September’s changeable temperament has kept us guessing with hot and humid mornings, the first typhoons of the season and early sunsets. Some of us have enjoyed moments with co-workers at meetings and assorted get-togethers while others have been out-and-about with members and friends alike. With this, the final issue from this committee, your editors; Kinsella, Karen and Chris, take a bow.

Un Voyage Artistique

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Of course you all know me to be a connoisseur of the finer things in life, such as haute cuisine, haute couture, and pretty much anything with the “haute” in it (although I also enjoy the World Wrestling Federation and “haute WWF” doesn’t seem right somehow).  So it came as no surprise that I recently made a trip to the Hakone Open-Air Museum to enjoy the numerous “objects d’art” (that’s “objects of art” for you unsophisticated people).

I was accompanied on my “voyage artistique” by Canon employee Katsuhito Shiratori, his wife Takako, and our detestable colleague Matt.  Mr. Shiratori has been doing an Off-JT class since the middle of July in preparation for a two-year stay in Boise, Idaho, working at the offices of Hewlett-Packard.  Matt taught Mr. Shiratori for a week while I was in Canada.  Mr. Shiratori has been learning phrases that he will be able to use in the US, such as, “Do you know where the post office is?” “Can you tell me what time the shops close?” and “Wow, your house is worth half what you paid for it!”

I’d heard of the Hakone Open-Air Museum before but had never had a chance to go there.  It took us only about 45 minutes to drive there but you can also get there by train, using the Hakone Tozan Railway from Odawara to Chokoku-no-Mori Station  (it’s a 2 minute walk from there).
The museum itself is a wonderful combination of nature and art.. 

 The grounds are quite nice and there are some great views of the hills of Hakone that surround the museum.  The artworks are set out along the pathways so you can discuss their merits as you stroll around.  I would certainly recommend wearing a beret and a cravat and growing a bohemian goatee for the occasion (and don’t forget to take along some wine and a platter of assorted smelly cheeses).  If you really want to impress your companions, say things like, “This piece truly obliterates any neo-Freudian, post-deconstructuralist concepts of aesthetic formalism.”  Anyone who overhears you is sure to say, “Wow, you’re really smart.  Are you going to eat that cheese?”

One highlight of the museum was the “Symphonic Sculpture”.  It’s a tower covered with stained glass on the outside and many flights of stairs on the inside.  From the top there’s a great view of the museum grounds and a refreshingly cool breeze, but the fence around the top was rather low.  When Matt commented “It would be so easy to throw someone over this fence,” I decided that I’d head back down.

Another highlight was the Picasso Pavilion.  The mood inside the building was a bit more somber and serious than the outside, but this didn’t stop Matt from suggesting, “Okay, everyone pick up something and run!”  Of course we didn’t do anything like that (after all, many of the canvases were much too big to fit into the trunk of Mr. Shiratori’s car.)

The Picasso Pavilion provides an excellent opportunity to show off your beret and cravat (although you’ll probably have to leave the cheese outside.)  There are lots of explanations (in English and Japanese) everywhere.  Don’t forget to stroke your goatee and nod knowingly as you read them (this will let everyone know that you’re an expert and you knew all this stuff already anyway).

I learned many things at the Picasso Pavilion.  For example, the years between 1901 and 1904 were Picasso’s “blue period”, because he often used blue in his paintings.  This is because he was depressed at the time (I’d always thought he’d just got a great deal on blue paint at Costco).  Later he found a young girlfriend and then he started using other colors.  I guess he wasn’t so depressed anymore.
Our day ended with dinner at Gotemba Kogan, a fine way to end a very pleasurable recursion.  I would certainly recommend the Hakone Open-Air Museum, if, like me, you love “natural art” or “artistic nature”.  And anyway, how often do you get a chance to wear your cravat?

by Andrew

Daily Toyota

 

I have finally moved from Nagoya to Toyota City.  Before my family and I had been living in a 2DK and it was very cramped.  But now we have a big 3LDK, which we desperately needed with my 2 little kids, older son, wife and I.  Our apartment overlooks downtown Toyota, but in the back is a wooded hillside.  It is about a 10 minute walk to the station.  From the station to CHCC takes only about 20 minutes.  I get to sleep almost an extra hour now in the morning!

Last night we bought 2 bicycles.  After adding child seats, kickstand, locks, and insurance, the total was over 48,000 yen.  But at least we will be able to get around the city.  In the future we hope to buy a new sofa, big screen TV, and an oven...now that we have the space. 

So if anyone would like to visit, spend the weekend in wonderful Aichi, you are more than welcome!

by Dale

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Autumn's The Mellow Time (Allingham)

The sticky days of summer are fast fading, and with them the deranged and murderous thoughts that accompany them...I exaggerate though I must say that pop culture is filled with references to the idea that violent crimes are more likely to occur in a heat wave – think of Summer of Sam, the Spike Lee film about the "Son of Sam" murders in a way too hot New York City where you could, as they say, fry an egg on the sidewalk. Or Body Heat, with its seedy small town lawyer William Hurt and the sultry Kathleen Turner hatching a murder plot in Florida, where it is, as you may have guessed, way too hot.  This is merely by way of justifying the use of the adjectives "deranged" and "murderous" of course, as I am as peace loving as the day is long. And those humid summer days sure are long, aren't they?

As is obvious perhaps, I welcome fall with every fibre of my being. And, tell me, what better time of year is there to go for a long walk in Tokyo and find out about a neighborhood that you may not have experienced yet? I have found a short walk that I plan to do soon, from Ebisu Station to Shibuya station. Check it out at this website which has 53 ways to explore Tokyo on offer; please let me know if you have done any of these walks and recommend them:
http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/tourists/guideservice/route/route53/24/24.html

Many of you likely know this area, but I will say that that Ebisu has a fair used bookstore, the selection does vary from visit to visit but there are usually a few good reads to be found, and the movie theatre close by at Yebisu Garden Place usually has something interesting playing, I just checked and "Into the Wild" written and directed by Sean Penn is showing now.

So, I say, embrace fall with a ceremony of some kind, be it a Tokyo walk or whatever you are into doing, and enjoy!!!

by Lorna

What to Look for in October

• Autumn Leaves, October to early December
• Nagasaki Kunchi Festival, October 7 - 9
• Takayama Autumn Matsuri, October 9-10
• Fuji Speedway Formula One Grand-Prix, October 12
• Health and Sports Day, October 13
• Kurama Hi Matsuri, October 22

The Back Page!

Autumn Gallery

 The students each gave a presentation at the end of the week which was very impressive given that many of them struggled at the beginning of the week to get the language out!

So we all felt that the week had been very successful and that these guys have  a bit of a headstart to the program.
            They all graduated and were invited to join AS this year!