Category Archives: Kindergarten Life

Spring Update 2017 / IKIMASHO!

February 19, 2017 by joostay

When I first started this blog in March 2012, it was more a collection of daily photos – a diary for myself more than anything – of all the new things I was seeing and doing in Tokyo. As the years went on, these daily things of course became (somewhat) normal to me and so IKIMASHO! matured (is that the right word?) into a site with more specific articles about traditional festivals, certain neighbourhoods in the city and other stuff […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: design, japan, justin egli, living in japan, photography, Teaching in Japan, tokyo, travel, travel writer, writing

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Setsubun at a Japanese Kindergarten

February 3, 2017 by joostay

Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! / Demons out! Luck in!

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: 2017, asia, blog, educatin, festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, school, setsubun, teaching english, tradition, traditional, travel, writing

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UNDOKAI! DRAWINGS FROM SPORTS DAY IN A JAPANESE KINDERGARTEN

October 21, 2016 by joostay

A few weeks back was my school’s undokai, or Sports Day. It’s always a big, big deal for the parents – with families usually queuing outside the gates of the school from 6am in order to get the best viewing spot. The day consists of all the usual stuff you would expect, such as races and relays – but also lots of gymnastic and music performances that the kids have been practicing for about two months prior. As is the […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, cute, drawings, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, photography, sports day, tokyo, travel

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LUNCH TIME IN A JAPANESE KINDERGARTEN: HYPER KAWAII BENTOS!

August 31, 2016 by joostay

❤ ハイパーかわいいです！❤ While some schools offer kyushoku (prepared school lunches), my school is primarily bento-based – ie. the kids bring in their own packed lunch made by their parents that morning. These Japanese bentos are usually pretty healthy and super cute – with the kids all having little chopstick sets and table cloths featuring their favourite cartoon characters.

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kindergarten, photography, school, teaching, tefl, travel

IKIMASHO! Randomness from Space & beyond…

July 30, 2016 by joostay

It’s been a week since I last wrote anything on here, but if you follow IKIMASHO! on Facebook you’ll have read that I’ve been super busy in work. Right now is ‘Summer School’ for our kindergarten students, a special programme where they do two full days of games and learning with us. This year’s theme is ‘Space Adventure’ and so we’re making rocket crafts, playing games featuring aliens and learning about stars, astronauts and other space-related stuff. It’s completely different from the normal […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blogging, CREATIVITY, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kindergarten, tokyo, writing

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Full Moons & Full Stomachs

May 26, 2016 by joostay

Ahhh, Blogger’s Guilt… I wonder if anyone else gets it or just me? In the same way that if I go a week without the gym, if I don’t post at least once a week on here I get edgy. Amazingly, I’ve been running IKIMASHO! for four years now – with an average of two posts a week. But now with more writing gigs for other magazines and publications – as well as kindergartening full time – I’m busier than ever. And so, a […]

Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, blog, daily life, design, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, photography, tokyo, video

Spring is nearly here, finally.

March 19, 2016 by joostay

This was the last week of the school year in Japan. One of my four-year old kids drew me this. I had previously told her mum I was from Northern Ireland, and religious/political flag squabbles aside, fair play to her for even knowing what part of the world it is in. Coming from Northern Ireland, it’s always very difficult to explain to people about my country – some don’t even know it exists. And I’m not just talking about Japanese […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Uncategorized • Tags: asia, blog, japan, justin egli, kindergarten, photography, TEACHER, teaching, tokyo, travel

Tōryanse / 通りゃんせ

December 28, 2015 by joostay

Let me pass. Let me pass.
How a sinister-sounding children’s tune can help you cross the road in Japan.

Categories: Art Music & Culture, Kindergarten Life • Tags: culture, japan, justin egli, kids, lullaby, school, tokyo, tradional music

HANG ON, ISN’T THIS SITE SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT JAPAN?

