Thoughts | Runacres @ Large

My New Home

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 15:20:37 +0900

Sake barrels presented to a temple from sponsors

I have finally managed to find an apartment and move my things in. So hello to Meguro. It is a pretty funky part of the greater city of Tokyo that is 5 subway stops and a very short bus ride from my office in Akasaka. It is very quiet and has a charming mixture of old and new, with some temples and graveyeards around amongst small side streets and shopping areas. I like it.

Wandering Around Tokyo

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:59:35 +0900

A Small Temple Near Akasaka

I am working hard to re-acquaint myself with Tokyo. It has been more than 12 years since I last lived here and it has changed quite a big - mostly for the better. I am also here by myself, at least until Miki is able to bring our cat and dog over from Hong Kong in November. I miss all of them very much. I have been used to adventuring around Tokyo with Miki for a long time now, and now find myself left to my own devices. I have re-discovered the subway system - a labyrinth in its own right - and am starting to venture around with my new "Pasmo" card that is a stored value device. That and the iPhone App that enables you to plan routes and I don't get lost any more. Add to that the fact that there are a lot more English language signs around the place and I am becoming pretty independent. I really enjoy getting around Tokyo on the subway now my terror at getting lost has proven unfounded.

Watch this space - more to come. The story of getting an apartment in Tokyo.

First Weeks in Japan

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 15:59:53 +0900

A temple in Hakata, Kyushu

Well, I have now effectively moved to Japan. I have had to make a quick trip back to HK to process my visa as an essential step in the process of getting my "Gaijin Card" in Japan. Once I get that, I will formally exist in Japan and can do some simple, but essential things like open a bank account and get a mobile phone. Probably the most important thing I can do is to get an apartment that will give me my own base and all my things. I have been staying in a serviced apartment for a while, which is lovely and convenient, but is more like a hotel room with a kitchen than a home. At least I can walk to the office in 10 minutes.

Tokyo is a simple awesome city to live in, it is endlessly fascinating and quite delightful. It can also be quite intimidating - especially for a first timer. Nothing works exactly the same way it does in other countries - the Japanese really do have their own way of doing things. Most Japanese cities are also quite ugly when you ever get the chance to see them from above - so with an office on the 30th floor of a building I get to see the sprawling mass of Tokyo and it is ugly. The joy comes with the details here. A small temple or shrine in a back street, a tiny coffee shop with really delicate and well made ornaments in the window - this place can fascinate. That is why it is complete paradise for photographers - but local and overseas. I took my Leica M8 and some leneses to Japan and will return from HK with my Leica M7 film body and some more lenses to give me some choice.

Moving to Japan

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:28:24 +0900

Temple in Kagoshima, Japan

Well the time has come. I have to leave the place I love the most and forge a new career in a new country. On SUnday May 20th I will be flying out of Hong Kong to land in Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. After settling into my temporary (and extremely comfortable) accomodation I will start work on the following day as the Head of Sales for a large financial servcies firm's business in Japan. This is a wonderful opportunity for me and - in almost equal measure - a very scary step into the unknown. A lot fun and an enormous amount to learn. The the least of which is trying to get my every rusty simple Japanese working properly again.

I have spent a huge amount of time these past few years in Japan - Miki has been determined to show me as much of the country as possible and I been eager to photograph as much as possible - very compatible aims at the end of the day. I have enjoyed myself immensely and now have the chance to go and do some real work in the land of the rising sun. I am sure it will be a huge amount of work and at the end I believe it will be immensely satisfying for me and hopefully a good experience for those I will work with.

What's Changed?

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:21:21 +0900

The Flag of the HKSAR

Almost everyone I meet who is just visiting will ask me the same question - "what has changed since 1997"? For those who don't know, that is when Hong Kong ceased being a colony of Britain and returned to Mainland Chinese control (we call it Mainland as the smal question of Taiwan remains - but that is another story) and became known as the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". The name alone is a major change, having been only "Hong Kong" before. There was great expectation and some level of euphoria by the population for the new position that Hong Kong now held. Fast forward to today - almost 15 years later - and things have changed a lot in some areas and not at all in others.

Hong Kong remains one of the most open and free economies in the world. Additionally you can come here and, with a little bit of intelligence, luck and sheer determination can make yourself a success. It doesn't matter where you are from this is a place where your ability to deliver matters above all else. The whole place is run as a benefit for business - the infrastructure is second to none, the tax rates are downright friendly and you can find any goods or services you could possibly imagine available 24x7. Where else in the world can you check in for your flight downtown and then take an express train from the checkin desk to the departure hall of the airport in 23 minutes? It is simply the easiest place to get things done and that is as much a reflection on the people and their culture as it is on the city as a collection of infrastructure. There is little outward sign of the Mainland Government in Hong Kong. Even the People's Liberation Army (PLA) garrison are firmly locked away inside barracks and rarely if ever show their faces about town. It all seems very benign. Contrary to many expectations, the PLA has been one of the least controversial of all the changes here.

Leaving Hong Kong

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:27:58 +0900

Leavin' on a jet plane

Well, the time has come. I need to leave Hong Kong and move countries. Actually I have not been in Hong Kong continuously since 1987, having spent some time in Japan, Singapore and South Africa as well. This time looks like being a more permanent move. I am moving to Tokyo to take up a job there, that is a major watershed in my career and hopefully the sign of things taking off. I cannot yet name the company, or even the job itself, as it is not a) signed yet and b) announced anywhere. My start date is May 21, so I will jet out of Hong Kong on May 20th to Tokyo. In the meantime I am working out just how much of my life I can disconnect from Hong Kong and prepare to move.

One of the big challenges we face with the move is how to get our wondeful animals to Japan with the least stress and bother for them. They are now getting on a little in age and we are worried about them a lot. The Japanese animal import regulations are very strict and involve a 180-day period after blood tests for rabies before the animals can enter Japan. This means that Miki will stay on in Hong Kong during that period to take care of them while I work in Japan. It will be a difficult time for both of us, and I am sure for the animals. It is, however, a major improvement on the alternative, being 6 months in quarrantine in Narita or Haneda Airport in Japan.

Elections in Hong Kong

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:11:05 +0900

One of the things (many things) that makes Hong Kong unique is the "One Country, Two Systems" environment we have. While we are all part of the People's Republic of China, we have a completely different setup of Government and only use Beijing (supposedly) for foreign affairs (for good and bad) and for defense. We have our own constitution - very boringly called "The Basic Law" - that is based in a large part on the common law found here under British times. It lays out many things, but seems to be deliverately vague on areas that might cramp the style of our Northen Masters when it comes to interference. We are now seeing that we are moving at increasing pace towards a "One Country, Once System" approach if we are not careful.

Last weekend we had an "election" in Hong Kong. No, not one as we know it is most of the rest of the world, as only less than 0.01% of the population of Hong Kong voted. A group of 1,900 or so "elite" members of the Hong Kong population voted for our leaders on our behalf. This group mainly comprised business people with very warped views of what is good for the general population in Hong Kong. Add to that, Beijing was happily "advising" every one of this group how they should be voting and we have a vote that makes a Singaporean election look like a hurly burly example of demcracy at its finest.

HK Sevens Weekend

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:20:08 +0900

Looking towards the (in)famous South Stand….

i don't yet have any clever photos of the crowds or silly costumes, but as soon as I do, I will post some. We have just survived another HK Sevens weekend when the overweight, middle aged population of many of Britain's former colonies come to HK to wear fancy dress, drink lots of beer and watch a little bit of rugby. In general they are well behaved - especially by the normal standards of lager-fuelled sports crowds in other parts of the world. More to come...