week 52

SO THIS IS IT

THE FINAL CURTAIN

On monday i finished all the cleaning, packing, paid the final bills and headed off to Osaka with becca. Tanaka sensei came to see me off at the station which was fantastic and meant a lot to me. the goodbye with my supervisor felt a little odd and indifferent which i was suprised at though. But i had too many thoughts in my head to become upset or saddened by this. Becca and i spent our last evening in japan together. we were staying in a dodgey area but managed to find a more lively area to eat and have a few beers. it was a relaxed evevning to contemplate the last years' events and memories.

on tuesday we then were up early and to the airport. Becca was departing at 11am and i was off at midday on my mammoth journey home! i had to fly to kota kinablu, kuala lumpa and the london. it took about 28hrs all in all which was shattering, but i managed it, and enjoyed wandering around KL airport and doing a little shopping. the malaysian airline flights were all on time and efficient which was nice seeing as i was sat on their planes for an obscene amount of time. i slept, read, watched movies, listened to music, and thought about the year gone and the future to come. I really was full of emotions and didnt know what to make of anything.

week 51

sniff sniff


sob sob


each week gets stranger and more surreal. Have i made the right choice? Should i have stayed and transferred schools? I hate feeling like maybe i have made the wrong decision as there is nothing i can do about it. I felt sad after having such an awesome weekend, so maybe that is tinting my opinions right now.
Monday was a public holiday so i slept in a little because my muscles hurt, and then i went into fukui. I met lots of people at undo koen park. i was sposed to play tennis but i was hurting too much so i watched a little and said some goodbyes. I received an amazing gift from hitomi. she drew and coloured the most realistic picture, of me and her nephew. It is incredible and i was astonished that she spent so much time doing it. After this i met meagan for a coffee and chat before we met a group of JETs to watch the new Harry Potter. I wasnt that excited by it i have to admit which was slightly disappointing. It just lacked substance. Nothing much happened. Boo. After the movie, John Kim and i went to a yakiniku that they have been talking about for ages called dokobokaya. It was a cool restaraunt and the salads and the beef were scrummy. Tuesday and wednesday were normal school days and my last lessons. I ran on tuesday before cleaning my apartment a little and then chilling with jandk. On wednesday i did some shopping and cleaning and then had coffee and puri kura with bruce shari matthew beata john kim jill and jordana. Andy and gallina popped along to and it was great to see so many people, although the goodbyes at the end of the evening were quite choking. The first time i got a little teary-no no no resist the waterworks!!
On thursday i was only in school until 11 as i was told i could leave. It was a day when all the parents came in to collect their child's report. I was really busy all morning writing final reports and doing papaerwork and then afterwards i went home, cleaned a bit, played tennis and then i went to harue for my eikiwae sayonara party with Beata. We went to an Italian restaraunt in Harue and there were 10 of us all together. It was fun talking in english to them, and as per usual the food was super. Spaghetti, pizza, suzuki fish and a pork katsudon thing. The meal was finished off with a chocolate cake, ice cream and creme brule type dessert. It was a fun evening.
Friday was my last day at school. I had to give a speech at the closing ceremony which Mr Mura translated. I think it went down well, although i was still a little nervous! I cannot wait till i get to the age when butterflies just disappear! After my speech, i listened to one of my san-nensei students who gave a speech to me in English. It was the saddest part, but i managed to stay composed. For the rest of the day i was taking photos, wandering the school and not doing too much! Just before i left i received a brand new leather purse from the english teachers which was perfect. In return i gave the teahcers their presents which i think went down well. It was a odd final farewell at the school though, coz nothing really happened!! i just kind of left which made me feel a bit sad really, but all was remedied later at the final sayonara party in mikuni. We were in a hotel and we had a bbq (jap style obviously- no bangers and burgers). It was shitty weather but we were inside, and the men and their testosterone was outside cooking noodles and meat. It was nice to talk to the teachers, as they are more fun and approachable with alcohol! I got presented with a boquet of flowers from Nakamura sensei which was funny as the teachers were jeering us to hug and kiss! I also got money and other presents. It was really unexpected and a good way to end my time at the school. The teachers flattered me all evening, and kocho sensei was particularly sweet. After the bbq, lots of teachers disappeared home and to the onsen so i never properly said goodbye, but maybe it is better that wasy. Goodbyes are always too odd. Tanaka sensei and i joined some of the men at an izakaya after this first party. To my suprise they ordered more food. One thing i will never understand is how they can eat so much when they go out and they can still be the size of a chopstick. I got a final banzai and lots of handshaking before i left, and then it was all over.....
Saturday was a mad day. Up at 5.30 to go to Hakusan with john, kim and meagan, for one last adventure in japan. I really wanted to climb another mountain and this seemed the VERY last chance!! It was a bit of a drizzley morning but we decided to be hard core and conquour the mountain before us- that we couldnt actually see because of the mist and very low cloud! It was a steep hour or two climb to begin, and to my great suprise i got altitude sickness. Not sure why as Fuji was fine. Alcohol, lack of sleepage, stress a combination i reckon. Anyways, this hindered my enjoyment slightly for the first leg of the climb, but after a lie down in a hut up the mountain i felt better and we continued. The flowers up the mountain were quite cool, and although it prohibited us from seeing a lot, the mist was very atmospheric. The view from the top was...well there wasnt a view as we literally could not see 15ft infront of us! But hey ho! I had a great time and didnt feel bad after we got down to the bottom either, which was a huge bonus. The feeling of climbing a mountain is quite unique! That evening after ridding ourselves of the muddy and soggy clothes, we went to 100 yen sushi for the last time :(
Sunday was a day of cleaning, last tennis, seeing Mayoumi for the last time and then meeting the frisbeeers in the evening for ramen and a slideshow of photos at melissa and steven's. Saying goodbye to nagata san and mayoumi was sad. Mayoumi gave me a lovely yukatta too. I was very sad and close to tears. She has been a super person to me over the course of this year. Another busy and very surreal last day in fukui.
i honestly cant explain how i feel about leaving. i know i couldnt do the same job for another year, but i also know that i am really sad at ending my japantime already. i dont want to finish the adventures now and leave everyone i have met behind. there seems to be so much more to do here, and it is sad that i cant do it. i know i have chosen to go home, and im sure everything will be ok, but right now the prospect of going home to no job, no house, no plan and no money is really daunting.

