SEP . 2010

1

Jonathan Edwards

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herein are not necessarily

those of the publisher.

Each are expressed by

the writer at the time of

writing.

EDITORS: Jenn Doane,

Jonathan Edwards, Greg

Ferguson, Betsy Pinkham

Layout: Jonathan Edwards,

Betsy Pinkham

Cover: Jonathan Edwards

Black Taxi is a monthly

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prefecture, Japan, published

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Kirara Taki 3

Monthly Topic

The Black Taxi 4

Home is Where the Heart Is 5

Travel

Oh the Places They Went 6

Food

Getting to Know You Are What… 8

Cute Foods 10

Culture

Ranald MacDonald 12

Fun

Electronic Entertainment Expo 14

E-mail your artwork to be featured in the next issue!

CONTENTSSEPTEMBER 2 0 1 0

Articles

Letter from an Editor,Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games…

Yes, a big welcome to all new ALTs coming into Shimane this year. I hope you’re all adjusting well. Regardless, the Black Taxi is here to help you in whatever way you choose, whether finding places to go, food ideas, or just passing the time on a slow day in the staff office.

Local Businesses and People プロファイル / profile

What has a beach, three restaurants, a bakery, Finishcabins, windmills, and a superb view of the sunset?Why Kirara Taki of course! Taki-cho itself is one of myfavorite places in Shimane for several reasons. Not onlydoes my good buddy Anu live there, but the view of thesea is fantastic, it has fig everything, and it’s home totwo of my favorite grazing grounds, the Ao café and theKirara Taki bakery just down the road from each other.

Kirara Taki! Sparkling by the Sea

Kirara Taki is located about 15 minutes outside ofcentral Izumo going down route 9. I love stopping inthe bakery on my way to church on Sunday morningsand picking up a delicious pastry for breakfast. Theyhave several different pastries featuring the ichijiku(figs,) the main produce of Taki-cho. I haven’t tried outthe restaurant inside the rest stop, but I’ve heard goodthings, and also that they serve ichijiku (fig) ice cream.There are two new eateries that opened this summer atthe far end of the parking lot. On is a ramen shop, the

other is a café. I haven’t tried out the ramen yet, but Café Kaze offers a pleasant lunch experiencewith again, a beautiful view of the sea.

Last year I spent Christmas in one ofthe Kirara log house (different from acottage as it has some beds) and evengot a frigid taste of the beach doing a

polar bear swim. Luckily for us, the houses come in true Finnish style with a small sauna that fits 2 or3 people which was great for warming back up! The price is a little steep, 27,300 yen per weekend

night for the 8 sleeper cabin, with an extra 2,100 yen each foreach extra person. We had the good fortune of coming with theTaki-cho Finnish CIR and got the “friend” discount.

So whether you need some ocean, need some figs, or even aplace to rest your head, Kirara Taki is the place for you!

http://www.kirara-taki.co.jp/english/kirara/kirara.html

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Black Taxi’s Monthly Topic 今月 / this month

Welcome to the

BLACK

Welcome readers, new and old, to another year of the Black Taxi. For those of you new to the area and/or publication: the Black Taxi is Shimane JET’s self published magazine. We accept submissions from anyone willing to take the time to write an article down and distribute them in monthly issues like the one you are reading now. And no worries if you’re not a JET, teacher, or non-native speaker of English; the Black Taxi accepts articles from everyone. All we ask is that content and language be kept in good taste.

The Black Taxi was first started by a PA named Paula Black around the turn of the millennium. Over the past ten years a team of dedicated volunteers has continually kept the publication alive by organizing, soliciting, and editing the content on a monthly basis. After a decade we are proud to keep the Black Taxi circulating, and strongly encourage all our readers to consider submitting articles, whether a local business profile, a synopsis of a travel destination, a response to our monthly prompt, or even something completely different. Writing for the Black Taxi can be a great way to share your own ideas, experiences, and for you ALTs, pass the time on those really slow days at work. It is also one of many ways the English speakers of Shimane stay connected as a community.

So, on behalf of the editors for 2010-2011, welcome to the Black Taxi. And for our new ALTs, welcome to Shimane.

