Same Sky Magazine

Hamish Beaton Was Under the Osakan Sun, Too

If I ever wrote a book about my time in Japan, I hope it could come across as beautifully as Hamish Beaton’s experiences in Under the Osakan Sun: A Funny, Intimate, Wonderful Account of Three Years in Japan.

Like me, Hamish Beaton - “Mr Hamish” to his students - went to Osaka to teach English. Unlike me, he already spoke good Japanese, and was hired in the JET programme which puts native speakers in Japanese schools to assist local English teachers. He ended up in a junior high school in Kanan town, south-east Osaka. With a great attitude and a willingness to try new things and meet new people, Beaton had three years of joy in Japan, and reading his account of it really took me back to my Osakan days too.

Describing life in Japan from the point of view of a foreigner is a tricky business. There are all manner of what seem like unusual rituals and habits there, but to describe them without making any judgement takes a special art, and Beaton does this well. The contrast to what I call a “bad foreigner” is evident when Beaton mentions another teacher who arrives from England and refuses to try any of the local food or indeed make any effort to fit in. Beaton, on the other hand, is ready to embrace all things Japanese and as a result makes countless friends and is taken on plenty of special excursions, dinner outings and even camping trips.

Above all, what I noticed in Beaton’s book is the same eagerness to help the foreigner that the Japanese people I met always showed. A Japanese person doesn’t just point out the direction you need to go if you ask where the bank is - they take you there and introduce you to the manager. They don’t buy you a bunch of flowers for your birthday - they find out which major electrical appliance you don’t have and order one for you. There’s a generosity of spirit that is hard to match.

For those who haven’t spent time in Japan, Beaton’s book will be both interesting and hilarious - take, for example, an uncomfortable dinner with his student’s family when the father demands to know more about Beaton’s tastes in pornography. And there are the usual foreigners’ antics with late nights in downtown Osaka, too much alcohol and ending up asleep on a train that ends up the other side of the city.

With thousands and thousands of native English speakers heading to Japan every year to teach English, this isn’t the first book I’ve read on the subject - but it’s the one that’s captured the experience most accurately.

Scoop Review Of Books » Drunken Escapades and a Hapless Love Life on July 8th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

[...] Sky Magazine Review Plains 96.9 Interview (MP3) [...]

DAVID on September 8th, 2010 at 11:09 am

CheapTabletsOnline.Com. Canadian Health&Care.Best quality drugs.Special Internet Prices.No prescription online pharmacy. Low price pills. Buy pills online…

Buy:Tramadol.Cialis Super Active+.Viagra.Viagra Soft Tabs.Levitra.Viagra Super Force.Viagra Super Active+.Maxaman.Super Active ED Pack.Cialis Soft Tabs.Propecia.Viagra Professional.Soma.Cialis.Zithromax.Cialis Professional.VPXL….

KELLY on November 11th, 2010 at 4:06 pm

NEW FASHION store. Original designers collection at low prices!!! 20 % TO 70 % OFF. END OF SEASON SALE!!!

