Friday 2nd March 2001

For the past week to ten days I've had a sore throat, so please forgive me if my writing is not loud enough. I'll do my best.

On Saturday we went to Ginza to buy our wedding rings. We went a bit berserk with the cost though. Yuki's is from Tiffany's and mine is from Bulgari!

Last Sunday morning I played five-a-side football with a few workmates. We were surprisingly good. You may think that the Japanese are not natural soccer players, but this opposition was made up of people from EA Sports, the people who design football simulations for games consoles. Maybe our team didn't fit to their computer model of a footballer, we're certainly a different shape!

On Monday, after work Yuki and I went to the Akasaka Prince Hotel to pick up our wedding invitations (you'll be receiving yours in about a week). Yuki mentioned it was my birthday, and without hesitation, Ueno san had offered us a free celebration dinner on the fortieth floor! Very nice, even if I did have the embarrassment of an ice-cream cake with a candle in it and a very classy rendition of "Happy Birthday To You" by the pianist. It was played in the same style as the rest of the repertoire, subtly enough to blend into the skyscape, but with enough of a lift for the "birthday boy" to notice.

A development at work has seen me "promoted" to Project Manager. It's the type of promotion often bestowed upon people nowadays, more responsibility and more... Well actually just more responsibility! I am filled with anticipation though, at the prospect of being able to achieve more than I alone could. I wish the best of luck to those who are "lucky" enough to be managed by me!

Monday 5th March 2001

Didn't do too much this weekend, sent the wedding invites out on Friday and had a good few beers in Akasaka and Roppongi in the evening. There's a relatively new English pub in Akasaka, called "The Hobgoblin". It's owned by the Wychwood Brewery (in England), who make the beer of the same name. It's a good bar, but really does not feel like a British pub.The building work going on near my apartment is now nearing completion. There are two big towers similar in design, but not the same. According to posters advertising the office space, they are collectively called "Atago Green Hills". They have blocked part of my view from the balcony, but because of their interesting design, it's not such a problem. It does mean I'll have to use my curtains though!

Monday 12th March 2001

Five weeks to the wedding now! We're busy making all sorts of arrangements for the big day. Must try to enjoy it and not get too stressed out! As a nice break, we went to Inokashira Park on Saturday. So often, we forget to make something of the weekend, then before we know it, it's Monday again. This park is in Kichijoji, on the west side of Tokyo. We took a swan shaped pedal-boat out on the lake and took a stroll in the crisp Spring sunshine. There were a few entertainers and musicians doing their thing to entertain the passersby. One Japanese barbershop combo were particularly good.

This is also time to make another arrangement for my future. It's World Cup ticket application time! I'm applying as both a resident of one of the host countries and also internationally. It's a fingers crossed job though, as the games will be massively oversubscribed.

Thursday 22nd April 2001

I am now 1,940 miles from home (london) on BA006 from Tokyo. According to the map we're somwhere over Russia, with a tail wind of 30 mph!

Just over a week ago Yuki & I went to the hotel to sort out some more of the wedding plans. I think this is the biggest project I've ever been involved in! The invitations have started coming back now. Most are acceptances, but there are one or two who unfortunately can't make it.

We met up with yuki's cousin Hiroki this past Tuesday (a bank holiday in japan)to go through the wedding schedule. He is a presenter for Bloomberg TV and will be our master of ceremonies at the wedding. He speaks very good, very clear English. I've been busy sorting out the music for the wedding first party (the meal). The hotel supplies a list of incidents which need musical accompaniment, for example cutting the cake. The cake is not real of course, but it will look great in the pictures. A real cake would cost an arm and a leg! The hotel does provide a selection of music that they have available, but to pick from that list would totally lack originality and that really isn't me. I still also have to sort the music for the second party, but I think that will be more fun and easy to do. I keep reminding Yuki not to panic over the arrangements, but I think she's actually enjoying it.

I'm on my way home for my stag party. Unfortunately I've had to fit in quite a bit of business during the trip, thus reducing the holiday. I've left the arrangements for my stag do to my mate Keith. Keith is my best man, the type who, on my wedding day, is going to do his best 6,000 miles from Tokyo! As disappointing for him as for me, I'm sure, but that's the price of planing an international wedding.

This flight is full and I would guess it is 95% Japanese people. All flights between London and Tokyo seem to be filled mostly with the Japanese. Most of them look like holiday makers rather than business people. They are probably not too happy with the poor value of the yen right now.

Friday 23rd March 2001

It's 6:23 am and I've been awake for a couple of hours already. I've just been watching pictures from Japan on breakfast news, of the Mir space station burning up in the atmosphere as it comes down to earth - another case of Sod's (or Murphy's) law coming into play! A bigger example is missing the FA Cup Semi-final between Arsenal and arch-rivals, Spurs. My friend Phil is going to be a linesman at the game and had a ticket if I could be there. Gutted! I will be back in Japan. During my first year in Tokyo, I also missed a total eclipse of the sun in the UK, although fortunately, or unfortunately, it was cloudy. I have had one bit of good news though this morning, the clocks go forward one hour this weekend, meaning my 7:30 am tele-conference with Tokyo on Wednesday can be at 8:30 am... Having just written that, my heart has sunk as I've just remembered that the meeting was only so early because of another meeting I have afterwards :-( .

Wednesday 28th March 2001

I survived a pub crawl in London on Friday and my stag party on Saturday. I don't remember the whole of my stag do, but it was a good day, with a few people turning up, whom I hadn't seen for quite a while. After a couple of day's recovery, I'm back in the office. I'm just about adusted to the time difference now. I fly home tomorrow!