Let's Catch Up

Happy New Year, everyone! As always, it has been a while but I've been super busy during December. The good kind of busy, for sure, but it was nice to have a few chilled out days this week. I have been off week for most of this week because New Year's is a big deal here and pretty much the only time of the year when some shops and most businesses are closed.

The biggest news is probably that I have finally moved apartments and I love my new place! It is so much nicer, brighter, bigger and overall awesome than my last one. It is still not massive or anything but it is most definitely big enough for only me and it has been so much fun furnishing it! I got really lucky with most of my furniture and found a great deal online. I also went to Ikea this week to get some smaller things like plates, cutlery etc. Now that I have a kitchen again I have no excuse not to cook!

The other day I made nabe (Japanese hot pot) because one of my colleagues from work kindly gave me her old nabe pot and I was really feeling something warm, comforting and on top of that easy to make. I pretty much threw everything I had in my fridge in the pot and it turned out soooo good! The stock I used was kimchi based which made it even heartier and a bit spicy, and then I just added lots of greens (Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, onions etc) and some udon as well as small sausages hahaha. It was honestly awesome and lasted me 3 meals.

Other than this, I have been having lots of Korean food especially Korean BBQs. Shinokubo definitely is the place to go for those. Following is a random selection of food I have been having over the past week. The second one is my to-go-to when I miss my dad´s Schnitzel: roast katsu, or deepfried breaded pork with cabbage and rice. So damn good!

Speaking of home, it's also been my birthday (and of course, Christmas!) not too long ago and I have been really spoiled from friends and family at home. Thank you, thank you, thank you! ;-; It was hard being away from my family over the holidays but at the same time, it is so nice to know that there are so many people thinking about you even if they are thousands of miles away. I feel really lucky and blessed to have so many special people in my life.

I also sent out quite a lot of Christmas/NY's cards myself and it's definitely a habit I want to keep doing. Sending and receiving mail is so much fun and Japan has so many cute post cards, I imagine most of you will find some more mail by me in your letter boxes over the next year. :)

As for 2014 in general, it's been great. Honestly speaking, the past year has been really good for me- there were many highlights such as graduating from university and my family coming to Liverpool to visit, going through a crazy interview process to eventually get the job offer and then of course, moving to Tokyo. Of course it's been really stressful and challenging too; finishing off those final reports for university, waiting for feedback from my company, starting my first full-time job. It's not been easy. But, so far it has been worth it for me.

I have learnt so much, I have changed and grown as a person. I feel more certain about what is important to me in life, which things matter and which don't, who I want to surround myself with and who I can wish well and simply move on without. For 2015, I want to keep this pace up, do well at work, enjoy living here to the fullest, make many more friends and also not neglect my old hobbies! I really miss sitting down with a book, watching a film, or even play games. To be honest, I have already caught up on some movie releases this week as I finally own a TV again! It has been incredibly nice to just chill on the couch for an hour or two, as silly as it may sound.

I really sincerely hope 2015 will be a great year for everyone reading this as well and let me know if you have any resolutions <3

Visiting New Places

 

It's autumn in Japan, yesss! As per usual this weekend I made sure to get some fresh air and check out some more local parks in my area (Tokyo has so many nice green spots!) and thankfully the weather stayed nice and warm throughout the entire weekend. Friday was such a nice day with not a single cloud in the sky- we could even see Mt Fuji from our office- so I was a bit worried that that was going to be it and it would rain again in the weekend. But it didn't! All the pictures above are from yesterday and earlier today.

I checked out Bagel Standard, a cute shop selling New York Style bagels in Nakameguro which I can only recommend. They had so many different types of bagels and fillings it was hard to only pick one. In the end I went with a berry bagel filled with cream cheese, nuts and honey. I also got a green smoothie with no added sugar which I then went to enjoy near the riverside. Perfect day to have lunch outside! I was almost tempted to go back and get some more bagels for breakfast next week but instead ended up walking towards Ebisu from where I rode the train home.

Speaking of home, the most exciting thing I did this weekend was probably go to see two new apartments. I liked them both (they are both sooo much better than where I am currently living) and I will be signing the contract for one of them at the end of next week. I'll be moving a little further out of the city just because it is cheaper and my new apartment is literally going to be double the size of my current one. (Which still doesn't make it big by any means but still! I'm exciteddd.) This also means I will be all moved and settled in less than a month's time so I will be spending Christmas in my new place (and at work, haha). Yay!

