A Birthday in Japan

First published: 1 May 2013

Older and not very wiser.

For the first time ever, I experienced a birthday living outside my home country.

It was a slightly surreal experience. In my family, birthdays have always been treated with a lot of celebration; always with presents and a trip to dinner at a restaurant of our choice. There would also be a great deal of eating / drinking / nights out with my friends, too! Of course, as I would be outside of Scotland for the first time during my birthday in May 2012, it would be impossible for me to uphold the same traditions as normal.

To celebrate turning 24 years of age, I decided to have a small birthday party with my fellow English teachers at El Dorado, a brilliant little Mexican restaurant in Takamatsu run by a warm-hearted woman named Takako. Several ALTs and Tak residents piled in for a night of eating and drinking, and I was touched by the warm turnout. The highlight of the evening was receiving a specially personalized birthday cake for the occasion.

A slice of magic.

At my English club in Kozai, I was surprised to receive a wealth of gifts from the club members, including traditional Japanese lacquer-ware and a cloth to be wrapped around my head (I swear it makes me look like a criminal). In addition to all of these, my good friend Hiroko also supplied me with my very own Yukata (complete with shoes!). A type of Summer-kimono to be worn in warm weather, it was a lovely tribute.

Nae messin'.

That wasn't it. When teaching a class at Kozai Elementary School, I was surprised when - a few minutes before the bell rang - the class charged at me with a huge banner - complete with the words 'Happy Birthday Gavin' - and threw confetti which they'd made. Another lovely gesture. Meanwhile, the classes at Tsuru-Uchi Shougakkou in fifth and sixth year each gave me a traditional Japanese toy throughout the day, with part of the lesson dedicated to teaching me how to use it. I received spinning tops, kendama, juggling balls... and kana cards for the Karuta game.

The celebrations were rounded off with a small package from home filled with presents (courtesy of my parents and sister). After all, it just wouldn't have felt like my birthday unless there had been some butter tablet and Tyrell's crisps! I had more confectionery than I could have dreamed of.

It was all far more attention that I ever expected to receive. Living in Japan can occasionally get quite lonely, but my birthday here was a wonderful reminder that I had plenty of friends and people who cared about me in this country. I really felt lucky to be here.

Around Shikoku with 'Why Not': Tokushima and Kochi

First published: 30 Apr 2013

An early Sunday morning in Kochi.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Taylor and I travelled to Tokushima for the purpose of water rafting for the first time. It was an incredible experience, and you can read all about it here.

Water-rafting = bantz!

That trip was within the wider context of a weekend trip around both Tokushima and Kochi, as run by the 'WhyNot' group that operates within Japan. As I mentioned in my water-rafting post, the 'WhyNot' group operates tours across Japan that encourage interaction between groups of (mostly young) foreigners in Japan with other Japanese citizens, in order to explore and experience Japan while forming social bonds. It's a good little enterprise that I hadn't heard of before this trip. Taylor introduced me to the group for the purposes of water-rafting, but we took the opportunity to see a bit more of the wider areas in Tokushima and Kochi as well.

Travelling with the 'Why Not' group in Kochi.

One note; I didn't bring my Canon 60D along for the trip! A small regret that I could only use my iPhone to photograph these beautiful places.

The Anpanman Train

Children's TV characters and trains.

You'd think Thomas would have been the obvious choice?

One Friday evening in May, Taylor made her way up from Yamaguchi-ken (in the far West of Japan) to my hometown of Takamatsu. We indulged in some ramen noodles and kipped down for an early start the next day to Tokushima, taking the famous Anpanman train (!) from Kagawa to the pick-up point.

The Anpanman trains are a pretty excellent exhibit; plastering the face of the popular Japanese children's character onto regular JR trains that operate in the four prefectures of Shikoku. The trains are all Anpanman themed, full of customised chairs, roof decorations and even children's play areas. Each station and train on the line has it's own stamp to press into a stamp book you can pick up at the Shikoku stations. A fun little thing for the kids, but you'd be surprised how many grown men in suits you can see stopping to stamp their Anpanman books! Naturally, I made sure to pick up my own copy and begin my collection.

You wouldn't see this on ScotRail.

Of course, we made our way to Tokushima where we were collected by the WhyNot group, and of course we started our day with some water-rafting. After an exciting (and certainly wet) afternoon traversing the rapids, we returned to the bus - hair dripping wet - and began our evening travel to Kochi.

Overnight in Kochi

Our accommodation for the evening:

an overnight stay in a former school.

