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My Homestay in
CanadaI have always dreamt about going to Canada to study
abroad and stay with a host family, and this past summer
I finally got my wish.
Before leaving Japan, I had very little information
about my host family, so I was worried about my life in
Canada. When I met my host mother for the first time, I
was filled with anxiety and my legs were shaking during

Niagara Falls
When I was in Canada on the Brock University English Study
Program, I went to Niagara Falls three times with my friends.
The first time, we went to the Skylon Tower, which was very tall andclose to Niagara Falls. Since it was the first time for me to see Niagara
Falls, I was very excited. We had a delicious buffet lunch while we looked
out at the great view.
The next time, we all went on “The Maid of the Mist” tour boat andwe were able to get very close to Niagara Falls. Although I expected to geta little wet, I was unprepared for the amount of water that fell on us. By
the end of the boat tour, we were completely soaked! My advice to any
future students who decide to join this program is not to wear fur bootswhen you go on this tour.
The final time I visited Niagara Falls, my friends and I went there forthe purpose of buying souvenirs. There were many attractive things, suchas very big chocolates, hamburgers, and ice cream. Even though I spentalmost all of my money there, I really enjoyed trying the interesting foodDec. 21 Winter 2010

the drive to her house. Once we arrived at her house, I
found that there were two other overseas students staying
there. One was Chinese while the other one was
Venezuelan.
Since my host mother enjoyed looking after students
visiting from abroad, she treated me very well. I had toleave her house at 6:40 a.m., so I always got up around 5a.m. She also got up at the same time to prepare mybreakfast. She cooked three meals for me every day and I
always looked forward to eating her dishes and talking toher. We talked about many things such as looking after
overseas students. I was very impressed by the way she
shared her experiences and stories with me. Although she
was tired after working hard at her own job, she still
make an effort to take me to many places during my stay.
I was also able to spend some valuable time with myfellow homestay students. In particular, we were able toshare some of our recipes from our own countries witheach other. I even cooked peach pies on my birthday forthem. Cooking in Canada was certainly an experience I
will never forget.
Before my trip abroad this past summer, I had neverstayed with another family. Although it was hard at times
communicating in English and living in someone else's
home, I was able to have a wonderful experience that will
last with me for the rest of my life.
Fumiha Kikuchi

that was sold in the tourist areas.
Overall, I would encourage everyone to try and visit Niagara Falls. It
was a thrilling experience that I will surely never forget.

Ayano Shinohara

2

Accidents Happen
My Accident
When I was a child, I injured a finger of my right hand. My
parents love bowling, so I went to the bowling alley with them. One
day, I thought, “Why do my parents help me to bowl the ball ? I'm
not a pampered child.” I don't like to have adults doing things forme. I wanted to bowl a ball on my own, so I said to my parents “Ican bowl by myself. I don't need help!” I took a ball and went to thelane alone. I was so happy as I stepped forth onto the lane with aheavy ball. But the next moment I fell down and injured my finger. I
do not remember that accident very well. I only remember that the
bowling lane was stained with my blood. I can't understand what
happened. My parents and the bowling alley's staff were flurried.
Strangely, I did not feel any pain. A few minutes later, the ambulancecame and my brother was glad. He loves ambulances. “I want to takean ambulance too!” he said tearfully. My father got really angry . I
took the ambulance and went to hospital. I got about 7 stitches in
my finger. I couldn't use my right hand for a long time, so I trained
at being a lefty. So I am a lefty now and a scar on my right index
finger still remains.
Rika Okuma

My Accident
I have always hated trucks. This accident happened about one
month after the elementary school entrance ceremony. I was goinghome with my friends; we hurried to my home because we weregoing to play there together, but I didn't notice that a truck wasapproaching us. The street was very narrow, so we walked along thecenter of the street. My friends noticed the truck and ran to the side
but I didn't notice it because I was in high spirits. The thing
happened in a split second. I woke up in hospital. I heard from mymother that a stranger who came along called an ambulance. It
seemed that the driver didn't notice so nobody knew who hit me.
Luckily my injury wasn't so bad and I left the hospital after threedays. Because of this thing, I look out for cars more when I go out inorder to avoid an accident.
Takayuki Sakazume

