Two Weeks in Japan

I've been in Odawara for 2 weeks now, and I must say that I love the place. I could quite happily never go back to England, but unfortunately I have flights booked and it'd be a shame to be deported for over-staying my visa.

I flew out with All Nippon Airways. A little expensive, but it was a direct flight and they do good food. I was sat in front of a lady and her little boy, who very kindly gave me a chocolate bar as a pre-emptive apology, and I didn't hear a peep out of him for 11 and a half hours. 

I was met at Tokyo Haneda (after a little bit of a kerfuffle) and was driven to my apartment in Odawara. It's small, but has everything I need (minus internet) and it's still bigger than university halls. I'm living pretty close to the school and I can see Fuji on the way to work on clear days. My boss has kindly lent me his bicycle so I can get around a bit easier. 

Anyway, here are some photos from the area I'm living in.

I think it's really pretty.

So, teaching.

It's going well. I'm enjoying it. Nobody has cried which is always a good sign. The school is only little but that seems to be a selling point, and even in the short time I've been here I have seen students improve. One little girl has taken a shine to me and gave me a note (with the help of her Mum's handwriting) which says "I love you" on Hello Kitty note paper. I think it's cute.

I've had a few days off so far, and have used them for boring things (buying food etc.) and more fun things.

Fun thing #1 - Odawara Castle

It's simple enough to get to from my local train station, and only a short walk from Odawara station. Entry to the castle is 410円, or 600円 if you want to go to the other museum (less English in the latter). 

There's a museum inside the castle which is really interesting and full of artefacts and the like. It's definitely worth a look if you get the chance. The route through the castle is well-laid out and you can get to a viewing-type walkway at the top. These are the views from the top of the castle.

I also had a wander around the rest of the grounds. It's in between flower seasons at the moment, so there is no cherry blossom and the irises/hydrangeas are only just starting. Despite that, the grounds are still really pretty and I'll try and get back when things are properly in bloom.

There's also a shrine that you can visit. I think it's one of the prettiest ones that I've seen (I need to see Hakone on a sunny day to decide properly), and even though it's in the middle of a city it feels very secluded and peaceful.

Fun thing #2 - Tokyo 東京

Odawara to Tokyo is super easy. My route is as follows...

1. Kamonomiya 鴨宮 to Odawara 小田原 (Tokaido Line) = 190円
2. Odawara to Shinjuku 新宿 (Odakyu Line) = 880 円

Total = 1070円

It takes about an hour and a half to get to Shinjuku from Odawara, and there are a range of trains to choose from (express, semi-express, rapid express, romancecar if you're feeling fancy).

I've been into Tokyo twice so far, with plans to go again on the 12th.

The first trip was to Harajuku 原宿 and Shibuya 渋谷 (in full summer vintage regalia). I spent much more money than I should have done, but it saves me spending it later, I guess. Anyway, in Harajuku I went to...

• Tutuanna - more socks. I always needs socks.
• Meno - brooch
• Too Much - earrings
• Santa Monica - brooch
• La Foret - got lost on the lolita floor

Meno

... and in Shibuya

• Grimoire (surprise) - Laceflower socks + chatting with Kaori and Riona
• Grimoire Almadel (surprise surprise) - dress
• Notoria - Nakamura Coubou ring (amethyst) + bonus nice chat with Seki
• Qosmos - just looking

Grimoire

Grimoire Almadel

Qosmos

I went to Notoria for a second time today (07.06.2015) and had a really lovely time. There was a natural history/science event type thing today, with loads of new antiques. I bought two prints; one of the phases of the moon from 1854, and one of butterflies from 1785. I think Notoria is quickly becoming one of my favourite shops! The staff are lovely (Seki has made time to speak with me on both trips even though the shop was busy today), and it has a wonderful atmosphere. There is so much interesting stuff there, that you could spend hours looking and not get bored.

Notoria

I'll do my best to keep this updated (I'll be spending a lot of time in Starbucks by the looks of it), as well as my instagram. I'm really enjoying life here, and I can really see myself emigrating properly once I've finished my degree. I got a 2:1 this year, by the way. 

Right, my laptop is about to die and it's 9:20pm here so I should probably head home and get ready for my shift at the school tomorrow. I have a load of lesson plans to type up... 

So, to summarise. 

This is probably the best thing that I've ever done.

The End of 3rd Year

As of Thursday, I will have finished my third year at  Plymouth University. This year has been pretty good, I think, and certainly an improvement on last year. It's gone so fast! I've become much closer with people on my course this year, which is sad in a way because a fair number of them will be leaving (I'm on the 4-year course, provided that I do well enough in my exams). Despite that, I can say that I've had a wonderful time with them and I will miss them all greatly.

