New Year.

Wow. I guess January's nearly over. It's really flown by, which is a little odd because I've had a relatively quiet month all in all.

It tooka while to get backinto the flow of going to work every day after such a great holiday, but I am pretty much back in the swing now. Having said that, I am off again in a week or so, spending just over a weekin Thailand with Rachel. I can't wait-it's been a busy month work wise.

LAst night was open mic night at the local bar, which was great. I triedmy hand at singing a song in Japanese, called 'I Wanna Be a Popstar.' All in allit was really successful- although I am sure that some of my pronunciation was off the mark.

Last week we visited Osaka, which is a really lively city. We didn't do any sightseeing specifically, just had some okonomiyaki and takoyaki- an omelet-like dish and octopus respectively. I really like Osakan food!

We spent the night in a 'LoveHotel,' which is something that could only reallyexist in Japan. It's a place designed entirely for the secretive pursuit of trysts. In actuality, they are reasonably priced themed rooms. Our room had a huge bed, a huge bath, about 40 radio stations and even a bed in the shower. Which was nice.

One week to Thaland...

And so that was Christmas...

And it was a lot of fun too. An awful lot of fun, to be honest.

It definitely ranks as the strangest christmas I have ever had- which was always going to be the case when so far from home. I really missed being back at home with the traditional family christmas that has been a part f my Decembers since I was born, but even so, I managed to make the most of Christmas in Japan.

I travelled to Tokyo on Christmas eve after finishing work at 8pm. Some shinkansen delays meant that I only just made it to my girlfriends place before the last train from town, but that worked out fine in the end (except that it was Christmas day by the time we met, rather than the intended Christmas eve, but what the hey.).

On Christmas day I spent a lovely afternoon at my cousin's apartment with his family- including 2 month old Kai - and my other cousins as well as my aunt and uncle. We had chicken, roast potatos, stuffing, sprouts and (rather surprisingly) mushy peas. It was some feat to prepare this with only a small Japanese over on hand, as well as a couple of hobs, but everything came out well. We also had Christmas pudding, which was a real treat.

After saying our goodbyes, Rachel and I went off to a party with some of her teaching colleagues, which was a lot of fun. I spent a lot of time playing janken (scissor paper stone) with one of the landlord's children, but like I said- this was never going to be a normal christmas. After drinking, eating and finishing a thrilling game of jenga, we headed back tot he flat for an early(ish) night.

Boxing day was traveling day- off to Seoul in S. Korea. It was freezing. Abso-bloody-lutely bloddy freezing. But...well worth the trip. It's such a dramatically different place to Japan- much more rowdy and, I think, easy going in many ways. There's all manner of weird and wonderful foods available around and on every street corner, so I sampled my fare share of strange looking meats, tempura octopus and curry. It's no place for a vegetarian.

We also went to see The Chronicles of Narnia, which was a refreshing change. It's only my 4th trip to the cinema in 6 months, so I had a good time- even if the films a bit unbelievable. Yes...I know it's supposed to be. As if the temperature of Seoul wasn't cold enough, we also took a trip up to the demilitarised zone between North Korea and South Korea, which was really fascinating. The highlight was a trip into a tunnel dug by the North Koreand in the 1970s, which they argued was a coal mine. This would be fine if there was any real amount of coal to be mined, and if the tunnel hadn't headed due south and had it's entrance hidden behind a small hill. It was also just big enough to allow a full platoon of soldiers with weapons to sweep through it.

Seoul also has some beautiful palaces, which we also visited.

After Korea, we returned to Tokyo for New Year, which was spent with some friends of mine who were also in the area. We drank the night away in an Irish pub and sang some karaoke before heading home in the small hours. Nothing spectacular, but nonetheless enjoyable.

ANd now? Back at work- ho hum. But Rachel and I are off to Thailand on the 6th of February, so that's something to look forward to. Happy New Year to anyone who reads this, I will try and update it as much as possible.

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