I think we’ve established that the Odawara area is no hot bed of excitement. It begs the question: Why are we here? I found Odawara by fluke. I originally came to Japan to work as an English teacher at GEOS(blood sucking vampires!) and they asked new teachers where in Japan they would like to work. Being an avid outdoorsman, I chose, in order: Hokkaido(for its nature), Kyoto(for its history) and anywhere near Mt. Fuji(looking at a map, I wanted to be near the nature that was around there). In the end, I got sent to Odawara, in the shadow of Mt. Fuji. It’s a great place to live. I’m only 40 minutes from Tokyo by bullet train. I live in a valley with the mountains of Hakone on one side and the Tanzawa mountains on the other. I’m close to the hot spring heaven of Hakone-Yumoto. There are numerous places to hike, camp and mountain bike. The beaches of Izu are an hour or two away. It’s quiet out here and the locals know me(it can be bit of pain too because they all ask me when I’m going to marry my girlfriend). I know my neighbors. I live near a river and am surrounded by rice paddies. In the summer I like walk among them and gaze at the stars and look for fireflies. My 1st floor apartment has spacious patio and I’m constantly trying to fight off the neighborhood cats from eating my tulips. I think this summer I’ll have a BBQ out back- you’re all invited. Most of all, it’s quiet. There’s something to be said about some honest peace and quiet after coming home from work- no trains or traffic. There is something sublime about listening to the cicadas or crickets on a hot summer night. I think it is the slower pace of life and proximity of the mountains and ocean that do it for me. I love Tokyo; it’s one heck an exciting city but I simply would mad if I had to live there. A good friend in Yokohama always urges me to move there- move out of the boondocks and into civilization he says. I contemplated the thought. More imported food, theatres, restaurants and shopping. I can’t argue with those creature comforts. Ultimately, it’s a lifestyle choice. This is where I choose to hang my hat and I’m happy. What else do you need?
Originally posted to the Odawara Bulletin Board
Quest for a Better Lifestyle
by Kevin Burns
Originally published in the Vancouver Sun.
For many readers, children and adults, the brain drain is more than an abstract theory.
Minami Ashigara Shi, Kanagawa Ken, Japan
I am lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. At this moment, I am sitting on a hill top, looking out at miles and miles of trees. It is so green, beautiful and only 10 minutes from my home.
I don't live in the Great White North anymore. It is sad that in Canada today, you often have to move somewhere else to do what you want to do. Yet it also angers me to hear people complain that there's no work in their home town and that is why they are on welfare or employment benefits--as if that explains everything. I want to scream at the TV: "Move then! Go to where there's work!" There are many displaced Canadians in this country. They cannot get a decent job back home.
I decided that I would be a teacher when I was 26. If I liked it, one day I would own my own school. People laughed. With a Bachelor of Arts in theatre, I landed a job at one of the biggest English language conversation schools in Japan. I learned enough to open my own school two years later. I now have a small chain of four schools, an hour and a half south of Tokyo, and one of them is in my Canadian, Victorian style house.
Teaching English in Japan is a funny business and not easily defined. It is part entertainment, part modeling and part education. Studying English week after week can be incredibly dry and progress slow. But if you liven up the classes with humour, and make them into your own David Letterman or Larry King Show, the students keep coming back for more. I sometimes don a funny nose and glasses for my class of high-powered business executives. Sometimes I am not sure if I do it for them or for me. It keeps me sane. My first school grew to more than 100 students in the first eight months. So I hired two part-time teachers to help, a Canadian from Victoria and an American from Missouri. I believe in free trade. After work, I kick back with a Labatt's Blue, watch Kids in the Hall on TV and , if I get bored, a Mike Myer's video. Is this Canada or Japan? Would you like a Canada Dry before we go further? That Scott Thompson is funny, eh?
My Japanese wife is great. She owns a small boutique and manages our schools. We have three beautiful children, Jonah is six, Sennah, four, and Shanaya two- who all have the blessing of Canadian and Japanese citizenship.
Although I miss my family very much and can never really go back to the home I left, I like it here. Where I am at this moment is quintessentially Canadian. What could be more Canadian than sitting among tall cedar trees, listening to the birds, on a hot, sunny summer's day?
Kevin Burns Editor of How to Teach English in Japan
Kaisei`s Progressive Mayor Responds to Questions about Kaisei Town
"Kaisei Town is one of Japan`s great ones. When a new shopping mall or an apartment building is built, it comes with a garden. Unfortunately this is all too rare in Japan, but hopefully is a growing trend. (Pun not intended!) Kaisei Town truly is a garden city. "
--Kevin Burns
Photo of Kaisei Town by Sandra Isaka (Mayor Tsuyuki`s letter was also edited by Sandra Isaka)
This was in response to some questions Kevin Burns asked at the Odawara Bulletin Board.
Mayor Tsuyuki has written a response IN ENGLISH, and has asked me to correct it and post it for him. Here is what he wrote:
Ques #1: Why have factories been built right next to neighborhoods?
Why do the people living in your town have to smell and breath that polluted air?