You may be interested to know that I didn't actually know we were going to Kochi during our trip. Taylor had mentioned "water rafting in Tokushima" and I hadn't really looked into it any more than that! It wasn't until after we'd left the prefecture that, when talking to fellow travellers, I discovered we'd just left Kochi. Talk about being slow on the uptake!

Travelling on the big travel bus.

After a trip to a local supermarket for supplies, we arrived at a former school somewhere in a valley in Kochi. The school was just as it was; full of classrooms, blackboards and school corridors, but had been turned into a small youth hostel of sorts which the 'WhyNot' group had booked out for the weekend. It was certainly an unusual venue! We spread our futons out across several former classrooms, with boys separated from girls.

Unchanged from it's former school days.

A delightfully spooky setting...

The corridors were dimly lit and the whole place had an unusual, creepy atmosphere. I certainly wouldn't like to be there alone at night, as it felt a bit like a horror film set! Seeing rows and rows of empty classrooms with darkened and inaccessible rooms set a bizarre tone which we weren't expecting. However, the company was good and plentiful, with everyone making light of the situation. I think it only added to the unique nature of the experience, and I wouldn't have traded the location for anywhere else. I loved it.

Getting creative with the blackboards.

After a quick shower, I joined everyone downstairs for a large barbeque party in the school grounds. All of the guests on the trip were present, along with the tour guides. As night had fallen in, the grounds were lit by the light of several fires, and we proceeded to drink merrily and indulge in social engagements. I met plenty of interesting people - most of whom were fellow ALTs on both JET and Interac - and even managed to hold a conversation in French! The only downside was the lengthy trek to the toilets on the far corner of the school; very isolated, and in a very dark area.

As the evening progressed, different groups went their different ways, but I stayed up to the early hours discussing Scottish independence with a group of Irish and American ALTs.

Up early the next day - and not quite ready to face the day - we trekked downstairs to the school grounds where we posed for photographs in a large group. Unfortunately, we were unable to use the showers in the morning (my cynical nature made me suspect it was an excuse to get us on the bus faster). As we trekked to the bus, the scale and beauty of where we were stretched out before us - absolutely stunning in the morning sun.

Iya Kazurabashi Rope Bridge (Tokushima)

  

After a lengthy bus ride (and plenty of conversations upon it), we arrived back in Tokushima prefecture by the Iya Kazurabashi Rope Bridge.
The bridge was certainly an interesting sight to see, placed in the remote Iya valley and with apparently an unclear and conflicting history. From what my research has told me, this bridge is one of three remaining bridges from a full set of thirteen (though I didn't see any others nearby).

Being the largest bridge, Iya Kazurabahsi seemed to have turned into quite the tourist spot, and the interwoven vines which make the bridge are now supported by concealed steel cables which make sure the whole thing doesn't collapse. Certainly good to know, but walking along the bridge, I couldn't help but notice how wide the gaps between the footholds were!

Oh my...

After crossing the bridge, the group took some time to relax in and around the valley below. Many people stopped at a waterfall just on the other side of the bridge, which offered a nice bit of sightseeing before moving down the rocks to the valley. It was a warm day with cool water, and plenty of people went barefoot among the rocks or dipped their toes in the water. It was a very pleasant setting. Most people who exposed their feet to the water - including myself - discovered them to be covered with strange, tiny black creatures (leeches?) which had lodged themselves to our feet. Everyone was constantly trying to remove them, though they seemed fairly harmless.

I'm not gonna lie; I felt like a much-needed dip

after failing to have a shower that morning...

A small anecdote is that Taylor almost lost one of her shoes in the running water. It was retrieved just in time by another boy on the trip, just before it swept away for good. Hopefully her feet weren't too damp for the rest of the day!

Beautiful.

Fighting the fishies.

The surrounding area had a few little shops and restaurants which offered venues for lunch. I picked up a smoked fish - fully intact - and ate it off the stick, which was actually delicious! I sat with a few people I'd met the previous day in a small cafe to eat, where another girl ate far more of her fish than I did. The area felt very traditional and "Japanese", despite its accommodation of tourists.

Surprisingly pleasant.

Naruto Whirlpools (Tokushima)

The Naruto whirlpools beneath the Onaruto bridge.

Our final stop for the day was at the Naruto whirlpools situated beneath the huge Onaruto bridge (which was very reminiscent for me of the Forth Road Bridge back in Scotland). The whirlpools (known as "naruto" in Japanese) are a popular tourist attraction in the city of Naruto - I presume the city was named after them. We would be taking a boat tour out to see and experience the whirlpools first hand. A service runs constantly everyday, as - surprisingly - the whirlpools are apparently very safe and pose little danger to the boats.

