Volunteers are needed to fill two shifts:
2:00 – 5:30 — open to industry representatives, i.e. restaurants and press
6:30 – 8:30 — open to consumers

You can volunteer for one or both shifts as your schedule allows. Ability to understand Japanese preferred as most representatives do not speak English and volunteers will be helping explain to visitors the various types of shochu on display. But, there’ll also be a 30 minute orientation to teach more about shochu before each shift begins.

Please contact Kendall Murano (vicepres at jetaany dot org) to sign up or for more information.  Hurry, spots are limited!

What: Experience Shochu, the National Spirit of Japan
When: Monday, February 13th
Time: 2:30 – 8:30
2 volunteer shifts 2:00 – 5:30, 5:30 – 8:30
Where: Astor Center (399 Lafayette Street)

Where: EDO Japanese Restaurant, 68 Easton Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Cost:  Everyone pays for their own meal off the menu (and BYOB!)

RSVP/Questions:  Email  Fernando Rojas and Rachelle de Leon at njrep@jetaany.org and check out the Facebook event

あけましておめでとうございます！

Join us on Saturday, January 21st for our Shinnenkai – New Year’s Party! It will be held at EDO Japanese restaurant in New Brunswick, NJ, just a 5 minute walk from the New Brunswick NJ Transit Station. There is no set menu and it will be BYOB.

Check out the menu here: http://www.campusfood.com/restaurant.asp?campusid=90&mlid=20226

If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP at njrep [at] jetaany.org.

JETAANY has been offered free tickets to a Japanese style bouquet arrangement exhibit at Carnegie Hall on Thursday January 26th.  Members of the Battenkai have extended this invitation to us.  If you are interested in attending please contact Monica by Friday (1/13) to get a ticket.  They are only passing out 250 tickets for this exhibit and it is being advertised to many Japanese organizations.  Limited free tickets while supplies last.  RSVP President@jetaany.org

IFA Kajiki’s Artist Show NYC Carnegie Hall Bouquet Collection 2012 (Japanese-style bouquet arrangement)
Date: 1/26/2012
Door Open at 7:30 pm
Start at 8:00 pm
http://www.carnegiehall.org/Event.aspx?id=4294979755

Where: Ripley Studio (131 West 72nd Street, New York, NY)

Cost: $20 (RSVP via Paypal HERE)

Application deadline: January 19th

Questions: Contact Mie Ikeda at JETAANY@mieinc.net
Japanese classical dance, Nihon buyo, is a performing art that grew out of and is very
similar to the dance of Kabuki, known for the stylization of its drama and the elaborate
make-up worn by some of its performers. This Japanese classical dance can be performed
by either men or women. We will join the class wearing a Japanese Yukata (summer
kimono), provided during the time of the lesson.

IchiFuji-kai Dance Association performs and teaches Soke Fujima dance, an elegant 300-
year-old traditional Nihon buyo still being performed today in Kabuki theatres. IchiFuji-kai
has been the New York branch of the Soke Fujima-ryu for 50 years. The main instructors
are Fujima Konishiki, Fujima Nishikino, Fujima Nishikiyo, and Fujima Nishiki-mie. For
more information: http://www.ichifuji-kai.org/

Above events are produced by MIE Inc.

Also, this will be a Nihongo Dake Shinnenkai Event!  Any and all speakers of Japanese who want to keep up their skills are fully encouraged to join (all levels welcome)

Date: Sunday, January 15th

Time: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Place: Japanese American Association

Address: 15 W 44th ST. (11th Floor)

Fee: JETAANY Members $25

Sponsor: Kirin Beer

RSVP and Pay

Questions: Kendall vicepres@jetaany.org

Ring in 2012, at our annual JETAANY Shinnenkai (New Year Gathering) at Restaurant Riki. Join us for a $35, all-you-can drink celebration (with izakaya-style dishes included). The Shinnenkai is always one of the best attended and most fun events of the year. Eat, drink, be merry, make new friends, and get back in touch with old ones.  We have reserved a private room in the back for our group.

Space is limited to 40 people, so please buy your ticket today!

