I was once like you. Wandering the streets of Hiroshima, gazing at row upon row of snack bars, pondering where to go to listen to some decent music. Desperately searching, in vain, for good live music venues. Painfully sitting through one bad song after another at Club Jamaica / Sacred Spirits / ‘This is no longer a dancing establishment – please dance outside on the sidewalk’. Well don’t worry, there actually are things going on here. Granted, the local music scene possesses nowhere near the same level of cool as Osaka and Tokyo, but hey, at least we don’t live in Shimane. But before you buy that shink ticket to Kansai, listen up: my countless nights of wandering and bad music have paid off – I have uncovered a small yet enjoyable music scene in Hiroshima City.

The first line of Imogen Heap’s song Hide and Seek perfectly describes my initial thoughts of India: “Where are we? What the hell is going on?” Immediately after arriving in New Delhi, culture shock dealt me a nice punch in the stomach. Taking a taxi to my hotel, I discovered that Indian “highways” are multi-purpose areas where literally anything goes – in addition to cars and motorbikes, main roads are also utilized for social gatherings and cow herding. Turning onto the street where my hotel was situated, I was welcomed by two drunken homeless men partaking in a friendly fistfight. I then experienced what it would feel like to sleep outside during rush hour in New York City — just by staying a night inside my hotel.

Hello JETs! Here at Hiroshima AJET headquarters we have been busy working on some exciting upcoming events: Early April we are planning a quiz night. Come see if last year’s winners (Jeff Niemetschek, Berin McKenzie, and Russ Tyler) can retain their title! All the money raised that night will go towards the Bangladesh Habitat for Humanity trip, which is being led by Hiroshima JETs, Shannon and Peter Coelho. During Golden Week their team is going to Bangladesh to help build houses for needy families. The quiz night fundraiser will be a guaranteed fun night where you can see if you truly have lost all of your capacity for intelligent thought while in Japan – plus you’ll be helping out a good cause.

Have you yet to see the inside of a love hotel? Does the idea of dating a Japanese guy or girl fill you with just as much fear as it does excitement? Did you spend Valentine’s Day catching up with friends? If so, you need Carolina’s help to put you on the express train to rabu-rabu-rando!

A wonderful way to spice up any meal!

What was it? A crazy Japanese festival that takes a childhood pastime and turns it into a competitive international sport. What were we doing? Training for weeks on end (well, does walking to school count?) with the Hokkaido-based national championships within our sights… or you know, just trying to survive and have a laugh. Let’s begin by painting a brief picture of the contest. The Yuki Gassen is basically a 2-day hardcore snowball fight, the winners of which go on to compete in the national championships in Hokkaido where teams from all around the world come to participate.