Photo from a Google search.

We made our way out to see the whirlpools, getting a gorgeous view of the surrounding scenery in the process. While we could certainly see the thrashing water, I'm told that the best views of the whirlpools are actually from above, and I must admit that I found it difficult to distinguish any circular patterns. It was certainly thrilling to get so close to the waters and to see the waves and splashes so intimately, but I feel a return journey is necessary to complete the visual spectacle the whirlpools are said to give. It was unfortunately very difficult for me to take any satisfactory photographs!

A bit dark.

Following our visit the whirlpools, we returned to the bus stop where I would have to make my departure. As I lived in Shikoku, it was easier for me to take the train service in Tokushima back to Kagawa prefecture and my home Takamatsu. I said my farewells, and sat waving at the bus stop as I watched the 'WhyNot' group - and Taylor - disappear.

---

It was an enlightening weekend. Shikoku is the smallest of Japan's islands, and yet because I live here I rarely explore it as much as I do other parts of Japan. As well as being an opportunity to meet some new friends and enjoy some extreme sports, the trip served as a small reminder that there's still a lot to do here on my own doorstep, and definitely encouraged me to try and see a bit more.

A big thank you to the 'WhyNot' group - they were exceptionally well-organised, very inclusive of all of the weekend travellers, and definitely the best travel service I've been with in Japan. I'd recommend them to anyone.

Water-Rafting in Tokushima

First published: 10 Apr 2013

Water-rafting!

A well-known and famous past-time in Tokushima is the water-rafting, something which I have always been keen to do but until recently had never had the chance to. Many of my friends in Kagawa had already experienced it, but until last year I hadn't had the opportunity to pop over to the prefecture next door and try it for myself.

Chilling with Taylor.

Meet the team.

That all changed last Summer just a few weeks before my birthday. My friend Taylor-Gabrielle Moyer, with whom I'd travelled to Hiroshima and Miyajima back in January (and whose blog you can read here), wanted to try water-rafting in Tokushima with the 'Why Not' group, operating with the company 'Happy Raft'. It was a fantastic opportunity, and I happily agreed to be her companion.

Wet-lense.

Coming along with the 'WhyNot' group, there was a great mix of both Japanese and foreign participants. Starting just after mid-day, we headed down in groups of six or so down the Yoshio River in Iwahara, Ootoyo-cho (which, according to the Happy Raft website, is right in the middle of Shikoku!). Each raft was assigned an instructor / guide, who made sure we made our way safely down the river. Instructions were provided fully in English, as were life-jackets and helmets (thankfully!).

Pre-rafting lunch!

If you look carefully, you can see that I'm caught staring at the camera.

Needless to say, it was brilliant. There was splashing a-plenty, and lots of deliberate falling / pulling into the water. The party also stopped for a brief bit of high jumping from a small cliff edge into a deep pool of water. The fall was much longer than anticipated, and every one created a high splash (I may or may not have screamed when I flailed in).

Dignified.

There were also plenty of rapids for us to travel down, where the river steepened and the water rushed down dips and splashed against heavy rocks. At times like this, we'd almost lose complete control of the raft and have to simply duck in anticipation of an inevitable collision with the waves as we raced down with the flow. It was thrilling.

Exhilarating!

The 'Why Not' trip actually took place over a full weekend and encompassed a lot of sightseeing in Tokushima, too! More on that later, though. For now, here's some photographs of our time water-rafting (as well as falling in the water!).

This really was a fantastic experience. I loved it, and would recommend this day out to anyone (so long as you don't have a heart condition, pregnancy, nor mind a bit of water!). Check out Happy Raft here if you're interested!

A fun day out for all.

For more information on the WhyNot group and some of the activities they organise monthly across Japan, check out their website here too!

Finally, you can read Taylor's blogging on the subject here and here!

School English Board!

One of the ways many ALTs try to further engage with students outside of the classroom is through the use of an English Board. Basically, this is a noticeboard which is periodically updated with information by the ALT, usually on cultural activities within their own countries, in order to get the students to practice reading and learn about the ALT's home culture.

I'd been wanting to set up one of my own for a while now, but for various reasons was unable to. However, with the start of the new school year, the fellow English teachers at the school were keen to try out the concept at Katsuga JHS. After finding a suitable location where all the students could see it (in the shoe locker / lobby area), I set to work during my free periods over the last several days prepping a board.