When: Saturday, January 28th

Time: 7:00-10:00 pm

Where: Restaurant Riki
141 E 45th St (between 3rd Ave & Lexington)
(conveniently located near Grand Central Station)

Cost: SOLD OUT$35, includes alcoholic beverages and Izakaya snacks. To RSVP, please pay via PayPal. You can also take a look at the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/322198687810710/.

Questions: Monica president@jetaany.org

NOTE: Since “Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech is SOLD OUT; other options include arriving at 7 pm for waitlist tickets or attending a performance of “The Bee” at the same time instead (you can use the same code as below)

When: Thursday, January 12th, 8 pm show, 9:15 pm  reception

Where:  Japan Society  (333 East 47th St between 1^st and 2^nd Aves)

Cost/How to Buy Tickets:  $18 JETAANY-only price;  Use code “BCHEL” when visiting Japan Society’s box office (333 East 47th St) or calling (212) 715-1258  between 11 am – 6 pm (unfortunately if you buy online, you would need to pay the full price of $22)

Contact:  Email secretary@jetaany.org with questions. Also check out the Facebook event

The Japan Society has very generously opened their doors (and lowered their admission!) to JETAANY members by inviting us to a groundbreaking show by the internationally known chelfitsch Theater Company. A mix of choreography and narrative, Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech are three vignettes offering insight into modern Japanese office life. After the show, the JET Alumni community is invited to a private reception, alongside the evening’s artists (including those from The Bee, another terrific theater option currently at Japan Society), members of the Japanese theater community, and Japan Society staff.

Once you have your tickets, let us know you’re coming by emailing secretary@jetaany.org or by RSVPing for the Facebook event. Hope to see you next week!

When: Thursday, January 12th, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Where:  Flatiron Building, 14th Floor (175 Fifth Avenue @ 23rd St)
Cost/RSVP:  $2-3 for pizza and snacks (drinks are separate)
RSVP/Questions:  Email  jetaanybookclub@gmail.com and check out the Facebook event

Hope to get some reading done over the holidays? Join us for the next JETAANY Book club for Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford!

Plot Synopsis:

In 1986, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has discovered the belongings of Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during World War II. As the owner displays and unfurls a Japanese parasol, Henry, a Chinese American, remembers a young Japanese American girl from his childhood in the 1940s, Keiko Okabe, with whom he forged a bond of friendship and innocent love that transcended the prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept. Now, forty years later, Henry explores the hotel’s basement for the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot even begin to measure. His search will take him on a journey to revisit the sacrifices he has made for family, for love, for country.

Book Review:

“A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war–not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today’s world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel.”
—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

When: Saturday, December 10 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Where:  (Registered participants will be contacted with the address)

Cost: $35 (RSVP via Paypal HERE)

Application deadline: Wednesday, December 7th

As the New Year is coming next month, we will learn about the Japanese New Year’s traditional meal Osechi-Ryori. It is a very colorful dish and Osechi recipes prepared at Japanese homes vary from region to region. This time we will cook and taste some typical food: Namasu (a Japanese New Year’s Salad), Datemaki (a sweet rolled omelette) and Ozoni (a Japanese soup containing mochi rice cakes).

Ms. Junko Asano is a Japanese licensed chef and food coordinator. She ran a restaurant in Japanfor 10 years before moving to New Yorkand opening her own cooking class in Brooklynlast April. Her class policy is to have a great time learning cooking tips in a friendly atmosphere. For more information: heartdrop2320878@hotmail.com For your reservation, please feel free to contact JETAANY@mieinc.net

Above events are produced by MIE Inc.

Place: Yakitori 39

Address: 252 Degraw Ave, Teaneck NJ 07666
Date: December 10, 2011
Time: 6:30pm
Directions: http://yakitori39.com/directions.html
Cost: $35

Questions: Contact Fernando and Rachelle at NJrep@jetaany.org

RSVP through PayPal

Dinner includes:

• Edamame - 枝豆
• Nagoya-style Chicken Wing Kara-age - ナゴヤ風手羽先のから揚げ
• Tofu and seaweed salad - トウフ海藻サラダ
• 10 Yakimono Sticks (6 chicken, 4 vegetables) - 焼き物　１０本　（(鳥６本、野菜４本)）
• Small Rice Bowl (Curry or Tororo) - しめのミニご飯 （ミニカレー又は、ミニとろろご飯）

Public Transportation from NYC: Two buses from the 42nd street Port Authority Bus Terminal ($4.25) and one bus from the George Washington Bridge ($3.55) stop right by the restaurant.

