The following is a letter I wrote that appeared in the Grand Forks Herald on February 22, 2012. The title it was given is, "Just ask Japan: Stay away from nuclear power".

YURIHONJO, Japan — I'm from Grand Forks, and right now I live in northern Japan, about 155 miles from the disaster last year at the Fukushima Power Plant. When the earthquake struck, the only things that happened to me were a few days without power, a few weeks without gasoline and a few months without some vegetables the grocery stores usually stock.

But some of my coworkers' friends and families — people who lived within 19 miles of the plant — saw their lives get shattered. They had to leave their homes, and while they may be able to return some years from now, there still is no official timetable for cleaning up the radiation or restoring evacuated communities.

The power company, TEPCO, said the earthquake and tsunami together caused the power plant to break down, and that nobody could have predicted it. But some scientists did predict it, and TEPCO's own experts had heard and ignored these concerns for years.

There also is evidence to suggest that the earthquake alone caused the damage, meaning the safety standards for the entire country could be lax, and all nuclear power plants in Japan may be at risk.

Nuclear power was thought to be cheap and safe, but reality has shown us the opposite is true. If you include the cleanup costs of Fukushima (largely paid for by the government through tax dollars, and now through a 15 percent TEPCO energy price hike), nuclear power in Japan now is more expensive than wind and thermal, and by current projections, solar will be cheaper within a decade.

There is now no place in Japan that would accept a new nuclear power plant. But despite this happening across the Pacific, recent Herald stories and editorials tout the benefits of nuclear power in the Red River Valley. Of course, as energy consumption rises and old power plants close, new power has to come from somewhere. But why are we discussing nuclear without first discussing wind and solar?

North Dakota has amazing potential for wind power, and the price of producing it is dropping.

Though the nuclear power industry is quick to claim how cheap nuclear power is, this is misleading, because the nuclear industry is good at pushing hidden costs back on taxpayers. According to 2010 Department of Energy estimates, the actual cost per kilowatt hour is higher for nuclear than for wind. Plus, when wind power plants fail, entire regions aren't destroyed.

Nuclear-power advocate Duane Sand says the valley is a safe location, but aren't there ways a nuclear power plant in North Dakota could fail? Earthquakes may be unlikely, but there are other dangers: operator error, mismanagement or any number of natural disasters.

Endorsing nuclear while ignoring wind is looking at the difficult and dangerous option while ignoring the sensible, proven and safe alternative.

Why would any region stake its livelihood on a power plant never breaking down, especially if it had a better option? We shouldn't, because we do.

Perkins teaches English with the JET or Japan Exchange and Teaching Program in Japan.

Dear new ALT, you'll be coming to Chokai! This is good news, because Chokai is a great place to work and live. Here's some information for you.

About Chokai

Chokai (鳥海町) is a town in the city of Yurihonjo (由利本荘市), which is in southern Akita prefecture. Technically speaking, "city" and "town" are political units based on population, so though it's called a city, much of Yurihonjo is rural. You can drive for 60km and still be in the same city! Yurihonjo is divided into towns, and the two of these most relevant to you are Chokai and Yashima (矢島町), where your schools are located. For information on Yurihonjo, see Wikipedia (⇗) or the AkitaJET wiki (⇗).

The urban center of Yurihonjo is called Honjo, and it has large supermarkets, City Hall, and all sorts of businesses. Chokai is far from Honjo — a 30-60 minute drive, depending where you want to go. Chokai itself is composed of villages and hamlets, the most notable of which are Kawauchi, Jinego, and Hitane. For pictures, see Wikimedia Commons (⇗) or my photo gallery (⇗). For other relevant information, see elsewhere on my website (⇗).

Schools

The position I had, which you'll have, is an elementary and junior high school ALT. There are five schools: Yashima Junior High School (矢島中学校), Chokai Junior High School (鳥海中学校), Hitane Elementary School (直根小学校), Jinego Elementary School (笹子小学校), and Kawauchi Elementary School (川内小学校). Yashima JHS is in Yashima, and the other four schools are in Chokai. Number-wise, there are only four schools in Chokai, and you'll work at all of them. There are three schools in Yashima, and you'll work at one of them (the other two are Yashima Elementary School and Yashima High School). For more on these schools, see the AkitaJET wiki (⇗ and ⇗). When you first visit the schools, they may or may not explain to you the general rules for teachers. As I remember it, here are the rules they told to me (with side comments in italics).

• Your work day is 8:00-4:00. In rare cases, you'll work after 4:00, but most of the time you should not do so, because it is neither in your contract nor a good use of your time. After 4:00 you can leave. If you want to stay at school, you can help out with, join in, or go watch a club activity. When and how to go about this is up to you. Participating in club activities is great use of your time — you'll learn a lot, you can play sports if you like, and the impact on the students is large. Unfortunately, ALTs cannot be official coaches of sports teams, but you can help out in practice, either occasionally or regularly, if the coach is OK with it.
• Except where noted, you work Monday through Friday. There is no school on national holidays. On occasion, there is a special event on a Saturday or Sunday, and if so, there will be a comp day around that time. Because you visit multiple schools, sometimes your comp day won't be the same as the rest of the school (i.e., the day they took off is a day you went elsewhere). If this happens, you should ask that school when they want you to take the comp day. Also, because you visit elementary schools rarely, they can't always give you a comp days for a special event. If an event is not on your work calendar, you can go to it in your free time if you like, but this is entirely up to you, and even if you go (because it looks fun), you don't have to stay the whole time.
• If you are going to be significantly late for work, call the school and tell them. If you unexpectedly can't go to work for some reason, call Chokai Junior High School, even if you are scheduled to visit another school. They will relay the information. If you're taking a sick day, it's generally expected that you'll go to (or have recently gone to) the hospital. Also, traditionally you should be talking to the vice principal if you can't make it to school, because the vice principal oversees this kind of thing. If your Japanese is not up to speaking with the vice principal on the phone, you can talk to an English teacher instead, and then the next time you go to school, briefly talk with the vice principal about why you were gone. If you're unexpectedly absent for several days in a row, contact the school each morning. If you get sick and need to go to the hospital, I recommend talking with the school. The school nurse can recommend a hospital to visit, and the school can call ahead and make sure the hospital is prepared to receive you. If needed, the school can send an English teacher with you to help translate. For work-related communication regarding matters such as these, it is best to use the telephone to call the school directly (unless it's after hours or you've arranged otherwise). Emailing the English teacher's cell phone is a bad idea.
• At school, your direct supervisor is the vice principal. For academic matters, your English teacher is in charge. For scheduling matters, there is a teacher in charge of scheduling for the entire school who makes your calendar. If you want to bring an outside guest to school, you need advance permission (which you can probably get) from the principal.
• Technically speaking, you are a public servant (公務員; kōmuin), like the secretary and the maintenance man, and you work for the town. Other teachers at school work for the city. This means that you won't change schools between years (other teachers transfer schools every few years), your paperwork is different from other teachers', and the holidays you have might be slightly different.
• You should wear presentable clothing every day. Something like what the other teachers wear is reasonable. For graduation and commencement, you should wear a suit or something comparable. For Sports Day, you should wear something suitable for running or sports. Many of the teachers wear ties and suits on a regular basis. Unless the vice principal or principal tells you to do this, you don't need to be so formal.
• Your teaching responsibility is to do team teaching for English lessons. At junior high school, you'll work with an English teacher who generally plans most of the lessons. At elementary school, first through fourth grade lessons are part of the period for integrated study, which means there is no textbook or syllabus, so you should confer with homeroom teachers about what topics to cover. For fifth and sixth grade, there is a textbook and syllabus. Elementary school teachers are not English experts, so there's room for you to do quite a lot. Your first lesson will likely be a self-introduction lesson. Strictly speaking, you are not supposed to be teaching alone, though if your fellow teachers feel that you can, you might occasionally do so. It is likely that you'll do most of the work for first-fourth grade elementary school classes.
• During summer vacation, you'll coach junior high school students for the annual speech contest. The English teachers will oversee this, though perhaps your instruction will be the most signficant.
• You must pay for school lunch. Typically, you can pay at the end of the term. A day's lunch is something around ¥300. School lunches are very large, so maybe small breakfasts are in order.
• You might be asked to pay into a teachers' coffee/tea fund. Coffee and tea are available as much as you like in the staff room. They might ask for ¥500-1000 a month. If they never ask you to contribute, you don't need to. Either way, you can have coffee.
• Try to use supplies from a school at that school. A common complaint from junior high schools is that ALTs use a lot of color toner or make dozens of photocopies in preparation for an elementary school visit, which means the junior high school is paying for the elementary school's supplies. This upsets the office person at the junior high school, which is not a good thing. Using school supplies for personal use is not permitted. You will probably do prep work for elementary school at junior high school. Just keep an eye on not using too many materials. If you occasionally use a color printer to print something for another school, nobody will worry about it. But if you want to do a lot of laminating, ask the destination school to order you a box of laminating paper (which you can use wherever you like). Similarly, if you know you need a lot of supplies for elementary school, get them ahead of time from the elementary school. When preparing for work-related conferences, anything involving the education office, or similar work-related events, feel free to use materials from whatever school you're visiting.
• Student privacy is very important. Students' test scores and health are things that you shouldn't talk about with third parties. If you want to use closeup pictures or videos of students on your public blog or on YouTube, you must get permission from their parents (which is to say, you generally can't). Distance shots are fine, though.

I've made a file that has a lot of useful information like maps, teachers' names, rosters, and other such materials. It will be in your desk when you arrive at Chokai Junior High School. Learning the names of teachers and students is very important — it would be hard to overemphasize how much this matters. There are also some JET Program publications from past years which might be of interest. At both Chokai and Yashima, there's a computer at your desk. You can use it to surf the internet for lesson plans, to check email, and to read the news. If you're just wasting time on the internet, try to be slightly discreet. All school internet traffic goes through a city proxy server, and while presumably nobody monitors what sites you're visiting, they could if they were so inclined. On this blog, there are entries with pictures and history for each of the five schools (Chokai ⇗, Yashima ⇗, Jinego ⇗, Kawauchi ⇗, Hitane ⇗). Chokai Junior High School's phone number is 0184-57-2309. The address is 〒015-0504 秋田県由利本荘市鳥海町上川内字西野１０８, or in English, Nishino 108, Kami Kawauchi, Chōkai, Yurihonjō, Akita 〒015-0504 JAPAN.

Education

Education is a broad topic, and because we as ALTs often lack prior experience in the field, we have to learn a lot on the fly. The two most important sources of written information are the JET Program and the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Technology (MEXT). When you arrive in Japan, you'll probably get a copy of the national Course of Study for elementary and junior high school English (⇗ and ⇗). It is worth reading this document several times, because it highlights the assorted objectives of the classes you will teach. In junior high school, English classes are taught by a certified English teacher (JTE). When you are there, you'll do team teaching (TT). Different JTEs have different styles, but most of them are very open to ideas you might have. A common difficulty that new ALTs have is that their activities are too complicated and thus take too long or are otherwise confusing, so if you're suggesting an activity to your coworkers, try to keep it simple. If you feel underused at junior high school, recognize that as you gain experience and knowledge, and as you and the JTE adjust to working together, you'll be able to do more. Also, there are many things you can do outside of class to interact with the students. For example, you can make an English poster board, do English writing journals, or play foreign music during lunch time. See the AkitaJET website (⇗). At elementary school, fifth and sixth grade students study English as part of the course called Foreign Language Activities. The objective of this course is using English, specifically in verbal form. Fifth and sixth grade teachers teach English even when you aren't there, so you'll probably do lesson planning with them by fax or email. The JHS English teachers can help translate faxes or emails. There's a textbook for fifth and sixth grade too — the Eigo Note. There is an electronic copy of the Eigo Note on your JHS computer. For first through fourth grade elementary school, English is part of the Period for Integrated Studies, which means there's no syllabus and no textbook. This also means you have a lot of freedom to choose interesting topics — see the AkitaJET wiki for ideas (⇗). The simplest way to plan first through fourth grade lessons is to pick a topic for each class (for example, fruit). In that class, teach the students roughly ten new words (apples, peaches, oranges, etc.). Play a few games to practice the vocabulary. Then end with a conversation game that uses a simple question and answer pattern (shopping for fruit, say). As you get comfortable with elementary school lessons, you can integrate short reviews of the previous class's material or to cover multiple topics. Expect students to forget a lot, because you're only teaching them once a month. For all students, and particularly younger students, activities where they move their bodies are a great idea. Two simple examples of this are Total Physical Response (TPR) and having students lie down to form numbers, shapes, or hands on a clock with their bodies. Homeroom teachers at elementary school generally don't speak much English, which can make team teaching somewhat difficult, but you should try to work with them closely, because it will make your classes smoother. To begin with, they probably have ideas for what topics or games their students might like to play. Beyond that, any time you are showing examples, you can show them with the homeroom teacher, though it would be good to chat with the homeroom teacher before class so they know what kind of example you want. Generally speaking, for first through fourth grade, the best lessons are fun, simple, and fast-paced. It is said that kids have an attention span that's about as long as their age, which means, for example, that six-year-olds should probably be starting a new activity — or changing the current activity — every six minutes or less. I don't know whether psychology research supports this rule of thumb, but that doesn't really matter, because if you keep it in mind when planning lessons, you'll find your lessons will be well received.

Annual events

All schools have an annual Sports Day (運動会). Chokai JHS and Yashima JHS tend to have theirs in May, and the elementary schools tend to have theirs in June or July. At Sports Day, students split into teams and have both serious and fun races. There are also some events for teachers and PTA members. At Hitane Elementary School, the Sports Day is a community event, not just a school event, so there are also events for grandparents. In the fall, elementary schools have a School Presentation Day (学校発表会), and junior high schools have Culture Festival (文化祭). The elementary schools have a few academic presentations followed by a chorus or band concert. In the afternoon of that day, some schools have special events. For example, Hitane Elementary School does soba-making, and Jinego Elementary School sometimes does mochi making. At the junior high schools, the event is an all-day affair. Classes compete in the chorus contest, some recite speeches, others may do a dance or performance, the school band performs a few numbers, and other interesting things may happen. There are three annual sports tournaments: spring (late April), summer (late June or early July), and autumn (late September). Various sports use different venues in the Yurihonjo-Nikaho area. Typically, baseball is the most popular, and if the baseball team wins the city tournament, the whole school will probably go cheer for them at the prefectural tournament. The English Speech Contest is held in the fall, and two students from each junior high school can join. Auditions might happen just before summer vacation, and the bulk of practice takes place in August, during summer break. In March, teacher transfers are announced. Teachers (and other workers) tend to change offices every two or three years, as decided by the Board of Education. They typically get the news in late March and start at their new place of work in April. Still, sometimes teachers stay at a school for many years — there is no official limit. Retirement age is sixty, and teachers in Akita are required to retire when they reach that age. Students who transfer schools are most likely to do so at the end of the academic year, in late March.

The Board of Education

The Yurihonjo Board of Education (由利本荘市教育委員会; Yurihonjō Kyōikuiinkai) office is in Honjo, and it is in charge of all elementary and junior high schools in Yurihonjo. You won't visit the Board of Education much. Instead, you will be supervised by the Chokai Education Office (鳥海教育学習課; Chōkai Kyōiku Gakushuka), which is a branch of the Yurihonjo Board of Education. At the moment, the guy who signs your contract is the head of the Chokai office, Mr. Sato Kakuei (佐藤 覚栄), though he might be retiring this March. He is in charge of elementary school and junior high school education for Chokai, but in reality he doesn't have much to do with the ALT directly. Instead, one of the other office workers at the branch office will handle your paperwork. Generally speaking, your schools determine your schedule — Chokai Junior High School is your main school, so if you want to change your schedule, talk to them. The education office wants to know where you've visited because they pay a portion of commuting costs, so please keep track of what schools you went to on what days. And at the end of the semester or school year, they might also want to know how many times you taught each class, so try to keep track of this. If you're going to a distant place on vacation (especially if it's international), you should probably tell the education office where you're going, how long you'll be there, where you're staying, and how they can contact you in case of emergency (ideally, email and a phone number). When I went on international trips, I found it convenient to make a printout of my itinerary, give a copy to Chokai Junior High School, and put a second copy in my desk at the education office. Probably nobody will ever need this information, but in rare cases it matters, and regardless it's a professional gesture. Nobody speaks much English at the office, so if you have something complicated to convey over the phone (like some kind of emergency situation), it might be a good idea to call the junior high school and speak with an English teacher there. If you go in person, you can use online translation websites. The education office will help you with many logistical things, including: picking you up when you arrive, taking you to your schools the first time you go to them, buying a car, getting car insurance, paying car and income taxes, getting a hanko (a stamp), getting a bank account, showing you your housing (which they manage), getting internet (optional), getting cable TV (optional), getting a cell phone, your transportation allowance, how to pay bills, renewing or ending your contract, informing you of upcoming conferences, and anything else like this. For the first few days after you arrive, you'll be at the education office all day. During this time, you'll visit each of your schools once and meet the principals and English teachers. Then you'll have a short welcoming ceremony at Chokai Junior High School, and from that day on, you'll go to school every day. I typically visit the education office once a week for about half an hour so I can chat with the staff there, pick up unpaid bills, put paid bills in an envelope for safekeeping, and do any necessary paperwork. Visits to the education office are part of your job, so you can visit during working hours — ask your school for permission to go during some free time. The Chokai Education Office's phone number is 0184-57-3020. The address is 〒015-0592 秋田県由利本荘市鳥海町伏見字久保193, or in English, Chokai Education Office, 193 Kubo, Fushimi, Chokai, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0592 JAPAN.

Housing

There is teacher housing in Jinego (笹子), a village of Chokai. Teacher housing is called kyouin juutaku (教員住宅) in Japanese. Your house is a duplex, but the common wall you share with your neighbor is your garage, so noise won't be a problem. You have a garage, which is rare and nice. The house is relatively large, in comparison with other ALTs' places in Honjo, and because it's owned by the town, rent is cheap. You'll have to pay rent, electric, water, propane (for cooking), and kerosene (for hot water). For internet, I used YB Net's fiber, and if you use it, your setup costs should be very low, because the house is already wired. There are a few other internet providers available. Probably you'll use JA Bank, which is technically an agricultural cooperative (this distinction matters for obscure paperwork). There are branches of JA Bank all over Chokai (and Japan generally), and you can use any of them. Sato Toshinobu Shoten fills your propane on a regular basis, but they only fill your kerosene tank (in the back of the garage) when you ask them to. If you run out of kerosene, you'll have no hot water, so when the tank gets slow, either call or go to the store and ask for a refill. There's a very powerful kerosene heater in the living room. You'll have to buy kerosene at the gas station or hardware store and fill the tank by hand (using the two red plastic 20L kerosene containers). The air conditioner can produce heat, and there's a portable electric space heater, but using electricity to heat your entire house on a regular basis is not economical in winter. In case of a power outage, there's also an old kerosene space heater in the garage which doesn't use electricity. Also, water and gas are not affected by power outages. In a power outage, house phones won't work, but the local cell towers have batteries that last for 5-10 hours. The apartment is fully furnished, including: a bed, several futons, sheets, blankets, a kotatsu, all of the standard things you'd need in the kitchen, a washing machine, a dryer, shovels (for snow), and some other stuff. There is an old TV that the education office might replace, though they haven't decided yet. Of the above items, most of them came with the place when I moved in, but over time, things wear out and need to be replaced. If anything big breaks — the air conditioning, the stove, a window, etc. — contact the education office and they can deal with it. For cheap small things like pillows or floor mats, you're better off replacing them on your own as needed. There is some parking next to the house for guests, and when that is full of snow in the winter, people can park at the rest area 200m away. There's also a small police branch station next to the house. A police officer lives there, and the building has a small office, but he typically works at the Yashima Police Station, so you might not see him around very much.

Bills

Generally speaking, there are five ways of paying bills: automatic payment from bank account, in cash at the provider's office, by bank transfer at an ATM, in cash at a bank, and in cash at a convenience store (i.e., Lawson). Here are some of the different bills I have and how I pay them.