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Black Taxi’s Monthly Topic 今月 / this month

This summer I went home for the first time innearly two years. It took over 31 hours of travel,but I finally touched down in Boston, drove up95 and crossed the Piscatiqua river to enterKittery, Maine. In the months and weeks leadingup to it, it seemed to be all I could think about,and nearly all I could talk about. Anyone whospoke to me since February knew I was goinghome.

I’ve always lived in Maine. Not only have Ialways lived there, but I was born in the veryhouse I grew up in, the same house I returned tothis summer. Outside of New England, the onlyplaces I’ve been are my grandparents’ home inupstate New York, and Olando, Florida. Thathouse has always been home.

I loved being home. The cold Atlantic Ocean,Boston, campfires, my cat, our pony, teasingsisters, Mom’s cooking, and everything elseabout home were soul-replenishing. They wereall things I knew I missed, but hadn’t realizedhow much. Despite these comforts of homethough, I was more culture shocked than Iexpected. I had trouble driving on the right sideof the road, and everyone walking around wasdressed so casually and baring so much skin,despite the unseasonably cool weather. I feltawkward ordering coffee in the Dunkin Donuts;there were so many types and I have become soaccustomed to just ordering whatever I couldread off the menu. I also felt bothered by how

people perceived me, or rather didn’t. InAmerica I was so commonplace, strangers didn’tnotice or question my presence, and this oddlyenough led to a feeling of displacement. I hadn’trealized it before, but being “the foreigner” hasbecome a part of how I define myself.

Despite culture shock, on the last night of mytrip I really didn’t want to come back to Japan.But I already signed the recontractingpaperwork, so back down to Boston I went. Onthe return flight I had military folks on both sidesof me heading for the base in Okinawa. We gotto chatting and I started talking about my twoyears in Shimane and how great it was living inthe inaka. Somewhere over the 13 hour flight,the trip had stopped being a leaving, and hadbecome a returning. When the plane toucheddown in Narita I felt a sense of relief to be backin Japan. Each step closer I got to Misato-cho,from Hiroshima airport, to the station, to Oasa,to finally getting in my car, the stronger mysense of belonging grew. I knew I loved Misato-cho, but I hadn’t realized how much it hasbecome home.

I’ve lived here for two years now and that’s thelongest I’ve ever lived anywhere outside of myparent’s home in Kittery. Home is where theheart is and now I have two.. While most of myheart is back in Maine, there’s a small part of itthat will always belong to Misato-cho and to thefriends and memories I’ve made here. This ismy third year in Shimane and very likely my lastso I want to appreciate this home of mine asmuch as I can before I have to leave. If I haveany advice to offer you, it’s to open your heartsto the place you’re living and the people aroundyou. Let you’re heart make you a home.

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September's featured location: Hinomisaki's Lighthouse and cliff – Lauren & Adam

Dec./Jan.'s featured location: Oku-Hikimi Gorge – Brent

Dec./Jan.'s featured location:

Osaka – Ian

November's featured location: Tachikue-kyo – Angharad

October's featured location: Nageiro-do in

Tottori-ken – Lizzie

See the World 旅行 / travel

Here’s a quick recap of last

year’s locales –through your

eyes.

May's featured location: Arashiyama in Kyoto – Shane

June's featured location: Nagasaki – Jason

Be sure to look up last year’s Black Taxi issues and check them out!

March's featured location: Seoul, South Korea – Jess

April's featured location: Sakaiminato – Carole

February's featured location: Okayama –Rory

Regina Durr traveled to

over 23 countries and was

rarely seen in the iinaka.

See the World 旅行 / travel

If only

Japan had a frequent driver program, you too could be reaching the Million Kilometer Club.

Recipes and More 料理 / food

In the States I would have calledcooking my hobby, but here in Japan it was alittle something to add to my jikoshoukai. “Betsycooks” is now one of the most common factsknown about me. I won’t claim to cook well; I’mstumbling around through Japanese cuisine justas much as anyone else and some dishes takeme three or four tries to get right, and some Inever get right at all. Be this as it may, I likecooking and being in the kitchen. If you want arecipe, I’ll do my best to find it. If you have arecipe, I want you to share it. This is my secondyear editing and writing for the food section ofthe BT, and I’m hoping we’ll share anotherdelicious year together. Kon’nen mo yoroshikuonegaishimasu!

