By Jib Kun

Hey Everybody!  

By Jib-kun

Greetings to you all!  Like me, you must be celebrating the New Year!   New Year celebrations in Japan are very special every year.  A time to take a break, to be with family and most of all to eat and watch TV!  There couldn't be a better holiday designed for a little creature like myself.  
    When I first joined everyone here at Jibtv, almost a year ago now, they asked me what my hobbies were. I told them I'd never really had a hobby.  After all, ancient forest dwelling creatures like myself get great practice at not doing much of anything most of the time.  You'll never hear a mountain say it's bored.  And you'll never hear a tree moan about a busy day planner.  (Which is ironic, because many of them become day planners.) But living in Tokyo for the first time, I have found so many exciting and fun things to do.
    I have traveled along with camera crews to locations around Japan and Tokyo.  I have eaten just about every tasty morsel produced in this country.  I have been very busy watching as much Jibtv programming as possible to keep abreast of what is happening in Japan and in the world!  
    But now they are telling me I've got to go take a vacation.  I'm not sure what I will do.  I have about 4 days of complete and total freedom. So I will need to go somewhere warm.  I also need to go someplace with internet, so I can keep up to date on what's happening.  Lastly, I need to go someplace with good food.  Hmmm... I wonder if any of these people in the office will let me come home with them.  Maybe I will stay with one of the J-Vloggers.  
    Enough about me! Happy New Year to you!  Thanks so much for checking in with me here at my little blog.  Please visit again in 2010!  We have so much exciting stuff planned for the future of Jibtv.  Have a wonderful celebration and see you in the new year!

By Jib-kun

With a new office* come many changes.  Along with such a move also comes the inevitable question: "Where do I sit?"  My role in the office has always been a bit of an odd one.  I was living in a nice cabinet in the old office, and have moved into a more spacious cabinet in the new office.  But when it comes to finding a place to sit in the office or when I listen in on meetings, I never know where I'm supposed to sit.

The Japanese have many rules about this, all of which were new to me.  You see in the forest, you sit where you sit.  A nice patch of grass, a not so pointy rock, a tree stump, anywhere is good enough.  It's not so easy here.  I'll try to explain some of the rules they have in the office.  To understand a Japanese office, you need to understand the basic idea of the kamiza and the shimoza.  These terms refer respectively to the "higer seat" and the "lower seat" in the room.  Essentially, it relates to the status of the person, and, therefore, where in a room they are likely to be seated.  These rules are not something anyone is likely to say out loud, but those raised with the concept immediately seem to know exactly where to sit.

So, let's look at a typical office room.  Tell me, which do you think is the kamiza and which do you think is the shimoza?

Well, every room is different, but the easiest clue is the location of the door.  Generally speaking, the kamiza will be the seat farthest from the door.  So in this case, either the seat on the bottom or the right might qualify. Likewise, the shimoza will be the seat closest to the door.  Also important to consider, are other possible features of the room, such as the most comfortable chair, arrangement of the windows, and occasionally in some settings a "Tokonoma," which is a small inset in the wall which often is decorated with flowers or artwork.

The seat closest to the tokonoma is almost always the kamiza if the room has one.  Usually, the seat which is facing the entranceway is the best seat in the house.  But these rules aren't just for rooms.  Elevators, taxis, even roller-coasters have a kami-za and shimoza.

If you are not so sure, the safest bet is to do what I do.  Keep standing until everybody else sits down and then take the open chair!  Here is a photo of a meeting room at jibtv.  Which seat do you think is the kamiza?

*:Refer to "Moving House"

By Jib-kun

For me, coming to Tokyo from the ancient, quiet mountains of my home was my first "moving" experience.  I mean physically moving that is!  Nothing could be more moving than a beautiful sunset viewed from the top of one of Japan's high mountain peaks.  To compare the two, I think I prefer the emotionally moving experience, over the physically moving experience.  Watching a young deer give birth in a pristine forest is actually a little bit difficult to watch for squeamish folk like me, but nowhere near as difficult as moving an entire office from one place to another.   But it was worth it!  Check out our new glorious digs!

            Moving from one office to the other is exactly what we here at jibtv.com have just done.  It was a tremendous effort, conducted with almost military like precision in a matter of only a few days, while all the while not missing a single internet beat.

            I will miss the old place.  It was my first home in Tokyo, and I was really just beginning to feel at home.  But, this new office is grand!  Spacious and beautiful, it surely will be the launching pad for even better things here at jibtv.  Of course, it's not perfect.  The old office had crumbs of food in forgotten corners and behind cabinets here and there.  A great joy in my day was coming across a half eaten, well-aged sembei behind the photocopier.  This new building has a new, completely unlived in feel, so it will be a while before it starts to wear in like a comfortable shoe.

            When moving house in Japan, the proper thing to do is go to your neighbors with a small gift.  Typically people give soba noodles, towels or detergent, saying "Tsumanai mono desu ga."  Basically they are saying, "This is a boring thing." Moving office in Japan is a bit different.  Instead of going door to door with a bag full of noodles, we received a number of gorgeous floral displays.  One after the other, they arrived with messages from different companies wishing us luck in our new home.

The flowers are beautiful, and the office is spic and span.  All the workers seem cheery and encouraged by their new environment.  Just in time for me to stake claim to a filing cabinet, set up my bed and I will be right at home again.

 

After watching this office for quite sometime now, I have come to the conclusion that we produce a lot of garbage!  Wait.  I mean actual garbage.  Not the shows.  The shows are great.  But producing so much TV and getting it out into the world produces some garbage as a bi-product.  To give you a better idea of what I mean I did some digging into the waste bin to see exactly what kind of things we throw away.

