To kick off this new blog is some positive reinforcement from a nodding aka-beko that I once found outside Aizu-Wakamatsu Station.
Japan
The end of life in Japan (this time)
After nearly two years, my time in Japan came to an end in April 2010. But I came away without some treasured memories, and, more importantly, a wonderful wife.
After spending the 2009/2010 new year holiday in Melbourne, in January 2010 I went back to Tokyo and it initially felt like back to Tokyo and back to normal. Then I realised that my time left was running low, and my activity level increased. So much, that I haven’t updated this blog since February 2010. Then it was resettling back to Australia, back to work, getting married – a whole lot of reasons for no updates. So the story of my last few months in Japan is in the photos on this page.
I arrived back in Australia on 13 April 2010, and quickly moved into my old house. Of course, it wasn’t the end of me and Japan – I’ve been back four times since. And since I now have a Japanese wife, Japan and I have become inextricably intertwined into the future. Thinking of which, this website is about to undergo a transformation.
Wednesday night running
On Wednesday evenings after work, I’ve started running around Yoyogi Park with the Namban Rengo running club. Everyone meets up at Oda Field, just across the road from Yoyogi Park, at 7:30pm on Wednesday nights. While all the serious and good runners do some track work, I basically just turn up for a jog around the park, and then a soak afterwards in the sento (bathhouse), a few beers and dinner. I start at the Yoyogi Hachiman sento and leave my gear in the lockers before heading out.
The track is open the public, and always busy in the evenings.
Quick melt
Shibuya in the snow
Shibuya (and no doubt the rest of Tokyo) has been covered with a layer of snow tonight. As I was writing my previous post, it was really bucketing down outside and coating everything with a layer of white. In as little as 20 minutes, the road outside was covered with an untouched, even white surface – apart from the wheel marks of the first car to drive through the middle of it.
Snowing in Tokyo
It’s snowing in Tokyo!! Tonight, about 3cm (so far, at 11:30pm) has fallen, and things have turned white. I took some photos on my way home from my language class (around 10pm), but it’s become a lot more white since then. I might go outside and take some more. Let’s see if it’s still white outside in the morning.
Winter hike to Kawanori-san
On those crisp and clear winter days that Tokyo puts on so well, there’s no better place to be than up a mountain. I was keen to head out and get some snow on my hiking boots and experience the cold fresh air. My day took me out to Kawanori-san, a 1,363 mountain in the Okutama area (fast becoming one of my favourite areas).
