It's snowing!

Stormy weather today with lots of snow.

Christmas 2008

It's the 24st of December today. My first Christmas eve in Japan. Here are some pictures of our dinner and my present (lovely Belgian beers).




ps: Check out www.belgianbeer.co.jp if you're in Japan and want to get some beer.

Snowboarding

Went snowboarding for the first time in my life this weekend. The first day was rather hard (I really cannot get up on my heel edge). But the 2nd day was a lot more fun. I can make turns so I use that to get on my heel edge. ^^ Here are 2 pictures:

Snow

Got quite a bit of snow overnight. Here's a picture of our car.

Sapporo Shopping

Kazumi and I went shopping in Sapporo yesterday. Got out of bed around 7AM (too early for a Saturday) and left for Sapporo at 8AM. Took route 5 from Kutchan to Otaru and drove the highway (Sasson) from Otaru to Sapporo (Kita Hiroshima exit). Arrived at Costco around 10AM. Costco is a large warehouse and they sell a nice selection of imported items.

Most Japanese supermarkets only offer a very limited assortment of cheese, so I had to get me some in Costco. Not quite cheap, but so very delicious.



After shopping at Costco we had lunch at McDonalds. Finished lunch around 12:30 and were all set for some more shopping. First we needed to find a parking spot though. We decided to park the car in one of the Sapporo Station's underground parking lots.

From the parking lot we went on foot to an outdoors sports shop (Shugakuso 札幌市北12西3). Bought me some winter gear (boots, snow goggles and ski pants and gloves).

Next stop: Yodobashi Camera. Had been looking for a decent set of PC speakers for a while now and decided to buy some finally. Got me a pair of Edirol MA-15D speakers.

By the time we left Yodobashi Camera it was time for dinner. We went for a simple bistro somewhere below Sapporo station.

To finish up the day we went to see a movie (Leatherheads) and drove home around 8:30PM. Was raining all the way from Sapporo to Kutchan. Soon this rain will turn into snow. Still a little bit warm for snow at the moment, but according to the weather forecast this will change soon.

Winter in Hokkaido

Went for a walk at 7 AM this morning to enjoy the winter landscapes. Bit chilly (0 degrees Celcius, but seemed colder because of a strong wind) but very enjoyable. Here are some pictures.

Our car (putting up the wipers is standard practice during winter):


Road in front of our apartment:


Fields and mountain in the background:

Car Trouble Part 2

We got our car back last Friday (31st October). Cost us around 90000 JPY (slightly over 700 Euro) to get it fixed (had to repair the starter engine). And since winter is coming close we also had to get some winter tires. Another 80000 JPY (approx 650 Euro). Expensive times for car owners here in Hokkaido.

Our car is 10 years old and we're planning to get a new one. But first we need to save up money of course. Let's hope our current car doesn't experience anymore expensive breakdowns.

The new car we're looking into is the Nissan X-Trail. A car that seems very suited for the harsh winter conditions we experience over here.

Car trouble

Yesterday my car wouldn't start after visiting one of our construction locations. Tried like 5-6 times but the starter engine would not come one. Contacted JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) and asked them to come help me out. The guy arrives and.... is able to start my car without any problems. He checked the battery and generator and they both are ok. Nothing more he can do for me.

Today I took the car to a car repair shop and we got it diagnosed. Apparently the starter engine is no good. Getting it fixed now before winter really starts.

Hopefully no more car trouble after that.

Japanese Driver's License Part 2

Yay, got a call from the license center today and everything is in order now. Will be going to Sapporo next week to get the license. ^^

Japanese Driver's License

I need to vent a bit, so here it comes.

At the moment I'm driving a car in Japan using a translation of my Belgian driver's license. Using this translation I'm allowed to drive a car for 1 year. After that I'll have to use a real Japanese license.

So some weeks ago I went to the administration that can change my license. If you have a Belgian license you can just switch it to a Japanese without any exams or tests. You only need to proof that you have been in Belgium for 3 months after obtaining the driver's license.

No problem it seems... I got a nice document from the local authorities in Belgium stating that I had lived in Belgium all my life till departing for Japan (lived in Belgium full-time for approximately 10 years after obtaining my license).

