From today, there is only 1 week left before lift off. I still have about a million more things to do before I leave such as:
- get a haircut
- get some Yen
- get my life sorted out
Unfortunately there’s not too much I can do about the last one but I should be able to get my backside up to do the the first two. I have no intention of going to a hairdresser’s within the first two or three months in Japan in case my lack of Japanese leads to an unhappy accident.

Also, with the British Pound going down faster than a plane broadcasting ‘mayday’, I’ve been trying to bide my time to get a good deal, but waiting just makes it worse and worse. By the time I get there, things in ¥100 shops (equivalent to one pound/99c stores) will cost more than well, a pound! Buddha forbid I have to pay more than a few pence for such great merchandise as:

I also need to start packing. In preparation, I’ve already bought some of the equipment I need:
1. A brand new sturdy suitcase:

International Traveller 76cm Black Expanding Trolley Case
…with four wheels! The suitcase moves like an upright trolley which is much easier than the ’tilt-n-pull’ types which always do my poor arms in after an hour or two of wheeling about (which will happen as I will inevitably get lost). It’s a wonder why not every suitcase is designed with four wheels, just like its a wonder we still have car doors that fly open onto the road instead of sliding ones.
2. A poor man’s DSLR camera:

Samsung WB500
As much as I would have wanted to get an actual DSLR, I decided in the end that they were way too bulky and fragile to carry around Japan with me. I needed a camera that I could easily fit into my bag and carry everywhere, then whip out in a hurry in case I see something really Japanesey pass me by.
I also wanted to take pictures of drunken karaoke nights and I have a suspicion that I won’t have the dexterity to operate complicated machinery after that fourth Southern Comfort mixer.
The Samsung WB500 seems perfect for the job. It’s a little bit bulky, but that’s because it has very good specs, with a nice 24mm ultra wide angle lens and a 10x optical zoom, which pretty much puts it in the prosumer category.
3. Adaptors:

I’ve bought two adaptors: one world one (above) since I plan to go travelling to other parts of Asia, and one specifically for UK>Japan for my laptop because they’re much smaller.
Muji offers a world adapter but (as with most things one could ever want) it costs about a tenth of the price from eBay, shipped from where else but… Hong Kong.
With only a few days left, I sense a panic attack is imminent. Actually, I could do with a a SoCo mixer right now…