Hectic...

A lot has happened. A lot has been happening. A lot is happening and a lot will happen soon.

My dad arrived last Tuesday, and seems to be really enjoying his time in Japan so far. Last week he took the first couple of days of his stay to settle in to Japan, after suffering surprisingly little (if any) jey-lag. Since then I have tried to cram as much Japanese culture (traditional and popular) into his time here as possible. We have eaten at Mossburger, many an izakaya. a Yaki Niku Restaurant, the famous okanomiyaki building in Hiroshima as well as sashimi, yaki tori and any number of different Japanese snacks. At the minute he is in Yokohama or Tokyo,.

On Sunday we went to Hiroshima, witch was, of course, a very harrowing experience. However, away from the peace gardens and an excellent museum, here is plenty to be enjoyed in the city. We visited the island of Miyajima, famous for a floating tori gate (entrance to a shrine) as well as boasting some beautiful gardens and otgher Japanese architecture such as pagodas and temples. We also went to Hiroshima Castle .

On Tuesday, after returning from Hiroshima on the Monday night, we went into Nagoya to eat, and then watch a baseba;; game (my 2nd and my dad's 1st). It was really entertaining- and the home team won, so the atmosphere was really good.

Next...off to Kyoto on Saturday before 5 of my frioends arrive on Sunday. Looks like I will be a tour guide for the next few weeks or so!

I was moved.

I have a new apartment.

Actually, it's in the same rather old apartment building, but this particular flat has been uninhabited for some time, and industrially cleaned it would seem, so it feels new. I thing that, chiefly because of this, it is a nicer apartment. It also feels more 'mine', which is annoying since I will be leaving in 12 weeks or so. Still, it will be nice for the new teacher to move in to a spotless flat rather than one that had been lived in for 3 years. They also won't have to live next door to the pillock who is now safely 3 or 4 doors away. Huzzah!

Anyhoo, I was going to move on Monday, but it was raining pretty hard so I only mover the bigger items (I got by with a little help from my friends). I then went out for a quiet meal with my coworker and a friend from Nagoya. We went to my favourite curry restaurant in Nagoya- and it was delicious. The evening was so enjoyable, in fact, that after a couple of beers in the big city, my coworker and I decided to catch last orders at our local, at wt which point we met 2 Australians (who were realy sound) and subsequently decided to catch last orders at a bar in Yanagase (an undercover shopping/entertainment district that has seen better days.) Las orders were at about 5.30am We then grabbed a pizza and jumped in a cab home. It was muchos fun.

Although...maybe not as fun as the night before.

Spring time in Japan is the time when the nation goes crazy for sakura or Cherry Blossoms. Every year, the people of Japan meet under the trees and have drinking parties all day and all night. Unfortunately, I work on Sundays so I was unable to catch the daytime events (which looked and sounded amazing when I saw the photos and heard the stories.) However, in true party spirit, my friends joined a japanese party on the banks of the river, and I was able to join them under the trees with a 6 pack of cheap beer in tow to keep me going. There were DJs spinning, there was dancingm, there were sakura trees and a great mix of people having a good time. I was so glad I got to sample the joys of hanami (Cherry Blossom party).

We then went to a temporary bar in the style of an open air tent to allow maximum blossom viewing, and stayed there till the wee small hours. We ended up joining a pleasant Japanese family for some drinking games, and somewhere along the line one of the Japanese party decided to get completely naked and do a little dance. Which was nice. When we asked what they did for a living, we were a little taken aback by their answer of Yakuza, or Japanese Mafia. The mafia is tolerated over here, but widely disliked. That said, they were god enough company for the couple of hours we were in their presence.

So...now I am bak in the cafe and ready for work again tomorrow. I don't want to go! Wednesdays are tough. But, my dad will be here in a week or so, so there is plenty to look forward to. So...off to my new flat.

Times they are a-changing

A lot has happened since my last post. Perhaps not least significantly I have entered the last 12 weeks of my Japan time. It's a little scary, but I think I am ready, and I have a good idea of what I am going to (try to) do when I get back to the UK.

Out here, I can count my very close friends on one hand. It used to be two, but on Tuesday I took Rachel to the airport and we said our farewells. This is the kind of time you are pleased to have such close friends to help you out. They were great :)

That wasn`t the only bad news last week. I also moved apartments (or more accurately, am in the process of moving- to be completed by Tuesday). Long story short, the guy next door didn't want me next to him any more than I want him next to me, so I am moving 2 doors down. It`s also 8,000yen per month cheaper, so there really is no reason not to.

From here on in, it's the home straight. My dad's coming soon, and before he leaves my friends arrive, so the days are going to fly by. I am glad in many ways- there is a lot to go home for, and I am looking forward to it.

This week was fun. Rachel and I spent her final 8 days together, which worked out really well. We had friends round for a Monopoly party, visited a few bars and ate a fair amount of food (including the best sushi I have ever tasted. It was still moving!!).

Tuesday was airport day. Having said our good byes, I set off back home. A couple of tiny old ladies got on the train so naturally (being a hero and everything) I gave up my seat and helped them stow their luggage overhead. When a seat next to them became free, I had a chat with them (in my best pigeon Japanese, which amounts to some adjectives). It turned out they were on their way to climb Kinka- the mountain in Gifu. They had already been up Fuji and various oter mountains around the world. I started to think that they should have given their seat up for me, but I didn't say anything. They gave me some omigiri (rice ball) whih was absolutely foul, but I had to eat it all to be polite. What a crappy day! I njoyed talking to them though.

Since then I have slept and booked a hotelin Hiroshima for my dad and me.