However...

The clerk at the license center in Japan refused to accept this document. I got a new travel passport before going to Japan (got passport somewhere in February). And based on the issue date of the passport and my entrance date in Japan... I haven't been in Belgium for 3 months. Unfortunately I don't have my old passport anymore, so I cannot use that to proof that I really was in Belgium for more than 3 months after obtaining my driver's license and before going to Japan.

No problem I thought, let's just ask my embassy to write a document stating that I really really was in Belgium for more than 3 months.

After a week a received this document and faxed it to the license center. Again they refuse to accept the document. Now they're saying they need a document that states from day to day (for a period of 3 months) that I was in Belgium. Like for example a time registration card from a previous job in Belgium. Hmmm.... Only time card I ever used was a digital one and I don't have printouts for that. >< According to the clerk rental contracts stating a start and end date are not sufficient to proof that I was in Belgium. Same goes for my university diploma, etc ...

At the moment of writing the license center is in contact with my embassy trying to sort things out.

In my opinion this situation is rather ridiculous. I obviously lived in Belgium for a long time... Why not accept it?

I can only hope that this get sorted out. I need my driver's license for my job. According to the clerk I would have to start from zero if I cannot prove I was in Belgium for more than 3 months after obtaining the license. But I really don't have enough time to get a license from zero.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope I'll get a positive answer soon.

Will keep you updated.

Wow, it's the 28th of September already. Time really is flying by. And it's been 3 weeks since my last blog post. Mainly because there's nothing really special to write about. ^^

Been going to work on weekdays and just relaxing at home during the weekends. Saturday is my homemade spaghetti day. ^^

Last Sunday Kazumi and I went to a BBQ in Hirafu (Niseko Cycling Week BBQ). The weather was great. It has become a lot colder since then.

First snow was seen on top of Mount Yotei last week. Not long before this place will become a winter wonder land. My first winter in Hokkaido. I'm looking forward to it. Kazumi on the other hand isn't a big fan of all the snow. Well... I've never experienced the gigantic amounts of snow of Kutchan before, so I'll have to wait and see.

I also started playing FFXI again. So if you're playing on Phoenix server... say hi to Feisei. ^^

Lunatic Asylum

Old skool rave from Lunatic Asylum. This stuff is great.

Lunatic Asylum Live - Nostromo 1993 - Part I
Uploaded by DrMacabre

Lunatic Asylum Live - Nostromo 1993 - Part II
Uploaded by DrMacabre

倶知安

I wanted to show my readers what Kutchan looks like, so I made 2 short video clips while going shopping today. Enjoy~

Going from home to the local supermarket:


Going back home:


As you can see from the video clips Kutchan is a rather small and quiet town. This will change during the winter season though.

登別地獄まつり

Kazumi and I visited a festival in Oboribetsu (famous onsen town) last Saturday. Here are some movies. Check out my Flickr page for the pictures.

Modeling career?

盆踊り

Went to see the 盆踊り (bonodori) in 倶知安 (kutchan) last night. Here's a short impression of the kids dancing.

Obon

It's Obon in Japan and that means I had (and still have a few to come) free days. The holidays started last Thursday. Kazumi and I went to Otaru. Exploring the canal area a bit and going out for tabehoudai and nomihoudai in the evening. That means all you can eat and drink during 90 minutes for a fixed price. We paid approximately 8000￥ for this feast in a yakiniku restaurant (yakiniku looks like a mini bbq that's put in the middle of your table). It was delicious.

Before going to the restaurant we also visited 天狗山 (tenguyama). It's a famous tourist spot in Otaru and the view from the top of the mountain is breathtaking. Here are some pictures.



Today we went to Sapporo. A big new store opened in January and we decided to have a look at what it has to offer. Before being allowed to shop at this store you need to become a member. Kazumi's mother (she's too kind) paid the membership fee for us.

The store can be compared to Macro in Belgium. It also carries a lot of foreign items. I was able to score me some Stella Artois. ^^




After scoring the beer Kazumi and I went to see "The Dark Knight" at the movie theater located in Sapporo Station. I really enjoyed the movie. We got quite hungry afterwards, so we stopped at ビックリドンキー for dinner.

