Selected quotes from Atheism for Lent 2018 study
8 years ago
Christmas was a few days ago now and I thought I should post a bit about how I spent the holidays and how I intend to spend the rest of them.
My holidays started on the 23rd. Well at least, that was a day off Lok had in the run up to Christmas. December 23rd is the Emperor's Birthday and is therefor a National Holiday here in Japan. We took the time to bake Sweet Potato cake's for Lok's Colleagues and have Shabu Shabu (a kind of hot pot dish that involves cooking very thin slices of meat in a pot of boiling stock for a very short amount of time). It worked out pretty well even though we are sure we prepared it wrong. Still it was a chance to eat a lot of meat, which we don't get to do often.
The next day it was back to work (well not for me) as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are just another holiday over here. In the evening though we were able to eat a few things we'd been missing. Treating ourselves to food stuffs that are more difficult to find over here such as mozzarella, cheddar cheese, balsamic vinegar and cured ham. I was surprised how much I missed cheddar cheese.
On Christmas Day, as luck would have it, there was a Christmas Party being held that I was invited to and Lok had to attend through work. It was mostly for the benefit of a group of children who all get help from a teacher we happen to know. So we ate some Japanese style Curry, played a few games (..badly), and there was cake (bonus). There was also a couple of children's stories that were read out during the party. What was interesting (to me) about these was the methods used. One was read out by someone wearing an apron. Using said apron and numerous felt figures in the pouch in order to tell a much more visual story. The other method was essentially an over sized picture book that had been placed into a wooden frame. This was made to look like a small scale theatre. I don't know why there things stuck me as interesting, I guess I just found it an interesting way to make things a bit more visual.
On boxing day I had to work. I had a lesson in the afternoon. Fortunately it went better than expected.
That brings us almost up to now. We are currently both on holiday for about 9 days (including weekends) and are planning to use the time to do some much needed cleaning. We have already done 2 rooms in the last 2 days. Its going to be a long hard job I think, the windows of this place are filthy and may not have seen a good clean in years. And the cupboards are full of junk. Hopefully we will be able to get out a bit as well but we are conserving money for a later holiday at the moment so we probably won't get far. Also its been very cold so hiding in a heated sitting room is much more tempting.
This isn't anything like any other Christmas I've ever had, but it hasn't bothered me very much which is good.
As the title suggests we haven't been up to much here in Japan this last few weeks. This is partly as we went to Tokyo a few weeks ago and are planning to go to Osaka and Okayama in a few weeks (with Mother in Law). So we don't really want to stray too far as transport is expensive. We have managed to get out to both Fukuchiyama and Omiya again though as they are both close by.
The trip to Fukuchiyama was mostly an excuse to eat donuts and KFC.... we had cravings. We also went to Fukuchiyama Castle which was nice, well it looked nice from the outside but it turned out to be little more than a small museum. This wouldn't have been a bad thing only it was Japanese language only so I couldn't actually read anything. We were able to get up to the top of the castle and take a few pictures of the surrounding (small) City.
These day trips have also been a chance to stock up on food and clothes for the cold season, which has started in earnest. Still no snow though which is surprising allot of the locals.
I've also managed to have a couple more English lessons, which is nice but I'm still unsure as to whether I'm finding enough of them yet.
.... Its now time for a small Movie Review....
We got round to renting "the Mummy 3" yesterday. It sucked. Big surprise really as we both figured it would. The script was terrible and contained some truly bad lines such as "the Yak Yakked" and another that I shan't mention out of context. The story was just a rehash of the first. The caste were mostly irritating. The special effects were over the top and mostly unnecessary. But worst of all (for me) was the action scenes. They just lacked any of the rawness that was so good in the first film. In the first "the Mummy" the fighting scenes staring Brendan Fraser arguably made the film. They were gritty battles that were less about style and more about hitting the guy harder and getting hit less. Flash forward again to "the Mummy 3" and you find that the inclusion of the Chinese characters has been used to try slot in more stylish fight scenes like you'd expect from Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. But it just seems tacked on, and if I wanted Kung Fu I'd watch a Chinese film.