• Rent. Your housing is managed by the Chokai Education Office. They'll leave monthly bills in your desk at the office, and you can pay those in cash at a bank counter. These payments can only be done on weekdays before 4:00. It is possible to go to the bank during free time at school — ask the vice principal for permission.
• Internet. I had YB Net internet service and did automatic payment.
• Gas. Kerosene (for hot water) and gas (propane, for cooking) and are provided by Sato Toshinobu Shoten (佐藤寿信商店), a small general store located on main street in Jinego. They'll leave bills in your mailbox, and you pay bills in cash at the store itself. The phone number is 0184-59-2020, and it's located at 39.10632, 140.291444.
• Electric. From Tohoku Denryoku (東北電力). I did automatic payment.
• Cell phone. I used Docomo and did direct payment. The other major carriers no doubt support this, too.
• Car insurance #1. Primary insurance, which is required, comes through the town office. You'll get the same excellent price that other Yurihonjo municipal servants get. This insurance is paid on rare occasion ... either once or several times a year.
• Car insurance #2. Supplementary insurance, if you purchase it, is also paid on rare occasions ... either once or several times a year.
• Car registration. Paid each spring, or if you buy a car later in the year, probably not long after you buy your car. It is very important to keep receipts (in postcard form, probably) for car registration payments.

It is a good idea to keep your old receipts. You can put them in an envelope and leave that in your desk at the education office. If there is some billing situation that you don't understand or are worried about, talk to the people at the education office, and they can probably explain things more clearly.

Water

Hot water in the house comes from the water heater, which is located in the garage. If you want to use hot water for the sink in the kitchen or bathroom, you need to turn it on. There's a white box on the wall in the kitchen, and if you press the large button on it and run the tap for 10 seconds, you'll get hot water. There's a little box in the bathroom for the shower and bath. If you press that button once, the light will turn on, and you'll get about two minutes of hot water until it automatically shuts off, at which point you'll need to press it again (and if you forget, the blast of cold water should remind you). If you fill up the bathtub 20% or so, the hot water will stay on, and you won't have to keep pressing the button. The washing machine runs entirely on cold water, so you might want to bleach your whites on occasion. In the winter, temperatures will drop below zero, and if you're gone for several days, your pipes could freeze and burst, and that would cost you a lot of money. So if you're leaving your place for several days, you should turn the water off. This can be done by closing the two floor valves (one in the kitchen and one in the wash room) and opening all of the faucets. There is no need to fiddle with the water heater in the garage. If you're only leaving for one night, perhaps you don't need to turn the water off. I've forgotten to turn the water off many times, and it's never been a problem for me. There's also a faucet for a hose by the stairs in front of the house. In the fall, shut off the water to this faucet by turning the knob on top with a wrench and then opening the faucet. In the spring, get your wrench back out, turn the knob the other direction, and turn the water back on.

Trash

Burnable trash days are Monday and Friday. Recycling and non-burnable trash day is Wednesday, but not every Wednesday, and what they collect varies by week. Trash pickup is sometime between eight and ten in the morning. I generally look Wednesday morning to see what they're collecting and then drop that off. If a trash day is a national holiday, it is skipped. If you only have a small amount of recyclables, you could take them to the convenience store. The trash collection point is halfway between the Jinego Police Station and the traffic light. There are two small sheds by the side of the road. Usually, the one closer to the police station is for burnable trash and the one closer to the traffic light is for recycling, but if one were full, you could freely use the other one. People generally take out their burnable trash the morning of trash day, but it's fine to take yours out the night before. Taking your trash out several days in advance is not generally recommended, but you can do so on occasion if you like. There are three kinds of trash bags: yellow for burnable, blue for non-burnable, and something else for recyclable that you don't need. These can be purchased at any local store. You should write your name on the trash bag before taking it out. Write your name in katakana, and for the location, write 下野 (Shimono). Objects larger than trash bags cannot easily be thrown out, so think carefully before buying large objects. In Chokai (unlike Honjo, perhaps), you don't need bags for recycling. There are large plastic bins that people put by the collection point the morning of recycling pickup, and you should put your recyclables into the bins directly. See the AkitaJET wiki for a description of what's burnable, unburnable, and recyclable (⇗).

Things to bring

There's a nice list of what to bring on the AkitaJET website (⇗). Most of what you'll need or want is mentioned there. Additionally, make sure you bring your driver's license and a lot of pictures (both digital and print is best) of things in your daily life at home. Otherwise, whatever you feel like bringing should be fine.

Transportation

The public bus service in Chokai will be largely discontinued March 31, 2012. It seems a van service from Jinego to Fushimi (near Chokai JHS) is set to replace the buses, though the details aren't public yet. Probably the van service will pick up riders at the Jinego Rest Area, where they will also post a time table. There are no trains. You'll need to buy a car. Some people in northern Akita lease cars, apparently, but I don't know of any places in southern Akita that have reasonable leasing deals. There's a lot of snow in the winter, so getting front wheel or four wheel drive is wise. Because of the large volume of snow in the winter, small light kei cars (with yellow license plates) are not recommended, because if a road or parking lot hasn't been plowed or shoveled, you'll get stuck. And you probably won't find any reasonable deals on used kei cars. If you're looking to save money, a small-ish sedan or hatchback is a good way to go. The simplest way to purchase a car is from one of the dealers in Honjo. Dealers are more expensive than private car lots, generally speaking, but they can offer very good service, which matters when your car breaks down 30km from the garage. If you buy a car from another ALT who is selling one, you can probably save even more money, but make certain to get extensive photography and a history of maintenance, accidents, repairs, and car inspection — it's bad for everyone if you commit to buying a car when you don't really know what kind of shape it is in. In the winter, you'll need snow tires. Large snow tires are significantly more expensive than small ones. There's a lot more car information on the AkitaJET website (⇗ and ⇗). You'll no doubt buy a cell phone. If you get a smart phone, you can use its maps. It's good to think about cell coverage and GPS. iPhones don't have real GPS — they use cell towers to determine location — so they are not as precise in the countryside, which is slightly inconvenient. Androids tend to have real GPS. Perhaps you'll want to buy a road atlas from a gas station or bookstore, in case you're driving in the boonies. For finding obscure places in Yurihonjo, OpenStreetMap (⇗) and Google Maps (⇗) are quite nice.

Recreation

There are a great many things to see and do in Chokai and Japan in general. Within Chokai, the most famous things are skiing (Yashima Ski Area), hiking (Mt. Chokai), and onsen (Foresta Chokai or Chokaiso). There are some adult baseball, basketball, indoor soccer, and volleyball teams. There's also a taiko drumming circle. At small local festivals, you might help carry a float, if you want to. Honjo and Yuzawa are a bit of a drive, but they have a lot more people and thus a lot more opportunities. Traditional Japanese pursuits like karate, judo, aikido, flower arranging, and Japanese musical instrument playing can be found, and taking up a Japanese hobby is a good way to meet people and learn more about Japanese culture. There are non-Japanese pursuits in abundance, as well. The easiest way to find out about things is to ask other ALTs. If they don't know (or even if they do), try talking to teachers at school. It might be necessary to talk to many teachers, though, so don't be shy about information gathering. You can also travel both in and out of Japan. There are direct flights from Akita to Korea. For other international travel, you'll probably go through Tokyo. The easiest way to get to Tokyo is via shinkansen (high speed train) from Shinjo. You can drive to Shinjo and leave your car there for up to a month. See Hyperdia for train time tables and fares (⇗). There may also be relevant information on the AkitaJET wiki (⇗) or Wikitravel (⇗).

Shopping

The Jinego A-Coop, a small grocery store, is at the traffic light near the house, and it's open until 7:00. Conbini Sato is on Highway 108 about 3km NW of the house, and it's open until 9:00 or 10:00. The nearest large supermarket is the Max Valu in Yashima. For general purpose shopping, there are Aeon Supercenters in Yuzawa and Honjo. For foreign food, the nearest places are in Akita City and Shinjo. Ugo, a short drive down Highway 57, has a small shopping center, though most people who live in Jinego would spend an extra ten minutes going to Yuzawa. Online shopping can be handy — Amazon Japan (⇗) has English on it. If you're occasionally getting packages sent to you from Amazon or overseas, having them delivered to school or the education office is a good idea, because if you aren't home to sign for a box, you'll have to call the shipping office back and arrange a delivery time. Nobody really knows why, but clothes in Japan are often sold for the coming season, not the current one, so if you wait until August to buy a swimsuit, for example, they might not have many left on the shelf. Dry cleaning takes a long time in rural areas, because they take the clothes by van to Honjo or Yuzawa, and that adds a few days to the process. Maruyasu Shoten in Kawauchi has the best hours in Chokai, and it's close to Chokai Junior High School. They might give you tea and snacks if you chat with them for a while, too. The dry cleaning place in Jinego, downstairs from Time and next door to Sato Toshinobu Shoten, is a short walk from the house, and their prices are comparable. In terms of clothes sizes, even those wearing XXL can find stuff to buy. If you have large feet, though, the local footwear selection might be limited or nonexistent. See also Wikitravel Yurihonjo (⇗) and the AkitaJET website (⇗).

Contact

Once you arrive and get an alien registration card, you can get a cell phone, and you'll want to do so (the alien registration card system will change in July, 2012, and the rules about getting a cell phone might change, too). In terms of cell coverage, Docomo cell towers cover the most area, but Docomo is quite expensive. The three major carriers (Docomo, AU, and Softbank) can be used at the house and the schools in Chokai, so many locals use Softbank and AU despite the smaller coverage area. Though data plans are pricey, ALTs tend to get smart phones. If you want to travel a lot within Japan, the maps and web browser of a smart phone will come in handy, since for much of Japan the best travel guide resources are online — for example, Wikitravel (⇗). Despite having internet access at school, you probably want to get internet at home, because, among other reasons, VOIP (e.g., Ekiga, Skype, or Google Talk) is the cheapest way to make international phone calls. The education office can help you figure out your choices and who to talk to for setup and installation. Japanese people tend to have email on their cell phones, and some of them set their cell phones to block non-cell phone email, which is inconvenient if you want to use your regular email account exclusively. Though some teachers have adapted to email, many are more comfortable with faxes, and official school communication is typically sent by fax or post. You can get cable or satellite TV, but I didn't bother, because you can rent DVDs, and English-language news is available online, so the only big thing missing, in my view, is Japanese sports coverage. And if you want to watch sports, you can go to a restaurant, bar, or friend's house anyway. Japanese postal service is blindingly fast. Packages travel within the country in two days, routinely. When sending boxes to the U.S., air mail is expensive but fast (less than a week, typically). Sending packages by boat is cheap but slow (think months). Letters and post cards always go air mail ... I don't know if it's possible to send them by sea even if you wanted to.

Alcohol

If you get caught drinking and driving (and the legal limit here is around zero), you'll be sent home. That's pretty horrible, so getting a personal breathalizer is a good idea if you plan on drinking much. The cops are known to look for people sleeping in their cars after a night on the town and pull those people over the next morning, and they would be very happy to give a DUI to a civil servant (it's a police pride thing). If you wake up in the morning and realize you aren't fit to drive to school, either take a taxi or call the school and ask them if you can come to work a few hours late. Getting a ride to school from another teacher might be possible, too. Certainly other teachers at your school will occasionally carpool or show up late because of drinking, though you might not notice, because it's discussed quietly. While missing work because alcohol's still in your system isn't ideal, the fact that you are responsible enough to stay off the road reflects well on you, as long it's a rare thing. One of my acquaintances here in Akita got a DUI several years ago — out drinking at night, pulled over the following morning, failed a breathalizer — and we were quite sad, but there was nothing to be done about it. Putting a change of clothes in your car is a nice idea, whether or not you drink much. That way you can stay over at someone's place (if you have a beer or if the weather is bad) and not have to drive home in the morning before going to work. Staying over at someone's house is a fairly common thing in rural Akita. Daiko is expensive, taxis are ridiculously expensive, and houses in the countryside are large enough where putting you up for the night is easy to do.

Japanese

If you want to study Japanese while you're in Japan, you'll have plenty of chances. To begin with, the JET Program will probably give you some materials. Additionally, there are great resources on the web, such as Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese (⇗) or the JLPT Kanji Project (⇗). In rural Tohoku, there are many foreign housewives from countries such as China, the Philippines, and Thailand. Some of your students have non-Japanese mothers! Local community centers offer free Japanese classes to all foreigners — ALTs and housewives alike. In the last few years, there have been weekly evening classes in Honjo, to the west, and in Ogachi (雄勝), to the east. These classes are called Nihongo Kyoshitsu (日本語教室), class sizes tend to be small, and instructors tend to be very friendly. If you have free time at school, you can study Japanese at your desk. No doubt other teachers will be interested in your studies, and they'll appreciate your efforts. A common study goal for foreigners is the annual Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT ⇗), which is offered around the world. The nearest test site is in Morioka (盛岡), about two hours' drive away. Junior high school students can take the Kanji Kentei (漢字検定 ⇗), a standardized test for reading and writing kanji. If you'd like to take the Kanji Kentei along with your students, this can be done — talk to the Japanese teacher. The local dialect of Japanese spoken in rural Akita is called Akita-ben (秋田弁). There are variants of Akita-ben, too, depending where you are in the prefecture. You might encounter students' grandparents whose use of Akita-ben is so strong that even if you speak Japanese you won't understand a single word they say. The best way to learn Akita-ben is to speak to a lot of older local residents, and if you use a little Akita-ben in conversation, it should be a source of entertainment to those around you.

Here are pictures from Yashima Junior High School (矢島中学校) in Yurihonjo, Akita. This school building opened in April, 2009. The old school building, located next to the softball stadium and Seishonen Home until it was demolished in 2010, had been used for 62 years. The new junior high school shares a building with the new high school. Teachers are mostly separate, but some classrooms (cooking classrooms, the gym, science classrooms) are shared between the schools.

The above maps are from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA 2.0). For the school history, see the Old Yashima JHS page. Here is a sheet music PDF of the school song.

• Yashima Elementary School: 39.230491, 140.134196.
• Yashima Junior High School: 39.233291, 140.144539.
• Yashima High School: 39.23251, 140.145424.
• Old Yashima High School: 39.230873, 140.133767.

The following is a letter I wrote that appeared in the Grand Forks Herald on November 14, 2011. The title it was given is, "Occupy Wall Street touches a nerve".

YURIHONJO, Japan — Jan Raaen tells us that in the 1960s, rioters were radical and anti-capitalistic, and that the same is true of the Occupy Wall Street movement today ("Occupy Wall Streeters choose wrong target," Page A4, Oct. 29).

Raaen misconstrues what’s happening.

In any movement, there is a fringe. This is true of the tea party, the National Rifle Association and the Democratic and Republican parties, and Occupy Wall Street is no exception.

So, when Herald readers see a picture of a rally and someone holding a silly sign, they should not assume the sign reflects what everyone in the rally believes.

Furthermore, some 70 percent of Occupy Wall Street participants are politically independent, according to a recent study, so certainly opinions will vary.

Still, some general ideas are quite clear and universal, and there’s no reason we can’t recognize them.

The biggest message behind Occupy Wall Street is that corporate greed is damaging our country, and we need to do something to stop it. The evidence is clear: Today, the richest 100 Americans have more wealth than the poorest 150 million Americans combined.

Some media sources say Occupy Wall Street has no constructive agenda, but that’s false. Given that the super-rich are getting richer, Occupy Wall Street participants want to see some of that money — our money — back in the hands of hard-working Americans.

When the recession hit, Washington found money to bail out the banks that caused it but did little for the millions of Americans who can’t make mortgage payments. This must change.

The American Dream is that if we work hard and get lucky, we can land a decent job, maybe buy a nice house and raise our families in happiness. But as the rich get richer and everyone else falls behind, that dream will fade. To get it back, we need to make some changes.

Right now, Occupy Wall Street is trying to start this process. Right now, it’s a lot of Americans standing up, telling us that things aren’t all right and describing the kind of country they think America should be.

Douglas Perkins

The following is a recipe for chestnut cake. It's an adaptation of a recipe by Chef Tallyrand at HUB-UK (2011).

500 g chestnuts 250 mL milk 250 g white sugar 6 large eggs 100 g butter

100 g finely chopped almonds 100 g bitter chocolate 100 mL brandy 2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a round 25-26 cm cake tin. Roast or boil the chestnuts. If the chestnuts are roasted, simmer in the milk for 15 minutes or until soft. Puree the chestnuts in a food processor. Put the sugar and egg yolks in a large bowl and mix. Add the melted butter, and mix. Add the almonds, chocolate, lemon juice, and brandy, and mix. Then, add the chestnuts and mix. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, and fold into the mix. Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for an hour or more before eating.

1 cup (140 g) finely chopped cashews 1 cup (180 g) finely chopped dates 1/4 tsp ground cardamom grated peel of one orange 1/2 cup dried shredded coconut

This is a recipe for cashew cardamom balls which I found at SCO*RECIPE (2011). Using your hands, mix the cashews and cardamom. Then mix in the orange peel, followed by the dates. The dates should make everything stick together, making a big ball. Divide this big ball into 16 small balls. Chop the coconut into as small pieces as possible, and roll each ball in coconut.

カシュー　140 g なつめやし　180 g カルダモン　小さじ 1/4 オレンジピール　1個の分 ココナツのパウダー　1/2 カップ

My goal here is to make my laptop into a wireless access point — like a wireless router, but without buying an extra box. I'm running Debian Linux. My laptop is connected to the internet by LAN. The first challenge is to find a wireless card that can do Master mode (that is, can work as an access point). Only a few drivers supporr this (see http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers). After searching, I found a USB wifi card that works — the NEC Aterm WL300NU-AG, which uses the carl9170 driver (see http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/carl9170).

Two packages are needed: hostapd and udhcpd. Any DHCP server would work, and there are several alternatives to udhcpd. I haven't tested them, but dnsmasq and dhcp3-server were mentioned elsewhere.

# aptitude install -P hostapd
# aptitude install -P udhcpd

The network card can't be placed in AP mode the old way, because the drivers don't support it. When I tried, it produced an error.

# iwconfig wlan1 mode Master
Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :
    SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.

The driver for this card can do AP mode, but only using hostapd. Here's my configuration for hostapd v0.7.3. I'm not using any encryption or security at the moment — this is an open access point.

/etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf:

interface=wlan1
driver=nl80211
ssid=Openwifi
channel=1
hw_mode=g
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
auth_algs=1
wpa=0
logger_syslog=-1
logger_syslog_level=2
debug=0

To make my wireless devices connect to the access point smoothly, I use udhcpd v1.18.5-1, a small DHCP server that's part of BusyBox. The below DNS addresses are for OpenDNS and Google Public DNS.

/etc/udhcpd.conf:

start 192.168.0.10
end 192.168.0.50
max_leases 30
interface wlan1
option subnet 255.255.255.0
option domain local
option lease 864000
option router 192.168.0.1
option dns 208.67.222.222
option dns 208.67.220.220
option dns 8.8.8.8
option dns 8.8.4.4

To start the services, use the following commands. These daemons log to /var/log/daemon.log.

# /etc/init.d/hostapd start
# /etc/init.d/udhcpd start
# ifconfig wlan1 inet 192.168.0.1

Check that the daemons are running without error and that the network interface is locally accessible.

# tail --lines=30 /var/log/daemon.log
# ping 192.168.0.1

To get IP masquerading (routing) working, use the following commands. Note that eth0 is the internet-facing interface. Add the following lines to /etc/rc.local to run them at boot time.

# echo "1" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
# iptables -F
# iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

That's all there is — my access point is up and running. If everything is working, connect to the wireless access point using a second machine. If it doesn't appear to work, for a starting point, check the local network, the internet using IP addresses, and the internet using domain names.

# ping 192.168.0.1
# ping 8.8.8.8
# ping wikipedia.org

The following is an easy recipe for tasty rice pudding. It's from a cookbook called The New Best Recipe, by Cook's Illustrated (2004, ISBN 0936184744). Pictures by Rudi Riet — see here and here.

2 cups water 2 1/2 cups milk 2 1/2 cups half and half 1 cup rice 2/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 cup raisins

Boil the water in a large saucepan. Add the rice and salt. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the water is almost fully absorbed (about 15 minutes). Add milk, half and half, and sugar. Cook on high until boiling, then lower to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes, or until a spoon can stand up in the pudding. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking or scorching. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and raisins. Cool and eat. (Store in refrigerator, with plastic wrap pressed onto pudding. Eat within two days.)

これは「ライスプリン」のレシピです。ライスプリンはイギリスの食べ物です。

水　2 カップ 牛乳　4 カップ 生クリーム　1 カップ 米　1 カップ 砂糖　2/3 カップ

バニラ　1.25 小さじ 塩　0.25 小さじ シナモン　1 小さじ レーズン　0.5 カップ

大きなソースパンに水を入れて、煮立てる。米と塩を入れる。蓋をして、水がほとんどなくなるまで（約15分間）静かに煮立てる。牛乳と生クリームと砂糖を入れる。蓋をしないで、30分くらい静かに煮立てる。弱火にして、中にスプーンを入れて立つまで（約15分間）煮る。火を止める。バニラとシナモンとレーズンを入れて、混ぜる。少し冷ましてから食べる。（冷蔵庫に入れ、二日以内に食べる。）

Place	Time	Date

JavaScript based on code by Stijn Strickx at http://www.proglogic.com/code/javascript/time/worldclock.php.

