EVENTS

NOTICES

L I F E

T O P I C S

O T H E R S

Making Japanese Cuisine/ Saturday Salon/ 泉 町Izumi-cho

Count-

down Festa/ Watching the first sunrise of 2012/ New Year’s Party

Library corner/ Japanese classes/ Ibaraki International Association/

National Health Insurance

Income Tax

Japanese customs of year-end & New Year

Tweet from staff

Tweet from foreign resident in Mito

1min. History – Mito city & Tsuruga city

CONTENTS

2011

Living Information for Foreign Residents in Mito December

“Culture Pot MITO” is a monthly newsletter published by the Mito City International Association which aims to share various living information with the city’s foreign residents. In its title, Mito city is likened to a pot stuffed with various cultures which resembles a multicultural city loved by every citizen. We are hoping that this newsletter will be useful in your daily life and that you will feel more attached to Mito City in the near future.

▼ Photo: A group enjoying the IGO game（囲碁）every week at Mito International Center

Due to year-end & New Year holidays, January issue will come in simplified version.

Making Japanese Cuisine ～Packed Lunch～

One-day lesson for foreigners on how to make a typical Japanese packed-lunch. NO need to bring lunchbox as it will be provided.

【WHEN】Dec.17th (Sat) 1:30pm-4pm 【FEE】￥ 500 【SEATS】20 【WHERE】Mito International Center (see Tweet/1min History page for map) 【WHAT】Rice balls, rolled egg, boiled spinach dressed in sesame sauce, etc. 【SIGN UP】Sign up and pay the fee in advance at Mito International Center

before Dec.11th (Sun). 【INQUIRIES】Mito City Int’l Association, tel 029-221-1800 mail mcia@mito.ne.jp

The Saturday Salon Saturday Salon is a gathering for non-Japanese & Japanese residents. 【WHEN】12:30pm-2pm

■ English Smoothie Dec.3rd, Jan.7th/ English ■ ト コ ト ン

T o k o - t o n 韓 国Kankoku

Dec.17th,Jan.14th/ Korean or Japanese ■ ニーハオ

N i - h a o！ 中 国

Chu-goku Dec.24th,Jan.28th/ Chinese or Japanese

【WHERE】Mito City International Center (see Tweet/1min History page for map) 【WHAT】Talk about topics of your choice and make new friends! 【SIGN UP】Unnecessary 【INQUIRIES】Mito City Int’l Association tel 029-221-1800 mail mcia@mito.ne.jp

泉 町Izumi-cho

Countdown Festa

Taking part in a countdown event is one great way to have fun. Get out in the town and feel the air of New Year’s Eve!

【WHEN】Dec.31st (Sat) 8pm ～ Jan.1st(Sun)1am 【WHERE】Parking lot located at 泉 町

Izumi-cho

→ walk 120m from Keisei Dpt. towards 大工Daiku-

町machi

【WHAT】Lottery, music live, dance show, Japanese pot dish fest. 【SIGN UP】Unnecessary 【INQUIRIES】 泉 町

Izumi-cho2 Ni

丁 目cho-me

商 店 街 Sho-tengai

振 興shinko

組 合kumi-ai tel 029-350-2557

ACCESS GUIDE: Take a bus from Mito station North exit, bus terminal #4～7, and get off at “ 泉 町

Izumi-cho-一丁目Iccho-me

”. ※ There will be no buses after the event, so please take a taxi for your way home.

YUM！

Watching the first sunrise of the New Year

In Japan, there is a custom of worshiping the first sunrise of the New Year on Jan.1st.

recommended place address time(approx.) 茨城Ibaraki

県庁-kencho

/prefectural office 25F open 5:30am-8am, parking available

978-6 笠 原 町Kasahara-cho

, Mito City 6:50am

阿字ヶ浦A j i - g a - u r a

海岸Kaigan

/sea coast 阿字ヶ浦町Aji-ga-ura-cho

, Hitachi-naka City 6:49am 大洗O-arai

海岸Kaigan

/sea coast 大 洗 町O-arai-machi

, Higashi-Ibaraki Gun(county) 6:49am 愛宕山Atago-yama

/mountain 泉Izumi

, Kasama City 6:49am

New Year’s Party Exchange the New Year’s greetings!

