I thought leaving Japan would be hard and I was right.
However, the experience of being in the Tohoku 9.0 magnitude earthquake with all its subsequent upheaval - geological as well as psychological - made it a little easier. Perhaps at the back of my mind was the thought that the Fukushima nuclear situation was more serious than we were told. But on the other hand, Tokyo is very far from the crisis zone and I trusted the independent information we were given. Further forward in my brain was the real worry that Tokyo would have The Big One (earthquake) with all the tectonic movement and pressure building elsewhere.
I desperately wanted to go and help some of the many thousands of displaced and grieving families but was unable to leave my home. Rhiannon's school was closed for what seemed like forever. They finally, reluctantly and under pressure, opened for one week just before the Easter holidays which gave me a little respite time to sort out some packing.
Aftershocks continued on a daily basis. We were all far more jumpy about them than before 11th March and this added to the immense stress I was under. I was (and still am to a certain extent) suffering from jishin yoi - earthquake sickness - a form of nausea, probably psychological but real for all that. It seems to be common judging by the searches on my Japanory blog and comments others have made to me.
Moving home is a harrowing experience in any case. But add to that the fact we were moving to almost the other side of the world (again) into a house we haven't chosen or even seen (again) and to a country I haven't been to before (again) and you may understand a little of the anxiety I was suffering.
I worried about how Rhiannon would cope with the move; she's spent half her life in Japan. Luckily, her reluctance and anxiety about moving was alleviated somewhat by the school closure (a single benefit!) and her friends also not being around. She was definitely not sad to leave the school where she had unresolved bullying problems.
As well as all that, I was fretting about how our dog and cat would fare.
When we arrived in Japan in 2006 we had two cats. Sadly, one died a week after our arrival having suffered a blood clot. This time we have a much loved dog, Kita - a Japanese Shiba Inu - to ship as well. She doesn't take well to separation and change and had been traumatised by the earthquake. To say I was very worried about her would be a massive understatement.
Because so many of my friends had left Japan post-earthquake I didn't get chance to say "sayonara" to them. Tim had a small goodbye "do" at the work bar on Friday 8th April where he got a little emotional; they were his workmates and good friends as well, so that was understandable.
Then the weekend was spent frantically packing, delivering electronic equipment to Tim's successor and generally trying to fit everything into weight-correct suitcases. The pets were taken to board by our pet shipping handler on Saturday.
Our possessions went in three shipments. Most of it was packed up on 1st March and sent in a container on a boat. It was slightly delayed due to the earthquake but we were able to track its progress online. If it hadn't have been packed then, we would have lost a lot of precious items in the quake.This comprised about 90% of our belongings, including all but a few of my clothes.
The next batch went by plane a week before we left Japan. Included in that was my lifeline - my PC. I still haven't got it set up yet (missing some cabling and also why I don't have photos to include yet) so I'm writing this on a teeny laptop . RSI beckons. And the rest we have to carry with us - remaining clothes, vital papers, jewellery, Rhiannon's beloved cuddlies and random bits and pieces not included in the other shipments.
We went out for our last meal in Japan on Sunday and left home at 7.30am on Monday 11th April for the first leg of our trip. With 8 suitcases!
Itinerary: Japan Narita airport - London Heathrow, London Heathrow - Berlin Tegel.
This has been changed numerous times over the past weeks. We were meant to go from Haneda airport which is much closer to our home and the very early departure would mean we would arrive at our new house in daylight. Then the flights were changed due to a lack of crew and fuel to hop over to Seoul, South Korea before heading on. Finally they settled on the above which would mean we would arrive in Berlin late in the evening.
On the drive to Narita I drank in my last views of sunny Tokyo. The sakura (cherry blossoms) were in prime flower and looked stunning against the bright blue sky. Souped-up scooters whizzed along ridden in style by people with little regard to safe helmets; the billboards, the noodle-like road scheme with tunnels and flyovers competing with the standard roads on the sat-nav. Craning my neck I saw Tokyo Tower with its newly bent spire (again, earthquake related).
We drove over Rainbow Bridge for the last time and then sped along the highway to the easy and calm Narita airport.
As we piled our cases onto the check in machine and the girl at the counter quipped "is that all?"
Yes, that's all. That's everything we have left to take out of Japan forever.
With a lump in my throat the plane took off. I didn't have a window seat so couldn't see Fuji-san for the last time. Perhaps that was for the best.
I fought back tears and ordered some therapeutic champagne.
Here's to the next adventure.
I kept repeating that to myself, but with a heavy heart.