Here are some pictures of Chokai Junior High School (鳥海中学校). It's located in Chōkai, which is a part of Yurihonjo City in Akita Prefecture, Japan. The lat/long is 39.181005, 140.19447. Students from 3 elementary schools come here — Jinego Elementary School, Kawauchi Elementary School, and Hitane Elementary School.

The above maps are from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA 2.0). Here's some history of Chokai Junior High School. The Japanese is taken from the school's records at http://www.city.yurihonjo.akita.jp/edu/chokai-jh/chokaichu.html, and I translated it to English.

Date		年	月日
2009-10-31	Chokai Junior High School 10th anniversary.	平成２１年	１０．３１	鳥海中学校創立１０周年記念式典・祝賀会。
2009-09-14	Honjo-Yuri English Recitation and Speech Contest. Recitation: Excellent. Speech: Very Good.		９．１４	英語暗唱弁論大会　弁論の部最優秀賞、暗唱の部優秀賞。
2009-08	All-Akita art contest: Winner, design.		８月	秋田県美術展覧会　デザインの部入賞。
2009-07-18	All-Akita track meet: 1st place, girls 100 meter hurdles.		７．１８	（７．１８～２０）全県総合体育大会　女子１００ＭＨ優勝。
2009-02-17	Honjo Yuri health contest: Prize for Excellence.		２．１７	本荘由利学校保健会優秀賞受賞。
2008-11-06	Building a brighter society essay contest: Prize for Excellence.	平成２０年	１１．　６	社会を明るくする運動作文コンクール　優秀賞。
2008-10-04	All-Akita newcomers track meet: 1st place, 100 meter hurdles.		１０．　４	秋田県新人陸上競技大会　１００ＭＨ優勝。
2008-09-12	Honjo-Yuri English Recitation and Speech Contest. Recitation: Very Good. Speech: Very Good.		９．１２	英語暗唱弁論大会　ベリーグッド賞。
2008-09-11	Yurihonjo crime and fire prevention speech contest: 1st place.		９．１１	由利本荘市少年非行防止防犯防火弁論大会　最優秀賞。
2008-08-10	Sister city painting contest: Special prize.		８．１０	姉妹都市オリンピック絵画競技会　特別賞。
2008-07-23	Building a brighter society public research seminar.		７．２３	社会を明るくする運動「公開ケース研究会」　発表。
2008-07-01	All-Akita art contest: Honorable Mention, design.		７．　１	秋田県美術展覧会　デザインの部奨励賞。
2008-02-14	Honjo Yuri sports acknowledgement. Baseball: 4 consecutive annual victories. Skiing: 3 consecutive annual victories.		２．１４	本荘由利中体連表彰　チーム賞野球部(４連続優勝)、スキー部(３年連続優勝)。
2007-09-13	Honjo-Yuri English Recitation and Speech Contest.Recitation: Excellent. Speech: Very Good.	平成１９年	９．１３	本荘由利英語暗唱弁論大会　暗唱の部最優秀賞。
2007-06-24	All-Akita art contest: Honorable Mention, design.		６．２４	秋田県美術展覧会　デザインの部特別賞(県知事賞)。
2007-02-16	Honjo Yuri sports acknowledgement. Baseball: 3 consecutive annual victories.		２．１６	本荘由利中体連表彰　野球部チーム(３年連続優勝)。
2007-02-16	Honjo Yuri health contest: Prize for Excellence.		２．１６	本荘由利中学校保健会優秀賞受賞。
2006-10-13	Honjo Yuri area education research group public instruction meeting.	平成１８年	１０．１３	本荘由利へき地教育研究部交流会県超過移築公開授業研究会。
2006-07-10	All-Akita table tennis tournament: 1st place, girls singles.		７．１０	県卓球選手権大会　女子個人優勝。
2006-05-28	All-Akita table tennis tournament: 1st place, girls singles.		５．２８	県春季卓球大会　女子個人優勝。
2006-03-14	58th annual Tohoku table tennis tournament participants.		３．１４	第５８回東京卓球選手権大会　女子ジュニアの部出場。
2006-01-21	75th annual northern Japan table tennis tournament: 1st place, cadet group.		１．２１	第７５回北日本卓球大会　カデットの部優勝。
2005-08-27	All-Akita table tennis tournament: 1st place, doubles. (Later joined the national tournament.)	平成１７年	８．２７	県総体卓球選手権大会　個人ダブルス優勝(全国大会出場へ)。
2005-08-26	All-Japan PTA public relations magazine contest: Japanese Education Newspaper Director's Prize.		８．２６	全国ＰＴＡ広報誌コンクール　日本教育新聞社社長賞受賞。
2004-11-07	All-Akita newcomers table tennis tournament: 1st place, girls.	平成１６年	１１．　７	全県新人卓球大会　卓球女子個人優勝。
2004-06-23	Hometown exploration helicopter project.		６．２３	郷土探索ヘリコプター飛行事業。
2004-04-01	MEXT designation: Plentiful experience opportunity region, plentiful experience opportunity implementation.		４．　１	文部科学省指定「豊かな体験活動推進地域」「豊かな体験活動推進校」。
2003		平成１５年
2002-11-26	All-Japan Junior Olympic Cup table tennis tournament participants.	平成１４年	１１．２６	全日本卓球選手権ＪＯＣジュニアオリンピックカップ　カデットの部出場。
2002-07-26	Akita Chuo district brassband contest: Gold Medal.		７．２６	吹奏楽コンクール中央地区大会　金賞。
2002-03-17	Town sports award. Girls table tennis: award for glory, 2 awards for promotion.		３．１７	町スポーツ賞　栄光賞女子卓球部、奨励賞女子卓球部２名。
2002-02-26	Yashima Rotary Club acknowledgement. Girls table tennis: award for glory. Ski, track, and tennis: award for promotion.		２．２６	矢島ロータリークラブ表彰　栄光賞女子卓球部、奨励賞団体スキー部・陸上部・テニス部。
2001-11-12	Essay on taxes. Honjo Yuri regional taxes and savings association chair prize, Honjo Yuri taxation cooperative chair prize, Tohoku taxation group Honjo branch chair prize.	平成１３年	１１．１２	税についての作文　本荘市由利地区納税貯蓄組合連合会長賞、本荘由利納税関係団体協議会長賞、東北税理士会本荘支部長賞。
2001-11-09	All-Akita human rights essay contest: Honorable Mention.		１１．　９	秋田県人権作文コンクール　奨励賞。
2001-11	Calligraphy contest prize.		１１月	幽玄会書道展　幽玄会賞。
2001-11	District literature contest: 5 prefectural endorsements.		１１月	郡市読書感想文コンクール　県推薦５名。
2001-06-02	All-Akita table tennis tournament: 1st place, girls.		６．　２	全県春季卓球大会　卓球女子団体優勝。
2001-01-30	Tohoku ski tounament: 1st place, boys giant slalom.		１．３０	東北中学校スキー大会　男子大回転優勝。
2001-01-19	All-Akita ski tournament. 1st place, girls giant slalom. 1st place, boys slalom.		１．１９	全県スキー大会　女子大回転優勝、男子回転優勝。
2000-10-21	Calligraphy contest: Lead Judge's Prize.	平成１２年	１０．２１	幽玄会書道展　審査委員長賞。
2000-10-21	District literature contest: prefectural endorsement.		１０．２１	郡市読書感想文コンクール　県推薦。
2000-07-28	Akita Chuo district brassband contest: Gold Medal.		７．２８	吹奏楽コンクール中央地区大会　金賞。
2000-07-23	All-Akita cadet table tennis tournament: 1st place, 2nd grade cadet girls singles.		７．２３	全県カデット卓球選手権大会　２年カデット女子シングルス優勝。
2000-07-23	All-Akita track meet: 1st place, 3rd grade girls 100 meter dash.		７．２３	全日本通信陸上秋田県大会　女子３年１００Ｍ優勝。
2000-07-15	All-Akita track meet: 1st place, 3rd grade girls 100 meter dash.		７．１５	（７．１５～１７）全県総合体育大会　陸上３年女子１００Ｍ優勝。
2000-06-03	All-Akita table tennis tournament: 1st place, girls.		６．　３	全県春季卓球大会　女子団体優勝。
2000-04-29	Akita invitational Yashima table tennis tournament: 1st place, girls.		４．２９	全県選抜卓球矢島大会　卓球女子団体優勝。
2000-03-14	School's first graduation ceremony.		３．１４	第１回卒業式。
2000-02-01	Tohoku ski tournament: 2nd place, girls slalom.		２．１	（２．１～２）東北スキー大会　女子回転第２位。
2000-01-21	Akita ensemble contest: silver medal.		１．２３	アンサンブルコンテスト県大会　混成８重奏銀賞。
1999-11-07	All-Akita newcomers' track meet: 1st place, girls team.	平成１１年	１１．　７	全県新人卓球大会　女子団体優勝。
1999-10-19	District literature contest: 6 endorsements.		１０．１９	郡市読書感想文コンクール　推薦６名。
1999-10-02	All-Akita newcomers' track meet: 1st place, girls 100 meter dash.		１０．　２	全県新人陸上競技大会　女子１００Ｍ優勝。
1999-08-09	Tohoku track meet: 2nd place, 2nd grade girls 100 meter dash.		８．　９	東北陸上競技大会　２年女子１００Ｍ第２位。
1999-07-16	All-Akita track meet: 1st place, 2nd grade girls 100 meter dash.		７．１６	（７．１６〜１９）全県総合体育大会　陸上２年女子１００Ｍ優勝。
1999-04-06	Bronze unveiling ceremony.		４．　６	ブロンズ像除幕式。
1999-04-02	School-opening ceremony.		４．　２	開校式挙行。
1999-04-01	Chokai Junior High School established.		４．　１	鳥海中学校開校。

Here is a PDF of sheet music for the school song.

Sunday was a long day, and we used the hours to deliver ridiculously many bananas to twenty-some shelters in Kesennuma. To begin with, Yui and I left at six in the morning. We met up with Jon and Jez, and headed to Yokote. Kathie was waiting for us there, and we picked her up and hopped on the expressway heading east.

There is a supermarket in Kitakami called Super Osen. They have cheap bananas. Very cheap. It seems they have cheap everything, because we got there before opening hours, and maybe 50 people were lined up outside the front door. Anyway, the doors opened, and we got our bananas. 35 boxes. Everyone was skeptical as to whether we'd be able to fit all the bananas in our cars, but we did. Then we hopped on the expressway again, and headed SE to Kesennuma.

When we got there, we met and planned out the adventure. Kathie went to help Paul with his deliveries, and Jess and Rachel, two amazing Kesennuma ALTs, helped us with ours. In the morning, we hit up Kujo Elementary School, Kesennuma High School, K-Wave, Matsuiwa Elementary School, Matsuiwa Junior High School, and the Bosai Center. K-Wave still has hundreds of residents, but several of the other shelters have decreased in numbers as people move into temporary housing or find other places to live. In the shelters with more space, people can set up tents or cardboard walls, or use several rooms, all of which help give them a modicum of privacy — far better than everyone living together on the gym floor. The food situation also seems to be improving. At several shelters, people told me they were getting canned fruit once or twice a week — and on rare occasions, fresh fruit. A month ago, in contrast, nobody said they were getting any fruit at all. Even at the shelters where people were getting fruit from time to time, they were very happy to get a few boxes of bananas. And as we were delivering, we ran into many of Jess's and Rachel's students, which was a lot of fun.

Shelter	避難所	Bananas
Kujo Elementary School	九条小学校	74
Kesennuma High School	気仙沼高等学校	222
Sogo Taiikukan (K-Wave)	ケー・ウェーブ	740
Matsuiwa Elementary School	松岩小学校	74
Matsuiwa Community Center	松岩公民館	296
Bosai Center	防災センター	444
Hashikami Elementary School	階上小学校	148
Hashikami Junior High School	階上中学校	518
Hashikami Community Center	階上公民館	158
Niitsuki Junior High School	新月中学校	252
Shishiori Junior High School	鹿折中学校	252

After lunch at 7-11, we headed to Hashikami Elementary School, Hashikami Junior High School, Hashikami Community Center, Niitsuki Junior High School, and Shishiori Junior High School. At this point, we were almost out of bananas, and it was almost dinner time in any case. Dinner time makes deliveries to shelters somewhat chaotic, and is best avoided. Yui and I started back, and the rest of the group headed off to a final stop at Omose Junior High School. 3 hours later, we were home, safe and very tired. I soon fell asleep and almost slept through my alarm clock the next morning.

This is the first time I've visited so many shelters in a day, and it's quite interesting to see the differences. The Bosai Center is a fire station, and part of it is now a shelter. But the other part is a functional fire station, and there are lots of fire trucks parked outside. Some of them have sharks pained on the back. K-Wave is a huge community center. We didn't get a chance to go inside, but we walked around the outside, and there was a skate park with skateboarders working on jumps and tricks. Hashikami Community Center is a 2-story building, and the shelter is on the 2nd floor. There are perhaps four large rooms, and because it's on the 2nd floor, all of the rooms have decent views. Shishiori Junior High School, our last stop of the day, was a fittingly stereotypical Japanese school. It's located at the top of a big hill connected to everything by a curvy narrow road which must surely be impossible to bicycle with any degree of safety. It being a Sunday, we were lucky enough not to encounter any cyclists with whom to test this theory. It should be noted that evacuation sites in Japan are typically used not only for immediate evacuation, but also for longer term use. As such, they need to have a safe location (a high location), a large space for people to sleep in (a gym, say), and a decent road for supply trucks. I am told this is one reason that schools are on the top of hills — they already fit two of the three criteria, and being atop a hill gives them an edge on safety. On the other hand, it may well be that when new schools are being built, people already have houses in the good low-lying areas, so the next best proximal locations are hill tops. It doesn't really matter what the reasons are, because whatever they are, we're very happy that many schools along the coast were on high ground. It's also good fitness training for the kids who have to walk up and down every day.

The Asahi Shinbun published this article about the Fruit Tree Project and VolunteerAKITA on June 7th, 2011. It's only in Japanese, and can be found at http://mytown.asahi.com/areanews/akita/TKY201106060550.html.

被災地に果物贈る　秋田県内のＡＬＴが活動

秋田県内の学校で英語を教える外国語指導助手（ＡＬＴ）が、被災者にバナナやミカンなどの果物を届ける活動を続けている。ボランティアで被災地を訪れ、食生活の偏りを知ったのがきっかけだった。これまでに宮城県気仙沼市や岩手県陸前高田市で配った果物は１万５千個以上になる。

活動名は「フルーツ・ツリー・プロジェクト」。由利本荘市の小中学校で英語を教えるポール・ユーさん（２６）＝米国出身＝が４月初旬に始めた。

「食べ物は不自由しないけど、果物が食べたい」。ボランティアで訪れた気仙沼市の避難所で、被災者からこう聞いたのがきっかけだ。ご飯とみそ汁が炊き出しで提供されていたが、野菜や果物は不足がちだった。ユーさんは「胃袋は満たされても、栄養が偏れば健康じゃない」と考えた。

東日本大震災が発生した後に立ち上げた「ボランティア秋田」のホームページ（http://volunteerakita.org）でプロジェクトを紹介し、果物代の募金を始めた。

安く買うためのルート開拓もした。宮城県内や由利本荘市内の卸売業者に相談し、特別に安い価格で果物を譲ってもらえることになった。

バナナなどを大量に載せた車で、ユーさんら県内のＡＬＴ約１０人は大型連休中の４月２９日、気仙沼市の避難所を訪れた。被災者に果物を１個ずつ手渡すと、笑顔が広がった。避難所では調理することが難しいため、「バナナは皮をむくだけで食べられるので喜ばれた」と振り返る。

県内外のＡＬＴ仲間の口コミで賛同者は１００人を超え、募金活動で５月末までの２カ月で約８０万円が集まった。一緒に行動するＡＬＴのマーガレット・コッカーさん（２４）＝同＝は「果物は被災者との連帯を示す象徴になる」と話す。

<>被災地では、住宅にたまった泥の片付けも手伝う。震災から３カ月近くたっても全面復興にはまだ遠い。ユーさんは週末を中心に当面、活動を続ける予定だ。「被災した人が復興の手がかりをつかむまでは、果物を届けなくてはいけない」（大隈悠）

The project was also featured in the Japan Times (English edition). See http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110611a2.html.

Group on a mission to deliver fresh fruit to disaster-zone shelters

Staff report

Survivors of the March 11 tsunami living in shelters need fresh fruit — this is what Minami Ishikawa and Paul Yoo from Akita Prefecture learned when they went to volunteer their time in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, in early April.

Ishikawa and Yoo talked to people at evacuation centers who told them the meals served there often consisted of a bowl of rice and miso soup but no fresh fruit or vegetables. They said they were craving such food, Yoo said.

Yoo, an assistant language teacher from the United States who teaches English at a school in Yuri Honjo, and Ishikawa, an office worker, started gathering volunteer workers right after the quake to help the evacuees in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures.

As part of their activities, they launched the Fruit Tree Project. They collected donations to buy fresh fruit and gathered volunteers — both Japanese and non-Japanese — to deliver it to evacuation centers in the tsunami-hit areas.

They started the fruit deliveries in Kesennuma during Golden Week in early May and later went to several shelters in other areas mainly over the weekends.

The project has involved more than 100 volunteers, and with support from Second Harvest Japan, a charity-based food bank in Tokyo, the group has collected more than ¥1 million in donations from all over the world. So far, they have delivered over 23,000 pieces of fruit.

"Everyone is so happy when we bring fruit to them. We want to continue bringing fruit to the shelters, especially to the small ones where people don't get any fresh fruit at all," said Yoo.

For more information about the project and to make a donation, email volunteerakita@gmail.com or visit its website at volunteerakita.wordpress.com.

The above newspaper articles are from the Asahi Shinbun and Japan Times, respectively. The pictures used in them, and the picture of the article itself, were taken by volunteerAKITA group members.

Barack Obama became president of the United States in 2009. What do you think are his major achievements, either Japan-specific or not? I'll talk about some of the big issues within the US (the Afghanistan War, health care, Guantanamo Bay), but would like to discuss international perceptions of the US, too. Please try to think of one good thing and one bad thing you think the US has done in the past 2 years.

I gave the talk at the Akita Communicative English Studies group meeting. See http://www.edinet.ne.jp/~takeshis/images/AES06/AEStop.html for more information.

President Obama took power in January, 2009. On Sunday, we talked about his major accomplishments in the two years since then.

To begin with, there are two main political parties in the United States: Democrats and Republicans. Major issues can be divided into two categories: social issues and economic issues. To give some examples, on social issues, Democrats are likely to be pro choice. Republicans are likely to be pro gun and pro Christian. On economic issues, Democrats are typically fans of government safety net programs, like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other smaller such programs. Republicans are typically fans of military spending, opponents of other spending, and want to lower taxes. Those are some stereotypical party views, and as such should be taken with a grain of salt. But even this simple analysis shows that we have 4 classes of voters -- a person could side with mainstream Democrats or Republicans on both social issues and economic issues or on just one of each. This leads to a problem that the US currently faces, where voters decide who to vote for based on social issues, and the voters' economic views are mostly ignored.

Certainly Obama's greatest triumph was catching Bin Laden, though many of us found the execution rather unsettling. Also, Obama passed legislation that will allow homosexuals to serve in the military. This reverses a 220 year ban, and is Obama's only liberal triumph to date.

On the economic front, he passed landmark health care legislation. This bill deals with some problems in the American health care system — children can stay on their parents' insurance until the age of 25, many preventative procedures are now free, and it is harder for insurance companies to reject applicants with pre-existing conditions. Still, the big question is whether this legislation helps limit costs. If health care prices keep going up, it will have been a failure (and a gift to insurance companies who will get millions of new customers). If costs are limited, on the other hand, it will have been a success. Much of the bill takes effect in 2014 and later, so right now we can't tell.

There are some issues where the voters' views are mostly ignored by politicians. As mentioned, politicians often focus on social issues to gain votes, and this gives them some freedom to ignore popular opinion on economic issues. For example, the majority of Americans would like the US to leave Iraq and Afghanistan in the relatively near future, but it is unclear when this will happen. Also, the majority of Americans support Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in their current form, yet there is a lot of political discussion on how to change these programs. On taxes, the majority of Americans favor raising taxes on the rich, yet Obama allowed taxes to be lowered. And finally, the majority of Americans want some sort of justice brought to bear on banks and bankers responsible for the economic downturn three years ago, yet both Bush and Obama have ignored this issue entirely.

