Thank you everyone for taking a chance and getting involved. Please be sure to support your representatives and help make Ishikawa AJET fabuloso!

This year seems particularly pleasant and beautiful - the sky is clear and sunny and all the summer events' planning is underway, hopefully making the move to Japan a smooth transition for all new JETs.

Take a few minutes folks to find out who these new folks are and give them a proper welcome! Keep reading for the events and things to come for this month!

-Tonya

On to business!

Upcoming Events for August and September:

Job related:

August 1st: Group A arrives in Ishikawa

August 4th-6th: English Summer Seminar (MANDATORY FOR ALL PREFECTURAL GROUP A ALTS)

August 8th: Group B arrives in Ishikawa

August 15th: Education Day – Kanazawa Nishi High School

August 16th-17th
There are two events over these two days.
Morning - Ishikawa English Teachers’ Seminar – Jyosei Center
Afternoon - Ishikawa New JET Orientation – Riifare: IFIE

August 19th: Ishikawa English Club League Debate Contest – Jyosei Center
Some of your high schools will have teams participating in the contest. All are welcome to come and observe.

August 21st: Prefectural Payday!

August 24th - 25th: Group C Arrives in Ishikawa.

August 28th: Municipal Payday!

September 3rd: First Day of School

JET Related

Festivals
The month of August is prolific with small and large festivals. Get in touch with your area leaders or PAs and find out what is happening in and around your area. If you see ropes with strange little pieces of paper attached to them hanging from houses and business, follow them, they will probably lead to your local shrine where even the smallest shrines will have evening events.

August 11th: Uchinada Beach Party – Contact Scott Page or your area leader for details.

August 18th: AJET Bar Crawl – Please contact Fiona Shaw, our AJET representative for details.

September 1st: AJET Official Welcome Party
We have a few folks coming in quite late with Group C. We wanted to wait and include them in the revelry. It is also gives the returning JETs a chance to come meet you if they have been out of the country and properly set you up for your first day of school the following Monday.

Area Leaders

This year's area leaders are:

Wajima: Joel Werley, Marie Wojcik
Noto, Suzu, Anamizu: Eliza Muskett, Anne Scoufalos, Christy Straniero
Kahoku, Hakui, Shika, Hodatsu-shimizu, Tsubata: Travis Pierce, Lauren Hill, Beth Farlik
Nanao: Michael Younker, Rachel Chua
Kanazawa, Uchinada, Nonoichi: Jessica Cleary, Phill Cantone, Scott Page, Fiona Shaw, Mo McKeurtan
Hakusan, Nomi, Terai: Azadeh (Oz) Pour, Andrew DeCock
Komatsu, Kaga, Daishoji: Caoihme Ni Dhubshlaine, Keith Ibsen

If you are new - these folks will be getting in touch with your shortly. If you are not Ishikawa veterans, please contact these area leaders to see if any of the new JETs need a hand or if there are coming events going on that you should know about!

Last, thing: if you all are back home or traveling abroad in general, play safely and come back in one piece!

That is all for now! Let me know if you have any questions. Good Luck and I’ll keep all of you posted with updates.

-Tonya

First the bad news: Yes indeed, you have to pay this bill yourself.

Now the good news: The prefecture will deposit money in your bank accounts directly to cover the cost of the bill.

I realize this seems backward to most of you, but that's how it works in this instance!

How to pay for your Tokyo Expenses

• You need to pay the amount in full by furikomi (wire transfer) to the account listed on the bill by September 14th.
• The prefecture will deposit an amount of money to cover most of the bill by September 14th.
• You will use this money to pay the bill. However, please note that you will have to cover the costs of transporting your check in luggage from the airport to your house. Usually this is a small amount of money, so don't stress.
• Even with the luggage delivery expense, most JETs usually end up with a little bit of money left over (i.e. the amount deposited is more than the amount you have to pay).
• If you don't know how to do a furikomi please ask your supervisor or office staff.
• Remember that you can only do a furikomi until 3pm on a weekday!!! So don't leave this for September 14th after you get done with work - you won't be able to do a furikomi at 4:30 pm!

