Cherry Blossom. Go.

What a week it’s been. Having returned from a stressful UK trip and simultaneously having had to consider an early break of contract and return home, it was reassuring to find that I can still have great times in Japan. Despite all the bad things going on back in England at the moment, it’s possible to go out and forget it all.

Making my own Joanna Newsom/Florence album cover. Maybe that's not a good thing.

In the space of two weeks, the climate, appearance and atmosphere of Okayama City have changed beyond recognition. The yellow fields have gone. The lush green shoots are rising and the landscape is returning to the beauty that was so overwhelming when we arrived back in August. I am convinced that I will never live somewhere as gorgeous as this ever again.

It’s comfortably warm too. This kind of comfortable short-sleeves weather has been pretty rare during our time in Japan. Meanwhile, the cherry blossoms are out. We are now at the end of a 10 day period during which the Okayama landscape turns pink. Traditionally, you are supposed to sit outside under the cherry blossoms and act with wild abandon. I was happy to do that.

It began with night time drinking. Aided and abetted by a Britfriend, we set up camp at sunset by the river. Elderly Japanese people kept walking past and each time I expected a glance of disapproval at the booze and fags. But instead, people seemed really happy that we were enjoying the blossom in the traditional way. No-one seemed censorious about the level of noise or anything like that. It was, and this is rare for Japan, relaxed.

It was great to spend a whole weekend together after some time apart whilst I was in the UK.

K and I hadn’t seen much of each other for the past couple of weeks as I’d been a)Out of the country and then b)Busy with odd bits and bobs. So we made time this weekend to spend some “quality” time in and around Okayama City. It was fun to spend lazy mornings together and to wander in the sunshine. We also went to see The Artist, which I like as much as you’d expect, knowing how pretentious I am. It was actually my second time seeing it and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Again, there’s a period of 15 minutes in the middle where it drags slightly but otherwise, it’s a treat and as light as chiffon cake. It was interesting to observe the Japanese audience as some of the cultural references are quite obscure to Japanese culture and it helps if you can lip-read English. But it seemed to go down really well and there were lots of laughs, especially at anything involving the dog. I love the scene where he comes across the pile of his auctioned-off possessions and whips the sheets off in a dramatic Dorian Gray-like fury.

Monday is my first lesson in about 6 weeks. There, in a nutshell, is the main problem with the JET programme in Okayama. But I am really looking forward to it. I love the teaching here. When it goes well it’s so satisfying and I get a warm feeling from watching my students improve. There are a million irritations to being an ALT. That’s for another post. But I get to be a teacher and that’s really something.