My Injury
I cut my fingertip when I was doing some household work. In
those days, I was still a child. My mother told me to help with thecooking, and I tried to cut vegetables. Dinner that day was
Okonomiyaki, so I sliced a cabbage with a slicer. The slicer was an
attachment for a bowl. The bowl I used didn't fit it, but I went on
using it. Eventually, I sliced my finger with the slicer. My finger was
bleeding so much, and the water in the bowl turned red soon. I saw
my finger. My fingertip was missing. I lost my fingertip. I felt a dreadat this scene. However, somehow the blood made me calm. I tried tolook for my finger in the bowl. The fingertip was like a small shellwhen I found it. I went to a hospital with my mother soon.
Fortunately, they were able to reattach this small shell to my finger,
and my finger healed.
Kanoko Yoshimura

My Bicycle Accident
When I was a high school student, I had a bicycle accident. I was
always riding a bicycle to go to school. It was a foggy day, so thevisibility was bad. I was riding a bicycle to go home, when I was hit
by a car. The driver apologized to me, so I forgave him. But mybicycle was broken, so I was very sad. Because of this accident, mylegs had many scratches, and blood was oozing from the wounds. At

No.7

Winter 2010

home, my mother gave me some treatment. Thanks to the treatment,
many scratches got well, but I felt pain for two weeks. The cause ofthis accident was the driver's carelessness, so I think I should takecare of when driving a car and riding a bicycle.
Kana Nomura

An Accident That I Had
I bumped into a big rock once. This accident happened when I
was three or four years old and in those days I lived in Noboribetsu. I
went sledding in a big park with my father, my elder sister, and myelder brother. There is a big mountain in the park. I enjoyed sledding
with my sister and brother but my father went somewhere. When I
was sledding by myself, the sled veered off to a big rock and I
shouted at the top of my lungs. My sister and brother looked at me,
and shouted, but I bumped into the big rock and blood was flowing
from my head. Of course I cried and cried and my sister and brotherwere in a panic. My father heard my voice and ran to my help. The
bleeding stopped ten minutes after my father came and covered thewound with tissue paper. The next morning, I had a bump on myhead. I have a scar on my head where I bumped into the rock, but I
shall never forget my father`s kindness as long as I live.
Rie Kobayashi

An Accident That I Had
When I was 4, I scalded my thigh. I was waiting to finish getting
my cup noodle ready on the table. It was far from the place where I
was sitting, so I tried to learn over to pick it up. Then it was stuck on
the table. I didn't notice that. In short, my cup noodle fell down on
my thigh. I was surprised and began to cry at once, so my mothernoticed that an accident had happened. She was surprised at myburnt thigh and she understood the reason why I was crying. Then
my mother's friend took me to hospital by her car. My doctor cooled
my thigh with cracked ice. I needed a long time for complete
recovery but now I don't have a scar because I was a child. Children
have a strong power to heal injuries and scalds.
Airi Suzuki

My Accident
I broke my arm when I was 8 years old. When I was playing withroller skates with my friend, I fell down and hit my hand on the
ground, and it was painful. I did not cry in front of my friend, but I
came back home and cried very much. I went to the hospital
immediately and took an examination. The doctor told me that abone was broken. Because I was young, I did not have strong bones.
I bound my arm with a bandage and went to school the next day. I
told the reason to a classmate and I had a friend help me with things
I could not do by myself. Life became inconvenient since I broke myarm, but I was able to feel the warmth of my friends.
Mika Hayasaka

My Accident
When I was a high school student, I hurt my knee in a basketballmatch. I was running in the court and stopped suddenly. Then I
twisted my knee and I couldn't stand. My knee was examined in a
hospital, and I was diagnosed with a damaged ligament. I had an
operation and was hospitalized for three weeks. Rehabilitation
continued after having left the hospital and it took a half year till I
returned to a competition after all. After that, I was forced to do a
muscular workout and the rehabilitation at home. It was very hardfor me, but I did my best to play basketball again. I still go to thehospital to have my knee examined once a year. I'm recoveringsmoothly.
Arisa Mitsuya

No.7

Potpourri
E-mail or letter
writingTyping e-mail is often very different from writing a letter. Whenyou send or receive e-mail, you and your receivers each need a computeror cell phone, and must access the Internet. You can send e-mailinstantly wherever your receivers are. It is very cheap and has a flat rate,
so you do not have to worry about cost. You can attach some files toyour e-mail such as images, sound files and moving images. You canselect a font, but letters are mechanical. However, when you are sending
a letter, you need only papers, an envelope, and a pen. Mailing a letter
takes over two days. Postage depends on distance, size, and weight. You
can enclose some things such as photos, cards, pamphlets, and pressed
flowers. You can send handwriting, so letters are full of warmth.
Although e-mail and letters might send your message, typing e-mail andwriting a letter are very different ways of communicating.

