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Hisashiburi [Jul. 20th, 2006|08:14 pm]
[Current Location |Halifax, West Yorkshire]
[Current Mood | bouncy]
[Current Music |Artic Monkey- You look good on the dance floor]

Well I suppose you can say that I've been away so long that I'm surprised that I'm not fossilised in people's mind. I finally have the internet, it's a killer to be away from it. I'm also in the unfortunate/fortunate position to be a graduate and unemployed so I have a huge amount of mail to get through and reply to. Apologies to those who haven't felt my love for ages and felt pissed that I haven't replied, I will reply.

I don't actually think my little hobbit feet have touched the ground since getting back from Japan. I just seem to always be so crazily busy completing this coursework and that thesis etc. I am back now tho.

I've moved into my own apartment out in the middle of what looks like the Shire. Well it is kind of, it's West Yorkshire so I guess if you're American it will sound that way. I haven't been lonely though, I'm spending most of my days being a professional job hunter. It sadly doesn't pay, otherwise I think I could do it full time! Seriously though I've got my fingers crossed about being a field salesman for a telecoms solution company, which would mean a new car and free internet etc. Pleeeeeeeeease. I really can't handle lame jobs and being an brassic student. Hopefully I'll now my fate on Tuesday.

I caught up with Kevin at Thanh's place in Bristol way back weeks ago when the small matter of the world cup was on. That was so cool and has really made me think about wanting to head over the water and see all the NUPACE friends in the US. However knowing people on JET etc also makes me want to see Japan soon.

Oh well just need to earn the money first. Life seems full of so many opportunities now i'm not chained to a study desk.
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I've found my house [Sep. 4th, 2005|02:26 pm]
[Current Mood | ecstatic]
[Current Music |Beatles- Revolution]

Yay I've finally found my accommodation in Sheffield. I was getting really worried for a bit, i didn't realize it would be so hard to find somewhere in Sheffield. However, I forgot that this year there has been a scrum to get on the courses and not take a gap year, as the university fees are going up from 2006 three-fold. Anyway rang around a few landlords and then as if by magic one of them had one room in a house right on the doorstep of my classes in the Arts Tower. It's not the tidiest house but hey I'm a student, I don't know what the housemates are like, but the house itself has everything. Best of all a BBQ area out in the back of the house, which will be great for a few months yet, and after the big freeze at some point next year. I also have my own parking space if I get a parking permit which is v. benri.

It's weird thinking about starting the new academic year in a few weeks, especially when I read about all you guys in America slogging away at it already. Hmmm still without a part-time job for the first time ever, life's pretty slow and boring as most of my other friends have full-time jobs, so it'll be good to get back to having something to do.
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My beloved car [Aug. 25th, 2005|12:03 pm]
[Current Mood | energetic]
[Current Music |Coldplay- Shiver]

Britain you don't seem so bad anymore. Things really haven't changed in a year, but I think I have. I still find paperwork annoying, but after Japan everything just seems to happen so quickly here. I took my car in to get serviced , it needed some TLC poor thing locked away in a cold dark lock up with just my Spiderman and nodding Shaun the sheep for company. After a coughing, spluttering, tuberculosis infested fit she started up as sweet as when I left. Luckily my padres took it for a spin now and again to keep it going. Thanks for emptying the tank btw, very generous of you both! It needed a whole list of things repairing which I had put off, eventaully it all added up to around £250, but hey i need it I've been condemned to walking everywhere for a year. Anyway I'm free to drive, oh how i've missed you car, so very much.

Well life doesn't give you time to take stock I'm going to be heading up to Sheffield next week to search for a place to live other than the many cardboard boxes I'm surrounded by! My parents lovingly packed all my stuff away so I can back to find my room looking like a warehouse, boohoo. it sounds like everyone else's life is mad and busy too. Good luck to you all with that, I'm not looking forward to the begin of the new year, it seems to near to contemplate.

I've decided I'm going to take the Japanese Proficiency Exam 1 this Christmas, I'm gonna dig in and try and see what happens. Fingers crossed. I'm going to be eating, sleeping, and shitting Kanji for the next few months i guess.
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Back home [Aug. 20th, 2005|01:24 pm]
[Current Mood | rejuvenated]
[Current Music |Johnny Nash- I can see clearly now]

Yay, I'm back home in England's green and pleasant land, finally! The last few days have been very taihen in all senses. Being caught up in the earthquake fiasco put my week all out of sequence, I nearly lost a whole day just sitting around on the train waiting for stuff to happen. Then I was absolutely shattered for the next day so I didn't really get done what I wanted to. The Japanese postal service let me down and cancelled coming to collect all of the boxes, damn you people. Give me Postman Pat anyday! The main problem was that because there were so many, hhhm Miss Dinh & Miss Brealey, they needed to have a whole van to collect it. I'm surprised they didn't need a whole entourage of vans. A big thank you to Mark and Deepika for digging me out of a big, cardboard-box filled, hole! I'm forever grateful. Eventually there was god knows how many boxes to collect but it's all done. Phew, big relief and headache over!

