diary/Brighton bound!

Awoke and had my bath, which is always relaxing in Japan. Firstly you shower down your dirty grimy body (or use a pitcher if your bathroom doesn’t come equipped) then when clean from head to toe, jump in the tub. Japanese baths are rather deep compared to western ones, they are also cramped for western bodies – although this is not a problem when used to the style.

After that I ate my usual breakfast which my girlfriend lovingly prepares each morning; consisting of a bowl of rice, a raw egg, some miso soup and a few satsumas. That may seem like a hearty breakfast but the concept of lunch is largely unheard of in Japan, with a slant towards snacking instead. This breakfast includes fish or ham (cooked). With luck, this breakfast should see you through till tea time!

We were packed up and ready to drive me to sendai for my 6 hour journey to narita airport, shoved all the stuff into the family space wagon plotting our course on the car navigation system. A car ‘navi’ is one of the best devices I’ve ever seen, basically a small flat wide screen on the dash that allows you to watch TV or know where you’re going via satellite – it may sound grand but its entirely commonplace in Japan’s gadget hungry populace. Typing in the destination by place name or telephone directory listing creates a route automatically with ETA checkpoints, busy road warnings, traffic light status and vocal proximity announcements – startrecking!

Some 2 hours later and we pass through Sendai cities toll gate, but the drive shaft on the front wheels pops out of place producing a grating grinding sound – not to worry, the space wagon is 4×4 so we keep on truckin! Later taken to a Nissan garage to get the front drive shaft disabled.

We ate cow tongue while watching the snow outside, saw me off and I’m alone once again – with a mountain of stuff standing outside a bus station. Wonder to my self when I’ll finally get settled! This transient life is never ending and soon I’ll be at Narita airport hoping my plane would tidy up my life by crashing into a mountain! I always wondered why the majority of suicides in the UK are committed by 25 year old males… But no! Life is something to hold on to. I have no diseases, I’m not living on the streets and I have found a new direction in life. Although that direction is against the clock now, Brighton beckons me & Sayuki, lets hope I can get a decent job on arrival!

Time to leave Japan again (the 4th time!) I’ll come back soon when I have my life sorted in the UK. shed a tear and close my book, my work here is done – I had fun!