Here's what I've come up with.

Gavin's English Board;

in the lobby area of Katsuga Junior High.

This is only the left-hand side board which I'm intending to leave up permanently, as a general introduction to both myself and Scotland. There are a few modifications I intend to make, too (I'll be buying white labels to add small annotations to some of the pictures, and I'll be sticking the URL up for my English blog). Everything was put together over three days, pulling images from Google and my own archives. The plan is for the top half to be easily read by the low-level readers (with BIG letters), while more advanced grammar and writing is below, hopefully drawing in interest with the pictures. After a bit of juggling around to get everything in place, I glued it all down and pinned it up this afternoon.

That's a big photo.

A brief introduction to Scotland!

Preparing this section of the board took hours.

In retrospect, the face is a bit large... I think I come across a tad egotistical due to it's size (ie. "Look at my giant face, kids!"). Regardless, at least they should remember who I am. My first intention was also include a little bit about the United Kingdom, but I simply ran out of room! Hopefully it's eye catching and intriguing, as that's the main priority. I'll refine it as it goes on.

I haven't fully decided upon my plan for the second half of the board yet for this month, though I'm leaning towards doing a splash page complete with flags of the different countries that speak English. I'm planning to keep it updated at least once a month, focussing mainly on cultural holidays and any interesting currents in the UK. Luckily for me, the imminent arrival of the Olympics should prove to be a gold mine.

Let me know your thoughts, and if you have any suggestions. I'll keep you posted with the new boards as they're updated.

Eikaiwa Fun with Stephen Branston!

Recently, Canadian ALT and friend Stephen Branston came along to my eikaiwa group to do a small presentation on his home country and his culture. Everyone had a great time - including myself! Having only been to Canada once in 2006 (Toronto and Niagra Falls), it was great to learn a little bit more about the place.

Additionally; we also had a small challenge that evening for the eikaiwa members: using four random words picked from a hat, teams had to create small English skits and perform them to the rest of the group. Stephen and I decided to kick things off with our own demonstration. Our words were "donuts", "sleep", "romance" and "Help!".

Here's what we came up with...

Nagoya

First published: 28 Feb 2013

The Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers in Nagoya.

The interior contains both educational and shopping facilities.

Nagoya is Japan's third-largest city (though fourth in population); a huge urban area with some absolutely stunning scenery. It's much closer to my home in Takamatsu than Tokyo, and only a stone's throw from other revered cities like Osaka, Kobe and Nara. Despite this, Nagoya has never seemed to have had quite the same level of hype or enthusiasm attached to it, and people in my local community often seem somewhat indifferent towards it.

I find this surprising.

In my limited experience, Nagoya is one of the premier destinations in Japan, and my time there is certainly one of the highlights of my travels in this country thus far.

 The busy lobby of Nagoya JR Station.

The famous golden clock in Nagoya station; a popular meeting point.

My first and foremost reason for visiting Nagoya was to catch up with an old university friend of mine named Henry. We had both worked together at the University of Stirling on the student newspaper, 'Brig', where he held the position of Sports section editor at the same time I was editing the Film section. I remembered him fondly from my university days, and was very happy to hear he had moved from England to Japan to work as an English teacher (though not on the JET programme). As such, I'd made it a point to ensure catching up with him while we were both in the country. As the best opportunity happened to be May, a plan was made.

However, one slight hiccup! It transpired that Henry would need to spend the Saturday of my visit at work, and that I would only be able to catch up with him in the evening. No matter. It was still a great opportunity to see a new city on foot; particularly one I knew so little about. As I may have mentioned before, I enjoy exploring Japan by myself, and this was a great opportunity to do so.

Travelling from Takamatsu early on Saturday morning, I arrived in Nagoya just before midday with a rumbling belly. I was overwhelmed by an urge to eat, but luckily, the train station provided the perfect location. The large JR Central Towers were a huge structure built directly upon the central station. After getting slightly lost walking around the perimeter, I was moving several stories high to see gardened verandas and fine dining aplenty on the upper floors. The grandeur of the facility is impressive, and certainly puts the facilities of train stations within the UK to great shame.

The JR Central Towers in Nagoya.

Inside the JR Central Towers.

Quite something to think this is above a train station!

Climbing to the highest floor, I took sanctuary in a small cafe named 'Café Du Ciel', where I enjoyed a very indulgent lunch of waffles, berries and ice cream with coffee. Seated directly next to a pane-glass window while eating on a transparent, glass table was initially daunting but ultimately exhilarating. The view was simply spectacular, with completely, unobstructed exposure to the city skyline. After indulging in lunch, I stayed to treat myself by taking a few photographs.