Echika Chiba

Winter 2010

3

Going for a Drive
My father and I like to go driving, so we often do. We go driving every
Golden Week, but we could not this Golden Week because I had to work.
We regret that very much. We have many memories of going for a drive.
The best memory of going for a drive with my family for me isthat we went to Kushiro during Golden Week two years ago. My
brother had lived in Kushiro for a year, so we often went to Kushiro.
First, we went to Mashu Lake and took a photo for a souvenir. When
we arrived at Mashu Lake, we could not see the view because it wasoverspread by fog, but the fog gradually cleared and we could see thelake. Next, we went to a hot spring near Mashu Lake. It was
comfortable and I felt good. We ate soba at Azumaya for lunch.
Azumaya is a famous soba shop in Kushiro, so there are many
Azumaya soba shops. The color of Azumaya buckwheat noodles isgreen and the soy-based dip for buckwheat noodles is sweetish. I
wanted to eat them again because they were delicious. We went tothe bridge at Nusamai at night. The night view of Nusamai was very
beautiful, so we took a photo. We bought souvenirs from Kushiro ata souvenir shop near the bridge of Nusamai.
We regret that we could not go driving this Golden Week because
my father and I like to take a drive, but we have good memories ofdriving to Kushiro. We want to go driving to Kushiro and eat delicious
foods and visit the sightseeing locations of Kushiro. Also, we want to go
driving somewhere next Golden Week.

Ayumi Yokono

Small Town vs Big City
A Small Town anda Big City
Which is better for people: living in a small town or a big city? Bothhave differences for living there. A small town has a small population, so
people know each other well. Elementary school, junior high school andhigh school, almost always have the same pupils, and people have been
friends for a long time. Therefore, people can trust each other and feel
comfortable together. There is a small population, so people don't haveto bother about crowds, and can lead an easy-going life.
On the other hand, there are also advantages to living in a big city. A
big city means an urban city, so there are many kinds of nice and usefulstores; for example, clothes, cafés and amusement facilities. People canenjoy various activities. Because there are many exciting places, there are a
lot of fun events at these places. Besides, a big city has different kinds ofways to commute: subway, bus, and train, which are all very useful.
Finally, I live in Sapporo now, but I lived in Kitami until three years
ago. Sapporo is one of the largest cities in Japan, but Kitami is a small town.
I have lived in two different cities, and think a big city is more fun for me
because there are many exciting places. A small town is sometimes boring.

Hitomi Wada

Life in a small town
or life in a big city
Both life in a small town and life in a big city offer definite benefits
to an inhabitant. If you live in a small town, you can breathe in fresh airand feel refreshed because there may be woods, some mountains, andsome streams around the small town. It is like a forest bath. In addition,
at night, you can see a lot of stars clearly and, in summer, you can listen
to the chirping of insects, such as crickets, pine crickets, frogs, cicadas,
grasshoppers, and giant katydids. These Japanese charms will make you

calm down. Another good reason to live in a small town is to live quietly
without a crowd and a noise.
On the other hand, advantages of life in a big city include a lot of
convenient transportation facilities, so you can go to various places over awide area. Also, in a big city, you can go shopping easily because many usefulshops meet at various points. For example, there may be a clothing store, ashoe store, a grocery store, a pharmacy and a cosmetic store close together.
Finally, if you live in a big city, when you get sick, you can easily go to andfrom a general hospital. This is advisable for you because you will be able toalleviate your burden. So, if you are thinking about where to live, consider allof these benefits and if you want, you can feel the atmosphere by visiting
there before you decide. Then you will be able to make a satisfactory choice.

Yumika Omori

Living in a small town
and living in a big city
Living in a small town and living in a big city both have some definite
benefits for a person. Which one is right for you? Living in a small town,
you can become friends with all your neighbors. There are a small numberof people and there are few stores, so you have to help each other. Anothergood point to living in a small town is that it is very comfortable because it
is quiet. No one interferes with you. You may hear birds and insects
chirping songs. Also, there is a lot of nature. You can feel nature and feelthe change of seasons well. If you like nature and quiet, I recommend thatyou live in a small town. On the other hand, there are also advantages toliving in a big city. There are many things to do. For example, there are a
lot of bookstores, convenience stores, hospitals, and big shopping malls.
Many stores are open till midnight; moreover, some business hours run 24
hours. You can always enjoy yourself there. It's very easy to do anything.
There are many kinds of transportation, for instance, bus, subway, andtrain. That's why you can choose the best way to go anywhere. You don't
need to have a car. For these reasons, if you are thinking about where to
live, consider all of these benefits and make a decision that is right for you.

