We found our helicopter in the car park. It had its own fenced-off space, but the barrier was so low that anyone could see it. In fact, as we put on our headsets and the blades began to spin, a few people stopped to watch. I felt like a true VIP in the back of that helicopter, watched by passersby. The best part? I hadn’t paid a single yen. Continue reading Flying High Over Fukushima
Once a year, people from as far as Tokyo flock to a small town in the mountains around Nihonmatsu. Why? For the Towa Road Race, a top 100 race in Japan. I chose this race as my first 10k. Continue reading Towa Road Race: Conquering Hell Hill
I’m not a morning person. So when my alarm went off at 4am, and I dragged myself into warm layers and out into the pitch-black morning, I wondered why on earth I was doing this to myself. Even so, my fellow ALT Marc picked me up and up we drove to the Bandai Skyline. Continue reading Land of the Rising Sun
On Sunday, I found myself on a ‘fat bike’, slipping and sliding my way down a snowy hill, with the sun glare off the snow making my eyes water. This is Nowhere, an amusingly-named activity centre beneath the towering Mt. Bandai, and I’d entered a four-hour race. Continue reading Racing a Fat Bike to Nowhere
This time last year, the snow I’d long been promised still hadn’t arrived. This year is different. One morning in mid-December I woke to minus temperatures and a world of white outside my window. The winter I was promised had come! Continue reading Fukushima’s Winter Wonderland
I found Germany a little strange at first when I moved there, but Japan is on another continent, and that adds a whole new layer of quirky! Or, as my senpai here calls it, ‘Japan logic.’ Continue reading Fukushima and the Giant Peach
Moving house and going to uni all turned out well – I really really didn’t want to leave Exeter! – but now I’m fast approaching an even bigger my-life-will-never-be-the-same-again event.
I’m moving to Japan. Continue reading Welcome to my first attempt at blogging
A Book Lover's Travels 