The Magic of Miyajima: An Itinerary for New Years
By Sage Burch
Do you want to have the best New Years? Look no further. If you follow this New Years Game Plan, then you will welcome in the new year at a World Heritage Site.
(more…)
*
Backtrack #24: Bridge Building (Drago Flores, Ikata CIR 2011-2014)
What’s your name, when and where was your placement, and where are you from originally?
My name is Drago Flores. I was placed in Ikata. I am originally from Minnesota in the United States.
*
Backtrack #23: That Was Enough (Christopher Reed, Kihoku CIR 2006-2011)
What’s your name, when and where was your placement, and where are you from originally?
My name is Christopher Reed, I’m originally from the USA, and I lived in Kihoku-cho, a small town of about 10,000 people in Ehime Prefecture from 2006-2011.
(more…)
*
Christian and Miya’s Christmas Celebration at the Civic Center
By Sage Burch
“Back in my home country, Christmas is all about 3 Fs; fun, food, and family. Being away from home during Christmas can sometimes feel very isolating and lonely so I thought that it would be a good idea to have folks come together and just have a good time with each other. It really warms my heart to share a holiday moment with everyone and to see that everyone had a great time. Thank you for coming and also sharing with everyone!” —Christian
*
Vampires, Witches, Skeletons, Mesoamerican Gods and a Big Bloody Castle: An Introduction to Solo Journaling TTRPGs
By Jordan Rocke
G’day everyone! It’s “the blog editor didn’t want to bother everyone during the holidays and now has no content for the blog queued up” time! This time, I want to talk about something that has been getting me through a lot of dead deskwarming time: Solo Journaling RPGs.
(more…)
*
Backtrack #22: Welcomed and Included (Heeni (Janie) Tito, Masaki ALT 1997-2000)
What’s your name, when and where was your placement, and where are you from originally?
Kia ora koutou, ko Heeni (Janie) Tito ahau. I was a teacher at kindergarten, primary and junior high schools in Masaki-cho, Ehime-ken from 1997-2000.
I descend from Ngā Puhi and Ngāti Whātua iwi, of Northland, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Currently living in Wellington.
(more…)
*
30 Candles: Three Tales of Candlelit Horror
Edited by Jordan Rocke
On October 22nd, 2022, a decent cross-section of the population of Ehime JETs and former JETs turned up to sleepy little Hojo to try their best not to set fire to my unsuspecting tatami. Specifically, we all played a homebrew horror game named 10 Candles. We split into three groups in different parts of my house. Fueled by top-tier Hojoan pizza and Andrew’s amazing brownies, all our flavours of madness were bound to come out. As such, I asked players from each of the three groups to write a short summary of their experiences in the game. Please enjoy, thank you again to everyone who attended, and I appreciate that my house remains intact despite all the candles we burned through!
(more…)
*
Unbeaten Paths: Nanyo Summer 2022 – New Faces in the Inaka
Edited by Jordan Rocke
G’day everyone! Finally, here’s our beloved small town newcomers in the Inaka heart of Ehime, Nanyo! This isn’t just the final Unbeaten Paths for this year, but assuming there is no surprise flood of Ehime JETs between now and April 2023, this will be the last Unbeaten Paths that I (Jordan) will be running. This is the 12th entry in the series, and I’m so incredibly blown away each year by how many people are willing to take the time to write up an introduction to put out into the world, saying hello to the other JETs in Ehime. What started 3 years ago as a simple project to allow JETs from smaller participating countries to talk about how they became interested in JET without the networks that US, American and Canadian JETs have has turned into a project that occupies a spot on my calendar every year (or several spots, thanks to the odd arrival patterns COVID forced on us). During COVID, where events are often difficult to justify, it has been a wonderful way for me, and hopefully others, to learn a little about the other JETs who aren’t that far away.
(more…)
*
Unbeaten Paths: Chuyo 2022 – New and Newer Faces
Edited by Jordan Rocke
G’day everyone! Took a bit longer to put together than I was expecting, but here’s the new cohort of the Chuyo JETs for summer 2022! For anyone who missed the deadline but wants to be included, please let me know and I’ll add you in!
(more…)