So this post is about a wonderful daytrip I got to experience on October 31st 2023. I was idly scrolling Facebook one day when this post appeared about a trial tour. I’d seen this sort of thing before but never acted on it, but I thought why not this time since it looked interesting and the tour day just happened to be on a day when I didn’t need to be in school. They were offering a fully paid for tour to Shizuoka (shinkansen and full course lunch included) for free. All I had to do was write them a review afterwards. It kind of sounds like a scam when I write it like that, but it wasn’t!
So bright and early in the morning, I trekked across to Tokyo station to catch the 8:03 shinkansen to Shizuoka. (Yes, I have the itinerary from my email open in front of me right now, lol). It was a very pleasant hour ish journey. I don’t get on shinkansen very often because they are expensive, so I enjoyed it. I met the tour guides and other participants at the station. I can’t remember exactly how many people there were but around a dozen. They paired us off and assigned a guide for each pair. My partner was a lady a bit older than me, and our guide was a really lovely, enthusiastic, older Japanese man with pretty decent English ability.
Our first stop on the tour was Sengen shrine. We went there in private cars. The shrine was under reconstruction, so large parts of it were under scaffolding. We got a very long, informative explanation about what they were doing to it and why. We were also given special access to go inside, complete with hard hats, to see some of the work going on. It was very cool!
Next stop was lunch! We went to this very nice hotel called Nippon Daira Hotel. We had no idea beforehand, but they were laying on a full course meal and unlimited drinks! It was crazy! None of us could believe it, haha. We got sat in our pairs and quickly ordered our first drinks. And then the food started coming. I’ll share a photo of the menu below plus some of the dishes. It was all so good. I got to taste a lot of food for the first time.
After a very filling lunch and a few umeshus (plum wine) we got to explore the grounds of the hotel a little bit. It was so beautiful.
Next stop was Kunozan Toshogu shrine, via the Nihondaira ropeway. I love going on ropeways, so this was the major selling point for me when I decided to sign up for the tour, haha. From what I can remember (it was over a year ago ^^; ) this ropeway was similar to others I have been on and, of course, had excellent views on the way. The shrine itself was lovely. We got another exclusive here. This time it was a tea ceremony experience. My first time making matcha traditionally (and probably my last since I don’t actually like it ^^; ).
We got to see inside the attached museum after this but weren’t allowed to take photos, and unfortunately I don’t remember it at all ^^; Then we took the ropeway back and went to the Nihon Daira Yume Terrace, where you can sometimes see breathtaking views of Mount Fuji. Unfortunately it was too cloudy whilst we were there, but we did get nice dramatic cloud formation views.
And so we got a lift back to the station and I enjoyed the shinkansen back home again. It was an excellent trial tour. If you get a chance to do something like this, please go for it! I’ll be back very soon (I really do intend to catch up this year, like for real ^^; ) with an autumnal weekend in Kaurizawa.
Ahhh life has been a bit crazy the last couple of months, but I will never let this blog die. I’ve slipped to more than a year behind again, but I will catch up someday. Somehow ^^;
So this post will be pretty short cause it’s just going to be about my birthday last year, but I want to record it in here because it’s important to me.
My birthday fell on a Sunday last year, so Shyam and I got to spend the whole day together, which was nice. We did some shopping and then we went and got our nails done together. It was so nice (if a little embarrassing because I am a compulsive nail biter and the lady didn’t have too much to work with). I think the colours we chose compliment each other well, hehe.
Oh and just before we got our nails done, we had a taste of home in the heart of Tokyo, hehe. Costa is getting more and more popular here lately.
Then we headed onward to Asakusa. I knew we were going to a restaurant for dinner but I had no idea where and what kind of food. It turned out to be a rather fancy restaurant called ‘R Restaurant and bar’. It’s attached to a hotel and has amazing skyline views as you dine. Shyam had bagged us perfect seats out on the balcony with a good view of Tokyo Skytree.
It was a course menu that consisted of various dishes, which were mostly French cuisine, I think. There was caprese, onion gratin soup, scallops and mushrooms, and various other things. Basically anything I didn’t photograph, I forgot ^^; And of course there was a very lovely birthday dessert plate at the end.
And of course I had a cocktail to complement it all. It was a very lovely birthday and, maybe one day, you will read about the equally lovely birthday I had this year too, haha. Until next time!