【WHEN】Jan.21st (Sat) 12 noon -2pm 【FEE】￥ 500 【WHERE】Mito International Center (see Tweet/1min History page for map) 【WHAT】Introduction of international cultures, bingo game, buffet lunch, etc. 【SIGN UP】Foreigners; unnecessary 【SIGN UP】Japanese; please provide us with your name, address and telephone number

before Dec.21st (Wed). mail／mcia@mito.ne.jp FAX／029-221-5793 reply-paid postcard／Mito City International Association

6-59 Bizen-machi, Mito city, 〒310-0024

JAPANESE CLASSES Japanese classes held at Mito International Center will be on winter recess as follows. Days Name of Class Level text fee

(per class) last class

2011 first class

2012 Tue Orbis beginners ￥500 Dec.13 Jan.17 Wed Friendly Neighborhood beginners, upper intermediate ￥300 Dec.14 Jan.11

MESA Friendship free conversation, kanji ￥300 Dec.21 Jan.11 Thur Sophia beginners ￥300 Dec.15 Jan.12 Fri MESA Friendship beginners, intermediate ￥500 Dec.16 Jan.13 Sat L’avenir beginners, intermediate, advanced ￥500 Dec.17 Jan.7

※ Class time is 10am – 12noon

LIBRARY CORNER Mito International Center’s library corner has Hiragana Times, monthly tabloid papers in various languages, paperback novels (English), dictionaries….etc. Some of them can be lent out to read at home.

Why did it have to be soba? The commonly-accepted reason is because they are thin and long. People started eating soba year after year wishing for frugal and long life like its shape.

Buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year’s Eve are called “年越しそば

T o s h i k o s h i - s o b a.” There are no specific rules about how you eat

(cold or hot) or what ingredients you eat with. This custom is said to have established during the Edo period.

Year-crossing noodles (年越しそばTosh ikosh i-soba

)

Temple bells (除夜の鐘J o y a - n o - k a n e

)

Visiting a shrine (初 詣Hatsu-moude

)

New Year’s dish (おせちO s e c h i

)

How to celebrate New Year in Japan

There is only one month left to finish the year 2011. How did you spend this year? New Year celebration is one of the most traditional and important annual events in Japan. This time, we would like to introduce how Japanese spend the year-end and New Year. How about experiencing them if you get the chance?

Special food prepared for the New Year is called “おせちO s e c h i

.” It was originally a cuisine served at Imperial Palace to show appreciation to the God for rich harvest of the newly-arrived season. This, known as 御節供

O s e c h i k u料理- r y o - r i

, later spread to citizens as the New Year’s “おせちO s e c h i

”. Each of the dishes has some auspicious meaning which reflects people's wishes. 〈e.g.〉Black beans(黒 豆

Kuro-mame)…wish for health and hard work as the word まめ

M a m e implies

Herring egg(数の子Kazu-no-ko

)…wish for fertility because they have lots of eggs Lobsters(海老

E b i)…wish for longevity because their bodies are bent like an old person's

Seniors give juniors some money to celebrate the New Year, which is called お年玉

Otoshidama. In some area, snack will be given instead of money.

In general, parents, grandparents and the relatives give it to children. The first dream of a new year is called “ 初 夢

Hatsu-yume

.” Traditionally, people read the New Year’s fortune from the contents of 初 夢

Hatsu-yume

. As the proverb goes “1. Fuji, 2. Hawk, 3. Eggplant” (一富士二鷹三茄子

I c h i - f u j i - n i - t a k a - s a n - n a s u b i

), a dream related to Mt. Fuji, a hawk or an eggplant is believed to bring a particularly good luck. Why this three? There are various theories, and one of them suggests that it is because they were the favorites of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Dec. ３１

Jan. １

Temple bells that ring from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day are called “除夜の鐘J o y a - n o - k a n e

.” The bell is struck 108 times altogether to remove the 108 worldly desires such as anger and tenacity that are believed to exist in the Buddhist concept. Listening to the bells ring in the silence, people reflect on the ending year or pray for happiness and good health for New Year. Buddhist monks usually ring the bell but some temples allow the public to do so.