The first term of this academic year was spent working on my dissertation and other pieces of coursework, which included learning to use industry standard software and presenting our recommendations for a well in Louisiana, learning to manipulate and analyse data in ArcGIS, and analysing geophysical anomalies.

I also turned 21. My parents came to visit and brought me a cake.

Second term kicked off with handing in my dissertation (we handed ours in really early compared to everyone else...), closely followed by more coursework deadlines. My dissertation was centred on the Western Redhills Centre on the Isle of Skye, and resulted in 10,000 words and an A2 sized map, as well as several boxes of rocks that I'm not entirely sure what to do with. I'm not expecting much more than a 2:1 on it, even though I think it deserves more because I worked in much greater detail on my mountain and surrounding lava fields than in the literature. Oh well. I won't find out the results for it until August, apparently.

Exactly a week after my dissertation was handed in, I gave in a 10 page report on the Tertiary dyke swarm in Ireland. I got the highest mark in the year for it, but I did have an advantage in that it was basically the same geology as in my dissertation. Still, it was good fun to write and a relatively easy to do as it was largely based in literature.

In February, I applied for a working-holiday to Japan, which was approved! You can read about the application here.

In March, I went on a whole two days of fieldwork. I hadn't chosen the Advanced Fieldwork module, so I didn't go anywhere else this year. We went up to Dartmoor to run a geophysical survey across some sulphide ores using a range of equipment. One thing I will say is that Dartmoor in March is horrible. We had a painfully cold wind and the odd dousing of rain which made it really unpleasant at times. Despite that, we worked really well as a team and came out with a decent report at the end.

A little later that month, I worked with another group to present our only piece of coursework for the geohazards module, formed of an A0 poster and a 10 minute presentation. We were given free-range with it really, so we (I may have been an influence in this) settled on the 1994-present volcanic crisis at Popocatepetl. It was much more interesting than I thought it would be, and I'm pretty happy with the mark we got although it would have been useful to get some constructive criticism.

I've already done 2 of my 3 exams. The first was awful, the second was pretty good and I'm hoping the next one will be as well. Once the last one if out of the way, I get to go home for a day and a half, before getting on a bus to go to the airport and start my summer as an English teacher in Japan.

I'm aiming to try and keep this blog updated whilst I'm out there, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. I'll do my best! I am also hoping to record some vlogs and keep things posted on instagram.

My Travels

I have been fortunate enough to travel quite a lot (at least I think it's a lot) over the years. A lot of it has been through school trips and fieldwork for university, but I've had a few foreign holidays. A couple of people have asked me in the past to write up a list of where I've been, so here it is!

There a lots of photos, so it turned into a super long post.

If you would like any more information about any of the places, please leave a comment or send me a message and I will do my best to help.

Spain 2006

I really have very little to say about this trip, to be honest. It was a Year 7 trip run by the Modern Foreign Languages Deptartment for those of us who were learning Spanish, so I would have been 12 at the time we went (my birthday is October). We travelled by ferry and stayed in Cantabria with the view to do some sight-seeing and practice our somewhat dreadful Spanish. Because it was a school trip, it was subsidised and my parents paid the rest. I don't think it was massively expensive.

Ypres 2006 & 2008

I actually did this trip twice. It was another school trip that was run by the Humanities Department, and was based around WWI battlefields. Because it was a school trip, it was subsidised and didn't cost a whole lot. We visited various museums, memorials and battlefields in a relatively short time. I really enjoyed this trip, to be honest. Whilst the subject matter is far from pleasant and somewhat emotional, I found that it made the war seem much more real. 

Reyjkavik, Iceland 2009

This was my first actual holiday abroad, as well as my Mum's! Dad had been to Iceland as a teenager/young adult and enjoyed it, so we decided to go as a family. We were based in Reykavik, the capital, and did a number of day-long excursions from there. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and Iceland has had a special place in my heart ever since.

We visited... 

• Gullfoss

• Þingvellir (Thingvellir). This is a surface expression of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the North American and European plates are spreading apart from each other.

• Geysir
• Barnafoss (top) and Hraunafossar (bottom)

• Langjokull 

• The Blue Lagoon

Berlin 2011

This was another school trip run by the Humanities Department for the Year 11s (15-16 years old). As you would expect, the focus was Nazism, the division of Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall. For me, I think it was one of the first trips where we were treated more as equals and friends as opposed to just a group of teenagers and students. We went in February, so it was really cold and pretty damp most days, but it was great fun despite that.