Highlighting the talent within our JETAANY network and community, we will be displaying artwork created by JET Alum and Japanese artists. In addition, the event will feature a reception with refreshments honoring the visiting Fukushima prefectural government delegation to New York.

Artwork will be available for purchase through silent auction throughout the evening, and all proceeds from this event will go to the JETAA USA Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

Please come show your support for Japan! RSVP through PayPal by 12:00pm on Thursday, December 1st to attend. Hurry – Space is limited!!

To submit work for sale or display at the event, please fill out this Artist Submission Form (PDF – Artist Submission Form) and return to Kendall Murano (vicepres at jetaany dot org) by Saturday, November 26th.

When: Thursday, December 1, 5:30-8:00pm

Where: The Ambassador’s Residence
4 East 67^th Street
New York, NY 10065
(Between 5th and Madison Ave. Nearest subway 4,6 – “68th St – Hunter College” stop)

*Business attire required

Entry: SOLD OUT!!
$20 Donation to the JETAA USA Japan Earthquake Relief Fund
**$15 PRE-SALE Available until Saturday, November 26th
Please RSVP through PayPal

Note: We cannot accept any payment at the door

Date: Monday, November 21st, 2011
Time: 6:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: Slattery’s Midtown Pub, on the 2nd Floor
8 East 36th Street (between Madison and 5th Ave.)
New York, NY
http://www.nydevolunteer.org/activities/2011/20111121.html
No reservation is required.

NY de Volunteer staff and volunteer will be your waiters, and all tips
and proceeds from raffles go directly to support NY de Volunteer
programs!

Plus, all drinks are $1-$3 off regular price!!
For example: Long Island Ice Tea $8! (Regular price is $12)
Gin Tonic $6! (Regular price is $8)
Budweiser $5! (Regular price is $6)

All tips and additional donations will go to NY de Volunteer’s program
for promoting cross-cultural education to kids, “Explore Japanese
After School Program,” more info here:
http://www.nydevolunteer.org/activities/2011/20111121.html
*Each $20 raised will provide 1 program to 1 child.
NY de Volunteer is a 501(c)3 charitable organization.

RAFFLE: Our supporters have donated wonderful raffle prizes that you
can win, including:
Pocket Movie Camera, MP3 Player, Cosmetics and so on.

We hope that you will join us for Mingling, Drinking, and Raffle!
Please bring friends with you to the pub.

*Although you do not need to make a reservation,
We would appreciate if you let us know in advance if you can attend so
we can know how many people to expect. RSVP

All NY de Volunteer staff members are looking forward to seeing you!

When: Monday, November 14, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Where:  Japan Local Government Center (3 Park Avenue at 34th St, 20th Floor)

Cost: No charge

RSVP/Questions?: Email Amber Liang at liang-dot-yxamber-at-gmail-dot -com and via Facebook

Are you interested in a career in International Education or Higher Education? Thinking about a career change? Just want to network with other industry professionals? Come to this industry panel headed by prominent JET Alumni in the field. Learn how to carve out your career path through helpful hints and tips. The panel discussion will be followed by a networking session for you to form contacts and get more in depth information. Light snacks and refreshments will be served.

Where:  Solas (232 E 9th St between Stuyvesant St & 2nd Ave)

Cost: $10 in advance via Paypal, $12 at the door

RSVP/Questions?: Email reunion@jetaany.org for more information and for Paypal link.

