Respect for the Aged Day

This is a picture of the park near my house. Its one of the prettiest parks I think I've ever seen.

Monday is "Respect for the Aged Day" in Japan. Hooray a 3 day weekend to honor the massive number of elderly people in this country! I pass many old people on my way to work everyday, and they look they could use a vacation. Though some appear to be in their 80s or so, they labor hard in their gardens and rice paddies everyday. They seem to lead lives entirely different from even middle aged Japanese people, who more or less lead the same kind of lifestyle as any westerner. They also ride their bikes and old fashioned mini pickup-truck/vans and use the buses a lot. I feel like the only people who use the bus and bikes to get around are kids, really old people, and me. It seems that anyone between 20 and 60 just uses a car to go anywhere.
As my predecessor warned me, my job is pretty boring. I actually get a kick out of teaching the kids, but i do that for about 9 hours of my 40 hour week. I also don't know much about Junior High lesson planning, especially in Japan. I do have time to study Japanese though, which is good.
What an odd country, I can't think of any other place where I could get paid so much (ok not that much) to do so little. I don't quite get it either. The application process was extensive, i had to write essays, fill out many pages of questions, conduct interviews, and wait months. The program's been around for 20 years or so I think, and Ive seen so many different publications and information, and seminars, and speeches from the people who run it on some level. But as far the actual job goes, there is no plan at all. The school just gets a new foreigner every few years and is told that they're the new "Assistant Language Teacher" to help teach and "internationalize" the students. But how does one do that? I don't know and I don't think anyone i work with does either. It seems so Japanese to have this massive and very well funded program to modernize the educational system for over 20 years without actually having a concrete plan on what it does. I just think its funny that a country so obsessed with efficiency pays some 21 year old American guy to sit on his ass all day and look pretty.
Though perhaps I shouldn't speak too soon, and I definitly shouldn't bite the hand that feeds me. Sorry Japan... Ganbarimasu! (I'll do my best)