Evil property owner

Got a phone call today from the owner of the previous apartment we stayed in. Telling us there is damage to the flooring and we need to pay to get it fixed. Hmmm.... Why didn't the the real estate agent mention anything while inspecting the place when we left it? I don't remember seeing any serious damage. According to the owner the damage went through the protective wax layer on top of the flooring and damaged the actual wood. Hmmm.... Definitely don't remember anything like that. On top of that, there was no "current state of the property form" made when Kazumi moved in. So the owner can basically say what she wants. I really don't like this. I'm prepared to pay if it's not too expensive (just so we can forget about it and don't have to deal with this evil person anymore). But I would have to think twice before paying a big sum of money.

Weekend again

The weekend has arrived again. Lots of free time for 2 days in a row. Lucky me.

Last Thursday our new washing machine arrived. It's a Toshiba washer-dryer combo. Our previous one couldn't dry the laundry and this is a problem when living in a small appartment with almost no possibilities to dry your laundry.


I wasn't able to wash my clothes for 2 weeks since we sold our previous washing machine before moving to Kutchan, so I've got lots of washing to do during this weekend. ^^

Today it's my turn to cook dinner. Let's make spaghetti. Will have to go grocery shopping. Might as well pick up some more shelves while doing that. At the moment the appartment is just too messy because we don't have enough space to put things.

Mount Yotei

I took some pictures of Mount Yotei while at work today (part of the job is driving around and taking pictures at construction sites). The weather was really good today so the mountain is very clear.

Still unpacking

Moving isn't fun. (; ;) All our stuff has been moved from Asahikawa to Kutchan, but it will still take a while before we manage to put everything into place. Our new place is smaller than the previous one and as a consequence we're having serious storage problems. I already went out and bought some shelves last Sunday, but will probably have to buy some more this weekend.

At work everything is going on as usual. I'm trying to get a hang of AutoCAD at the moment. Adding furniture to architectural drawings and so on. And of course the usual system administration work.

Got internet connection

When I got back from work today the "ADSL" led on my modem was burning with a bright green color. Meaning the phone company switched my subscription from my old address to the new one. And even faster than they said they would (they told me I could use the internet again from the 4th of August).

Seems the connection here in Kutchan is also better than in Asahikawa. My upload speed has tripled. ^^ Haven't really had a chance yet to test download speed, but I guess that will be ok also.

Tomorrow I'm driving back to Asahikawa after work. It will be the last night I spend in Clione (that's the name of the マンション where Kazumi and I live in Asahikawa). The movers are coming on Saturday to take our things to Kutchan. Kazumi and I will then go to visit her mother in Sapporo. And after that we will go to Kutchan.

There's a festival in Kucthan on the 1st and 2nd of August. I hope we'll be able to go see the fireworks on Saturday evening.

Just another day in Kutchan/Hirafu

It's Monday again. The start of what without any doubt will be another exciting week. (^.-)

Very quiet day at work today. I'm alone in the office and only 2 peeps in the building across the street (the offices are spread through the town of Hirafu). Been doing some basic system administration duties. I arrived early this morning, so I'll be leaving a bit early also. Going straight to Max Value (local supermarket) after work to buy me some dinner and ingredients to bake some bread.

Don't think I wrote about that before. But I bought a bread maker real soon after arriving in Japan. Most Japanese buy bread in the supermarket. But I don't like the supermarket bread that much (it's different from Belgian supermarket bread). And hence I decided to bake my own bread. Been experimenting with various stuff available here (normal flour, rye flour, raisins, yogurt, ...) and most of the time the result is acceptable. ^^

At the moment I'm still living alone in Kutchan and as a consequence I don't really feel like cooking dinner. That's why I buy dinner at the supermarket. It's not that bad actually. ^^

I went back home

after work on Friday. And so here I am posting on my blog in my favorite chair.

My first week at West Canada Homes was without problems. The work is interesting and the colleagues are all very friendly and helpful.

During the weekend I'll be preparing our move to Kuchan. Still need to pack up a lot of things. Also need to notify the post office, phone company, internet provider, ... So I'll be pretty busy.

