From the Editor

神無月 —  Kannatzuki
 “the month of no God”

People believed that in October, all the gods and deities gathered at Izumo Shrine (near modern Matsue in Shimane Prefecture), so they regard it as the “Month of Gods”. In a sense, for other Prefectures, it was a "Month of No Gods".

To those of you going to JALT, have a good time.  To those who aren’t, enjoy the time off. Remember to send your articles, ads, rants and reviews into either my work or home address.  Till next month…

Welcome New Trainers

FIA would like to welcome three new trainers this month, Aaron, Matt, and Kinsella. Good luck and enjoy your time here!

Here are some of Aaron's vital statistics:

Where are you from? Harrison, Arkansas

How long have you been in Japan? I’ve spent a total of 5.5yrs in Japan.  Before I came to FIA, I was working in Mie-ken.

What do you do in your free time? In the winter I love to snowboard, but in the off-season I unwind by playing World of Warcraft (online game).

Been anywhere special in Japan? I’ve been to the top of Mt Fuji.

Have you changed much since being in Japan? I don’t think I’ve changed much, but if I have it’s probably been to become more open-minded.

Anything else? I’m definitely not psychic.

What's Coming up in and out of Shizuoka

Miscellaneous

Kanagawa Folk-entertainment Festival “RetroBeat 2002”

Introduce folk entertaiment perfomance groups in Kanagawa prefecture which children carries next generation on their shoulder is active .performance groups : Yamato-mai Miko-mai preservation society (Isehara city), Futatsuya-bayashi Matsuken-mutsumi (Yokohama city), Tora-odori preservation society (Yokosuka city), Odawara Chochin-odori preservation society (Odawara city), original Japanese drum group Harakara (Odawara city), Ashigara Asobi-no-Gakko (Oi town) , special performance Hachijo-daiko Those who wish to entrance specify your name, the address, a telephone number, the number of admission (good to two per person), etc. in a both-way postcard and apply to the following address.

231-8588 Kanagawa Prefecture, Cultural Department “Kanagawa Folk-entertainment Festival RetroBeat 2002”

<Date>
November 24 (Sunday) 13:00 - 15:00
<Place>
Kanagawa Dome Theater at Yamashita-cho, Naka ward, Yokohama city
<Access>
13 min. walk from Kannai Sta. on the JR Negishi line
<Information>
Kanagawa Prefecture Cultural Department Tel: +81-45-210-38

Festivals—Shizuoka

• Shichi-go-san
  Nov. 15 Shichi-go-san, or Children's Shrine-Visiting Day throughout Japan. "Shichi-go-san" literally means "seven-five-three." Three-year-old boys and girls, five-year-old boys and seven-year-old girls, all dressed in their best, visit shrines with their parents to express thanks to the tutelary deities for their good health and to pray for future blessings. One popular shrine in the area for this occasion is Mishima Shrine. Many families usually visit shrines on Saturdays or Sundays before and around November 15.

What Happened in October

• North Korea tested a nuclear bomb, causing the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on them.
• Google bought popular video-sharing site YouTube for $1.65 billion.
• Cory Lidle of the NY Yankees crashes his light aircraft into an apartment building killing himself and the instructor.
• iTunes’ copy protection code has been cracked by a professional hacker.

Shop, Restaurant and Watering Hole Guide

Vino Giapponese - by Steve

Now I am no expert on wine, but I sure do like a good drop with a meal now and then.  I’ve dabbled in more than a few bottles from the likes of Italy, France, Germany, California, NZ and of course Australia, just as I’m sure many of you have, but I can quite honestly say I know next to nothing about Japanese wines.  So, I put it to my members and they gave some nice ideas on places to visit, and wine to try.

History

It is presumed that Japan was exposed to wine from as early as the 16th century, but wine making never really kicked off until the Meiji era, specifically in the second half of the 19th century in a town called Katsunuma in Yamanashi prefecture.  There are currently around 230 wineries in Japan, in prefectures such as Yamanashi, Nagano, Okayama and Hokkaido, with the top three wineries being owned by Mercian, Suntory and Sapporo.  Without doubt, the most popular and successful wine-making region is our neighbouring prefecture, Yamanashi.  To be certified as a wine maker, it is necessary to obtain a license issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Why is Yamanashi a prime location?

Yamanashi experiences the lowest rainfalls per year in all of Japan.  While this means it is a poor region for growing rice, it tends favourably for fruit growers, particularly peaches and grapes.  On top of this, it is said the strong winds that blow in during autumn and winter, and the fertile, well-drained soil of the Kofu Basin add to the growing of grapes.  However, it is not the ideal location.  High humidity and a fluctuation in temperature from as high as 39deg in summer to –15deg in winter are major obstacles the growers must deal with.

Locations

Katsunuma Wine Cave (勝沼ぶどうの丘)

By far the most highly recommended and famous place to visit is Katsunuma Winery in Yamanashi. This is an excellent link (in English).
A few other places:
Kizan Wine - Yamanashi
Tokachi wine -  Hokkaido
Shimane Winery - Shimane
Sapporo winery in Okayama
Sapporo wine
Mercian wine company
Suntory wine

Near Death in Okazaki - by Dale

Most times team teaching goes without a hitch and of course involves checking out the local watering holes after a hard day behind the desk. This being my first time in Okazaki, and with Chris having only recently started at CHCC, we ventured out to see what we could find and stumbled across NY Roots, the local version of an Irish pub (of course, historically, all the best Irish Pubs have been found in New York—Chris). After imbibing the required pints of Guinness, we came across the Russian Roulette pizza.

As you may guess, out of the 8 slices of pizza, one comes loaded with hot sauce, in this case Dr. Death sauce. We prepared ourselves, and picked up our first slices, and took the first bite with the courage only Guinness can provide. Dr. Death claimed Chris in the first round, as his eyes began to water and he reached for his Guinness (actually, I reached for Dale’s Guinness, my glass was empty at the time—Chris).

Happy to report that the Guinness straightened him out quickly enough (depends who you ask, really, felt like a darn long time to me), and the bartender was equally impressed he was still standing after losing to the Russian Roulette pizza.

If you make it out to CHCC, I highly recommend checking out this place. (I will be happy to act as a guide anytime!)