October 28, 2015 by joostay

Many first-time visitors to this site stumble upon it via Google while looking for information on Tokyo, or how to become a kindergarten teacher in Japan. You may be wondering then why essentially all the posts since April have been non-Japan related. Well, for the last six months I have pretty much been travelling non-stop. I had always toyed with the idea of setting up a sister site to IKIMASHO! – one for my travels outside of Japan, but the truth is […]

Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: asia, blog, blogging, design, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, photography, tokyo, travel, wordpress, writing

Graduation Day at a Japanese Kindergarten

March 21, 2015 by joostay

Sayonara to the future dropouts and leaders of tomorrow. If there’s one thing my time in Japan has taught me, it’s this: graduation ceremonies in Japanese kindergartens are designed to do one thing, and one thing only – make you cry. From the very moment you set foot inside the gates, teachers are seemingly conspiring to make sure every one in the building is weeping by the end of the day. I’ve attended three over the years, and they are hard going. Kindergarten graduation ceremonies in Japan […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, becoming a kindergarten teacher in japan, blog, efl, english, esl, graduation ceremony, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, kindergarten, kindergarten teacher, teaching, tokyo, uk

HELP ME I AM IN HELL

February 12, 2015 by joostay

Delving deep into the soul of a three-year-old

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: art, asia, culture, david lynch, hell, horror, japan, kindergarten, lynch, nin, nine inch nails, surreal, teaching, tokyo, weird

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Ongakukai / Music Festival at Japanese Kindergarten 2015

February 2, 2015 by joostay

For the last two months the kids at my school have been practicing for their annual ongakukai (music festival). Last year, one particular class blew everyone away by doing a rendition of the Jurassic Park theme tune. This, year each class seemed determined to top that in terms of difficulty, time signatures and overall performance. The school rented out a huge auditorium for the festival – and as each class performed their piece in turn, you would have been forgiven for forgetting […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, blog, ikimasho, japan, kindergarten, music, pre school, TEACHER, teaching, teaching english, tefl, tokyo

COOKING WITH SUMO WRESTLERS. TOKYO, JAPAN.

December 19, 2014 by joostay

How do sumo wrestlers get so fat? Learning how to make Japanese stew and rice cakes with the big boys. CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE IKIMASHO! PARTY ON FACEBOOK

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: blog, culture, food, ikimasho, japan, japanese, mochi, Omochitsuki, se asia, sumo, sumo wrestling, sweets, teaching, tokyo

undokai tokyo marching japanese kindergarten

The Smallest Drum Major

October 26, 2014 by joostay

It’s a small world. Marching Performance at a Japanese kindergarten. Earlier in the year I posted about my class of five-year-olds performing the Jurassic Park theme tune for the ongakukai (Music Festival). Those particular kids have long since moved on to Elementary School, having been replaced with this year’s batch of nen-cho students. Not to be outdone by their predecessors, these new kids did a marching performance for our annual undōkai (Sports Day) that once again showed how amazingly talented these little guys and girls are.

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, blog, drums, english, festival, ikimasho, japan, japanese, keyboards, kindergarten, music, sports day, talent, teaching, tefl, tokyo, undokai

JAPANESE KINDERGARTEN INTERNATIONAL RESORT

July 14, 2014 by joostay

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: campfire, english, fireworks, fun, hanabi, japan, job, kids, kindergarten, TEACHER, teaching, tefl, tokyo

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Confessions of a ten-year-old

July 5, 2014 by joostay

The Hat One day when I was nine years old I was walking to school with my bag and my lunchbox. I looked inside the lunchbox and didn’t like what my mum had made me so I threw it in the bin. For some reason I replaced the contents with the wooly hat I was wearing. Any way, I got to school and when lunchtime came I opened up my lunchbox in front of everybody revealing the hat. Everybody laughed, […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days, Uncategorized • Tags: blog, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, memories, school, story, tokyo

Becoming a kindergarten teacher in Japan

June 21, 2014 by joostay

Love it or hate it. Please read this before applying for a kindergarten job in Japan. Between monitoring stats, comments and emails, one of the most popular topics it seems for people who stumble across this site is information on how to become a kindergarten teacher in Japan and what it entails. So I thought I’d write a bunch of stuff here to give people an idea of what my life’s like on a daily basis. I really like my […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, backpacking, blog, career, culture, english, ikimasho, japan, japanese, job, kindergarten, se asia, teaching, tefl, tokyo

Hell: A Beginner’s Guide

May 20, 2014 by joostay

Be a bad boy or girl and you’ll be stabbed, burned and cut into little pieces. Okay? “Excuse me. What does chinoike jigoku mean?” I ask one of my Japanese female colleagues at work. She can’t tell me in English so gets out her phone and translates. “Ahhh. It means Blood Pond Hell.” Hmm OK. What about katsu jigoku? “That”s Thirst-Hell, where red-hot iron pills are administered.” Hinokuruma? “A fiery chariot which carries the souls of sinners into hell.” What about Harinoyama? “Hell’s mountain […]

Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, backpacking, bizarre, blog, book, buddhism, culture, devil, drawing, evil, hell, japan, japanese, jigoku, kids, kindergarten, surreal, tokyo, weird, Zen

From Belfast to Tokyo. Murals of a different kind.

