Sayonara Nihon {Goodbye Japan}

Well, the day finally arrived, the day we had to say a final farewell to our new friends and head back to the Land of Oz.

Jono and I shared pancakes for breakfast with Katie, Joe and Taube before doing the final touches and moving our stuff out of our apartment. We hope Rob and Lyn enjoy living there as much as we did.

At 1pm the Japanese entourage arrived...Toshi, Mayumi, Naomi, Tomoko, Yumiko, Eiko and Chiaki all came to take us to the bus terminal to see us off. It was a very teary goodbye for me, as I have made some special friends in Japan.

We feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to come to Japan, let alone have all the wonderful experiences, meet fabulous people and arrive home safe to our families again.

So this is it...Jono and Jodi signing off on the blog which was a story of our life in Japan in 2007, what a FANTASTIC year! Japan, forever in our hearts!

"The Last [Japanese] Supper"

After being very well looked after in our last week in Japanese (dinner cooked by Taube and Julian on Sunday, out for Chris' birthday on Monday, Miyuki cooked for us Tuesday, Merry and Mitch on Wednesday and Katie and Joe on Thursday) we decided to have out "Last Supper" at the local "Beatles" ramen restaurant.

This little ramen restaurant was a quiet little spot to enjoy a meal, that was until 8 of us rocked in after a few drinks! It is affectionately called the "Beatles" ramen restaurant because that's the music they always play. We asked the cook to turn up the music and very soon we were all singing to the words at the tops of our lungs! Not surprisingly, the music was slowly turned back down again! haha. At least we made the other patrons laugh! Crazy Westerners! I had a sesame ramen which was delicious and Jono had a garlic one.

We then went out to the local Irish pub, had a few more beers and had a few games of darts. It was a great way to farewell the city that's been our home for the last 11 months.

Saying Goodbye...Shiroyama JHS

Shiroyama sent me off in style. My last day at this Jr High was close to my best!

Throughout the day I had massive lines of students at my desk for the last opportunity to speak to me and have a box on their communication card signed off. They were both really excited and sad, so was I. They are such great kids. I had 3 lessons during the day in which the classes presented goodbye cards and gifts. Very sweet.

After the last lesson for the day there was a special goodbye assembly held for me. Once again I had to make my bilingual speech to the school, this time standing on top of their podium on the track. Once I was finished, the school captain gave a speech to me in English and then gave me a present. I felt a bit special! The present included a cloth with the 7 Japanese Gods printed on it, a pretty clip for my hair to wear with a kimono and a New Year's decorative display.

After school I was invited to the traditional Japanese room for a tea ceremony. The girls in this club were very cute, playing junken to see who got to make the tea for me! I had the most yummy bean cake I've had all year and the tea was good too. After I finished we had a few photos taken and then I was offered another tea. With only 5 mins til I had to catch my bus, I said I'd eat and drink quickly!

Soon I was off...and for the last time I walked out of the staff room, all staff giving their farewell wishes and accompanied me to the front door. I changed my shoes for the last time, closed my shoe locker, and said goodbye. As I walked out of the school grounds I had my last "Goodbye Jodi"s from the track and field, volleyball and baseball teams and then it was all over. Another chapter of my Japanese life closed forever, and what a fantastic chapter it was.

Overt Your Eyes....

Onsen ... a.k.a. "Lets go together into a public bath, naked with a whole bunch of other naked strangers!"

This experience was one that had to be done...sooner or later (we preferred later). The whole concept is quite strange to the regular westerners and we're certainly no exception. But we finally plucked up the courage and got naked! (and no, sorry. No photos of this one!)

Jodi's recount:

"I must admit I was pretty nervous, but going with Taube and Katie made me feel better. It was Katie's first time too, but Taube is an expert and is a huge fan of onsen. So, we headed to the Egret building, put our shoes in a locker, got our little towel, the girls said goodbye to Jono and Julian and headed for the locker room.

