Never thought the time would come, but after 14 years, it has! To make a long story short, I need to be with my family and Japan might not be the ideal place to retire. It’s not like I’ll never go back, though.

On the way across the globe, I purposefully avoided going through the US and went through Canada instead. I knew things were going to be very expensive with the amount of suitcases we had… Had no idea you couldn’t pay for bags with cash at the check-in counter. Sounds a bit nutty to me.

Now I’m back on the same island I helped my family escape return to in 2023.

Our house here has been fixed up quite a bit but still needs work. The nightmare of a time I had in my short 4 month stay here last time was because of the work that needed to be done and a host of pressures (and the relentless heat). Things are much different, and better, this time around.

For the most part, we have all the things we need but ordering things online is…a challenge. International banking is also still a challenge. I finally got my British overseas territory passport. It says I can live and work in England with no visa or anything. That’s wild! I don’t think I’ll ever join the rat race there, but it’d be nice to visit one day.

Items at the grocery stores here are just as expensive as the US (more expensive than Japan for sure). But here you can see a doctor or dentist without going into financial ruin and there aren’t nearly as many scams/fees/surprise bills. Dealing with the government in any capacity is a slog. Systems are sometimes down, very long lines with not enough cashiers… Need some kind of official paper? You’d better present original copies of your social security card, your birth certificate, your passport, your mother’s birth certificate, her marriage certificate, a notarized letter from the prime minister of Japan, the 13th picture you took of your dog (printed in color on glossy paper), and a sacrificial goat weighing no more than 20kg. You WILL make multiple trips to offices over and over and over and over again. But once you get the thing you need, it’s smooth sailing.

Anyway, I do miss Japan from time to time. I miss the anonymity, the convenience, the friends and people I met there…