Anyway it's weird to be back in England, seeing grass and cows that are still mooing in the fields rather than on your plate, sometimes still mooing in a country that doesn't know what medium rare is. I've had a good proper meal of roast chicken, a proper cup of tea and coffee, some of my nan's home-cooked cakes, delicious. Still hasn't quite registered that I'm home, but it started to kick in when i got a coffee at the airport and the guy said, "Yes mate?" Ah London, it hasn't changed a bit.

The plane journey was great and really smooth, but getting to the airport was so much stress and hassle all on my own. I set off just around 5 O'clock in the morning to Yagoto Nisseki which was so hard with all my baggage. I've discovered the all baggage, which includes me is not really that friendly when gravity has its evil way. It's a real drag. 8D Once I got to the station things got better, but then i got to kanayama and all hell broke loose. It was so jam packed and crowded with people trying to get away after the Obon holiday and the usual rat-pack bound for the airport. I had a smug confidence because i had decided to invest in a reserved seat, but when the train came there was some fucker in my seat and the train was absolutely filled like a sardine tin, but at that time in the morning the next train was going to make me late, so i harangued the station master and managed to get a refund and demand that they organise a taxi for their incompetence. Eventually they were scared of the gaijin/ half spawn of the Emperor, and succumbed and got a taxi straight away and agreed to pay half. It still cost me just under 10,000 yen but at that time i didn't really care! The driver kindly put his foot down and got me to the airport for 7:40am so although i was a bit late for check- in it was still in reasonable time. Check-in was smooth enough, but they suddenly told me I had been bought and upgrade and could have 30kg because the scholarship company had paid for it, your frickin kidding me, i'd just spent all night religiously getting my luggage down to a reasonable 21kg and you tell me that. Anyway by that point i was so exhausted i just wanted to get to the plane. After that everything was smooth and straight-forward, really enjoyed my business class trip to Narita, although it was an up in the air touch the clouds and down again affair I managed to squeeze in my bottle of Champagne!

The flight back to England was clearly comfy, I remember hearing all the safety announcements, scoffing down breakfast or whatever meal a curry and a croissant and jam constitutes for and then having a coffee and then i zoned out for a whole 8 hours! I woke up looked at my personal screen and saw that we only had just over 3 hours left of flying time. Bikkuri! The stewardess said I had missed a couple of meals, but they'd saved them so i got bits of those served up, knocked all that back and then drank them dry of whatever was going, apart from green scummy tea. Yuck! I watched Madagascar and then finished just in time for landing. There was stormy rainy weather so there was lots of turbulence added to a bumpy landing and I was home.

It's great to be back and I'll write more soon.

I hope Ben and Carl, if either of you are at home is ok after the Tornadoes, i'll write to you both anyway. Hold onto Tonto and don't blow away!

 

 

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Arrrrrrrrrrrrrh [Aug. 17th, 2005|05:40 pm]
[Current Mood | exhausted]
[Current Music |Natalie Imbruglia- counting down the days]

So yesterday was a bad day I was in an earthquake, yeah the one in
Sendai, Northern Japan. Thanks to all those of you who contacted me or
asked indirectly whether i was involved. I've spent nearly one whole
year in Japan, barely a nibble of an earthquake, a slight rumble
through a few times that you could have mistaken for farting. I've also
spent that you going nowhere near Sendai. And Bam! (as Liz 
[info]cigamerisedi

would say. An earthquake hits, and I'm right next to the epicentre. Here's how the story goes.



I went up over the weekend and over the obon holiday period to spend
some time with my family and friends that i've known so i was 1.

Obon is a holiday/ festival in Japan celebrating and morning family
ancestors. It is tradition that everyone returns to the family home,

honours family members who have passed away and at the same time have a family get together and eat and drink plenty. 