A kitchen is the heart of a home,so it’s best to get to know it. If you haven’tlearned how to use your rice cooker yet, getsomeone over there fast to show you how. Ricecookers are super convenient and can be usednot only for cooking rice, but also for bakingsimple cakes and custards, and for steamedpuddings.

A standard apartment fridge alittle larger than a dorm fridge. I recommendheading to the 100 yen shop and buying somestackable Tupperware containers of all sizes.Leftovers will be much easier to store that way.Some essentials in your Japanese kitchen(besides the basics every kitchen should have)are a grater/shredder, strainer, rolling pin,mortar & pestle, long cooking chopsticks, and

clothes pins for sealing bags. All of these canbe picked up at the 100 yen shop as well.Really, almost anything you need for yourkitchen (except good quality pots and pans)can be found at the 100 yen shop. They won’tlast forever, but are adequate for the averageJET tenure.

Japanese cuisine relies heavilyon freshness. Unfortunately that means manythings shouldn’t be bought until close to theday your plan to use them. That’s OK; thereprobably isn’t much room in your fridge forthem anyway. There are some things that youcan keep on hand though. Soy sauce isprobably the most used seasoning inJapanese cooking. It can be kept in thecupboard in a sealed container next to therice wine vinegar. Mirin is a sweet cookingsake that should be kept in the fridge,alongside the sesame oil. Oils congeal in thecold fridge, so you may want to keep a smallamount on hand in a tupperware container ina cupboard. Miso will keep for several monthsin a sealed container. Shiromiso (white) is mildcompared to more savory akamiso (red).They can be used interchangeably in recipesaccording to your taste. Tofu goes bad veryquickly after it is opened, but lasts for weeksin its original, sealed packaging.

On the kitchen shelves andcupboards I keep an assortment of driedseaweeds, katsuo (dried bonito shavings,)

getting to know

are what you eatyou

Betsy Pinkham eats ham.

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Recipes and More 料理 / food

sesame seeds, rice, instant dashi (soup stock,)and dried noodles such as ramen, soba, andglass noodles.

When I first came to Japan therewere so many strange things in the grocerystory, I really didn’t know where to even start.I’ve learned a lot since then just by expressingmy curiosity to co-workers and friends, andpaying particular attention to school lunch.Since Japanese dishes rely on the freshness oftheir ingredients, the Japanese diet is ruled bythe seasons. You can tell we’re moving into fallby the increase of chestnut products available.You might also have noticed that the rice fieldsare starting to be harvested. The best thingyou can do is make nice with the local Oba-sans and Oji-sans and tell them how much youlove Japanese rice. If you’re lucky you’ll begiven some super fresh rice which absolutelydelicious! In season vegetables currentlyavailable are tomatoes, piman (green peppers),cucumbers, nasu (Japanese eggplant) and goya(bitter gourd.) Every town has a michi-no-eki ortwo, which should host a farmer’s market atleast once a week. If you can wait to get yourvegetables then, you’ll find it much cheaper.Ask your neighbors or teachers for tips on how

to prepare them.

Useful kanji to know for cooking

Focus PointsClothes pins are perfect for sealing any opened bag!

Old margarine containers work wonders for organizing your counters and shelves.

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Recipes and More 料理 / food

A few weeks ago while hungrily surveying the long line of foodbooths at a summer matsuri in Onnan-cho, I was drawn to oneparticular spot with little pastries of Mickey Mouse and DonaldDuck heads on display. Sounds weird, I know--but seeing thosecute little faces with their giddy Mickey Mouse and Donald Ducksmiles was enough to make the rumble in my stomach just a bitlouder. After purchasing a bag for about 300 yen, I was delightedto discover their pleasant sweet-cream filling. I mean, what elsewould Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck’s brains be made of?