Tomoko Watanabe

4Asahiyama Zoo

Do you like animals?
If you do, Asahiyama
Zoo is one of the bestplaces to visit in
Hokkaido. In this zoo,
you can see many
animals. The zoo has
many attractions
including a tunnel
inside the penguin's pool where you can watch the penguins canswim freely. In the winter, the cute penguins walk around outside
their cages. The popular animals are seals, polar bears, andpenguins. Please come and see the charming animals.
The zoo is free for junior high school students and younger,and ￥800 for those who are older. It is open from 9:30 am to
5:15 pm in the summer, and from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm in thewinter. If you come in the summer or during a holiday, you can
expect the zoo to be crowded.
From Asahikawa Airport, there are two ways to go to this zoo. Bybus, it takes about 35 minutes and costs ￥500. Take the Asahikawa
Denki Kido No.70 Bus for Asahiyama Zoo. By taxi, it takes about
30 minutes and costs about ￥3,500. From JR Asahikawa Station,
there are also two ways to go to there. By bus, it takes about 40
minutes and costs ￥400. Take the Asahikawa Denki Kido Bus for
Asahiyama Zoo from bus stop No.5 from JR Asahikawa Station. Bytaxi, it takes about 25 minutes and costs about ￥3,000.
Mori No Yu Hotel Hanakagura (0166) 83-3800 (Double:￥9,000)This hotel is near Asahiyama Zoo. There are open-air baths inhotel, and you can feel relaxed.
http://hanakagura.co.jp/
Mog Mog Terrace (0166) 36-7888
This is restaurant in Asahiyama Zoo, and you can see a very
beautiful view of Asahiyama Zoo and Asahikawa City. It is openfrom 10:30 am to 5:30 pm in the summer, and from 10:30 am to
3:30 pm in the winter.
http://www.mog-mog.jp/
Asahikawa Ramen Tokuichiban (0166) 36-3381
Tokuichiban has delicious ramen and rice, is near Asahiyama
Zoo, and has free coffee. It is open from 11 am to 8 pm, and from
11 am to 7 pm on Sunday and holidays.
Ririko Kobayashi

Odori Park

Odori Park is oneof the most famousplaces to visit in
Sapporo. This is a bigpark where many
famous events are held
including the beer
garden in summer,
and the snow festival
and “white illumination” in winter. In the summer, there are many
street stalls that sell food like ice cream, corn and potatoes. You
can see many flowers if you come in spring. There is a big fountainin the center of the park that you will be surprised to see. There isa TV tower which is lit up at night.
The park is free for everyone, and it is open everyday.
To get there by subway from Sapporo station, you should takethe Toho line or Nanboku line. From Sapporo station, it takes 10

Tour deNo.7

Winter 2010

minutes to walk to Odori park.
HotelsRestuarants
Ajinotokeidai (011)221-3330
This is a small shop, which is cheap and popular with local
people. From Sapporo station, it takes one minute to walk to theshop and from Odori station, it takes five minutes to walk to theshop. It is open from 10 am to 2 pm.
Sushidokoro Saikaku (011)218-8700
This shop is little expensive for dinner; however, the food isvery delicious. The prices at lunch time are more reasonable. From
Odori station, it takes one minute to walk to the shop.
Wakana Inagaki

Moerenuma park

Do you know Isamu Noguchi? He was a world famous sculptor
who also designed over 120 different pieces of playgroundequipment for Moerenuma park in Sapporo. A good park forfamilies, it is a very big park in the eastern part of Sapporo withmany with playgrounds, sports fields, and an open air stage. There
are also two mountains, Moere mountain, which is 50 meters
high, and Play mountain, which is 30 meters high. This parkholds events throughout the year. In May, you can see cherry
blossoms. You can also enjoy Moere beach from June to
September. If you like winter sports, you can enjoy cross-country
skiing, snowboarding, and sledding in the winter. The most
famous building in the park is 'Hidamari', a glass pyramid where
you can see a nice view from inside.
Admission to the park is free. It is open everyday including
holidays. You can go there by car because there is a lot of freeparking. To get there by bus and subway, you should take the Toho
Line to Kanjodori-higashi, and then take the bus to Moerenuma
park. From Kanjodori-higashi station, it takes about 25minutes.
Web: http://www.sapporo-park.or.jp/moere/index.php TEL:
011-790-1231
Elm Garden (011)-551-0707
This restaurant has only Japanese food. It is open from 11:30
am to 1:30 (lunch), from 6:00 pm to 8:30 (diner).
http://www.elm.cc/restaurant/overview.html
Teppanyaki Ishikari (011)242-2833
This restaurant has delicious beef, seafood including oysters,
abalone, and shrimp. It is open from 5:00 pm to10:00(dinner).
Natsumi Okui

