Goodbye Japan!

My last few weeks in Japan have been hectic - perhaps a good thing to stop me becoming sad about all the good places and people I have had to say goodbye to. The first stage of my farewell period started with a trip by Clara and I to Shimogo Town, in Minami Aizu. We both wanted to visit the area and catch up with people from the past. A hire car gave us a good degree of freedom to move around and act like tourists. We did all the main Shimogo sights - Ouchijuku, Tonnohetsuri, Kannonuma.

Ouchijuku, Shimogo

We stayed in a hotel at the well known Ashinomaki onsen the first night and at a familiar guest house in Shimogo the second night. Whilst Clara was meeting old friends, I was drinking with the local doctor in a restaurant I used to visit every Friday night, Wakatsuki.

Kane and Tomo

The doc and I drank the wine he supplied and managed a few beers. I was really surprised when he presented me with an incredible watch, a Seiko Astron. The watch automatically adjusts to different time zones using GPS signals - very useful on the Trans Siberian Express.

The remainder of my time in Tokyo was busy. Emptying an apartment is a long and complicated task, more so when you have to do it in a foreign language. I did my best to spend as much quality time with Clara as possible - we met for lunches, dinners, and the last evening we met we saw FC Tokyo play Urawa reds - an exciting 4-4 draw.

FC Tokyo's Ajinomoto Stadium

I'm terribly sad to leave Clara in Japan, but she is no longer a small child and is more and more independent each day. I will do my best to see her on her 14th birthday, whether that is in Scotland or back in Japan.

Elwood's Bar

Just before I departed Tokyo, I had a typically crazy farewell party in Elwood's Bar. I am very grateful for everyone who turned up, bought me a drink, and wished me well. There have been many great nights there.

Now I am sitting in a quayside cafe in Sakaiminato, waiting for my ferry to depart. The trip from Tokyo was interesting and I am happy to discover that the prefectures of Shimane and Tottori are extremely beautiful. During my time in this part of Japan, I met many more excellent people to add to some wonderful memories of Japan.

I will try and regularly update this blog en route as I take the Trans Siberian Express back to Europe and a new life near London. Joep and I will stop off at a few places between Vladivostok and Moscow and the hotels we will stay in are supposed to have good internet connections.

So Japan, you took up 10 years of my life. I have learnt a lot and am extremely privileged to have met so many wonderful people. I will be back many times in future years.またね！

A nice few days

Well, the 23rd July passed again with another birthday. The days surrounding my birthday were very pleasant indeed. On Saturday 21st of July, I went to the nearby Indonesian restaurant called Makashi which my friend Awin owns. Not only did he ply me with booze, but his girlfriend was also kind enough to give me a small birthday cake. Another staff member decorated the plate with a nice birthday message. Thanks guys!

After Makashi, I headed off to Elwood's Bar for a joint birthday celebration with two other customers. The other customers were very kind and supplied me with drinks whilst the owner, Keisuke, provided a birthday cake. I feel very grateful to those who made an effort to celebrate my birthday. I'm lucky to have good friends.

The 23rd of July, my actual birthday, was pretty low key. I did my laundry, went to the gym, and later went to Elwood's Bar to have a pint of Boddingtons Ale. Nothing too heavy. It was also nice to get a card from Scotland in the post from my parents.

Clara is now in Scotland and appears to be having great fun with her grandparents. I'm sure there won't be any dry eyes when the time comes for her to return to Japan. As usual, she has a busy schedule planned and has already visited a number of relations on the Isle of Skye.

So, a very good few days. Many thanks to those who also left messages on my Facebook page.

Yakatabune - Boat Trip

On Sunday 25th September, I and approximately 30 other customers from my local hostelry (Elwood's Bar) went on a boat trip in Tokyo Bay. These boats, called yakatabune (meaning 'roofed boat'), are a popular excursion for Tokyoites. Rather surprisingly, most of my fellow passengers had not yet actually been on one.

Yakatabune used to be popular amongst the cream of Japanese society many centuries ago, but are now popular amongst the hoi polloi. Great background information to yakatabune can be found at the following link. The interior of these vessels are supposed to invoke the memory of days gone by - tatami flooring, low tables, wooden windows, and paper lanterns around the exterior of the boat. Very nice indeed!From what I can gather, most yakatabune serve traditional and high quality Japanese dinners. However, the main source of sustenance on our vessel was monjayaki and okonomiyaki. Much cheaper, and in my opinion, much more tasty. The unlimited amount of beer available was also very welcome.It was quite a pleasure to eat and drink in the boat, with the views of Tokyo gradually changing as the evening drew in. A very pleasurable day out on the water, and one which in my mind finally signalled the end of summer.A great day out which I would recommend to all.

Elwood's Bar

My watering hole of choice over the past year or so has been Elwood's Bar, a few minutes walk from the house. I like a fairly chilled bar where I can quietly sit and have a drink or two and Elwood's Bar certainly fits the bill.

It is nice to either use my broken Japanese on the other customers, just relax and watch the live Premiership football on a Saturday night, or reflect on the previous week over a good pint of draught Guinness. The bottle of spiced rum also gets closely inspected at times.

Wherever I have been, I am not really one for a packed pub or busy club (although that really hasn't stopped me in the past...). I'm more of a pipe-and-slippers man that enjoys quiet and simple pleasures. The other customers seem to be of the same ilk which makes for a great place to unwind.The bar owner, Keisuke, is also a good chap - very friendly, hospitable, and has keen interests in football and alcohol. What more could you want? With the summer really starting to heat up in Tokyo (temperatures are expected to be around 32C next week), I am sure my consumption of Sapporo lager will go through the roof at Elwood's Bar.

Clara is lucky enough to have lots of travel plans this summer. She will climb Mount Fuji with her class on Tuesday (and stay overnight), then she will travel to Scotland with her grandparents for 1 month, and then she will join us all for a week away on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. I really can't wait to travel around Hokkaido - beautiful scenery, interesting history, and more benign summer temperatures in comparison with Tokyo.

There are a lot of other things going on behind the scenes at the moment, but I am unable to blog about such things. Hopefully in a month or so. Thanks for reading.