It's a shame really as it wouldn't have been difficult for them to put out a bad film that at least got the action right. I could end by concluding that even though it had so many faults it was still an entertaining way to spend two hours (like I might conclude of Indy 4). But I can't. I'm glad I watched it, but it was painful to watch, and there are so many better bad movies to waste 2 hours on. Leave it on the shelf unless your a "the Mummy" fan that just doesn't care how badly it sucks.
.....
Well that enough for now. If I don't post again for a few weeks (I will try though) -
Merry Christmas (to those that celebrate it) and a Happy New Year to all.
I didn't expect to add another of these so soon, but I literally just saw this one and had to share it.
And.....
I couldn't resist putting up a youtube link to some odd Japanese adverts I have to put up with here. Some of them are charming, some of them are funny, some plain odd, and others just don't seem to make any sense. The following advert is one of the later. Its an advert for Processors (the ones that give computers the ability to number crunch).....
I think is time for another update on this blog thing again so here goes.
I think I have been up to two things of note since my last update - one was a trip to a restaurant to try out a local delicacy and the other was a trip to Tokyo to erm..... well it was more situational really.
Starting with the easy topic we went to Amanohashidate and had some Crab. It's a pretty famous thing to go eat around here and can be quite expensive as they are kinda tight with the fishing quota's for it. I don't feel like going into detail (as it was a few weeks ago now and I talk about food enough as it is) but I will say this. It was a bit much....
This picture doesn't show it well but essentially we were served grilled crab, crab stew, crab soup, crab custard like savoury dish, crab sashimi (raw crab (actually very nice)), there was also a few other non crab things and well..... I might have missed something. It all started very well with some simple grilled crab and sashimi but then it just got too much. I gave up before the end not so much because I was full but just because I couldn't face any more crab. And yet this kinda meal is a very popular treat here....
I don't really think it works, too much of a good thing, far too much. But it was good and an experience even though it was REALLY expensive.
Oddly the best thing about the short trip to Amanohashidate for crab wasn't the crab but was instead the walk afterwards. We walked across the "stairway to heaven" land bridge bit. It made for a very nice walk and I suspect we will do that again.
More recently (last week) we went to Tokyo as Lok had a conference there. This gave me a chance to wander around and well.... geek out a bit. First day I went to Ginza to see the Sony building again. It was nice.... lots of stuff I couldn't afford, some very thin TVs (OLED for those in the know), many MP3 players, blah. It was good and all but its just a giant Sony advert and they don't really disguise the fact. Also if you look at tech blogs enough there is nothing new to you (or me).
Wandering around Ginza a bit I stumbled across a very odd art museum. It was free, gave me tea, and I think it was trying to support some charity but there wasn't really anyone to explain it to me. What was perhaps the weirdest thing about it was the art. It was lots of pictures of Planets and Solar Systems using lots of colours. It looked very like Computer Generated stuff till you got up close and realised it was painted. This made it somewhat impressive but most of the pieces weren't really of interest to me. I did like the last one I saw but was unable to get a postcard or anything of it.... It kinda had a man (read tiny speck) on a mountain looking over a huge barren landscape with the moon in the sky and stuff. I'm not great at describing this kinda thing so I'll leave it there. But it was odd and a nice little find.
The next day I went to Tokyo National Museum where there was a very good exhibition on Sri Lanka's Buddhist civilisation from 500bc to present. I new nothing about it and left feeling I knew a little. So it was quite good, very bilingual, informative, with lots of pretty things to look at. It was a special exhibit but I'm glad I paid the extra to see it as the rest of the museum was just a collection of Japanese artifacts shown of more as individual art pieces then any kinda informative collaboration.
The second half of the day was spent at Akihabira. In like one gigantic store. For like 2 hours. Hehehehehe. It was filled to the brim with electronics and it was just so very nice to see everything in the one place. It could really make me get back into building computers and such though. Its odd but just having everything in the one place at a reasonable price makes things so much more tempting to buy then having to trawl through endless web stores just to get what you think your looking for. It was also nice because it also contained almost all the kinda items that you'd go to Akihabira for in one place which is much nicer to go around then the district itself. It didn't however contain the kinda manga that make Italians turn pale and stagger out of shops in shock saying "there's just so much.......". Just meeting that Italian was worth the trip.
