About Us Then

All the contributors to nipponDAZE lived in Oita-ken, Japan in the early 1990s. We knew each other then and we have kept in contact since. We each experienced Japan, and even some of the same events, very differently. Perhaps the most important thing we learned is what you take away from Japan depends a great deal to what you bring to it.

M. Sinclair Stevens

What were you doing in Japan?
I worked for the Japanese Ministry of Education on their JET program. I worked with the Japanese teachers of English in the high school attached to Beppu Women's Junior College (aka Mizozbe Gakuen).

When did you live in Japan?
August 1989 - July 1991

Where did you live?
Japan > Kyushu > Oita-ken > Beppu-shi > Kamegawa-chou-machi > Block 29-10 > Room 203. That is, the 2nd floor of the high school dorm above the bookstore and dental office.

How old were you?
In 1989...33.

What is your blood type?
Type A.

Can you use chopsticks?
Yes.

Can you eat Japanese food?
I love Japanese food. Japanese food was one of my top five reasons for moving to Japan.

Can you speak Japanese?
No. But I am studying it. Still

Jeanne Belisle

What were you doing in Japan?
I taught English conversation and American Studies at Beppu Daigaku (Beppu University). I also taught at various other institutions such as the Hospital for Crippled Children, (the head doctor was friends with the president of the college so I had to give him a good deal), a company called Hiji Hi-Tech, and two Texas Instruments plants. Teaching at these places was incredibly rewarding because the students were a refreshing change from my rather shy and reticent 18 and 19-year-olds at the colllege.

When did you live in Japan?
I lived in at the jutaku (teacher's dorm) on Daigaku Dori Kitaishigaoka in Beppu-shi (city), Oita-ken for 2 1/2 years. Then I moved to Tokyo and lived across from the Okura Hotel and next to the American Embassy in the central part of the city (can't bring the name of the "cho" to mind at the moment), for another year and a half.

How old were you?
I was 32 when I arrived.

Can you use chopsticks?
Yes, I can use and could use chopsticks.

Can you eat Japanese food?
I had jumped on the sushi bandwagon in the 80's in Los Angeles. I don't eat it much here in Phoenix, but it is still one of the most sensuous foods around - a true culinary experience. While I was a fan of sushi when I went to Japan, there I became captivated by the variety, novelty and presentation of so many strange foods. I learned to be a true lover of fish in all its variety and never failed to take delight in whatever litttle delicacy came my way, including horse sashimi, wild boar and blowfish. My idea of heaven would be to go again to a little inn by a river or the sea and be served local specialties while lounging on a tatami mat dressed in my loosely flowing yukata.

Can you speak Japanese?
Nihongo o mata hanashimasu kedo sukoshi zutsu wasurete iru yo... Zannen desu ne...

JQS

What were you doing in Japan?
It was my Mom's idea. Er, Mom, really, I wanted to go.

How old were you?
10.

Can you use chopsticks?
Can you use a knife and fork?

Can you eat Japanese food?
I liked sushi even before I went to Japan. I love Japanese rice and manju (sweet-been paste cakes). The first time I had okonomiyake, I didn't really like it. Then one cold day we bought some from a street vendor and I was hooked. The first month we were there, my Mom couldn't figure out the cooking instructions on any of the food packages from the grocery store, so we ate a lot of ramen. I never want to smell another bowl of ramen again. And don't even get me started on the cafeteria food at Kamegawa Elementary school. Natto? No thanks.

Can you speak Japanese?
No. But I am studying it.

M2

What were you doing in Japan?
I was also on the JET Program. I was working at two private high schools. One was an all-girls school that taught dental hygiene, nursing and cooking. One was a school that taught car repair, cooking, and a variety of other low-level career skills. I say I "worked" at the schools because I can't say I actually "taught" at them. In fact, I didn't work much, either. I sat, mostly, drinking green tea or hot water when I was sick of tea, and did absolutely zip-squat.

When did you live in Japan?
August 1990 - July 1991

Where did you live?
I lived in Oita prefecture, in the capital city of Oita. I lived on the seventh floor of an apartment building that actually had a washer/dryer, was next door to the owner of the larger school, and about four blocks from the train station and Mr. Doughnut.

How old were you?
I was 22. At 22 I was twice as stupid as I am now, which is a staggering concept.

Can you eat Japanese food?
I cannot eat Japanese food. When I was 22, I couldn't eat much American food, so Japanese food was right out. No fish. No vegetables. No fruit. I survived on junk food, and anything that had the word "yaki" in it. Yaki is the Japanese word that means "this food is safe for anyone who can't stand to eat anything healthy." I ate fried chicken and coca-cola when I went out, and when I was in I ate packaged pizza, boil-n-eat yakisoba, and chocolate.

Can you use chopsticks?
I could. I did. I don't know if I can now. My hands have started waging a war with me, and so far I'm outnumbered. Maybe I should start again ... that would teach 'em.