 

First of all there is the recycling.  A large portion of what is thrown away here is recyclable.  All of them have to be sorted into different categories.  Plastic bottles go with plastic bottles and cans go with cans.  Birds of a feather as it were, flock together.  And its not as simple as simply throwing them away either.  The pet bottles for example have to be stripped naked of their label, de-capped and cleaned.

The single largest waste pile is paper.  But paper doesn't go straight into the can.  If it still has a clean side it is reused as scrap paper.  Some times cut down to smaller sizes for use as a note, a bookmark or a place to put some chewing gum.  After paper has made its way through a few uses it is probably eventually recycled and made again into new paper. 

Some things however can't be recycled.  These head for the trash, never to be seen again.  But most of the waste the office produces gets used again and again.  Its nice to know that something that outlived its usefulness might yet find some new use again.  I wonder what they are going to do with me when my time comes?  Will I come back as a paper cup?  Or maybe they can use me as scrap paper.  At least I will still be contributing to the office.

By Jib-Kun

            Everything is different here at the jibtv office.  I lived my whole life in a forest so these changes are taking some getting used to.  In fact there is only one thing in all of the office that reminds me of home: a potted plant.  It's a very nice plant.  Not just to look at, I mean it's a friendly plant.  It's also a good source of information about this new place.  The plant, which is my senior in the office, has told me quite a bit about what is going on at jibtv. According to the plant, instead of sunlight these people require cups of hot black liquid to survive.  More than three or four hours without a cup they start to wilt like a flower.

            These humans are not easy to figure out you see.  The old man who sits at the main desk seems to be the one in charge here.  You wouldn't know it to look at him.  Pretty much all day he spends sitting in his chair staring at a computer screen.  But you see, this is how these humans get their rank.  Whoever can sit in a chair the longest and stare the hardest at the computer screen is promoted.  None of the humans can beat the plant when it comes to sitting in one spot, so that is why everyone takes care of the plant, bringing it water and giving it a nice view of the office.  It's plain to see the plant has the number one rank in the office.

            I didn't understand what all this sitting in one place staring at computers was about until I asked the old man one day.  Around five or six each day I can see the signs.  He starts looking around, licking his lips and checking his watch.  He checks to make sure everything at his desk is in order then makes his way to the kitchen where he finds a small snack.  The snacks come from all across Japan.  They are souvenirs from the camera crews that travel around Japan.  Once he has his snack, usually a sembei, his face changes completely. A "sembei" is crunchy, salty, delicious and when he eats them his mouth loosens into a smile and between bites he laughs and jokes with the other workers.  He walks from desk to desk chatting with the workers and handing out little treats.  When he was in one of these particular good moods I asked him "What do you do here exactly?"

            He was a bit surprised at the question but answered, "Well, we make TV shows for the whole world to watch for free on these computers. We tell people about Japan and Asia. Then we relax, enjoy a snack and watch some of the many programs we produce" He showed me the website on his computer.  The very same website you are visiting now.

            It seems to me that this is an awful lot of work to do in order to get a snack.  But it seems to be payment enough because at five or six o'clock everyone is smiling and enjoying their cookie, cake or some other treat.  The office is busy all day, because the broadcasting is going on twenty-four hours a day.  I'm doing my part too.  I have been named "Official Left-Over Snack Disposal Manager."  This means I have to eat whatever delicious snacks the office workers don't finish.  Unfortunately, many times only crumbs remain.  Still, I am always on call to help them in this important management task.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I climbed into the back of that van. I was curious about what might be inside and sure enough my curiosity paid off. A small bag of chocolates, something I had never tasted before. When I tasted that first piece I knew I had been missing out on something here in the forest. Leaving my home was frightening but I knew that more amazing new experiences like these were in store. Hidden away in the back, the van drove for hours until it finally returned to the jibtv office, my new home.

The first night in the office I spent all by myself. It was dark, cold and lonely. I was so terrified of the new world I found myself in and all the many wonders I had not yet seen. In the forest I had many friends but I was never quite like the other creatures and I was the only one of my kind. The office was empty but in the morning the staff came. I hid inside a small closet and watched them for a few days. At night the office was mine! I explored the office and its computers. I tasted everything in the kitchen. The staff's suspicions were confirmed when they came in one morning and caught me napping on a desk.

I'm not sure who was more shocked that morning. But an older man in a suit came forward with some Japanese treats that are called senbei. He offered them, and I gladly ate. There are hard on your teeth but delicious. From that point on we have become good friends. They have built a living area for me in a closet, which is comfortable. Food has been an adventure. When I lived in the forest I ate only moss, but the various human foods that can be found in this office are a constant delight. Actually, more than a delight, it is now my job. The office gets many food items brought back as gifts (omiyage). However, not all of the food is always eaten. In an effort to reduce the amount of office waste I have been put in charge of finishing all left over foods.

I'm still new to many things here at jibtv. I imagine visitors to this website are too! I'd like to show you my new discoveries and my new friends. Maybe someone out there has the same curiosity as me. By writing my own blog I hope I can show everyone out there how much fun it is to let your curiosity guide you.

They tell me I am welcome to go visit the studios where the filming happens. I can't wait to see what goes on. I will report to you everything I do and see! I have gotten pretty good at using these computers. With this awesome new website and technology I will be able to share my adventures and explore the entire world beyond! I wonder what I will find?