…

BUY FASHION. TOP BRANDS: GUCCI, DOLCE&GABBANA, BURBERRY, DIESEL, ICEBERG, ROBERTO CAVALLI, EMPORIO ARMANI, VERSACE…

CHARLIE on December 19th, 2010 at 4:53 am

████████►BUY CIALIS◀████████…

▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲…

JUAN on December 22nd, 2010 at 3:57 am

Accupril…

Buygeneric drugs…

GUY on December 22nd, 2010 at 9:03 pm

symbicort vs advair…

Buyno prescription…

COREY on December 24th, 2010 at 2:29 am

Cialis UK…

Buynow it…

GABRIEL on December 25th, 2010 at 3:09 am

Abilify…

Buygeneric pills…

LAWRENCE on December 28th, 2010 at 3:10 am

……

Buygeneric meds…

RICARDO on December 28th, 2010 at 4:40 pm

fosamax@actonel.now” rel=”nofollow”>.…

Buynow…

LYNN on December 29th, 2010 at 2:16 pm

aggrenox@1.now” rel=”nofollow”>.…

CHRISTIAN on December 31st, 2010 at 4:07 am

Avelox@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>……

FREDDIE on January 3rd, 2011 at 7:36 am

cipro@250.mg” rel=”nofollow”>..…

BRIAN on January 5th, 2011 at 2:21 pm

buy@cheap.viagra.in.uk” rel=”nofollow”>.…

Buywithout prescription…

ROLAND on January 7th, 2011 at 8:52 am

prozac@dangers.now” rel=”nofollow”>..…

ANDREW on January 8th, 2011 at 1:57 am

Risperdal@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>..…

BRETT on January 8th, 2011 at 10:46 am

DENNIS on January 21st, 2011 at 9:39 pm

Depakote@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>.…

CHRIS on February 4th, 2011 at 4:56 am

Verapamil…

JASON on February 5th, 2011 at 1:48 pm

zofran odt…

RANDALL on February 6th, 2011 at 5:38 am

zyrtec in dialysis patients…

LARRY on February 6th, 2011 at 7:31 am

buy zithromax online…

JAVIER on February 6th, 2011 at 11:11 am

buy zinc anode everett wa…

ARTHUR on February 6th, 2011 at 4:32 pm

other names for trazodone…

KYLE on February 6th, 2011 at 6:31 pm

alternative for warfarin medication…

LONNIE on February 7th, 2011 at 7:27 am

quinapril…

Buyit now…

NEIL on February 7th, 2011 at 7:39 pm

Zocor…

KARL on February 8th, 2011 at 2:56 am

Vitamin B…

Buydrugs without prescription…

ANTHONY on March 3rd, 2011 at 3:14 pm

buy liposomal lidocaine 4% cream maxilene…

ORLANDO on March 3rd, 2011 at 4:04 pm

Zoloft…

JULIO on March 4th, 2011 at 2:50 am

zyrtec anticolinergici effect…

PAUL on March 4th, 2011 at 10:39 am

zoloft works…

CLINTON on March 4th, 2011 at 2:23 pm

Vitamin E…

ANDY on March 4th, 2011 at 4:02 pm

MATHEW on March 4th, 2011 at 4:42 pm

where to buy lamisil…

CALVIN on March 4th, 2011 at 5:42 pm

gilbert’s syndrome tylenol…

DANA on March 5th, 2011 at 1:12 pm

pharmacokinetics of zyrtec…

BRYAN on March 5th, 2011 at 5:58 pm

side effect of zoloft…

MIGUEL on March 6th, 2011 at 11:05 pm

claritin eye drops…

RAFAEL on March 7th, 2011 at 3:24 pm

Eye Drops…

NICHOLAS on March 7th, 2011 at 5:37 pm

Omnicef…

STEVEN on March 8th, 2011 at 3:55 am

Risperdal…

JESSIE on March 8th, 2011 at 2:24 pm

Synthroid…

GILBERT on March 8th, 2011 at 4:41 pm

singulair hyper…

VIRGIL on March 8th, 2011 at 11:42 pm

Retin A…

ALFONSO on March 9th, 2011 at 1:46 am

Pyridium…

LONNIE on March 9th, 2011 at 2:19 am

Remeron…

CHESTER on March 9th, 2011 at 5:47 pm

Prozac…

OTIS on March 9th, 2011 at 8:29 pm

how much benadryl to take with zyrtec…

ANDRE on March 10th, 2011 at 3:46 am

PETER on March 10th, 2011 at 7:42 am

buy orlistat alli…

ROBERTO on March 10th, 2011 at 8:07 am

can i take expired zyrtec…

CLINTON on March 10th, 2011 at 10:28 am

DUANE on March 11th, 2011 at 1:00 am

savella diabetes blood sugar…

CLIFTON on March 11th, 2011 at 5:56 am

Punarnava…

RUSSELL on March 11th, 2011 at 7:34 am

Pulmicort…

JULIO on March 29th, 2011 at 2:15 pm

Synthroid@Synthroid.Synthroid” rel=”nofollow”>.…

CARL on March 30th, 2011 at 10:17 am

Skelaxin@Skelaxin.Skelaxin” rel=”nofollow”>..…

ADRIAN on March 30th, 2011 at 10:47 pm