I enjoyed a great few days, as short as it was making a break-neck tour
around my mum's hometown, which really hasn't changed at all

since i first saw it. It was really nice to catch up with people, and
find that I could say more and more of what i wanted to say than ever

before, well at least since i was about 4 anyway. On the day I arrived
I had a long chat with my eldest cousing Hiroyuki about life, stuff

and everything. We both came to the conclusion that Japan's got a scary
future, and life's a bitch. Out of 365 days of the year he will be

lucky to get 6 days off, he worked throughout the holiday season. He
left in the morning at 4 and didn't get back in until 9 O'clock at
night,

with a reasonable half an hour
break at lunchtime. I also had a good opportunity to speak with my grandma
who turned 90 this year, she

was very alert and talking all about current affairs and still ticking
along well, she's rather frail but that's only to be expected, she
still always

sits in the seiza kneeling position!
I can barely sit on the floor now. :[



On the way back i wanted to get the earlish train from Sendai station
so I get back to do the mammoth packing/ rubbish disposal task.

So my other cousin Yumi drove me to the station to get me on the
11O'clock train to try and beat the hordes coming home to Tokyo.

Everything was going smoothly, boarded the train easy enough and sat
down to relax thinking that I'd soon be back in Nagoya. We left the

station and got to the next station Fukushima and just got out the
station, in Shinkansen terms that means about 5miles out when the

earthquake hit us. The train came to an abrupt stop the electricity went
out and the train rocked from side to side, the electricity pole outside
was shaking violently and then as soon as it started it finsihed. The man
next to me took one look outside, looked at me and said calmly, "Ah Jishin"
"Oh it's an earthquake" and then we all lent forward and braced our heads.
A few pieces of luggage fell onto the floor but apart from that events
unfolded without drama. A few children were like, "Was that an earthquake?
Wow, that's my first one, yay!"

Then ensued the 5 hour wait. The electric cables had been snapped and needed
to be repaired before we could go anywhere, a train further up the track had
become slightly derailed and we were just told to wait. EVERY DAMN BLOODY 5/10
MINUTES FUCKERS! It became clear that the driver was going to keep repeating
the same apology again, again, again and again. He eventually cooled off the
long winded apologies and told us the quake had been 7 on the richter scale
and we'd had one around 6 where we were. So there it was my first biggish
earthquake.

Liz I hope that this has satisfied your need for NUPACE livejournal entries.
Sorry for those who had to sieve through this entry.
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Kamikouchi [Jul. 3rd, 2005|10:16 pm]
[Current Mood | cheerful]
[Current Music |Thirteen senses- automatic]

So to finally update you all on my trip to Matsumoto and Kamikouchi.

Kamikouchi, is a mountain resort near Matsumoto, it's very remote, and I was lucky enough to be taken by my Mum's friends otherwise, it would have involved a bit of a coach mission.
    We twisted and turned around this meandering mountain route that led us up to the car parking area. The scenery in from the car was amazing, completely surrounded by trees and all sorts of fauna. Then a helicopter came up alongside us- it reminded me of the beginning of Jurassic Park when they arrive by helicopter and the scenery that Spielberg cut to. Anyway we got to the car park and Emma
[info]emblethebugannounced she wasn't feeling too brilliant, I felt bad cos I just thought she'd nodded off to sleep! Apologies, I'm clearly not
that observant.

Anyway we took a taxi the last leg of the journey because there's nowhere to park at the actual site. We again went through another course of
mountainous scenery, and there was such a pleasant breeze blowing in through the windows, very refreshing after leaving Nagoya's dull
atmosphere.

The taxi then pulled up at this car parking area, and we were greeted by a lake and stunning scenery. Emma said that it looked very much like
Canada, but I've not been yet. I've always been turned off because of watching South Park, and that stupid Mounty cop programme that used
to be on TV.

We had a relaxing stroll through the wooded area and then decided to grab some lunch at this random restaurant that was in the middle of
nowhere with a BRIGHT RED roof. How gordy can you get, bearing in mind that this is a top restaurant. Do they have no taste in this
country. Anyway the meal itself was absolutely sumptuous, and very welcome after actually being energetic, since the last time I had to run for
a train or frisbee.

We continued our walk this time along the riverside, it was very peaceful and tranquil. You could go down onto the bank at various times and
touch the water, it was absolutely ice cold. Not surprising given the fact that a lot of the water was the melting snow from the mountains. We
finally came across a bridge, a rather wobbly bridge, representative of the wobbly millennium bridge in London. We then stopped for a little rest
and met up with one of Shunnichi and Keiko's friends, who was Taiwanese by nationality, but essentially Japanese. It was good fun having a
natter about bits and pieces, and having another opportunity to use my Japanese.

After an hour or so we said our goodbyes, hopped into a taxi and back down to where we had left the car.

