The Long Haul

As March approaches, we are approaching the period known in Japan as 新生活 (Shinseikatsu, literally meaning new life).  It's a time of general upheaval and change for people's lives, be it starting a new school (school years start in April in Japan), a new job, going to university, and/or moving to a new place altogether, probably to cater for the former.

Well, after nearly two years in Japan, it looks like I will be experiencing my first real 新生活.  Don't get me wrong, I've already become accustomed to spring-time being a period of major changes in my life (two years ago was when I moved to Japan, and last March...well, I think we all know what happened there), but this will be my first proper physical move within Japan.  I will have a new job and a new apartment, and generally, my circumstances look set to get much better - not that they were bad in the first place!

I'm stupidly excited, but also quite nervous.  True, this isn't the plunge into the unknown as it was two years ago, but it feels like I'm properly settling myself into Japan now, no longer in limbo.  I'll admit, the toughest period for me was around October/November time, when I had to do some serious soul-searching to decide, as Mick Jones once sung, "Should I stay or should I go?" It was the hardest decision I had to make, far harder than the transition from 1st to 2nd year, because I knew that if I decided to stay this time, it would mean Japan for the long haul.  There comes a period when you have to start calling a place home.  Was I ready to call Japan that?  In the end, I found the answer was, yes.

Since then, it's been a flurry of activity.  The next couple of months will be hectic, stressful and vital, but ultimately, I know I've made the right decision now.  I miss the UK, my family and my friends there, and if I had Zeus-esque powers I'd move the UK and plonk it nearer to Japan so I'd be closer to them (and cheaper too!), but in the end, I found I just wasn't ready to end my time in Japan quite yet.  I'm quietly proud of just how far I've come in just two years, how much I've seen and experienced, and I'm not ready for that to end yet.

To all who read my blog, I hope you will join me as we plunge deeper down the rabbit hole...