2025, a year in Japan

So how did the year go... Well, I have a friend in Tokyo who, earlier this year, managed to win the lottery for Oasis tickets at Wembley (London if you were wondering). That clearly meant a long flight and a few days back in the UK. And one of the greatest concerts ever performed which registered on the Richter Scale on the day. But before flying, he also won a ticket for the Tokyo leg of the tour. Unperturbed, he arranged to go to both however, this is where the universe has a sense of humour, he was accepted to a year long course, in said London, which commenced before the Tokyo event was held in October. So he went to the Wembley show from Tokyo and the Tokyo show from London. Potentially setting an accidental record.

I, on the other hand, did not win the Tokyo lottery and, despite desperate efforts, totally failed to gain a seat. That was, until the night before, when my son casually mentioned he had a spare (yes, he'd be holding it for about a month while I sweated). And so I got there. With a broken arm from two weeks prior, six pins in my shoulder and the firm belief I had a lot more time to break other bones but possibly only this chance to see the band. And so I went, my 27 year old son in the vanguard down the un-railed stair of Tokyo Dome,  with his friend bringing up the rear. And the crowd around me, when they saw I was slung up and unsteady, actually formed a bubble around me to help me through the crowd. What a show, and what a local crowd.

It was, to put it mildly, a stinking hot summer this year. It's not necessarily the heat that gets you but the combination of that along with the humidity. Going out is something of a crash course in survival under these conditions and you end up planning your route dancing between air-conditioned department stores and life restoring restaurants. Or you can head up to the mountains and stay in a "besso". The closest analogy we'd have would be the venerable mountain chalet, usually around 1,000m plus, above the heat and sweat of the Pacific coastal cities. I've had one for many years and it makes a pleasure of the summer months. The curious thing this year though is two other friends have respectively bought their own in the second half of 2025 and third is planning a purchase too. Shame we're all on different mountains, but considering the opportunities for something going horribly wrong if we were located within beer distance, probably for the best.    

Earlier in the year, a UK friend I've known for nearly forty years, decided to dip his toe in the water and relocate for the next couple of years before retirement. Great to see him. Life is so much easier now with Google Translate and Navi (Sat Nav) than it used to be when arrangements were conferred via answer machines and directions using a faxed map of where you were going and a strong sense of hope. 

Winter (the official one) arrived upon Tokyo at 12.03pm December 21 as a celestial event but it's too soon for the snow in the metropolis, though further north the blizzards are drifting and the Black Bears are hopefully hibernating (and a wolf escaped from a zoo last week by walking out of an open door). It's been a good year, I've continued to collect every spam from Yahoo! (still massive here by the way) with 823 currently awaiting to send to the distributor as a thank you gift in the new year.

And finally, I'm slowly getting used to writing about "my life in Japan" rather than "Japan itself", I decision I made after some 600 posts on the intricacies of the country. Taken a while but I'm eventually getting there. Hope you had a good one too. Happy New Year and may tomorrow bring you a smile.

Summer in Tokyo

It's been a funny summer / autumn in Tokyo. Weather was hotter than the surface of the sun and when it went down, I had a week before switching the underfloor heating on as temperatures plummeted. Too hot for a summer jacuzzi, the highlight was the announcement of the Oasis tour and that they'd be alighting in Japan. So time for a lottery and I won (!) nothing... Was worth a try though but hang with me, there more to this story.

Having missed out on tickets for late October I decided to break my clavicle instead. Tripped and slipped, no one else's fault but my own. Take my word for it, a CT of broken bones looks awesome but the lying down part on the scanning bed with a two part shoulder is not a huge amount of fun. And so it goes (yes, I read "Slauhterhouse 5" over the following week). Checked in the next day and I am now six titanium pins heavier.

Six nights in hospital, the nursing staff were outstanding though I slept most of the time, at least when no one was snoring. Which wasn't often. And then back home with a detour via my favorite sandwich store, hospital food was honestly good but when you get a craving... And then something of a surprise. Of Biblical proportions. Remember the Oasis reference above...

I'd completely missed out on the concert tickets (not from want of trying) until the night before the show and my son came over to our house and unleashed a storm of a dilemna. He had a spare ticket. Which I gladly accepted with the risk of more damage to the shoulder or the risk of capitulating on the only chance of seeing the Madchester band I was probably ever going to have. So I figured I have other bones to break at a later date and we had an incredible night. Two body guards shadowed me so I came into contact with very few, in fact, when the crowds saw I was all slung up, they joined in and formed a bubble around me. As I say, it was a funny summer / Autumn but my thanks to everyone who walked me through it. I won't forget the kindness and support. Or Oasis...