The next election is in 2012, and right now it seems Obama has a slight edge over possible Republican candidates. However, we will have to carefully watch what happens with taxes, cuts to government programs, and the wars currently being fought. Those matters will play a major role in driving public opinion in Nov. 2012.

Shuri Sato, a 2nd grader at Hitane Elementary School won the Grand Prize in NHK's 8th annual New Years Card Contest. Shuri's card was chosen out of 89,369 submissions. When asked to comment, she said, "I want to give this to my grandfather [next year]. I had fun for about an hour drawing the card. I'm very very happy to get a prize."

• Japan Post website: http://www.post.japanpost.jp/contest/08/etegami/E053599.html?TB_iframe=true.
• Yurihonjo monthly paper: http://www.city.yurihonjo.akita.jp/icity/browser?ActionCode=content&ContentID=1305434860912&SiteID=0000000000000.

Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, my friend Paul and some other guys started a volunteer group called Volunteer Akita (https://volunteerakita.wordpress.com/) with the goal of helping out tsunami victims. The tsunami hit the east coast of Tohoku (northern Japan). Akita is in the NW, so we were not affected. Directly to the east of Akita are the prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi, both of which were heavily damaged. Fukushima, home of the nuclear power plant disaster, is several hundred kilometers south.

In the past two months, the Volunteer Akita group has done various things (volunteering for orphanages, delivering toys, volunteer cleaning at Miyako). What I got involved in for Golden Week was the Fruit Tree Project (https://volunteerakita.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/tohoku-relief-the-fruit-tree-project-fund-proposal-2/). Paul and Minami made a website, and many of us solicited donations from across Japan and other countries, with the express goal of providing 2 pieces of fruit for each person in 3 shelters in Kesennuma (気仙沼), a town in Miyagi Prefecture. This is because Paul and Minami had spoken with an organizer for the shelter at Kesennuma Elementary School, and the organizer had requested two things: fresh fruit and furikake (spices used as rice seasoning). Two fruit markets, one in Honjo and one near Kesennuma offered to sell us fruit at wholesale rates. Golden Week came around, the donations came in, and we got ready to go. Thank you, everyone who contributed!

It turns out we had a large amount of cash from donations, but not enough to do two pieces of fruit for 10 days as originally hoped. After talking with the shelter leaders, we decided to do one piece of fruit per person for as long as we could, which ended up being seven days. The shelters (避難所; hinanjo) we wanted to help were Kesennuma Elementary School (気仙沼小学校), Kesennuma Junior High School (気仙沼中学校), and the Kesennuma Community Center (気仙沼市民会館; shimin kaikan). At that time, there were about 139, 478, and 250 people living in them, respectively. And once we arrived, we found out that an additional 50, 300, and 300 nearby residents were dining at those shelters. That meant a delivery of at least 1517 pieces of fruit each day (we ordered by the box, so there was always some extra). The organizers at the shelters were very friendly, and the deliveries were rather smooth. It took about 2 hours each morning to pick up the fruit and drop it off at each shelter. On the last day, we delivered fruit to a 4th shelter -- Omose Junior High School (面瀬中学校). The fruit we purchased varied day to day. Bananas and oranges were the most common, because they're fairly cheap and also don't require any food preparation (Japanese people tend to peel apples, not eat them whole, you see). We also delivered some sunfruit (a type of orange), apples, and grapefruit, just to mix things up a bit. For more detail, see Paul's daily summaries: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7. Paul and Minami organized the project, and Todd and I helped with the manual labor.

In Kesennuma (and elsewhere in Japan too, presumably), most of the shelters are in schools. There aren't many churches in Japan, and for public buildings, schools are the most common, followed by community centers. School vacation in tsunami-struck places lasted until late April, and up to then, people staying in school shelters slept in classrooms. This was good, because it provided some degree of privacy. In Kesennuma Junior High School, many people still do sleep in classrooms. This is because the school building is somewhat old, and with school enrollment numbers declining over the past many years (like much of rural Japan), there are extra classrooms. The students use half of the school, and the shelter uses the other half. Kesennuma Elementary School, on the other hand, needed its classrooms back, so shelter residents had to move back into the gymnasium. Fortunately, the shelter obtained many large silver tents which they've erected in the gym. This isn't as good as separate rooms, and it'll be too hot in the summer (though it seems like temporary housing will be ready soon, so maybe that won't matter), but it's still some degree of privacy. Even then, not all of the people in the gym have tents -- some just sleep on the gym floor, in areas demarcated by 3 foot high cardboard walls. In fact, Omose Junior High School has no tents at all -- all of its 250+ residents sleep together on the gym floor.

Next to the shelters I visited, there was extensive construction to build temporary housing. The housing looked to be somewhat similar to mobile homes, and unfortunately the housing is probably poorly insulated, and certainly the houses are very close to each other. Probably because it is convenient to do so, the housing is being built on baseball fields (for example, Kesennuma Junior High School's sports ground and baseball field is being used), but this means sometimes there isn't enough room to spread things out. It also means the baseball club and various other outdoor clubs cannot practice there. Of course, currently the gymnasium is in use, and as long as that continues, the volleyball club and basketball club don't have practice space, and there's no good way to hold gym class. That is inconvenient for the students, though certainly there are other gyms and baseball fields across town which can be used instead. Because the temporary housing looks like it'll be used for a very long time, I wonder why they didn't seize local farmland and build temp housing there, since that would have both let the schools get back to normal and given the temporary housing enough space for properly spread out houses and parking and such. Then again, converting rice fields into land fit for housing probably involves moving a lot of dirt and gravel.

On May 3, there was a small kite festival at Kesennuma Elementary School for shelter residents. Nearby students showed up too, and a big group of ALTs came down from Akita -- Ryan, Jeff, Melissa, Selina, and Liyen. All the kids and several adults flew kites for a while. Later, Todd did some magic tricks with cards and coins. It was pretty impressive, and he was videotaped by NHK, but it wasn't aired. Earlier in the week Paul and I were interviewed by NBC, and later NHK interviewed Paul, Minami and me, but those also wasn't aired. The NBC crew explained that there was too much international news at that time (a wedding, a storm, and then OBL). I blindly speculate for NHK it's a little more delicate, because NHK is within Japan, and showing a story about a small volunteer group bringing fruit to shelters might be seen as highlighting how the shelters aren't providing proper nutrition, whether or not that's even the case. Japan's Self-Defense Force provides shelter meals, and I don't know much about their system, though it's clear that they're working quite hard. Certainly complaining would be unproductive — better to do something instead — thus, the Fruit Tree Project.

Paul and I have rather large SUVs, so we slept in our car 5 nights. One night, Jessica invited us to crash on her floor, and we got our weekly shower out of the way. Three nights we parked at a nearby parking area, which was just off the highway and sometimes noisy trucks pulled in, but overall worked out pretty well. Two nights we parked at Isarabi Park (漁火パーク) on the Karakuwa Peninsula (唐桑), which has tent sites for volunteers and a large restaurant. The sunrise view from Isarabi Park was quite nice.

The March 11 earthquake did some damage to Kesennuma, but compared to the tsunami it was trivial. The tsunami affected coastal areas, obviously, but it also traveled up rivers, so even areas several kilometers from the coast were devastated, if they were near a river and at low elevation. Fortunately, Kesennuma is fairly hilly, compared to, for example, nearby Rikuzen Takata (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rikuzentakata,_Iwate), so many houses were not hit by the tsunami. Elevation matters a lot in determining what places were damaged. The lowest-lying flat areas were totally destroyed -- there is nothing left to clean up, except mud, because mostly everything was washed away. Above that, there are houses that are partly destroyed or in pieces. Some houses that were particularly well built are still in place, but if water reached the second floor, the house is probably not salvageable. Even if water only hit the 1st floor, many houses will be scrapped, depending (I was told) on the building materials used. In the hardest hit areas, nobody will rebuild anything, and in other areas it varies — one house we saw looked repairable, but the residents said that area wasn't considered safe for houses any longer, and regardless, they'd be too scared to move back in there. They had plans to build a new house several kilometers inland, demolish their old house, and use the old location as farmland. The neighboring factory will be rebuilding at its original location, though. For other families, it is unclear what the future will bring. Rural Japan has an aging population, and elderly families whose houses were destroyed will likely find it difficult to rebuild their houses. I suppose many people will be in temporary housing for a long time, some people will build new places, some will leave the area, some will move into apartments (if they can find them, which right now they can't, because all the apartments are full), and some will move into retirement centers. Additionally, many businesses were destroyed, and people who lost both their houses and their jobs will have extra difficulty getting resettled. Even after seeing the devastation in person, it is hard to comprehend the magnitude of everything. One afternoon I took an hour drive south along the coast, and the wreckage continued, village after village, much like it was in Kesennuma. Just how many towns along the coast were damaged like this? I can't imagine it, or maybe just don't want to.

The Kesennuma Disaster Volunteer Center is quite well organized. See the website (http://msv3151.c-bosai.jp/index.php?module=blog&eid=15592&blk_id=12193) or a rough translation of part of it (https://volunteerkesennuma.wordpress.com/). They have a good supply of tools like shovels, wheelbarrows, hoes, rakes, brushes, crowbars, and whatnot. They also have backup gear for people who forget things like rain gear, gloves, masks, or work boots with metal insoles. Volunteers arrive around 9:00, and work groups are formed based on what kind of requests have been made. For example, a house owner might ask for a group of 15 workers to clean up dirt and garbage in their yard. Once formed, the group collects the supplies it needs and buses to the site. Volunteers bring their own water and lunch, and work officially finishes at 3:00. The house owners we met were very energetic, because they were mostly elderly folk who wanted to repair their house but needed help with heavy lifting and tasks that would take a long time (and because people who weren't energetic wouldn't have bothered asking for volunteer cleanup help). Even at the one house we went to with younger people, it was clear that Grandmother was in charge. She told us what to do, and later gave us instant ramen for lunch and ice cream for afternoon snack. Her two sons were her deputies — they gave us the fine details on what to clean and what to leave be. In the late afternoon after we finished, we played with one of the grandchildren for a while until the bus came. He taught us a game where two people each pick a blade of grass, cross them over each other, and pull. The winner is the person whose grass blade doesn't break, and then the entire thing is repeated. The weather was good during Golden Week, so working and playing outside worked out fairly well. I have no idea how long this type of support will be needed, but possibly for quite some time.

This is the 2011 bus schedule for the Yashima-Jinego Line, Chokai, Yurihonjo, Akita. There are no trains in Chokai, and this bus goes along Highway 108, the main highway. The official site is in Japanese. In April 2012, the Jinego bus line will be discontinued.

• Honjo → Yashima.
• Yashima → Honjo.
• Yashima → Jinego.
• Jinego → Yashima.
• Yashima → Yuri Technical High School. Once daily.
• Yuri Technical High School → Yashima. Twice daily.
• Chokai Town Office → Chokaiso.
• Chokaiso → Chokai Town Office.
• Naka Hitane line.
• Jinego → Sarakawa.
• Sarakawa → Jinego.

Yashima → Jinego bus schedule
2011-04-01
http://www.yurihonjo.matrix.jp/modules/gnavi/index.php?cid=121
矢島案内所	Yashima Bus Station	7:10	9:30	11:35	14:30	15:50	17:10	18:50
館町	Tatemachi	7:10	9:30	11:35	14:30	15:50	17:10	18:50
新町角	Aramachi Corner	7:10	9:30	11:35	14:30	15:50	17:10	18:50
矢島駅前	Yashima Station	7:12	9:32	11:37	14:32	15:52	17:12	18:52
豊町角	Toyomachi Corner	7:12	9:32	11:37	14:32	15:52	17:12	18:52
豊町	Toyomachi	7:12	9:32	11:37	14:32	15:52	17:12	18:52
栄町	Sakaemachi	7:12	9:32	11:37	14:32	15:52	17:12	18:52
大川原	Ōkawara	7:13	9:33	11:38	14:33	15:53	17:13	18:53
新ら町	Aramachi	7:14	9:34	11:39	14:34	15:54	17:14	18:54
新所	Shinjo	7:15	9:35	11:40	14:35	15:55	17:15	18:55
上新所	Kami-Shinjo	7:16	9:36	11:41	14:36	15:56	17:16	18:56
下郷内	Shimo-Gonai	7:17	9:37	11:42	14:37	15:57	17:17	18:57
郷内	Gonai	7:18	9:38	11:43	14:38	15:58	17:18	18:58
道仏坂	Dōbutsuzaka	7:19	9:39	11:44	14:39	15:59	17:19	18:59
坪渕	Tsubofuchi	7:21	9:41	11:46	14:41	16:01	17:21	19:01
矢ノ本	Yanomoto	7:22	9:42	11:47	14:42	16:02	17:22	19:02
鐙ヶ平	Abumigataira	7:23	9:43	11:48	14:43	16:03	17:23	19:03
下伏見	Tsurugataira	7:25	9:45	11:50	14:45	16:05	17:25	19:05
中伏見	Shimo-Fushimi	7:26	9:46	11:51	14:46	16:06	17:26	19:06
鳥海総合支所前	Naka-Fushimi	7:29	9:49	11:54	14:49	16:09	17:29	19:09
鳥海診療所前	Chōkai Town Office	7:29	9:49	11:54	14:49	16:09	17:29	19:09
川内診療所前	Chōkai Medical Center	7:29	9:49	11:54	14:49	16:09	17:29	19:09
伏見沢	Fushimizawa	7:29	9:49	11:54	14:49	16:09	17:29	19:09
堤鍋	Sagenabe	7:29	9:49	11:54	14:49	16:09	17:29	19:09
下平根	Shimo-Hirane	7:30	9:50	11:55	14:50	16:10	17:30	19:10
平根	Hirane	7:30	9:50	11:55	14:50	16:10	17:30	19:10
上平根	Kami-Hirane	7:32	9:52	11:57	14:52	16:12	17:32	19:12
生出谷地	Shōdeyachi	7:32	9:52	11:57	14:52	16:12	17:32	19:12
楢木平	Naranokidaira	7:35	9:55	12:00	14:55	16:15	17:35	19:15
小川	Kogawa	7:37	9:57	12:02	14:57	16:17	17:37	19:17
男鹿内	Okanai	7:39	9:59	12:04	14:59	16:19	17:39	19:19
峠	Tōge	7:40	10:00	12:05	15:00	16:20	17:40	19:20
下根子	Shimo-Neko	7:41	10:01	12:06	15:01	16:21	17:41	19:21
根子	Neko	7:42	10:02	12:07	15:02	16:22	17:42	19:22
三ノ坪	Sannotsubo	7:44	10:04	12:09	15:04	16:24	17:44	19:24
瀬目	Seme	7:45	10:05	12:10	15:05	16:25	17:45	19:25
本屋敷	Motoyashiki	7:47	10:07	12:12	15:07	16:27	17:47	19:27
上杉沢	Kami-Sugisawa	7:48	10:08	12:13	15:08	16:28	17:48	19:28
ほっといん鳥海	Hottoin Chōkai	7:52	10:12	12:17	15:12	16:32	17:52	19:32
上笹子	Kami-Jinego	-	10:12	12:17	-	16:32	17:52	19:32
中村	Nakamura	-	10:13	12:18	-	16:33	17:53	19:33
天神川熊角	Tenjin Kawakuma Corner	-	10:14	12:19	-	16:34	17:54	19:34
丁荘	Hinotosō	-	10:16	12:21	-	16:36	17:56	19:36
高鼻	Tagabana	-	10:18	12:23	-	16:38	17:58	19:38
上野宅	Kami-Noyake	-	10:21	12:26	-	16:41	18:01	19:41
Holidays		土曜・日曜・祝日運休
		Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ National holidays

Jinego → Yashima bus schedule
2011-04-01
http://www.yurihonjo.matrix.jp/modules/gnavi/index.php?cid=122
上野宅	Kami-Noyake	6:05	-	7:05	-	10:30	12:30	-	16:50
高鼻	Tagabana	6:05	-	7:05	-	10:30	12:30	-	16:50
丁荘	Hinotosō	6:06	-	7:06	-	10:31	12:31	-	16:51
天神川熊角	Tenjin Kawakuma Corner	6:08	-	7:08	-	10:33	12:33	-	16:53
中村	Nakamura	6:09	-	7:09	-	10:34	12:34	-	16:54
上笹子	Kami-Jinego	6:10	-	7:10	-	10:35	12:35	-	16:55
ほっといん鳥海	Hottoin Chōkai	6:14	-	7:14	7:55	10:39	12:39	15:39	16:59
上杉沢	Kami-Sugisawa	6:14	-	7:14	7:55	10:39	12:39	15:39	16:59
本屋敷	Motoyashiki	6:15	-	7:15	7:56	10:40	12:40	15:40	17:00
瀬目	Seme	6:17	-	7:17	7:58	10:42	12:42	15:42	17:02
三ノ坪	Sannotsubo	6:18	-	7:18	7:59	10:43	12:43	15:43	17:03
根子	Neko	6:20	-	7:20	8:01	10:45	12:45	15:45	17:05
下根子	Shimo-Neko	6:21	-	7:21	8:02	10:46	12:46	15:46	17:06
峠	Tōge	6:22	-	7:22	8:03	10:47	12:47	15:47	17:07
男鹿内	Okanai	6:23	-	7:23	8:04	10:48	12:48	15:48	17:08
小川	Kogawa	6:25	-	7:25	8:06	10:50	12:50	15:50	17:10
楢木平	Naranokidaira	6:27	-	7:27	8:08	10:52	12:52	15:52	17:12
生出谷地	Shōdeyachi	6:30	-	7:30	8:11	10:55	12:55	15:55	17:15
上平根	Kami-Hirane	6:30	7:05	7:30	8:11	10:55	12:55	15:55	17:15
平根	Hirane	6:30	7:05	7:30	8:11	10:55	12:55	15:55	17:15
下平根	Shimo-Hirane	6:32	7:05	7:32	8:13	10:57	12:57	15:57	17:17
堤鍋	Sagenabe	6:33	7:06	7:33	8:14	10:58	12:58	15:58	17:18
伏見沢	Fushimizawa	6:33	7:06	7:33	8:14	10:58	12:58	15:58	17:18
川内診療所前	Chōkai Medical Center	6:33	7:06	7:33	8:14	10:58	12:58	15:58	17:18
鳥海診療所前	Chōkai Town Office	6:33	7:06	7:33	8:14	10:58	12:58	15:58	17:18
鳥海総合支所前	Naka-Fushimi	6:37	7:10	7:37	8:18	11:02	13:02	16:02	17:22
中伏見	Shimo-Fushimi	6:37	7:10	7:37	8:18	11:02	13:02	16:02	17:22
下伏見	Tsurugataira	6:37	7:10	7:37	8:18	11:02	13:02	16:02	17:22
鐙ヶ平	Abumigataira	6:39	7:12	7:39	8:20	11:04	13:04	16:04	17:24
矢ノ本	Yanomoto	6:40	7:13	7:40	8:21	11:05	13:05	16:05	17:25
坪渕	Tsubofuchi	6:41	7:14	7:41	8:22	11:06	13:06	16:06	17:26
道仏坂	Dōbutsuzaka	6:43	7:16	7:43	8:24	11:08	13:08	16:08	17:28
郷内	Gonai	6:44	7:17	7:45	8:25	11:09	13:09	16:09	17:29
下郷内	Shimo-Gonai	6:45	7:18	7:47	8:26	11:10	13:10	16:10	17:30
上新所	Kami-Shinjo	6:46	7:19	7:48	8:27	11:11	13:11	16:11	17:31
新所	Shinjo	6:47	7:20	7:49	8:28	11:12	13:12	16:12	17:32
新ら町	Aramachi	6:48	7:21	7:51	8:29	11:13	13:13	16:13	17:33
大川原	Ōkawara	6:49	7:22	7:52	8:30	11:14	13:14	16:14	17:34
栄町	Sakaemachi	6:50	7:23	7:53	8:31	11:15	13:15	16:15	17:35
豊町	Toyomachi	6:51	7:24	7:54	8:32	11:16	13:16	16:16	17:36
豊町角	Toyomachi Corner	6:51	7:24	7:54	8:32	11:16	13:16	16:16	17:36
矢島駅前	Yashima Station	6:54	7:27	7:57	8:35	11:19	13:19	16:19	17:39
新町角	Aramachi Corner	6:54	7:27	7:57	8:35	11:19	13:19	16:19	17:39
館町	Tatemachi	6:54	7:27	7:57	8:35	11:19	13:19	16:19	17:39
矢島案内所	Yashima Bus Station	6:56	7:29	7:59	8:37	11:21	13:21	16:21	17:41
Holidays		日曜・祝日運休			Sundays ・ National holidays
		土曜・日曜・祝日運休
		Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ National holidays
		土曜・日曜・祝日・休校日運休
		Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ National holidays ・ School holidays

