As a proud Briton, I think it only right that I open what will hopefully become the first of many blogs about my experiences here in Japan, with a note about the weather. The stereotypical British maxim of "mustn't grumble" simply doesn't apply here. Stepping off the coach at Numazu station was almost exactly like walking into a sauna. The temperature on our first day in Japan was 31C, and the humidity at 89%. So, essentially, the equivalent of being underwater. 

Under these conditions sweating is inevitable . And boy did I sweat! I'm a pretty big guy, about 6 foot with my weight fluctuating between 14-15 stone, so to begin with I just couldn't deal with it. I was averaging 3 cold showers a day in an ultimately futile bid to stay cool and clean, availing myself of every vending machine drink I crossed (and in Japan, trust me, that is a lot!) and generally parading around semi-naked whenever I could. Marion and Mary won't thank me for this, but even the girls were perspiring freely. You know it's hot and humid when 120lb girls start sweating!

Not to worry though, I thought to myself. I'll adjust. I'll acclimatize. Give it two weeks and my body will have sorted itself out. Oh how wrong can you be! At the time of writing, I have been in Japan for 20 days. I'm currently sat in my apartment, topless, with beads of sweat dripping from every pore at an alarming rate. All windows and doors are open, I have a 2 litre bottle of ice on my chest... and I am still ludicrously warm. The air here is oppressive; it completely saps you of all motivation and energy . Not exactly the best conditions for an epic 2-week long journey around Japan then. 

Before we get to all of that though, a little about the city which I will be calling home for the next 9 months (at least). Numazu is a small seaside city of around 200,000 people and is located in the Shizouka Prefecture of Japan. It is 130 kilometres west of Tokyo, and Mount Fuji is visible from the coastline on clear days. I am reliably informed (by Wikipedia) that it is the largest producer of horse mackerel in Japan, which to my shame I am yet to try. The Kano River splits the city in two down the middle, and offers a really great view of the city lights at night-time. I will take a picture next time I am down that way!

It is relatively quiet and doesn't have a "city-feel" at all. The streets are wide and clean, there is little traffic and the people are all incredibly kind and respectful. I am sure that I will delve into the differences in culture between Japan and the UK in future posts, but suffice it to say at this point that I could not feel more welcomed. This, I suspect, is not a feeling enjoyed by most immigrants new to the UK. 

Our first night in Numazu was spent on the beach with food, a guitar and sparklers. It was really good to catch up with everyone. Marion and Ali have been in Numazu since April, whilst I hadn't seen James since the end of University, and Mary even longer still. Mary and I were still incredibly jet-lagged (by the time I crawled into my bed/floor cushions I hadn't slept for 40+ hours) but we managed to tough it out and enjoy our evening.

The following morning, and after just 7 hours of sleep, Ali and I awoke to get to his last day of work before the end of term. I wanted to observe some lessons at one of the schools I would be teaching at and this would be my last opportunity before the broke up for the summer. And so it was that I found myself biking to school at 7.30 am, with the temperature already in the high 20's. We stopped at a 7/11 (convenience store) for breakfast on our way. It was at this point that I experienced what will undoubtedly be the first of many interesting food experiments here in Japan. I have since taken to calling it 'Food Roulette', as in most cases it is almost impossible to tell what exactly it is you are purchasing. In this particular instance it proved to be a small Spanish omelette-type snack, which was ridiculously sweet. Needless to say, I have not purchased it since. 

The lessons were really good fun. The students were all around 5-6 years of age, and were infectiously enthusiastic. Anyone who knows me well will know for a fact that I am not a dancer. That is to say, I am not a dancer unless copious amounts of alcohol are involved, and I was hardly about to start drinking then. However, the kids were completely oblivious to my disquiet, and soon enough I was twirling around like an idiot with the best of them. Story time and flash cards, followed by 20 minutes or so of Monsters Inc, subtitled in Japanese, and the lesson was over. The 45 minutes flew by, and I can't wait to get started there, it should be very interesting! 

In the evening I observed some of the lessons from the outgoing teacher, Richard. These were classes which I would be taking control of following the summer holidays. They were much quieter affairs, consisting of half hour or hour long sessions with a small number of students. We worked from textbooks and played a few games, and again I really enjoyed myself. As a rule, Japanese students seem very focussed and very studious (unlike their British counterparts!). 

That night, the 5 of us went for celebratory sushi... and it was delicious! At 90 yen a plate (roughly 60p), and with tonnes of choice, I quickly became a fan. It isn't just raw fish, although the option is there if you want it. Fried chicken, battered fish, soups, vegetables, chips, desserts... there is pretty much something for everyone. Ali, Marion and myself go every Wednesday.

Following sushi we made our way to the other favoured Japanese past-time, karaoke. Instead of a stage in the corner of dimly light, grimey pub (a la Britain), in Japan you hire out a booth. This is essentially a small, sound-proofed room with its own karaoke system built in. The difference in experience is amazing, it is literally the first time I have ever enjoyed karaoke. For those that are wondering, I sang "Stuck in a Moment" by U2 and Marion and I did a duet of "Your Song" by Elton John. Cheesy, but I thought we did a pretty decent job!

It was the perfect antidote to the stress and jet-lag that comes with travelling 6000 miles. Little did we know however, that this was really just the calm before the storm. The next 2 weeks were at once the most enjoyable, most tiring, most sweaty and ultimately the most rewarding of my life so far.