After ravenously consuming Mickey and Donald heads in all their creamy goodness, I had to askmyself--how did the appearance of these little cream-filled cakes affect my decision to purchasethem? Were they really as delicious as those smilingMickey Mouse and Donald Duck faces promised?Would I have gotten the same satisfaction out of theexact same treat in plain form?

Many food professionals would agree that theappearance of food can greatly affect our judgementsof relative taste and satisfaction. Studies have shownthat just the sight of food fires neurons in thehypothalamus, and when presented food in the dark,test subjects reported missing a critical element forenjoying virtually any cuisine: the appearance of theirfood.

“For the sighted, the eyes are the first place that must be convinced before a food is even tried,”says Gary Blumenthal of International Food Strategies, “This means that some food products fail in

the market place not because of bad taste, texture, or smellbut because the consumer never got that far.”

After just a few weeks of observing the cuisine in this country,it’s easy to see that food-makers of all varieties across Japanare aware of this appearance-importance phenomenon.Whether perusing through a cake shop or enjoying a neatly-packed bento, you will undoubtedly experience the perfectionand precision with which the Japanese construct their edibledelights.

By Jenn DoaneDelicious? Or just cute?

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Recipes and More 料理 / food

Not only do the Japanese put great focus on their food’sflawless presentation, but they often kick it up a notch byusing “cuteness” as an additional food-selling weapon. I, forone, always fall prey to this marketing strategy, asevidenced in the Mickey and Donald pastries I discovered atthe matsuri, in addition to the many purchases I’ve made inJapanese bakeries throughout my handful of visits to Japan.I could never resist an Anpan Man or Hello Kitty sweetbread, regardless of my lack of hunger.

Further examples can be found in the relatively recentexplosion of cute bento box lunches. An overwhelmingamount of cute bento ideas are just a quick google searchaway (with blogs and recipes galore), and it’s popularity isevident in the ubiquity of cute bento accessories insupermarkets, 100 yen shops, and even in online stores,including different shaped molds for rice and boiled eggs,

and little stamps that cut out shapes and faces in nori. Sometimes these bentos can get so cute youwonder if you actually want to eat them!

And so we return to the original question of how the looks of such adorable foodstuffs can affecttheir overall taste. My conclusion is: who cares? It’s all about the experience, right? Eating cutefoods are fun, and whether we believe it’s delicious because the cuteness is tricking us to think so,or whether the foods are delicious in themselves, ouroverall satisfaction is all that really matters in the end. So,search out those cute Japanese creations, snap a fewpictures, and say “itadakimasu!”

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Jonathan Edwards says

to beware Donaldo.

Japan’s FirstJET

Yes you read the title correctly, yes that’s the correct spelling, and no this isn’t about the well known fast food chain mascot. In Japan the name Ranald MacDonald is reserved for the county’s very first English teacher (which is why on top of pronunciation issues the hamburger spokesman is called Donaldo instead). But his story begins centuries before the first hamburger was even dreamed of.

closed off Japan to all countries except China and the Dutch. During the warring period, the Dutch were the only western power that didn’t overtly push Christianity on the people and further divide an already feuding populace. These nations were allowed to set foot only on a small island in the harbor of Nagasaki, and this served as Japan’s only two-way window to the outside world for over two hundred years.

While foreigners were forbidden from setting foot on the main Japanese islands and the Japanese likewise banned from leaving, this did not stop nature from interfering. Shipwrecks inevitably stranded Japanese abroad and brought forbidden outsiders to Japanese shores. One of the more extreme cases occurred in the 1830s, when a small Japanese trading ship laden with rice became lost at sea for fourteen months. When the ship finally made landfall on the opposite end of the Pacific Ocean, only three of the original crew had survived. Arriving in the then highly disputed northwest region of current day United States, news of the sailors eventually came across a young Ranald MacDonald. As the son of a British trader and Native American, MacDonald took an interest in the theories that his ancestors ultimately came from Asia. When he heard the stories of Japan from the sailors, that interest flamed a desire to seek out this strange forbidden land.