Going out to buy a new washing machine tonight. Our new place doesn't really have a lot of space to dry our clothing, so we need to buy a washer/dryer combo. This is going to hurt my wallet. ^^; I'll also need to buy a new fridge. But I guess that can wait for a bit. Our current fridge is working fine, but it's a bit small. That's no real problem if you have time to go grocery shopping every day, but unfortunately that won't be the case once Kazumi starts working in Kuchan also.

At the moment Kazumi is still working at Bestom (this is a rather large supermarket in Asahikawa). She'll quit working there on the 31st of July. We both hope she can find a job soon in Kuchan. She's very confident that this won't be a problem though. ^^

Lunch break

Having my lunch break at work and decided to write something on my blog. Now what to write about. Hmmm... Let's talk about work.
I started working at West Canada Homes yesterday. At the moment my primary task is to take care of the IT infrastructure. Been going around the company and checking computers for anti-virus software and such. Basically just getting used to the system. Luckily my predecessor left me some information to work with.
Today I'll also be visiting some project sites. Learning how to make reports about progress and such.
Something else. It rained this morning. Not just normal rain, but like we say "it rained cats and dogs". I had gone to the bathroom for like 5 minutes and when I got back a small flood had already occurred. I'll have to remember to close the windows if I leave the house. It's different from our previous home in Asahikawa where I could just leave open most windows without much harm.

Internet connection

A consequence of my move is that I won't be able to access the internet for a while. I'll have to sign up for an ADSL contract at my new place. Not sure how long this will take. I'll probably be able to access the internet at work but for obvious reasons I'm not going to be posting on my blog while at work. I'll give information about my work email address on a need to know basis once I have one.

Final Fantasy XI

I've been a dedicated FFXI player for the last couple years. But to all good things comes an end. I decided to quit the game and concentrate fully on my new job and family. Perhaps I'll get back to the game at a later time (perhaps during the long cold winter), but that is still left undecided.

I'll be moving to Kuchan all by myself (; ;) today. Kazumi still has to work at the supermarket till the end of July. She will be moving to Kuchan somewhere near the beginning of August.

I'm really lucky to be able to move to our new place already. We received the keys even though we didn't sign any contracts yet. This is highly unusual and we probably should thank my mother in law for this. She's the one that contacted the real estate agents in the first place and made it very clear to them that we were very urgently looking for a home.

Everything went very smoothly. Get a new job on Thursday, make phonecalls to real estate agents on Friday and Saturday, have a look at the available places on Sunday and then already moving in on Monday. Don't think I ever did that so fast before. ^^

New home

Me and Kazumi went to Kuchan today to look for a new place to stay (one that's a bit closer to the offices of my new job). And we found one.

First we had a look at an apartment above a 7 Eleven in Niseko. The place was very spacious, but had no air conditioning and wasn't very clean. Marks on the walls, bit smelly toilet, ... So we decided to have a look at 1 more apartment (there were only 2 available in the area).

Over the phone we were told that this one had "bad light". So we weren't expecting too much. However, it turned out to be a very nice one. A little bit smaller than our current apartment, but lots nicer than the more spacious one above the 7 Eleven. This one is clean, has air conditioning, toilet with washlet, ... The light indeed isn't the best in the world since the windows are facing the wall of our neighbours. However, this has as an advantage that the rooms won't heat up so much during summer either.

Rent is 61000 Yen/month and 67000 Yen/month during winter. It's more expensive during the winter because someone has to come to clean the parking lot. Yup, you read that right. Clean the parking lot. Because there's lots and lots of snow in winter.

I'll have to get used to snowy winters. I did experience some snow in Belgium, but you cannot compare that to the amount of snow they get in this area of Japan. 2 meters of snow versus something like 5 cm in Belgium...

Busy days coming up

Starting a new job far from my current address of course means that I have to move to Kuchan. I'm not going to spend 8 hours a day commuting, that's for sure.
View Larger Map
Had a quick look on the internet yesterday, but unfortunately not a lot of information about real estate for rent was available. However, my mother in law made some quick calls and as a result we're going to check out some places on Sunday. Hopefully we find something nice so we can start preparations for the big move.
I'll be living in Kuchan by myself for a short while since Kazumi cannot quit her current job before the end of July. Not looking forward to being alone by myself again, but I'll hang in there. After all it's only for a short while.