Shunnichi then took us on to a house that he had helped build. He wanted to show us his innovative bathroom and kitchen units. The
house was not much to look at from the outside, but inside was amazing. It was a very American style house and the units were very
state of the art. The bathroom had a huge tub in it overlooking a nearby mountain, which was a very exotic feature.

It was a great weekend and one that I won't forget.
</span>
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A weekend in Hosono and Matsumoto [Jun. 27th, 2005|07:44 am]
[Current Mood | exhausted]
[Current Music |Keane- Bedshaped]

I went out for a quick trip away to see my mum's friends, Shunnichi and Keiko and I took [info]emblethebug with me. </span>Wow, it was so amazing to be out of Nagoya for a short-break in Japan's countryside for many different reasons. Firstly it was great to see my mum's friends who I haven't seen last since I was around 8 years old, so it brought back many memories for me. Secondly, I couldn't get over how cool and refreshing it is to be in the countryside, the weather was really warm but there was a steady breeze most of the time, so an absolutely perfect balance. The views from their house were awe inspiring, surrounded by mountains, looking out across a relatively uninhabited area seeing green as far as the eye can see. I think it made me miss England a lot, and realise that although I'm from near London I really do miss not being able to see green fields. I think the best bit of all was that shiiin (silence) is all you can hear, apart from at night when all you can hear is the soothing sound of frogs croaking. You could even see the stars at night, twinkling bright. My final reason is that it's just great to get out of Nagoya as much as possible, it has everything that you could need apart from real life, and REAL things exist outside of Nagoya's frighteningly closed world.

We spent most of Friday afternoon getting to Hosono, which was a mini adventure in itself. First of all we lost out bearings at Nagoya station, got stuck in a long queue for tickets, and by the time we'd go the tickets, it was time for the train to leave. Bollocks! Anyway we had to wait an hour, so what else do you do if you don't have time to kill, go to the twin towers and have a meal at the tonkatsu, absolutely beautiful.

We boarded the train at 5 O'clock finally and headed off on the rapid express bound for Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture. As soon as you get out just beyond Ozone you realise that there are absolutely stunning scenes right on our very doorstep; dense, thick woods and flowing rivers. Anyway I was a bit dozy so I nodded off for a bit, but soon woke up and I was in the middle of pure countryside. Fabulous!

Anyway we got to Matsumoto station and had to find the train bound for Hosono, which i thought was going to be fairly straightforwards, but it turned out to be difficult to find anyone who even knew the place. In the meantime I went to the loo only to discover it was bisexual- no i don't mean that i mean for both men and women, doh what's the bloody word. Anyway was rather a shock when women were coming in when you were peeing at the urinal, but hey we're all humans, we've seen it all before. So be warned if you're on platform 6 at Matsumoto station, it's not unisex!

With 30seconds or so to spare we hopped on the train and off we went, sadly by this time into increasingly darkening surroundings. New problem, nobody else really knows where this place is, how many stops etc, so how am I bloody supposed to know, bugger! Eventually I find the map, it's covered up by the baggage that I've shoved in the rack in my haste. Like a kanji quiz i start looking for the kanji, oh why, oh why can't there be bloody Romaji when you really need it! Finally, Eureka I spot it, relief, but wait a minute where the bloody hell are we now. Anyway with a bit of guess work we establish where we are, realise we have a few stops left and then we arrive. To a station that has one bench and something that resembles a strip of concrete enough for ten people to balance along, otherwise known as a platform. Ok so we really are in the sticks now, not a sole to be seen, then suddenly I see a familiar face. Relief!

When we got to the house we were greeted by an absolutely stunning house in an American style, finally space- enough to spin a small lion around in. Shunnichi is a woodcraftsmen by trade and had made this to die for pieces of furniture, if only i had that kind of money. Anyway despite eating earlier when we realised that there was a bit of a roast dinner I could feel myself welling up inside. God, it's soooooooo good, damn you bastards in the Ohmeikan who deprive us of the god at hotpoint's gift of the invention known in the real world as an OVEN. A classic invention that the REST of the world cooks their dinner in! Wow, I'm salivating now just thinking about it.

I'm gonna update more about my trip when i can as lot's happened.
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Mmmm Dinner and it's not cooked by me [Jun. 23rd, 2005|07:09 pm]
[Current Mood | chipper]
[Current Music |Coldplay- God Put a Smile Upon my face]

Well it's been yet another long day, every day just merges into the next. I'm really looking forward to going  to Matsumoto at the weekend. There's a castle and I'm gonna get taken to Kamikouchi, one of Japan's national parks. Before then I suppose I've got to squeeze this book review out for the modern history class, joy, not! I feel like I'm doing a piece of work that should only be set when you're in the tweeny years of Secondary School. Nevertheless if it's got to be done it will be soon enough, i hope.

