Alex and Steve do Japan

I will admit I was a little nervous about Alex and Steve's trip to Japan. 

Firstly, Alex's older sister Samantha visited the country a year beforehand and had made a big deal about the amazing time she'd had to Alex. Expectations were high. I needed to deliver. 

And so, based on a combination of Samantha's "must-do" list, and my own recommendations, I created a very detailed (11+ pages) plan. And yes, I did get rather carried away.

In my defense, this was the first time a close friend has come to visit and I had over 4 years of experience and recommendations to get off my chest.

The second source of my nervousness was that despite my long hours of planning, finding accommodation, looking into rooms, prices, logistics, etc. Steve seemed to ignore a lot of what I had written (well, it was an essay) and starting booking some off-piste places that did not fit into the plan. On one occasion I had to call him up and convince him to cancel an airbnb musical cult house he had booked on the coast of Shizuoka the same night I had already booked a ryokan for us at Lake Yamanakako in Yamanashi. "They look close-ish on a map, can't we just stay there the following night". Umm, unless you're happy to travel for 7 straight hours, then no. Come on Stebu (my personal nickname for him), Hasn't the logic of always consulting Google for the feasibility of travel times and journeys ingrained itself into modern life yet? Although, I will admit, that I messed up a bit in this respect with some of the planning for my later trip to Shikoku I took with Mel and Tom, so I don't want to be too much of a hypocrite. 

Anyway- after they had finally booked all their accommodation - and I will give Steve some credit, after he was convinced to stay in a certain area, he was very good at finding accommodation and filling in the rest of the gaps - the stressful part was over, they arrived, and I could finally relax and have fun. And fun we had.

Some of the stuff we did:

Yamanakako, Yamanashi: All-day-hiking - no-one around, perfect view of Mount Fuji beaming over the lake. We followed a hiking path I found online (no English) and it took us a while to find the starting point (at which point I was getting a little stressed that maybe we wouldn't be able to), but did, and hiked over a range of 3 mountains over the course of around 4 hours (start to end) and finished with a relaxing onsen and ryokan experience in the evening. It was a pretty perfect day.

Tokyo

Steve and Alex spent a lot of time shopping. Matt couldn't get over how much Alex dresses like a Japanese woman. Proof:

 They were very lucky with their timing in Japan because the cherry blossom was in full bloom and everything looked beautiful. We met up with Joe and walked alongside the river in Nakameguro, enjoying the sakura matsuri:

Unfortunately the view of the cherry blossom canopying over the river is blocked by these three foreigners.

I also took them to Shimokitazawa to try on loads of vintage stuff, and I took them to my favourite restaurant there: Madoshi, the avocado restaurant - my memory tells me they like it, but I don't remember. Those avocado dishes with their soft green texture and perfect tasting sauces conquer my memories - who I was with and what we talked about becomes a muted background to the food. 

We also strolled through Daikanyama and went to the fancy cafe upstairs in Tsutaya for a glass of whisky:

On the last day, we walked around Asakusa and then took a boat down to Odaiba. We stopped off at Sumida park (which embarrassingly I had never even heard of), which I found to be a perfect example of a Japanese garden - of which Steve was captured by - with its perfectly tended greenery, no leaf out of place, wooden footbridges arched over ponds and Japanese tea houses dotted around. I don't think this picture I took captures this well, but it's all I can find for now:

x

We ended the trip at Odaiba Onsen Monogatari. What can only be described as an onsen theme park. It was awesome:

Outdoor footspa

pondering

Look at us in our matching outifts

deciding on where to get food, and looking like a bossss

In the end, they had a good time and that makes me happy :-)

fukuoka nights

Hi we're here in Fukuoka and I had this nostalgic whiff of how important memories and stories are and remembered that when I write about things here at the time it actually happens then I remember it way way better in the long term, and it actually becomes a part of my extended life experience and slots into my rack of memories and not just a throw-away occasion.

This is because we met with Kyle tonight and he's a beautiful hilarious man. We reminisced and went over so many good times, and things that have happened. I wish my time in Ibaraki had overlapped with his more but it didn't.

Matt's keyboard is driving me nuts.

 We were only here for a day and a half - but I get it. Fukuoka is awesome - the food is the shit and the place is chill to it. It has a beach, what more could you want really?. Matome, since we found a place selling Blue Seal, it pretty much includes everything I like in Japan. Well done sir. I really hope I don't spend my whole time back in the UK complaining about how much better things are here in Japan.
 You get one life... and that overwhelms me with indecisiveness, and then I can't make a decision with anything and ultimately choose nothing and get left with blankness and a lack of direction. I want to keep studying Japanese. I want to keep reading it and I want to do a Phd. In what subject - what the hell does it matter? The more irrelevant to a real job, the better I say!

We had an awesome day and I don't want this part of my life to be over - but at the same time, its the short-term-ness that makes it special - knowing things are about to drastically change and that we're about to start a completely different life in a new place which gives it an elevated sense of special.

I caught a small baby turtle at a matsuri about 4 summers ago. I learnt tonight that it has been passed along through various ALT's in Ibaraki. I couldn't believe Kyle knew about it, but had no idea I was the person who had originally won the thing at a martsuri market. I wonder what its called and who is looking after it.

I forgot. I had almost completely forgotten. It's great when you remember these things. 

Here's something new:
 

Wedding suprise!

We invited our friends to Yoyogi park to have a picnic engagement party. There we surprised them, by throwing the actual wedding ceremony. We had gotten married in the city hall at Bunkyo the day before.