My final day in Tokyo was a lot less productive. I looked around a couple of districts but never really found anything of interest or what I was looking for. Also got a fair bit of shopping done but don't think I got anything in the end.
On the way back to Yosano we stopped in Kyoto for a short while to see some of the Autumn leaves. This is another popular Japanese past time and shows a real appreciation for Nature's Beauty and for the Seasons in general.
I think that's a nice note to leave it and I'm fed up of typing too.
For more pictures look under the areas I have talked about.
I just cleared out the photos on my mobile and got round to loading them onto the web. They are mostly in the Random Pictures category at the moment so feel free take a look. Also, I thought I'd explain a few.
These were taken in Omiya, at a place called Kappa Sushi. Omiya is pretty close which pretty much makes this place our local Sushi bar (at least of the conveyor belt variety). I particularly like this place as its really cheap (about 60p a plate) and you don't need to eat too much raw fish (they do hamburger sushi). We've eaten there twice now, both times we have left a large tower of plates in our wake.
I keep saying that I make frequent use of the kitchen here, but the equipment leaves allot to be desired. The above item was actually purchased by us to right this wrong. Its a Portable Induction Cook top and heats with magnets don't you know. Its surprisingly efficient and really clean and easy to use. I can maintain a constant low heat for a risotto on it easier than I ever could on gas, though as its only portable I can't quite hit the high temp notes for a good stir fry on it. Either way I find I use it whenever I can. Our gas hob is held together with tin foil and occasionally burns yellow. I don't think its safe so try not to use it.
This mess currently passes as our sitting room. Of note is the table with a skirt in front of the sofa. Called a Kotatsu these tables are designed for warmth in the cold winter months. There is a heater underneath the table so along with the skirt it forms a warm cushion of air for you to park your legs under. As central heating isn't really available this contraption is often the next best thing. We are yet to turn on the heating element but have been using the skirt as its getting pretty cold of late.
It's been 2 weeks since my last blog update.......
..... Its not like I haven't been up to much, I just find it really hard to put the effort into post on this blog sometimes. Its easier when I do it right after an event I want to blog about but it's not always practical to do so. Either way I am now going to take some time to write a short update to let all of you that take the time to read my rambling know what I've been doing these last few weeks. I also figure its a pretty good time to give you all an update on the general situation. So here goes -
Last weekend on the Saturday we had a few Japanese people over (mostly housewives with an interest in obtaining a few hours of free English practice) for some Afternoon tea. We made some finger sandwiches, brewed up some fine English tea (Betty's Tea Room Blend don't you know), and I even got round to making a small Orkney Fudge Cheese Cake. It all went down very well (especially the latter) and our guest all brought there own treats to add to the party. Much fun and good eats were had.
The next day we went to a local festival that was being held a few streets away from our house. It generally consisted of a lot of stalls to buy street food and antiques, also there was a little parade.
This weekend just past we went to Kyoto for a few nights. I think it only served to make us poor and pine more for city life though. Its so nice being in a City with a reasonably sized town centre. With places to eat all kinds of food (including fish and chips) and endless amounts of shops. But also Kyoto just has so much more Character than some cities. Lots of old style buildings (which they are currently looking into protecting), temples by the dozen, and gorgeous gardens both Zen and normal. It really is a place where you can go to see the whole of Japan in a microcosm.
You might have noticed that mostly I talk about the weekends. This is essentially as I don't tend to get out much during the week. There's very little for me to do here other than grocery shop. Most of my days are spent watching allot of TV on my laptop (its a hard life). I get a little bit of housekeeping done occasionally alone with other odd jobs but that's about it. Of course I have been trying to learn Japanese. I think I'm getting somewhere with it, just not anywhere fast. I have started trying to learn Kanji though, with hopes of improving my vocabulary and you know... actually being able to read Japanese. Along with this I also have a personal side project I'm starting to work on a lot more now which is gaining momentum.