I am back! Only a few days later!! So this post will mostly just be photo heavy, but I’ll try and include any anecdotes I remember as well.
At the end of August last year, Shyam and I finally made it to TeamLab Planets. We had already done Borderless before it closed down in Odaiba (the new one has since opened, but I’m not sure how different it is and if it’s worth going to). Planets is based not far from Odaiba and has a very exciting water theme. You have to take off your socks and shoes and roll your trousers basically up to your knees.
So I just realised I never actually blogged about TeamLab Borderless. What?? So I better just say that TeamLab is a pair of digital art museums in Tokyo (they have other pop-ups, possibly permanent exhibitions in other places too): Borderless and Planets. I won’t go into what they are too much, it’s easy to find out about them online. But they are incredibly popular with residents and tourists alike. Both places are a fully immersive experience.
This post is about Planets. I’m not sure why I neglected to blog about Borderless, but Planets was my favorite, so ehh.
So when you first go in, you take your shoes and socks off and put them in a locker by the entrance. Then you head inside and immediately walk up a wet, fairly steep slope. It felt like going into a swimming pool. I don’t actually remember the details well other than that (it has been over a year ^^; ). But there were several distinct sections with various digital art displays. So I’ll just share some photos.
There was an outside garden area with these mysterious silver orbs. We had to put on slippers to go out here.
And, I think this was the last area, the artificial flowers that moved up and down and were super cool and made a great photos spot.
It’s too long ago and I don’t remember what part I deemed as my favorite. I just know I found the whole thing very exciting but also relaxing. 100% worth a visit if you are in Tokyo. And that’s another catch up blog done. Relatively short compared to the last one, lol.
As always I am way later than I hoped to be with this. I am very much over a year behind again. I shall, as always, strive to rectify this situation ^^;
So after an epic 3 and a half weeks back in the homeland, I had a short but sweet couple of days back in Japan before jetting off again, this time to… Korea! Last time I was in Korea was in July 2019 for quidditch, lol. This time I went for an equally geeky reason. I went with eight fellow BTS fans and we stayed in the same Airbnb they stayed at for their reality series ‘In The Soop’. It was epic!!
I caught a flight from Narita in the early afternoon and arrived late afternoon in Incheon. Everyone else was already there and I was to meet them at a restaurant (which BTS had been to before – yes this trip is very much going to be like that, haha). So after a little trouble getting my travelcard (the lady in the CU was very helpful and definitely didn’t laugh at my butchering of gamsahamnida – thank you), I was on a train and on my way to Gangnam to meet the others.
They were already inside when I got there, but quickly made space for me and started feeding me up on all the non-spicy food items they could get (this was mostly meat and rice, lol). After we had eaten a lot and also managed to temporarily move to the table BTS sat at for photos, we were on our way. We all decided we could just about squeeze in some dessert, so we went for a traditional Korean dessert called Bingsu. Basically shaved ice with a whole lot of toppings on. The one I shared with one of the others was red bean and kinako. It was sooo good!
After that we all parted ways to our various accomodations for the night. I was sharing a hotel room with one of the others, so we chatted a fair bit before bed, hehe. But we had to be up bright and early the next morning as we were catching the train out to Chuncheon where the Airbnb is, so we went to bed at a fairly reasonable time.
The next morning we all met up at Seoul station at around 10am, I think. Then we caught the train up to Chuncheon. I think it took about two hours on a fairly high speed train. Then we did a major shopping spree at a supermarket there. The Airbnb is in the middle of nowhere, so we needed to stock up on all the supplies we would need. We also grabbed some lunch here. Then the taxis that our Airbnb host kindly arranged for us turned up. They were very unimpressed with how much luggage we had between us (which was mostly grocery shopping bags) but hey ho they took us after some grumbling.
The taxis took us on a fairly lengthy journey, which involved many small, winding roads. The scenery change on the train was pretty dramatic, but in the taxi it was even more dramatic. We were really out in the middle of nowhere and it was beautiful!
Eventually we arrived at our destination and we were all immediately blown away. Seeing it on TV in the show was amazing enough, but in person? The views were incredible! I think we all got lost in a daze of staring and taking photos for a good while when we first arrived.
Eventually we went inside and it was very exciting to see all the rooms that we had seen on TV in real life. We toured around and then claimed our beds. I was in Taehyung and Hobi’s room with one of the other girls. The whole interior of the main and upper house is so nice. Also the boat house was cute, but far too many bugs down there for me to be brave enough to volunteer to sleep there, haha.
