In a galaxy far far away...

In a galaxy far far away I thought I would have no trouble keeping up to date with my travel blog whilst in Japan.... but sith happens I guess.

(Sorry for that I just watched the new Star Wars film, it was brilliant!)

Ignoring the fact that I haven't updated this blog in a fair few months I thought I would talk about what I have been up to since arriving in Japan:

The majority of my time here has, of course, revolved around my work at Harima. After breakfast I start my day at 8:30 helping with breakfast care and from then I find myself doing anything from Karaoke to T-ball before lunch at 11. There are so many different activities here that no two days are ever the same. After lunch I help out with whatever the days activity/ programme is, which again ranges significantly. To end the day I normally help the residents to exercise before heading back to my apartment at around 4:30/5.

Every other week I also work up at Rose house cafe after breakfast until lunch time. During which I usually help to open and clean the Cafe, make decorations or hang out with the residents who live there.

I feel incredible lucky to have been placed in Harima. From the start I felt welcomed and after just over 4 months of working here I can say for sure that I wouldn't have wanted to be placed anywhere else. Although it can be very difficult and stressful at times, it really does feel like a second home.

Here are two photos showing the summer uniform I was given upon arrival (which I nicknamed the umpalumpa uniform due to the seriously ill fitting pants) and my current winter uniform ft. the hat I wore on the run up to christmas!

Hello Harima!

Harima is located half way up a small mountain and is surrounded by forest.

Main entrance:

Second entrance:

 Road leading up to entrance:

View over Harima:

Rose house - A cafe open to the public and residents as well as rooms for some of the residents:

Harima's Flower garden:

Independent living??

( Background info: In total there are six Cheshire home volunteers currently in Japan. Cara and Kiah work at Hanshin. Carma works and lives at Shiso. Hannah, Annalou and I work and live at Harima although Hanna works at Shiso during most of the day. )

The Harima volunteers live in a small apartment building located about 2 minutes walk from Harima's main entrance. The building consists of three small apartments which each contain a entrance way, main living area, toilet, sink and shower room. Each room also has a TV, fridge and a small closet.  The apartments are small but quite comfortable.

Our apartment building from the front and back:

My living area and shower room:

Welcome to Harima!

( Background info: There are three Leonard Cheshire care homes in Japan. In short they are known as Harima, Shiso and Hanshin. I am currently working in Harima, which is located about 30 minutes from Shiso and over an hour from Hanshin. )

From Tokyo all the Cheshire home volunteers flew to Osaka where we were picked up and driven to Hanshin Home. We stayed at Hanshin for the night before travelling to Harima the next day. At Harima we met Washio-San (My boss) and Maeda-san (our japanese teacher) who gave us a tour of the home. In the evening they threw us a welcome party and even gave us flowers!  Even though I was a bit nervous it was great to finally meet all the staff and residents.  

The photo above is of the flowers we were given at the welcome party and some Biscuits made at Harima that were left in our apartments for us :) 

Better late than never!

Well I have finally finished writing about my time in Tokyo (only a month late) and can finally start to talk about what I have been up to during my placement! I have so much I want to write about and am really looking forward to sharing my experiences. Hopefully I will be posting new content in the not too distant future, so please look forward to it!

Siobhan

Tokywhoa Day 2

Day two in Tokyo began around lunch time as we headed up a street in search of food. We eventually decided on a rotating sushi bar where we sat on stools and drooled over the assortment of sushi that glided past us on a conveyer belt.

After eating as much sushi as possible we walked back down to an arcade we had passed the day before. The arcade was overflowing with an assortment of brightly coloured game machines that I could have easily spent hours on. We also found a Purikura (Japanese photo booth) machine and decided to take some very "kawaii" photos. These photo booths allow you to take multiple photos and then edit them using cute filters, effects and stickers. The booths also seem to really enjoy elongating my face so much that human isn't the first word you think of when you see the pictures. Needless to say we ended up with some pretty interesting photos. A couple of us also attempted a Taiko drumming game which proved a little more difficult than expected, especially since we attempted to drum along to the attack on titan theme song in the hardest setting possible.

It was then time to head to Harajuku! Our first stop was the Meiji Jingu Shrine located in the middle of a unexpectedly green forest area. We entered through a giant Torii gate after taking many selfies and headed down the path for about 10 minutes before reaching the shrine. The Shrine was really beautiful and peaceful to walk around. I even decided to buy a prayer plaque and hang it around a large tree in the centre square of the Shrine, alongside many other plagues with prayers written in a multitude of languages.

After leaving the shrine we headed to Takeshita street. This is an extremely popular street in Tokyo that is well known for its unique fashion, shops and food. Having only seen pictures of the street it was a bit surreal to actually walk down it! I definitely want to go back next time I am in Tokyo.

Four of us then headed back to the Asakusa area in search of food. We ended up in an Okonomiyaki restaurant at the recommendation of Anna (my volunteer partner). After ordering when you wanted on the menu the waiter brought you the mix which you has to stir and pour onto the large grill in the centre of the table, a bit like a savoury pancake. After it is cooked you can add sauce and seasoning on top and you are good to go! Needless to say it was really yummy!

After dinner we walked to a youth hostel that Anna had stayed in during a previous trip to Japan. There we met up with a friend of hers who was playing in a Jazz band. (She even joined in and sang a few songs with them!) It was a really strange feeling listening to a Jazz band in a youth hostel in the middle of Japan after sitting at home only a few days before wondering what it had gotten myself into. It was definitely the perfect way to end my time in Tokyo.

When in Rome

Tokyo International Youth Hostel was certainly an experience if nothing else.

The first minor shock concerned the beds. I shared a room with four other volunteers on two sets of bunk beds and an extra bed. My bottom bunk had a wooden base and only a few thin sheets on top of it, making it fairly hard to sleep on. Plus the pillow also seemed to be filled with small beads? It definitely wasn't the best sleep ever but I was way to tired to complain and just thankful to lie down.

The second shock commenced during my first proper encounter with a Japanese toilet! Each toilet was electronic and had a wide range of features (Most of which I have thus far avoided). The best feature by far though is the heated seats! Although unexpected it was definitely a welcome experience.

During breakfast I was pleasantly surprised to see an array of cereals! I was expecting a proper Japanese breakfast (which was available) but I can't deny the fact that I didn't think twice about taking a bowl of cornflakes.

The final and most prominent surprise arose as I ventured towards the showers. Instead of the normal shower room I expected I found myself outside of what looked like a public bath house, equipped with a fairly large shared bath inside. Thankfully they also had a few shower stalls which I tended to opt for instead.

(psst. It's the larger building on the left)