Hello all!! It has been a hectic 3 weeks – almost a month now, here in hirosaki, aomori - japan… I have been very busy getting settled in, buying necessities for the apartment, getting into the grove of things at work, getting to know my city/surroundings – especially biking around my area.. (who bikes now-a-days)… well everyone in Hirosaki does.. lol..
I work for the board of education in my prefecture, I don’t have one stationary school.. I pretty much work in an office and I will be making visits to different elementary and jr.high schools.. I start teaching next week… should be pretty interesting!
About Hirosaki… So far so good! I was lucky enough to catch the “Neputa Festival” right when I got here… Neputa is the ancient samurai, he's one of the national symbols of my town.. It was my first time going to a festival in Japan… there were giant lantern floats and big taiko drummers… it was an amazing experience… the festivals here are very lively..
Ive met a ton of new people that have really helped Hirosaki feel like home… everyone that I have come across has been helpful, welcoming and friendly… I was really scared that I was coming to live in the boonies, surrounded by rice fields..but that’s FAR from what it is over here…
ive come across a lot of urban/eccentric spots like some chill coffee shops, jazz jam sessions, soulful bars (GUMBO! – owned by my newfound friends, ghina and kenji – w/wide variety of genres..from 70s soul -curtis mayfield, otis redding.. t0 80s and 90s r&b.. to african beats..)
[Kenji on an african finger piano? not too sure what its called]
and the clubs play similar stuff to what we hear at home... in conclusion, Hirosaki is an amazing place and im excited for this upcoming year... [btw, Dj Envy from HOT97 is gonna be here next month! And im looking forward to meeting hiM!]
One of the other teachers was leaving and he brought me out with his friends.. i met the main dj from hirosaki [DJ Hirokazu]
and the people that run the parties here - JAZZNATION.
This is a video of my first night going out in Hirosaki... This was a pretty trippy night... i didnt expect to hear people freestyling in japanese.. lol.. its funny..
"readyy..readdy..? ...whats gooood??" lol.