Lastly there is work. Well so far not much of it really. I am trying to get some work as a English Conversation teacher and so far the upkeep hasn't been great. Part of my problem is that if your free in the evenings there are free classes you can go to (run by my wife among others), so its tough to get people to pay for what they can get free. Still there have been a few takers and I have finally got my first paid lesson booked into my diary (I have been doing a few free classes to try drum up interest). Its not much really but I'm at least a little more hopeful now.
Well that about sums it up I think. Consider yourselves updated.
Yesterday we decided to take a trip to Amano Hashidate, one of Japan's top scenic views. Fortunately it is not very far from where we are so only was only a couple of stops once we got to the train station. Unfortunately I caught a flat, so had to walk half the way to the train station and all the way back till I could get it fixed..... anyways.
Amano Hashidate is essentially a natural land bridge that almost covers a coastal inlet. It's described in Japanese poems and literature as a "Stairway to Heaven". To see it in its full glory we took a chairlift up a hill to the view spot on the south side (it is viewable from the north as well but we felt that was bast left for another day). Looking at Amano Hashidate the right way isn't quite that simple. The correct way to view it is this your head between your legs, looking behind you. It's odd how many people took pleasure in prostrating themselves in this manor to view this famous site in the way it must be viewed.
I'm not sure I'm convinced that it looks like a stairway to heaven. I do think though, that upside down it looks more like one then the right way up. And if you were to have a few beers first, and fall and hit your head while attempting to look through your legs after those few beers. Eventually it could end up looking very like a "Stairway to Heaven" I suppose.
PS - Pictures can be found on the left.
Japanese mayo sucks. Or at least, I don't like it so much. Its okay, but pretty heavy handed on the mustard and vinegar. This created a problem as I can't find Hellman's here. So yesterday at the 100yen shop I armed myself with a squidgy bottle and resolved to make my own mayo. (To truly understand that piece of equipment you need to be an avid Good Eats fan (but if you type good eats mayo clinic into you tube you'll get the idea)).
And today, mayonnaise was made. It was odd starting off, as making mayonnaise is a somewhat frightening prospect, and I was kinda scared - about cooking.... odd. But after a long while and some laborious whisking I did actually succeed. It even tasted okay after a few alterations. Beats Japanese mayo anyway. I think I will try it again though with a few ingredient changes in order to obtain a more subtle flavour. For one thing the vinegar I used was a little harsh, so it's all citrus next time.
I shall leave you with a picture of my labours (like a proud father or something).
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Today was a good day. We decided to go to Fukuchiyama (a nearby City) for a change of scenery. Fortunately we found out that there was a direct bus there we could catch. It took about an hour and cost about £5 one way but in Japan where we are that's a pretty good deal.
When we got there Lok-Yin instantly went off to Book Off (a kinda chain second hand manga store which also deals in CDs/DVDs/ and Video Games). It was here that we bought the first of the days sizable haul - various manga. I am still surprised by how cheap the stuff is here, today I saw the first 40 volumes of Detective Conan (a popular manga based on Sherlock Homes) selling for just 2000 yen (maybe £10)!
After Book-Off we made our way to Mr Donut and had some Donuts. They were very nice and filled the time that we had to wait for our next bus well. The next bus was free and took us to a Department Store called Jusco that lies on a man made plateau in the hills in the outskirts of Fukuchiyama. We both bought a few things, mostly from a 100yen store and we ate some Donburi (stuff on rice) for lunch. I may reveal what I bought later in the week but it depends on how well things turn out.
Finally we headed back into the town centre for a bit more shopping, and to catch the bus home. We were many bags heavier then when we left. The positive note to this though, oddly, is that we now think we have found the place nearby that will satisfy light to medium shopping. It doesn't take an age to get to, or cost a bomb, and there's always Osaka if we need something really hard to find. Also, irritatingly, I didn't manage to get to go to Fukuchiyama Castle this time round. But there is still time I think.
No photos today....... except the newly added album link at the side. Fear the 2mp Camera of my Ketai (mobile).