Café Du Ciel in Nagoya JR Towers.

Not a bad decision for lunch!

After exploring the station area, I made my way towards Ōsu Kannon; a huge temple in central Nagoya with a bit of a complicated history. Originally built in 1333, it was moved to it's current location in 1620, and despite heavy fire damage in the 1800s, was fully restored in the 1970s into it's current form. It's incredibly popular - the place was full of visitors, tourists and pigeons. The scale and structure are very distinct and impressive, while the interior was packed full of Japanese men and woman making Buddhist prayers by ringing the large bell.

Ōsu Kannon temple in Nagoya.

Breathtaking.

I stayed for quite some time without realizing it, only remembering belatedly about the time. I had also wanted to visit Nagoya Castle, though time was quickly getting away from me, and so opted instead to visit somewhere a little different.

After a bit of a trek on the trains, I arrived at the Toyota Techno Museum.

It's technical.

This was quite a unique and interesting place.Not knowing much about cars, or Toyota as a brand in particular, I thought it was a unique opportunity to learn a bit more about something I had no knowledge of prior to to my visit. My visit was brief, as I had a lot to see in only a short space of time before the museum closed for the evening, but I certainly managed to take more than a fair share of photographs and learn a few things.

Cars!

...wait, Toyota made this too?!

Two particular bits of information struck me completely unawares;

(1) Toyota started life purely as a textile machinery manufacturing company, with archaic spinning weaves and different types of cotton on display from the company's formative, pre-car years.

 

It all makes sense now.

(2) The founder of Toyota was actually a man named Sakichi Toyoda. With a "D". His son Kiichiro Toyoda subsequently moved the business into automobiles.

Pretty interesting!

Old school Toyota.

Special highlights included full scale replications of the assembly line in action, and a whole cost of classic Toyota cars on display. I especially enjoyed this little concept car near the end of the exhibition;

This is a car...?

I'd thoroughly recommend exploring this museum to anyone. It really caught me unawares as perhaps the highlight of my time in Nagoya. I would say that finding the museum was a bit of a challenge, though! While only a few stops away from the central Nagoya station, I got slightly lost on foot trying to find the museum. Google Maps on your smartphone is recommended.

Leaving the museum in early evening, I made my way over to a couple of final destinations which happened to be right next to one another; the Oasis 21 complex and the Nagoya TV Tower.

Oasis 21!

The wide, open floor space of Oasis 21. It's quite something.

I decided to head for the tower first, as the light would be fading soon, and I wanted to see the view before it got too dark. However, I couldn't help but take a quick look over the balcony towards the floors of Oasis 21 below. The large open floor space was architecturally striking, but what struck me most was the presence of large dinosaurs formed out of hedges. Normally this would have been completely bizarre, but after all this time, it felt perfectly at home within Japan.

Rarrr!!

After taking a couple of snaps of the impressive, oval-shaped architecture, I made my way to the tower.

Nagoya TV Tower.

The upper floors offered a spectacular view over the city, perfectly aligned to the grid system below. As the night started to creep in, I managed to see some beautiful images as the people became silhouetted against the sky and the lights of the city began to light up the dark. It was mesmerizing, and beautiful (and somewhat romantic, thanks to the appearance of a giant wire-frame love heart that was present).

Inside the Nagoya TV tower at nightfall.

The tower offered equally as stunning imagery from the ground level. It was like a mini-Eiffel tower. Definitely a worthy travel destination (though it is worth noting there are several TV towers of this nature throughout Japan!).

Nagoya TV tower at night.

Nagoya by night; as seen from the Nagoya TV Tower.

Returning to Oasis 21, I only had time for the briefest of walks around the shops, pausing again for a few photos here and there (particularly of the dinosaurs). My priority lay on the roof; a stunning transparent floor of water which looks down upon the centre beneath, distorted by ripples in the water.

Women in kimono stroll on the roof of Oasis 21,

with the Nagoya TV Tower visible in the background.

Peering through water and glass to the floor below.

From the roof, the stunning view of the TV tower was breathtaking, with a peaceful atmosphere away from the busy city life. The bright city lights (including a ferris wheel in view) were being enjoyed by only a few small parties of people walking by, including few women walking around in kimonos. Relaxing with the sights and a cool breeze, I felt perfectly content within this city. It was around this point that it cemented itself as one of my favourite locations within Japan.

The roof of Oasis 21, as seen from the Nagoya TV Tower.