week 50

With time whizzing by, my blogg entries are getting quicker and less detailed which is frustrating but at least i am keeping up -kinda.

Monday was Melanies bday so after tennis, a group of us were by the asuwa river in fukui for a bbq and some dangerous fireworks thanks to Mr. Hart. It was a nice evening for it and good to see people. Everytime i see people at the moment it feels like i am syaing goodbye for the last time. i cant really describe this feeling. It really doesnt feel like i am leaving.

On tuesday i had my last tea ceremony. I made a chocolate cake for the occassion and found great delight in watching these petite japanese ladies devour huge pieces of extremely rich cake!! im suprised no-one chundered!! It was horrible saying goodbye as it is quite obvious that i will never see or speak to most people again, which is sad considering how kind they have been to me and how important they have been to the experiences i have had in Japan.

Wednseday i ran and then played taiko before we all went out to an italian restaraunt for a sayonara dinner. The food was amazing, and Jordana and i received some really sweet gifts from the people we played with. I bought them a few presents which i think they were happy about, i really wanted to let people here know how much i appreciate all the hospitality they have shown me.

Thursday was my last eikiwa. Nothing special happened at it because we are having a party next week, but again everytime i looked at places and people, it started to dawn that this would be the last time i could see these things and people. In a few weeks everyone else would be carrying on with their lives here in japan, but i will be in england, rediscovering my life there.

Friday was the closing ceremony in Fukui. It turned out to be a big waste of sodding time. We arrived at 2.30, and apart from a bowing practice we did nothing for over two hours. It was a short ceremony to end our contracts in japan, and we received a scroll and a box- with nothing inside much to james francoms's disgust!! As soon as the ceremony was over James and i made a run for it-missing the banquet. We were doing so, so that we could get on the road and head out for our weekend of camping and frisbeeing. We were off to Tajima which is 5hrs from fukui, to play in a frisbee tournament. Sounds fun you might say. Not when you hear a weather warning about an approaching typhoon. Playing frisbee and camping in a typhoon, are you joking. No actually. Well to tell the truth although it rained basically non stop for the weekend, it wasnt as bad as we expected and the typhoon got de-categorized into a tropical storm, but still, it was VERY wet and mucky. The drive down was fun with a testicled filled car of James, Matt and Jon. After ridiculing James for a while, we decided to be educational and listen to Matt's pod casts on ancient egypt! funny but true!