Well I'm getting ready to enjoy Liz's meal, ooh salivation. Cheeseburger casserole, sounds American, intrigued indeed I am.

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Sanctamonious Bastards [Jun. 14th, 2005|11:36 pm]
[Current Mood | and Melancholy]
[Current Music |Coldplay's New Album]

I love NUPACE and all, full of great peeps, plenty to do and all is running well other than the Japanese course and BLOODY BUREAUCRACY. So I've been hassled about why my advisor and I didn't get round to signing my academic form before the deadline. What's your problem a deadline is exactly that, you hand it in on the deadline right down to the wire. Clearly not, a letter was sent out to my academic advisor, smacked bottom for you, and one to me, smacked bottom for you. Whatever! But then your not happy with my answer; that i met the deadline, you have your information, get off my back. Roughly translated into Japanese as, "I am deeply regrettable for the trouble i have caused you and made a burden upon your person, I will beat myself with a whip and humbly bow down to your holiness and say that i am forever at your mercy." God I hate it that you just can't pick up a rock from a rockery and smash people's face in! (A great phrase borrowed from Emma, thanks it's really apt!) Especially when I find out you are the person responsible for getting rid of Professor Grundy, the one and truly joy that was my life in the first semester. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Anyway that was my angry rant, hopefully that seems to be done with, I don't care what comes next I will just be disinclined to acquiesce with all requests from those who have nothing better to do with their lives than be anal.

Other than that life is rosy I'm reminded how i've been blessed by being surrounded by a great group of peeps. Now my life as a studying hermit is relatively over I hope to take advantage of other people's company and get back to living a life.
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Ruth and Matt a mini Sheffield Reunion [Mar. 9th, 2005|12:06 pm]
[Current Mood | busy]
[Current Music |Green Day- American Idiot]

Ruth and Matt, who are on the same course as Emma and I at Sheffield University, came to pay us a visit in Nagoya. It was soooo weird seeing them here, I've known they've been here but it finally clicked. Sometimes it just felt like we'd been pasted into a Japanese backdrop. It was so good to see how other people were enjoying their year abroad. I also got to realise some of the good points and bad points of being in Nagoya. It has made me feel jealous that Nagoya doesn't seem as fun as Tokyo, but that's probably obvious to all. If anything the best thing about Nagoya is that we all are capable of creating are own fun and not running up painfully crippling bills. I've also realised that it's nice to have such a big foreigners group which has got the best people in it and predominantly all living under one roof. Also that it's good to be separated from most of the others on my course at home and get to know new people, and really appreciate the times that I go or others come and pay a visit.

I've finally got to see Inuyama castle, and yes Thanh you were sooooo right it is the best castle I've seen and I've pretty much seen them all now. It's not just the castle the day we went was so nice and absolutely perfect to see Nagoya at it's best.

It's been a truly fun couple of days spending time with Ruth and Matt and also nice that we could share them with my new friends at NUPACE and link up our friendship groups.

It's been a great few days catching up and sharing stories. I'm so sad I'm not going to Tokyo in the near future but I will, eventually!!
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Sapporo Snow Festival [Feb. 9th, 2005|04:16 pm]
[Current Mood | and Crappy]
[Current Music |Thirteen Senses- Thru the glass]