It is reunion season for colleges everywhere and JETAANY is getting in on the action with an event specifically for people who left for JET in 2001 or earlier with our first ever JETAA 10+ Reunion on Nov. 10th from 6:30-9:30pm at Solas. Join co-hosts Katrina Barnas (Chiba, Class of ’01) and Randall David Cook (Fukui, Class of ’91) and many others for drinks, light appetizers and fond reminisces of dial-up Internet and letters crossing the ocean.Contact reunion@jetaany.org for the RSVP link. Cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

*Please note, this event is open to JET alums from 2001 and earlier and their spouses/significant others.*

Where:  Jan Hus Presbyterian Church (351 East 74th Street between 1^st and 2^nd Avenues, 5th Floor, New York, NY)

Cost: $20 RSVP via Paypal HERE 

Application deadline: November 17

Questions?: Email Mie at JETAANY@mieinc.net

Kendo means “the way of the sword.”  It is the oldest and most respected Japanese martial art. Modern Kendo with its grace, manners and athleticism, is the sport that has evolved from this 2,000year-old tradition of Japanese swordsmanship. Also it is a balanced exercise that coordinates foot, sword, body, breath, and voice. We will take a beginners class with a bamboo sword “shinai”. Make sure to wear workout clothes.

Mr. Noboru Kataoka began the study of kendo at age of 15 in Kochi, Japan, and moved to the USAin the 1970’s, and then started NYC Kendo Club.  In 1993, he placed 1st in the Beikoku All U.S. Kendo National Individual Tournament, and at the 1993 Canada-USA Kendo Tournament. In 1994, he won 1st place in the Good Will Division at the International Kendo Championships in Paris, also placed 1st in teams at the Toronto Kendo Tournament. He currently holds the rank of 7th Dan. More information; http://www.nyckendo.com/

Above events are produced by MIE Inc.

Zori are flat and thonged Japanese sandal made of rice straw or other plant fibers, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or—increasingly—synthetic materials. It’s quite similar to flip-flop. This time we will make nuno zori, cloths room zori. It’s washable and keeps your room and toes clean. Bring your disposable t-shits only!

The instructor of zori making class, Ms. Anna Aoki, moved to NYC in 1999 and studied sculpture four years at the National Academy of School of Design. Meanwhile she got a certificate of metal clay at PMC Connection. In 2002 she launched her design office D2NY Jewelry and teaches Japanese craft class. Eco Zori offers classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced level students. More information http://www.d2nyjewelry.com/

For your reservation, please prepay on PayPal and feel free to contact JETaaNY@mieinc.net with questions.

Above events are produced by MIE Inc.

Where: Zeppelin Beer Hall (297 Grand Street, Jersey City, NJ)

Cost:  Everyone pays for their own food and drinks- no prepay!

RSVP: Please email Rachelle de Leon at njrep@ jetaany.org or sign up on Facebook!

Questions:  Contact Rachelle de Leon at njrep@ jetaany.org

We are excited to have our inaugural NJ subchapter event!  Come meet fellow JET alums over beer and bratwurst at Jersey City’s Zeppelin Beer Hall (http://www.zeppelinhall.com). You’ll also get to meet our new sub-chapter rep and help brainstorm ideas for future JETAA events in the great state of NJ.

On Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2011, the Consulate General of Japan will participate in the New York Anime Festival at the Javits Center.

We need 1 or 2 volunteers each day who would like to help out in our booth, 11am – 4pm. Together with the Consulate staff, JETAA volunteers will help convention-goers try on samurai armor (yoroi).
If you are available and/or need more information, plea se contact Noriko Furuhata no later than Wednesday, October 12 at noriko.furuhata@ny.mofa.go.jp

Where: NY Thai Grill and Sushi Bar (37 W 54th St b/w 5th & 6th Aves)

Cost:  $10 for all you can eat Thai food, one drink and tax/tip

RSVP:  Make sure to RSVP via Paypal HERE and feel free to sign up on Facebook - Deadline is Wed 10/19 @ 5 pm

Questions:  Contact Kendall Murano at vpjetaany-at-gmail.com

All this over a terrific Thai meal

Start reading! The JETAA book club has chosen Villain by Shuichi Yoshida for our next meeting.  From Publishers Weekly – “Yoshida examines the lives of a victim and a killer in this subtle but powerful novel about collective guilt and individual atonement, his first book to appear in English translation…. Multiple points of view reveal both slight and dramatic changes in a host of other people, including acquaintances and relatives, affected by the murder. Most impressively, Yoshida’s complex portrait of Japanese society leaves no doubt as to his characters’ actions, but tantalizing doubts about their meaning.”

Contact Liz at jetaanybookclub@gmail.com for more information or to RSVP.