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I eventually received my Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB Black on 1st July. It’s an amazing piece of technology. Something I’ve always dreamed of owning since 5 years ago. I’m not going to write a full review but show it being unboxed whilst it’s still all shiny.

The iPhone inside it’s box. Pretty compact as usual.

iPhone 3GS clearly marked on the side of the box. The S means it’s speedy.

The back of the box. If you want to read it, enlarge the photo on Flickr.

Just taken the cover off. Shhh, it’s still sleeping.

Underneath the iPhone are the standard accessories. A little disappointed it didn’t come with a cleaning cloth like it did with my iPod touch.

USB sync/charger cable.

This is pretty neat. Charge directly from the mains with this USB adapter.

The standard headset with inline volume control/mic. I will probably replace it with a better set and one that matches the black colour of my iPhone.

The iPhone 3GS. It’s all shiny. No smudges or scratches. I’m hoping to keep it that way. Even though I’ve had it for the last few days, it hasn’t moved far from my desk. I’m waiting for a hard case and screen protector to be delivered to give it that extra bit of protection.

Shiny rear end of my iPhone 3GS. 32GB.

As I waited for my iPhone 3GS to sync with my iTunes, I decided to take a side-by-side shot with my 1st gen iPod Touch 32GB. The iPhone is slightly larger but actually it feels much more well built and less fragile than the iPod. Left: iPod touch 32GB (1st gen). Right: iPhone 3GS 32GB

Thickness comparison. The iPhone is clearly thicker to accommodate lots of extra gadgets but certainly doesn’t feel like a brick.

I’m pretty impressed with it. Don’t regret getting it even though it’s only offered on O2 network in the UK which probably means it’s overpriced. For those who want to know, my number hasn’t changed as I’ve switched it from Vodafone, so no need to update your phonebook!

I just received this from O2.

Dear O2 Customer

Your order for a iPhone 3G S 32GB Black Postpay has been delayed due to low stock. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and can confirm that new stock will be available on the w/c 06/07/09. Your order will be dispatched as soon as possible.

Please accept our apologies

Kind Regards

O2

I’m wondering why their website said “in stock” when I paid for it on Sunday and let me choose next day delivery? Surely their systems should have seen this coming. Will just have to wait a little bit longer now.

I arrived safely back to a pretty hot UK yesterday. My room has surprisingly changed from plain white to flowery wallpaper, thanks to my parent’s DIY. All the more reason to move out now!

Anyway, I had a fun and challenging 16 months in Japan. That time has sadly come to an end though I’m not complaining at all about having to come back. It’s just hard to leave a country after living and working there and having made many friends. It was, at times, emotional too, especially after meeting a very special person (who shall remain secret). It’s always hard to say good-bye.

My last week in Japan was pretty hectic but I had a party almost every night. Mostly dinner with friends and co-workers. A huge thanks to everyone who could attend and also to those who I met during my time there. They made my stay really nice.

This was one group of friends (Hanako et al) at a jail themed restaurant called the Lockup. They asked the restaurant to give a special gift because I was leaving. So I got a birthday cake, despite it not being my birthday, and this Polaroid. (Sorry, I didn’t use a scanner.) The card they presented the Polaroid in spelt the restaurant name as “Rockup” and the space labelled for you to write a message said “Massege” making me think of a massage. Japanese English always puts a smile on my face. Huge thanks to Hiromi who helped me arrange it.

Later that evening I finally had a chance to go to Ayano’s bistro (Les Rendez-vous de Tokyo). It’s a cute little place in Nishi Azabu (near Roppongi). I wish I had the time to go and eat there but I did try an incredibly delicious Fondant Chocolat. Sweet Ayano also treated me for the meal and drinks. It’s a shame I never got to spend a lot of time with her.

During the weekday, I had dinner in Ginza with Alphametrics staff, Miho, Yuji and Kiyomi. So glad I could see them all again. Had some fun weekends with all of them and they were always very helpful.

My very last night was at Hilton Narita. I didn’t want to wake up really early the next day to travel to the airport. For sure, I didn’t sleep on the plane as always but I could stay awake without feeling too tired. I got some good shuteye in the taxi on the way back from Heathrow though.

This is for a bug report…my in flight entertainment system didn’t really like me pushing the buttons too much.

Anyway, what’s next? First I need to tidy my room and read half a year’s worth of post. Next, I’m on the market looking for a new/used car so I have some wheels to get to work. The iPhone 3GS has also jumped on to my “must buy now” list as I really need something where I can be connected all the time, hence a 3G smartphone.

And in a little over 2 weeks time, I’m heading off to Thailand for a bit of work and holiday. Still need to plan that!! So yes, I’m still fairly busy but I have a couple of days off before I start work again on the 1st of July.

I’m just 3 days away from leaving Japan now. At the moment, I’m living out of my backpack as I’ve flown all my belongings home already. I think I packed my USB card reader too so I’ll upload photos once I’m back in Cambridge. My old laptop doesn’t have a MemoryStick reader… I have a farewell party almost everynight. No time to do anything these days.  I’ll miss all my friends I’ve made here, as well as life in Japan but looking forward to going back too.

A little while ago I wrote about free money. Well today I got a notice in the post that it was transferred and it was indeed in my bank account. Pretty good timing considering I’ve only got one week left in this country. Lots of work still to do and almost a party every night starting from tomorrow!

So I booked some flights yesterday using my AmEx card from Lloyds TSB. About 5 minutes later I got a call on my UK phone. I wondered what it was for a while, as I hadn’t heard it ring for over a year but realised it was a phone call and picked it up eventually. The voice on the other end was a recorded message and it said it was from my bank. It called me “Mr Robert L. I. U.”, presumably because the computer didn’t know how to pronounce my name.