I had hoped to put up some photos today that I have been slowly accumulating onto the camera on my mobile phone. Unfortunately it turns out that this will not be happening any more (at least not today). This is not because I failed to get a memory card this week, as I purchased one on Sunday at Will. It is also not because of any troubles I have had getting the memory card to work with my phone or my computer. It is in fact because I managed to delete all the photos that I moved onto the card by pressing an option on my phone that did not in anyway look like it would delete everything on the memory card. I am somewhat annoyed by this. Fortunately few of the photos I did take looked very good anyway, and while there were a couple probably worth saving Lok Yin also has similar photos on her camera. I should be able to make them available sometime soon.
(Insert Expletive Here)
Anyway..... I'll try not do that again, and attempt to take new and better pictures in the future.
On Sunday past much happened that was amusing, painful and tiring. The day started with Lok and I getting up to get ready to go to some Kimono trying on thing that she had agreed to go to. We were out by quarter to ten where we met the only other JET going (Kim from Miyazu) and got driven the short drive to the place where the event was to be held and stuff... happened.
It turned out that we were to meet with the Owner of a Kimono factory at his house and factory. We were taken to look around the factory at first, where we were shown much weaving equipment . His wife even demonstrated how some of the machines worked. If you've ever been taken around industrial revolution textile factories then you pretty much know what was there, except that these machine were for Kimono's so were somewhat more complex. It was okay I guess...... but I can only get so worked up about clothes.
After this we went into the main house and sat in the lounge (western style) to drink green tea and talk a bit. Lunch was soon laid out and consisted of tempura and sushi. It was pretty good stuff, pretty high quality Japanese food I think. In truth it wasn't really till we got shown around a few rooms of the house, got fed the fine food, and shown the Kimono worth £500,000 that I realised our host was kinda wealthy.
After a leisurely lunch it was Kimono time. To my surprise they were able to find me a male version, that after some confusion, I put on (well actually I stood there getting it put on me). It was a little short (and I later worked out that it belonged to the host) but it was a nice shade of green I guess. After a while we were all Kimono'd up and there were many pictures next to the previously mentioned expensive kimono.
Then to my dismay there was flower arranging......I perhaps could have covered up my general distaste for being forced to cooperate in this activity slightly better. But I have only so much tact and it isn't nearly enough to survive in polite Japanese society I fear.
Finally, out of the blue, we entered into a Japanese tea ceremony. It was a bit of a shock as it wasn't what we were expecting. All in all it pretty rounded out the holy trinity of traditional Japanese activities. Such a shame that like the previous activity things did not go so well. See.... I had to sit down, on a tatami mat, Japanese style. It wasn't pretty. I can't sit that way, legs tucked under, sitting on your feet. It wasn't working. They tried to wedge pillows in to ease things and I managed to get to a state where i could kinda sit. I was, however, in excruciating pain the entire time (even when my feet got kinda numb). Through this I was told to do this, and that, in broken English and poor translations. Much of it required me to bow and lean forward. Each maneuver sent more cascades of pain over me. Leaning forward to drink my tea caused so much anguish that I drank at a rate that made people think I didn't like it. I had heard a lot of things about the super bitter green tea of tea ceremonies. I'm not really sure what the fuss was all about, its not a bad cuppa but it did taste a little of vegetation. All of these problems paled into insignificance though when I remember what happened when I was told I could stand up again. It was really REALLY embarrassing, when, aided by my wife, I managed to fall upward (I can think of no better way of describing it). My feet really hated me after that little escapade.
Fortunately that was the last activity of the event and we were soon off home. In retrospect I did really enjoy most of it (the food and experiences) but it was so much to take in I am afraid my very confused demeanor most of the time made me look less that enthusiastic about the whole thing. And in Japan its all about looking enthusiastic even if you aren't. Again with the requiring more experience in Japanese Etiquette (that is if they ever let me try again).