After a while, our host, Lisa, arrived complete with her famous doggy, Happy. Happy was in a commercial with Choi Wooshik!!
Lisa was so lovely! She brought us all Korean skincare products as gifts. She also gave us some fireworks that we could set off during our stay. And, best of all, she took us out on the lake on her speedboat! It was amazing!! She even showed us which lifejackets the boys used during the show. So I got to wear the same lifejacket as Taehyung 🙂
Then we took some commemorative photos of all nine of us (whilst Lisa was there to help us), including this lovely shot of us mimicking BTS, haha.
Next it was time to get the BBQ going, so Lisa showed us how to do that and then was on her way. We grilled meat, made salads, and laid the table outside, all whilst the sun was setting over the beautiful scenery. It felt very special.
We had a veritable feast of grilled meats, salad, rice, and lots of soju and makeolli, haha. We also had a couple of feline visitors who had clearly smelled our meat cooking, but they weren’t brave enough to get too close to us, sadly. Then it was chill time before bed. We played some old style party games and did a bit of karaoke. It was very fun!
The next day, our one full day in the house, we all did various things, much like BTS themselves did 3 years before. Some of us tried drawing/painting because that was a big thing in the show. I had a go at doing a crayon sketch. It wasn’t amazing, but I think you can see what I was aiming for.
Also, in the garden, there is a swing chair. So I partook in a swing a few times. One of those times I took a selfie and then took a photo of the view from the chair. I think you can see why it was one of my favorite spots.
When evening came again, the nine of us worked together to cook up another feast of various Korean food and drinks. We also toasted marshmallows over a bonfire and then set off the fireworks over the lake. In Korea the fireworks are the type that you hold whilst they go off. This freaked me out a lot considering how I was brought up to not hold any firework except for a sparkler. So I stood back and took videos whilst the others let them off. It was beautiful. I wish I knew how to upload videos on here.
The last morning was a combination of packing up, eating, and soaking up the last few hours in the house. Plus taking loads more photos.
We got the same taxis back to the station (the drivers were much nicer this time) and then took the train back down to Seoul. Most people were leaving, but I had booked an extra night in Seoul to make the most of it. So after many emotional goodbyes, me and the two remaining members went off on an adventure to see the Hybe building. This is the company headquarters where BTS and many other artists are based. It’s a huge skyscraper! It was very impressive (I didn’t get a good photo of the actual building so you’ll have to Google it if you’re interested).
After that we went to the BTS cafe that is behind the Hybe building. A random old man told us about it, haha. The front and inside were decked out in BTS pictures and memorabilia. They were also serving special themed drinks and food. We stopped in for a drink and some photos.
After that I parted ways with my two remaining companions as they were catching a train to Busan (hopefully zombie free). So I went to check into my hotel and drop off my luggage. I was staying in a budget hotel in Myeongdong, which apparently was really out of the way from everywhere, but still walking distance from Seoul station. After a quick rest in my room, I headed out again. This time I went to the old Bighit building, which is where BTS started out before they conquered the world. The building has turned into a kind of shrine for BTS fans with messages written in every available space. It was a pretty awesome sight.
From there I walked to the Han River. The sun was going down at this point so I got some more lovely sunset photos.
I eventually reached the Banpo bridge, which was my aim. I’d read that they do light water shows at night, and boy did they! It was so impressive! Water shot off the side of the bridge and was lit up in various colours. I got photos and videos from the bank and also from when I walked across the bridge. It was sooo good!
After a whole lot of walking, I was so tired, so I flopped into bed with rather minimal food. Whoops. Then the next morning I got up early enough so that I had about an hour and a half before I needed to check out. I went for a wander around Myeondong. Unfortunately a lot of things were shut. I’m not sure if it was a holiday or if it was just a typical Monday there. But it was still fun to just walk around and see what I could see. Including the flagship HBAF shop. Sooo many interesting flavours of nuts in there.
I bought a few bits and bobs as souvenirs, and then headed back to the hotel to check out. Then it was a train back to Incheon airport and the plane back to Narita. It was a rather stressful flight, but I shan’t write about it here because I don’t want to tarnish what an absolutely fabulous trip it was. I think it’s why it took me so long to update this. I really needed to devote a lot of time to write about everything.
