ようこそ!

Hello and welcome to this milestone post – week 26 means I have been living here in Kyoto now for six months. Does it feel like six months? Hard to answer that question. I do feel quite settled and I’m not sure how I’d go if I had to return to Adelaide. I suppose I thought everything would be in place by now, or very close to it – I continue to learn patience. I am glad I had time at home by myself after leaving work before coming here, because I think it has helped me cope a bit better being by myself for so long.

I thought I might spend most of this post on a retrospective journey. What has been achieved, what is still to happen, my favourite times here, along with my favourite photos (which I am placing throughout the text).

Looking back, the hardest time was definitely the initial phase, when I really was alone, not knowing anyone here except our real estate agent and without the kids. The kids certainly have helped keep me occupied since their arrival, with cleaning, feeding and outings to obtain supplies. They also give me someone to talk to, apart from myself. Weather-wise I am definitely not a lover of cold weather, so that added to the initial toughness of living here.

I think once I settled into a routine it became much easier. Planning my week based around the weather and what needed to be done certainly helped. Also learning where everything was and which places were best for particular items. One thing I learned fairly early on is that the Fresco supermarkets aren’t all the same, both in size and particularly in what they stock. So, depending on what I need, I will go to the one that is most appropriate. I have a circuit of five I go to. I also learned that prices for specific items can vary markedly. Ironically, the best place for muesli and range of pasta is the large bottle shop nearby!

I also found that email, Whatsapp and my posts really helped me stay sane and keep in contact. Apart from my constant contact with Craig (he checks up on me if he doesn’t hear from me regularly), I am very grateful to all of you who have added comments to my posts and sent me emails. The comments reassure me that people are actually reading my mostly verbose pieces! At this point I would particularly like to thank some wonderful friends who have made it their mission to keep talking to me – Triscia and Kim. Their emails have helped keep me sane and cheer me up at various times.

So, what have we achieved? We have bought a carpark (later to become a minshuku!), found an architect and builder who seem to really ‘get’ what we want (I particularly loved the addition of three cats in the backyard of all the house design versions), the approvals process has begun for said minshuku and we have now been approved for a further 12 month visa to stay here. Working with the architect and builder really has been great and they have really listened to what we have been asking for. At this point I should also say how lucky we were to find a builder who is related to an English language teacher. Her ability to translate what we are trying to say into Japanese has been invaluable.

What is still to happen? The elephant in the room…the one hurdle to get over…the fly in the ointment…finding someone to buy our house. It seems the people with the money don’t want a house with a large backyard and pool and the people who like/love our house don’t have the money. Craig can’t move here until the house is sold and settled, and we can’t actually start building our minshuku until we have the money. I keep hoping and praying.

My favourite times here? Well, there have been some lovely moments here related to my interactions with various locals and there are some very funny things on local tv at times. The best times, however, have been when I have had visitors. The first time that Craig came back here after ‘dropping me off’ here was a blessing. It had been around three months since I had last seen him, which was quite difficult considering we have always done most things together.

(wtf is that?)(and that?)

It was also wonderful to have guests here to do ‘touristy’ things together. When Kerry was here, it was wonderful to see all the places I had been to before through another set of eyes. I really enjoyed being a tour guide for those few days. Steven, on the other hand, has been here before, so I had to spend more time beforehand thinking about where he has been before and what he might like to do. One thing it highlighted for me is that wandering around in the back streets, which I enjoy doing a lot, was also enjoyable for both of them.

As to my favourite photos, I have selected some to just throw in randomly above and below, as a form of punctuation, rather than having a huge block of them.

Turning to this week – well, it has been a fairly routine week except for one thing…the sumo! Ok, it goes for 15 days, but this week was the ‘pointy end’ of the basho. I couldn’t have asked for a better result to celebrate my six months in Japan, than for Hakuho to win. In fact, not only did he win, but he did so in style by winning all 15 bouts he fought. The final fight, last night, had him up against Harumafuji, another favourite of mine. It was a fantastic bout, lasting just under 1½ minutes. Hakuho was like a rock; Harumafuji tried everything he could but Hakuho just stood firm and waited him out.

My other favourite rikishi is Takayasu. I like him because he is so laid back in his personal style – he just sort of wanders in to the dohyou (ring), does a few ritual bits and pieces, wanders out, grabs some salt, chucks it in,…but, just before tachiai, his fighting face comes out, and he has been winning quite a few bouts recently. In fact they are saying he is certain to be promoted to the next division before the next basho. This also made me happy (and his mother, who was there to support him win the required number of bouts for promotion).

So, that about wraps it up. I thank you all for continuing to read my blog and hope I continue to keep it interesting enough that you will read on!

Kanpai!!!