Honjo → Yashima bus schedule
2011-04-01
http://www.yurihonjo.matrix.jp/modules/gnavi/index.php?cid=120
本荘営業所	Honjo Bus Station	7:20	8:20	9:20	10:30	11:50	12:30	13:20	14:30	16:00	16:45	17:35	19:20
栄町一丁目	Sakaechō Itchōme	7:20	8:20	9:20	10:30	11:50	12:30	13:20	14:30	16:00	16:45	17:35	19:20
北都銀行前	Hokuto Bank	7:20	8:20	9:20	10:30	11:50	12:30	13:20	14:30	16:00	16:45	17:35	19:20
岩渕下	Iwabuchishita	-	8:22	-	-	11:52	12:32	13:22	14:32	16:02	16:47	17:37	19:22
本荘第一病院前	Honjo Daiichi Hospital	-	8:23	-	-	11:53	12:33	13:23	14:33	16:03	16:48	17:38	19:23
県立大学入口	University Entrance	-	8:24	-	-	11:54	12:34	13:24	14:34	16:04	16:49	17:39	19:24
由利高校入口	Yuri High School	-	8:25	-	-	11:55	12:35	13:25	14:35	16:05	16:50	17:40	19:25
羽後交通整備工場前	Ugo Traffic Garage	-	8:26	-	-	11:56	12:36	13:26	14:36	16:06	16:51	17:41	19:26
由利組合病院前	Yuri Kumiai Hospital	-	8:29	-	-	11:59	12:39	13:29	14:39	16:09	16:54	17:44	19:29
羽後交通整備工場前	Ugo Traffic Garage	-	8:29	-	-	11:59	12:39	13:29	14:39	16:09	16:54	17:44	19:29
由利高校入口	Yuri High School	-	8:29	-	-	11:59	12:39	13:29	14:39	16:09	16:54	17:44	19:29
県立大学入口	University gates	-	8:30	-	-	12:00	12:40	13:30	14:40	16:10	16:55	17:45	19:30
本荘第一病院前	Honjo Daiichi Hospital	-	8:31	-	-	12:01	12:41	13:31	14:41	16:11	16:56	17:46	19:31
岩渕下	Iwabuchishita	-	8:32	-	-	12:02	12:42	13:32	14:42	16:12	16:57	17:47	19:32
桜小路	Sakurakōji	7:22	8:33	9:22	10:32	12:03	12:43	13:33	14:43	16:13	16:58	17:48	19:33
本荘駅前	Honjo Station	7:25	8:36	9:25	10:35	12:06	12:46	13:36	14:46	16:16	17:01	17:51	19:36
本荘駅前角	Honjo Station Corner	7:25	8:36	9:25	10:35	12:06	12:46	13:36	14:46	16:16	17:01	17:51	19:36
御門町	Gomonmachi	7:25	8:36	9:25	10:35	12:06	12:46	13:36	14:46	16:16	17:01	17:51	19:36
一番堰	Ichibanzeki	7:26	8:37	9:26	10:36	12:07	12:47	13:37	14:47	16:17	17:02	17:52	19:37
上薬師堂	Kami-Yakushidō	7:28	8:39	9:28	10:38	12:09	12:49	13:39	14:49	16:19	17:04	17:54	19:39
薬師堂	Yakushidō	7:29	8:40	9:29	10:39	12:10	12:50	13:40	14:50	16:20	17:05	17:55	19:40
埋田入口	Ueda Entrance	7:30	8:41	9:30	10:40	12:11	12:51	13:41	14:51	16:21	17:06	17:56	19:41
埋田	Ueda	7:31	8:42	9:31	10:41	12:12	12:52	13:42	14:52	16:22	17:07	17:57	19:42
玉の池	Tamanoike	7:32	8:43	9:32	10:42	12:13	12:53	13:43	14:53	16:23	17:08	17:58	19:43
元屋敷	Motoyashiki	7:33	8:44	9:33	10:43	12:14	12:54	13:44	14:54	16:24	17:09	17:59	19:44
俵巻ガード	Tawaramaki	7:33	8:44	9:33	10:43	12:14	12:54	13:44	14:54	16:24	17:09	17:59	19:44
南福田	Minami Fukuda	7:35	8:46	9:35	10:45	12:16	12:56	13:46	14:56	16:26	17:11	18:01	19:46
鮎川	Ayukawa	7:36	8:47	9:36	10:46	12:17	12:57	13:47	14:57	16:27	17:12	18:02	19:47
寺田	Terada	7:37	8:48	9:37	10:47	12:18	12:58	13:48	14:58	16:28	17:13	18:03	19:48
下黒沢	Shimo-Kurosawa	7:38	8:49	9:38	10:48	12:19	12:59	13:49	14:59	16:29	17:14	18:04	19:49
上黒沢	Kami-Kurosawa	7:39	8:50	9:39	10:49	12:20	13:00	13:50	15:00	16:30	17:15	18:05	19:50
明法	Myōhō	7:40	8:51	9:40	10:50	12:21	13:01	13:51	15:01	16:31	17:16	18:06	19:51
曲沢入口	Magarisawa Entrance	7:42	8:53	9:42	10:52	12:23	13:03	13:53	15:03	16:33	17:18	18:08	19:53
善隣館前	Zenrinkan	7:43	8:54	9:43	10:53	12:24	13:04	13:54	15:04	16:34	17:19	18:09	19:54
前郷駅前	Maegō Station	7:46	8:57	9:46	10:56	12:27	13:07	13:57	15:07	16:37	17:22	18:12	19:57
仲町	Nakamachi	7:46	8:57	9:46	10:56	12:27	13:07	13:57	15:07	16:37	17:22	18:12	19:57
前郷	Maegō	7:46	8:57	9:46	10:56	12:27	13:07	13:57	15:07	16:37	17:22	18:12	19:57
西小路	Nishikōji	7:47	8:58	9:47	10:57	12:28	13:08	13:58	15:08	16:38	17:23	18:13	19:58
森子	Moriko	7:48	8:59	9:48	10:58	12:29	13:09	13:59	15:09	16:39	17:24	18:14	19:59
下川原	Shimogawara	7:48	8:59	9:48	10:58	12:29	13:09	13:59	15:09	16:39	17:24	18:14	19:59
神田	Kanta	7:49	9:00	9:49	10:59	12:30	13:10	14:00	15:10	16:40	17:25	18:15	20:00
米山	Komeyama	7:50	9:01	9:50	11:00	12:31	13:11	14:01	15:11	16:41	17:26	18:16	20:01
新屋敷	Arayashiki	7:50	9:01	9:50	11:00	12:31	13:11	14:01	15:11	16:41	17:26	18:16	20:01
奉行免	Bugyōmen	7:51	9:02	9:51	11:01	12:32	13:12	14:02	15:12	16:42	17:27	18:17	20:02
山田	Yamada	7:52	9:03	9:52	11:02	12:33	13:13	14:03	15:13	16:43	17:28	18:18	20:03
西滝沢	Nishitakisawa	7:53	9:04	9:53	11:03	12:34	13:14	14:04	15:14	16:44	17:29	18:19	20:04
新上条	Shinkamijō	7:53	9:04	9:53	11:03	12:34	13:14	14:04	15:14	16:44	17:29	18:19	20:04
上条	Kamijō	7:54	9:05	9:54	11:04	12:35	13:15	14:05	15:15	16:45	17:30	18:20	20:05
吉沢	Yoshizawa	7:55	9:06	9:55	11:05	12:36	13:16	14:06	15:16	16:46	17:31	18:21	20:06
荒沢口	Arasawaguchi	7:56	9:07	9:56	11:06	12:37	13:17	14:07	15:17	16:47	17:32	18:22	20:07
小板戸	Koitado	7:57	9:08	9:57	11:07	12:38	13:18	14:08	15:18	16:48	17:33	18:23	20:08
岩坂	Iwazaka	7:57	9:08	9:57	11:07	12:38	13:18	14:08	15:18	16:48	17:33	18:23	20:08
熊の堂	Kumanodō	7:58	9:09	9:58	11:08	12:39	13:19	14:09	15:19	16:49	17:34	18:24	20:09
川辺駅前	Kawabe Station	7:59	9:10	9:59	11:09	12:40	13:20	14:10	15:20	16:50	17:35	18:25	20:10
田中	Tanaka	7:59	9:10	9:59	11:09	12:40	13:20	14:10	15:20	16:50	17:35	18:25	20:10
川原	Kawara	8:00	9:11	10:00	11:10	12:41	13:21	14:11	15:21	16:51	17:36	18:26	20:11
小坂	Kozaka	8:01	9:12	10:01	11:11	12:42	13:22	14:12	15:22	16:52	17:37	18:27	20:12
小田住宅前	Koda Jūtakumae	8:03	9:14	10:03	11:13	12:44	13:24	14:14	15:24	16:54	17:39	18:29	20:14
曲り渕	Magaribuchi	8:04	9:15	10:04	11:14	12:45	13:25	14:15	15:25	16:55	17:40	18:30	20:15
矢島幹部交番前	Yashima Police Station	8:05	9:16	10:05	11:15	12:46	13:26	14:16	15:26	16:56	17:41	18:31	20:16
新ら町	Aramachi	8:06	9:17	10:06	11:16	12:47	13:27	14:17	15:27	16:57	17:42	18:32	20:17
大川原	Ōkawara	8:06	9:17	10:06	11:16	12:47	13:27	14:17	15:27	16:57	17:42	18:32	20:17
栄町	Sakaemachi	8:07	9:18	10:07	11:17	12:48	13:28	14:18	15:28	16:58	17:43	18:33	20:18
豊町	Toyomachi	8:07	9:18	10:07	11:17	12:48	13:28	14:18	15:28	16:58	17:43	18:33	20:18
豊町角	Toyomachi Corner	8:07	9:18	10:07	11:17	12:48	13:28	14:18	15:28	16:58	17:43	18:33	20:18
矢島駅前	Yashima Station	8:10	9:21	10:10	11:20	12:51	13:31	14:21	15:31	17:01	17:46	18:36	20:21
新町角	Aramachi Corner	8:10	9:21	10:10	11:20	12:51	13:31	14:21	15:31	17:01	17:46	18:36	20:21
館町	Tatemachi	8:10	9:21	10:10	11:20	12:51	13:31	14:21	15:31	17:01	17:46	18:36	20:21
矢島案内所	Yashima Bus Station	8:12	9:23	10:12	11:22	12:53	13:33	14:23	15:33	17:03	17:48	18:38	20:23
Holidays		日曜・祝日運休					Sundays ・ National holidays

Yashima → Honjo bus schedule
2011-04-01
http://www.yurihonjo.matrix.jp/modules/gnavi/index.php?cid=123
矢島案内所	Yashima Bus Station	6:00	7:00	8:05	8:40	10:30	11:25	12:25	13:25	14:50	15:40	16:25	17:30	18:20
館町	Tatemachi	6:00	7:00	8:05	8:40	10:30	11:25	12:25	13:25	14:50	15:40	16:25	17:30	18:20
新町角	Aramachi Corner	6:00	7:00	8:05	8:40	10:30	11:25	12:25	13:25	14:50	15:40	16:25	17:30	18:20
矢島駅前	Yashima Station	6:02	7:02	8:07	8:42	10:32	11:27	12:27	13:27	14:52	15:42	16:27	17:32	18:22
豊町角	Toyomachi Corner	6:02	7:02	8:07	8:42	10:32	11:27	12:27	13:27	14:52	15:42	16:27	17:32	18:22
豊町	Toyomachi	6:02	7:02	8:07	8:42	10:32	11:27	12:27	13:27	14:52	15:42	16:27	17:32	18:22
栄町	Sakaemachi	6:02	7:02	8:07	8:42	10:32	11:27	12:27	13:27	14:52	15:42	16:27	17:32	18:22
大川原	Ōkawara	6:02	7:02	8:07	8:42	10:32	11:27	12:27	13:27	14:52	15:42	16:27	17:32	18:22
新ら町	Aramachi	6:02	7:02	8:07	8:42	10:32	11:27	12:27	13:27	14:52	15:42	16:27	17:32	18:22
Yashima Police Station		6:03	7:03	8:08	8:43	10:33	11:28	12:28	13:28	14:53	15:43	16:28	17:33	18:23
曲り渕	Magaribuchi	6:04	7:04	8:09	8:44	10:34	11:29	12:29	13:29	14:54	15:44	16:29	17:34	18:24
小田住宅前	Koda Jūtakumae	6:05	7:05	8:10	8:45	10:35	11:30	12:30	13:30	14:55	15:45	16:30	17:35	18:25
小坂	Kozaka	6:07	7:07	8:12	8:47	10:37	11:32	12:32	13:32	14:57	15:47	16:32	17:37	18:27
川原	Kawara	6:08	7:08	8:13	8:48	10:38	11:33	12:33	13:33	14:58	15:48	16:33	17:38	18:28
田中	Tanaka	6:09	7:09	8:14	8:49	10:39	11:34	12:34	13:34	14:59	15:49	16:34	17:39	18:29
川辺駅前	Kawabe Station	6:09	7:09	8:14	8:49	10:39	11:34	12:34	13:34	14:59	15:49	16:34	17:39	18:29
熊の堂	Kumanodō	6:10	7:10	8:15	8:50	10:40	11:35	12:35	13:35	15:00	15:50	16:35	17:40	18:30
岩坂	Iwazaka	6:11	7:11	8:16	8:51	10:41	11:36	12:36	13:36	15:01	15:51	16:36	17:41	18:31
小板戸	Koitado	6:11	7:11	8:16	8:51	10:41	11:36	12:36	13:36	15:01	15:51	16:36	17:41	18:31
荒沢口	Arasawaguchi	6:12	7:12	8:17	8:52	10:42	11:37	12:37	13:37	15:02	15:52	16:37	17:42	18:32
吉沢	Yoshizawa	6:13	7:13	8:18	8:53	10:43	11:38	12:38	13:38	15:03	15:53	16:38	17:43	18:33
上条	Kamijō	6:14	7:14	8:19	8:54	10:44	11:39	12:39	13:39	15:04	15:54	16:39	17:44	18:34
新上条	Shinkamijō	6:15	7:15	8:20	8:55	10:45	11:40	12:40	13:40	15:05	15:55	16:40	17:45	18:35
西滝沢	Nishitakisawa	6:15	7:15	8:20	8:55	10:45	11:40	12:40	13:40	15:05	15:55	16:40	17:45	18:35
山田	Yamada	6:16	7:16	8:21	8:56	10:46	11:41	12:41	13:41	15:06	15:56	16:41	17:46	18:36
奉行免	Bugyōmen	6:17	7:17	8:22	8:57	10:47	11:42	12:42	13:42	15:07	15:57	16:42	17:47	18:37
新屋敷	Arayashiki	6:18	7:18	8:23	8:58	10:48	11:43	12:43	13:43	15:08	15:58	16:43	17:48	18:38
米山	Komeyama	6:18	7:18	8:23	8:58	10:48	11:43	12:43	13:43	15:08	15:58	16:43	17:48	18:38
神田	Kanta	6:19	7:19	8:24	8:59	10:49	11:44	12:44	13:44	15:09	15:59	16:44	17:49	18:39
下川原	Shimogawara	6:20	7:20	8:25	9:00	10:50	11:45	12:45	13:45	15:10	16:00	16:45	17:50	18:40
森子	Moriko	6:20	7:20	8:25	9:00	10:50	11:45	12:45	13:45	15:10	16:00	16:45	17:50	18:40
西小路	Nishikōji	6:21	7:21	8:26	9:01	10:51	11:46	12:46	13:46	15:11	16:01	16:46	17:51	18:41
前郷	Maegō	6:22	7:22	8:27	9:02	10:52	11:47	12:47	13:47	15:12	16:02	16:47	17:52	18:42
仲町	Nakamachi	6:23	7:23	8:28	9:03	10:53	11:48	12:48	13:48	15:13	16:03	16:48	17:53	18:43
前郷駅前	Maegō Station	6:26	7:26	8:31	9:06	10:56	11:51	12:51	13:51	15:16	16:06	16:51	17:56	18:46
善隣館前	Zenrinkan	6:26	7:26	8:31	9:06	10:56	11:51	12:51	13:51	15:16	16:06	16:51	17:56	18:46
曲沢入口	Magarisawa Entrance	6:26	7:26	8:31	9:06	10:56	11:51	12:51	13:51	15:16	16:06	16:51	17:56	18:46
明法	Myōhō	6:28	7:28	8:33	9:08	10:58	11:53	12:53	13:53	15:18	16:08	16:53	17:58	18:48
上黒沢	Kami-Kurosawa	6:29	7:29	8:34	9:09	10:59	11:54	12:54	13:54	15:19	16:09	16:54	17:59	18:49
下黒沢	Shimo-Kurosawa	6:30	7:30	8:35	9:10	11:00	11:55	12:55	13:55	15:20	16:10	16:55	18:00	18:50
寺田	Terada	6:31	7:31	8:36	9:11	11:01	11:56	12:56	13:56	15:21	16:11	16:56	18:01	18:51
鮎川	Ayukawa	6:32	7:32	8:37	9:12	11:02	11:57	12:57	13:57	15:22	16:12	16:57	18:02	18:52
南福田	Minami Fukuda	6:33	7:33	8:38	9:13	11:03	11:58	12:58	13:58	15:23	16:13	16:58	18:03	18:53
俵巻ガード	Tawaramaki	6:35	7:35	8:40	9:15	11:05	12:00	13:00	14:00	15:25	16:15	17:00	18:05	18:55
元屋敷	Motoyashiki	6:35	7:35	8:40	9:15	11:05	12:00	13:00	14:00	15:25	16:15	17:00	18:05	18:55
玉の池	Tamanoike	6:36	7:36	8:41	9:16	11:06	12:01	13:01	14:01	15:26	16:16	17:01	18:06	18:56
埋田	Ueda	6:37	7:37	8:42	9:17	11:07	12:02	13:02	14:02	15:27	16:17	17:02	18:07	18:57
埋田入口	Ueda Entrance	6:38	7:38	8:43	9:18	11:08	12:03	13:03	14:03	15:28	16:18	17:03	18:08	18:58
薬師堂	Yakushidō	6:39	7:39	8:44	9:19	11:09	12:04	13:04	14:04	15:29	16:19	17:04	18:09	18:59
上薬師堂	Kami-Yakushidō	6:40	7:40	8:45	9:20	11:10	12:05	13:05	14:05	15:30	16:20	17:05	18:10	19:00
一番堰	Ichibanzeki	6:42	7:42	8:47	9:22	11:12	12:07	13:07	14:07	15:32	16:22	17:07	18:12	19:02
御門町	Gomonmachi	6:43	7:43	8:48	9:23	11:13	12:08	13:08	14:08	15:33	16:23	17:08	18:13	19:03
本荘駅前角	Honjo Station Corner	6:44	7:44	8:49	9:24	11:14	12:09	13:09	14:09	15:34	16:24	17:09	18:14	19:04
本荘駅前	Honjo Station	6:47	7:47	8:52	9:27	11:17	12:12	13:12	14:12	15:37	16:27	17:12	18:17	19:07
桜小路	Sakurakōji	6:47	7:47	8:52	9:27	11:17	12:12	13:12	14:12	15:37	16:27	17:12	18:17	19:07
岩渕下	Iwabuchishita	6:47	7:47	8:52	9:27	11:17	12:12	13:12	-	-	-	17:12	-	-
本荘第一病院前	Honjo Daiichi Hospital	6:48	7:48	8:53	9:28	11:18	12:13	13:13	-	-	-	17:13	-	-
県立大学入口	University Entrance	6:49	7:49	8:54	9:29	11:19	12:14	13:14	-	-	-	17:14	-	-
由利高校入口	Yuri High School	6:50	7:50	8:55	9:30	11:20	12:15	13:15	-	-	-	17:15	-	-
羽後交通整備工場前	Ugo Traffic Garage	6:51	7:51	8:56	9:31	11:21	12:16	13:16	-	-	-	17:16	-	-
由利組合病院前	Yuri Kumiai Hospital	6:54	7:54	8:59	9:34	11:24	12:19	13:19	-	-	-	17:19	-	-
羽後交通整備工場前	Ugo Traffic Garage	6:54	7:54	8:59	9:34	11:24	12:19	13:19	-	-	-	17:19	-	-
由利高校入口	Yuri High School	6:54	7:54	8:59	9:34	11:24	12:19	13:19	-	-	-	17:19	-	-
県立大学入口	University Entrance	6:55	7:55	9:00	9:35	11:25	12:20	13:20	-	-	-	17:20	-	-
本荘第一病院前	Honjo Daiichi Hospital	6:56	7:56	9:01	9:36	11:26	12:21	13:21	-	-	-	17:21	-	-
岩渕下	Iwabuchishita	6:57	7:57	9:02	9:37	11:27	12:22	13:22	-	-	-	17:22	-	-
北都銀行前	Hokuto Bank	6:59	7:59	9:04	9:39	11:29	12:24	13:24	14:13	15:38	16:28	17:24	18:18	19:08
栄町一丁目	Sakaechō Itchōme	7:00	8:00	9:05	9:40	11:30	12:25	13:25	14:14	15:39	16:29	17:25	18:19	19:09
Holidays		日曜・祝日運休					Sundays ・ National holidays
		土曜・日曜・祝日運休					Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ National holidays

Here are pictures from Jinego Elementary School (笹子小学校) in Chōkai, Yurihonjo, Akita.