It turned out to be an awesome weekend (except for having a fever on the first day). Our team (the fukui rhinestone space apes) lost all our matches on the first day but had a lot of fun, and i think we were the most fun team there! After frisbeeing, i conquered my fear and got naked in the onsen!!! My first time in Japan. An onsen is a public spa where people go to relax and clean. I had avoided such places before but with no shower facilities at the camp site, and a body absolutely covered in mud and grit, i had to face the music! and to be honest it wasnt that awful- yay me! That evening we met up with all the other players for a korean style bbq and lots of drinks. It was cool chatting to different people and hanging out with my other team mates. i had a good evening!

The next day was similar to the first. Rain, frisbee, space apes, chris' arse, mud, frollicks, onsen, but there was one major difference, we won a game!!! yay! it was our last game and it was a close one. We were at a 7-7 score at the end but played extra time to decide on a winner. In the extra time Jon made a great catch to win the game. It was awesome and well deserved. We had not been slaughtered in all our matches, and in fact we probably should have won some of the others, but it was great to end on a high. The day was also topped off by a fab mud fight (which may or may not have been started by yours truly). Andy got his butt whipped, all boobies were well and truly grabbed, and there wasnt a clean inch of skin on anyone. Awesome!

week 49

I ran Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday this week which felt really good, as I managed some decent ish length runs in the sticky humidity and rain. On Tuesday I headed into Fukui with Jand K to look at outfits for the approaching Sayonara party. Unfortunately we had no luck, but they did show me a pretty funky second hand store where I had a good old rummage around. But however good the recycle shop- they still have THAT smell… we had 100 yen sushi afterwards, and a good old azuki delight from starbucks!

Wednesday was july 4th so I jumped on the American bandwagon and went out with a few people to celebrate our independence, wooo! We went to coco’s and I as usual took advantage of the drink bar. I like it in coco’s. I always feel quite mellow in there. It is fun to watch the staff do their happy birthday song and dance for that special birthday person too! I am sure they must have to do at least a week’s training for that alone!

On Thursday I met Mr Mura and Gallina to do paperwork for my car, and then Friday evening I went to tennis and then to Beata’s for a small get together. It was a really nice relaxed event to mark beata moving out of her awesome apartment.

On Saturday I was up at a stupid time in order to go to the blind school in fukui and help with their English day. I had been before to play floor volleyball which was great fun, so I decided to volunteer again- even though it was a SATURDAY. It turned out to be a fun day although there weren’t that many students. The highlight of the day for me was learning about Braille and then using a Braille type writer to practice writing. It was really amazing to watch one of the students type at full speed and also read the Braille.

That evening was the sayonara party at Zeniyas. It was a party for all the ALTs in the prefecture and involved lots of delicious food and drink. It was a nice event, and good to see everyone scrubbed and looking smart.

Sunday involved a good tennis and Frisbee session followed by sushi with John, Kim, Andy, Beata, Melissa and Steven. Weird to think that that sushi may have been my last at that orgasmic restaurant. Sniff sniff.

week 48

Four weeks left- scccccccccary.
A bit mellow this week as the realisation that I am actually leaving, was setting in. On Monday I went to tennis and on Tuesday I went to my tea ceremony, but it was not a normal lesson as sensei had arranged some food for my sayonara party. She had in fact arranged a banquet of sushi and the other ladies bought salads, drinks and deserts! I was bowled over by the effort, although I was not hungry at all which was terrible!

On Wednesday I went for a run, had taiko and then had coffee with sarah. Thursday I ran and then had my eikiwae in Harue. On Saturday I had Frisbee and then went to Lori’s for the girls sleep over. It was nice to see some of the girls, eat amazing foods and we went for a nice walk in Katsuyama too, I didn’t sleep over though. I like sleeping in my own bed and surroundings far too much! On Sunday I went to tennis, then Frisbee and then to John and Kims in the evening for dericious chilli cooked by john and some games.

Week 47

Monday- We got up late and after I ran we went for lunch at the 100yen sushi. Then we went over to Sabae park for a walk which was good but really humid again. Later that day we met the three ladies from taiko for dinner. They had reserved a table at a traditional restaurant in Fukui. It was a lovely restaurant and as expected, we had a private room which overlooked a small garden. The ladies ordered numerous dishes of fish, veg and meat and lots of drinks too. We had a great time, and tom got on very well with them making it quite a comical evening- especially with Shima-san being a little bit tipsy!