"As you say, factories are usually built next to neighborhoods. That's true, but now the circumstances are improving by law. Japan was largely destroyed in WWII, and catching up with the 'West' became the most important issue for our country. Japan thought that developing the country was more important than maintaining the living standards that existed. This policy caused much pollution and environmental disruption. Over time, Japan realized that a healthy environment was just as important as developing the nation. Currently, two of the top priorities of our town is to develop a 'Recycle Society' and to make Kaisei a 'Garden Town'."
Question #2: Are there zoning laws now that prohibit factories from being built next to neighborhoods?
"Yes, we now have a bylaw concerning land zoning, but there wasn't such a law in the past. In the past, modernization was our highest national interest and it caused an environmental crisis. I think that zoning laws are one of the most important concerns in order to build a beautiful town. The northern part of Kaisei is our 'agricultural' zone, the center is our 'living and shopping' zone, and the south is our 'new town'. Our current 'factory' zone is beside the Fuji Xerox Research Center on the border with Minami Ashigara. (The research center actually lies in Kaisei). Kaisei is currently trying to attract 'clean' industries, such as digital technology, to build in that zone. Other possible developments include are the construction of a very beautiful agricultural park (like our hydrangea park), and the reconstruction of a large thatched roof home to be used for exchanges between urban and rural people. We also have great plans for the Kaisei Station area, our 'new town'. The 'new town' has bylaws concerning the construction of a shopping area, living area, and factory area. The factory area was mentioned above. The shopping and living area is currently being built, and a top priority is 'living with nature'.
Best Cherry Blossom Viewing in Odawara?
by Shawn Thir
Photo of Saijoji Temple stairs by Ikumi Burns
I love cherry blossoms viewing; what a great excuse for sitting under a tree and getting drunk. However, I’m not keen on sharing this experience with a thousand other drunk and noisy people(the annual carnage in Ueno Park just turns me off). One great spot for cherry blossom viewing is that park(does it have a name?) behind Odawara High School- they used to hold the Odawara Jazz festival there years ago. I went there last year but the place had already been staked out by 8am! Good luck.
Odawara Castle is an obvious choice but it is crowded, of course. If you can go at night(they have lamps set up) you can avoid the crowds all together. One spot I like is on the moat. If you cross the bridge where that parapet is and hang a quick left(you’ll be facing the Odawara Police Station), there’s a small wooded area there. In that copse of trees, is a cherry tree that droops down into the moat(I think everybody ahs taken a picure of it). If you’re lucky(like I was last year) you can sit on the edge of the moat under this tree. There’s no space to spread out but my girlfriend and I enjoyed a few beer together and had a superb view of the blossoms.
Now to the nitty gritty- my favorite spot. If you’re at the park behind Odawara High School and start walking down the road back to Odawara Stn., you’ll come across a bunch of tennis courts the school uses for soft tennis. At the end of these courts, you’ll find a set of steep stairs. Climb theses stairs and walk to the rear of the courts. You’ll come to a small clearing with a picnic table /bench. I chose to spread a blanket under a cherry tree on the edge of the path. NOBODY was there. Just me, my girlfriend and the cherry trees.
My little secret is out. Or is it? Anybody ever been there before? I felt like a gold miner hitting the mother lode; I had the whole place to myself.
Originally posted at the Odawara Bulletin Board
Monjya Jin: Monjyayaki Restaurant
One of my friends has a monjyayaki restaurant in Odawara. It is called Monjya Jin, and it is across from Tozan supermarket and beside the McDonalds on the 6th floor.I went there last night and ate Butakimuchi(pork and kimchi) monjya and Mochimentai(mochi and spicy cod roe) monjya plus 2 beer for 1500 yen. The master is a friendly guy and welcomes foreigners.I recommend going here.
--from Masako`s post at the Odawara Bulletin Board
Odawara Living is one site of a family of websites owned by Kevin Burns. We hope OL has helped you!
Why Live in the Odawara Area?
by Sandra Isaka
Believe it or not, I actually chose to live in the Odawara area. In 1993, I came to Japan on the JET program. I was placed in a really inaka town in Tochigi-ken. I was there for two years, and loved it, but it was just too inaka.
After returning home for almost 2 years and working at the Atlanta Olympics, I knew that I belonged back in Japan. I started a serious job hunt, which landed me about 5 to 6 offers. The job in Kaisei was just what I was looking for.
Just like Shawn, I love the Japanese countryside and small town atmosphere. I also need to be close to Tokyo and everything that is going on there. After living in Tochigi, I knew that I wanted to be near the ocean and mountains, and in a warmer place. The Odawara area was a perfect match. There isn't much of a job selection here, but with a bit of ambition and creativity, you can make things happen. It is sometimes hard to be a foreigner in Japan, but it is much easier when you are able to become part of a community. Because I teach in a public elementary school and junior high, I have a respected position in my town. Most of the population knows who I am, and I am treated very well. It is rare to find such a situation in a larger city. Every morning when I leave my house, I am sent off with 'Iterashai', and welcomed home in the evening with 'Okaeri'. You don't have to work in the public schools for this to happen. The key is to become an active member of your community. It makes all the difference.