At last, I made my way back through the train lines to find Henry.

Henry had just finished work when I found him outside of his work; wearing a formal suit and with surprising energy for a man just off shift. Having not seen him in years, I was greatly looking forward to catching up. He led me to his local yakiniku restaurant, only a stone's throw from where we were. We relaxed and chatted about Nagoya, Japan, work and university days gone by.

Dinner time!

When we made it back to Henry's house, there was time for only brief video-game amusements (of the Mario Kart Wii variety - clearly inferior to it's N64 sibling). Henry had a mission; the West Ham game was on, and as a massive fan, it was the evening's mandatory entertainment. While I was rather passive towards the game (I only really care for Raith Rovers or Scotland international games), Henry's ongoing change in facial expressions were fun to document. He maintained an ongoing Skype text chat with his father throughout, and their shared burning enthusiasm was palpable.

Despair. Hope. Passion. 

The next morning, Henry and I had a small jaunt around town. Henry had intended to take me to Ōsu Kannon, but of course, I had already seen it. Despite this, I decided it would be fun to go again, regardless. And so we found ourselves back at the same location as the previous day, which I didn't mind at all, as it was a great chance to get even more photos of this particularly beautiful location.

Henry tries his hand at Buddhist prayer in Ōsu Kannon temple.

Ōsu Kannon is located right next to a very busy network of intertwined shopping arcades, which Henry had also wanted to show me. We made our way along the bustling streets, bearing witness to all manner of shop fronts and interesting locales. There was plenty to navigate, which took up a huge chunk of our day!

The busy streets of Ōsu.

Something for everyone, it would seem...

For lunch, Henry and I popped over to a chain of restaurants he insisted upon showing me; "山ちゃん" (Yama-chan). This local chain (which I have never yet seen outwith Nagoya) specialised in tebasaki - essentially chicken-wings with a spicy seasoning. Henry tried to convince me this chain could eventually take over the world a la McDonalds, but I have my reservations. I'm fairly certain the brand wouldn't fare as well internationally as KFC, and it's yet to even spread further outwith Japan itself! Having said that, the food was fantastic - some of the best chicken wings I've ever had. I thoroughly recommend anyone in the Nagoya area to make a stop here for lunch.

 

I approve.

Our main highlight of the day was the evening's rooftop Futsal tournament.

Futsal!

As I said before, Henry is a passionate fan of football, and plays it's 5-a-side variant - futsal - every weekend. Henry had invited me along to get involved in a mini tournament that was taking place that evening; including teams representing Scotland and England. Naturally, I found myself playing for Scotland and Henry for England.

Henry and the England squad.

It is often said that Nagoya has one of the largest foreign communities in Japan, and on this evidence alone, there were quite a few. There was a great turnout of people for the tournament - including several ex-pat Scots who now lived in Nagoya that were playing for the Scotland team. It was fantastic to meet them, listen to their accents and talk about their experiences since moving to Japan.

Passionate players.

I'm not particularly good at football, despite having a lot of affection for the game. I was slightly dreading the experience, as I've always found a few people can take these tournaments very seriously, and was worried a poor performance from me would let my side down (whilst representing my country, no less!). Happily, I don't think I performed all too badly - as I voluntarily kept myself in goals for most of the night. I didn't score any goals, but I kept a few out for our opponents, so that's all that counts!

Staying somewhat out of trouble.

These guys are pretty good.

In our international friendly against England, I'm pleased to report that the Scotland team was victorious! It must be said, of course, that Henry was a far superior player to myself.

Skills.


The evening winds down.

Leaving the tournament, it was a bit of a mad rush to get to the station in time for my late train that would take me back to Takamatsu. I had school the next day and was departing Nagoya around 9pm, so the Shinkansen would be my only sanctuary. After a small jaunt over to the station, which was thankfully not too far away, Henry and I said our farewells. He would shortly be heading off to London for the 2012 Olympics, and I wished him all the best on his travels. It had only been a brief reunion, but a very enjoyable one. Though I haven't seen him since, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to see him again before I make my final departure from Japan.

Luckily, I made it home in time thanks to the marvellous speed of the Shinkansen. Wonderful.

Nagoya's AKB48 variant.

It would only be a few more weeks before I'd be back in Nagoya, as I would be heading back in July to see a Sumo tournament for the first time (!). On this occasion alone, however, Nagoya had impressed me. It truly is a wonderful city, filled with excellent tourist destinations and plenty of chicken wings.

A damn fine place to visit.

Don't overlook it.