Language and Understanding 文化 / culture

At the end of the 16th century Japan was ending a long bitter war between many feudal lords, called daimyo, vying for the title Shogun. While this period could encompass an entire separate article, all you need to know is that the Shogun held true power and controlled the Emperor as a puppet. The new Shogun grew tired of the outside world’s growing influence on his land and

Eventually, in 1848 curiosity and a sense of adventure led him to join a whaling crew whose course would pass through Japanese waters. He then was given permission to take a small boat from the ship and posed as a shipwrecked sailor to the Ainu (Indigenous Japanese), who turned him over to the local daimyo. This was a dangerous endeavor on MacDonald’s part, for Edo era

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Japan had a reputation for imprisoning or executing shipwrecked foreigners to keep their shores gaijin free. Luckily for him, England’s rise to power and the United States’ increasing activity in the Pacific meant more and more English speakers were occupying Japanese waters and occasionally washing up shore when accidents arose. Unfortunately for Japan, their isolationist policies meant absolutely no one in the country could speak English, and unlike Spain or Portugal, England had never made a presence in the country prior to the curtain being pulled. The only reason Japan was aware of English at all was thanks to second hand information from the Dutch. When news of the latest castaway reached the Tokugawa Shogunate, the decision was made to send MacDonald to Nagasaki and utilize his English knowledge there.

language and understanding 文化/culture

In the two centuries of relative peace, Japan’s highly respected warrior class, the samurai, found other endeavors with which to devote their time, often in the arts. Those skilled with language would use their knowledge of Dutch, Korean, or Chinese to piece together other world languages with understandably little success. Twelve such samurai trying to learn English were also sent to Nagasaki to study under MacDonald while he served essentially under house arrest. Once their English was sufficient, the samurai began teaching on their own and MacDonald was sent back with a group of less fortunate shipwrecked Americans to the United States in 1849. MacDonald’s travels would take him around the world, but he would never return to Japan.

Despite never seeing the land of the rising sun again, the story and importance of RanaldMacDonald does not stop here. Among his students was a linguistic genius named Moriyama Einosuke, who after only one year picked up near fluent English. In 1853, the United States, envying Britain’s involvement in China, decided to send Commodore Matthew C. Perry to present day Tokyo with a fleet of warships. His message was an ultimatum, that Japan needed to open their policies to the world at large, and if they could not do so peacefully, Perry would do so by force. Moriyama was summoned to the negotiations and his skill in English eliminated the need for any other translator; a crucial asset in setting up a peaceful agreement between the two nations. Moriyama’s ability helped save his country the humiliation that had befallen the Chinese in their wars with the British, and

As for Ranald MacDonald, while he may have never returned to the country that captured his interest as a young man, he never forgot his experience. His time spent there was so beloved that his last words, spoken to his niece, were “Sayonara, my dear. Sayonara.” Japan had left a lasting impression on their very first English exchange teacher.

Language and Understanding 文化 / culture

perhaps even outright colonization as France would do to Southeast Asia. Japan had leapfrogged neighboring countries to begin the rapid shift from a backwater, out of touch, feudal nation to Asian superpower.

Commodore Perry’s infamous arrival to Japan

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Everything Entertainment 楽しい / fun

Jonathan Edwards

would like to purei.

lectronic

ntertainment

xpoE 2010To some the letter E and the number 3 have almost nothing in common, save for an inverted shape. But to those who really like their video games, E3 stands for one of the biggest events in the gaming world. Every summer game companies from around the world gather in Los Angeles, California to show off their software and hardware in development. Quite often this is the show where new titles and consoles make their debut. For gamers, E3 is akin to draft events in professional sporting leagues like the United States’ National Football League or National Basketball Association. For three days enthusiasts around the world sit in front of their computers, televisions, and cell phones for updates on major happenings at the convention. Above all, they await the press conferences for the industries three main companies (Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony) with great anticipation, as each year new hardware or peripherals are debuted to the world.