Mt.Moiwa

There are three famous mountains for beautiful night views in
Hokkaido: Mt.Hakodate in Hakodate, Mt.Tengu in Otaru, and Mt.
Moiwa in Sapporo. Mt.Moiwa is the most convenient from Sapporo,and you can enjoy hiking, skiing, riding the ropeway, and taking in
the beautiful views of Sapporo. Mt.Moiwa, at 531 meters high, is not
so high, but it has been chosen as one of the 100 most beautiful
nature spots in Hokkaido. Mt.Moiwa has a lot of animals and insects
in addition to many kinds of birds. You can enjoy bird watching.

Hokkaido
At present, Mt.Moiwa
facilities, including theropeway, are closed forrenovation until autumn
2011. When it reopens,
the sightseeing road will
be open from 9 am to 10
pm in the winter and 9

am to 11 pm in the summer.
To get there by subway, you should take the Namboku line to
Makomanai station, and take bus #98. By car, it takes about 20
minutes.
Sayumi Abe

Mikaho park

Mikaho park is one of the best places to enjoy nature in Sapporo.
Mikaho park has a gym, a baseball ground, a tennis court, and a lotof original playground equipment. Moreover, people can enjoy thispark all year because the gym changes into a skating rink in thewinter. This park is popular with Sapporo citizens, because this park
was used as a figure skating place when the Olympics were held in
the Sapporo in 1972. There is still an Olympic symbol on the tower.
If you go this park, you will feel the history from those days.
Mikaho park is free for everyone, and it is open everyday,
except holidays. The gym is open from 9 am to 9 pm between
June and September for people to play badminton and table
tennis, and it is open from 10 am to 5:30 pm between November
and April for skating. The gym is closed in May and October, inorder to prepare for the next season.
To get there by subway, you should take the Namboku line to
Kita 24 jou station. From the station, it takes 15 minutes to walkto Mikaho park. Also there are buses to Mikaho park from Higashi
kuyakusyo mae station on the Toho line.
Email: info@dou-akiyama.co.jp Phone: 011-751-1155
Sayumi Abe

Otaru Canal

There are plenty of ways to enjoy the sights of Otaru, andstrolling down Otaru Canal is particularly good. The warehouses
along Otaru Canal, made of stone and brick, are elegant andbeautiful. Along Otaru Canal, there are many kinds of shops,
including glassware stores, the music box museum, sushi restaurants,
and candy shops. In the glassware stores, you can experience glass
blowing and making stained glass products. Also, Otaru is wellknown for many kinds of sweets which will satisfy those from youngt o o l d . In Fe b r u a r y, t h e“Otaru Snow Light Path” isheld. You will be fascinated by
the beauty of the snow andthe light of candles.
Of course, strollingthrough Otaru Canal is free
for everyone, and you can do

No.7

Winter 20105

it at anytime. However many shops along the canal
are open from about 9 or 10 am to about 6 or 7
pm. At night, the canal area is lit up till midnight.
To get there by train, you should get off at Otaru
station. Then, it takes about 10 minutes to walk fromthe station to the canal. Also, there are some parking
lots near the canal so you can come by your car.
Web: http://www.mmjp.or.jp/OTARU/
Kitano Ice Cream Yasan 0134-23-8983
This ice cream shop features 20 unusual flavors including sea
urchin, squid ink, natto, and beer. It is near Otaru Canal and open
everyday from 9:30 am to 7 pm.
http://www.kitanoice.com/
Misaki Sato

The Otaru aquarium

Have you ever been to the Otaru aquarium? There is one of themost famous aquariums in the Hokkaido. You can see a lot of fish
and unusual creatures from the sea. You can touch things like starfish and dolphin. There are various animal shows, and you can see
things like dolphins jumping, penguins eating and seals with sea
lions diving. If you get hungry, there is a restaurant where you caneat the aquarium's original food. There are a lot of souvenirs.
The aquarium is ￥1,300 for anyone over high school age,
￥530 for junior high school students and elementary school
students and ￥210 for infants. It is open from the latter part ofMarch to the latter part of November from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
To get there by JR and bus, you should takes from the Sapporo
station to the Otaru station and then transfer to the bus. It takes
about 60 minutes from Sapporo station to the Otaru aquarium.
Web: http://www.otaru-aq.jp/ Email: info@otaru-aq.jp
Phone: 0134.33.1400
Naruto (0134) 32-3280
This is the most famous fried chicken shop in Hokkaido, and it's
very popular with local people. It is in downtown 7-8 minutes byfoot from the JR Otaru station. It is open from 11:00am to 7:00pm.
Web: http://naruto-wakadori.ftw.jp/
Otaru Bine (0134) 24-2800
This cafe has delicious and reasonably priced Italian food andwine. It is near the station, and it is open from 11:00am to 10:30pm.
Web: http://www.otarubine.chuo-bus.co.jp/
Saki Sugimoto

