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Freestyle Cafe & Bar is your home away from home for western style food and drinks in a comfortable fun environment. We have nightly specials from 7-8 starting Tuesdays as the bar is closed Mondays. Tuesdays are two for one martini nights. Wednesdays are Men's night with two for one hi-balls and special menu chicken wings for 500 yen. Thursdays are Ladies nights with two for one cocktails. Friday's are 80's nights with two for one shots. Saturdays are open mic nights. Anyone who plays or performs gets a free drink! We also have free WIFI service and an IPOD connector to or house stereo so you can play your own tunes! Our cafe serves the same great food and western style breakfast every second Sunday. Bring you laptop and sit and enjoy our bottomless cup of coffee while surfing the net or reading from the daily newspaper or a book from the Freestyle honor library!

Marche Market (locally pronounced ma-ru-shay) has branches in both Maebashi and Takasaki. It's an upscale grocery store with a lot of imported foods, particularly French, American, Indian, and Italian imports. Much of it is expensive, but, that being said, you can still get a few items you may be hankering for at a good price. (ex. peanut butter for 300yen).

The Maebashi branch is located straight north of the Gunma Kenchou.

Maebashi is the capital of Gunma. The city stretches out from the southern face of Mt. Akagi. This puts it slightly south-east of the center of the prefecture.

Things in Maebashi:

Gunma Prefectural Offices

Gunma Lifelong Learning Center

General Traffic Center

Prefectural Library

Gunma Flower Park

Ogo Green Flower Ranch - This facility has a Dutch windmill, 22m in height. There are animals such as cattle, sheep, and ponies that are part of a pettin zoo. There are also a roller slide, a barbeque garden, and a bungalow facility. In the spring, about a thousand cherry blossom trees bloom along the waking trails and around the ranch.

Shikishima Park - Shikishima Park has a rose garden with about 2000 roses made up of over 200 varieties. The park also has a pine forest with around 3000 pine trees, a botanical garden, and a large green field.

Akagi Plateau Ranch Kronenberg

Events and Festivals:

All Japan Corporate Marathon Relay Race ()- About 30 teams from all over the country compete in a relay road race that is over 100 kilometers long. As they are the leading runners in Japan, many people go and cheer the racers on from the sidelines. It starts and ends in front of the prefectural office.

Maebashi Hatsuichi Festival (Daruma Market) (前橋初市まつり（だるま市）) - This festival is held every year on the 9th of January. The main reason for this festival is the yearly sale of Daruma dolls. Additionally, the festival has karyu drumming, the Lion Dance, and a parade of traditional Japanese wooden floats.

Maebashi City Marathon - This is a half marathon race that starts from the Green Dome. It's held in late April. Anyone can participate in the race.

Maebashi Tanabata Festival (前橋七夕まつり) - This festival takes place in mid July. The festival lasts four days and is filled with events and contests.

Maebashi Fireworks (前橋花火大会) - The fireworks display in Maebashi is held on the 19th of August. The fireworks are launched along the banks of the Tone River. If you want to brave the crowds, the opposite bank of the river provides a view from directly below the explosions.

Maebashi Festival (前橋まつり) - This festival takes place in mid October. Dancing, parades, and portable shrines and floats can all be found along with your normal festival goodies.

The Gunma Prefectural Building, or Gunma Kencho, is located in Maebashi. This is where some of the JET meetings are held. The building is 33 stories tall and has another three stories underground. It is the tallest in Gunma, and has a nice view from the top. You can see exactly how crowded Gunma really is.

The prefectural building is a modern, "Earth concious" building. Rainwater gathered from the roof is used to water the greenery. Solar panels have been installed. The garbage separation for recycling is also fairly strict, so make sure you're putting your rubbish in the right bin.

Not to be missed is the giant raised map of Gunma on the 26th floor. You can walk around on the map, so feel free to pretend you are Godzilla crushing your town should you feel so inclined. (Though the map isn't really large enough for that.)

There is also a gift shop in the basement. If you've been wondering where to get "Yuma-chan" goods, this is the place.

This is where a lot of the prefectural ALT meetings are held. It is a white/gray building about 4-5 stories high.

There is also a children's museum there which does various children's activities if you have kids.

There are several convenience stores in the area and a nice Indian restraunt as well. It is not recommended that you eat at the Indian restraunt for lunch during meetings though as the service takes far too long.

〒371-0801 群馬県前橋市文京町(Gunma-ken Maebashi-shi Bunkyou-cho) 2-19-18

The Traffic Center is where you have to go to get a Japanese driver's license or an IDL (for your Japanese license).

Getting a License:

If you are an American:
You will need:
1. American license
2. Official translation of your license from JAF
3. Passport
4. Alien Registraion Card
5. Photo 3cm x 2.4cm (免許用 size available from photo booths outside of bookstores)
6. Copy of 1 (front and back) on A4 size paper
7. Copy of 3 on A4 size paper (main page and all pages with stamps)
8. Copy of 4 (front and back) on A4 size paper
9. Copy of 4 (front and back) on B5 size paper

Bring all of the above to the Center sometime from 1:00-1:30 Mon-Fri. The reception desk is on the second floor of the building closest to route 17. Hand in your paperwork and sign the clipboard. You will then have to pay the test fee and affix your picture to your paperwork at the other end of the counter. (There is glue on a small desk for affixing the picture.) Do your eye and physical coordination check in the little office on the other side of the room. If you're ok then wait (a long time) for them to direct foreign residents into one of the rooms for the paper test. (The test paper is in Enlgish and Japanese so if you've read Rules of the Road then this should be a peice of cake.)

