Osananajimi covers such a broad age that it could quite as easily apply to primary school friends as well as to those who’ve you’ve know your entire life.

All my life I’ve been told that it’s incredibly rare to have osananajimi from such an early age. I have known how lucky I am to have such a person in my life.

Yesterday I had a rediscovery of sorts.. a revelation if you will. There is another. I met a friend yesterday that I hadn’t seen for over half a decade. It is a mystery why some friendships come and go… connections are lost and found. However, true friends will always remain true friends. However old you get, whatever changes you may go through, these people in your life will still see you as you. The sudden realisation that I had known this person for close to 20 years was just mind blowing.

Anyway, that’s really all I have to say.

In my current lifestyle where true friends are hard to come by, I really do cherish these old connections… reminders of my childhood, reminders of home

It is difficult to be so frank about such things these days – people tend to judge, misinterpret and twist things to paint a picture which is far from my intention. To me, having an osananjimi means having the deepest and most undescribable connection you can have with a person. And, it’s nothing to do with crossing lines or changing perspectives at all.

Hope that makes sense…

It’s strange how a day can flip your world upside down. Maybe it’s just one of those days that comes by every once in a while but then again, sometimes those odd days can draw out into a week, or a fortnight.

Last night I was thinking, maybe those dreams you have, that people have, sometimes disappear… will that boat sail away eventually? Am I just becoming too passive with the way things are right now?

I guess with all that uncertainty around me can rattle that inner strength.

It started to make me wonder where home is. I want to go home. Where is home.

I wish I had someone I could call up for a quick drink.

Recently I’ve been obsessively chewing more gum, drinking more coffee, eating more junk snack food…. so can’t be a good sign. seriously, maybe the title of this entry should be “unsprung”

So, graduation week has come and gone, with me now firmly sitting back in my Tokyo apartment ruefully reminiscing the days gone by. A 2 week break would have been a lot more relaxing but unfortunately I don’t have the accrued days this year to do that.

Anyway, I can’t change the fact that I’m back; nor the fact that the weather in Tokyo seems just as bad as it was in London, except + a few degrees of warmth. It’s cold enough for me to wear a jumper. Then again, that could be because my body clock is screwed up and it can’t keep itself warm.

Graduation Day

Graduation day started off bright and early with an effort to beat the undoubted queues for collecting the gown and getting the official photographs taken. Unfortunately I misjudged the willingness of people to arrive early and found that after arriving at 8:30am, I was done by 9, leaving me with 2 hours to spare before the actual ceremony started!

It was fine though – it gave me a chance to speak to the multitude of friends and acquaintances that I ran across. Despite it only being two months since I had left the country, in some cases it had been a lot longer since I had seen them last. Now, I’m wondering when I’ll see some of these people again.

The ceremony itself was a somewhat dull affair with the Rector giving a slightly politically toned opening speech regarding the economy, research funding, university admissions and so forth. The speech was followed by a somewhat drawn out naming of each graduand as they walked up on stage to be officially turn in to a graduate with a handshake. There was approximately 1000 people graduating in the morning ceremony, with an equally large number in the afternoon ceremony. Thankfully, I was called up quite early on so any nervousness I may have had evaporated and I could “concentrate” on the magnificent day.

Post-ceremony was much the same as pre-ceremony with a lot of mingling and talking to various people. Photographs being taken and stories being swapped. Drinking featured throughout the day with the champagne reception and then a trip to our old haunt, the student Union.

The day did not creep into the night as much as some had envisaged with many people heading off with their families for dinner. A lot of us were too tired for them to return and the night to continue… another time perhaps?

Friday

Friday was a two part affair with the early afternoon spent with a couple of school friends down at the East India Club. We were all suited up, which was a slightly bizarre feeling considering we were just there to play snooker.

Anyway, the afternoon soon turned into evening, where I ran across London to meet up with my Japanese uni friends. One of them had never had fish and chips before so I insisted I take her to eat some. We went to George’s, which was not exactly the closest place but I vaguely remembered it being pretty good. I hope everyone wasn’t too annoyed by the long walk to and from the eating establishment! The food was soon chased down by drinks at first, one of my favourite pubs on Portobello Road and then a trip cross town to the Sports Cafe. Despite being semi-aware that my flight was the next day, I thoroughly enjoyed the night out although I should probably have been more restrained in the amount I drank.

The Flight

There was a couple of school groups on the flight back to Tokyo. They weren’t loud or annoying so they didn’t bother me too much. I was curious though… the distances these kids go now for school trips is unbelievable! The furthest I think I went with my school was Western Europe on a history trip!

Talking of trips. I went to see Blood Brothers, a musical tragedy, where over half the audience in the lower stalls were school kids! Lucky them! I do remember going to see Oliver! when I was at school though – we went to see one of our friends in that.

Parting Thoughts

Now that I may back in Tokyo – with the daunting prospect of heading in to work tomorrow. I can’t help compare the two great cities of East and West. Here are a few small things I’ve noticed:

Escalators: stand on the right, walk on the left vs. stand on the left, walk on the right
Toilet seats: A cold toilet seat really does wake you up in the morning, no heated seats in London!
Night Bus: 24hr system of London is superior to the lack of night time transport in Tokyo.
Culture: London has museums, theatres and history which can not be matched in Tokyo
Food: Tokyo has great food. In London, you have to pay a premium for that kind of luxury.
Smoking: Tokyo should really introduce the smoking ban, it makes a huge difference on a night out!
Friends: my social network in London will be difficult to surpass out here in Tokyo but I really do need to give it a shot!
Parents: they never do stop lecturing you and giving obvious advice whatever age you are!

So, the graduation photos are up on FB, with others to follow shortly. Now, to recover from jet lag as quickly as possible so this week is not too hellish!

Walking back slowly from the station home after an evening out celebrating the end of our finals, a number of thoughts passed through my mind. I have always been a pretty serious minded individual and the things I think about really do reflect that at times; it feels completely different after a few drinks.

I was feeling somewhat jaded after the exam and not really in the mood for drinking but luckily my mood picked up. Anyway, I’ve always found it difficult to comprehend the thoughts and actions taken by others whilst under the influence, and today was no different. I won’t go into the details and swiftly move on to commenting on these thoughts.

I realised again today how amazing this city is. I really do love London. Being born and bred in this great city, it is difficult to imagine living and loving another place. The months I spent in Tokyo last year were definitely a life changing experience but nothing compares to the depth and strengh of attachment I have with this beautiful capital. People talk bout the culture and the people of a place but tonight I saw the beauty of the city itself. Walking down the South Bank, the beauty of this wonderful city was nearly overwhelming.

I leave in mid-August and I’m away for most of July, meaning I only have around 2 months in London. There are so many things I want to do in this city; so many sights to soak up before I depart. I know I’ve talked about this so many times before and no doubt I will again, but it really is a topic so close to my heart. Not many things move me but at times like this I realise…. this city will always be home.