Six months.
180 days.
Half a year.
It seemed like such a long time back then.
Now it is hard to believe our Japan adventure is nearly over.
As we pack up our things, empty our flat, fold up our memories and tuck away our plans, we head out, hand in hand, for a new adventure.
Nijo Castle – an inspiring way to start the day
Here in Japan I don’t really have a schedule. The days are wide open, and each morning I sit down and work out how to spend the precious hours of the day ahead. Now we are more than half way through our adventure this time is feeling even more precious, and more than ever I am conscious about the choices I am making about how I spend my time.
The other day I had a Skype call scheduled for 11am and back at home I would normally have spent the hours before it catching up on emails etc. But instead we spent an impromptu hour after breakfast exploring a 500-year old castle – and guess what? I came back in time for the Skype call, very awake and already inspired before our conversation had even begun.
As a meticulous planner in the past, I am slowly trying to let go of the reins a little… not completely but enough to let my instinct guide my day, and reveal new ways of travelling through it…
How do you spend your time these days?
Cycling is a brilliant way to travel – you see so much more than when you are in a car. It’s like you are IN the scenery. We had a brilliant time cycling 70km across seven huge bridges over the Seto Inland Sea, breathing in fresh salty air as we pedalled high above the sparkling seas.
More glimpses from the road around Japan…
I travelled to many parts of Japan but this was my first time in Daisen National Park. They call the main mountain ‘Daisen’ the ‘mini Mount Fuji’ and you can see why from its conical shape. We wanted to get away from the hot hot city for a couple of days and this was the perfect place. In the winter it is a popular ski resort but in the summer, away from the roads, it is a hiker’s paradise.
As we come to the end of our time here in Japan (only three weeks left!) I have been thinking about our reasons for coming here.
Spending six months in Japan is expensive. It’s an upheaval. And if you are studying Japanese like my man, you even get grammar tests. So why did we do this?
Because we had slipped into too much routine and needed to shake things up.
Because my man wanted to know this place that was so special to me.
Because we wanted to share a big adventure.
Because we could.
But mainly because it sounded like a good idea at the time.
And it absolutely was.
What kind of adventure sounds like a good idea to you right now?
These past few weeks we have been on a series of adventures around Japan so I thought I’d share some pictures with you, starting with the lovely island of Miyajima. It is home to one of the most famous red torii shrine gates in Japan (Itsukushijima Shrine), which stands proudly in the sea.
The other day I packed myself onto the super-fast shinkansen (bullet train) and whizzed up to Tokyo for the International Stationery & Office Products Show (more on that later).
Shibuya
It felt so big, bright and noisy after Kyoto, so I also spent some time exploring the quieter, trendy areas of Jiyugaoka and Shimokitazawa. When I first moved to Tokyo I lived in a friend’s spare room in Jiyugaoka for a couple of months so it was lovely to go back and see it.
I met up with lots of old friends, did a bit too much shopping and got a haircut. Fun trip! Here are a few snapshots of the quieter side of the city.
the entrance to the cute little hotel I stayed at in Aoyama
quirky shops in Jiyugaoka
any post for me?
[Image: Tiffany Kirchner Dixon]
Monday sees the relaunch of Do What You Love the e-course – and this time it is the Japan edition! Join me for a very special adventure…
As you travel this path expanding your comfort zone, nurturing your playful spirit and feeding your creative soul, I will be sharing snippets of my big adventure out East. Join me and others all over the globe to identify your passion and make it a greater part of your every day life.
The Do What You Love e-course has been described as ‘life changing’, ‘transformational’ and ‘awe-inspiring’. It will make you think. It will make you question things – sometimes not in a comfortable way. But it will help you realise that YOU GET TO CHOOSE the life you lead.
Join me, it is going to be awesome! Class kicks off on Monday but you can still squeeze in if you hurry. Find out more and register here!
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PS I am thrilled to be interviewed on Monica Lee’s fab site Smart Creative Women today! Her site is packed with great interviews – why not spend some time over there getting inspired!
It’s my birthday tomorrow. I’ll be 35. That rounds up to 40! It’s half way to 70! But what does it mean anyway? It’s just a number, right? On my ‘big’ birthdays (the ones ending in ‘0’ or ‘5’) I like to look back over my life so far and think about all the happiest moments of each year. So much has changed since the last time I did this at 30 (when I spent my birthday lying in a hammock next to the sea drinking gin & tonics in a tiny hotel north of Mumbai, India, before going for curry and champagne with friends!)
Since then I have fallen in love, started two businesses, changed industries, moved house four times, and visited countries in every corner of the world. They have been years lived at a fast pace, always on the move, always in search of adventure, knowledge and beauty.
As I sit here in Kyoto, perhaps my favourite city in the world, on the eve of my 35th birthday, I am trying to decide how I would like the next five years to be. I have no idea what path I will follow, or what will unfold, but I know I want to slow down a little, breathe more deeply, sit up and enjoy the view. I wonder what is in store…
Let’s see, shall we? Cheers!
I’m on a big adventure in Japan right now. If you fancy an adventure of your own why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? Shake things up, expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and feed your creative soul. Identify your passion and make it a greater part of your every day life! Find out more and register here. But hurry, class starts soon!
Have you ever taken a night bus? It’s not the most comfortable way to travel – you have to sit in a chair for many hours (obviously) and even if you manage to sleep, you get woken every couple of hours at service stations when the driver stops for a rest. But even so, I kind of like the night bus.
Everyone is on a journey somewhere, heading to the big smoke for different reasons – perhaps for a job interview, to visit friends, to start a new life.
I love pressing my face against the steamed up window, watching the other night traffic whizzing past.
I love sitting in the dark with my iPod on, listening to Adele and thinking of random things.
And I love coming into the city at dawn, riding past the majestic Imperial Palace, seeing the capital wake up.
If you haven’t taken a night bus lately, why not try it? It really feels like an adventure.
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I’m on a big adventure in Japan right now. If you fancy an adventure of your own why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? Shake things up, expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and feed your creative soul. Identify your passion and make it a greater part of your every day life! Find out more and register here. But hurry, class starts soon!
