A few weeks ago, my Nan turned 80 years old (go Nan!). I was lucky enough to be able to surprise her by serving her her starter at her birthday lunch in England. While at the lunch with all of the family, I got speaking to my Grandad’s brother, Uncle Robin, whose birthday also coincided with my Nan’s! Happy birthday if you’re reading! When we were chatting, we got talking about this blog. I had kind of neglected it for a while and it made me think I want to make more posts again. Possibly not as frequently as before, but it’s a good way to communicate with friends and family who don’t use social media very often. Anyway, after a about a 1.5 year hiatus, its time to get into the post.
Read more: Married Life and New ExperiencesThis post is intended to be a brief rundown of what has happened in my life since I posted last.
Last time I wrote, I mentioned about being engaged. Well that has now formed into a lovely marriage with my brilliant wife. In fact, we had our 1 year anniversary in February. We decided to get married in 22/02/2022 (all the two’s! – well, almost!). Just before getting married, we moved in together into a new flat, still in Kanazawa, but a bit closer to the central area. Our apartment has a lovely view of the mountains from the back, so we are really lucky. It’s so nice to wake up to a brilliant view, and we also get a scorching sunset in the evenings!
Following our marriage in 2022 and moving in together, Rise graduated from University. It was very different to anything I have experienced in England. She wore a Hakama (袴) which is a type of Kimono used for celebrations in Japan. I was so proud of her and thought she looked like a goddess!
In the past year, we have also been on a variety of trips (as usual) to some lovely places including Kobe (again), Osaka, England – Rise’s first time, Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma prefecture and even Thailand. I’ll attach a couple of pictures below with some captions! I feel like pictures are the best way to describe our trips!
Kobe was lovely. It was my second time visiting and it was just as peaceful as I remember the first time. The trip was packed with memories as the first trip that I took with Rise was to Kobe, back when we had been together for barely a month!
Osaka had been on my list of places to go for a while. I went there with Kingsley and Sifar (my friends) back in 2017 when we merely came to visit Japan, but I hadn’t been there since living here. Osaka has some lovely food including balls of Octopus (Takoyaki) and Kushikatsu (deep-fried, breaded skewers). Kushikatsu is definitely a recommendation of mine1
England, as above, we particularly special, because we celebrated our marriage there. While we did officially get married in Japan, it’s common practice in Japan to have the signing of documents and the wedding celebration at different times. I had immense support from my parents with the wedding and am so grateful to them.
I love a good Onsen, and this was a whole town full of them! I’d say this is one of the best places I’ve been to in Japan. It was a nice remote little town and has so much traditional culture and lovely, warming hot springs that me and Rise were very happy to soak in and then look at the little quaint shops in the town. If you are in Japan for any extended period of time, it’s highly recommended.
I already mentioned at the beginning of this post that it was my Nan’s birthday, in April – the 24th to be exact. So I spent a little bit of time in England. Unfortunately Rise couldn’t visit, but she was missed by the whole family. Here’s a few pics:
On my way back to Japan, I was due to stop off in Bangkok in Thailand. I was a lucky man because Rise met me there! One of the things I was the most excited about in Thailand, was the food…which to my surprise, didn’t end up being the highlight of my trip. I really loved the climate in Bangkok. It was hot, but that’s exactly what I wanted from a holiday. There were also some lovely sights, such as some local markets, the Jim Thompson house and the Wat Araum buddhist temple.
So here I am, back in Japan. But this time, something is different. I’m going to work but I’m not seeing any students around as I usually would. That’s because I’ve got a new job as a programmer here. I really couldn’t have done it without the help and support of my wife, I tell you that much. I had been looking for a new job for about 6 months. I had a few interviews, both online and in person and it took a while to get a feel for them.
Most companies here require you to have 3 interviews before you get a job offer, so I did go through the process quite a few times. Anyway, I have now got something secured and while I am getting a bit of a pay cut, there is potential for growth unlike in my previous job.
One big change is that the job is fully conducted in Japanese. This is proving to be a challenge, but I’m sure with dedication, my Japanese will improve tenfold in no time.
I do miss my old job, especially the students, but it was time for me to move to new pastures!
Once again, I want to apologise for the lack in posts, but I do enjoy writing these when I get the chance. To those of you who I saw when I came back, it was lovely to see you. TO those of you I didn’t see, I hope to see you sometime soon, either in England or Japan!
Thanks again for reading and feel free to comment below!
My Life in Japan - Lewis Wilson 