The Winter Season!

Hi everyone, its been a while! In the midst of changing seasons, and to look past some of the coldest times of the year, here are some sporadic updates from this past season!

First come first serve, let's talk about that go-to topic when a conversation becomes quiet: the weather. Specifically, winter and what it looks like in Ishiakwa! Temperatures in the prefecture can range anywhere from -5 °C to 10 °C (23°F to 50°F) and with a lack of insulation compared to houses in the States, that same temperature outside can be the same inside without heating. It's a bit of an adjustment since there is (usually) no central heating system in houses, and sometimes, the warmest place would be the fridge. Outside of Ishikawa, however, some areas in Japan get hit a little harder by the chills and thrills of snow. Prefectures like Hokkaido, Aomori, and Niigata are subjected to these colder environments, and some parts of Toyama prefecture (south of Ishikawa) have accumulated so much snow, that "snow walls" as tall as 15 meters (or 50 feet) exist within Japan. This happens because the cold winds from Siberia travel down and get trapped in-between Japan's vast mountain ranges--resulting in these huge depths of snow. I can say that Noto, Ishikawa, may not have these same towering walls, but the occasional snowfall within Ushitsu had its moments of beauty and awe. It certainly made me feel nostalgic for the snow back home.

Snowfall in the Ushitsu neighborhood

The notorious hill where I slip on my way to school!

An attempt at making a snowman haha

December and January certainly felt festive as the holidays rolled around. Although Christmas isn't considered a national holiday in Japan, students and teachers within the country, and certainly within Noto, have put their own spin over the "best time of the year". Eating strawberry shortcake (which is dubbed "Christmas Cake"); going to your local KFC for fried chicken (or local supermarket in Ushitsu's case since the nearest KFC is 2 hours away); and having get-togethers with friends over the holidays are some Japanese traditions shared by the high school students. Additionally, Christmas is considered to be a romantic holiday in Japan and seeing many couples go out on Christmas Eve is not uncommon. But wait...if Christmas is considered the "romantic holiday", then how is Valentine's Day viewed? Taking a detour away from December and skipping to February, Valentine's in Japan is celebrated by the women giving chocolate to those who are significant in their lives. Whether the chocolate is given out of love, friendship, or both purposes, Valentine's focuses more on the gift-giving aspect rather than romantic gestures in Japan. Talking to some of the teachers, I've also heard speculation that women giving chocolates on this day (rather than men) surmised from a translation error. Even if that's true or not, the holiday has rooted its own rituals and traditions in Japan.

Although these aren't pictures of Christmas trees nor Santa, this was an organized snapshot of my "arts and crafts" station at school for the 3 weeks when I taught Christmas lessons

Some rum cake I received from my grandma on Valentine's Day!

Now, Christmas and Valentine's Day may not be considered as official national holidays nor strongly rooted in tradition within Japan, but New Year's is a different story. One of the most important holidays of the year (although to be fair, each holiday has its own significance), New Year's is celebrated across the first 3 days of the year. Decorations like 門松 (kadomatsu, a New Year's pine decoration); 鏡餅 (kagami mochi, two rice mochi stacked on top of each other with an orange and a leaf on top); and しめ飾り (shimekazari, decorations hung above doors to ward off evil spirits) are some of many decorations I found myself seeing during New Year's. Additionally, visiting shrines to welcome the new year (called hatsumoude (初詣)) and buying omamori charms or a fortune-telling paper (called omikuji (おみくじ)) are some of many traditions to start the year off right!

Yushima Tenmangu Temple in Ueno, Tokyo

Meiji Jingu Shrine in Yoyogi, Tokyo

Omamori good luck charm for the new year

Omikuji fortune!

Shimekazari

This is おせち料理 (osechi ryori)! It consists of many traditional Japanese foods like teriyaki yellowtail; white-pink Japanese fish cake; candied chestnuts with sweet potato; rolled omelets; sweet black soybeans, and more! It's eaten on New Year's day as good luck for the new year.

Here's a picture of my grandma and one of her previous students, Juman!

This final picture in January features two Alexs! Alex and I met during Tokyo orientation all the way back in August and she's an ALT from Niigata prefecture! One of the most memorable moments we had, aside from going to Team Lab Planets Tokyo (which is where we're at in this photo), was me trying to translate the premise of Cocaine Bear between her and my grandma. Let's just say there were a lot of charades needed... (picture nor video not included)

Flying back to Noto in January began the "home stretch" in both the seasonal and academic schedule. Noto high school operates off of a trimester system, with the students' final semester ending in March. Aside from studying, clubs/extracurriculars, and the occasional shopping trip to Can-Do (Ushitsu's local chain dollar store), two major events occurred for the students. The first one was their research presentations. Throughout the year, teams of students worked together in investigating issues throughout Noto. Addressing issues like the future population decline, taking care of the environment, and utilizing resources in a more sustainable manner fostered projects like using bamboo shoots to create more public benches for the elderly around Noto; a campaign to clean the ocean using features similar features to Pokémon Go (instead of catching Pokémon, cleaning trash would result in progression and rewards); and combating stereotypes that Noto is a "quiet" and "boring town" by spreading awareness of its local shops and big events (like Abare Festival--which will be covered in a future post). Every group presented in-front of their peers and teachers in the classroom, and some even presented in-front of the whole school (with town hall officials and local shop owners as guest visitors)!

One of the bamboo benches the students created and presented in-front of the school! On record, it is a lot more sturdier than it looks as many teachers tried it out

Finally, graduation. For the class of 2023, the day was marked as the first in-person graduation since COVID. The day was filled with acknowledgements by many class representatives; each 3rd year student being given individual flowers; and a final time to sing the school song before their final homeroom meeting. A lot of tears were shed, and I was able to say goodbye to some of the students and wish them luck in their future ventures. Despite only seeing them for eight months, being able to play games like Headbands, talking about how some buying habits are rooted in our biology, and having conversations that revolved around our parents all living in the North Pole (because they are all Santas), saying goodbye was a truly bittersweet moment.

The decorated gymnasium for the graduating third-years

That's all for now, thanks for tuning-in!

-Alex