If you pass then you will be given a copy of the driving course map (see attachment) and a number. Go down the long hallway to your left as you exit the test room. There is a waiting room at the end. After another wait you will be directed down to the test area. Unless your number is called first, you will have the chance to ride in the back one time as the driver before you takes their test.

After your driving test the instructor will give you some advice on anything you did wrong. Then you have to go back up to the main reception desk again. After another wait, the numbers of those that passed will be announced. If you passed you can fill out more paperwork. You can't get your license on the same day because foriegners take their tests after hours. If you didn't pass then you can schedule your next driving test when you hand in your number. (The waiting list is usually a little over a month long and people who have failed once can't just 'walk in' and take it; you have to schedule.)

After passing you can come back another day to get your license. Go around 1:30-2:00 to the same desk as before. Hand in your paperwork and wait a long time. They won't call you in to the hall so you have to wait and watch for the Japanese people to come out of the main meeting hall for break. Go in with everyone else and listen to a couple of speeches about driving. They will then call everyone's name to pick up their paperwork. (Foreigners are last so you have to wait through a hundred or so names.) With your paperwork in hand you can go get your picture taken (no teeth showing) and pay your fee at the fee counter. Then after another wait you should have your shiny new Japanese license. Your license will be good until your third birthday after you receive it.

The Road Test:
left side-view mirror = lsvm
right side-view mirror = rsvm
riewview mirror = rvm

You can not take the test in open-toed shoes or heels. Wear sensible shoes.

You will need elementary Japanese for this. (You need to know whether the instructor is telling you to turn right at this entrance or the next one, etc.) Make sure to say onegaishimasu to the officer when you are ready to start off. Also remember to say hai whenever you are asked to do something.

In general do everything slowly and smoothly. The officer will not appreciate jerkiness or having to hold onto his seat.

Before getting into the car walk around to the back and front of the car. At the front, check under the car for cats and small children.

Adjust your seat, seatbelt, and rvm. Remember to signal before you pull away from the curb. And then signal again as you get to the first roadway.

There will be an obsticle somewhere in the course. Check your rvm, rsvm and then over your right shoulder for traffic. Signal. Check again just to make sure and then pull around the obsticle. Leave a good space between you and the object, but don't let all four wheels go into the opposite lane. Signal left immediately and check over your left shoulder just in case something has slipped in there. Return to your lane.

The area I have marked in red on the course map should be done at 50kmph. (The rest of the course is fine at a slow speed.) Make sure you get up to and hold 50kmph in this section. You will have to slow down directly after to make a smooth turn.

Right Turns: Check your rsvm before you get to the area you want to turn right. Before you actually get to the place you want to turn right at, pull over to the right side of the lane (so people can go by on your left). Signal. Check for traffic on your left. Turn. (If there are arrows on the road try to turn where the arrow is printed.)

Left Turns: As you get to the area you want to make a left turn, check your lsvm and over your left shoulder for bicyclers. Signal. Pull over to the left side of the lane to make sure scooters can't get past you on that side. Check for traffic on the street you're turning into. Check again over the left for people. Turn.

The Crank: This is an area where you have to make two right angle turns in succesion. You can reverse your car if you need to a couple of times. Do not hit anything (automatic fail). Do not get close to the poles at all in fact. (Even if you think the car can make it the officer may think otherwise and fail you anyway.) Remember to use your turn signals in this area.

The S-Curve: Immediately after the Crank. Take it slowly and there's really no way this can be a problem. Again, remember your turn signals.

Traffic Lights: Visibly check to see if there is no traffic coming before you go through (even on a green light).

Areas with High Hedges: In the areas with high hedges you have the right of way with no stop signs. However, you shoud slow down (don't stop) and check left and right a bit in this area as people from the sidestreets need to pull out beyond the hedges in order to see around them.

Make sure you move your head at least a little whenever you check a mirror or over your shoulder.

Getting an International Driver's License (IDL):

You will need:
1. Japanese license
2. Passport
3. Existing IDL (if you have one)
4. Money (around 3000 yen)
5. The following information:
Name
Phone Number
Country of Origin
Passport Number
What kind of vehicles you are authorized to drive
Where you're going, when you're going, when you're coming back

Go into the building closest to the main road. The IDL section is on the first floor. The IDLs are handled at the 国際免許 (kokusai menkyo) counter. It's on the far right. Ask for the forms at the counter. There is a sample on the counter where you fill things out so it's pretty easy to fill out the forms. If you're a member of the driving safety club you can get your picture for free.

It should be noted that you cannot just get an IDL for the heck of it. You must have travel plans already.

Jin's is a nice, cheap place to buy glasses. If you have averagely bad eyes you can get glasses starting at around 5000 yen (eye exam included). If you have really bad eyes that require off-site production for the lenses you may have to pay as much as 9000 yen more. (They will tell you the extra cost and ask you if you'd like to still go through with it first though, no worries.)

People with averagely bad eyes can pick their frames, have an eye exam, and have their glasses within the hour. People who have to have thier lenses made off-site will have to wait about a week.