Chitose Outlet mall Rera

The outlet mall in Chitose called Rera is one of best places in
Hokkaido for shopping. When you go to Rera, you will be
surprised because Rera is very large and very popular in Hokkaido.
There are over 100 clothing shops including Columbia, Nike,
Coach, Timberland, and Beams. You will be happy because you
can buy products at Rera cheaper than at other shops. If you gethungry, there are many restaurants.
Rera is open every day except New Year day. It is open from 10
am to 8 pm. (It is open from 10 am to 7 pm in winter.) In
addition to shopping, there are other interesting places around
Rera such as “Muscle Park” which is a big gym.
To get there by the train from Sapporo, you should get on the“airport” train from Sapporo station to Minami-chitose station. It
takes 33 minutes. From the station, it takes 3 minutes to walk to
Rera. To get there from New Chitose airport, you should get on
the free bus.
Manami Tanji

6

No.7

Winter 2010

Student Research
The Japanese Food Boom in America
Japanese food is getting more and more popular in the United States ofAmerica in recent years. There are about ten thousand Japanese foodrestaurants in America, according to the data by the Japanese Ministry ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2007. In addition, I heard that there arepacks of sushi in the side dish department, tofu in the vegetable department,
and soy sauce in the seasoning department at the supermarkets. Then, I heardthat Yukimi Daifuku is called “Mochi Ice Cream” and it is popular in
America. This phenomenon is called the Japanese food boom. When I
watched “Monsters, Inc.”, which is an American computer animated film
and produced by Pixar Animation, I realized that Japanese foods are eaten in
America for the first time. In this movie, we can get the scene which thismain character's best friend goes to a Japanese restaurant with his girlfriend,and also we can see that there is sliced raw fish, chopsticks and Japanese
teacups on the table at this Japanese restaurant.
Then, I also saw that characters are eating Japanese foods when I watchedsome American films and American video dramas recently. In “The Holiday”,
which is an American romantic comedy film, one main character goes to a
Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and they eat fish byusing chopsticks. In “Gossip Girl”, which is an American video drama, themain character's rival has a date with her boyfriend at a Japanese restaurantand she eats sliced raw fish after she dips it into soy sauce by using chopsticks.
In “Hitch”, which is an American romantic comedy film, the heroine of thisfilm eats rice pudding at ‘Rice to Riches” with her best friend. Rice pudding
is not Japanese food, but rice pudding is made with rice. I knew that there aredesserts which are made by Japanese ingredients in America, so I thought all
the more Japanese foods are popular in America when I watched this film.
We are able to see the Japanese food boom in America even by watching
American films or American video dramas. Now, why did a Japanese foodboom happen in America?
There were already Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles, San Francisco, andSeattle where many Japanese-Americans lived before the war. In addition, atthe beginning of the 1960s, there were one hundred Japanese restaurants in
America, and there were ten Japanese restaurants in New York because
Japanese business companies, banks, and so on were built in the metropolis of
America. However, these Japanese restaurants looked like dining rooms for
local Japanese-Americans, meaning Japanese food wasn't popular in America
yet. There were surely Japanese restaurants in America for a long time ago, but
we cannot say that the Japanese food boom started at that point in time,
because Japanese food weren't popular in American yet. The thing that we canreally say is the Japanese food boom in America happened in the 1970s.
From the beginning of the 1970s, environmental preservation activities
sprouted among Americans. The symbol of these activities was hippies. They
criticized the machine civilization, and their criticisms made people think about
the Orient. Therefore, they began to be interested in brown rice, sea vegetables,
miso, and tofu through Zen. Also, they began to go to sushi shops but they
couldn't become regular customers of sushi shops because they didn't haveenough money to go there frequently. Shortly afterwards, these hippies'
thoughts spread among high income groups, for example movie stars, actors,
singers, doctors, and lawyers. In addition, by 1975, these thoughts also spreadamong the middle classes, and thoughts of health became trendy at this time.
Then, in 1977, dietary guidelines were released by the federal government,
because many people died of heart disease, cerebral accidents, cancer, ordiabetes in America. That is to say, these diseases are caused by bad eating
habits, so dietary guidelines were released by the federal government. The aim
in nutrition on dietary guidelines was reducing the intake of fat and cholesterol
and increasing the intake of protein and carbohydrates. The guidance of dietaryguidelines was just Japanese eating habits, that is to say, Japanese food's arehealthy, so many Americans began to be interested in Japanese foods.
The thought that people can live a long life if they eat Japanese foods
spread among Americans. Also, in the 1970s, the image of factory products
which are made in Japan became better than that of American products, in
America, so Americans began to trust Japanese products by this image. If
Americans didn't trust Japanese products at that point in time, Americans
wouldn't be interested in Japanese foods. The above explains that the maincause of the Japanese food boom in America was criticizing the machine
civilization by hippies, beginning to be interested in Japanese food by highincome groups, releasing dietary guidelines by the federal government, andtrust in Japanese products by Americans.
Japanese food is getting more and more popular in the United States ofAmerica in recent years and Japanese foods' good point is that it is healthy.
That is true, but there are some problems. In America, non-Japanese cooks
often cook Japanese food at Japanese restaurants. There are people who don't
have qualifications for cooking Japanese foods, so they cook even though they
don't know the way of treating raw materials, in which freshness is important.
It brings about the decline in quality of Japanese foods and the problem ofsanitation. Thus, in 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries set up its chapters in cities abroad to promote Japanese restaurants allover the world. Ironically, I often hear that though the Japanese food boom ishappening in America, the culture of Japanese food has faded away in Japan.
There are many fast food restaurants, convenience stores, family restaurants,
and chain stores in Japan. These are convenient, but most foods which areoffered are bad for us. I think now is the time that Japanese people review theireating habits for their health and traditional culture, and the Japanese foodboom in America is a good example for Japanese people to follow.
References

