You Can Take The Girl Out Of Japan, And You Can Take The Cherry Blossom Too

I suppose I should start here:

Sadly the dog stayed in Sendai.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon when I left work early to the new terminal at Heathrow. It's very aesthetically pleasing, with a glass frame. However, the actual arrival gate is terribly designed - there are two doors about 200 metres apart and no indication of which side the passengers will exit from. So standing at one end could mean missing the person entirely. In the end, I opted for somewhere in the middle and re-enacted an audience member at a tennis court.

I just about saw Keiko as she came out and ran over to meet her. A train ride home (delayed, of course - how does "imposing a 10mph speed limit" on a tube line as explained by the driver make sense?), dropping her suitcases (bigger than her) off at the apartment and then down to Pizza Express for a welcome meal. Keiko was jet-lagged so sleep beckoned.

The next day we went for a leisurely walk into High Street Kensington. Or Kensington High Street. I'm still not sure which one is correct because the Tube Station name is different to the street sign. Maybe I need an abbreviation, although I keep thinking it's High School Kensington.

On the way, we stopped at Holland Park - about 10 mins from the apartment. It's a lovely weekend spot with football pitches, dog walks, places for picnics, a peacock enclosure and much more.


One of the highlights - and actually rated the best place to go for a leisurely Sunday by one tourist website - is the Kyoto Gardens, based around a Japanese set-up. They have a rock feature, koi carp, and statues replicating any typical temple. It's beautiful and I can foresee many a lazy afternoon chilling out there.


There was one cherry-blossom tree, and I tried to take some arty photos. I'd like to theme this collection around 'focus', and pretend I knew what I was doing. Let me know what you think:


I was even really lucky with this one:


That's enough for today. The rest of the day, mostly in Hyde Park featured a pervy duck, a sandwich-stealing bird, a fearless squirrel, and some unsubtle pigeons. But that'll be available tomorrow. I've just introduced Keiko to iPlayer so we're going to start on The Apprentice. I thought this sign in a Chinese noodle bar in Leicester Squre was quite fitting - something Alan Sugar would probably order:

Typical

You wait a year to show someone Westminster all lit up, and the one night you finally get down there, it's switched off.


I think it's in honour of 'Earth Hour', leading up to the G20 Summit. At least it's for a good cause.

There'll be plenty more nights, I'm sure.

Safe And Sound And Tired

Just to let you know I received one Japanese girl from the airport. I'd like to say 'fresh' but she's extremely jet-lagged and dead to the world right now.

I've tried poking her, and offering snacks, but she's unresponsive. I wonder if you can send them back and get a replacement?

Or does that only work for Thai brides?

Bachelor Pad No More

Eight and a half months later, a two year visa, tomorrow's the day!!


An accurate portrayal of both the flight plan and plane size. As long as there aren't any snakes on the plane I think it'll be fine.

It's so exciting that I can't quite believe it. The only downside: in my nice minimalist (in every way!) apartment, there're going to be loads of girl clothes and shoes. The sacrifices we make.

(I'm leaving work a few hours earlier to meet Keiko at Heathrow. Which is fine since I'm starting earlier to help out on an HIV project. I wish I could write more about the job here but I think it's better to be more cautious than sorry.)

Your Wisely Monthly Metro Post

Just in case you missed staring at February's poster for over a month (I'm updating fairly regularly now!) here's the hayfever-relevant warning:

Hidden Japan

BBC4, my new favourite channel, is in the final furlong of its Japan Season; which is a little late know, I know, but there are always repeats.


The channel adopted a new ident (four in Kanji) as well as short VTs of "words of the day" etc. There have been some interesting documentaries on, including one about the search for 'wabi sabi' - the art of imperfection - as well as one documenting the nation's love of fish. Neither were particularly insightful as they both dumbed down slightly by highlighting the 'strange cultures' of the East, such as maid cafes and the geek culture. However, there were some brilliant inclusions, not the least being a scene in Tsunashima!

They went to the fish restaurant where you catch the fish you want to eat. The presenter was just as shocked as me when the sushi turned up on his plate along with the main body of the fish, still flapping. That's fresh!


Still, I can't help but wonder why both presenters for these documentaries were chosen: they had never been to Japan before, couldn't speak the language and were too wide-eyed overall that the programmes' aims were put on hold. I understand that most viewers were seeing Tokyo et al for the first time through them as well.

However, this is 'Hidden Japan' season after all. Take the fish documentary, for example. I could've shown an audience Hidaka, where the goldfish are released into the river during the annual town festival, or the koi carp streamers flying high during Golden Week.

Now, that's Hidden Japan.

In conclusion, I want to be a travel presenter. Awesome job.

Musings

Exactly today, three years ago, I arrived in Japan. If only I knew then what I know now.

Actually, I have no idea how that applies but it sounded appropriate and wise.

I do remember turning up just as the cherry blossom was making its annual appearance. It seems this year is no different:

Grr Argh

Speaking of zombie attacks, this is my favourite YouTube clip in the world. A Japanese TV show pranked some young children who love horror movies. The whole neighbourhood was in on it, and the childrens' reactions are fantastic:



It doesn't matter if you can't understand Japanese. All you need to know is that zombies can write to let you know they're coming over, tabasco sauce can be mistaken for blood, and cling film is a monster deterrent.

The bucket over the door is hilarious. Pure gold.

Nice To See I Was Missed

3 comments already! That's enough motivation for me to type a little more.

Another weird one today - back at my Auntie and Uncles' house for a funeral-type thing. I swear, I'm never in my new apartment for more than two days in a row. And now it's late, so that'll do for today.

I'll leave you with this interesting thought: we have 'parents', 'sibilings', 'grandparents', and even 'cousins'. So why is there no collective for aunt and uncle? It's a frustrating aspect of English and I'm sure I've written about it here before, but never more has it been so burdensome when I explain (in a longer than necessary breath) "I'm staying at my uncle-and-aunties' house. Also, isn't 'uncle' such a strange-sounding word!

Finally, of course I enjoyed living with you Oli. I miss living with you now but I was in Bournemouth way too long and it was time to leave. I'll never forget the months we shared, or the memories: the coffee cake, The Office, the zombie attack that we just about survived. You're always welcome to come and stay.

Like Riding A Bicycle

That was the longest break on my blog since it began. A whole month between two posts. I'm not ashamed, I've been more than busy what with a new job, new home, new city, and non-stop things happening around me (friends coming, family etc).

But I'm definitely back.

Everything's going well, and the big news is... Keiko will be here in 9 days! It's been 8 months since I left Japan and we were considering how we would've felt if we knew then what we know now. I hope you'll be glad to know that we still would've gone for it.

I'm finally settled in now, without any big changes to routine, so I'm sure the weekends will be touristy and I'll have lots to report on. The evenings too, as the summer draws near; I'll explain in greater detail soon but where I'm living is great - today I walked home across Hyde Park and through Kensington High Street. Can't ask for much better in London.

However, I'm not going to write about the past month in one big go. I need to wean myself back into writing; I haven't forgotten how but I'm not ready to write an essay just yet. (Apply that to the bike analogy as you will.)

So just know that I'm happy and positive, and finally excited about the present, not just the future.

While my heart belongs in Tokyo - hence the remaining title name*/** - I'm content in London.

Here we go...

*I dreamt about Tokyo every night so far this week. This is a love story that isn't going anywhere.
**And I'm not changing the web address.