The above maps are from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA 2.0). Here are some pictures of the Jinego Gakushu Center (笹子学習センター), which used to be Jinego Junior High School (笹子中学校). The junior high school closed in 1999, and its students were sent to Chōkai Junior High School.

Here's some history of Jinego Elementary School. The Japanese is taken from the school's records.

Date		Era	年
1874	School established.	明治	7	創立
1883-08	New school building construction complete.		16.8	校舎新築落成
1894-12-03	Shimo-Jinego Branch School established.		27.12.3	下笹子分校設置
1902-02-22	Shimo-Jinego Branch School becomes a standalone school.		35.2.22	下笹子分校独立して本校となる
1902-05-11	Nishikume Branch School established.		35.5.11	西久米分校設置
1909-04-03	School building catches fire.		42.4.3	校舎類焼
1911-09	School building complete.		44.9	校舎落成
1922-04-01	Ohira Branch School established.	大正	11.4.1	太平分校設置
1927-04	Noyake Branch School established.	昭和	2.4	野宅分校設置
1949-04-01	The 3 branch schools adopt regular 2-class system.		24.4.1	３分校とも常置２学級となる
1950-12-01	Kami-Tsubaki Branch School and Harimizu Winter Branch School established.		25.12.1	上椿・針水冬季分校開設
1955-04-01	School name changes to "鳥海村立笹子小学校".		30.4.1	鳥海村立笹子小学校となる
1955-11	Mizunashi Winter Branch School established.		30.11	水無冬季分校開設
1961-11-15	Schoolyard expansion.		36.11.15	校庭拡張
1962-04-01	3 branch schools add milk to school lunch.		37.4.1	３分校ミルク給食開始
1964-11	School song is written.		39.11	校歌制定
1966-10-01	Nishikume Branch School complete.		41.10.1	西久米分校完成
1967-08-20	Nishikume Branch School gymnasium construction complete.		42.8.20	西久米分校体育館竣工
1970-11	Main school building construction phase 1 complete.		45.11	校舎改築第一期工事完了
1971-11-17	Main school building construction phase 2 gym complete.		46.11.17	校舎改築第二期工事で体育館完成
1972-03-31	Ohira Branch School closes.		47.3.31	太平分校廃止
1972-12	Jinego Elementary-Junior High School joint kitchen complete.		47.12	笹子小中学校共同調理場完成
1974-09-18	School centennial ceremony.		49.9.18	創立百周年記念式典
1975-04-30	For prefectural tree-planting day, award for planting trees and the environment is received.		50.4.30	県植樹祭で環境緑化優秀賞を受賞
1976-07-19	In the courtyard, playground construction is complete.		51.7.19	中庭プレーグラウンド及び芝生完成
1978-03-18	Nishikumi Branch School and Noyake Branch School merge with main school. Kami-Tsubaki Branch School, Harimizu Branch School, and Mizunashi Branch School close.		53.3.18	西久米・野宅分校本校に統合 上椿・針水・水無各冬季分校廃止
1979-03-31	In a windstorm, the south roof and gymnasium are damaged.		54.3.31	暴風雨で南面屋根と体育館破風全面損壊
1980-11-01	Administrative redistricting occurs, and the school becomes "鳥海町立笹子小学校".		55.11.1	町制施行、鳥海町立笹子小学校と改まる
1981-02-24	School awarded special prize by table tennis federation.		56.2.24	学体連卓球特別賞を授与
1984-04-01	"Welfare of the Heart" 3-year research project is awarded.		59.4.1	「福祉の心」研究委嘱（３年間）
1984-09-18	Chokai area academic instruction research meeting held.		59.9.18	鳥海地区学習指導研究会公開
1988-10-01	District table tennis tournament: Girls 1st place. Acknowledgement for 5 successive championships.		63.10.1	郡市卓球大会、女子団体優勝 （５連覇表彰を受ける）
1988-11-22	Statue of child placed in courtyard.		63.11.22	中庭に子供像建立
1988-12-12	Chuo area dormitory research meeting held.		63.12.12	中央地区寄宿舎研修会開催
1989-10-20	Area research meeting on Japanese and science.	平成	元年10.20	地区公開研究会（国語科学習）
1990-06-20	District baseball tournament: 3rd place.		2.6.20	郡市野球大会３位入賞
1991-10-05	District table tennis tournament: Girls 1st place.		3.10.5	郡市卓球大会女子団体優勝
1992-05-06	Cavity prevention program implemented.		4.5.6	「虫歯予防」学校保健会推進指定
1993-02-16	Jinego Hirameki Group donates 3-dimensional village map.		5.2.16	笹子ひらめき会より「笹子地区立体模型地図」寄贈
1993-09-25	District table tennis tournament: Girls 1st place.		5.9.25	郡市卓球大会　女子団体優勝
1993-10-04	Cavity prevention program research meeting.		5.10.4	「虫歯予防」学校保健推進公開研究会開催
1994-09-29	School dentistry program recognized for quality.		6.9.29	学校歯科保健推進優秀校として表彰
1994-11-02	School health program recognized for quality.		6.11.2	健康推進優秀校として表彰
1995-05-11	School recognized for safe commuting practices.		7.5.11	交通安全優良校として表彰
1995-10-02	District table tennis tournament: Girls 1st place.		7.10.2	郡市卓球大会　女子団体優勝
1995-10-31	Large-scale school renovation complete.		7.10.31	校舎大規模改修完成
1996-07-07	District table tennis tournament: Recognition for school excellence.		8.7.7	郡市卓球大会で優秀学校賞受賞
1996-08-24	Participation in Matsunoki Tunnel Opening Event.		8.8.24	松ノ木トンネル開通イベント参加
1996-09-10	Major gymnasium repair complete.		8.9.10	体育館大改修工事完成
1996-11-17	1996 Sasanoko Festival.		8.11.17	笹の子フェスティバル96開催
1997-02-05	Parent-child ski tournament at Okojoland Ski Area.		9.2.5	親子スキー大会を町営オコジョランドスキー場で開催
1997-04-15	Jinego Elementary School support group inauguration. Agriculture experience program created.		9.4.15	笹子小学校後援会発足　農業体験実習校として栽培体験学習に取り組む
1997-11-16	Sasanoko marching song written.		9.11.16	「笹の子音頭」完成
1998-10-30	District rural area cultural exchange meeting.		10.10.30	郡市へき地交流会を開催
1998-11-08	1998 Sasanoko Festival. A CD is produced.		10.11.8	笹の子フェスティバル98を開催 ＣＤを制作する
1999-05-30	Sports day for Jinego Elementary School independence held.		11.5.30	笹子小学校単独で運動会を開催する
1999-11-07	1999 Sasanoko Festival.		11.11.7	笹の子フェスティバル99を開催
2000-11-05	2000 Sasanoko Festival.		12.11.5	笹の子フェスティバル2000を開催
2001-02-05	"Hometown" cards created at Dream Up project.		13.2.5	ドリームアップ事業でふるさとカルタ完成
2001-10-21	District table tennis tournament: Boys 1st place.		13.10.21	郡市卓球大会　男子団体優勝
2003-06	With support of Dream Up Project, exchange event with Sendo Elementary School held.		15.6	ドリームプロジェクト支援事業で仙道小学校と交流する
2003-07-07	Pool repairs.		15.7.7	プール改修
2003-08-22	Kitchen improvement complete.		15.8.22	調理場改修
2004-04-13	Prize for excellence for "Dreams of Science in the Future" picture exhibition.		16.4.13	「未来の科学夢画展」全国優秀賞を受賞
2004-10-13	"Jinenko Shinbun" insert in Akita Sakigake Newspaper for 130 year anniversary.		16.10.13	秋田魁新報社に創立130周年「じねんこ新聞」が掲載される
2004-10-23	School celebrates 130 year anniversary at Sasanoko Festival. "Jinenko Plaza" unveiling ceremony.		16.10.23	創立130周年記念笹の子フェスティバルを開催　「じねんこ広場」除幕式開催
2005-06-04	District track meet: 1st place, boys 400 meter relay.		17.6.4	郡市小学校陸上競技大会　男子400Mリレー優勝
2005-06-12	District table tennis tournament: Boys 1st place, Girls 1st place.		17.6.12	郡市卓球大会　男女総合優勝
2005-06-21	"A School Day for Everyone" 3-day program.		17.6.21	「みんなの登校日」実施（３日間開催）
2005-07-21	All-Akita track meet: 3rd place, boys 400 meter relay.		17.7.21	秋田県少年少女陸上競技大会　男子400Mリレー第３位入賞
2005-10-20	"A School Day for Everyone" 3-day program.		17.10.20	「みんなの登校日」実施（３日間開催）
2006-05-24	First crime prevention volunteer group meeting. "Watching over Jinenko" committee established.		18.5.24	第１回防犯ボランティア立ち上げの会を開催し、「笹ん子を見守る会」を設立する
2006-06-22	"A School Day for Everyone" 3-day program.		18.6.22	「みんなの登校日」実施（３日間開催）
2006-10-26	"A School Day for Everyone" 3-day program.		18.10.26	「みんなの登校日」実施（３日間開催）
2006-10-28	2006 Sasanoko Festival.		18.10.28	笹の子ﾌｪｽﾃｨﾊﾞﾙ2006を開催する
2006-11-08	Usui memorial dental health merit award received.		18.11.8	臼井記念歯科保健功労賞を受賞する
2007-07-28	Participants in All-Japan table tennis tournament.		19.7.28	全日本卓球選手権大会参加
2007-07-30	Honjo Marina Oasis picture gallery production.		19.7.30	本荘ﾏﾘｰﾅｵｱｼｽ画廊製作作業参加
2007-10-26	"A School Day for Everyone" 2-day program.		19.10.26	「みんなの登校日」実施（２日間開催）
2007-10-27	2007 Sasanoko Festival.		19.10.27	笹の子ﾌｪｽﾃｨﾊﾞﾙ2007を開催する
2008-02-14	Public acknowledgement for adoption of health safety practices.		20.2.14	保健安全実践活動優秀校として表彰
2008-10-17	Prefectural branch chairman's prize, "Dreaming of Science" picture contest.		20.10.17	｢科学ゆめ画展｣発明協会県支部長賞
2008-10-25	City cooperative chairman's prize, "Dreaming of Science" picture contest.		20.10.25	｢科学ゆめ画展｣市発明振興協会長賞
2008-10-29	2008 Sasanoko Festival. Prize for excellence awarded by prefectural school agriculture group. "Study on the fertilization of rice."		20.10.29	笹の子ﾌｪｽﾃｨﾊﾞﾙ2008を開催する 県学校農園展｢優良賞｣受賞 ｢稲の発芽と受粉の観察｣
2009-01-30	Parent-child ski tournament at Okojoland Ski Area.		21.1.30	親子スキー大会をオコジョランドスキー場で開催
2010-02-16	Public acknowledgement for adoption of health safety practices.		22.2.16	保健安全実践活動優秀校として表彰

Many years ago, there was a branch of Yashima High School in Jinego — Jinego Branch School. At that time, many teachers lived in teacher housing in Jinego. In 2000 or 2001, the old teacher housing was torn down and replaced with only three new houses, which are located next to the Jinego Police Station. The shift to fewer apartments coincided with the closing of Jinego Junior High School, which meant there was reduced demand. There are 2 tunnels on Highway 108 southeast of Jinego, and these were built several decades ago. Prior to their construction, teachers living in southern Yuzawa would have had a long commute via Highway 57 through Ugo, to the north, which would have made teacher housing quite appealing. Similarly, teachers working in Jinego who live along the coast have at least a fifty minute commute, which in the winter can take much longer and is generally undesirable.

• Jinego Elementary School: 39.109222, 140.28905.
• Jinego Junior High School: 39.110059, 140.289348.
• Teacher housing: 39.107659, 140.292514.

Here are the lyrics to the school song.

1	出羽山地　　　　奥広く さわやかな　　　この朝あけの 大気をあびて　　たくましく 希望わきたつ　　笹子われら ああ月山の　　　見守るところ 心すなおに　　　はつらつと 伸びてゆこうよ　正しく強く
2	笹子川　　　　　水きよく たゆまずに　　　進む姿を 学びの日々に　　うけついで ひとみ輝き　　　励むわれら ああふるさとの　明日をにない 雪にあらしに　　まけないで 伸びてゆこうよ　楽しく共に

Here are some flashcards for studying kanji. They are designed to printed double sided on relatively thick A4 paper. The flashcards use colors, but if you only have a black and white printer, you could either print them anyway or open the odg files and modify the styles. You can read odg files with the free LibreOffice (or other software).

Here are the flashcards sorted by elementary school grade level. In Japanese, this collection is called the kyōiku kanji. Below that are cards for the JLPT.

Set	Kanji	LETTER		A4
1st grade	80 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
2nd grade	160 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
3rd grade	200 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
4th grade	200 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
5th grade	185 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
6th grade	181 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
JLPT N5	103 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
JLPT N4	103 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
JLPT N3	Sorry, set does not exist.
JLPT N2	103 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf
JLPT N1	103 kanji	odg	pdf	odg	pdf

Regarding the JLPT N3, these flashcards rely on KANJIDIC2, and that file does not reflect 2010 JLPT changes. I think there is no official list for new JLPT. Here N2 and N3 kanji are combined into the N2 set. If you're testing for N3, consider using 3rd and 4th grade cards from the above list — those are something close to the N3 kanji.

The front of each flashcard has the following information.

• The kanji itself, in a big font.
• The grade level, in the lower left corner.
• The stroke count, in the lower right corner.

The back of each flashcard has the following information, from top to bottom.

• An English word matching the meaning of the kanji as closely as possible.
• The kanji definition. Omitted if the same as the above English word.
• Onyomi, in katakana. Zero or more may exist.
• Kunyomi, in hiragana. Zero or more may exist.
• Example words using the kanji, along with their definitions.

I think the above cards are useful as they are, but if you're interested in making your own, it is possible. My ruby script cardmaker.rb gets the relevant kanji from KANJIDIC2, frequently used words from wordfreq_ck.txt, and word definitions from EDICT. My script, KANJIDIC2, and EDICT are Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike licensed. See the README and this directory for details on my software. EDICT and KANJIDIC2 are Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group projects — see that site for information on those files. If you have comments or questions, feel free to contact me (see the contact page).

Here are pictures from Kawauchi Elementary School (川内小学校) in Chōkai, Yurihonjo, Akita.

The above maps are from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA 2.0). Here are some pictures of the Chōkai Gakushu Center (鳥海学習センター), which used to be Kawauchi Junior High School (川内中学校). The junior high school closed in 1999, and its students were sent to Chōkai Junior High School.

Here's some history of Kawauchi Elementary School. The Japanese is copied from http://www.city.yurihonjo.akita.jp/edu/kawauchi-es/, and I translated it to English.

Date		Era	年
1874-07-07	Kami-Kawa School opens.	明治	7.7.1	上川学校創立。
1879-11	Kami-Kawa School splits into two schools: Kami-Kawa School and Hirane School.		12.11	上川小学校が分かれて上川学校と平根学校になる。
1882-04	Shimo-Kawa School changes its name to Kōya School.		15.4	下川学校を興屋学校と称す。
1882-04	Hirane and Kami-Kawa merge. Kogawa and Kōya become branch schools.		15.4	平根学校と上川学校が合併、小川と興屋は分校となる。
1888-04	A major education revision occurs. The school becomes Kami-Kawa Simple School.		21.4	簡易科設置、上川簡易学校と改称す。
1892-04	A major education revision occurs. The school becomes Kawauchi Common Elementary School. Kōya Branch School becomes independent and its name becomes Kōya Common Elementary School.		25.4	尋常科を設置し、川内尋常小学校と改める。 興屋分校独立し、興屋尋常小学校となる。
1901-04	Kōya and Kawauchi merge, becoming Kawauchi Common Elementary School.		34.4	川内、興屋両校合併し、川内尋常小学校と改める。
1902	A new school building for Kawauchi Common Elementary School is built at Uedano.		35	上田野の現在地に、川内尋常小学校を建てる。
1903-04-19	5th and 6th grade are added to the school, and the school becomes 川内尋常高等小学校.		36.4.19	高等科を併置、川内尋常高等小学校と改称す。
1922-09	A school building addition is completed.	大正	11.9	校舎を新増築。
1924-07	School building addition completed.		13.7	校舎を新増築。
1927	Supplementary education building addition completed.	昭和	2.10	小学校増築、補習学校新校舎落成。
1929-08	Uedano Sports Ground is completed.		4.8	上田野運動場拡張。
1935-03-26	School song is written for 60 year anniversary celebration.		10.3.26	校歌制定（６０周年記念）。
1940-10-10	Uedano Sports Ground is expanded.		15.10.10	上田野グランド拡張。
1941-04-01	The school becomes Kawauchi National Elementary School. Because of the wartime nationalistic influence, elementary schools in Japan changed to this system from 1941 to 1947.		16.4.1	国民学校令により、川内国民学校と改称。
1956-05-10	A big fire occurs at the Hirane school. 45 students and 1 teacher are affected.		31.5.10	平根部落大火、児童５４名、教師１名罹災す。
1959-05-01	School flag is created.		34.5.1	校旗制定。
1967-11-01	New school building completed.		40.11.1	新校舎第二期工事完了。
1967-11-02	Water pipe construction complete. For the first time, the school has running water.		40.11.2	水道工事完了、校舎に給水開始。
1970-06	Limited school lunch program begins.		43.6	学校給食開始（牛乳）。
1973-02	Full student lunch program begins.		46.2	完全給食開始。
1976-09-01	The school celebrates its centennial.		49.9.1	創立百周年記念式典を行う。
1978-08-01	The PTA assists the school in creating a rock garden.		51.8.1	ＰＴＡ奉仕により、岩石園を造成す。
1982-09-01	Town public research meeting focusing on mathematics.		55.9.1	町公開研究会（算数）。
1982-11	The school name becomes 鳥海町立川内小学.		55.11	町制施行、鳥海町立川内小学校と改称。
1985-02-02	School receives a thank-you letter from the prefectural school insurance promotion group.		58.2.2	県学校保険推進校として感謝状を受ける。
1985-07	Uedano Ground is expanded. Restrooms are built there.		60.7	上田野グランド拡張、屋外トイレ設置。
1985-10	Area public research meeting focusing on Japanese.		60.10	鳥海地区公開研究会（国語）。
1986-09-01	Library and music room construction complete.		61.9.1	図書館、音楽室校舎工事完了。
1989-02	Gymnasium renovation complete.	平成	元年8.2	体育館、改修工事完了。
1990-08	Staff room, staff changing room, and staff restrooms are rebuilt.		2.8	職員トイレ、更衣室、用務員室工事完了。
1990-10	Chokai area public research meeting.		2.10	鳥海地区公開研究会。
1992-08	1st major reconstruction is completed. Toilets are converted to flush toilets.		4.8	第一期大規模改修工事完了、水洗トイレ完備。
1993-04-01	Kogawa Elementary School merges with Kawauchi Elementary School.		5.4.1	小川小学校と統合。
1993-10	2nd major reconstruction is completed.		5.10	第二期大規模改修工事完了。
1994-06-09	The school celebrates its 125th anniversary.		6.6.9	創立百二十周年記念事業として航空写真撮影。
1995-09-01	Area public research meeting.		7.9.1	地区公開研究会。
1998-08-02	Lunch room construction completed.		10.8.2	給食室改修工事完了。
1999-01-02	Computer room is completed.		11.1.2	コンピュータ室工事完了。
2000-08-20	20th National PTA Public Relations Paper Contest commendation.		12.8.20	第二十二回全国PTA広報紙コンクールで表彰。
2001-08-24	A dumbwaiter is installed for getting lunches up to the classrooms.		13.8.24	ダムウェーター（給食運搬昇降機）取り付け工事
2001-08	Fluorescent lighting is added.		13.8	照明器具改修工事（蛍光灯）。
2002-08	Flush toilets are added next to the school kitchen.		14.8	調理員用水洗トイレ工事完了。
2003-07-18	Security assurance system is introduced.		15.7.18	警備保障システム導入。
2007-10-18	Chokai area public research meeting focusing on mathematics.		19.10.18	鳥海地区公開研究会（算数）。

Chokai Junior High School was built in 1999. Prior to that, there was a junior high school — Kawauchi Junior High School (川内中学校) — located next to the elementary school. When the old junior high school was closed, it became a community center: the Chokai Gakushu Center (鳥海学習センター). The gym of the old junior high school has been converted into a baseball practice area — there's a dirt floor, and there are nets over all the windows.