Tuesday – I ran again and then we headed out for a tour of Fukui’s temples. We went to Eiheji, Heisenji and the echizen daibutsu. I really like these temples so it was good to visit them for what will probably be the last time. Unfortunately though it was still really hot and sticky and so we were feeling lethargic. That evening Mayoumi picked us up to go to tea ceremony. I was made to put on a kimono to show tom which was a little embarrassing, but as usual I had a good time with the ladies, and attempting to brush up my skills. At the end of the lesson, sensei pulled out my leaving present. She wanted to give it to me now so that tom could see. Inside the huge wrapped box, was a brand new tea ceremony set. It had absolutely everything, and was beautiful. I was shocked to say the least as I was aware how expensive these sets are.

Wednesday- tom came to school. It turned out to be a bit more awkward then I had anticipated. I think the teachers felt a bit confused about him being there and they didn’t quite know how to act around him. The lessons he came to turned out to be pretty boring too, because I had not been there to plan, and so it was a normal rote learning lesson full of parrot fashion repetition. He only stayed until lunch, so then I drove him home, and was told I had to go back to school after, which sucked as I had very little to do. That evening we were lucky enough to join the taiko session even though it was not the usual lesson. It was a lot of fun, and tom was great, all the Japanese people were really surprised and loved it!

Thursday- I left him at home in bed whilst I went off for another day at school- it sucked big time to know he was at home relaxing whilst I was at school doing very little for most of the time. But that’s the way the mochi crumbles. After school I went for a run and then we went to a coffee shop in Harue to meet my eikiwae group. They were all incredibly friendly and their English was great too! They asked so many questions, and I think we both cringed when marriage and family topics arose!

Friday- I had a nenkyu day thank god. So we got up and headed into Lpa. The weather was shocking again so we decided on a low key day in Fukui. We visited a few shops in Lpa, had lunch, went bowling (I WON BOTH GAMES J) and then we wandered around the crazy world of the game centre to get purikura! It was a really fun day. In the evening Mayoumi picked us up and we went for dinner in fukui with her, hitomi and sachiko and her husband. I was a little nervous as I knew their English was not amazing, but once again there was no need to worry as it was a fab evening with lots of amazing food, good drink and laughter.
Saturday- we met up with sachiko and her husband who drove us to two sake shops and breweries. It was a beautiful day for a drive and we managed to pick up some good quality sake. It was fun to be with my friends again, and they were so kind to us too. At the end of the trip they pulled out lots of presents for the both of us. It felt a little uncomfortable as the gesture was soo huge, but I was extremely grateful. Next tom and I headed to the lake near awara. We had a good wander around it in the blazing sunshine. There were lots of people about, the most noticeable of which had a bike powered by their ass! It was so funny, but I reckon they have buns of steel! That evening was tom’s last in Fukui, so we decided to meet john and kim once again for a last taste of sushi! It was awesome as usual! We then went back to john and kims for a quick chill out, before heading home.

On Sunday tom and I were up at sparrows fart to get him on the trains back to Osaka. I couldn’t afford the trains there and back to Osaka and so I took tom as far as the train from fukui to Osaka and we bid each other a fond farewell. It was weird seeing him go- and in such a rushed way! We had an awesome week together and had experienced so much. I was really happy that he had got to see so many parts of japan, and he had met my friends too. It was fun watching someone experience Japanese culture and etiquette for the first time. I realised just how acclimatized I really am, how much Japanese I can use and understand, how difficult it can be to live here but how extremely lucky I am to have spent a year here. I have experienced so much. I have met fantastic people that I will miss terribly, but never forget. i spent the whole day feeling rather sad. Not only because I missed being with someone again, but because I realised that I will be leaving japan, work, my friends and my life in japan so soon.

Week 46

There is a lot to say about this week and the following but due to time I will try and be brief!

Monday- Tom’s b’day. After a refreshing sleep I had planned a hard core sight seeing day for us. We went to kinkakuji, honen in, nanzenji, kyomizu dera temple and we wondered around the gion area where we came across geisha and random little temples to explore. It was a sweltering day again which was nice at first but was quite draining, especially with my hard core walking tour! I had visited most of these places before except kyomizu dera which reminded me of Chinese architecture and decoration. Around this temple were heaps of cool little lanes lined with shops to look in. It was really cute and of course we took full advantage of the free samples in the sweet shops J
That evening, I had booked a meal for us in an area I had not really been to. It was at a kaiseki restaurant which is the traditional meal from Kyoto. It was at a riverside restaurant and we sat outside on a deck over the river, under the lanterns served by kimono clad women. It was a cool setting, and we got to try 10 different dishes! Although I have tried a lot of Japanese food, I still had no idea what some of it was. The tofu, ume and the sesame was amazing though. It was a once in a lifetime event. After that we wandered around the pontocho streets, amazed at the life and vibe exuding.

