2 & 3 September 2011: London, Seoul, Fukuoka

I have spent the last month or so repeatedly saying my good-byes to people in the UK and Germany, and on the 2 September 2011 it was finally time to leave. Until Thursday afternoon, when I arrived at Heathrow, Terminal 4––with overweight luggage and overly pessimistic thoughts––I hadn’t met many of the other ten students I was going to live, learn and look like a lemon with for a year. As it turned out about 25 minutes and 5 seconds later, they were all incredibly lovely. A first group photo was taken as we were waiting to board the first plane to Seoul Incheon airport, South Korea. Step 1 of the bonding process was pretty much done. For those of you who I’m leaving behind, I hope you will find this blog a little bit interesting, and excuse me if I get all too boring and repetitive. I’m writing this as a note to myself, really, to remember the wonderful experiences I (hope I) will make in Japan from September 2011 to July 2012.

The first part of our journey, a twelve hour flight with Korean Air, was fairly uneventful. The omnivores amongst us were served bibimbap for dinner (Korean dish of some meat and vegetables which you mix with rice and some pickle substance, stir it, and enjoy) and a hybrid of rice pudding and porridge with green tea flavouring for breakfast.

At 2pm Korean/Japanese time (6am UK time, but by this point we were determined to ignore the 8 hour time difference and live, sleep and eat according to Japanese time) we landed at Incheon airport, which, we all decided, must be the most wonderful airport in the world. Not only do they have free internet, but they also have cultural exchange places. We went to one of these to try on traditional Korean clothes (picture 1). Apparently, I had chosen the dress of an “entertainer” (I sincerely hope that this was not a euphemism for something else), whereas the others had chosen more wisely––the dress of a princess and some other, more reputable looking professions. We had the first pictures taken of us by strangers, and I also made sure to practice the shoes on, shoes off routine at the step that led to the little platform on which we were standing.

The connecting flight to Fukuoka was slightly less pleasant. Not because the Korean Air staff was any less polite than on the last plane, but because the landing was a bit of a nightmare. I had been warned that there was a typhoon coming our way, but I wasn’t aware that we were actually in the midst of it all. Hence, the landing was very shaky, and when we realised we were on safe ground even the quiet Japanese lady sitting next to me smiled at me and joined into our relieved clapping (I never clap, honestly, but this was heartfelt).

At the airport, I also had my first encounter with a full-on Japanese loo: one button promises to “spray”, another offers a “bidet”, and another shows a little musical note and, when pressed, ensures that any noises you may make are well concealed by a flushing noise. I have to admit, I chickened out of using any buttons, but I will make sure you pamper my cheeks soon.

At the airport, we were met by Seb, who runs this scheme. We all piled on what looked like a school bus. At Cambridge House（ケンブリツジハウス), our new home, we were welcomed by a number of very polite staff, who had already lined up some slippers for us. Cambridge House is one of the halls of residence for the students of the Japan University of Economics (JUE) and is located in Chikushino-shi (I’m still not entirely sure where the university is, or where Fukuoka is in relation to Chikushino-shi). We had some sandwiches, which had been lovingly prepared for us (picture 2), some chilled “straight tea”, and, briefly admiring the size and gadgets in our room, fell into bed.