1. “Shokugawakareba sekaikeizaigawakaru” by Eisuke Sakakibara
2. “America tairiku kome monogatari” by Hirotaka Matsumoto
3. “America nihonsyoku wars’ by Yasushi Ikezawa
4. http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/
5. http://nylibety.exblog.jp
6. “Monsters, Inc.”
7. “The Holiday”
8. “Gossip girl”
9. “Hitch”

Nana Koshinaka

S TAFF
Lookout,no.7
Editor-in-chief
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Winter 2010

B.Bricklin Zeff
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The views expressed in Lookout
belong to the individual contributors,
and do not necessarily reflect theviews of the editors or HGU.

No.7

Movie Reviews
Avatar
The movie Avatar is the best American movie inthe world for three reasons. First, it shows Americanhigh technology for visual effects. Avatar is an
American science fiction film written and directed byJames Cameron. He made use of the virtual camera
system that can change into the three-dimensional. If
actors made a big action, the system can change into
three-dimensional immediately, so it is very useful tomake a spectacular scene. In addition, he used a
performance capture stage about six times as big as before, and there were one
hundred-twenty cameras for three-dimensional around the stage. He worked hard to
make vivid descriptions, so the movie became popular for people because of thebeautiful view and clear expression of avatar and nature. Second, it makes animpression for ecology on the Earth. Humans destroyed Navi's nature to increase theirterritory in this movie. It is very sad to see the destruction of huge trees, beautiful andvast ground, and a lot of animals and Navi by humans, so we are impressed how
important nature is. It was similar to humans destroying our Earth now.
Finally, it shows how important it is to understand different cultures. In thestory, a man falls in love with Navi's woman, but they have different cultures andthey are enemies. Still, he learned Navi's language and culture like a real Navi. He
lived with Navi and he found good points of life that protect and communicate
with nature. Some humans understand Navi's culture and they became friends
with Navi, but others made an attack on Navi's land. Both couples from different
cultures were forced to choose sides between the competing communities. It is avery difficult decision, but a man decided to protect Navi's land, so he attacked
his coworkers. If humans understand Navi's culture and how important nature isfor their lives, they would not attack it. As a result, the nature of land wasdestroyed by humans and a lot of Navi and humans died. It is very similar to war,so it taught us how precious life is and to better understand different cultures.
In short, the movie Avatar is the best American movie in the world because
it shows American high technology for visual effects, makes an impression for
ecology on the Earth and it shows how important it is to understand different
cultures. This year, the movie became the highest grossing film in the world.
The film broke several box office records, and the record of Titanic was broken.
It was very happy news for American people. Avatar is a movie that makes us
think about many important things. If American movies get better and better,the movies that impress us to change our minds will be made in America.
Avatar gave us not only an impression for beautiful sights and an original
magnificent world but also thinking about the Earth and how important it is tocommunicate with people from different cultures.