We got up really early after taking time to recover yesterday. We set off to Asahikawa Bus Station to catch the 9:00am bus to Sapporo. Ken came with Emma and me, because he had a job interview and also take us around the Yuki Matsuri at Odori. 
    On the way to Sapporo we all took a bit of a nap, well Emma and I did, Ken slept soundly pretty much as soon as we got on, ah the Japanese flare for recharging their batteries whilst travelling! The views were stunning, all that snow, in the daylight it was quite dazzling as the Japanese say mabushii (眩しい）the snow just looks like a huge blanket covering everywhere. The most amazing thing is seeing how it really doesn't affect life in Hokkaido. Everything runs smoothly even though there may have been snow overnight or ice, let that be a lesson to you Britain, leaves on the line is no excuse! The mountains were so awesome when they're covered with snow, and the conifer trees just look like Christmas trees on a Christmas card. The journey took a couple of hours or more, the last time i saw Sapporo was when it was steamy hot, it was so strange to see how a place so familiar seemed so different just with a dusting of snow!
    Ken needed to dash off to his interview, so we put our things into one of the coin lockers, keen-eyed Emma and I had spotted Muji, Gap and Uni-Qlo so we knew how we were gonna kill the time! I found another Keith Haring hoodie to purchase, wow they are so soft! We came away relatively empty handed and met up with Ken again at the coin lockers.
    We then went onto Kikusa subway station to meet Sanae's (Ken's girlfriend) younger brother, Hiroshi. We were going to all be staying over with him so we could enjoy the matsuri (祭り）festival. He was a cool guy, I could tell we were going to have a lot of fun!
    We went into Odori to see the snow sculptures and eat some Ramen - a Sapporo speciality! It was so nice, but cool literally, as we ate it out in the snow, bowls steaming reminding me how cold it was. Or as Hiroshi came out with "Fucking Freezing!" He wanted to practice his English, in particular how to swear, and ask out a girl. I told him you can simply say, "Would you like to go out with me." He also learnt the meaning of "Mother Fucker" and "Wanker." Naturally he wanted to review what he'd been taught so he went round saying, "Would you like to go out with me mother fucker." Sadly Hiroshi I don't think you're gonna pull that way, but there's probably worse lines!
    After a bit of a walk around we were all getting rather cold so we went to a yakitori (焼き鳥）Roast Chicken place. It was very traditional and small. It was all so tasty then Hiroshi ordered suzume ス ジメ as a joke! It was a poor little sparrow roasted whole on a skewer! It took me back to the time when I was little and my Japanese Grandad gave me it, I cried when my mum told me what I'd eaten!
It was totally grotesque, see the pictures from my website.
    In the evening we met up with Sarah and Ann and their two Taiwanese friends. It was getting terribly cold now after being out. The statues were absolutely breathtaking once they had been lit up, and there were so many various ones. Ranging from Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Nagoya Castle right down to Hello Kitty and Doraemon made by amateurs. Again see the pictures I will upload ( this might take me a while so apologies.) We were walking around for hours getting increasingly colder, so we went to the New York Cafe and got a snack and drinks. Although I'd developed a migraine by this point and so it made a rather crappy end to my day, but ho hum. It was such a good day out I can't complain. I was out like a light.
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Back in Asahikawa! [Feb. 7th, 2005|08:05 pm]
[Current Mood | nostalgic]
[Current Music |Jay-Z- Money Cash Hoes (Back in Ken's Harlem)]

Emma and I arrived at Asahikawa train station and was met by my cousin Kentaro. It had been about 2 years since I'd last seen him when he was in England. So it was really great.
    We went back to the family home and got some of Ken's spaghetti bolognese, mmmm how tasty! Ken's girlfriend, Sanae came over to say hi. It was the first time she'd met Emma in person, although they'd been exchanging e-mails. It was so nice to see my family again.
    We were pretty tired from the days traveling so we chilled for a bit and then went to bed. Emma stayed over at Grandma's house across the way and i slept on a futon in Ken's room. In usual fashion Ken and I stayed up chatting till around 2 O'clock in the morning, still the times when we get to catch up properly are few and far in between. A great start to my time in Hokkaido!
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Touch down in Hokkaido [Feb. 7th, 2005|05:21 pm]
[Current Mood | cold]
[Current Music |Athlete- You got the style]

Today Emma and I left for Hokkaido. It seems like it’s been ages coming, but it’s finally arrived. I can’t believe I’m going to see Ken at last, to think I used to be able to see him whenever I wanted when he was in London.
We left Nagoya at 1630hrs from Komaki (Nagoya) airport, which was also weird as I’d spent the last few weeks bidding farewell to Carl, Felix and Sven. It was much better to be going there and feeling all happy. We bought uirou (外郎) and various other goodies, unagi pie (うなぎパイ)－yes eel pie! These where to give out as omiyage (gifts for people when visiting them.)
We arrived at Sapporo (Chitose) airport in good time and soon picked up our baggage, had a Mos Burger meal and then got on our way to Sapporo station to change for Asahikawa. Now I`m busy writing this entry on the train.
The snow is absolutely amazing and I feel like I`be been waiting a lifetime to see it. I feel like a little kid, I just can`t wait to get out and play! It is rather cold here, although apparently it`s actually pretty mild around 1C or so, I guess that`s not too bad.
I already feel odd I`ve gone from the only person in Nagoya who doesn`t wear a scarf to the only person who does wear a scarf. How ironic. Still it`s bloody cold here, so I`ll need it! Gonna wrap up now- I mean to finish, not just cos it`s cold.
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Snow [Feb. 2nd, 2005|04:37 pm]
[Current Mood | jubilant]
[Current Music |Rooster- Staring at the Sun]