Anyways, as always, I shall endeavor to come back with a new entry as soon as possible.
So last summer we finally got to spend a decent amount of time back in the UK. 3 and a half weeks, to be precise. The majority of the flights were very expensive, so we took a slight gamble and booked the much cheaper China Eastern flights that go via Shanghai. So many people online were advising against them, but it was really the only feasible way for us to get back. And actually, the flights were fine. Fairly basic compared to other airlines, but they did the job and were comfortable enough. Plus no major delays as far as I remember.
When we finally touched down in Heathrow, Shyam went south to his mum’s house, while I went north to my mum’s. I took an epic 5 hours bus ride up and arrived in Norwich at around 1am. It was some way to round out an already epic journey. That first cup of tea back at my mum’s tasted wonderful!
The first week and a bit was spent in and around Norwich, catching up with family and friends. Lots of dog and cat cuddles, walks around National Trust properties (including unwanted wasp encounters), introducing mum to Korean food at a restaurant called ‘The Kimchi’, seeing the Barbie movie with my younger brother and getting burgers at the legendary Zak’s afterwards, and attending Norwich Pride Parade. i also got to eat some of my favorite homecooked meals, including one of my faves, my mum’s amazing moussaka!
On my second Monday back in the UK, mum and I drove up to Manchester so I could finally see some of my friends based up there. I hadn’t seen most of them for 5 years! So I crammed in seeing several people in just one full day and two half days. It was hectic but I’m so glad I did it. It was so lovely catching up with everyone. Also very nostalgic to be back in my university city.
I spent the next four days back in Norwich, which included seeing more friends, plus having a clear out in my bedroom there as per my mum’s request, haha. I also went to the beach with one friend and we played crazy golf. It was so fun! Even if it was incredibly windy.
On the Monday I said a sad goodbye to my family and hopped on a train down south to go and spend the last week with Shyam and his family. First time to Brighton since I was a child. It’s a very cool place! Shyam’s family are all lovely and it was so nice to finally meet them and spend time with them. I got the grand tour of Brighton on the first full day, including walking the length of the pier and indulging in the arcades.
On the Wednesday we got the train up to London for the day. I finally got to meet one of Shyam’s good friends, who we had lunch with in China Town. Then in the evening we met up with Shabz after she finished work, which was amazing! We had Mexican food in this lively place near Liverpool St. station.
The next day we went on another daytrip, this time to Eastbourne. Where I got to meet another of Shyam’s good friends. It’s fairly similar to Brighton, but not quite as cool, haha. I got to have a rather expensive 99 ice-cream here by the beach, as was one of the things I most wanted to do during our time back in the UK.
The last two days were spent in and around Brighton. I got to meet and have dinner with another dear friend of Shyam’s, who I had been looking forward to meeting. She’s lovely. We also did a big shop in Tesco to get all the essential goodies to take back with us. You don’t realise how important some food items are to you until they’re no longer readily available, lol. Then on our last evening we, including Shyam’s family, had a fun meal out at Pizza Hut, rounding the trip out nicely.
We left Gatwick in the morning of Sunday August 13th and arrived back in Tokyo late on the 14th, via a rather lengthy layover in Shanghai’s very boring airport. It was a long, knackering journey, but worth it!
It was a wonderful 3 and a half weeks back in the homeland, but that was only part 1 of a rather epic summer vacation 2023. I’ll be back (hopefully) soon with part 2, where my fangirlishness will shine through once again, haha.
I’m back with another catch up blog from last year. This one will take us from April 29th to the beginning of July.
First up, I decided I wanted to try something a little different and when an opportunity popped up randomly on my Facebook feed, I just decided to go for it. It was an organization that runs English camps for elementary school kids. They started up after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 to help kids in the affected areas. So they recruit volunteers alongside some paid staff to run the camps. They cover your transport/food/board/etc. and give you a nominal ‘reward’ for volunteering. In return you commit to 2 days, 1 night looking after a load of kids, playing games with them, and encouraging them to speak English.
I took the shinkansen from Ueno to Utsunomiya very early on the Saturday morning. I met the organizers and the other volunteers there. A mix of people from the Philippines, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and maybe more countries, I’ve forgotten. Then all the kids came. There were a lot! Once they (and we) were all sorted into groups (I was in the pink group and got to wear a lovely pink bib), we got onto coaches and made the two ish hour journey into the mountains on the edge of Gunma. Lots of games of rock, paper, scissors, singing, arm-wrestling, thumb wars, etc. happened on the bus, lol. The kids were so cute.