【The places where you can hear temple bells】

●神崎寺Kamisak i - j i

Address/水戸市天王町M i t o s h i - T e n n o h - cｈo

8-17 TEL/029-221-2748 ●祇園寺

G i o n i j Address/水戸市八幡町

Mitoshi -Hachiman-cho11-69 TEL/029-221-5229

●佐白山麓公園Sashiro-sanroku-kouen

時鐘楼J i s h o u r o u

Address /笠間市笠間Kasamashi-kasama

1015-2 TEL/0296-72-9222(笠間観光協会

Kasama-kankoh-kyoukai)

※You can have a turn striking the bell at 佐白山麓公園Sashiro-sanroku-kouen

. 【For those who cannot go out to listen to temple bells】

You can watch and listen to it on TV. NHK broadcasts it live on the program called “ゆく年くる年

Y u k u t o s h i - k u r u t o s h i” every year.

New Year’s visit to a shrine is called“ 初 詣Hatsu-moude

.” People pray for happiness and good health for New Year.

New Year’s gift money (お年玉Otoshidama

)

Fortune-telling with the New Year’s first dream (初 夢Hatsu-yume

)

INCOME TAX

LIFE

Around this time of the year, you may often encounter the word “所 得sho-toku

” or ”所 得 税sho-toku-zei

”. 所 得sho-toku

= income The money that you earn from your work or that you receive from investments, the government, etc. 所 得 税sho-toku-zei

= income tax Tax paid on the money that you earn

from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ▼Who needs to pay income tax? Those who live in Japan. To be more specific, if you have an address or have a residence in Japan continuously for 1 year or more, you are classified as an income tax payer.

▼How is the income tax calculated? ▼How do we pay income tax? In most cases, company deducts from your monthly wage in accordance with Japanese law ( = 源 泉

Gensen-徴 収chou-shu) and pays to the Japanese government. However, the actual amount

of your income tax cannot be determined until the amount of B (untaxable portion) becomes clear at the end of the year. This is why, at the year-end, your actual amount of income tax needs to be calculated and adjustments should be made. → deducted amount ＞ actual amount of income tax … you will receive a tax refund → deducted amount ＜ actual amount of income tax … you will need to pay the shortfall

▼Making adjustments

（A – B）× tax rate

rate : 5%～40%…depends on the amount of income

If you have worked for only one employer in the year 2011…

↓ 年 末

Nen-matsu調整-cho-sei

(Year-end Tax Adjustment)

When: December 2011 How: Fill in the form that will be distributed from your employer

If you have worked for two or more employers in the year 2011, or if your yearly income exceeds ￥20,000,000…

↓ 確 定Kaku-tei-

申 告shin-koku

(Filing of the Income Tax Return)

When: February～March, 2012 How: Go to the tax office and take necessary procedures. Consult below for details.

Taxable portion

A：Your amount of income earned in 1 year (Jan.1st-Dec.31st)

B：Untaxable portion（= “所 得shotoku-

控除koujo-

額gaku

”…see next page for detail）

MITO TAX OFFICE (水戸M i t o -

税務zeimu

署-sho

) near Ibaraki Prefectural Library at 三 の 丸San-no-maru

. 【Address】 1-17 北見町

Kitami-cho, Mito city 【Inquiries】automated voice service 029-231-4211→select 1 (call center)→select 1 (income tax)

LIFE

IBARAKI INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION Monday～Friday, 8:30am – 5:15pm/ TEL 029-241-1611 It is located near Senba Lake, in the annex building (2F) of 県民

Kenmin文化-Bunka

センター- C e n t e r

(NOTE this is a different organization from Mito City International Association) CONSULT in your own language Any problems regarding law, labor, marriage, education and life in general? Consultations in 8 different languages are available.