• Kawauchi Elementary School (Uedano): 39.19009, 140.193668.
• Kawauchi Junior High School: 39.191037, 140.193076.
• Uedano Sports Ground: 39.191851, 140.194897.
• Kogawa Elementary School: 39.156599, 140.246461. The elementary school and Kogawa Junior High School were located on this hill.
• Kōya Elementary School: 39.207,140.179. This is the location of the Kōya hamlet. The old school's exact location is unclear.

The following taco recipe makes about sixteen tacos small tacos.

16 8" flour tortillas 2 red (or white) onions 2 orange (or yellow) peppers 1 head lettuce 3 avocados vegetable oil

300 g sliced cheddar (or mozzarella) cheese 1.3 pounds (600 g) beef 1 package taco seasoning 1 jar sliced jalapeño peppers 1 jar (16 oz.) salsa

Dice the onions and fry with a little vegetable on very low heat for 10 minutes or until brown. In a frying pan on medium heat with a little vegetable oil, brown the beef. Add taco seasoning (or make your own with garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper) as desired. Cut the orange peppers into thin slices. Shred the lettuce. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit. With a spoon, put the green inner part into a bowl. Crush with a fork until smooth. Cut the jalapeños into very small pieces, unless you like the heat of them as is. Separate the tortillas. Store bought flour tortillas often stick together, and if yours do, microwave for 30 seconds first.

To serve, take a tortilla and add the desired amount of meat, onions, and cheese. Do this first (so the cheese will melt). Then add lettuce, avocado, orange pepper, and jalapeños. Optionally, try with sour cream, or perhaps with cilantro and limes mixed in with the avacado.

8" フラワートルティーヤ　16枚 玉ねぎ　2個 オレンジ色ピーマン　2個 レタス　1個 アボカド　3個 植物油 300 g チェダーチーズ

牛肉　600 g ガーリック 一味唐辛子 塩 コショウ スライスハラペーニョ サルサ(ソース)

At Yashima Junior High School (矢島中学校), I often make lunchtime music requests. I did this before, but when we moved to a new building, the system changed and there wasn't any music at lunch. As of last month, though, lunchtime music is back.

	1. Wanna Be Startin' Something. Michael Jackson, Thriller. 1982. Most students couldn't guess that this was Michael Jackson, to my surprise.
	2. Baby Be Mine. Michael Jackson, Thriller. 1982. Same as above.
	3. Right Now. Van Halen, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. 1991.
	4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium). Metallica, Master of Puppets. 1986. Someone asked, "Is all American music so loud?" Another commented, "... and so long?"
	5. 1979. Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. 1995. Too quiet for noisy lunchtime.
	6. The Way. Fastball, All the Pain Money Can Buy. 1999.
	7. Waiting for the End. Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns. 2010.

This is a recipe for eggnog. It's rather strong, so care should be taken when consuming. Also, some people worry about the uncooked eggs. My family has used this recipe for decades without a problem, but regardless, use your own judgment. I got this recipe from my parents, who got it from my grandparents.

12 eggs 1 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1 qt heavy cream

1 qt brandy (or bourbon) 1 cup rum A bit of nutmeg

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Then beat in 1/2 cup sugar. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, and salt until very light. Combine the egg mixtures and stir until blended. Beat the heavy cream until stiff. Then add it to the egg mixture along with the milk, brandy, and rum. Mix well, pour into a gallon jug, and store in a cool place for 10 days to let it mellow. Shake well before serving. Serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Drink sparingly.

これはアメリカの卵酒（エッグノッグ）のレシピです。アルコール分が多いので注意してください。

卵　12 砂糖　375 cc 塩　小さじ 1/4 生クリーム（ヘビークリーム）　1 L

ナッツメッグ 牛乳　1 L ブランディ　1 L ラム　250 cc

卵白を泡立てる。砂糖（125 cc）を1.に入れて混ぜる。他のボールで、卵黄と砂糖（250 cc）と塩を混ぜる。これを上のボールに入れて混ぜる。生クリームを泡立てる。これと牛乳とブランディとラムを上のボールに入れて混ぜる。混ぜたものを大きなガラス壺に入れる。涼しい場所で10日間待つ。もう一度混ぜる。クラスに注いでナッツメッグを少々振りかける。ゆっくり飲む。

The following is a letter I wrote that appeared in the Grand Forks Herald on December 3, 2010. The title it was given is, "WikiLeaks offers vital global revelations".

YURIHONJO, Japan — On Dec. 2, the Herald opined, "The big surprise is that there are so few surprises. That’s the general consensus about the WikiLeaks release of diplomatic documents, most of which offer frank views ... that already had been more cautiously expressed in public" ("DL gets the WikiLeaks treatment," editorial, Page A4). Has the Herald done its research on the subject? I think not, for the above claim simply is ridiculous. It’s easy to find dozens of important global issues revealed by the Cablegate leaks. Here are a few.

** The CIA tortured many people in the past decade — which should be a headline on its own. Regardless, in the leaks, we also find out that the Obama administration pressured Spain and Germany to ignore the CIA's actions. Now we know that both Bush and Obama feel torture is justified — a sad state of American human rights.

** The leaks show that the U.S. has been conducting drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. Many people suspected this, but now we know exactly where our military is fighting — something that Americans should have a right to know.

** The leaks show that Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice ordered our diplomats to spy on foreign leaders. The diplomats were ordered to collect biometric data, such as DNA and fingerprints, as well as credit card numbers and computer passwords of foreign leaders, including the secretary general of the United Nations. To turn our country's diplomats into poorly trained spies simply is disgraceful.

** The leaks show that Afghanistan's vice president carried $52 million to the United Arab Emirates last year. It's not clear why he had so much money — he stated no reason — but theft seems likely.

** The leaks show the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Jordan privately asking the U.S. to attack Iran while publicly saying the opposite. Such behavior makes the U.S. look bad, because Saudi and Jordanian citizens see the U.S. as the aggressor against Iran, when in fact their own leaders are in favor of an attack.

In short, the leaks reveal many important secrets about the way America and other countries have engaged in shady dealings over the past decade. As American citizens, we need to be informed about such things. When our government lies to us, we desperately need groups such as WikiLeaks to help us. If citizens don't have access to information, they cannot make good decisions. An informed public is a fundamental requirement for a stable democracy, and the Cablegate leaks are a big step in the right direction.

Douglas Perkins

When I was researching the history of Hitane Elementary School (直根小学校), I found reference to Teshirosawa Elementary School (手代沢分校), which was open from 1948 to 1961, according to the Hitane Elementary School history records (http://www2.chokai.ne.jp/~hitane/enkakusi1.htm). But Teshirosawa Elementary School doesn't show up on the major map websites — neither does Teshirosawa or Teshiro. The school and hamlet itself revolved around the timber industry, which apparently died off in the late 50s. After much searching, I found an old map showing the general location -- Momoyake, a hamlet now part of Hitane. Hitane is located in Chokai (鳥海), Yurihonjo (由利本荘市), Akita, Japan.

Ms. Sumiko, a resident of Hitane, explained that Teshirosawa was a branch school with only a few students, the kids who couldn't make the walk into Momoyake Elementary School (百宅分校). The road to Teshiro starts SW of the highway's main fork in Momoyake. The school and other buildings were located just before the bridge over a small stream, and are no longer there. These days, that road leads to the Momoyake Trailhead of Mt. Chokai and is almost exclusively used by adventurous hikers, and perhaps occasionally by motorbikers (see http://www.cyclingtalk.net/rindo/touhoku/yamagata_tyoukai/ or http://www.rindo21.com/touhoku_minami/yamagata_tyoukai/akita_tesirosawa/). The hamlet was located around lat/long 39.101458, 140.127268.

Here are pictures from Hitane Elementary School (直根小学校) in Chōkai, Yurihonjo, Akita.

The above maps are from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA 2.0). Hitane Elementary School goes back to 1874 — here's the school's history. The Japanese is copied from http://www2.chokai.ne.jp/~hitane/enkakusi1.htm, and I translated it to English.

Year		Era	年
1874-10-15	Hitane Elementary School is formed. The temporary location is Shōjūji. Hitane Elementary School is in University 7, Middle School 62-64 Group. At this time, the country's education is divided into 8 university groups, each containing 32 middle school groups, each containing 210 elementary school groups. Also, elementary school is divided into lower (6-9 years old, 3 years) and upper (10-13 years old, 3 years).	明治	7.10.15	直根学校として本校の創意をみる。 （仮校舎正重寺，修業年限3年の下等小学校） ※直根学校は第７大学区13番中学区62〜64小学区であった。これは学制発布が全国を８大学区とし，1大学区に32中学区を，１中学区に210小学区を設けたことによる。　また，下等小学は６〜９才の３年間，上等小学は10〜13才の３年間であった。
1879-01-11	First graduates of lower grade elementary school.		12.1.11	下等小学校の最初の卒業生を出す。
1880-04-10	Hitane Elementary School instruction tour to Momoyake, Kami-Hitane, and Sarukura.		13.4.10	直根学校の巡回教授所を百宅・上直根・猿倉に置く。
1880-12	A major education revision occurs. Schools are split into a 3 year primary course, a 3 year intermediate course, and a 2 year upper course. This school has only elementary level students.		13.12	教育全改正により初等科３年，中等科３年，高等科２年となり，本校は初等科のみ。
1883-08-12	Shōjūji is destroyed by a fire. The school temporarily moves to 3 new locations at houses of local residents: Jūbē Satō, 新田宗祥太, and Denjūrō Takahashi.		16.8.12	正重寺焼失により，佐藤重兵ヱ・新田宗祥太・高橋伝十郎方に分散仮校舎とする。
1886-04-01	Momoyake Branch School is established.		19.4.1	百宅に分教場を設置する。
1887-04	A major education revision occurs. Schools are split into a 4 year ordinary elementary course and a 4 year higher course. The school becomes 直根簡易小学校.		20.4	学制改革され，高等小学４年，尋常小学４年，簡易小学３年となり，本校は直根簡易小学校となる。
1887-05-31	Kami-Hitane Branch School and Sarukura Branch School are established.		20.5.31	上直根・猿倉に分教場を設置する。
1889-10-01	Momoyake Branch School, Kami-Hitane Branch School, and Sarukura Branch School close.		22.10.1	百宅・上直根・猿倉の３分教場を廃止する。
1892-06-05	An elementary school reform is ordered. Under the new age grouping, the common section level is 3-4 years, and the upper level is 2-3 years. The school becomes 直根村立尋常小学校. The school adds a 4th grade class.		25.6.5	小学校令の改正により，尋常科（３〜４年）高等科（２〜３年）となり，直根村立尋常小学校と改称，修業年限４年となる。
1893-02-01	Small branch schools are opened in Kami-Hitane and Momoyake.		26.2.1	上直根に分教場を設置し，百宅分教場と称する。
1897-11-25	In Chikoshi, a private house of 116m² is purchased. In 1901, it is enlarged to 132m², and in 1908, it is enlarged to 172m².		30.11.25	打越に民家を購入，35坪の校舎を建築する。（34年40坪増築，41年模様替と増築52坪)
1898-02-19	In Kami-Hitane, the Momoyake Small Branch School gets a new building in the neighborhood of Nakamura. On the same day, in the village of Mamenashi in Kami-Hitane, Kami-Hitane Small Branch School is opened. In 1902, Momoyake Small Branch School moves to a new building located in Yama no Sawa.		31.2.19	上直根に設けた百宅分教場を百宅字中村に移し，百宅分教場を建築。 同日上直根字豆梨に上直根分教場を新築する。 （百宅分教場は35年山の沢に改築）
1902-03-12	Kami Hitane Small Branch School becomes Kami-Hitane Ordinary Elementary School. On 1911-03-18, the school is demoted back to a small branch school. At that time, the branch school was located in Momoyake.		35.3.12	上直根分教場は上直根尋常小学校に昇格する。 44年3月18日再び分教場に降格する。独立校当時は百宅は上直根の分教室。
1908-04-01	By imperial edict, the length of compulsory education is extended to 6 years. 5th and 6th grade are added to the school.		41.4.1	勅令により義務教育年限は尋常科６年，高等科２年となり，本校は修業年限６か年。
1911-01-19	In Sarukura, a special winter classroom is added, teaching 1st-4th grade in a single classroom.		44.1.19	猿倉に冬季特別教場を置く。（４年まで単級）
1912-01-11	At 11:40 a.m., fire breaks out. All of the school's official documents burn. Following this, a new graduation ledger is created.		45.1.11	午前11時40分学校より出火，校舎書類の一切を焼失する。（卒業台帳はこの年度より新たになる。）
1914-10-01	To replace the school destroyed in the 1912 fire, a new building is constructed in Nakamura, Shimo-Hitane.	大正	3.10.1	火災により焼失した校舎を下直根字中村に再建落成する。
1919-04-01	Upper grade levels are added and the school becomes a regular elementary school with the new name "直根村立尋常小学校".		8.4.1	高等科を併置し，直根村立尋常小学校と改称する。
1927-11-22	Addition to school building complete.	昭和	2.11.22	校舎増築落成する。
1936-12-30	Momoyake Branch School building renovation complete.		11.12.30	百宅分校改築落成する。
1941-04-01	The school becomes Hitane National Elementary School. Because of the wartime nationalistic influence, elementary schools in Japan changed to this system from 1941 to 1947.		16.4.1	直根村立直根国民学校と改称する。 尋常科は初等科という名に変わる。
1947-04-01	In an educational reform, schools are divided with 6 years for elementary and 3 years for junior high. The school becomes 直根村立直根小学校.		22.4.1	６・３制実施にともない，直根村立直根小学校と改称する。
1948-11-30	Sarukura Branch School building renovation complete.		23.11.30	猿倉分校改築落成する。
1948-12-01	Teshirosawa Branch School opens. 1st-6th grade use a single classroom.		23.12.1	手代沢に分校設置。（１〜６年の単級）
1950-02-10	Major structural repairs are completed on Kami-Hitane Branch School. In 1958-1959, the gymnasium is renovated. In 1971, the building is extended.		25.2.10	上直根分校改築落成する。 建物粗悪で33年，34年に校舎体育館を再建築する。 46年一部増改築。
1952-04-04	In Sodegawa, a branch school is established, containing 1st-5th grade. The building is renovated in 1959.		27.4.4	袖川に分校設置。（１〜５年の単級）34年改築。
1954-09-15	School celebrates its 60th anniversary. A publication is produced, a commemorative event is held, and playground equipment is improved.		29.9.15	創立80周年記念式典を行う。 記念誌発行・記念行事として記念文庫・遊具などの整備。
1955-03-31	The three villages of Kawauchi, Jinego, and Hitane combine to form Chōkai. The school name becomes 鳥海村立直根小学校.		30.3.31	川内・笹子・直根3村の合併により鳥海村誕生，鳥海村立直根小学校と改称する。
1956-05-08	The school flag is established.		31.5.8	校旗を樹立する。
1959-12-04	The school song is created. The lyrics are written by Takahashi, from Naka-Hitane. The music is written by Komatsu, from Higashiyuri.		34.12.4	校歌を制定する。作詞:高橋亮吉氏（中直根出身）作曲:小松耕輔氏（東由利町舘合出身）
1961-10-01	Teshirosawa Branch School closes.		36.10.1	手代沢分校を廃校にする。
1961-10-23	In 1960-1961, Kami-Hitane Branch School is designated a "Teaching Japanese for Combined Class Instruction" school by the Akita Prefectural Board of Education. The school receives a commendation from the Akita Board of Education on October 8, 1962.		36.10.23	上直根分校を会場に35・36年度県教委指定の「複式学級に於る国語科同単元学習指導の研究」を公開する。（37年10月8日県教委より表彰）
1963-04-01	Momoyake Branch School separates from Hitane Elementary School and becomes 鳥海村立百宅小学校.		38.4.1	百宅分校は本校より分離して鳥海村立百宅小学校となる。
1966-11-14	Renovation of Sarukura Branch School complete.		41.11.14	猿倉分校を改築落成する。
1968-03-31	Sodegawa Branch School closes.		43.3.31	袖川分校を廃校にする。
1969-11-19	In Nakamura, Shimo-Hitane, school building renovation complete. Full school lunch is introduced.		44.11.19	下直根字中村に校舎改築落成する。（校舎完成とともに学級給食はじまる。）
1970-11-15	In Nakamura, Shimo-Hitane, gymnasium construction complete.		45.11.15	下直根字中村に体育館落成する。
1974-10-25	School's 100 year anniversary ceremony.		49.10.25	創立百周年記念式典を挙行する。
1976-07-03	Schoolyard enlarged by 180m².		51.7.3	校庭180m²の拡張工事完了する。
1979-07-03	"Town-designated Special Activity Research Project" exhibition occurs.		54.7.3	「町指定特別活動研究」を公開する。
1981-03-31	Kami-Hitane Branch School closes. Its students move to Hitane Elementary School. A school bus route is created.		56.3.31	上直根分校を廃校する。（上直根の通学はスクールバスになる）
1983-09-22	As part of a prefectural rural area research project, a town-designed "Educational Guidance" research meeting occurs.		58.9.22	県へき地教育研究会，町指定「学習指導研究会」を公開する。
1984-03-31	Sarukura Branch School closes. Its students move to Hitane Elementary School.		59.3.31	猿倉分校を廃校する。
1984-04-01	Momoyake Elementary School closes. Its students move to Hitane Elementary School. A school bus route is created.		59.4.1	百宅小学校を統合する。通学はスクールバスになる。
1985-08-08	Hitane Elementary savings group receives commendation from farm cooperative treasury director.		60.8.8	直根小学校貯金会，子ども信用協同組合農林中央金庫理事長表彰を受ける。
1986-11-13	Hitane Elementary School PTA receives commendation from All-Japan PTA organization chair.		61.11.13	直根小学校PTA日本PTA全国協議会長表彰を受ける。
1987-10-10	Chōkai area public research meeting with the theme, "Educational planning on how to improve math and science fundamentals."		62.10.10	鳥海地区学習指導公開研究会，研究主題「算数科における基礎学力の向上を図る学習指導」
1988-11-25	School facade and lunch room walls resurfaced. Gymnasium exterior wall repainted.		63.11.25	校舎正面及び給食室の壁面全張替と体育館外部壁面張替塗装完成。
1989-03-30	6 classroom ceilings and 5 special use room ceilings resurfaced.	平成	1.3.30	教室（6），特別教室〈5）の天井，壁面の塗装完成する。
1989-04-30	School yard and driveway are paved with asphalt 4m wide.		1.4.30	校庭通学路全面改修舗装（巾員4.0mアスファルト）
1989-08-23	In the school yard, a athletics facility (with 5 parts) is constructed using donations from the PTA.		1.8.23	校庭にアスレチック施設（５種類）をPTA奉仕作業で完成する。
1989-02-08	School designed as part of Ministry of Education's "Diligent Service Manufacture Practice" program. Hallway walls resurfaced. Staff bathrooms completed.		1.2.8	文部省指定「勤労生産学習」初年度，校舎廊下のし板全面張替，職員トイレ完成。
1991-10-02	Ministry of Education's "Diligent Service Manufacture Practice" exhibit occurs. Gymnasium is refurbished.		3.10.2	文部省指定「勤労生産学習」公開，体育館内装張替。
1993-02-25	School is presented with a thank-you letter from the Akita Prefectural Children's Museum for "Tomato Universe Cultivation".		5.2.25	宇宙トマト栽培の功績により，秋田県立子ども博物館より感謝状と記念品を贈呈される。
1994-10-15	120 year anniversary.		6.10.15	創立120周年記念の年を迎える。
1995-12-13	A new school flag is introduced.		7.12.13	校旗及び略旗を新調する。
1996-07-31	Hitane Elementary savings group receives commendation from farm cooperative treasury director.		8.7.31	直根小学校貯金会，子ども信用協同組合農林中央金庫理事長表彰を受ける。
1997-10-02	Chōkai area public research meeting with the theme, "Raising children who can vividly express themselves with thought and passion."		9.10.2	鳥海地区公開研究会，研究主題「思いや感動を生き生きと表現できる子どもの育成」
1998-10-29	The Ministry of Education designates the school as a "Rural Area Research School" for 1998-1999.		10.10.29	文部省より，へき地教育研究校に指定される。（H10〜Hll）
1999-10-07	As part of the Ministry of Education's "Rural Area Research School" project, there is a research meeting. The meeting theme is, "Think independently; raise and teach children in a lively fashion."		11.10.7	文部省指定へき地教育公開研究会，研究主題「主体的に考え，生き生きと学ぶ子供の育成」
2000-04-01	The former Hitane Junior High School building is renovated and becomes the Hitane Elementary School building. At this time, Chōkai Town's three junior high schools — Kawauchi, Hitane, and Jinego — merge to form Chōkai Junior High School.		12.4.1	旧直根中学校を増改築した新校舎に移転する。

The current school building is not so old. It was created to house Hitane Junior High School. In 1999, Chokai Junior High School opened and Hitane Junior High School closed, so the elementary school changed from its old building (near the nursery school in Nakamura, I believe) to the current location. According to the above documentation, the school building at Nakamura was first built in 1914 and significantly renovated in 1969. As described above, there were branch schools in several locations: Momoyake, Sarukura, Kami-Hitane, and Teshirosawa. The largest and longest-lasting of these was in Momoyake, which also had a junior high school. Some of the Momoyake school buildings are still there, though they aren't used for anything these days.