We stayed at what was essentially a youth hostel/activity centre. There was a huge restaurant area, library, work centre, gymnasium, outside playground areas, surrounding woodland, a sento (communal bath), and of course lots of bedrooms. I can’t remember the course of events well over a year later, but basically we played games outside and inside the gym. There was a traditional raising of the flag outside at 5pm, which was interesting. There was a buffet dinner in the restaurant. We had a night walk in the woods. There was a pretend bonfire in the gym with dancing.
Then it was time to go to the bedrooms to set up the futons. I was then made aware that I was going to be solely in charge of seven girls for the night. It was a little bit alarming as my Japanese is still rubbish, but it mostly worked out ^^; So my seven charges and I set up the futons in our tatami room. It was very lively! They were 8-10 years old and full of energy still. Then we had to supervise the girls going to the sento, which took ages. Then finally I had to try and get them to go to sleep. It took forever!! Eventually they were settled and I was able to go to the sento myself. The most relaxing, most needed bath, haha. Then I crept back into our room and got to bed myself.
I did not get much sleep though! The girls woke up at 4:30am. I heard them chattering and moving around and tried to ignore them, but one of the delightful angels stood over my futon and shouted ‘Cathy, okiiii-masu!!’ (wake up), and my few hours sleep were done. They had folded up the futons, got dressed, and brushed their teeth by 6am. We were supposed to wake up at 6am, as the girls in the room opposite had done (I was so jealous of the volunteer supervising that room). Luckily I was able to take them over to the gym early and they ran around in there with some of the other early risers, whilst I sat on the floor bleary eyed.
We had a buffet style breakfast in the restaurant. Then there were more games in the gym. Then a million and one photos. It was at this point I started feeling sick. I had a terrible headache and had to rush out to the toilet to be sick more than once. I think the lack of sleep coupled with all the loud, rowdy running around didn’t work too well with my not-so-great health. This resulted in me not being able to travel back in the coach with the kids. I went in a car with a couple of guys because I was worried about being sick in front of the kids. I was really sad as I missed out on the last part of the camp and being able to say goodbye to the kids.
Overall it was a really fun, if tiring experience that got somewhat spoiled by my dodgy health. I would love to do another one, but I’m worried I’ll get sick again. Maybe later this year once the weather cools down again. I’ll see how my health is doing then.
May passed by with a mixture of school, game days at various friends’ houses, and other miscellaneous trips out doing various things. Then on June 2nd, a rather ferocious typhoon hit whilst I was at school. Two of my co-workers and I managed to get stuck at one of the Disney hotels whilst trying to get home. The trains had stopped and we decided to wait in the hotel until we could get a taxi to take us to a station where the trains were still running. Loads of people were doing similar, so it took a while until a taxi was available. But we were in nice, cushy surroundings at least, haha.
Later in June, Shyam and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant in Naka Meguro called Queen Sheba. It was my first time to try Ethiopian food and it was so delicious! The couple that own the restaurant are really nice too. They catered for Shyam being vegetarian and also helped me out loads with my spicy food issue. I recommend it very highly!
Then on July 1-2, Shyam and I went on another camping/rafting trip with Mike. This time with Zeke and Matthias. We packed into Mike’s car with all the stuff and headed to Kami-Nagatoro in Saitama. We had a cabin with bedding provided this time, so not quite as much gear crammed into the car, lol. Mike had also booked out the gazebo/picnic area in the centre of the camp ground for our stay. So we had lots of space!
We spent the Saturday down by the river. Lots of -terrifying- swimming (the current was pretty strong) and lounging about, chatting, drinking, having fun. Then in the evening we had a barbeque in our picnic area and then toasted marshmallows on the campfire, of course. It was really chill and nice (apart from the bugs that kept pestering me in particular, I swear!). Then we made our futons up and got some needed shuteye. The most funny thing was during the night, Matthias got fed up with a couple of the guys snoring and opted to sleep in the car instead. So when I got up the next morning and went out to the loo, I just saw his legs sticking out of the car, haha.