Tuesday- we checked out of the lavish surroundings and headed for our new accommodation- k’s. we then went for a trek up fushimi inari. One of my favorite places. It was good but very hot! We then had lunch in a restaurant near the hotel and later that evening we went for drinks in the city. We found a bar called Zappa which is named after David Bowie apparently visited. It was empty and it felt a bit odd going in, but it was fun to look around this tiny place and chat with the jerv. We then went to a bar that I have been to before and spent a good while chatting there.

Wednesday- we headed on a train over to Arishayama and Sagano. I had never been here, but it turned out to be a quiet and interesting place away from the city life. We saw a few random shrines, walked through an eerie bamboo grove and saw a beautiful gardens. After our exploration we headed back to the city to walk the streets in search of a 100yen sushi place. We found it after lots of walking, and ate lots of good sushi. We then looked in a few shops before returning to the hostel and having a quiet night in chatting to other travellers.

Thursday- we left Kyoto and headed to kobe. After walking in the rain, we found our hotel and left our bags. We then took another train to Himeji to see japan’s most famous castle. It was not as I expected, a lot newer and not as impressive after other thing I have seen, but still worth the trip I think. Unfortunately the rain hindered our ability to explore much, and so after climbing our way to the top of the castle we headed back to kobe. That evening we had fun in the city. It seemed really lively at night with a tonne of restaurants and bars. We surprisingly settled for a tiny Turkish restaurant where we were once again the only customers. But the Turkish guy who owned the place cooked us ammmazing Turkish food (humous, kebabs, feta salad..) but it was interesting to talk to him and find out about how he has found living in Japan. He had been in the country for years and had married and had children. After this lovely meal, we went and had a drink in a reggae bar. Tom was extremely excited about this prospect and I have to say the place was decked out pretty well! After bob Marley was dancing around in our heads we went to a mellow but groovy café near the hotel. It was a cool place and we met a guy whose daughter is one of the most famous Japanese tennis players, and he also use to play on the circuit. It was good chatting to him!

Friday- the rain had stopped thank goodness and so we explored kobe on foot. We went down to the port, to look at the earthquake memorial in a park and to see the habourland- where I broke my sodding camera. We walked through China town trying not to drool on the delicious Chinese delicacies, and chose to eat at a thai restaurant. We had a huggggge meal, which was actually pretty damn authentic and tasty. I was ready to burst afterwards and so we ended up going for a huge walk to look for a place we never found. But I like seeing random parts of cities, so I dodnt mind! It was then time to get the train back to Fukui to let Tom see my little Japanese life!

Saturday- up and dressed to go to the house of a lady from tea-ceremony. She was getting married for her traditional Shinto wedding and she had invited us to go see. I was really excited as I had no idea what to expect. Firstly we met Mayoumi who drove us there. Mayoumi looked stunning dressed in a light green kimono and with beautiful accessories. But I didn’t envy having 4 layers of clothing on in the stifling heat. The house was really big and new. It was empty like most Japanese houses-very few possessions or furniture. There were some very old ladies from the local neighbourhood all sitting in seiza in a room where they were watching the bride get ready. It is a really long process and two ladies had been employed to do hari, make up, dress and accessories. She was wearing quite a plain kimono but her fake hair and accessories were amazing. Apparently it had taken 3 hours to get her ready! She looked very nervous too, but so would I be if I had 7 old ladies watching me get ready like a reality tv show! Mayoumi told us that the wedding ceremony would take 2 hours and the bridge would get changed three times into different kimonos. A lot of hard work!
After chatting and taking photos we went outside with a crowd of Japanese people to see the bride off into her taxi- which had an opening roof to fit her hair in!! With great care due to the outfit, she bowed to everyone and went off in the car with her mother and her assistants. It was cool to see. Tom and I then went for coffee and then picked up some food to take to Tojimbo and have a picnic and a walk.

Later that evening we met JandK, Meagan and Andy in the local izakaya. It was cool for tom to meet my friends, and we had a fun evening. After food and drink, I drove us to Harue for karaoke. We spent 3 hrs singing our hearts out and having a generally good time. I do love karaoke!

Sunday- I went running and then we made a picnic lunch to take to Matsuoka park. We chilled out for the afternoon and left as the park closed at 5. next we met gallina in starbucks for a quick coffee, before going home for a well deserved quiet evening!