One Shot Project

The One Shot Project crew's hard earned efforts resulted in a tremendous gallery showing earlier this year. Now they're happy to announce the online presence of the One Shot Project. If you missed it the first time - or even if you just want to see it again in all its digital glory, head over to the site and check it out!

The site will be up until the end of October, so pass the word and don't delay!

Japanese Proficiency Exam

This year's Japanese proficiency exam will be held in Toyama (for Ishikawa JETs unless you have a reason to go elsewhere) on December 4th (sunday). The deadline for submission of the application has already passed (September 5th) but you can still submit late applications until October 14th (the price goes up from 5500 yen to 8500 yen). You can pick up applications at any major bookstore.

The Meguro Language Center has a tremendous wealth of freely downloadable resources extremely useful for those interested in studying for the proficiency exam. You can download the entire set of kanji lists for the different levels, all sorts of grammer and vocabulary study sheets and much much more. I cannot recommend this site enough, and best of all - it's completely free!

For more information on the Japanese Proficiency exam, check the relevant thread over on the forums.

Okay, that's it for now. Enjoy the last days of summer!!

-Panda

Conference	Dates	Description
Tokyo Orientation A	07/25-07/27	Only for new 2005-2006 Group A arrival JETs. Serge and Panda will be picking you up.
Tokyo Orientation B	08/01-08/03	Only for new 2005-2006 Group B arrival JETs. ?? will be picking you up.
Tokyo Orientation C	08/18-08/19	Only for new 2005-2006 Group C arrival JETs. Hariki-san? will be picking you up.
Engish Summer School	08/7-08/9	Mandatory for ALL new Group A&B SHS (prefectural) ALTS! Those of you 2nd/3rd years working as moderators should have been contacted by Erin M. (Izumigaoka SHS) already. Located at the Noto Seinen no ie.
Ishikawa Orientation	08/10-08/11	Mandatory for ALL new 2005-2006 JETs. Tells you all you need to know about living in ishikawa and the basics about your job. Those of you 2nd and 3rd years presenting/moderating sessions should have been contacted by myself already. At the Kanazawa Seinen Kaikan.
Education Day	08/12	Voluntary, but highly recommended. Oganised by Moby (Nonoichi Meirin), this repeat of last year's highly successful seminar provides you with practical, hands on information on how to teach effectively. At Nonoichi Meirin SHS.
Takamatsu Teachers Training Seminar	08/25-08/26	Mandatory for ALL SHS prefectural AND Municipal ALTS! (Different than last year!) Work with JTEs to improve your team teaching/lesson planning skills. I will be posting a call for 2nd/3rd years interested in volunteering/ moderating on the j-talk forums soon, or else contact me if interested. At the Kenritsu Kango Daigaku in Takamatsu.
ALT Midyear Conference	11/25?-11/26?	Mandatory for ALL 2005-2006 ALTs Date has yet to be fixed, but in the latter half of November. I will be posting a call for 2nd/3rd years interested in volunteering/moderating on the j-talk forums soon, or else contact me if interested. At the Ikoinomura in Shika.

"JET in action" pictures

CLAIR has sent a request to each prefecture asking we send them 10 pictures of "JET in action". I think some of you may remember this from last year - it's going to be used for a calendar and other JET promotional materials.

This is an open call for you to send in pictures of you teaching/interacting with the community/etc. - basically all the lovely things you do in your capacity as JET members to make the JET program a success.

Send your submissions to this address. Deadline is the end of the month.

There's also a thread about this over on the j-talk forums.

Returning JETs info

The handouts and other information Justin talked about at the Returning JETs Information Meeting last year is now up online at:

http://www.ishikawajets.org/support/returners2005/

You can download any relevant files you might need, including the application forms to extend your visa, get your pension refund and designate someone your tax affairs representative. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you still have any questions!