On the Sunday we had breakfast very early as we were scheduled in for rafting at 9am. It was an excellent rafting trip. I really enjoyed the one the year before, but somehow this one was even better. Our instructor was super fun and had us doing some crazy things. At one point we all stood on the side of the raft and just fell backwards into the water. It was hilarious! We also stopped at a waterfall and got some nice photos. It was a super fun time!
After rafting we showered and got packed up. Then we headed to a pizza place nearby that did yummy wood-fired pizza. It was just what we needed after two hours rafting. Then we had the drive back to Tokyo. All in all it was a super fun weekend!
And that’s that for this blog. Next time will be about the epic 3 and a half week trip back to the UK.
I’m back! Less than a week later!! So this entry is going to be photo heavy about a couple of trips to see some beautiful flowers during March/April last year.
So in late March last year, Shyam and I went back to Showa Kinen Park. We went there for the autumn leaves in the November before and decided we wanted to go back during cherry blossom season. So we did the same thing again. We got there early, rented bikes, and had an amazing few hours cycling round the huge park. Only this time the colours were varying shades of pink (plus some green, yellow, red, orange).
There was also a bit of a Dutch theme going on, with some big clogs and a myriad of brightly coloured tulips.
I really love this park. Spring or autumn, it is just wonderful. I’m not a fan of cycling since I had a bad accident when I was a child, but I love it here. Dedicated cycle lanes, amazing surroundings, and just a brilliant sense of freedom. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone that comes to Tokyo.
The other trip was one I made during the second week of April last year. I had a random day off school, so met with a friend and went to Nezu Shrine’s Azalea Spring Festival. If you go there on the weekend during the Azalea Festival, it is far too busy, so getting a random weekday off was perfect! It was absolutely wonderful! I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. Apparently the azalea garden is over 300 years old.
There were still a lot of people there, but it wasn’t too bad. I loved how the azaleas seemed to be both uniformly positioned and not at the same time. It really was a wonderful sight and one my photos don’t really do justice.
So, nearly done with this entry. I just have a couple of bonus photos for you. I’m so lucky to live in a really green area friendly part of Tokyo. There is a manmade pathway that stretches around the whole of the ward, which has lots of trees, flowers, water features, etc. on it. I often go walking on it with my friend who lives nearby. We actually even had a regular jogging session along it for a while last year (until it got too hot). The bonus photos are from one of these sessions. I absolutely love the last picture, capturing three different colours of leaves at once on a warm spring day.
Okay, that’s all for today. Until next time, when I’ll have some tales and photos from late Spring/early Summer.
So it’s been a while. I went to update a couple of times a while ago and Word Press was being weird. But, better late than never! I’m actually typing this on my brand spanking new iPad (with cheap keyboard attached) from a cafe. So yay for being able to write whilst on the go now. Last time I said I’d be back with a blog about two big changes that happened in my life in February/March last year. So here goes!
So first, I moved to Tokyo! After four years living in Yokohama, I decided it was time for a change. Also, Shyam and I wanted to finally move in together. So we started the long, difficult, expensive process of moving apartments in Japan. We found an estate agent that catered for foreigners and had a lovely agent that spoke perfect English. She took us round several apartments. We thought we found the perfect place but our application was rejected. Apparently because we weren’t married. So back to the drawing board.
We were on a deadline as the lease on my place was up on the 4th weekend of February and I didn’t want to pay another renewal fee (an extra month’s rent!). So we quickly scheduled more viewings and eventually found a place. It was a pretty amusing viewing experience. Our agent couldn’t find any parking nearby, so ended up parking on the side of the road and daren’t leave the car. So Shyam and I went up and viewed the property alone. It was already dark and there was no electricity in the apartment, so we had to look around with the flashlights on our phones.
It was big! The space inside was much better than anything we’d seen in our price range before. It’s a 2DK, which means two rooms, plus a diner/kitchen room. The two rooms were good sizes and the diner/kitchen was long and very spacious! There was also a built in dishwasher, which amused us very much. The only really bad thing about the interior was the bathroom sink. It looks like a mini urinal. Very bizarre and not really useable, but we make do. The location is also perfect! A bus stop right outside, 15 mins to two different train stations, a huge park opposite, and loads of nearby options for supermarkets and restaurants/cafes.