I followed through a few questions quizzing me some details which I had to answer by pressing my keypad then it confirmed some transactions. It cleverly asked questions that they should know and I should know but didn’t ask me directly for it. E.g. what was the year of my birth. Press 1 for 1984, 2 for 1974…etc. It seems pretty smart and safe for the consumer and I assume that if I had selected the option that they weren’t genuine transactions they would have stopped my card and reversed those transactions. My cards have been blocked by bank’s security checks on average once per year per card. Which makes me think that my spending habit is exactly like that of a stolen credit card… Perhaps the banks should offer some other way of confirming these transactions are genuine without the inconvenience of blocking the card and waiting for me to call them! So, in some ways, I was quite happy about the call from Lloyds TSB but it did take about 5 minutes of my time (I wonder how much that cost me on my roaming plan?!).

This was probably my last trip in Japan but it was a fun and a relaxing break from work. I went to Kumejima （久米島）, one of the most beautiful islands in the Okinawa Islands group with a sub-tropical climate. Kumejima is accessed by a short 30 minute flight from Naha Airport on Okinawa’s main island. It was by a propeller aircraft as pictured below. I particularly liked the illustration on the safety briefing card in my front seat pocket. The ride itself was quite exciting too as the small plane was very susceptible to turbulence. It felt like a roller-coaster at times with everyone in the plane shouting “whooaaa” in sync.

After a 30 minute bus ride across the island, which seemed like a ghost town as there was practically no one around, we arrived at our hotel, Resort Hotel Kumejima Island on the east of the Island. We headed straight to the beach. There were scattered clouds and the usual summer haze with the humidity but it was so beautiful. This is Eef beach （イーフビーチ） on the eastern side of Kumejima.

This is me going as far as I could without getting wet. The water was crystal clear and had an amazing blue/green colour to it.

The first night’s dinner included stuffing ourselves with typical Okinawan dishes.
Goya chanpuru – a slightly bitter vegetable, typically fried with egg and ham (aka SPAM). We also had sashimi and a fish from Okinawa. Finally finishing with Taco Rice. I don’t know the origin of this last dish but I think it’s got something to do with the American military in Japan. It’s surprisingly tasty though with its mixture of rice, salad, beef and cheese!

The next day we went by boat to Hatenohama (ハテの浜). An almost unspoilt stretch of white sand beaches just off the east of the Kumejima island. We went snorkeling here and enjoyed an almost private beach to ourselves.

Apart from a couple of posts with bamboo sticks on top of it for make-shift shade, this loo seemed like the only permanent structure on Hatenomaha.

I think our tour guide, pictured below, has quite a nice job. Just drive the boat to the island, enjoy the scenery, then drive us back.

Later in the afternoon, we decided to rent a car. Originally, we thought the island was small enough to navigate by foot but in reality, it’s a big little island. Our hotel assistant was very helpful and negotiated a discount for us. We got 1 days free rental and we didn’t need to fill up the car on return. How nice. We drove around various sites on the southern coast (all amazingly beautiful and can be seen in my Flickr album) before stopping at Aarahama （アーラ浜） to watch the sunset. The waters were so calm and like the rest of the island, not another soul in sight.

The last night’s dinner was at a restaurant with live Okinawan traditional music. The food was great and so was the entertainment. I was surprised when some people from the audience could join in the show but I have a feeling that being a small island, everyone knows everyone and they all know Okinawan music. The place name in Japanese is 島風 (〒901-3108　久米島町字比嘉160-90 TEL.098-985-7333), just opposite the Resort Hotel Kumejima Island. The traditional folk music will sound strange for some but I can only associate it with nice memories so I like it a lot. Both times I have heard this is in Okinawa, which will probably always be in my top places I’ve visited.

Keeping with the advances in technology, my videos are now available in HD! I’ve only uploaded the two best videos onto YouTube. You can switch on HD by clicking the “HD” button but it’s probably better viewed at the full resolution directly on YouTube then.

A slightly more upbeat tune:

The final day we spent visiting all the sites on our tourist map before heading back to the airport to go back to Tokyo. I wish I had more time to enjoy the Okinawa Islands more.

I racked up just over 600 photos and videos with my new camera on this trip. As always, I only select the best for Flickr. Check out the lot on Flickr: Kumejima, Okinawa

A friend of mine, Ayano, just opened her own restaurant in Tokyo last weekend. She called me a few times to ask for help with construction and assembly of furniture but I never had time. I also missed the opening party last weekend but I hope I will get the time to check out her new bistro before I leave this country at the end of this month.

Hide Bldg B1 3-13-20 Nishiazabu, Minato-ward, Tokyo
Phone 03-54-10-8110
Website http://lesrendezvous-tokyo.com

Last weekend a group of us headed down to Sendai, a few hours north of Tokyo. This was our lunch, cow’s tongue. Very tasty believe it or not.

We also saw one of Japan’s three views, Matsushima, a cluster of hundreds of tiny islands. We didn’t explore much so didn’t really get a photo that showed this place off but it’s in my memory anyway.

It was more like a relax and sight see weekend. Got to try a nice onsen at the hotel too aswell as have another grand Japanese dinner. At night, we enjoyed the region’s number one sake.

This is a shot of everyone I got using the “smile” function on my new camera. It will automatically take a picture when someone smiles. No need for a timer, though that options also available. I added the other shots on the sides so you can see the sequence of events!