Japan: Sayonara

My feelings as I boarded my bargain £8 megabus to begin my journey last Tuesday were mixed to say the least. A fairly average 7 months in Hull was finally coming to an end and I was about to start what will hopefully be an exciting 3 months in Japan, on the other hand I was leaving a lot behind – not seeing any of your nearest and dearest for that length of time is a difficult prospect to face and as much as I hate to admit it, I will miss Hull. I instantly felt my decision was right when a chunky girl with bright red hair sat in front of me on the bus reminding me not to make the same mistakes as I did in China - I won’t come home no matter how much Dave Jones begs (not until July at least).

Leaving Hull

Two incredibly expensive pieces of card

I arrived at Kings Cross during rush hour where I battled through the crowds to find Alex and Anna who took me to sunny Watford for the night. We decided to get a curry - a decision which I instantly regretted the night before a long flight. After a £15 breakfast the next morning I boarded my first flight from Gatwick to Dubai. I was seated next to two very talkative Arabic men in those awkward emergency exit seats right at the front where you have to make awkward eye-contact with the stewardess during take-off and landing. What was meant to be a 7-hour flight turned into 8 when we had to circle the airport for an hour.

Dubai International was an experience. It was 33 degrees at midnight and the place is practically a city in its own right. Rather than sample the local grub I opted for a McDonalds. I have no idea how much I paid for it (I didn’t check the exchange rate), but it was a welcome break from airline food.

They wouldn't accept my instant win Bic Mac token...  

The Dubai to Osaka flight was a daunting 10 hours, but I lucked out and got a row of three seats all to myself. I was pretty knackered, so I managed to sleep for most of it (there was what can only be described as extremely violent turbulence as we flew over China which I was unfortunately awake for).

I passed through Japanese customs without a hitch and was relieved to see that my suitcase had made it the full journey (it wasn’t having a mini-break around Beijing airport like last-time). My first priority was obviously to try out the famous Japanese toilets which really are brilliant - they have heated seats and a warm water jet to get to places you wouldn’t want to put your fingers. I think the shock of a warm water enema clouded my judgement though, because I left my passport in the cubicle, thankfully a Japanese guy helped avert a crisis when he chased after me with it.

Kansai International

So I’m here safe, I haven’t been exploring yet, but who needs history and architecture to look at when you’ve got this cheeky chappy staring at you in the living room?