TEL / 029-244-3811 Hrs / 8:30am-12 noon, 1pm- 5pm

RECEIVE INFORMATION in your own language <NEW!> Ibaraki International Association will start a new mobile phone service next year, in which you can receive e-mails containing a variety of information posted on the homepage in the language of your choice. (English, Chinese, Portuguese, Tagalog, Spanish, Korean, Thai, Indonesian) While IIA is preparing to start this service, it is currently accepting registration of MONITORS who can receive sample mails and feed back opinions. Registrations is fee-free. 【HOW TO REGISTER AS A MONITOR】

Send an email from your mobile phone address to mobile@ia-ibaraki.or.jp by Dec.22nd. Please include the following information. 1) language you prefer 2) gender (male/female)

SEARCH FOR INFORMATION in your own language Information related to radiation level, often-used medical terms, living guide, etc. are posted in 8 different languages. http://www.ia-ibaraki.or.jp/

Mon-Fri / Japanese, English Mon / Portuguese (am), Chinese (pm) Tue / Spanish, Korean Wed / Chinese, Thai Thu / Portuguese, Tagalog Fri / Indonesian, Thai

National Health Insurance; Deadline for 2011 December payment is December 26th. Please take the payment notice to a nearby bank or a convenience store and make the payment.

In Japan, every resident is required to have health insurance. If you do not belong to a work- place health insurance program, you should sign up for the National Health Insurance. Foreign residents who have made the alien registration and are entitled to stay in Japan for one year or longer are applicable.

INQUIRIES: 029-232-9166 (Mito City office 国 保kokuho

年 金 課-nenkin-ka

)

所 得Shotoku

控除-koujo-

額gaku

～ UNTAXABLE PORTION ～ In the following cases, for example, your “untaxable portion” will increase. This means that the amount of income tax you pay will be REDUCED. 1. you have paid for premiums of life insurance, earthquake insurance and such 2. your spouse has an yearly income of less than ￥380,000 3. you have a dependent family other than your spouse 4. you had a lot of medical fee to pay

However, a certificate (控除koujo-

証 明 書sho-mei-sho) needs to be submitted on the occasion of

Year-end Tax Adjustment or Filing of the Income Tax Return. Certificates will be sent to your home by the end of the year, so be careful not to lose them. And… DO NOT THROW IT WAY!

Previously, Mito International Center had been hosting an year-end party in December every year, but this time, it is going to be a New Year’s Party instead. The dishes that come out will be all hand-made by our staff, all of whom are wishing that the guests will enjoy eating them. If you come to the party, we would love to know how you think about our foods, or about other delicious & easy-to-make dishes, or about the party dishes that are served in your own country.

Mito City International Association Tuesday～Sunday 9am – 9pm (closed: Mondays,national holidays,Dec29-Jan3) Add. Bizen-machi 6-59, Mito City, 310-0024

Mito International Center Tel 029-221-1800 Fax 029-221-5793 mail mcia@mito.ne.jp HP http://www.mitoic.or.jp

TWEET/ 1min.HISTORY

Tweet from a foreign resident in Mito

Rebecca Caste ＜U.S.A＞ It is important to try to learn Japanese. But if you're not learning as quickly as you'd hoped or as compared to your classmates, don't put so much pressure on yourself. Everyone learns at a different pace. And some languages may come easier for you than others. If you give yourself permission to learn at a more natural rate, one day you may find that Japanese suddenly clicks.

Tweet from staff UMINO

Please forward us any opinions or suggestions you may have!

Tweet from Mito City International Center

Mito city and Tsuruga city （Fukui Prefecture） are sister cities. This is related to history. At the end of Edo period, the Tengu-to Party, whose general was Takeda Kouunsai from Mito Domain, left for Kyoto starting a “Revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians” movement. But they surrendered to the shogunate which opposed to the movement and 352 people in the Party were executed at Matsubara Coast in Tsuruga city. The executed people were buried reverently and were enshrined in Matsubara shrine by the people of Tsuruga city. Prompted by Matsubara shrine centennial held in 1964, Mito city and Tsuruga city formed sister-city relationship in 1965. Currently, Mito city and Tsuruga city are maintaining strong ties by mutual tourism and dispatch of trainees.

History of Mito ～ 水戸 city & 敦賀 city ～

Mito Tsuruga