The place I will be leaving behind is is west Cumbria, a somewhat 'behind the scenes' area of the county that boasts the Lake District. Sadly the west has not enjoyed quite the same tourism cash cow privileges of the more accessible east and as such relies entirely on heavy industry; once mining and steel, now nuclear waste, ship building and soon nuclear power. Although you will probably find any of the major population centres along the west coast in the book 'crap towns' it would be unfair to say it is without charm. My three years here have been quietly enjoyable and there are many things I will miss about it, even occasionally being addressed as 'Marra'.
Although I have never been to Japan the little I have managed to glean about my destination is that it is not a large place and, like much of west Cumbria seems to exist purely as a result of the nuclear industry. I will be living in what an estate agent would optimistically refer to as a modest studio cupboard equipped with a bathroom and a kitchen sink. I expect many early opportunities to use my limited capacity to say "I like dogs" and "is that your car" to set up all the amenities I will need to survive more than a week, including internet, a bed and a way to make food taste nicer and be less poisonous.
Stay tuned to find out if I make it that far and be regaled with tales of my incompetence on a whole new continent.