Yay, snow has finally fallen, it`s about time! Although a bit annoying considering I`m off to Hokkaido- the land of snow and unbelievably cold.
    So this morning I woke up to snow, beautiful majestic snow, it had been forecast, but nevertheless it still came as a surprise. It`s so nice to see snow especially considering how cold it`s been it`s almost cruel not to get a scattering.
    Today I also finished my exams. It`s taken long enough, I just hope I`ve done well enough to scrape a meager pass. If not, "ho hum" as Emma would say. I`ve done my best and I guess that`s what counts ultimately. Just a Blake essay to get written out and submitted and then I`ve finished for this semester.
    Well that`s all for today I`m off to frolic in the snow!
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Sven's Sayonara Party [Feb. 2nd, 2005|04:18 pm]
[Current Mood | pensive]
[Current Music |Greenday- Boulevard of Broken Dreams]

Last night we had Sven's Sayonara party at an Izakaya in Motoyama. It was really weird because the fact  really dawned on me that not only Sven was leaving, but also Carl and Felix would be too.
    The evening was great because everybody sans Emmanuelle and Loni were there, so it was the last group event we would do together as the NUPACE group. We had some great food and most importantly Nomi-hodai (drink all you can!), sadly I had a test the following day so was unable to take part. Everybody else got well into the spirit and downed as much as was possible in the 2 hours we were given to drink as much as possible for 1500yen. Everyone was soon drunk, some more than others, namely Carl, Kevin- barely alive victims, two amongst many others. DJ  lead a lot of the proceedings, starting up drinking games and making it a really fun and worthwhile event.
    We toasted Sven and then he gave a farewell speech. It brought the evening to a close for most of us, although some ventured on for more drinking at another Izakaya.
    I, on the other hand ventured home with Liz (American Mama), Ben, Lauren and Emma whilst supporting, literally, the ailing Carl. It was a great night that al of us enjoyed and will never forget, well apart from maybe Carl and Kevin, i guess.[info]</font></b>
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Sven Bai-Bai at the Airport [Jan. 29th, 2005|04:07 pm]
[Current Mood | sad]
[Current Music |Kula Shaker- Hush]

So the day has finally befallen us all. The day the 1st NUPACE student has flown the nest to go back home. Even worse it's Sven, one of the best loved guys in the group.
    Sven, Thanh and I (Thanks to Emma coming round to wake me up- where would I be without her) were  up at the crack of dawn, with some of the NUPACE loyals, namely; Liz, Emma, Carl, Olivier and Kevin, all there to be the goodbye committee. Sven didn't get long to say goodbye, because we suddenly realised the taxi was ready and waiting, still better to make it quick I guess.
    We sped off to the airport, got to the airport in good time and got Sven checked in and we went up to the departure lounge. We got out the photo album that Thanh had slaved over putting together for Sven and reminisced about the good times over the last four months. Wow, it still shocks me about how fast it's gone past already! It was great looking back, we truly have all formed a tight knit group, it's such a shame that it's starting to be broken up. Anyway Thanh and Sven had a bit of a walk round together for a few minutes to say their goodbyes.
    Then it came the time for Sven to walk through those doors, no not to be on Stars in their Eyes, but head for his gate. It was really emotional especially for Thanh and Sven, but I found myself welling up too. Alas I gave Sven a big huge hug and then he was gone. It was all over so quick.
    Sven if you get to read this then you're a top guy who'll be greatly missed by all the group. You are one of the key figures that I will think of when I look back at my Nagoya experience. I hope you can keep in contact with the whole group. I really look forward to meeting up with you again in October. It will be so good to see you in England and catch up with you again. I hope we can stay friends forever and have other adventures with Apple Pie (cancer), Okonomiyaki and your Vodka mixer drinks. Gurdi Gurdi
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Higashiyama Park [Jan. 16th, 2005|07:45 pm]
[Current Mood | happy]
[Current Music |Muse- Time is Running Out]

Today I went with Carl, Liz, Emma, Ben and Kevin to Higashiyama Park, in particular the zoo. I haven`t been to a zoo in years I was really looking forward to it, and I wasn`t to be disappointed. It was one of the things on Carl`s to do list before he goes back to America! Doh, not looking forward to when he leaves.

Although having said that the size of the cages that some of the animals were kept in does make me sad that this aspect of Japan has not really changed and become more humane. In particular the large cats i.e. Panthers, Lions etc were in cages that were far too small for them. It looked like those cat carriers that are used to transport domestic cats, it was rather depressing.

