First Week in Shiojiri

On Monday morning I immediately left for Nagano city to get my residential permit. Nagano city is, of course, the capitol of Nagano prefecture (prefectures are kind of like states for the US). The 90 minute train ride there is very scenic, winding through mountains. I wanted to get back to Shiojiri as soon as possible to do more shopping for my apartment, so I didn’t explore Nagano at all. It will happen though… someday. The tickets to and from Nagano cost more than $20, so it’s not a trip I’ll make on a whim.

From the train, looking back on Nagano

Japanese customer service and respect is very famous, but maybe a bit extreme in my opinion. The bus driver who took me to the immigration office in Nagano saluted and bowed (in her seat) to every single bus that we passed. Similarly, in every store including the supermarket, if you walk near a store employee, they say, “irasshaimase” (basically “welcome”). It seems like a pain to me, but I guess they get used to it. In fact, I would imagine that it’s not uncommon for them to do it when they’re not on the job.

Back in Shiojiri, I observed some classes and familiarized myself with the teachers’ room. Tuesday I started teaching. The first week was pretty easy because lessons were mostly based on self-introduction, but I experienced a bit of a learning curve teaching the students too young for this. In fact, my first class with kindergarten-aged students was a near disaster. There were only four students, but one insisted on attacking another, who reciprocated somewhat. It was difficult to keep their attention and they were rowdy, but somehow I managed to keep them from hurting each other or leaving the classroom for 45 minutes. Phew, that’s a long time.

The rest of my week only improved from that class. Every morning I went shopping, trying to equip my apartment with food and utensils, and then I taught in the afternoon and evening. I’m really excited about trying all the food available. Also, Shiojiri is really nice. It’s famous for wine, and in fact there is a wine-tasting tour going on during the weekends. It’s grape season, so as I walk to work I smell delicious fresh grapes. They even have grapes growing at the train station. You might think that that would mean the grapes are cheap to buy, but alas they’re not. Even so, I haven’t been able to resist buying them a few times. I try to make them last, but I want so much to devour them like candy because they’re so delicious.

On my way to work, a large garden beyond the parking lot

Some of the cool yards that I see on my way to work.