Farewell Party

The final farewell Party for all our dearly departing homies is going to take place at Poporo Foods (aka "Joel's house") in Nanao on Friday, July 19th. A great chance to wish all the leavers good-bye and much success for the future. Also, a fantastic opportunity to get rip-snorting drunk. You know what they say, be there or be square!!!

There's also a (rather passive-aggressive) thread about this on the j-talk forums.

Okay, that about does it for today. Try to stay outside of the sweltering sun - it's getting up and above 30 degrees all this week. At least tsuyu (the rainy season) isn't upon us - yet!!!

- Panda

If you have paid it or your CO has asked you to pay it, don't worry as you will be refunded for the full amount by your CO. In the end, it will only be your CO losing out on 25,000 yen, not you.

Some of you might be wondering what happens if you stay in Japan after your contract has finished to do some travelling and you end up staying in Japan longer than a year? Anyone who is planning to stay in Japan a little longer, I would pay the tax now and get your CO to refund you for the amount so you don't have to worry about it afterwards. It seems that most COs are under the impression that they have to pay this tax for you regardless if you are 1st year or 3rd year so let them live under that illusion!

So to summarise:

If you are a first year and leaving in July, then you don't have to pay this tax and your CO doesn't have to pay.

If you might be staying on and do end up in Japan a longer than a year, pay the amount and get your CO to reimburse you so that there are no hassles afterwards.

If you have any questions, get back to me.

-Justin

If you're arriving by airport, keep in mind that there's direct buses to and from the hotel. The limousine bus schedule from Haneda domestic airport to the Keio plaza can be found here. Keep in mind that the bus takes at least 50 minutes (or more, depending on traffic!) so don't catch a flight at the last minute and expect to make it!

Finally, should you need it, you can find out everything you need to about the Keio plaza by visiting their homepage (in english).

Man this conference blows! I'm gonna ditch!

A "free trip" to Tokyo rocks in anybody's book, and for those of us living in Ishikawa, it can certainly be a strong temptation to want to "make the most" of this chance by ditching the conference and painting the town red. While of course, officially I can't condone such behavior, I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't happen and that some of you won't skip yourself.

While ultimately the decision is up to you, I would advise you against skipping, for several reasons. The first and foremost is that attendance may be taken at the individual seminars, and if you are found to be absent, there's a chance you may be forced to reimburse your contracting organization for the money they spent to send you to the conferences - and believe me, it's not cheap, especially the two nights at the Keio Plaza. While this may seem extreme, it does and has happened, so think twice before ditching!

In addition, you will be required to write a report summarizing the various workshops you attended, and for the sake of those of us who have to read those reports it'd probably be better if they weren't all copied verbatim from the conference booklet!

Finally, many people have spent a great deal of time preparing this conference for you, and there's a great chance that you may find it contains quite a bit of useful information! So out of respect for the people who have put all their time and hardwork into creating the various workshops and setting up your accomodations and arrangements, try to attend at least most of the conference!!

Okay, okay. Now what's there to do in Tokyo?

That having been said, there will be plenty of opportunities to have fun in Tokyo! While I'm sure everyone will find their own things to do, it might not hurt to bring along a guidebook or stop by any of the various tourist information centers to pick up a map and information on some of the more mainstream attractions Tokyo has to offer.If you're looking for things more "off the beaten path", there's countless places you can look for information, but your own fellow JETs might be one of the best sources and are bound to know more than one or two interesting places you may never have considered! In addition, you check places like Tokyo's Metropolis Magazine, a foreigner rag devoted to all sorts of local happenings. You can pick up a copy at Kinokuniya (there's a branch in Shinuku out the East exit by Bic Camera/citybank), Virgin Records, etc. and in the back there's all sorts of advertisments and events listed. There's also some stuff floating around on the J-talk forums, or you can go to places like the Tokyo International Forum over in Yurakucho to see what postings you can find (these tend to be more of the cultural or "exchange" type, rather than parties or gigs) for information as well.

