Tim Marchand (Teacher/Owner, Smith’s School of English - Nagaoka)
I spent my first couple of winters in Japan teaching on and around Christmas Day, and I couldn’t get over how strange it felt to be working during the festive season. So since running my Smiths school I’ve been very glad to avoid repeating that experience with a generous amount of time off every year from before Christmas Eve stretching well past the shogatsu holiday. I always feel grateful towards my students too, because they seem to appreciate how important the Christmas holiday is, and manage to make up for any lessons lost over that time before the holidays start.
This year my holidays were split into two halves. For the first part I went down to Amami-Oshima, a little known jewel of an island which is actually a part of Kagoshima prefecture, although in terms of latitude and climate it seems much closer to Okinawa. I’m constantly surprised and enchanted by the many faces of Japan, and this sub-tropical island was no exception. Ten minutes drive out of the airport, I was greeted by a beautiful white sandy beach facing the dazzling azure of the ocean. The water was incredibly clear, and certainly warm enough for an Englishman to venture into for a swim. In fact I ended up going for a swim every day when I was there, and each time I was the only one enjoying the warm water. This is partly due to the fact that there were hardly any other tourists there on the island. On the second day I took part in a mangrove canoe tour, and I asked the guide when Amami was busy with visitors. He said that August was “on”, but the rest of the year was “off” season, most people it seems preferring to go to more famous resorts in Okinawa itself. The hotel we stayed in also reflected this: it was called Marine Station, and is an absolute paradise for divers. Located at the end of a road at the southern tip of the island, it has it’s own private beach, and is as about as isolated as I’d imagine you can get in Japan. The best part is that on the second night, there were no other guests! A private hotel with its own private beach, you can’t get much better than that!
After spending four relaxing days in a T-shirt and shorts, it was time to return to winter in Kyoto, and start the second part of my holidays. Most of the time I spent at home studying: 2007 will be the year I finally finish my Master’s course in TESOL, but before that happens, there’s lots of reading and writing to be done. I did manage to brave the cold, dry air outside a few times though, most notably for hatsumode. My favourite shrine in the Kyoto area is Fushimi-Inari. The view of Kyoto from the top of the hill is quite breath-taking, but the best part is the thousands of torii that line the route to the top. It’s especially magical at dusk when the floodlights come on, and thousands of shadows start to appear eerily beneath the sacred arches. It becomes easy to believe that ancient spirits do indeed abode between the steps on the path. Another picturesque face of Japan wholly different from the scenes in Amami-Oshima, but none the less a fine way to start the New Year.
Tim Marchand