Kris has a new job!

Had to drive 500 km through pouring rain in order to visit the company West Canada Homes in Hirafu. But it was worth every single kilometer. I got hired. ^^ I'll start working there next Thuesday.

My main tasks will be taking care of the IT infrastructure and working on project progress reports.

There's a trial period of 3 months after which my contract will be evaluated. So let's work hard!

New software

Today I'm learning to work with Microsoft Publisher. I decided to use the very popular trial-and-error method. I'll need to use this program if I get the job with West Canada Homes. So I downloaded the 60 day trial version from Microsoft's website and dived right in. So far it seems simple enough. ^^
I'll probably also have to use Autocad, but seems I cannot download a trial version while being in Japan. No idea why the trial version is only available in certain locations. Guess I'll just have to learn to work with this program when I get the job.

Pakje

Uw pakje is aangekomen! Bedankt!

Job interview

Today I had an interview with the president of West Canada Homes. It's a Niseko based company and I hope I can work for them in the near future. The initial interview went fine I think. Next Thursday I'll be visiting the company so I can meet some of the people working there and have a general tour of the company.

They are looking for a Junior Project Manager. That basically means someone to assist the Project Manager with different duties. I really would like to take on this challenge with both hands and work hard for my future.

Of course working for a company in Niseko would mean that I have to move out of Asahikawa. And Kazumi would have to quit her current job. Well, we're not that far yet. Let's first wait and see how things evolve.

Gelukkige verjaardag papa!

Het is wel een beetje vroeg, maar gezien ik morgen niet thuis ga zijn, zal ik u nu al maar ne gelukkige verjaardag wensen!

英会話のＣＭ

こんにちは。私はクリスと申します。旭川に住んでます。とりあえず旭川で英会話を教えます。英語を勉強したがっていったらハックルベリーのサイトを見てください。

Video

Very short self introduction in Japanese for those who never heard me speak Japanese before. ^^



And here's the transcript:

こんにちは。クリスと申します。
ベルギーから来ました。今旭川に住んでます。
趣味はパソコンとアウトドアズです。
よろしければ友達になりましょう。
よろしくお願いします。

And in English:

Hi, I'm Kris.
I'm from Belgium. I live in Asahikawa for the moment.
My hobbies are the PC and outdoors.
Let's become friends!

It's hot out here.

Haven't posted a lot recently (or should I say not at all). This is because life is just going on slowly without any special events. Just the daily routine of preparing lessons for the English conversation classes, go out for grocery shopping, prepare food, cleaning, ...

And of course also try to find a more steady job. I actually have a meeting with a company on Saturday. The company is called "West Canada Homes" and it's based in Niseko. Let's hope I can land a position with this company.

As you probably could have guessed by reading the title, it's very hot in Asahikawa at the moment. The temperature rises to approximately 30 degrees celcius every day. And it's not only the temperature, but also the humidity that contributes to a not so comfortable feeling.

Here's a site with frequent updates for those curious about the weather in Asahikawa.

Barber

A first time for everything I say and today was the first time for me to visit a barber in Japan. For 3000 Yen (approximately 18 Euro at the time of writing) I received:

• A nice clean haircut (people that know me will probably know what it looks like)
• A hairwash
  
• A neck and shoulder massage
  
• A shave

Not a bad deal I think. And to be honest... If I had the funds this guy could shave my face every day of the week. Much more relaxing than shaving with a safety blade in the morning. So if you feel like contributing to a good cause... Feel free to donate to my shave fund. ^^

Proficiat Liesbeth

Van harte gefeleciteerd vanwege Kazumi en mij voor het met succes voltooien van alweer een jaartje aan de hogeschool. In het Japans: おめでとうございます (omedetou gozaimasu). Geniet van de verdiende vakantie enne...

probeer Nikita niet ten onder te laten gaan (^.-)

Om af te sluiten een paar kiekjes van vandaag.