It was about 4 in the afternoon and we still had to head off the the local DVD rental place to give back a copy of A Beautiful Mind (incidental quite a good film), and do some food shopping for the next few days. The weather wasn't that great though and when we arrived (after a 20 minute bike ride) the heavens opened. It didn't stop after we'd done all our shopping, and it was getting dark. We waited as long as we could but eventually we had to head out into the pouring rain to cycle home, not a waterproof in sight. And we did make it, were soaked to the bone, but we made it. It was fun though, there is something primal about getting that wet in the rain. It helps when it's not cold of course and you can have a nice hot shower when you're home.
PS. I have changed the comments laws and regulations of this blog to allow any Tom, Dick, or Harry to post on this blog. No User ID or google account required. Thus no excuse for not commenting (though thanks for those who braved the system in order to post). If I get any problems I might rethink the idea but I doubt I'll see much comment spam.
PPS. I realise there have not been many photo's uploaded yet. I have resolved to get a SD card this weekend that should solve the issue. So come rain or shine I should have an Album link with some pics up by next week. Thanks for bearing with this long post. But Sunday was a very long day.
Exactly two weeks in to me living in the small district of Kaya in the small town of Yosano I decided to run off to the City. Well, there is only so much to do here....
The City was Maizuru and it lies about half way up the western coastline of Japan. Its not really a very big City but with two department stores and a cinema and only a 1 hour train ride away it's one of the most convenient Cities to escape to. We got up at 7 on Saturday morning, were
out the house for the 8.10 bus to the station and then got the 8.34 train to West Maizuru. There we had donuts (that were light and tasty and not too sweet) and wandered around a nice little park that used to be a castle. After a bit more public transport we worked our way through both the aforementioned department stores, bought a small kettle, and headed home. We are quite happy with the kettle as it was small, cheap, and well we didn't have one. There was some confusion as the shop assistant tried to explain that it can only boil water once, but we managed to convince her that we knew what a kettle was in the end. They have water heaters here like you might get in a coffee house in the UK. They use too much hot water at home for tea and stuff so find them more convenient than a kettle. We disagree.
On Sunday there was cake.
This Wednesday Lok and I went to a Introductory meal for the Yosano Town JETS held by the Board of Education. It was pretty well attended with maybe 5 tables each with 40 people each and was in the Youth Hostel at Nodagawa (which was incidental not like any youth hostel I'd ever been to....). We sat at the centre table with the rest of the Jets, the Chairman of the BoE, and a couple of others (whose names and positions elude me). It was basically a meal, buffet style, it was very nice and a good time was had by all.
Some highlights (or low lights) were-
- Having to do a very short introduction speech (a few lines really). I chose to do this in Japanese so it was a bit tough but my effort was well received.
- It was my first chance to get us to the Japanese way of drinking. Essentially you should never have an empty glass, but you should never have to fill your own. So there seemed to be a lot of making sure the people near you had enough beer/ ice tea in their glass. Its an odd thing to have to be conscious of. Also as I like to have a bit more control over how much I drink (alcohol wise) its a bit hard to keep count of how many glasses you've had as its never actually empty. You kinda have to drink slooooowlllllly.
- There were a lot of Japanese coming over to practice there English on me and such. Which was good, many of them were quite capable. But I don't take to being one of the centres of attention well.
- They sang the town song. They have a town song. They even wrote it out in phonetics so that we could sing along.
So yeah, Wednesday night was a good night. Crazy, but in a good way I think.
Technically I only got as far as my first full day in Japan in my last post so here's some more of what I've been up to.
During Monday to Friday I didn't really get up to much. I shopped (for food mostly) and wandered around the area a little more and did a little bit of cycling (to WILL (a small conglomeration of shops about 20 minutes walk away (I'd call it a mall only well.... its tiny really))). Also I pottered around the house trying to clear up a little and just generally settle into the place. Did some cooking too but generally nothing of particular note occurred.
On Saturday Lok and I hired a bike (the house only came with one) and the 2 of us cycled off to Nodagawa. Its well....technically its a district of Yosano town. Yosano town is made up of 3 districts - Iwataki, Nodagawa, and Kaya - and as I've mentioned we live in the Kaya part. These districts all used to be separate towns but Admin decided it be cheaper to join them together and in truth after cycling to Nodagawa I couldn't tell where one place stopped and the next started. I did confirm though that there is not very much to do in any of them. But I think with some perseverance some interesting spots could be found and if nothing else there is a train station in Nodagawa (plans to escape are already forming). Whilst
cycling to Nodagawa we came across a Ramen Restaurant (Noodle Broth type thing). It looked pretty crummy but the Ramen was very nice, will go there again I'm sure.
