Preface

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.

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). Electric and water bills will come in the mail to either your house or to the education office. These can be paid at the bank. 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 the place, and you can use any of them. The propane/kerosene bill is dropped off in your mailbox, and you can pay it in person at Sato Toshinobu Shoten (佐藤寿信商店). 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 the store or go there in person and ask them for a refill. The phone number for Sato Toshinobu Shoten is 0184-59-2020, and it's located at 39.10632, 140.291444. 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.

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 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 trash the morning of trash day, but it's fine to take your trash 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. Otherwise, whatever you feel like bringing should be fine.

Transportation

The public bus service in Chokai will be largely discontinued March 31, 2012. Even when it existed, it was impractical for daily use. There are no trains, either. 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. I had fiber optic internet, which means the house is already wired and the box is already sitting there, so if you decide to get the same service, setup should be very quick. 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.

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.

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

The 2009 Tsukiyama Matsuri (月山祭り) was held on Saturday and Sunday, September 5-6. Tsukiyama Matsuri is the annual festival for Jinego (笹子), a village in Chokai, Yurihonjo, Akita. The festival is typically the first weekend in September, and the Saturday night is the most interesting part. The parade goes down main street, ending at the small shrine. In the parade there are several floats, carried by young men who chant and are given sake to drink by passers by. If you look for it in the video, you might notice a woman filling a small cup with a tea kettle — the tea kettle is full of sake, not tea. Girls are recruited to do a festival dance, and boys are recruited to drum. The parade ends at the shrine, and after everyone arrives, there are various performances on the stage there. As is standard at Japanese festivals, there are many street vendors with stands for festival food, games, and apparel.

The other day I came home after basketball practice and there was no hot water. Ten o'clock at night, and the onsen was closed. So, I took a freezing shower and caught a cold the next day. After that miserable experience, here's what I learned.... For cooking, my apartment has propane, and for hot water it has kerosene (灯油) -- the big kerosene tank in the garage. To get them filled, I have to call Sato Toshinobu Shoten (佐藤寿信商店), 39.106539, 140.291390, (0184) 59-2020.

While we're on the topic of utilities, you can see from the above picture that my stove has a "fish drawer", a small oven for cooking fish. I never use it. In Japan, it is said that Western-style gas ovens were not uncommon decades ago, but now they're quite rare. Instead, we have fish drawers. And, the microwave has a heating element in the top of it, which isn't good enough for cookies but works well for frozen pizza.

It snows a lot here in Chokai, but for some reason there's no central heating. I heat my apartment with a kerosene heater. They sell kerosene at the gas station and the hardware store. In the winter, I fill a can weekly. There is an electric heater too, but maybe electricity is much more expensive than kerosene.

If you want to see what these schools and students look like, see my photo gallery or do a web search for the school websites. You can find a map using the latitude and longitude shown below. Try OpenStreetMap or Geohack. The Akita JET website may also be of interest.

Name	学校	Lat/long
Hitane Elementary School	直根小学校	39.165510, 140.162719
Jinego Elementary School	笹子小学校	39.109151, 140.289370
Kawauchi Elementary School	川内小学校	39.189577, 140.193805
Chokai Junior High School	鳥海中学校	39.181451, 140.194441
Yashima Junior High School	矢島中学校	39.234190, 140.140507
Old Yashima Junior High School	旧矢島中学校	39.225410, 140.135848

Chokai ALTs
2007-2012	Douglas Perkins	North Dakota, USA
2005-2007	Kevin Kelly	Ireland
2004-2005	Cisco Dilg	California, USA
2002-2004	Greg	California, USA
2001-2002	Tracy	Canada

Here are some businesses in Chokai Town (鳥海町), Yurihonjo (由利本荘市), Akita (秋田県). You can find a map using the listed latitude and longitude. Try Geohack or maps.google.com.

	ちひろ (Chihiro) Restaurant, open by appointment. At the traffic light in Jinego. 39.1081, 140.291239.
	ほっといんレストラン (Hottoin Restaurant) Ramen restaurant. At the Jinego Rest Area. 39.109561, 140.291593.
	ももや (Momoya) Soba restaurant. Next to Sairando on the 108 in Kawauchi. 39.188594, 140.188806.
	横丁 (Yokocho) Ramen restaurant. Across from the Chokai Town Office in Kawauchi. 39.194522, 140.191252.
	こうや (Kouya) Ramen restaurant. Across from the Yashima Max Value. 39.227138, 140.148656.
	どん平 Soba restaurant. Between Yashima Station and Lawson's. 39.231173, 140.141017.
	清吉そば (Seikichi Soba) Ramen restaurant. Near the Lawson's by Honjo Park. 39.382764, 140.049527.
	鳥海荘 (Chokaiso) Onsen and hotel. Near Okojoland Ski Area in Hitane. 39.168199, 140.133373.
	Aコープ (A-Coop) Grocery store. At the traffic light in Jinego. 39.108248, 140.290786.
	ほっといん直売所 (Hottoin Chokai) Vegetable store. At the Jinego Rest Area. 39.109561, 140.291593.
	Saison Fugetsu (セソンふーげつ) Dessert store. Near Yashima Station. 矢島駅近い。 39.228805, 140.140706.
	菜らんど (Sairando) Vegetable store. Next to Momoya on the 108 in Kawauchi. 39.18876, 140.18847.
	BARBER ONUMA Barber. Across from the Chokai Town Office in Kawauchi. 39.194082, 140.191316.
	Daily Yamazaki Convenience store. Highway 108 in Kawauchi. 39.200311, 140.190007.