• Hitane Elementary School (2000 — 2013): 39.165535, 140.162705.
• Hitane Elementary School (pre 2000): 39.155, 140.166. I don't know the exact location, but this should be fairly close.

Here are the lyrics to the school song.

１	空高き　鳥海山を 仰ぎつつ　生いたち来にし ほこらかに　共に学ばん 山の子われら　心けだかく
２	雪の中　こぶし花咲き ぶな芽ぶく　清き故郷 いきいきと　共に学ばん 山の子われら　生命光りて
３	澄みわたる　丘べの空に てりはえて　たてる学舎 いそしみて　共に学ばん 山の子われら　望み輝く
４	幸を　明日にのぞみて 新しき　世のみちびきに たくましく　共に学ばん 山の子われら　力あわせて

This is a nice recipe for persimmon cookies. It's a modification of Patty Tindall's recipe at allrecipes.com (2010).

3 ripe persimmons 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter 1 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 cup crushed walnuts 1 cup raisins

Puree persimmons and mix with baking soda. In another bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in persimmon mixture and 1 egg. Mix in flour mixture. Add walnets and raisins, and mix. Place in small balls on buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 15 minutes. Let cool and eat.

3 tart apples 3/4 cup (75 g) flour 1 cup (170 g) brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup (45 g) walnuts 1 stick (110 g) butter 1/4 tsp salt

This is an old and wonderful recipe for apple crisp. It's a modification of the 1979 Fannie Farmer Cookbook recipe. Add cloves or extra cinnamon if you like. Butter a baking dish. Cut the apples into small slices and put in the baking dish. Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, butter, and salt with your fingers or a fork. Then pour this mix on top of the apples. Bake at 350°F (175°C) until crust is brown (30-40 minutes). Let cool and eat. Optionally, serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

すっぱいリンゴ　3本 ケーキ用の薄力粉　175 cc (75 g) 黒砂糖　235 cc (170 g) くるみ　120 cc (45 g)

シナモン　小さじ 1 バター　120 cc (110 g) 塩　小さじ 1/4

天板はバターをします。リンゴを切って、天板に入れる。フォークで薄力粉と黒砂糖とくるみとシナモンとバターと塩を混ぜて、リンゴの上に入れる。175°Cでオブーンに焼きます、30～40分。10分待って、食べる。

Here are pictures from old Yashima Junior High School (矢島中学校) in Yurihonjo, Akita. It was used for 62 years and closed in April, 2009. The town built a new building across town and subsequently demolished the old one. The old building was located at lat/long 39.2253, 140.1358, next to the softball stadium and Seishonen Home.

The above maps are from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA 2.0). Here's some history of Yashima Junior High School. The Japanese is copied from http://www.city.yurihonjo.akita.jp/edu/yashima-jh/syokai.html, and I translated it to English.

Year		Era	年
1947-05-01	Yashima JHS opens at location by softball ground and Seishonen Home.	昭和	22.5.1	開校式を挙行
1949-03-31	North building construction complete. 4 school buildings of size 30m².		24.3.31	北校舎増築竣工４校舎100坪増築
1951-10-26	Hearing and sight education research project.		26.10.26	視覚聴覚教育公開研究会
1953-05-28	4 school building additions. School flag and school song established.		28.5.28	西校舎増築、校旗・校歌制定
1957-03-31	New school building construction phase 1. Size 112m². Cost ¥24,000,000.		32.3.31	新校舎第一工期竣工（370坪約2,400万円）
1958-03-31	New school building construction phase 2. Size 112m². Cost ¥35,000,000.		33.3.31	新校舎第二工期竣工（370坪約3,500万円）
1958-06-12	Move to new school building complete.		33.6.12	全校生徒新校舎に移転
1959-05-31	Indoor gym built. Size 102m². Cost ¥19,200,000.		34.5.31	屋内体育館竣工（338坪約1,920万円）
1961-11-30	Administrative building and special classroom construction. Size 150m². Cost ¥35,580,000.		36.11.30	管理棟、特別教室竣工（496坪約3,558万円）
1962-10-10	Prefectural Board of Education curriculum teaching research project.		37.10.10	県教委指定教科指導公開研究会
1964-07-17	Shop classroom built. Size 56m². Cost ¥1,080,000		39.7.17	技術室竣工（185坪約108万円）
1967-10-28	School's 20th anniversary celebration.		42.10.28	20周年記念式典挙行、同窓会を設立
1968-04-01	Handicapped class established.		43.4.1	特殊学級を設置
1968-10-30	Prefectural industry education research program.		43.10.30	県指定産業教育公開研究会
1969-03-22	Student winter dormitory built. Size 56m². Cost ¥7,300,000.		44.3.22	生徒合宿所（冬季寄宿舎）竣工（185.7坪730万円）
1970-11-12	"Sōzō Yūgō" education project opening ceremony.		45.11.12	「融合創造」の教育像除幕式挙行(45.11.3建立）
1970-12-24	"Green Youth Unity" award ceremony.		45.12.24	緑の少年団結成（団旗授与）
1971-10-28	All-Akita Flower Bed Contest, Special Excellent Prize.		46.10.28	全県花だんコンクールで特別優秀賞
1973-04-23	Rice-based school lunch program begins.		48.4.23	米飯給食開始
1973-10-05	MEXT student guidance research project.		48.10.5	文部省指定生徒指導公開研究会
1974-10-18	Prefectural Board of Education student guidance research project.		49.10.18	県教委指定生徒指導公開研究会
1975-06-30	Pool built. Size 1,994m². Cost ¥45,000,000.		50.6.30	プール竣工（1,994㎡約4,500万円）
1976-11-14	School repair project.		51.11.14	校舎改築工事着手
1977-05-20	Gynmasium repair project.		52.5.20	体育館改修工事着手
1977-10-06	School's 30th anniversary celebration.		52.10.6	30周年記念式典挙行
	Toyama Botanical Garden creation project, gift from alumni reunion.			高山植物園の造成（同窓会より寄贈）
1978-11-25	Steam pipe and radiator heating system completed.		53.11.25	温水暖房工事完了
1979-04-01	Prefectural career guidance research project (continuing to 1980).		54.4.1	進路指導県研究協力校指定（〜55年度）
1980-08-10	Tennis court construction. Cost ¥5,000,000.		55.8.10	テニスコート造成（約500万円）
1981-08-10	Sash exchange construction begins.		56.8.10	サッシ取替工事開始
1985-08	Gymnasium floor refinished.		60.8	体育館床張替工事
1987-08	Major repairs to administrative building.		62.8	管理棟大改修
1987-11-08	School's 40th anniversary celebration.		62.11.8	創立40周年記念式典　祝賀会
1988-07-01	Major classroom renovation construction.		63.7.1	教室棟大改修工事
1988-08	Kendo gear purchase. Cost ¥7,500,000.		63.8	剣道用具購入（約750万円）
1990-10-09	MEXT martial arts instruction research project.	平成	2.10.9	文部省指定武道指導公開研究会
1991-12	Computer room completed. 40 machines purchased.		3.12	ｺﾝﾋﾟｭｰﾀｰ室完工、ｺﾝﾋﾟｭｰﾀｰ40台設置
1993-08-31	School ground and tennis court fences built.		5.8.31	ｸﾞﾗﾝﾄﾞ･ﾃﾆｽｺｰﾄ周囲のフェンス完工
1994-04-01	Prefectural career guidance program.		6.4.1	県より進路指導推進校の指定を受ける
1995-09-14	Resurfacing of sports ground.		7.9.14	グランドの土地改良
1995-10-31	Gymnasium outside wall repairs.		7.10.31	体育館外壁改修工事
1996-04-05	Complete school lunch program begins.		8.4.5	完全給食開始
1996-10-18	Prefectural Board of Education career guidance teaching research project.		8.10.18	県教委委嘱進路指導公開研究会開催
1997-11-09	School's 50th anniversary celebration.		9.11. 9	創立50周年記念式典挙行
1998-08	Computer room renovations.		10.8	ｺﾝﾋﾟｭｰﾀ更新
1999-11	Exchange program with Jonai JHS, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture.		11.11	香川県高松市城内中学校と交流
2000-07	Old dormitory demolished.		12.7	寄宿舎解体
2000-08	"Furusato Childrens' Dream" assistance project.		12.8	ふるさと子どもドリーム支援事業
2001-04-01	School and district activity project for understanding begins.		13.4.1	学校と地域を通じた奉仕活動推進事業
2002-04-01	School changes to semester system.		14.4.1	２学期制を開始する
2003-04-01	Frontier scholarship advancement project event.		15.4.1	学力向上フロンティア事業
2004-11-02	Frontier scholarship advancement project conference.		16.11.2	学力向上フロンティア公開研究会開催
2005-03-22	Town merger. School name becomes Yurihonjo City — Yashima Junior High School.		17.3.22	新市発足に伴い由利本荘市立矢島中学校となる
2006-04-01	Career education project		18.4.1	キャリア教育実践プロジェクト指定
2007-10-20	School's 60th anniversary celebration.		19.10.20	創立60周年記念式典　講演　祝賀会
2008-07	All-Akita JHS Baseball Tournament 2nd place.		20.7	全県中学校少年野球大会準優勝
2008-03-14	Ceremony announcing the start of Yashima Junior High/High School partnership.		20.3.14	矢島中高連携校竣工記念式典

Here is a PDF of sheet music for the school song. Here is a page for the new Yashima Junior High School.

This is an old schedule. See the new schedule.

This is the bus schedule for some buses in Chokai, Yurihonjo, Akita. There are no trains in Chokai. I transcribed and translated this from Japanese ─ see http://busnavi.g.ribbon.to/line/Chokai/Chokai.php.

In Chokai, bus drivers will pick up passengers anywhere along the route. Even if you are not at a bus stop, wave to the driver to get on the bus. Bus drivers will let passengers off anywhere along the route, too.

これは鳥海町のバス時間割です。鳥海町は秋田県の由利本荘市の一部です。

Sarukura Line: To Chokaiso Bus number 1 2 3 Days off Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ holidays Starting point Chōkai Town Office Chōkai Town Office 06:55 11:45 16:10 Chōkai Medical Center 06:57 11:47 16:12 Kaizawa 07:01 11:51 16:16 Shimo-Sainokami 07:05 11:05 16:20 Kami-Sainokami 07:08 11:58 16:23 Miyanosawa 07:10 12:00 16:25 Sarukura Kaikan 07:12 12:02 16:27 Chōkaisō 07:15 12:05 16:30 Ending point Chōkaisō

猿倉線：鳥海荘行き 番号 1 2 3 運休 土 ・ 日 ・ 祝日 始発駅 鳥海総合支所前 鳥海総合支所前 06:55 11:45 16:10 鳥海診療所前 06:57 11:47 16:12 貝沢 07:01 11:51 16:16 下才ノ神 07:05 11:05 16:20 上才ノ神 07:08 11:58 16:23 宮ノ沢 07:10 12:00 16:25 猿倉会館 07:12 12:02 16:27 鳥海荘 07:15 12:05 16:30 行先 鳥海荘

Sarukura Line: To Chokai Town Office Bus number 1' 2' 3' Days off Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ holidays Starting point Chōkaisō Chōkaisō 07:16 12:31 16:31 Sarukura Kaikan 07:19 12:34 16:34 Miyanosawa 07:21 12:36 16:36 Kami-Sainokami 07:23 12:38 16:38 Shimo-Sainokami 07:26 12:41 16:41 Kaizawa 07:31 12:46 16:46 Chōkai Medical Center 07:35 12:50 16:50 Chōkai Town Office 07:36 12:51 16:51 Ending point Chōkai Town Office

猿倉線：鳥海総合支所行き 番号 1' 2' 3' 運休 土 ・ 日 ・ 祝日 始発駅 鳥海荘 鳥海荘 07:16 12:31 16:31 猿倉会館 07:19 12:34 16:34 宮ノ沢 07:21 12:36 16:36 上才ノ神 07:23 12:38 16:38 下才ノ神 07:26 12:41 16:41 貝沢 07:31 12:46 16:46 鳥海診療所前 07:35 12:50 16:50 鳥海総合支所前 07:36 12:51 16:51 行先 鳥海総合支所前

Naka-Hitane Line: To Kawakuma and Shimo-Momoyake Bus number 1 2 3 4 Days off Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ holidays Starting point Chōkai Town Office Chōkai Town Office 06:00 09:50 11:45 16:10 Chōkai Medical Center 06:01 09:51 11:46 16:11 Nagasaka 06:06 09:55 11:51 16:16 Kuride 06:08 09:58 11:53 16:18 Ōkawabata 06:09 09:59 11:54 16:19 Shimo-Hitane 06:12 10:02 11:57 16:22 Hitane Preschool 06:13 10:03 11:58 16:23 Hitane Medical Center 06:14 10:04 11:59 16:24 Hitane Branch Office 06:15 10:05 12:00 16:25 Isonosawa 06:18 10:08 12:03 16:28 Magaki 06:20 10:10 12:05 16:30 Yamasaki 06:22 10:12 12:07 16:32 Ogunai 06:25 10:15 12:10 16:35 Kawakuma 06:28 10:18 12:13 16:38 Ogunai 06:31 10:21 12:16 16:41 Yamasaki 06:34 10:24 12:19 16:44 Nakamura 06:42 10:32 12:27 16:52 Shimo-Momoyake 06:45 10:35 12:30 16:55 Ending point Shimo-Momoyake

中直根線：川熊・下百宅行き 番号 1 2 3 4 運休 土 ・ 日 ・ 祝日 始発駅 鳥海総合支所前 鳥海総合支所前 06:00 09:50 11:45 16:10 鳥海診療所前 06:01 09:51 11:46 16:11 長坂 06:06 09:55 11:51 16:16 栗出 06:08 09:58 11:53 16:18 大川端 06:09 09:59 11:54 16:19 下直根 06:12 10:02 11:57 16:22 直根保育園 06:13 10:03 11:58 16:23 直根診療所 06:14 10:04 11:59 16:24 直根出張所 06:15 10:05 12:00 16:25 礒ノ沢 06:18 10:08 12:03 16:28 馬垣 06:20 10:10 12:05 16:30 山サキ 06:22 10:12 12:07 16:32 大宮内 06:25 10:15 12:10 16:35 川熊 06:28 10:18 12:13 16:38 大宮内 06:31 10:21 12:16 16:41 山サキ 06:34 10:24 12:19 16:44 中村 06:42 10:32 12:27 16:52 下百宅 06:45 10:35 12:30 16:55 行先 下百宅

Naka-Hitane Line: To Chokai Town Office Bus number 1' 2' 3' 4' Days off Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ holidays Starting point Shimo-Momoyake Shimo-Momoyake 06:47 10:37 12:47 16:57 Nakamura 06:50 10:40 12:50 17:00 Yamasaki 06:59 10:49 12:59 17:09 Ogunai 07:02 10:52 13:02 17:12 Kawakuma 07:05 10:55 13:05 17:15 Ogunai 07:08 10:58 13:08 17:18 Yamasaki 07:11 11:01 13:11 17:21 Magaki 07:13 11:03 13:13 17:23 Isonosawa 07:15 11:05 13:15 17:25 Hitane Branch Office 07:18 11:08 13:18 17:28 Hitane Medical Center 07:20 11:10 13:20 17:30 Hitane Preschool 07:21 11:11 13:21 17:31 Shimo-Hitane 07:22 11:12 13:22 17:32 Ōkawabata 07:25 11:15 13:25 17:35 Kuride 07:26 11:16 13:26 17:36 Nagasaka 07:28 11:18 13:28 17:38 Chōkai Medical Center 07:33 11:23 13:33 17:43 Chōkai Town Office 07:35 11:25 13:35 17:45 Ending point Chōkai Town Office

中直根線：鳥海総合支所行き 番号 1' 2' 3' 4' 運休 土 ・ 日 ・ 祝日 始発駅 下百宅 下百宅 06:47 10:37 12:47 16:57 中村 06:50 10:40 12:50 17:00 山サキ 06:59 10:49 12:59 17:09 大宮内 07:02 10:52 13:02 17:12 川熊 07:05 10:55 13:05 17:15 大宮内 07:08 10:58 13:08 17:18 山サキ 07:11 11:01 13:11 17:21 馬垣 07:13 11:03 13:13 17:23 礒ノ沢 07:15 11:05 13:15 17:25 直根出張所 07:18 11:08 13:18 17:28 直根診療所 07:20 11:10 13:20 17:30 直根保育園 07:21 11:11 13:21 17:31 下直根 07:22 11:12 13:22 17:32 大川端 07:25 11:15 13:25 17:35 栗出 07:26 11:16 13:26 17:36 長坂 07:28 11:18 13:28 17:38 鳥海診療所 07:33 11:23 13:33 17:43 鳥海総合支所前 07:35 11:25 13:35 17:45 行先 鳥海総合支所前

Sarakawa Line: To Sarakawa Bus number 1 2 3 Days off Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ holidays Starting point Hottoin Chōkai Hottoin Chōkai 09:35 12:10 14:15 Jinego Branch Office 09:37 12:12 14:17 Fukujima 09:42 12:17 14:22 Bunabuchi 09:43 12:18 14:23 Harimizu Kaikan 09:49 12:24 14:29 Akakura 09:56 12:31 14:36 Tōgenozawa 10:00 12:35 14:40 Sarakawa 10:05 12:40 14:45 Ending point Sarakawa

皿川線：皿川方面行き 番号 1 2 3 運休 土 ・ 日 ・ 祝日 始発駅 ほっといん鳥海 ほっといん鳥海 09:35 12:10 14:15 笹子出張所 09:37 12:12 14:17 福島 09:42 12:17 14:22 模渕 09:43 12:18 14:23 針水会館 09:49 12:24 14:29 赤倉 09:56 12:31 14:36 峠ノ沢 10:00 12:35 14:40 皿川 10:05 12:40 14:45 行先 皿川

Sarakawa Line: To Hottoin Chokai Bus number 1' 2' 3' Days off Saturdays ・ Sundays ・ holidays Starting point Sarakawa Sarakawa 10:10 12:40 14:50 Tōgenozawa 10:15 12:45 14:55 Akakura 10:19 12:49 14:59 Harimizu Kaikan 10:26 12:56 15:06 Bunabuchi 10:32 13:02 15:12 Fukujima 10:34 13:04 15:14 Hottoin Chōkai 10:36 13:06 15:16 Jinego Branch Office 10:40 13:10 15:20 Ending point Jinego Branch Office

皿川線：ほっといん鳥海行き Bus number 1' 2' 3' 運休 土 ・ 日 ・ 祝日 始発駅 皿川 皿川 10:10 12:40 14:50 峠ノ沢 10:15 12:45 14:55 赤倉 10:19 12:49 14:59 針水会館 10:26 12:56 15:06 模渕 10:32 13:02 15:12 福島 10:34 13:04 15:14 ほっといん鳥海 10:36 13:06 15:16 笹子出張所 10:40 13:10 15:20 行先 笹子出張所