Sunday included another trip to Will, this time to a nearby Cafe. We ate some lunch and read for a bit before shopping (again for food mostly). I ended up having to carry a 10kg bag of rice home, suffice to say I'll be cycling next time we need rice.
That's pretty much the first week and I'm now well into the second. I'll leave you with a poor quality photo of my current place of residence. Hopefully I'll be taking more photos of better quality as soon as I work out how.
I've been in Japan just over a week now and well... I haven't really posted much. I've meant to, but I haven't really felt I have been up to much.
On the Sunday after I arrived Lok and I wandered around the local area so that she could show me the sites..... or site, really. Kaya is not a large place by any stretch. It has a couple of bakerys, a book store, 2 supermarkets (small) and a restaurant or two. There is other stuff but well... its not what I'm used to. In fact, there has been alot of that lately. Things here are just a long way out of my comfort zone so it's taking me a bit of time to get settled. I think I'm getting there but it could be a long and winding road.
Things are not helped by our current accommodation. It's a old 2 storey house. Many bugs, one air conditioner and a kitchen that lacks any of the appliances I'm used to. Except maybe a fridge and rice cooker. We don't even have a real kettle, and the hobs are so inefficient that heating water can be a bit like waiting for paint to dry. I have been making an effort to cook though, stir frys mostly. The oven just happens to be a microwave/ oven so well..... its not very big. Its gonna take some getting used to.
Well, that's enough rambling for now. I might try write more in a day or two, I think I have more to say than I thought. Whether its interesting though is not for me to judge....
I have successfully made my way to Japan without too much upset at all really.
From Edinburgh I made my uneventful way to London on a 10.35 flight, checked out my bag's, switched terminal, and checked in for a flight to Osaka. None of this was very interesting but it all went smoothly. I didn't have to wait a long time in security or anything. After waiting a few hours in London I got on the 12 hour flight to Osaka at around 16.35. Suffice to say the flight was long, boring, and yet again I didn't get any sleep. I did get the chance to watch a couple of in flight movies and sample the JAL (Japanese Airline) entertainment system. Which was pretty impressive. Everyone has a their own screen in the seat in front of them and a controller with which to watch films, play games (of which there were many), listen to music, and a few other things that I forget. It realy was a pretty empressive setup but.... well.... its a 12 hour flight so theres only so much you can do to ease that level of pain.
The flight touched down in Osaka Kansai airport and my day began (it now being 1pm local time). Lok-Yin arranged for my main bag to be sent to her work, got us both on a train to Osaka. We went to Den Den town (osaka's electronics district) briefly. By this point Jonathan had left and was but a mindless automaton being led around. A few other tasks were accumplished before taking the 5.30 bus to Kaya. Which took about 2 and a half hours. Shortly after finding my place of residence for the next year or so I showered. Realised that I was human again. And collapsed into an unconcious heap.
I hate long haul flights.
I have been having some trouble coming up with a suitable first post for this blog and the reason for this is because every time I start writing I end up with a pile of "self indulgent drivel". I think this occurs too much with blogs, people write stuff not because anyone wants to read it but because the just want to say it. Unfortunately I have come to realise that "self indulgent drivel" is inevitable. Thus in order to try reduce its amounts on my own blog I am going to try keep on point most of the time (I fully expect to get on my soap box occassionally but I'll try keep it to a minimum).
This brings me nicely to the point of this blog. Well, for those of you who don't know me, I am going to go to the town of Kaya (Japan) to live for a while. I'll be posting any news and experiences of this significant life change on this blog. Not for me, but for my friends, family, and anyone else who is interested. In short, its easier than group emails.
For now though I don't have much else to say. I'm heading out in just under 2 weeks now and preperations are going at a slow and steady pace. With any luck my next post will be made from Japan.
Till then....
Juanito
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