We went to a load of museums and memorials to WWII, as well as being able to drink for the first time (the legal age to drink beer/wine in Germany is 16, while it is 18 in England) and getting caught up in a political protest during the 'Arab Spring'.

Berlin is a great city, and I would be more than happy to return one day.

Isle of Arran 2011...

This was an A-level geology field trip. Whilst it wasn't for coursework, it was out first proper field trip and gave us some valuable field experience from a world-renowned site. We were lucky with the weather, and overall it was a pretty relaxing trip.

...and 2012

This time, my friends and I went back to Arran on holiday. It was our first holiday as a group of friends without adults, and also the first time I've ever driven so far. From home, it worked out at about 440 miles or so to Arran. It cost a load in petrol, but it was good fun. I enjoy driving so it didn't bother me too much, and the scenery on the way there is really pretty in places. This was a more expensive trip as we had to pay for accommodation (Lochranza Youth Hostel is really nice), petrol, ferry crossing (cars + people), and food.

Northern Iceland 2012

I went back to Iceland alone, this time. I had been saving up for a horse (I had about £3000 at the time), but unfortunately that all fell through so I used to money to go on holiday instead. I was part of a small tour group (6 people + 1 guide), based near Myvatn in the north of Iceland. This was an amazing holiday. I saw some of the most beautiful scenery I think I've ever seen, and felt a real connection to the country. I definitely prefer the north of Iceland to the south (the people seem friendlier even though they're friendly everywhere, and I think it's prettier!).

The main thing I took from this trip is that even the Icelanders are amazed by their country. They don't take it for granted and they still appreciate how beautiful it is.

Anyway, on this trip I had to fly from Keflavik to Akureyri, and then drive to where we were staying.

On this trip, I visited...

• Goðafoss

• Mývatn & Höfði

• Dimmuborgir

• A complete loop of the Trollaskagi Peninsula (16hour day trip)

• Dettifoss (where they filmed the start of Prometheus)

• Hljóðakletter (I don't even know how to begin explaining how to pronounce this one)

• Húsavík

• Krafla, Leirnjüker & Hverir

• Askja

Westfjords, Iceland 2013

Yeah. I went to Iceland again. This time I went with my parents to the Westfjords (NW-W Iceland, the bit that sticks out into the Atlantic). The weather wasn't all that great this time around, and I didn't have as much fun as on my previous holiday. After a while, all the fjords look the same and we rarely left the minibus. I think that the journey is too long for the time they try and do it in, and you can drive for hours to get to the next town.

Pyrenees, Spain 2013

This was university fieldwork at the start of second year, and as a result we didn't have to pay for it (we each pay £9000 a year so they can afford it). It was our first trip abroad with the university, and we flew with the cheapest airline imaginable from a tiny airport. We were the only people there. 

Anyway, the trip was divided into two. My first stop was Ainsa and mapping in the Fosado region. We were mapping slumping, turbidity currents, and other continental shelf features.

It was damn hot. I have never felt so ill in my life. I was sunburnt to the point of blistering, and I was allergic to all the conifers. Aside from the conditions, it was pretty good fun. We found that the local sangria was really tasty and not that expensive (5 euros for 1 litre of homebrew), and we drank the hotel bar dry. Thus the night of heavy drinking, now affectionately known as 'Sangria Night' happened.

The second half of the trip was spent in Benasque in the mountains. It was colder, wetter and more hilly, so it suited me fine. I was still allergic to the trees though. Here, we were mapping folding that formed during the development of the Pyrenees. We were rained off for a few days because a thunderstorm decided to sit in the valley and not go anywhere, and as such it wasn't safe for us to go mapping.

Isle of Skye 2014

Dissertation mapping project! I spent a month on Skye mapping the area around Glamaig (a large and awkward mountain) for my dissertation. Because it was a university trip of sorts, we were given some money back at the start of this year, though it didn't even cover accommodation costs. I was fortunate enough to have some money saved up and helpful parents, otherwise it would have been a bit tough.

Skye is a beautiful place, but I highly recommend hiring a car. We were using public transport, which meant it could take 6 hours to buy a loaf of bread, or £60 there and back if you wanted to go by taxi from Sligachan to Portree.

Tokyo, Japan 2014

I have already written a full account of my trip to Tokyo here, but to summarise I went with two friends and had a great time. We were based in Ikebukuro and did a whole load of sightseeing. I made friends, I saw some beautiful places, I fell in love with the country. 

I funded the trip with my summer term maintenance loan, as well as my inheritance following the passing of my Great Great Aunty Dorothy.

Upcoming Travels!

• Odawara, Japan - working as a part-time English teacher
• Cyprus - 4th year mapping fieldwork