Kazumi Ito

Die Hard 4.0
The movie Die Hard 4.0 is a movie that describes
modern American society, and you can notice four
important facts from this movie. First, bad guys areterrorists, and their object is to destroy the American
government. As for the background, the leader ofterrorists was a worker of the American government,
and he made a reference which is about the vulnerable
guard system to executives that manage the guardsystem, so he suggested a new form, but it was not
accepted by government executives. That is why hebecame a terrorist. Their motivation resembles many
current terrorists' motivation against the government.
Second, terrorists used cutting edge technology, which is Information
Technology (IT). The American government controls a lot of organizations byusing computers, and it makes us imagine modern America more easily because

LUNCHTIME SPEAKING

Winter 20107

the base of modern life all over the world is information technology managed bycomputers. Because of this, terrorists do not only attack by using firearms, butalso by carrying out “cyber terror”, which is a dreadful way causing chaos in
America. Third, to feel like the real world, there are many current cultures in thismovie. Modern America is full of multiculturalism, so a lot of countries' cultures
exist in America. For example, Farrell, one of the main character, is Otaku. He
likes figures and anime girl characters, and this is typically Japanese Otaku, andMcClain also said it. Also, the art of movement (Japanese: Parkour), which is a
popular extreme sports among young guys in modern America, was done in thismovie.
Fourth, there is the scene that McClain and Farrell talked about the hero, andthis is an essential fact in this movie. The hero is always a strong, kind, and bright
person, and everyone thinks so. However, McClain talked about his miserable
story. He said to Farrell that the hero is not a good thing, but nobody does it, so hemust do it alone. In the final chapter, McClain said to Farrell that he is a hero. Thismeans, even if a man does not have power like McClain, he can be a hero for aman or woman. This way of thinking is a little different from traditional heroes. In
short, Die Hard 4.0 is not only an attractive movie, but also describes four modern
American features. It is about terrorists, technology, culture, and the hero.

Hikaru Furukawa

I.ROBOTThe movie I, Robot indicates some alarm about thenear future technology and also about relations between
robots having much technology and people. First,
technology is introduced to human lives. This stage of thestory is in Chicago in 2035, and there people live withmany robots having much technology. There are threelaws that they must not injure people, must obey people
on the promise of the first law, and must protect
themselves supporting the first and second laws. Thus,
they are safe as their crime rate is zero percent and they
are trusted by people and help them do everything, for example making dinner,
taking care of children, rescuing people, and so on. The hero in this movie, however,does not trust them at all. He knows they are too perfect to understand miracles. For
example, they helped him instead of a girl in a car accident because the robot made a
judgment that his possibility to survive was higher than hers mathematically. It is notbad, but we must not trust them too much.
Second, technology is being improved day by day and may be superior to people.
In this movie, robots run the factory making robots by themselves and maintain the
Department of Defense, while people think robots are superior to them. The first andsecond cases can happen someday because now actually there are so many improved
technologies in America and in the world like iPad. Those have much more knowledge
than we have, and their contents unlimitedly grow depending on improvements. It is
impossible to catch up to their content, but human beings have unlimited possibilities
and we should keep in mind that we did advance technology. Third, technology may
control people. In this movie, VIKI, a robot trusted by people most of all the robots,
improved herself and had her will and her comprehension of three laws changed. Also,
she thought people kept fighting with each other in spite of their effort to make theworld better and might bring about mankind's destruction, but people could not liveby themselves, so instead of people she controlled people to prevent it. She says it iswell and good that some people are sacrificed for mankind to survive. In fact, she
attempted to kill the hero and killed people indirectly. This means technologies whichhave wills control the world and may destroy the world and us.
As previously explained, now in the world technology is getting better andbetter steadily and the development rate is too fast to stop. Also, it is so useful that
we cannot imagine our lives without technology such as cell phones. It is naturalthat not only old people but also children have them. Because we want highquality technology too much, we tend to forget essential things around us andlose close communication together, Mother Nature, and so on. Too muchtechnology causes us to get everything out of our head. Indeed, technology isconvenient for us and we do not have to separate from it. On the other hand, we
realize we depend on technology too much to keep having them and must notforget them now and in the near future. This movie alarms us about technology.

Nozomi Maeda

Bring your lunch and come and enjoy a chance to chat in English
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8

No.7

Winter 2010

We are on the lookout!

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