a night. Been waiting for this since I came over - Mala from Digital Mystickz playing the main room at UNIT nightclub alongside Goth Trad and Doc Scott at what is normally a dnb only night. The result was superb and well worth me getting near to no sleep and have to work with a frazzled brain :grin: .

It’s got to be said UNIT’s sound system is definitely up there with some of the best I’ve ever witnessed. And definitely gives most big London nightclubs a run for their money. And where else but Japan are you going to find a big club with bins all over the place, lockers for your stuff, drinks dispenser with beer and water and toilets that clean your backside and play soothing sounds to you! (that last one is ladies only apparently though, us men have to contend with simple cleaning options)

Anyways the music was excellent - it was wicked being able to see Mala again after missing him before I left London. Everytime I’ve seen him in the last few years has been a great memory. He brings so much energy and amazing music it’s always a pleasure witnessing it. This time round was no different with an hour and a half of old and new tracks, and plenty of unreleased dubs I won’t be hearing for a while on a big system. This is the man that most definitely puts the step in dubstep (a shite line I know but I had to say it) - the floor was constantly moving for his whole set, showing the often unrealised potential of the music.

The crowd reaction was amazing too - the whole place was going nuts, and people were seriously loving it. It was crazy seeing Japanese people react to dubs I’ve heard plenty of time as if they’d heard them all before too (which a lot of them probably have thanks to the internet but still). And just in general it was great to see such an amazing reaction to Mala and Goth’s sets from what is normally a dnb crowd. Definitely was an eye opener for a few people by the looks and reactions I was seeing all night.

Goth Trad also came correct with his live set which get better everytime I see them too - the way he just changes it every time, adds to it, tweaks it and just generally fits it perfectly to the mood and the place is wicked. The man has some seriously amazing rhythms and him and Mala playing one after the other was ideal, because in a way their styles really complimented each other perfectly. Mala with his polyrhythmic, bass heavy productions and Goth with his widely diverse rhythms, from grime and dubstep patterns to dirty, technoy styles and all out rave music. All of which are linked by an insane amount of sub bass and serious production talent. It’s just so nice to hear music that is so diverse and just makes you want to move like a nutter all night. I miss that feeling and it’s becoming incredibly rarer when I get it.

But yeah it was incredible, totally worth it and just great to see the reception and how far the sound and vibes have come from their South London beginnings to Tokyo, as well as New Zealand (where Mala is headed next), Russia, America and more. The music never fails to grab you by the chest when you see it live especially when it’s given to you by people like Mala - the man just has the magic touch it’s crazy.

I took a whole bunch of pics which you can see on this Flickr set:
Mala at UNIT Flickr set

In two weeks is the next BTC which is going to be live, and then in May Skream is playing with Zinc and if all goes well Kode 9 is then coming over in July. Bring it on.

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written by Laurent

Since getting a bike life’s been grand - going places is quicker, doing the shopping is easier and it’s a hell of a lot of good fun. Oh and it’s also healthy and good exercise, something I need a lot more of.

So it was only a matter of time I had some troubles with the bike - and obviously that trouble had to be self inflicted. I went to see my mate on friday last week, and decided to leave my bike outside the train station overnight, something I’d done outside another station before and thought wasn’t an issue, especially in Japan where thieving isn’t really a worry. I think the fact that there was a big sign on the ground with a bike crossed out should have been a hint… :neutral:

So when I got there the next day and couldn’t find my bike, it only took me about 10 minutes to realise that I’d either been the victim of thieving (shock horror!) or more likely had it pounded. Luckily a friend of mine helped me out and after a few queries, I did find the bike, in a pound about 30mins from where I’d left it. The best bit? The pound was open, and all I had to do was walk in, unlock the bike and drive off. No fines, or hassles… apart from having to figure out where the bike was in the first place. That’ll teach me to know that big signs with bikes crossed off are likely to mean don’t park here.

That’s not all though, a day later I went to get my bike and cycle to work only to realise I’d lost the lock keys :sad: Which in this case taught me that when you get given a set of two keys for a lock, you should never keep them together because well you lose things don’t you. So after a day of frantically searching around for them I had to carry the bike for 30 mins to the shop to get the lock cut and a new one installed. And then I promptly separated the new keys…

PS: yes I am an idiot sometimes.

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written by Laurent

Resonance FM in London is one of those things that I miss about the city - a totally surreal radio station, operating on a shoe string budget and ran on copious amounts of dedication and a fair amount of oddity (both from the people who work on the shows and the shows themselves). It’s also the UK’s only art radio station and one of the few places where you can hear some truly great music regularly alongside the most intriguing and captivating radio programmes you’ve heard in a long time.

Amongst the myriad of good, and downright mentalist, programmes on offer are some I can’t recommend enough - such as the Rhythm-Incursions show presented by my good friends Mr. Trick and Waxfactor. And another one that’s come to my attention is One Life Left, a gaming related podcast which recently topped the iTunes download chart, a first in the station’s history. The podcast is a mix of reviews, news, trivia and other gaming related non-sense and is produced and presented by famous and not-so-famous contributors from inside the industry.

