OKAYAMA (Kyodo) One of the first types of bullet trains ran Sunday from Okayama to Hakata Station in Fukuoka on its final regular run, 44 years after its debut.
Zero Hero: Fans flock to take pictures of a 0 Series bullet train Sunday before it left JR Okayama Station on its final run. KYODO PHOTO
About 2,000 train aficionados packed JR Okayama Station to see off the round-nose 0 Series model, with some calling out, "You did a good job!" and "Come back someday!"
The 152 reserved seats on the train were sold out in seconds after they were put on sale Oct. 30.
Hundreds more flocked to Okayama Station early Sunday for the 248 nonreserved seats, West Japan Railway Co. said.
Special farewell runs of 0, or Zero, Series trains are planned for three days in December.
Not every foreigner in Tokyo is an English teacher — there are also bankers, headhunters and other kinds of teachers, too. Joking aside, expats are doing all manner of jobs here, pursuing passions and paving career paths that a few decades ago would not have been possible.
Here is a diverse group of four Americans, a Canadian, two Brits and a Romanian who are making a living in nontraditional ways.
Brian Tannura: The Candy Man
It all started with a talking gumball machine. Then-Nova teacher Brian Tannura, letting his entrepreneurial side get the best of him, ordered one of the devices after seeing it in an American magazine. After he spent the equivalent of two months’ salary on the machine, you can imagine Tannura’s mood after plugging it in and realizing that the hertz didn’t match up.
Gliding through this hiccup, the 34-year-old New Jersey native now manages over 2,000 so-called “flat” vending machines, selling mostly stickers. “There will be 3,000 by end of this year and over 5,000 next year if current projections hold true,” he says.
But it is Tannura’s newest venture, importing and reselling American chocolates and snacks, that has earned him the “Candy Man” moniker. “I hope to follow a path which I first traveled with the sticker business. In that business, I also began with a small testing period—one machine, followed by five and then ten, etc,” he says. “I climbed the stairs, so to speak, re-investing profits into additional machines over the course of a few years.”
Are there clear top sellers from the candy boxes he now places in offices around Tokyo?
“Chocolate is always a big hit. I learned that pretty quickly,” he says. Tannura also recalls one encounter with a customer after the machine had sold out of his favorite product. “The ‘cashew man’ took the first chance he saw to grab me by the collar and let it be known in no uncertain terms that it was I who had got him started on his daily fix, and so it was my responsibility to keep him well-supplied.”
Japanese children may live in a materially rich environment by global standards, but among 24 countries in a survey last year, Japan had the highest percentage of children who felt lonely.
On Nov. 11, a Japan-Netherlands joint symposium on education reform was held at AoyamaGakuinUniversity in Tokyo, organized by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Tokyo. One of the guest speakers was Naoko Richters, a Japanese education researcher now living in the Netherlands.
"Why are there so many children in materially affluent Japan who feel lonely?" Richters asked the group of about 300 participants, including Japanese education officials.
Richters was referring to a figure in a children's happiness survey conducted in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that was released in 2007 by UNICEF. In Japan, 29.8 percent of 15-year-olds agreed with the statement "I feel lonely," placing Japan at the top of the list of 24 countries. Next highest was Iceland at 10.3 percent. The Netherlands had the lowest figure, at 2.9 percent.
Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement "I feel awkward," reached 18.1 percent in Japan, again placing the country at the top of the list. The corresponding figure in the Netherlands was 6.9 percent. In the 40 categories overall, the Netherlands came out in top position in terms of children's happiness.
So why is there such a difference between the Netherlands and Japan?
"I think one reason is the difference in education," ventures Richters, who has two children with her Dutch husband. She has been living in the Netherlands since 1996, and through her children she has had a taste of both Japanese and Dutch education.
The Netherlands emphasizes individual education that features both independent and joint learning. In elementary school classrooms, it is reportedly common to see students divided into groups of about five, each working through different topics. There is no single textbook for everyone; the children are given appropriate teaching materials matching their proficiency.
"You might call it education fitting each person's size," Richters said. Previously in the Netherlands the style of lessons was similar to Japan, with one person teaching the same thing to everyone. But in the 1960s and 1970s, when truancy and academic disparity became problems, the country changed its policy. Since then many schools adopting various education methods such as the Jena-Plan system.
Over the past few years in Japan, education reform based on the results of the Program for International Student Achievement has attracted lively discussion. But Richters stresses the importance of developing students as individuals.
"Instead of reform that places a disproportionate emphasis on academic ability, I want them to aim for the comprehensive development of students as humans," she said in her lecture. "I don't think that Dutch education is the best, but I think the results of the survey on children's happiness at least show the importance of lending an ear to each and every child."
Here are our prayer points for November. Thank you all so much for reading them and praying for us in this way. We are very aware of people's prayers as we go about our daily tasks and especially travelling in and out of Basel most days. As the weather get's colder (we are expecting snow at the end of this week and temperatures -7C overnight) it does get a little harder to venture outside. Also to keep fit and well!
We are expecting a visit from our dear friend Dudley Tann next week and it will be wonderful to see him after 2.5 years. I'm sure he will bring a little bit of Adelaide with him. It's so great that he is making a detour to see us here. We know he will bring us much joy and encouragement.
We trust this email finds you all well and very happy. Do send us your news and anything you would like us to pray about for you. We love hearing from our friends.
With our love,
Roger and Gaynor
Praise Points
- We had a wonderful Open Night at Centrepoint on 24 October with around 150 people attending. We had some great conversations, met old and new friends and thoroughly wore ourselves out. Gaynor made cakes, slices and biscuits for the evening.
- For a lovely few days spent with Gaynor’s sister Irene and husband George before they returned to Perth.
- We continue to make the most of opportunities we have for good conversation and catch ups with English speaking people in Basel. There has been an influx of new families at this time of year.
- God has blessed us with a wonderful family and we want to thank God for them. Tim and Amy will be visiting us over Christmas and we can hardly wait. Jocelyn is doing well and currently has a locum position in O.T. Glenda and Tom are keeping busy with their jobs, painting the outside of their home and looking after puppy Peach! Tom starts a new position with CBA on Monday.
Prayer Points
- We have not had good health the past couple of months. We are both currently getting over a terrible tummy bug! A friend in Basel sent us an email today and said No more ill health please! Please pray for our health.
- Would you to continue to pray that God will direct us to the right location so that we can begin inviting people to meet together to discuss spiritual issues, have coffee together, show videos, etc. We would like to discuss this situation with a Swiss friend of ours in Basel.
- Winter is upon us and we find most people go into hibernation! Can you pray we will not be affected by the weather but stay focussed and organized in all we do. We have a busy programme between now and Christmas.
- Discipline as we prepare the next Ridley’s Ravings!
- Please pray that we will have faith as we look to our Heavenly Father to continue to provide for us and our ministry here. There has been a drop in our financial support and we are being very careful in our use of money.
To submit items for posting, to comment or to add a link please email: nirusenk@gmail.com
WEATHER IN KURUME
One Way Out
Higashi Kurume Station..the way to Ikebukuro and the cheap movies and Haneda airport
Ed “Mr Lucky” Martin
GALATIANS 2: 20, 21
VISIT SAN DIEGO
SPECIAL BOOK~ORDER NOW!
Norman Grubb gave this series of addresses in 1954 at the Evangelical Missionary Association of Japan and Deeper Life Conference in Karuizawa, Japan. In these eight days of love and fellowship he pours out his own 'missionary heart' to them as only one who has "walked their walk" can do!