Synthroid@Synthroid.Synthroid” rel=”nofollow”>..…

ANDY on March 31st, 2011 at 2:47 am

Spiriva@Spiriva.Spiriva” rel=”nofollow”>..…

CARLOS on March 31st, 2011 at 7:18 am

Yaz…

JAIME on March 31st, 2011 at 8:08 am

Cytoxan@Cytoxan.Cytoxan” rel=”nofollow”>..…

WENDELL on March 31st, 2011 at 6:27 pm

Coreg@Coreg.Coreg” rel=”nofollow”>……

ALBERT on April 1st, 2011 at 7:42 am

Seroquel@Seroquel.Seroquel” rel=”nofollow”>……

RICKY on April 2nd, 2011 at 4:48 am

DONALD on April 2nd, 2011 at 7:38 pm

CLAUDE on April 2nd, 2011 at 11:22 pm

..…

DALE on April 3rd, 2011 at 12:11 am

DAN on April 3rd, 2011 at 3:40 am

JACOB on April 3rd, 2011 at 11:59 am

celexa@and.mda” rel=”nofollow”>……

PHILIP on April 3rd, 2011 at 2:23 pm

chantix@vs.zyban” rel=”nofollow”>..…

TERRY on April 3rd, 2011 at 6:06 pm

claritin@helps.poison.ivy” rel=”nofollow”>……

MARK on April 4th, 2011 at 12:43 am

retin@a.cheap.no.prescription” rel=”nofollow”>..…

EUGENE on April 4th, 2011 at 3:17 am

dried@neem.leaves” rel=”nofollow”>……

KEITH on April 4th, 2011 at 3:34 am

crestor@statin.drugs” rel=”nofollow”>……

GEORGE on April 4th, 2011 at 9:00 am

.…

DAN on April 4th, 2011 at 9:02 pm

prozac@and.diflucan.drug.interactions” rel=”nofollow”>……

THOMAS on April 5th, 2011 at 5:07 am

aloe@vera.gel.benefits” rel=”nofollow”>.…

RICKY on April 5th, 2011 at 12:01 pm

HECTOR on April 5th, 2011 at 2:41 pm

order@altace.cod” rel=”nofollow”>..…

WESLEY on April 5th, 2011 at 6:42 pm

methotrexate@and.placenta.acretia” rel=”nofollow”>.…

LEROY on April 6th, 2011 at 8:22 am

dosage@of.abilify” rel=”nofollow”>..…

FRANCISCO on April 6th, 2011 at 9:58 am

femara@and.hives” rel=”nofollow”>..…

HARVEY on April 6th, 2011 at 5:27 pm

flexeril@gain.weight” rel=”nofollow”>.…

LYNN on April 6th, 2011 at 5:27 pm

premarin@cream.comments” rel=”nofollow”>……

JUAN on April 6th, 2011 at 9:48 pm

KURT on April 7th, 2011 at 3:56 am

livingston@foot.care.bellmore” rel=”nofollow”>.…

JAIME on April 7th, 2011 at 5:41 am

SALVADOR on April 7th, 2011 at 7:54 pm

Richelle on June 13th, 2011 at 2:10 pm

hello…

really good article. Ready to hear more next week,my blog http://www.zimbio.com/Wedding+Invitations/articles/4ErXz6GdreH/Adressing+Wedding+Invitations+Envelopes Many Thanks….

Matilde on June 16th, 2011 at 5:53 pm

really good article…

I have spent a bit of time going through your posts, more than I should have but I must say, its worth it! http://night071.yesblog.ru/ many Thanks….

venzingS on June 21st, 2011 at 7:22 am

very helpful…

I preferred to thank you for this good article. http://yyzx.cuisineblog.fr/ I by all odds liked every little bit of it…

sander on June 22nd, 2011 at 4:59 am

Great…

You did a great job! http://dennisea.zoomblog.com/archivo/2011/06/20/lair-Du-Temps-a-floral-explosion.html...

Chantelle on June 22nd, 2011 at 8:06 pm

You did a great job! http://denese.buenblog.com/2011/06/19/beauty-how-to-zimmermann/...

Chantelle on June 26th, 2011 at 5:40 pm

quality post…

I have spent a bit of time going through your posts! http://danika.blogdiario.com/1308326045/ ,i had a good read….

Erederic on August 9th, 2011 at 7:21 pm

love your blog, http://ellen11.allmyblog.com/ ,Thanks again….

Eugenie on August 19th, 2011 at 12:02 am

really…

Fat women and girls always worried because of their ugly shaped bodies. http://hffvnbtj.blogfa.com/ , but they can not wear these outwears…

Dehmer on September 2nd, 2011 at 8:10 am

I preferred to thank you for this good article. http://pcltld.beeplog.de/blog.pl?blogid=214136&o=entry&a=add I by all odds liked every little bit of it…

Tom on December 24th, 2011 at 5:58 am

advair diskus…

Hamish Beaton Was Under the Osakan Sun, Too

99 Responses to “Hamish Beaton Was Under the Osakan Sun, Too”

Leave a Reply

Categories

Links

Archive