In the first week of October Hiroshima AJET set out to Otoyo, Kochi in Shikoku for a whitewater rafting experience! This was our first big trip out of the prefecture this year, brought to us by the amazing new leaders of AJET: Myia, Brandon, Alex, and Jennie.

Congratulations, Hiroshima JETs! National AJET has announced the winners of its 2010 Awards, and the Wide Island View has been named Best Online Resource of 2010. Three cheers to all of you! The Wide Island View would not be what it is without your contributions. The Best Online Resource Award was given to “the AJET Group that provides the most outstanding online services to its members, including websites, online magazines, bulletin boards, forums, or any other kind of online medium. Points of consideration include readership, content, design, reliability, regularity and educational resources.”

Attention all JETs! National AJET is currently holding elections for new block leaders to represent regions around Japan. There are three candidates campaigning to be the National AJET representative for Block 9, which includes Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi prefectures. The three candidates are Jonathan Fisher of Hiroshima Prefecture, Erin McBride of Shimane Prefecture, and Kholofelo Nkoe of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Votes can be cast now through Feb. 26.

One way you can take advantage of your time in Japan is to get involved in some of the structured leadership positions available on JET. Several opportunities exist to build leadership experience at both the local and national levels, from becoming a Prefectural Advisor to taking on responsibilities through Hiroshima AJET or National AJET (Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching). These can be excellent resume builders and networking opportunities. I talked to many of the people in these leadership roles to learn more about how they got their position and what they do. For the first-year folks, this article will be a bit of a primer on what opportunities are available, and for everyone else this may clear up how things work and what the jobs actually entail.

It’s been almost a year since I climbed to the summit of Mt. Fuji (富士山), an unforgettable journey I made alongside my fellow Hiroshima JETs in early September. To those JETs considering the climb this year, I’d like to offer a little background on the significance of the mountain, as well as some friendly advice about the climb, should you decide to take the challenge (and I hope you do!).

I discovered Hiroshima’s famous Toukasan Festival last year, when my students’ journals suddenly became peppered with desperate pleas for new yukata. Before long, Japanese teachers and students alike were asking to dress me up in yukata and eagerly telling me all about Hiroshima’s huge annual Toukasan Festival. Downtown, the stores on Hondori were bursting with colourful yukata, lightweight summer kimono. Instantly, I was hooked!

We’d like to thank everyone who has participated in our events so far this year. The Mt. Fuji climb was an absolute success. The transportation was all on time, the weather was perfect, and every single climber made it to the summit! Everyone also got back to the bus on time, so we had ample time at the after-climb onsen. The onsen was definitely not great and we’ve told the travel company that we want to change that next year. But overall the trip was great. Thanks and congratulations to all those who took part. We hope Mt. Fuji provided you with some good memories!

If you are leaving Japan this year, you may have piles of clothes that you either no longer need or don’t want to pay to transport home. Of course you could put them out for recycling, disguise them as cushions and irritate your successor… or you could donate them to this year’s AJET clothing drive and bask in the smug glow of knowing your togs have gone to people who need them.

These are your Hiroshima-ken AJET Representatives for 2008-2009.

Spring Break is upon us and Golden Week is just around the corner. That means that there are only a few months left before we have to say goodbye to some friends. Add more memories of your time in Japan and come out for the upcoming AJET events. So get out your planner and a pen, and write these dates down! More details will be coming as the dates get closer.