March 5, 2014 by joostay

If only we could paint happiness instead of hatred. My country could learn a thing or two from my Tokyo kindergarten. I remember about four years ago, I was working as a creative in an advertising agency just behind Great Victoria Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Every day on my way to work I would pass a sectarian mural plastered on the side of a building. It depicted a man in a balaclava holding an automatic rifle: a warning to […]

Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn, Kindergarten Life • Tags: belfast, crafts, CREATIVITY, fun, japan, murals, northern ireland, peace, sectarian, tokyo, violence

Oni wa soto! Setsubun at a Japanese kindergarten.

February 5, 2014 by joostay

“The children were crying with fear. It was a success.” These were the first words my coworker said to me as we took off our crudely made demon masks in a storeroom hidden in the back of the school. Half an hour before we had silently descended upon the kindergarten: bursting into classrooms and purposely trying to frighten the kids. This is Setsubun, a festival held the day before the beginning of Spring in Japan. It’s accompanied by a special ritual […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: demons, festival, japan, kindergarten, matsuri, ogres, oni, spring, teaching, tefl, tokyo, travel

Ongakukai / Music Festival at Japanese Kindergarten

February 2, 2014 by joostay

I can’t remember what I was doing at school when I was five years old but it sure as hell wasn’t as good as this. Friday was the annual ongakukai, or music festival, at my school. Every class had to perform a piece – and just like for the happyokai (performance festival) and undokai (sports festival) the kids practiced every single day for about a month. On the day itself, the homeroom teachers were a mess of nerves, but the […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, japan, kindergarten, music festival, ongakukai, TEACHER, teaching, tefl, tokyo

The day I fought a sumo wrestler and won

December 14, 2013 by joostay

A supersized Omochisuki: one of Japan’s favourite festivals just got BIGGER! I’ve had some amazing experiences since moving back to Japan nearly two years ago. Most have actually been related to my job as a kindergarten teacher here in Tokyo. My job is hard work, but it doesn’t feel like work. I guess that’s what being a parent feels like too. I’m very lucky in the sense that my school tries its best to teach not only the foundations for […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: chankonabe, japan, kindergarten, ryogoko, sumo, sumo wrestlers, teaching, tokyo, wrestlers

Using a Japanese Squat Toilet: A Beginner’s Guide

December 3, 2013 by joostay

Taking a Shit in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide Taking a Piss in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide Tits in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, bizarre, book, funny, japan, kindergarten, potty training, squat, surreal, toilet, tokyo, travel

The High-Flyers of Tomorrow

November 29, 2013 by joostay

Work hard. Play hard. A field trip to the airport – with schoolbags visible from space. My Japanese kindergarten doesn’t do things by halves. Right now the nen-chos are getting ready for their happyokai or ‘performance festival’: an all-day affair that will see each class perform a 30-minute play – in English. These kids are five and six years old. Some might say it’s a lot of pressure, and I guess it is – but moreso on all the teachers who […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: airport, asia, english, field trip, happyokai, japan, kindergarten, museum, narita, performance festival, teaching, tefl, tokyo, travel

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Taking a Piss in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide

November 6, 2013 by joostay

Taking a Shit in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide Tits in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: bizarre, book, kids, kindergarten, surreal, teaching, tokyo. japan

Why I love being a kindergarten teacher in Japan

October 13, 2013 by joostay

Your job isn’t any more important than mine, asshole. “When are you going to get a real job?” is something that has been said to me a few times in the past. Last night I was in a bar and I got talking to a guy who was a TEFL university lecturer. When I told him I was a kindergarten teacher he replied “oh well.” This kind of response really pisses me off, especially since he had just spent the […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: asia, english, japan, kindergarten teacher, teaching, tefl, tesol, tokyo

‘Take a Shit Man’

June 17, 2013 by joostay

A superhero called ‘Take a Shit Man’ and little pieces of crap that want to escape… The books I find in my kindergarten keep getting weirder. Have you read… Unco the Unwanted Shit Taking a Shit in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide

Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life • Tags: art, asia, bizarre, book, culture, gaijin, japan, kindergarten, shit, south east asia, surreal, teaching, tokyo, unko, weird

The Sacred Substitute

June 5, 2013 by joostay

Teaching purity and peace, for one day only. The Shinto shrine that shares its grounds with a kindergarten. On Tuesday I am the guy on call. If someone gets sick, I get a phonecall. On Monday night it came at 9pm, the apologetic voice of my boss asking (telling) me to go sub at a school Id never been to before the next day. After initially declaring him a bastard, I soon warmed to the idea when I realised it’d […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: asia, culture, english, gaijin, guidebook, japan, kindergarten, shinto, shrine, south east asia, teaching, torii, train, travel, urban

Never a dull moment…

April 9, 2013 by joostay

April is a time of change in Japan. It’s the month that marks the start of the new school year, with many people changing jobs and others leaving the country for good. It’s been a very busy period for me: new schools, new responsibilities and new friends. But in between teaching, writing and drawing I’ve also managed to pack in so much stuff over the last few weeks in Tokyo.

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: art, asia, backpacking, bar, Chim↑Pom, culture, exhibition, fashion, food, gaijin, harajuku, hello kitty, inaka, japan, kindergarten, louis vuitton, omotesando, saitama, shimokitazawa, south east asia, street, surreal, Taro Okamoto, teaching, tokyo, travel, urban, weird

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Unco: The Unwanted Shit

April 2, 2013 by joostay

Hello children. Once upon a time there was a little crap called Unco that came out of a dog’s ass. He was happy until his owner ran away. All alone, he tried to make some new friends. He tried to make friends with a mouse but the mouse ran away shouting “You stink!” He tried to make friends with a snake but the snake slithered away shouting “You stink!” He tried to make friends with a bunch of rabbits but […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: art, asia, bizarre, culture, drawing, english, japan, kindergarten, shit, surreal, teaching, tokyo, unco, weird

KAMEN RIDER

March 28, 2013 by joostay

“The pair became known as the Double Riders who managed to put an end to Shocker with what remained of the group forming into Gel-Shocker.” If you want to know what the hell I’m talking about, read on… Being a kid in Japan must be tough. You basically start full-time education while still covered in placenta, and there is no such thing as the tooth fairy. That means you can’t go and buy sweets with the money you have just […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: anime, bizarre, graffiti, japan, kamen rider, kindergarten, manga, surreal, teaching, tokyo, weird

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This is why I live in Japan

March 19, 2013 by joostay

Today is Tuesday. It was also Graduation Day at my Tokyo kindergarten. All day I was surrounded by beautiful girls in kimonos. The sakuras were in bloom. I saw Mount Fuji from my train in the morning, ate expensive sushi for lunch and delivered a speech to my colleagues, and friends, in Japanese to say goodbye. Is it possible to be happy and sad at the same time? Of course it is. Today proved that. If there had been a […]

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Tokyo Days • Tags: culture, electronica, english, graduation, helios, japan, kindergarten, sakura, sushi, teaching, tokyo

Bones: A Beginner’s Guide

March 12, 2013 by joostay

Learn more: Taking a shit in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide Tits: A Beginner’s Guide

Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: bizarre, bones, culture, health, japan, kindergarten, surreal, teaching, tokyo

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Tits in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide

February 20, 2013 by joostay

Once you’ve mastered this guide, you are qualified to take the next step. Taking a shit in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide.

Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life • Tags: fetish, japan, kindergarten, sex, tits, tokyo, weird

Taking a shit in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide

February 4, 2013 by joostay

Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life • Tags: bizarre, japan, kindergarten, tokyo, weird

Little Miss Cheeseburger

October 24, 2012 by joostay

Once upon a time there was a little cheeseburger who lived in a bento shop near Hachimanyama Station in Tokyo, Japan. She shared her small yet adequate living space with some rice and potato salad and was carefully packaged for me to have for my l…

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Uncategorized

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Sports for breakfast. Silence for lunch.

October 7, 2012 by joostay

This weekend was my school’s Undokai, or Sports Day. OON-DO-KAI… It’s kind of a big deal – not like back home where you partake in a shitty egg-and-spoon race in front of X amount of parents who can be bothered to show up. The kindergarten I tea…

Categories: Kindergarten Life, Uncategorized