You can download the award winning show 33 and all the previous sessions over at onelifeleft.com. Click on the archives section or subscribe to the feed.

I’ve also got a soft spot for Resonance because they’re the station on which Turntable Radio, the show I present, started and still play host to the podcasts I regularly air. Unfortunately following what seemed like a stroke of luck in funding last year, they’ve now suffered a massive set back and are down in the shitter money wise, and so they’re having to raise as much money as possible to keep the station and all its shows going. So drop by the site and donate a penny or two thousand - resonancefm.com.

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written by Laurent

On to more lighter things. I’ve been taking lots of pics since being here, and after a lot of random snapping on trains I’ve decided to start two series. One about people on trains and the other about places I see from train windows. The galleries are growing every few week as I add new pics and try to take pics everytime I go on a new line or new place in and around Tokyo.

I find people on trains in this country to be strangely fascinating - maybe it’s the wow factor still having it’s effect, and it definitely was at first, but also there is something about trains and people in this country that interests me. People are so different on the trains than they are in most other public places in Tokyo and the views you get from some of the lines are pretty amazing. From the concrete Blade Runner like jungles of central Tokyo to the more rural greater Tokyo areas.

You can see the sets over on Flickr - so click the links below:

Train People Flickr set

View From a Train Flickr set

Keep checking back for updates, and also you can view the sets in the newly minted Flipside gallery (link in the menu above) though I seem to be having issues with it at the moment (funny that) and so I’m not sure if it works on anything other than Firefox on PC (though apparently even that might not be working according to my mate). I’ll post up once it’s fixed, as it’s got a nifty little plug in to view the pics in a flash stream on the page without going to Flickr (which is quite slow at times).

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written by Laurent

Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be about all teachers and forms of teaching English in Japan. The stories and events reported in there are specific to my experience and the company I work for. They should not be interpreted as being relevant to all forms of teaching in Japan. This is what has happened to me and while I don’t think that it’s the same for everyone, some research and talking with other people has shown that there are good and bad things in all companies and all situations. They’re just my story.

Rouding off on the trials and tribulations of quitting my 9 to 5 to move to Japan and become an English teacher, is the more ugly side of things. As I’ve said before there’s good and bad things, and that’s fine I can take it - it’s life after all. You should always try and take everything that comes to you with a little ‘recul’ (as they say in French) and realise that what goes around comes around.

However there are definitely some ugly things when it comes to English conversation schools in Tokyo. Obviously not anything that is forcing me to leave right now (though even that might not be so easy to do when you’ve packed it all up and are dependent on your job for your housing) but things that definitely make you stop and go ‘wtf!?’

Following from what I mentioned before about school managers, especially franchise owners who aren’t employed by the same company as you, one thing you realise soon enough after teaching for a few months is that no matter what advice you give when it comes to putting students at the right levels for their learning, school managers are likely to ignore you and do what makes the most money. Which means you end up with students who are either on totally the wrong level from the go, or with students who have been studying for so long but haven’t got any better and have done all the books they can do so they are moved to higher levels even though they’re unable to do what the books, or level, requires.

Continue reading »

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written by Laurent

Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be about all teachers and forms of teaching English in Japan. The stories and events reported in there are specific to my experience and the company I work for. They should not be interpreted as being relevant to all forms of teaching in Japan. This is what has happened to me and while I don’t think that it’s the same for everyone, some research and talking with other people has shown that there are good and bad things in all companies and all situations. They’re just my story.

As much as I’d like it to be different, the truth is that even after just 2 or so months teaching English in Japan I’ve come to realise that the reality of the job is quite far off from what is being advertised and sold to you when you sign up. Which I guess isn’t really surprising - nothing is what it seems these days, but when it concerns a fairly radical change in your life, such as moving to the other side of the world, it’s easy to be worried.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying it’s downright untenable and horrible. See my previous post about all the good things that are involved in becoming an English teacher out here. But there are quite a few things which have stuck in my throat from the start, and that of most people who I’ve spoken with and who teach in Japan, whether they have been for a short or long time.

The Eikawa industry in Japan is pretty big business and is primarily controlled by four major companies, all of which are North American. The most famous, both in and out of Japan, is NOVA - a megacorporation of global stature, and which is often referred to as the McDonald’s of the Eikawa industry. NOVA have been getting into a fair amount of trouble these last few years, as documented on the Nambu Union site. These troubles range from what have been claimed to be illegal practices in regards to the treatment of students down to illegal and shady practices in their treatment of staff.

If you look at it from a business point of view, then it’s not that much of a surprise - after all this is business, and like every other business in the world today, its purpose is to make money, not to be nice to people, or care about their needs. I was put off working for NOVA after looking into them, but I’ve met a few people who worked for them before (though mainly outside of Tokyo) and they’ve all seemed to have pretty good experiences - which goes to show that it’s not always all bad no matter how it looks on the surface.