On a brighter note the penguins and koalas were kept in brilliant conditions, they were displayed so brilliantly. Liz was able to feed the penguins as she got some fish from the zookeeper`s bucket. The koalas I must admit were my favourite they were so cute and cuddly looking. I really wish I could of picked one up and given it a big cuddle, although they looked so content in their eucalyptus trees.

Emma and Liz had a ride on some animal ride-along toys. They both looked sooo cute. Emma even managed to reverse back onto Kevin and nearly got him, despite the fact that she was only going 1mph or so!  Blimey, she  just shouldn`t be let loose!

We also went up Higashiyama tower which gave us an amazing view all over the Nagoya landscape, it was just a shame that it was a tad cloudy and hazy.

Anyway it was a great day out and I really can`t wait to go back when conditions are more friendly!
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Moved to Live Journal [Jan. 14th, 2005|03:23 pm]
[Current Mood | determined]
[Current Music |Evanescence]

On the advice and goading by Liz I have moved my diary entries to Live Journal. So here goes. I have brought the most recent Japan entries into Live Journal as my last entries, so there will be a few back-dated entries. From this point on everything is new.
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Thanh the Japanese princess! [Jan. 10th, 2005|05:54 pm]
[Current Mood | accomplished]
[Current Music |Moby- Play]

Today I woke up at an ungodly hour of 5:00am! This is not my usual style, however this was a special occasion. Thanh was going to be dressed for her coming of age celebration. I was going to be her girlie support for the morning and drift back into my feminine side that I had tapped into before Christmas.
Anyway we arrived and immediately the stylist whipped Thanh into a chair and began pulling and yanking her hair this way and that, ouch women do have to go through some pain i thought, this was nothing compared to what came later!! Whilst I'd got up and eaten my Tonys, Thanh hadn't had a thing so I popped off to the nearest Lawson and picked her up a Salmon onigiri and Coca-cola. I came back to find Thanh still being pulled about whilst freezing her arse off!
    At first I was not sure where the stylist was going with the hairstyle, it was looking very "pineapple" is the only way Thanh and I can describe it. Alternatively imagine Vicky from "Little Britain" and I think you'll get the idea. However, she turned this around by adding hair pieces to add volume to her hair and pulled it up into a "Chignon." Yep there's the feminine side kicking in. For those of you not in the know this is a piece you put in at the back of the head and pull the hair up over. The result is that classic Japanese hair look at that back of the head. It is done to display the back of the neck. A turn-on zone in Japanese culture. Whatever floats your boat I guess!
    Once they'd got Thanh's hair nearly complete, next came the kimono. Watching a women be dressed into her Kimono was unchartered territory for men apparently, so here comes in Hoshi to change all that!
    First Thanh had to remove her bra and put over the kimono underwear. Just for the record I didn't directly witness this part, after Thanh is a lady. The next layer which was pinky coloured looked like what i can only describe as a dressing gown which went over the top of the kimono. The next and most exciting stage was the main over jacket being adorned around Thanh- this is the main part of the attire which you usually see as it is the final layer. Once all of this had been put on Thanh it all had to be tied together by the obi (sash). Here comes the painful part, if you are squeamish or a woman who has seen a corset put on, prepare for some painful thoughts! Don't say I didn't warn you.
    Initially a cloth is wrapped around the area just above the hips where the obi is tied around. This is supposed to act like a cushioning, necessary given what comes next. It also mustn't be tied too tight otherwise, as was tactfully put by the kimono dresser, could make you pass out or kill you! Nice. Next the main obi was wrapped around a couple of times and then the ends were tied into a bow at the back. All the bows signify and are used for different effects. Apparently Thanh's was designed to represent her prosperity and a-symmetrical to make her look taller and even more slender. When they pulled the sash around Thanh it took her breath away, literally. She was in mid-sentence when they pulled and I didn't really hear anything from Thanh for a minute or so until she had recovered! This happened two or three times! If you've wanted to see Thanh in pain you missed your opportunity, personally it made me glad that it wasn't me. It seemed a bit harsh, still I guess women are used to suffering for fashion.
    Anyway the process was amazing and Thanh looked truly stunning! I felt so proud, in that parent sort of way. Our little Thanh is all grown up! With the bag and zori (clogs) as accessories Thanh looked the business. As the Japanese dresser remarked, "she looks more Japanese than a Japanese girl"
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New Year [Jan. 1st, 2005|07:04 pm]
[Current Mood | energetic]

OK, so...... it's the New Year (Yep been hanging round with 栗鼠ちゃん liz-chan too　long! Not that that's a　ｂad thing :) it's just I would like to maintain　my British English. No offense</b></a></b></a>
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