I don't really have much more to say right now so I'll just leave you with another picture I took in Shinjuku the other night. I had a really good time in our Shinjuku office this past week! ^^

A Month Of New Beginnings

It's September! September and December are my two favourite months of the year. December, I love because Christmas is very special to me and I enjoy the weeks leading up to it almost as much as actual Christmas Day. I'll be the first to put up bits of decoration around the house, light up cinnamon scented candles, and walk around town simply enjoying the various illuminations. Though Christmas in Japan is very different and much less festive than what I am used to from home, I know Tokyo is going to have super pretty illuminations at the least. 

But let's come back to September first. The reason I've always enjoyed this month is because it sort of symbolises new beginnings for me. After the long summer break, I've always looked forward to going back to school or university in September, and it feels a bit weird to me that this year will be the first year in many, many that I'm not going to go back to classes.

September is when the days are starting to get cooler again, it's rainier and gives me more excuses to get all comfy with a cup of tea inside. Despite the fact I used to complain about the rain a lot while I lived in England, I've come to realise that I secretly enjoyed English weather a lot, because nothing really beats a hot drink, a cozy blanket and some Netflix while it's pouring it down outside...

Going to miss my little man when I move, d'aw.

With school starting in September, I've always had a good excuse to buy new pretty stationary too, as well as perhaps get a hair-cut or get that new piece for my wardrobe which I could wear on my 'first day back in school'. I always enjoyed seeing familiar faces again and September is usually when my motivation for the new term was at its peak. By November I usually felt a little worn out already, but then I had December to look forward to again.

Now, this year is going to be a little different. Instead of catching up with friends while complaining about the new class timetable, compare how little school work you've done over the summer and sit on your phone during the first few introductory classes, I'm going to be moving across the globe to start a new lifestyle and full-time employment for the first time in my life. I've been to Japan often enough at this point that without a doubt, in a way it will also feel like going "home", simply to another part of the world which is very dear to me.

But at the same time, it's going to be a change in pace for sure and there will be a lot of new experiences waiting for me. Waking up every day and putting on a suit before jumping on a crowded train in central Tokyo to go to work is very different from rolling out of bed occasionally at 10am to go to my first class at university, often wearing two different socks and forgetting my pencil case at home and having to borrow pens from classmates.

It's going to be challenging, but I'm so excited to be moving in about two weeks time and make all these new experiences. I feel lucky and blessed to be able to look back at my university life fondly and be grateful for the friendships I have made, the things I have learnt and the confidence I gained. Without doubt, all of these things are going to come in handy in the coming weeks. September, please treat me kindly this year, too. ♡

An Update On Things

I really suck at this blogging thing, I can't believe 2 months have already passed since my last entry. I feel like nothing much has changed since the old Livejournal days in that aspect.

However, exciting things have been going on and I'm very happy to be able to (officially) say I'll be moving back to Japan in September. My 就職活動 aka job hunting has been rather tough- I always thought graduate schemes and/or jobs which require 5+ interviews were a myth! - but no, they exist, and I'm more than lucky and excited I managed to pass all rounds for my top choice of companies to work for.

I've been wanting to go back to Japan for a while now- actually, probably ever since I left Fukuoka around this time last year. I loved living in Fukuoka. I had great friends there, a nice place to live in and the city is absolutely beautiful. I thought about getting my Master's in Fukuoka for a while, but it's just too expensive especially when you are in between majors. It's just too much money to spend on something you're not 100% sure about, or have no real work experience in. Studying a field and working in one are very different by the looks of things. 

Thus, I decided to look into possible career options instead. In all honesty, continuing my studies just didn't seem right and I really felt like I wanted to start making my own money at this point. Looking into career options wasn't a quick task, but knowing what I didn't want helped narrow down my choices a lot (teaching English, a stereotypical Japanese company) and left me with few options, but one of these options proved to be for a company which I believe fits my personality and ambitions perfectly. A match made.

This week then, I had to pack up my things and leave what I called home for the past ~4 years. I'd come to feel very attached to Liverpool over the past couple of years and especially saying goodbye to my best friend was so much harder for me than I thought it would be. (Insert cheesy line here about how it wasn't a goodbye, but rather a 'See you later'... but even knowing this didn't help much when I had to get onto my train.) 

The plan though is to hopefully make enough $$$ in the future to easily fly back and forth between Europe and Japan. ^^;;;

Right now, I'm just enjoying being home and the security of having a job lined up while I wait for my Visa to be processed. I've also started looking into possible flats in Tokyo which aren't too far from where I'll be working. It's so exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time to move to a new city as big as Tokyo; Fukuoka so far has been the biggest city I've ever lived in, and I've never had to deal with rush hour or anything like that before. In Fukuoka, I just jumped on my bike when I wanted to go out. I feel like trying to cycle in Tokyo could potentially be life-endangering. I'll report back once I have found somewhere to live anyways! ^^