Finally, the Keio plaza has a nifty little flash based map which shows a variety of attractions (pretty mainstream) in Tokyo and how to get there. You can view the map by click here. If you need a map of the general train layout in Tokyo, you can find one here. Don't forget that your JET diary has a very useful english map of the train system in Tokyo as well!

A word of caution...

Tokyo is a vast and confusing place if you've never been, and while it's safe for the most part, exercise reasonable caution when heading out, especially if you're thinking about slumming around in Roppongi or Kabukicho. Try not to head out alone and don't do anything stupid - basically, anything you wouldn't do back here in Ishikawa. (forgive my little slip into "parental mode"!) I will be presenting one of the seminars at the conference and will be in Tokyo from Sunday until Wednesday evening, so if you need anything or get into trouble, don't hesitate to give me a ring and I'll do my best to help get you sorted out!

Returning JETs

Finally, Justin, the CIR PA, has been kind enough to prepare a digital version of the information he covered at the Returner's Conference last month, including copies of the forms you'll need to collect your pension refund. I'll be posting this page shortly, so look for it to appear on the "quicklinks" section to the left. As well, don't forget that the Korinbo Flea Market is coming up soon on the 19th of June and is a great opportunity to get rid of all that stuff you don't know what to do with!

Well, that's it for now! To all new JETs, welcome again! And to all of you staying with us for another year, have a safe trip and I'll see you in Tokyo!

-Panda

Unlike the previous site, the new ishijets website is web standards compliant, which means it should look good on virtually any browser you care to view it with. You can read more about it under technical section of the about page. Of course, if you run into any problems, please don't hesitate to e-mail me and let me know!

There's still a lot of work to be done on the site as you can see - the events and region sections should be up by next week, after I get a chance to meet with Dipstar and Keith one more time, and the region guides by next month. Unfortunately, I'm a bit busy with preparations for the upcoming Tokyo Renewer's Conference, so that's why it's taking so long!

Speaking of conferences, have you made all your arrangements yet? Make sure that you have already transferred your money to Uesugi at the Board of Education (for prefectural ALTs) or made individual arrangements with your local BOE if needed (for some municipal ALTs, possibly). Make sure to plan ahead and don't leave buying your train ticket till the last minute either! According to the paper you will have to arrive by 2pm on Monday June 6th, but in reality, you'll want to get there a lot earlier than that. There are more than 1000 attendees expected, so you can pretty much bet that things are going to be jam packed! Many of you may be planning on going down the weekend before which is an excellent idea as well, as you can take your time about things on Monday.

Some people have asked if their expenses will still be covered if they choose to go down early, and the answer is "Yes". Regardless of when you choose to go down to Tokyo, you will still be reimbursed a standard amount (calculated according to the official formulas for determining mileage, which for Kanazawa-Tokyo routes through Echigo-Yuzawa, I believe) for your transportation costs. Accomodations, it goes without saying, will only be covered for Monday and Tuesday night, so make sure you have a place to stay!

I will be posting more details on the Renewer's Conference in the next week or so, so stay tuned! If you have any questions you would like answered, feel free to leave them on the comments section of this post.

Finally, for those of you going back home after this year, information on the Leaver's Conference - to be held in Kanzawa in the next month or so - will be posted as soon as I get it from the Kyoiku Center. It's never too early, however, to start thinking about packing, shipping stuff home, selling on your belongings and what not, so try and get started on that early as well. If you have things you need to get rid of, you can try selling them on the buy/sell forum or else at the upcoming flea market at Korinbo Harbor at the end of June.

That's it for the moment. Please enjoy the new site and rest assured that the kinks and under construction bits will be sorted out soon enough! Have a great week!

-Panda