It was like something straight out of "Road Trip" with naked bodies walking around everywhere. Right about then, then floor was looking pretty good! But with mirrors and bodies everywhere you just didn't know where else to look! We found our lockers and started to disrobe. When I got down to my underwear I considered how I was going to do the rest without exposing too much of myself to my friends!!! But while I was contemplating my next move I got a case of the giggles, and it was contagious as Katie was soon giggling too! Well, I decided to just do it and soon we were all heading to the bathing rooms, or so we thought. We started following Taube (though she'd never been to this one before) but all of a sudden I felt like something wasn't right...as we poked our heads around the corner we spotted the entrance lobby of the onsen! Whoopsy! Wrong way!!! Giggling our heads off we also heard other women laughing too and pointing us in the right direction!

The first thing you have to do before you enter the baths is wash yourself, really well! So, you sat at a stall on tiny plastic seats with shampoo, body wash, a shower hose and a mirror set in front of you. After giving ourselves a wash we headed to the first bath. The room was really huge, tiled to the 2nd floor ceiling with a set of stairs at one end and plants scattered around the place. It was like a shallow pool, only the temperature was really warm. There were single people spa sections, which many women were enjoying. We just sat in the bath chatting and relaxing. After about 15 minutes were a bit too toasty so hopped out of the bath and went up the stairs (we could have caught an elevator) to the second floor. Here there was a sauna (complete with a plasma screen), 2 more shallow baths and 3 single baths overlooking the castle. After more chatting and relaxing we decided we had had enough and went back to the change rooms. It was certainly an experience to remember!"

For Jono's recount, stay tuned...

For those who were really patient, Jono's recount is now here! Onsen was really nice... though a little strange walking through a 2 story building starkers! Was definitely more confident walking around after sitting in a hot bath for about an hour... My highlight was definitely the extremely large plasma in the sauna... the low point was when the cleaning lady waltzed through whilst i was in the sauna... lucky the towel was close by! And I know the question all you girls are asking... and the answer is I don't know... though I can tell you that the towels they use are quite small...

Progressive Farewell Brunch

With the end of our working holiday fast approaching (now only a week left) we had a farewell brunch party with our new friends in Japan. Katie, Joe, Taube and Julian were absolute stars and helped us organise a progressive brunch.

1. Place: Katie and Joe's apartment, #304
Food: Fruit and mimosa.

2. Place: Taube and Julian's apartment, #403
Food: Sausages, breakfast burritos and biscuits and gravy.

3. Place: Jodi and Jono's apartment, #302
Food: Pancakes, Pocky and brownies.

We had a wonderful time eating all the delicious food and catching up with everyone. Joe brought out his game "catch Phrase" and we all had a go. It was so funny watching our Japanese friends panic when they couldn't think of the right words! Very cute. Here is a picture of Eiko panicking on her turn! We received our first wedding gift from Eiko as well as some other beautiful parting gifts. We certainly are going to miss all the awesome friends we have made here and hope to meet them again in the future, whether it be America, Australia or Japan.

What The???? LAST EDITION 2007

Last Day at Joyo Elementary

I am still amazed every time I go to this school. They have a brass band which would easily rival the military bands that walk down the streets in city parades. Simple amazing. Remember, these kids are no older than 12 years old. Their band not only plays amazing music, but also does a marching routine while they play! The routine also includes dancers with flags and free dancing! Here they are practising before school.

I had my usual number of 3 classes for the day, nothing out of the ordinary. However, Mr Kosaka planned a Goodbye party for me with his 2nd grade class. This picture is him and written on the board is "Jodi sensei's farewell party". I really enjoyed working with him (he accompanied me to the other classes too), as he speaks really good English and has a great sense of humour. The class party was really cute.

First they all played a song for me on their (creepy) mouth organs. It was great! Then they sang a song for me. Next they had some time to make me a gift (mostly origami which I collected in a big bag!). Some students drew a picture of me. It was super cute. Last of all we had a group photo. It was such a lovely way to end my time at Joyo Elementary...easily my favourite school. Sayonara minasan.