Wandering Albatross

Not in Kansas anymore...

yoshi — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:54:00 GMT

From skyscrapers to mountains, crowds of people to rice paddies and six lane highways to winding country lanes, Toto... it's extremely apparent that we're not in Osaka City anymore! Perhaps the biggest difference can be summed up in a three letter word: C-A-R.. In Osaka you'd be crazy to have one, here in Matsusaka you'd be stranded without. I moved to Matsusaka-shi (Mie-ken) four days ago and will be living here for the next year. For those of you who have been asking about my snail mail address, it is:

Yoshi Grote

67 - 3 Maeoki

Sotomagari-cho

Matsusaka-shi

Mie-ken

Japan 515 - 0821

The city girl inside of me misses my 24/7 buzz, bright lights and mad rushing crowds, but I am warmly compensated by surf beaches within a few hours' drive away, mountains on my doorstep, swimmable rivers, clean air and messy sunsets (oh, and the knowledge that Osaka is a mere 90mins train journey away of course! ;-) )

Photos: Osaka - Kyoto 2010

yoshi — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:48:00 GMT

Photos: Matsusaka, Mie

yoshi — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 06:32:00 GMT

Osaka - Eerily familiar

yoshi — Sun, 1 Aug 2010 09:12:00 GMT

Dogs in pajamas in strollers, piped music on public streets, the smell of takoyaki hanging in the balmy air, the incessant chatter of cicadas, the random old men who stop their bikes just to tell me it's "atsui!" (hot), people on loudspeakers - advertising, selling, the artificial bird that chirps to usher me across the five different intersecting crosswalks, the millions of blinking lights over the rushing city, the train jingles and the t-shirts that read, "Mister Hey Delicacy Future," it's all so incredibly familiar that I feel I must be cheating - have I moved at all?

My first few days "back" in Osaka have felt unsettling-ly easy. I arrived in an airport I knew, sailed through immigration with the incorrect visa and about three-too-many suitcases, walked directly to the fifth bus stop and caught a ride to the city center. I secured the chattiest taxi driver I've ever had, which did wonders for my pigeon Japanese small talk abilities on the subjects of Manchester, the weather, learning English and Japanese wives. For the moments during the conversation when I found myself lost, I realised I still had enough Japanese "uh huh?" noises in my repertoire to keep the dialogue flowing. Though it was pouring with rain and the driver had no clue (as per usual) as to where the address I gave him was, he jumped gleefully into the monsoon at every occasion to check on directions and proudly delivered me with suitcases to my door.

In my first few days I've caught up with some old friends, had a night out in Kyoto, reminded myself of the vast array of products that can be sold in vending machines and re-explored the wonders of Osaka city center and its surroundings. There are moments when all this familiarity makes me worry that this adventure may not turn out to be as new as I'd hoped... but then I remind myself that Mie will be completely different, buy myself something in the supermarket that I don't recognise, and all my fears are assuaged.

With station attendants bowing as I cross through ticket wickets and 7 - 11 cashiers shouting "Irrashaimase!" as I walk through the doors, it feels like Osaka has orchestrated a city wide "welcome back" but then, of course, it's like this every single day. For now, I'm just going to kick back and enjoy it.

Wandering On

yoshi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:27:00 GMT

After spending the last two years completing a Master's in Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands, it is time to move on again (to my 24th home in my 12th country...not that I'm collecting or anything) and this time it's back to Japan. On July 28th I will be flying back to Osaka to spend a couple of weeks with friends before heading down to Matsusaka, Mie, to take up my new post teaching in a private school.

Mie is located in the center of Honshu on the Eastern Coast of Japan and I'm within easy reach of Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo. Mie is famous for Nagashima onsen (hot spring), lobsters and oysters as well as the (female only) profession of pearl diving.

No postal address just yet but watch this space and come visit!

Yoshi

Photos: The Netherlands Feb - June 2010

yoshi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:34:00 GMT

Photos: London

yoshi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:09:00 GMT

Photos: Lapland

yoshi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:39:00 GMT

Photos: Jyvaskyla

yoshi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:59:00 GMT

Photos: Bali & Lombok

yoshi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:47:00 GMT

Photos: Okinawa

yoshi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:19:00 GMT

Photos: JET - Highlights

yoshi — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:38:00 GMT

Photos: Lugano

yoshi — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:20:00 GMT

Photos: Childhood travels

yoshi — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:58:00 GMT