Orchard Road, Singapore

I had not quite made it to Singapore nor Malaysia on my trips around South Asia, so I made sure to fly home via them, with a few days in each. Sarah, who also lived in Hagi, joined me for the ride to Singapore. We stayed in a lovely hotel, and headed out our very first night to see Orchard road, where all the great malls and shopping is! It was full of people, and great stores! I snapped this picture, right down in the centre, of the cool modern art instalation they had there!

Our very last departure from Japan

Leaving Japan is often fun because it meant that we were off home for Christmas, or is more often the case, off to some lovely holiday in Asia. While I was going on holiday to Singapore and Malaysia, I was leaving Japan for the very last time. I cried badly, leaving Josh as his house, and leaving his apartement with his cute Tanooki at the door for the final time, and getting on the bus one last time. By the airport, I had myself composed at least. I handed in my gaijin residence card, and while it was holepunched, it was thankfully returned to me as a souvenier. And with that, I was off. For the final time. Japan is one of those countries that gets into your soul - it will always be a part of me!

Dinner at Outback

Our last dinner in Nara was wonderful, with all of Josh's teachers, but we were also lucky enough to go to dinner with some of our closest friends in Osaka. We are friends with the lovely Mikan and Russ and Sophie, whose wedding we were just in a few weeks early. We may

have been foreigners in Japan, but we all stuck together, and it was so lucky to get to spend time with them, and let them know how special they are to us! We also were lucky enough to get to finally go to the Outback in Osaka!

My very last day in Nara Park

I have always said that Nara park has held a special place in my heart. Come winter or summer, blazing heat or chilly wind, Josh and I have spent just so much time over the past year and a half here. It was incredible how often we ended up there for an afternoon of feeding the deer, walking around, taking pictures, before heading to the import store and then for several hours of karaoke. To be simply honest, my heart is happiest when I am there with Josh. I have so much fun and we can sit and talk for ages. And then sing our hearts out.

Last October we discovered the boats on the lake, and did that a couple times, much to my delight. I actually prefer being away from the beautiful, but busy areas like Todaiji, and instead being in the deep woods, where tourists don't often go. We have been there for deer herding, as tour guides for our

family, but the best always was the light festival in the summer. We went right after we started dating, and it was one of my favourite memories of when I finally made it through the hole in the column (the same size as Buddah's nostril). So needless to say, I have tons of great memories of Nara Park. Josh and I had one final day in Nara, before we finally left Japan. It was incredibly hot, but we went to all of our favourite places, fed as many deer as we possibly could, and just had a wonderful time. As we were leaving the park, I started to cry. Now, I am not

quite sure why, but then it felt like I was leaving everything I knew behind. I know that right then, in that moment, I certainly wasn't ready to be leaving Japan in the slightest. I have been blessed with two wonderful years in such a wonderful, wonderful country, and I wouldn't change it for a second.

My last Shinkansen ride

The last bus ride was kind of sad - it has been a massive bone of contention during my time in Japan, but really, it is always nice to have an hour and a half to just sleep on the ride to the Shinkansen station or to my house. I had actually arrived quite early for the Shinkansen, so I bought my tickets to

Shin-Osaka, to see Josh, so I stopped and took some photos. It made me pretty nostalgic. The Shinkansen is a great invention, and it cuts down a 13 hour journey to about 4....so without it, I simply wouldn't have been able to go and visit Josh! It really has been a lifesaver - that I could always go up

there on a Friday night and spend all weekend with him. It is just so unheard of in the UK to have high speed, fast, unbelieveably on time trains! It is just so Japanese too - completly stereotypical but so true! I was sad when I got off - it has been my main mode of transport for the last two years!

My last day at Hagi High School

Wednesday was my very last day at Hagi High School. It was pretty hectic, with all the people from the gas, electricty and landlord coming over to my house, but on my very last bike ride home, I stopped a few times and took some photos. I wasn't allowed

to take photos at work, until my very last day, I thought it would be wise to remember it. I took the pictures, had my house inspection, and then my favourite teacher Mrs. Shiota took me for ice cream, before I headed off for my final bus ride to Shin -Yamaguchi station. Leaving for the final time was pretty heart wrenching, because I know, while I may be coming back to Japan, it's pretty unlikely that I will make my way back down to Yamaguchi

Leaving Hagi

To be honest, leaving Hagi was much tougher and harder than I had expected. I had wanted it to be full of nice trips to the beach and slow lunches, but instead there was a lot of paperwork and packing. In the end, I did manage to finish up all the packing, I went around on my bike and took some photos

of the lovely places in town, like the beach and the castle. I also got to get lunch one day with all the ALTs in town. It was nice to see them one last time, before we all scatter across the globe. To be honest, Hagi has been a place I've loved, and I've hated....really hated sometimes. But in reality,

I was really blessed to live in Japan, in an exceedingly beautiful part of Japan, somewhere where I could ride my bike to work, and walk to the supermarket. Somewhere where I didnt have to drive, and I could do Purikura and all sorts. It was full of my cute students, who were always happy to see me outside of school. It was

a town full of history, and was SO important in Japanese history, that everyone knows about it. I was really so lucky, to even get the oppourtunity to live in Japan. I was completely and utterly NOT ready to leave. I love my life in Japan - everything was exciting every day. Every single day brought something new. And it had become home. And, as we all know, it's so hard to leave a place you call home.