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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.