お疲れ様でした- O tsukaresama deshita

Being the eve of our computer being stuffed into a box, this is indubitably the sayonara entry...such a sudden, ignoble end is not what I had in mind for this blog, but the past few weeks have proved that leaving Japan (especially in the manner we have chosen) is possibly even more difficult than coming here in the first place. Presenting a "final word" on an entire country seems premature after such a relatively short time here, so I will satisfy myself with...

What I won't miss about Japan

Commuting
Xenephobia (although I know what to expect in the UK)
Being asked if I can use chopsticks
Being complimented on my language skills for saying "hello".
Certain students
Natto

What I will miss about Japan

The public transport system
Certain students
Certain teachers
My flat
My landlord
The food


Tonight, for the first time, I had the chance to eat fugu, or puffer fish, that most famous of Japanese fish-stuffs, prepared by the most skillful of chefs, deftly separating the meat into that which is palatable and that which is deadly poison.

It really does taste like chicken.