Which leads nicely into my situation, as an employee of a much smaller Eikawa company - which shall remain nameless for the time being. It’s not all bad, far from it, but there are some aspects of the job which were seemingly conveniently avoided or entirely left out when I signed up.

Continue reading »

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written by Laurent

Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be about all teachers and forms of teaching English in Japan. The stories and events reported in there are specific to my experience and the company I work for. They should not be interpreted as being relevant to all forms of teaching in Japan. This is what has happened to me and while I don’t think that it’s the same for everyone, some research and talking with other people has shown that there are good and bad things in all companies and all situations. They’re just my story.

It’s been about 5 months now since I packed up my day job in publishing and decided to become an English teacher on the other side of the world. 2 months were spent training and getting ready and I’m now in my 3rd month of teaching English in Tokyo, as what is commonly known over here as an ‘ekaiwa sensei’ (aka English conversation school teacher).

Part of the reason for doing this was the challenge of doing something entirely new that I’d never done before. After nearly ten years in London, life was becoming a little too dull at times - London has a nasty habit of sucking you in and making it incredibly difficult to get out. No matter how much money you seem to be making, there’s never enough to really get out clean and without any hassles. Ok I was never that good at saving but still - anyone who’s lived there for any length of time will know that life in London is most definitely not cheap.

Don’t get me wrong, life in London was great and if it wasn’t for me moving there when I was 18 I don’t think I’d be here today or I definitely wouldn’t have done 90% of the stuff I have or met the people I did. But no matter how good some of it was, or most of it, the bad always ended outweighting the good for me.

So the idea of packing it all in (albeit at a cost) and doing something new and different on the other side of the world was a challenge I needed. And I’m not regreting it (yet!). And after a few months of working there are some things which have already proved this to be the kind of challenge I think I needed. I’ll start by looking at the good things… I’ll leave the bad and the ugly for later.

Continue reading »

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written by Laurent

I’ve been teaching English in Japan for just over 2 months now, and in that time I’ve heard a good few random things from my students which have either freaked me out a little or downright left me wondering ‘what the hell’.
For example:

- ‘I’ve been playing Majong with some of my co-workers, and I’ve been losing. I owe them 40,000 Yen… no sorry 400,000 Yen is what I mean.’

400,000 Yen is about 2,000 pounds. So what do you say when your student starts the lesson by telling you how he’s been losing money gambling (which is illegal in Japan) and then follows this promptly with…

- ‘The people I play with have said I have 2 months to pay them, but I don’t think they’re serious.’

At which point I actually just didn’t know what to say. Following this the guy didn’t show up for a month, leading me to think that something bad might have actually happened. Turns out he was in hospital, but he didn’t really say what for… :|

A more common comment I’ve been hearing recently is:

- ‘I feel really ill, I’m not too well.’ (followed by bouts of cold, runny nose and wearing of sick mask)

Which automatically prompts me to think - what the hell are you doing in this classroom, on your time off or more like your day off when you could be at home looking after yourself?

This one is a favourite of mine - following a question during a grammar game of whether or not my student liked learning English, he answered:

- ‘No I don’t really.’

So why exactly are you in the classroom on a saturday when you could be at home spending time with your family?

During one of my recent lessons I asked a female student if she ever had a broken heart (the lesson was about past perfect - don’t ask as to the question, it was in the book). Her answer was:

- ‘All the time’

Ouch!

Kids often provide some amusing comments too…

- ‘Hello Baby!’ (when greeting me)

being one of them :-?

There’s more, but I can’t remember them off the top of my head so I’ll leave it for another day.

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written by Laurent

Last night was the 7th installment of Back To Chill, and once more it was a proper skankin and pleasurable affair. Good crowd, good people, good sound, good food (the food was so good, it sold out last night! Big up the curry lady, it sorted me out and it was lush) and good vibes all round. As I said before the night is definitely growing in popularity with every occasion and it showed last night, with a packed dancefloor.

Music wise it was good too, with guest DJ Quarta330 dropping a heavy set (see below for some audio) and the residents coming in good too. Ske played b2b with Hyaku Mado and I played b2b with Goth Trad and it was fuckin dope. Thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to more of the same next month. There was also an MC who got on the mic during Ske and Hyaku Mado’s set and dropped some lyrics in Japanese, which was nice and went down well too.

The next big night is in two weeks, with Mala Mystikz, Doc Scott and Goth Trad playing the main room in Unit and the BTC crew handling the downstairs room. You know it’s gonna be heavy, and it’s looking like Kode 9 might also be putting in an appearance in Tokyo over the summer, which should be dope. All in all it’s definitely shaping up to be an interesting year for the music in Japan.

Didn’t take any pictures this time, but the guys did and you can check a little gallery over at the BTC Blog.

I managed to get some audio of the night, though my laptop packed it in halfway through my set with Goth Trad Next time i’ll have to remember to bring a power plug! Click on the audio player below to listen to Quarta330’s set and about 50 mins of Goth Trad and myself b2b. You can find out more on Quarta330 (and hear his excellent remix of Kode9’s ‘9 Samurai’) on his myspace page.

Next BTC is on the 5th of April!

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written by Laurent