So we immediately asked our agent to put an application in for us. This time it went through and we were soon starting the mammoth task of moving in. Because we were both still working at our Yokohama based schools until the end of March, Shyam decided to stay at his place for an extra three weeks until school finished. I didn’t have that luxury, so I had to commute a bit further than usual for a month, but it was okay. I found a reasonably priced moving company and got all my stuff boxed up and moved easily enough, including bed, washing machine, fridge, etc.
Shyam didn’t have big appliances to move, so we (mostly me), rather laboriously, gradually moved it using suitcases, lol. I moved in the fourth weekend of February and Shyam joined me three weeks later. It was fun exploring the new area and slowly setting up a much bigger space. We bought a double bed new. We found a solid kitchen table with four chairs for 5,000 Yen and a sofa bed for free on a sayonara sale group on Facebook. And gradually added other furniture and storage as we went.
Another nice feature of our place is that it is south facing. So in the afternoon we get absolutely loads of sunshine! (Maybe not so good in the hot, humid summer, but it is very lovely. Please ignore the untidiness of the photo below and admire the sun drenched rooms, haha,
So on top of moving apartments, we both changed jobs. We had decided before Christmas that it was time for a job change. For me, I knew I had to change schools for April because we can only stay at the same school for three years. So I thought I might as well try and get a better paying job. Happily my friend wrote me a brilliant recommendation for a job at his old company and after a fairly lengthy process, I got a job with them. I also managed to get Shyam a job with them too. It was still teaching, but now at private schools with higher pay.
So I actually got my school placement after we moved apartments. And unfortunately it ended up being quite a hefty commute. I now have to travel on two trains and a bus for a total commute time of nearly 1 and a half hours one way everyday. It’s not too bad though and actually quite common here. Also my school has a lot of no lesson days and if we don’t have lessons, we don’t have to go in. So it’s pretty nice. Plus the school is lovely! I teach second grade in high school. So 16/17 year olds. They’re nice but pretty immature, lol.
I should finish up here. I’ll just finish with a quick note about leaving my old school. I was there for three years. I got to see my first graders go all the way through junior high school and graduate. From little, excitable 12 year olds to serious but still lovely 15 year olds. They were great students! Graduation day was a teary affair for me. Saying goodbye to all the teachers I’d grown close to over the years was hard. But I’ll always remember them. I also received some lovely flowers and letters from both students and teachers.
Thanks for reading! I’ll hopefully update more quickly next time. It will be a photos heavy entry next time.
So in February last year, I managed to fit in two trips to the coast to take in some breathtaking sea views. The first was in the Izu Peninsula and the second was the Miura Peninsula.
I went down to Izu during the second week of February last year and met up with two of my fellow BTS fans. We had primarily got together to see the Yet To Come concert at the cinema, but we were also going to be staying down in Izu at one of the girl’s place there and make a weekend of it. So first off on the Saturday we saw the concert at the cinema in Numazu. It was really fun! We took our ARMY bombs (light sticks) and bucked the Japanese trend of being completely silent by dancing in our seats and singing along quietly, hehe.
The next day we drove out to the Jogasaki coast and had a lovely walk. Despite being mid-February, it was so warm out we left our coats in the car. There were some truly breathtaking views along the way, plus a very cool suspension bridge.
About a week or so later, Shyam and I finally got out to the Miura Peninsula. I had been eying going there for ages and we finally took our chance to go on a Sunday daytrip down there. It took about an hour and a half from Yokohama station by train and then bus. That area is called Jogashima and it is extremely remote. A very wild part of Japan that made me think of Kirrin Island in the Famous Five.
When the bus dropped us off, we were a bit unsure where we were supposed to go. Initially we walked down this remote road that took us past a very haunted looking but actually semi occupied industrial building. Then we found a dirty bit of beach that was full of rubbish. Definitely fit the (not quite) abandoned building next to it. We quickly retreated and retraced our footsteps and tried a different route. We eventually found our way to Jogashima Park. It was beautiful but incredibly windy! It was a beautiful garden area that tapered off to a lighthouse on a cliff. The scenery was very dramatic, made more so with the high winds of the day.
We walked from there along the coast line. Although for some of the walk we were kind of enclosed in this path with high hedges either side. It was a fairly lengthy but fun walk, which took us from one side of the island to the other.
The other side of the island had a few shops and houses, so it didn’t feel quite so wild. It was still incredibly windy even though we were lower down now. There was a fun walk out across some bridges where if you didn’t time it well, you were going to get soaked by the high waves. Very exciting!
