Neil Duckett

Today marked 12 months since i landed in Japan ready to embark on a new life. I`d been here twice before, once in 2002 and once in 2003, so i knew what to expect. This time was different though, it wasn`t a work junket for a week, to drink and eat all you can then head home, this time it was for good.

My meager possessions in Melbourne were sold or given away and after at least a dozen `last drinks` with Friends i was finally on board QF XXX and bound for Tokyo. This being the 3rd big move i`d made the feelings weren`t new to me, the difference this time was it isn`t so easy getting back home for the weekend. One thing that was the same, was when i got out at the other end there was no-one waiting for me, it was down to the baggage carousel and on the train to Tokyo.

Lucky for me i began my life in Japan on what could loosely be called an expat package, so lots of the bills were accounted for meaning more money in my pocket and hence reducing the stress to a manageable level. I also had the luxury of having a buddy here, who is hooked up with a local girl, so there was a level of security similar to the previous moves i`d made to Brisbane and Melbourne having at least 1 familiar face offering assistance.

Fast forward 12 months, 9 of those in a hotel, the last 3 in my apartment in Yoyogi and after back to back winters, here i sit very content with my new life in Japan.

Do i get or have i been homesick? No. Mind you, there are times i wished i`d been at home, but that differs greatly from being homesick, Melbourne Cup and several other times i knew a good crew of Friends were together. I knew from the outset i`d made the right decision coming here and have been thankful on a daily basis for having been afforded the opportunity to work and live in a city as wonderful as Tokyo. When i cast my mind back to a spontanous decision, when i was 23, to leave Adelaide and go to Brisbane and learn `Computers` i`m glad i had the carelessness to give it a crack. If i had a dollar for every laugh i shared, every memory i have and possibly every beer i`ve drunk in the last 10+ years i`d be a rich man.

What is it about Japan i love? It`s hard to say. Japan isn`t the best place to holiday unless you have some serious sights planned but it is a great place to live. It`s great for me because its easy. Yes the language is hard but you know to expect that before you land. I have no car which equals very few bills. I catch the train to work and back each day, i stop at one of a thousand restaurants conveniently located on my way home, i feed myself and have a few beers and i`m on my way, it`s an easy existance. On the odd occasion during the week i might sing Karaoke, albeit it badly i sing Karaoke …. and i enjoy it. Regrets, i`ve had a few, but then again, too few too mention, I did what i said i had to do and saw it through without exemption  …. sorry i digress, Karaoke is in my blood these days, that and a little Sake.

I`d set a goal to be `fluent` in Japanese within the year. Now, i`m FAR from fluent but i am pleased with my progress seeing as i have a taxing job meaning i don`t get to study as much as i should. I have my official lesson each Monday night but it`s the unofficial lessons late Friday nights, somewhere in a bar in Tokyo, after a few grogs that are the most beneficial.

What`s in store for the road ahead? I honestly don`t know, i can`t find the map and nor do i want to. I have the best part of another 3 years here on my current working visa and will definitely see that out, after that it could be anything. I guess there are plenty of `factors affecting` between now and then, first and foremost would be the opposite sex i guess. I`m certainly open to entertaining the idea of a Japanese wife, actually it`s probably more like a given i will marry a local girl …. (as i write this i wonder whether i`m giving my mother a false hope) …. and thought i was possibly on the right track with one young lass at the 3 month to 7 month mark of my time in Japan but alas things went pear shaped and that came to an abrupt halt. Having said that i saw her 2 weeks ago and had a few drinks together, amazing the difference in communication now i can string half a dozen words together.

I won`t go into things i don`t like about Japan as there are so few it`s not worth tarnishing a positive story. 

Tomorrow night i`ve organised a `Nomikai` with the boys from work. We`re off to a Korean BBQ restaurant then who knows after that, my only goal for the night is to make the last train home around the 12 O`clock mark to avoid a repeat performace of the last Nomikai.

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