Happy New Year from Nagoya!
The Nagoya! Newsletter is the newsletter of the Nagoya International Club.
NagoyaIC has been promoting a vibrant foreign community in the Chubu/Nagoya area as an alternative to the bar scene, and the chance to make some friends outside of our work centered worlds since 2005. Come out and make some friends!
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I hope everyone is keeping warm? I would like to announce our next event. On January 22nd, the last day of the exhibit, we will be going to see Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Sakae. After the exhibit we will find a nice izakaya and enjoy some food and perhaps a drink or two. All are welcome, please come have some fun with us! Meeting time and place follow below. First, about the exhibit; in case you missed it the first 2 times. Can you tell I wanted to go to this?
Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective, November 11, 2011－January 22, 2012
Celebrating the centennial of Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), this is the first retrospective of the artist’s work in Japan. In 1947, during the post-war period, Pollock became a pioneer for the future of painting with a unique style and technique involving canvas placed on the floor and pouring of paint over its surface. His innovative art became the impetus for contemporary art. This retrospective will include roughly 70 artworks (about 40 paintings) coming from all over the world. A life-size replica of Pollock’s studio and the actual materials he used will be displayed together.
Jackson Pollock, Number 7, 1950, 1950
We will be meeting at Oasis 21 in Sakae in front of the Starbucks at 15:00
This Starbucks
Please Consider signing up to attend this event here on Facebook.
On to the feature! This month, I wanted to focus on some social groups here in Nagoya. If you are new in town, you might find yourself wanting to get out and meet some people. One of the hardest parts about living in a foreign country is dealing with isolation. If you are not careful you may end up curled up in a ball in your apartment watching season 3 of The Simpsons for the fifth time and wondering how the hell you got there and whatever made you think you could live in Japan in the first place. The easiest way to beat those blues is to get involved. Whether you are aware of it or not, there is a vibrant foreign community out there with many opportunities to share hobbies or perform community service.
One of my favorites is the Chubu International Hiking Club, or CHIC. With over 300 members and regular events, this is probably the biggest and most active group in Nagoya, and as I said, one of my personal favorites. Events are nearly weekly, and include hikes at all skill levels, and many social events throughout the year. Recently, there has even been a lot of "women"s events," where just the ladies get together and have fun. If you are interested in the outdoors and have weekends off this is the group for you. I try to make as many events as possible, but I work pretty much everyday so I do not get out as much as I would like to. One of my favorite hikes in Nagoya is Tsumago.
(From Japan-Guide.com) "The beautiful former post towns of Tsumago and Magome are connected with each other by an attractive walking trail that follows the old Nakasendo, a Edo Period highway from Kyoto to Edo." ..."the trail is 8 kilometers long" ... "Partly nature trail, partly covered by original cobblestones and partly paved roads, the trail passes several small villages, waterfalls and historic structures."
If you are interested in this group, see the
Facebook page.
If you would like to participate in some community service projects around Nagoya, I have two suggestions!
The first is Santa and Friends Nagoya.
SFN brings together 254 orphans from 5 different orphanages and over 100 volunteers for full day events to celebrate Christmas annually. Christmas games, magicians, musicians, story-telling, and cookie decorating were just a few of the activities on offer. from 2011, SFN has begun interacting with the children throughout the year; organizing, assisting with, and carrying out a number of activities with the kids monthly (in smaller groups, usually at the individual orphanges) by providing summer barbeques, beach trips, English classes, sporting events, dancing, yoga, arts and crafts, ski trips, etc...
This is a great group of people whose membership leans more towards the Japanese side of the community. Besides the regular volunteer opportunities, they also host regular social events together. Well worth a look.
See the
Santa and Friends Facebook page.
The second group is the Nagoya Walkathon and Charity Festival. The Nagoya Walkathon has been a tradition in the Nagoya Community for over 20 years, and last year's event was the biggest and best so far! Last year, the Walkathon raised over 8 million yen to orphanages and local charities.
The main purpose is for the international community to join with Japanese friends and companies in raising money for local orphanages and charities. The Walkathon also promotes fitness through walking and is an all-day party to which all are invited.
If you are interested in participating in this event, whether as a volunteer or simply on the day of the event ( annually on a Sunday in May ) please become a
fan on facebook page or sign up to the email list on the website.
If social and charitable is not your thing, or it is but you need more more more (this would be me), you may consider becoming a part of the business community in Nagoya.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Chubu Chapter, has over 100 members from many different industries and activities. You do not have to be an American, and most of the membership here in Nagoya is not. I am involved in this group as the Chair of the Independent Business Committee, and my Vice-Chair is a Canadian and a hell of a guy. You also do not need to be involved in a "traditional" business activity. Many members are running English Schools, or simply teaching but are interested in finding a job in Japan or starting their own business here.
The mission of the ACCJ is to further develop commerce between the United States of America and Japan, promote the interests of U.S. companies and members, and improve the international business environment in Japan.
This group hosts many events ranging from educational to social, and boasts some of the best traditions in the foreign community; including the Walkathon, Champagne Ball, Meximas, and "Boozing on a Building," or the annual beer garden event. If you are interested in getting involved in this group, the easiest way is to show up an event. Membership is a bit expensive, but worth it if you are motivated and willing to SEEK value from it, but you do not generally have to be a member to attend events in Nagoya. Become a fan of the
Independent Business Committee on Facebook, and come to a few of our events; see if it is something you might like to become a member of. For you ladies out there, please consider supporting the
Women in Business Committee.
Another, quasi business group in Nagoya is the Tokai Japan Canada Society.
Through periodic functions and events, the TJCS aims to create a greater sense of community among Canadians and to help foster increased relations between Canadians and Japanese, as well as other foreign nationals living in the Tokai region.
This group tends to be more social, but has a business aspect to it as well. They sponsor some great Nagoya traditions of their own, including an annual ski trip, camping trip, The Champagne Ball, and a great BBQ. For information about this group, please see the site.
Last but not least is this group,
The Nagoya International Club. This group was started by me,
Ray Proper (Internet Marketing and IT Consultant, Chair of Independent Business Committee for the ACCJ Chubu Chapter, Karaoke enthusiast, and shameless self-promoter) in 2005 as an alternative to the bar scene in Nagoya. Anyone can find a bar stool, I prefer to do something more interesting with my time. If I happen to buy a chu-hai or two while I am at it, so much the better! Highlights from last years events include a car show, fireworks festival, Oni Matsuri, and seeing the fall colors at Korankei. Good times, good times!
I also admin this calendar; the
Nagoya Events Calendar. Other people are already well occupied advertising the various club events around town so I stick to everything else. You can add this calendar to your google calendar by clicking on the little white "+Google Calender" button on the bottom right. You can find it online by clicking
here.
That is about it for this edition of Nagoya! I hope you can join us for our next event on Sunday! Have a great month, and if you would like any information about the groups mentinoed here you can also send me an email by hitting reply, and I will try and steer you in the right direction.
Lastly, the Internet! Just some random things I found interesting about Nagoya and Beyond.
Connecting to Facebook