トリックアート美術館

For those wondering how to read the title of this post. It's "torikku aato bijutsukan" or in English "A museum displaying trick art". The museum is called "La Ghirlanda 美術館" and they display paintings with an interesting 3D feeling to them. Kazumi and I visited this museum a month ago (I know... I'm a slow poster). Here are some of the more interesting pictures we took that day.

The wedding rings

Long overdue, but here they are (click on the images to get larger versions):





As you can see 2 simple rings. They are made of the alloy Pt900 (platinum). Hopefully made for life. ^^

Back to the nineties with YouTube

Japanese television being what is is (not very interesting) I spend a lot of time watching YouTube (Yay for internet connection with no download or upload volume limits). Have been watching a lot of 90's video clips (rave music ftw). Here are some examples for you to enjoy:

RMB - Spring


Dune - Can't Stop Raving

Job Hunt

Last week I was contacted by a person from Huckleberry English School (after sending out several letters to many different schools to apply for a job). They are looking for an English teacher in Asahikawa. After meeting with this person from Huckleberry it became clear to me that it is not really a school, but a company that introduces students to teachers for a fee (much like the website findateacher.net). After consulting with Kazumi I decided to take the offer. Today I'll meet up with my first prospective student. Let's hope it works out well.

edit: Things worked out well. Starting next week I'll be teaching English to my first student. Let's hope many more will follow.

Home Cooking

Today I'll tell a little bit about my home cooking. You may already know or perhaps not, but I do like cooking. At the moment it's Kazumi that goes out working all day long, so I usually prepare the evening dinner.

I do have some limited cooking experience from my time in Leuven, but cooking here in Japan is a little bit more challenging. "Why?" you might ask yourself. Well...

Firstly the Japanese diet is quite a bit different from our Belgian one. And of course I'm most familiar with Belgian dishes. As a consequence I've mainly prepared western food so far. Like for example spaghetti, beef stew, ... Luckily these were appreciated by Kazumi. Problem with cooking western style food is the cost though. Often ingredients are needed that are not so typical for Japan and hence they are pricy.

Another problem I have to deal with is the limited kitchen infrastructure: a very small fridge and only a single cooking plate. Not very practical, but you get used to it.

Today I prepared a Japanese dinner for a change. 「つくねとかぼちゃの煮もの」and「小松菜のひたし」. Or in English "A cooked dish of chicken meatloaf and Japanese pumpkin" and "Vegetable side dish with rape".Of course both are complemented by a bowl of rice. I have to admit it was a pretty tasty meal.

Yesterday we had sushi with a variety of side dishes. All prepared by Kazumi who still is not very confident about her cooking.

The big move - Part 5

Together with Kazumi I leave the airport, destination Sapporo. It takes approximately half an hour by train to get there. First thing to do when we arrive there is put away all my luggage in a coin locker. Got some shopping to do and don't want to carry around my luggage all the time.

Once the luggage is put away we head for ビックカメラ (BicCamera) for some shopping. I'm shopping for a wireless router, keyboard and printer. I used the shop website to do my research before arriving here so shopping should go smoothly.

For the people interested in this stuff:

Wireless Router: Buffalo Airstation WHR-AMPG
Printer: Epson Colorio PM-960
Keyboard: Logicool Wave

Now that the shopping is done we would like to get some food. One problem... Luggage... The printer is rather large and heavy. No way we can take this with us inside a restaurant. So we head for the coin lockers again.

Once the stuff is put away we start looking for a place to eat. Lots of restaurants in the area, but I would like some sushi (and not too expensive if possible). So we go to a kaitenzushi (sushi is put on a conveyor belt that passes in front of the guests and you pick whatever you like).

After getting our fill of sushi it's time to collect the luggage from the coin lockers and head for Asahikawa. Getting on the train is a bit troublesome now with all this luggage. But we manage somehow. One hour and a half later we arrive in Asahikawa.

A short ride by car later we arrive at home, a manshion type building (4 apartments) called Clione.

The big move - Part 4

-= 1.30 PM =-
The airplane is descending towards New Chitose Airport. Japanese soil at last. It has been approximately half a year since I was in Japan and I'm looking forward to seeing Kazumi again after such a long time. She promised to meet me at the airport.