Overall it was a fun, exciting day out, with lots of beautiful scenery and fresh air. Thoroughly recommend it if you are in the area. And I’ll be back soon(ish) with my next update, where I’ll talk about two big changes that happened in my life.
So I’ve managed to let myself get more than a year behind with this now. But I am determined to keep documenting all the important moments during my years in Japan. It’s mostly for myself to look back on in the future. It’s important to me to carry on. So this will be a bumper addition taking in all of last winter vacation.
So school finished for the year ahead of Christmas Day for the second year in a row, which was nice. The joy of the 25th landing on a weekend. Shyam and I celebrated the day at a friend’s sharehouse. They have large kitchen and dining facilities there, so we had a party of around ten of us. Shyam took on the bulk of the cooking, bless him. We couldn’t get hold of a turkey due to a shortage, so we had two chickens instead. His potatoes roasted in goose fat stole everyone’s hearts. I think my mince pies went down pretty well too, but not as much as the apple crumble and, most importantly, custard, haha. It was a fun time with delicious food.
Things got a little frantic after Christmas Day. Shyam and I had booked last minute flights back to the UK as he had important family stuff to sort out. So on Boxing Day morning we met at Haneda airport and flew out to Vietnam, where we had a long layover, but not quite long enough to leave the airport. So we splurged and went in a lounge. It was a novel experience. After a long time, we boarded our flight to Heathrow and thankfully slept through much of it.
Mum and Adrian were waiting for me when we arrived, so it was a slightly tearful farewell with Shyam and then the long drive back up to mum’s house. It being a year ago, I don’t remember details well ^^; but the six days I was back with my family involved seeing my two brothers, my dog and cat, and a couple of friends. But mostly just chilling and eating all the food I’d missed. Nearly 4 years away had flown by but it still felt almost overwhelming to be back. It wasn’t long enough, but I was thankful it even happened.
The last two photos are my mum’s homemade quiche, which I adore, and a second Christmas dinner but had on New Years Day, and with an actual Christmas cracker! (Almost impossible to get in Japan). Thank you to Adrian for cooking that one!
On the morning of January 2nd, mum and Adrian drove me back down to Heathrow as Shyam and I were heading back. We couldn’t stay any longer as I was scheduled to have a surgery on the 5th. Crazy winter, haha ^^; I very briefly met Shyam’s mum and sister at the airport. Both seemed lovely and I was glad to finally meet some of Shyam’s family in person after us having been a couple for years. Goodbyes were said and then Shyam and I hopped on our first flight to Helsinki. We had a short layover there, finding a Burger King that did halloumi burgers! Then took the long flight to Haneda.
I had only one full day between arriving back and my hospital admission. I unpacked my suitcase and repacked a smaller suitcase. Shyam and I spent the day together and he won me a stuffed fox to take into hospital with me. I named it Aki because it has a leaf on it’s head and Aki is Japanese for Autumn, hehe.
I also took an important photo of my haul of goodies I brought back from the UK. You don’t realise how much you love eating certain foods until you can’t easily get them anymore, lol.
Then on the morning of January 5th, I was admitted to hospital to have surgery to remove fibroids. The hospital didn’t allow any visitation so I was alone for nearly a week. It was very hard. But I was prepared for it. I had a good book and my laptop and my new bullet journal I had started. I was allowed to go into this lounge area to make phone calls, which was fine on my first night. But the next day I had my surgery and I wasn’t well enough to get to the lounge for the next 2 days.
The food was hit and miss, as you would expect. In Japanese hospitals it’s rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I remember after 4 days dreaming about getting some bread and then I finally did get some, haha. The worst meal was scrambled egg with tuna mixed into it. I never want the misfortune of eating that again. But overall I can’t really complain too much and the staff took great care of me, helping me a lot even despite the language barrier.
I was let out on the following Wednesday morning. So nearly a full week in there. Apparently the same procedure in the UK would see you in hospital for two days max. I’m not sure how they manage that because I couldn’t even get out of bed for two days, but yeah… fibroids successfully removed and my doctor took great delight in showing me photos. It was disgusting.
I had a few extra days off to recover and then was back at school teaching the following week. So ended my very busy, up and down, winter vacation. I’ll, hopefully, be back soon with the next installment. Going to hopefully speed through 2023 and finally get up to date soon!
A year in Japan 