This year was no disappointment. The gaming industry operates in cycles dictated by generations of hardware consoles that last around five years. As all three home systems of this generation (Wii, X-Box 360, Playstation 3) are fast approaching this milestone, the time has come to take a glimpse into the future of video games. However, this generation has proven to be unique from those before. As graphical superiority begins to plateau, all three hardware makers have opted against creating brand new flagship machines, and instead opted to expand and improve the abilities of their current devices. Here’s a rundown:

Nintendo came the closest this year to bringing new hardware to the market with their Nintendo 3DS. The newest member of the ever growing DS family of handheld machines, the 3DS easily “won” E3 as the biggest showstopper. Why? The 3DS, as the name implies, offers 3D visuals for games and movies all in a convenient travel ready package. However, Nintendo has stunningly achieved this without the aid of glasses. None. Players only need their own two eyes to enjoy imagery with convincing depth. On top of this, Nintendo announced new titles for Zelda, Kirby, Kid Icarus, Donkey Kong, and even a Goldeneye remake to make this their best E3 presentation in several years after repeated dismal showings. 14

Everything Entertainment 楽しい / fun

If you remember my article on Back to the Future earlier this year, I mentioned Microsoft’s Project Natal and how this allowed using the X-Box without the need of hands. The device has now been officially named Kinect, and while promising in concept most of the software shown for the device did not give a convincing argument for adding the peripheral (estimated to cost half the price of the 360) to one’s entertainment center. The most impressive features so far are facial recognition and voice commands, but none of the demonstrations highlighted these features well. The best the device offers so far is Dance Central, a game that will require actual dancing, rather than stepping on a floor mat. Microsoft also announced a new smaller design for the 360 to match Kinect, and hopefully end the overheating problems that plagued the previous model.

Sony has suffered these past four years, falling from first to last place in the American market and struggling to keep pace in Europe and Japan where they were once the undisputed industry leader. This is in spite of Nintendo having a very small library of worthwhile games, and Microsoft offering a system with a catastrophic failure rate. Sony’s new strategy follows the old adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” as almost every major announcement was technology or software already done by Nintendo and Microsoft. Their new motion sensing controller is easily recognizable as an attempt to replicate the Nintendo Wiimote and nunchuck, with a necessary camera add on that can replicate some features from Microsoft’s Kinect as well. Sony also made a big to do about offering 3D on the PS3, but was strategically silent on the fact that it would require a 3D capable TV and special glasses; both of which are ridiculously expensive at this time and not required by Nintendo’s 3DS. While Sony had the gall to outright lie in claiming to lead the industry in innovation, they at least knew how to entertain. Perhaps Sony’s biggest win at this year’s E3 was capitalizing on their successful new North American ad campaign featuring a smart mouthed business executive named Kevin Butler and his streetwise teenage sidekick, Marcus. It certainly beats the old strategy of touting the system as a psychic self-aware death machine.

After this E3, seeing that the Wii, 360, and PS3 will last longer than any of their predecessors feels quite surreal. Then again, such a development shall come about sooner or later once photorealistic graphics are achieved, and with both Microsoft and Sony on the verge of delivering, perhaps holding off in a economic downturn is the ideal strategy. And considering how expensive both the PS3 and 360 were when first released (over twice as much as their respective previous iterations), consumers should be relieved to see their investment in entertainment being utilized to the fullest extent.

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Coming Soon… 来月 / next month

Next month is October, and that means it's Halloween season, so if you have any amusing Halloween (or roughly equivalent holiday) anecdote, theory, opinion, protest, strategy... well, you get the idea. Feel free to share.

For those needing a tad more structure, our theme is War of the Monsters:

Since humanity's beginning people have told stories of creatures both fantastical and terrifying. From gryphons and Medusa long ago to modern creatures like bigfoot and Jason Voorhees. Blatant fiction or purportedly real, cultures around the world are familiar with countless monsters. With so many out there, which ones are your favorites and why? Are there stories that fascinate you? Have you ever had your own encounter with the unknown? Who would win in a fight between A and B (combinations are endless here)? Whether film, myth, video game, urban legend, extraterrestrial, and no matter the opinion, we'd like to hear it!

Send submissions to shimane.blacktaxi@gmail.com by October 1st.

Background from Monsterpocalypse promotional artwork