Can you speak Japanese?
No. I could not and cannot speak Japanese. I moved to Japan so I could use my four years of college-taught Japanese, and at my best I spoke as well as a happy but uninteresting four year old. I cannot speak Japanese now at all. I can, however, understand the movie Totoro.

Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
January 01, 1989

Comments

I was at Beppu Daigaku in 89-90, and it's great to take this tour through those memories via your website. I taught with Jeanne in L.A., and she was the one who got me to Beppu. I'll definitely check in to read articles from time to time! My nephew has just been accepted in the JET program and we're all waiting to see where he'll get posted, but of course I'm hoping that he'll end up close to the lovely little town of Beppu. Great work!

Comment by: Barbara Reisman. Posted May 7, 2002 09:02 PM.

Hey there, I studied abroad in Hong Kong last year. When I went to Beijing, I remember meeting about 15 people from the Jet Program in this bar called Vic's.!! =]

Comment by: urban tea. Posted January 4, 2003 09:49 PM.

Wow, its interesting, & pretty hillarious reading your stories about Oita, since Im now living in Beppu (an APU student, currently living in the kannawa onsen area with an obachaan..with an onsen in the house...how can you beat that?!). Anyway,I feel like I owe SOMETHING to all of you. It's really comforting reading your stories...very comforting. Wherever you are now, gambatte! JJ

Comment by: JJ. Posted April 2, 2003 07:55 AM.

JJ, welcome! I hope you are enjoying Beppu. Please feel free to leave more comments. We'd love to know what's going on in our old haunts. There's been lots of changes in the decade since we lived there.

Three of us, M1, M2, and JQS live in Austin Texas now. JBL lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Comment by: M Sinclair Stevens. Posted April 2, 2003 11:31 AM.

konnichiwa stephens-san. anata no saitto ga suki desu! arigatoo gozaimashita! kurasu ga ikimasen deshita. ima, genki arimasen.... matane! rowe

Comment by: CC. Posted April 24, 2003 10:07 PM.

I wrote "Diane no Watashi wa Japagaijin". It is in Japanese.If you are interested in reading it, I can send you a copy. I would like to have it printed in English...any ideas? It was reviewed in The Japan Times in December/2001.

Comment by: Diane Brown. Posted May 20, 2003 09:15 AM.

I have a poem text in Japanese I want to share with readers in Japan and the USA,globally. write to me and I will send URL for Japanese version. TRanslated by Mitsuko Ebihara in Osaka area. This poem is soon to become a global gift book, published in Japan, too. This is a preview.

Comment by: daniel. Posted July 3, 2003 02:30 AM.

Thank you for your site, I guess it popped up while or shortly after I came back from Japan, because Google searches prior to arriving in Japan had very little info on Beppu. My girlfriend was on JET (she worked at Hamurodai high) and I went along to find work on my own (I ended up working in Usa, at a juku and at a highschool for nurses) We were fortunate to live in Chuo Machi, Kamegawa as well, probably around the corner and down the street from your former place.

Comment by: Daniyeru. Posted October 15, 2003 12:48 AM.

Hajimemashite. I enjoyed your post on After Life and your response to my post at Delacour's weblog. Please visit my web art Eggplant (Nasu - not exactly Nasuyasumi). The site was created when I lived in Prague in 1996. Now I live in Phoenix. If Ms. Jeanne Belisle wants to practice Japanese she should get in touch with me. I was born in Tokyo and left Japan when I was 19. These days I have nobody to speak in Japanese except when I order Sushi at Fujiya Market on the phone. zehi, renraku shite kudasai, email omachi shite masu, jaane

Comment by: Fung Lin Hall. Posted March 29, 2004 06:49 PM.

dear sirs i am raed jarrar, a 26 y/o Palestinian-Iraqi Architect, used to be the co-blogger with salam pax in Where is Raed blog. i read your site, and counting my self as a left winged secular muslim, i thought u and your japanese readers would be interested in reading my blog from time to time http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com Raed in the Middle thank you raed``

Comment by: raed jarrar. Posted April 8, 2004 10:08 AM.

Hello Mina-sama i am taking a brief respite from writing and telling people who might like my books about them. RISE, YE SEA SLUGS! has about 1000 haiku (orig. japanese and multiple eng. translations, romanization, too, like Blyth), all about namako -- cucumber would not fir in many haiku -- and would be fun for bilinguals or would-be bilinguals. please check it out by visiting my site http://www.paraverse.org or by googling it or me, robin d. gill (i think dannysreview and the modern haiku review by WJ Higginson and the interview at Simply Haiku are best) If any one uses it as a reader, i would like to know! 敬愚

Comment by: robin d. gill. Posted July 21, 2004 09:05 PM.

Did you ever make it across the Betsudai Kokudou to Oita's Miyako-machi?

Comment by: ws. Posted October 5, 2005 12:13 PM.

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