Japan Diaries 4: Week 57

Week 57: November 28 – December 2, 2022

Day 392: November 28, 2022

Monday – Rumoi

Rumoi High School 11.28.2022

It’s a cold cloudy Monday morning. I’m back at Rumoi High School today. Last week, Matsuda-sensei informed me that his son got the virus and he and his wife are now quarantined. That’s why I will be his classes' main teacher today. In a way, it would be a chance for me to prove my skills as a teacher.

Here’s my workload for today:

1st period – Mayor of Machu Picchu Village @ 3-35 of Matsuda-sensei Mr. Nicerio
3rd period – iPS Cells @ 3-46 of Matsuda-sensei Mr. Nicerio

Day 393: November 29, 2022

Tuesday – Asahikawa Driver’s License Center

It’s another cold Monday morning here in Rumoi City. However, I won’t be reporting for work today as I filed a nenkyu (paid leave) for my trip to Asahikawa City. My wife drove me to the Asahikawa Driver’s License Examination Center (北海道 旭川方面 旭川運転免許試験場) for my scheduled exam.

We left Rumoi City at around 8 AM and arrived at the examination center at around 9:50 AM. Surprisingly, the process was way faster today than the last time Matsuda-sensei and I went there. My papers were immediately processed that’s why I got to take the exam early too.

Asahikawa Driver’s License Examination Center (北海道 旭川方面 旭川運転免許試験場)

While waiting for the result of the exam, I met 3 very friendly Mongolians who also took the test. They were working in the town of Numata. We got to talk about our exam experiences and also about our work in Hokkaido. After about 20 minutes of waiting, we finally got our results. We all passed! However, we were also informed that we will be contacted again for the practical driving exam which will be scheduled for 2 to 3 months in the future. We bade each other goodbye and good luck.

AEON Mall Asahikawa West (イオン旭川西店) 

Looking for a place to eat

Since it was still early when I finished, my wife and I drove to AEON Mall Asahikawa West (イオン旭川西店) for lunch. We ate at Saizeriya (サイゼリヤ イオンモール旭川西) where I got to taste the Napolitan for the first time. I wanted to try it as it was made popular by the Netflix drama series First Love.

Saizeriya (サイゼリヤ イオンモール旭川西)

It's a pizza date for us

After eating, we went shopping for winter boots. To wrap up our trip in Asahikawa City, we bought milk tea at Gong Cha. It was something that we usually do after grocery shopping in the Philippines.

Chainsaw man

We arrived home a little before 5 PM. Just in time to pick Ella up from the play center. That night, Ella and I started watching the anime “Chainsaw Man”. We finished 2 episodes and it was promising.

Day 394: November 30, 2022

Wednesday – Haboro

Haboro High School 11.30.2022

The weather is snowy and windy. I'm going to Haboro High School today. I'm here for the twelfth time this academic year 2022-2023. I utilized my 1-day Moekko Free Ticket for this journey.

Here’s my workload for today:

4th period – Essay Writing Activity @ 3rd year A of Watanabe-sensei
5th period – Interview Activity @ 3rd year B of Watanabe-sensei
6th period – Past Perfect and Subjunctive Mood @ 1st year of Kawakami-sensei

It was already dark when I got home. Not to mention, very cold. 

Moekko Free Tickets for December

Day 395: December 1, 2022

Thursday – Teshio

Off to Teshio aboard the 6:14 AM Engan Bus

Passed by the Teshio History Museum (天塩川歴史資料館) on the way to work.

It’s a very cold morning. There was a whiteout from Rumoi and it continued until Embetsu. Thankfully the bus driver was cautious driving. When I got to Teshio it was surprisingly clear and there was almost no snow in the town proper (although it will experience a whiteout by noon as well.

Teshio manhole cover

I boarded at the Teshio #2 bus stop so that I could use the toilet at the bus stop across the street near the Teshio History Museum (天塩川歴史資料館). From there, I walked for about 10 minutes to Teshio High School.

Teshio High School 12.1.2022

Teshio town as seen from Teshio High School

Today’s visit is my 10th for the school year 2022-2023. For this trip, I used my 2-day Moekko Free Ticket.

Here’s my workload for today:

3rd period – Interview Test @ 2A of Ueki-sensei
4th period – Interview Test Part 1 @ 1A of Miyakoshi-sensei
5th period – Interview Test Part 2 @ 1A of Miyakoshi-sensei

Day 396: December 2, 2022

Friday – Teshio

Teshio High School 12.2.2023

Snowy morning everyone! It’s a back-to-back visit for me to Teshio High School. Today is my 11th visit for the school year 2022-2023. For this trip, I used my 2-day Moekko Free Ticket.

Teshio Itsukushima Shrine (天塩厳島神社)

After boarding down at the Teshio Koko Mae bus stop, I went on a side trip to the nearby Itsukushima Park. I wanted to take a photo of the Torii gate of the Teshio Itsukushima Shrine (天塩厳島神社) so that I can edit it and put it side by side with the photo of it that I took last summer.

From there, I walked back to Teshio High School to report for work. This is my workload for today:

2nd period – Interview Test Part 1 @ 3rd year of Miyakoshi-sensei
3rd period – Interview Test Part 2 @ 3rd year of Miyakoshi-sensei
4th period – Interview Test Part 1 @ 1st year of Ueki-sensei
5th period – Interview Test Part 2 @ 1st year of Ueki-sensei

I left Teshio High School after the 5th period. Miyakoshi-sensei told me to try out one of the restaurants that she frequents in town Again. It’s a bit of a walk from Teshio High School. I even passed by the Teshio City Museum.

I saw Teshio History Museum (天塩川歴史資料館) again this week. This time on my way to Again (あげいん).

Again (あげいん)

Late lunch at Again (あげいん)

I ordered this mouth-watering katsu curry. Let's eat!

Again (あげいん) is a café and restaurant rolled into one. I ordered the Katsukare which is the dish recommended by Miyakoshi-sensei.

Overall, it’s another productive week here in Hokkaido. Aside from fulfilling my duties as an ALT, I also passed the written exam for my Japanese driver’s license. One more test (practical driving) and I'll be able to drive here in Japan. With that said, I’m super excited to be able to drive here in Japan.

Read more:

Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 57
Moekko Free Ticket

Hokkaido Manhole Covers
Teshio History Museum
Teshio Itsukushima Shrine

Teshio Itsukushima Shrine Revisited

10 Things to Do in Asahikawa City

10 Things to Do in Teshio

Japan Diaries 4: Summary

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