But first I have to get my luggage and pass immigration of course. This hasn't been a problem in the past, so I don't forsee any problems this time either. New this time is that immigration takes finger prints and a facial shot from every foreigner entering Japan. A quick look at my passport and visa and some stamps later I can go on to the luggage retrieval area.

After waiting a littel while I see my luggage appear on the conveyor belt (I was a bit anxious since my luggage got delayed couple of days last time I took an airplane). Pick up luggage and head for customs.

Customs shows me the obligatory pictures of goods you are not allowed to take with you (narcotics, guns, ...). Of course I have nothing of the sort on me. Still want to check the contents of my luggage (guess the customs agent has to do his job). So a quick peek at my luggage and x-ray scan of my shoes later I can finally leave the customs area.

Kazumi is waiting for me already and together we head for the train station. The train will take us from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo station. Will go shopping for goodies in Sapporo before going on to our final destination. More about the shopping in my next post.

The big move - Part 3

-= ~11.20 AM =-
I leave Frankfurt airport with destination Taipei (Taiwan). The flight will take approximately 13 hours. I've been assigned an isle seat. The seat next to me is occupied by a quiet Taiwanese woman.

Once in the air I fire up the in-seat entertainment system. There's a variety of on-demand movies, music, ... I start with "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and watch a couple of other movies afterwards. Getting tired after all this entertainment and try to take a nap (not an easy task for a tall person sitting in an economy class seat).

-= ~5.30 AM=-
After an uneventful flight I arrive in Taipei. It's still very early and as a consequence it's not yet possible to pass the security checks for my next flight.

-= ~6 AM =-
I pass the security checks and sit down at my departing gate. I'm the first passenger to arrive here.As you can see the place is quite deserted.

-= ~9 AM =-
I leave Taipei towards my final destination: 新千歳空港 (New-Chitose-Airport). The flight takes approximately 4 hours. After the meal is served I try to get some more sleep. It has been a very long day with little sleep already and it will be a while before I can crawl into my futon to get more sleep.

The big move - Part 2

-= ~6 AM =-
According to my ticket I have to be at the boarding gate at 5:55AM. I make it there just in time (that gate was further from the security checkpoint than I had imagined). Anyhow, boarding hasn't started yet so I'm fine.

After a little while I can board the airplane. I've been assigned a window seat. Nobody sitting next to me so there's plenty of room to relax.

-= ~6.30 AM =-
We leave Brussels National Airport with destination Frankfurt. The flight only takes 1 hour approximately.

Very soon we land in Frankfurt. Now I have to find out where to get my boarding tickets for the next flight since I didn't receive those yet in Brussels. It's not immediately clear where I can get those tickets (signalisation for transit passengers is a lot better at Heathrow airport in my opinion). But after asking a security person it becomes clear I have to transfer to another zone by shuttle.

Still takes me a while to find the check-in desks for China Airlines. But I get my boarding passes eventually. From then on it's just a semi-long wait before I can board the next airplane.

The big move - Part 1

Saturday, the 26th of April 2008.

After lots op preparations the time for my move to Japan has finally come.

-= ~2 AM -=
Getting out of bed after a little bit of sleep. Went to the movies with my little sister the night before and only got 1 hour of sleep.

-= ~3 AM =-
Leaving the house together with my father, mother and little sister. It takes approximately 45 minutes to get from our home to the airport. My flight leaves at 6.25 AM so we should arrive at the airport with more than enough time to spare.

-= ~4 AM =-
We arrived safely at the airport. Still a bit early for check-in it seems. We hang around a little bit till my flight appears on the displays that guide people to the correct check-in desk. After waiting a short while I can check-in.
It's still very early and as a consequence most shops at the airport are still closed. One of the croisanteries has already opened though, so that's where we sit down for a bit, zipping up a coffee and enjoying a small breakfast.

-= ~5.30 AM =-


Time to say goodbye to my parents and little sister. A moment I had not been looking forward to. As much as I want to go to Japan to live together with my lovely Kazumi, saying goodbye to my family is hard.