We were incredibly lucky as the cherry blossom in Yoyogi park was popping on the day of the wedding, and the atmosphere was wonderful. Some of my friends are annoyed that we made it a surprise, because they missed the event, but I didn't want people to dress up - I wanted it to be easy going and it was perfect. It was spontaneous, clumsy, alive and unique. I was lucky enough to have two of my cousins there. Jason came down from Sendai for the occasion, and my cousin Suzannah happened to be in Tokyo on holiday. She really made the day special and was a complete delight to see. Not to mention she brought some delicious champagne which put me in the perfect celebratory mood.

The ceremony was hosted by Josh and Chris, with a lot of help from Ayumi, JJ and Joelle. I had written out a script for them, and it ran more-or-less smoothly. The event was filmed on Facebook live so Matt's family could see it in Brazil, with our Portuguese friend Hugo translating live. This meant I have been able to watch back over the video, and it makes me cry every time.

After the ceremony, we partied in the park, we kept drinking and had loads of fun.

It was a stressful few days leading up to the wedding. My family had decided to fly over for the occasion, well, my parents and Joe - because Chez had to work. Luckily I had finished my job a week beforehand, so there was a little less pressure for time. It was all a bit intense as my brother hadn't actually met Matt before, so was feeling skeptical of the quick decision. Needless to say, he didn't give Matt the easiest time - but in the end I think they were able to see eye to eye.

My brother ended up sticking around Japan for 3 weeks, so I think he was able to get to know Matt a little better, I am hoping he feels happier about the situation. I am really looking forward to moving back, so that my family and friends can get to know Matt, it's been a really important factor for me.

I feel really good about it though. Marrying Matt has made me feel like the part of my life where I was focused on searching for love is finally over, and now I can devote myself to other things, with the security and happiness of a stable and wonderful relationship. Spending my late-teenage years and my early twenties thinking about boys and dating, and wondering if I'll ever find the one was a fun time, but I was way too consumed with it. I'd like my life to be more than that. I think I was able to marry Matt quite fast, because after all that time focused on pursuing love, I knew exactly what I was looking for, and could recognize it on a deep level. I was lucky enough to find it.

I love Matt so much, and I love spending every day with him laughing, learning and overcoming the challenges of life. We've now been married two months, and I'm slowly getting used to having him as my husband. It's an all-round beautiful thing.

Karaoke after-party

So far

This year so far...

I will say that since leaving my job, I've never been so busy.

Got engaged.
Work leaving party.
Apply for fellowship
Quit job.
Fellowship application refusal.
Got married.
Family here.
Exceptional talent visa application.
Throw dinner party.
Niijima.
Moving out.
Preparing for N2.
Selling everything.
Sorting through everything.
Friends visit.
More friends visit.
Booking flights to London.
Booking flights to Atlanta.
Making post cards to send to friends.
Falling into YouTube holes.
Dodgeball tournament.
Organise trip to Shikoku.
Hula hooping.
Sending postcards.
Getting the visa.
Submitting passport.
Immigration office.
Sony VIP headquarters tour.
Arrange temporary accommodation at friends.

... we're somehow pulling it off. Stay tuned.

Stamps

Today i got an allergic reaction from licking 7 stamps.

My neck, chest and arms went red and were covered in tiny bumps. Itchy ouchy.

There was also an incident with some flies on the balcony. I won't go into it... but let's just say I had to be a hero.

Matt infiltrated the book I'm reading. He offered to read me my book to help me sleep one night ... he got into it, and now I'm not allowed to continue reading it unless he's there. The book is Tokyo Vice.

I'm on a train and this sleeping guy next to me is way too close.

Leaving my job and thinking about the future

My last day of work was March 16th.

I honestly don't enjoy going around and saying goodbye to people - it feels so serious and official. The good part was that getting married and moving back to the UK with Matt was a very legit (and honest) reason to quit, so I had a happy, well-honoured goodbye.
Nothing cringey and awkward like when everyone knows you're leaving because you hate it there and want to see them all burn in hell.

I had a lot of free time in my last few weeks at work. After I told my boss I would be leaving in January, he stopped assigning me much work, so I had a lot of time to ponder.

I am still (and probably always will be) somewhat lost and unsure of what to do with myself. I realized that so much of my twenties has been spent thinking about boys and my friends, and going out, listening to music and having fun. Now finally, I have at least my social and love lives figured out, and really need to focus more on developing some skills I can be proud of, and finding a career path to follow. It's a little embarrassing that I'm so behind on that front, certainly taking a (what will be) 5-year long "gap year/life" in Japan hasn't helped - but hey, I've definitely had enough great experiences here to know it wasn't a total waste of time.

The daunting thing is that many of my friends and family members who were in the same life-confusion boat as me when I left Japan, have really figured things out over the last few years. I am proud and excited for them - but I really do feel that I lack the "passion project" to push me into my own.

Trying to understand what I'm passionate about and what I should focus my energy on, remains one of my hardest challenges. I envy those who know their "thing" - I wish I knew mine.

Taiwan snap snaps part X

More Taiwan:

We found a farmers market in Taipei

Nice night market

That place which inspired Spirited Away

That town were people send lanterns into the sky. Seems cool but careless

When Matt burnt his entire mouth from a sausage on a stick

Ok, so apparently if you write NY people think 'New York', I was supposed to write NYE

Hung over dimsum

NYE celebrations 2018 at Taipei 101 - we had a sweet spot!

Matt preparing for his backup career as a miner