Welcome to our Blog.......Gatherer's in Japan

So its been 2 weeks since we arrived in Tokyo and so far all is going well.

I have decided to start this Blog as it will be a great way of sharing our experience with everyone as well as providing a great platform for us to document our adventures. Sue & I will ensure that we update it as often as possible and hopefully we will give you all a taste of our experience. Living in a country that is so culturally different we have already had lots of funny moments and I am sure there will be plenty to follow!!!

We are all trying to settle into this new way of life and adjust to all the norms that we will have to adopt in Japan. The big one which affects Sue & the kids more than me is the fact that each time you leave home it is an outing. Lots of walking and catching trains and taxi's. Until its gone you don't really comprehend the luxury of having your own car that you can jump into and dash off to the shops.

Tokyo also appears flat but we have found out that its very hilly which can be very interesting while pushing a pram with 2 kids on it, a full backpack on your back, 5 full bags of Groceries attached where ever possible to the pram....and in 32" heat and 90% humidity!!!! At least we will both get back into shape.

Work for me has been going very well. Most of my time in my first week was spent meeting all the members of the EA Japan (EAJ) team and then spending time with the Marketing and Sales teams, trying to understand how their structure fits into the organisation and how they go about dealing with their day to day functions. August & September at EA are the 2 most important months for us as we finalise all the plans for Oct,Nov & Dec (our 3rd Quarter) which due to the global festive seasons brings in up to 60% of our global revenues. Due to the sensitivity of the timing I have to make sure that my introduction to the team is as seamless as possible and that we hit the current plans that are already in place. The really good news is that there is huge potential within the team and I believe the next few years will be very rewarding.

I will try keep work updates to a minimum as this blog is about our family experiences.

Back to home life......
We are currently staying in temporary accommodation which is not too far from where we will have our own place (1 station away)

The apartment is very nice - 2 Bedrooms each with a bathroom and then separate Lounge, Dining room, Study and kitchen areas. Its very luxurious with all the home comforts that you could wish for, but is still not being in your own place and we are really keen to move into a place of our own with our own furniture ASAP!

Our temp apartment is on the 24th floor and has some great views...I'll add in some of the pictures we have taken.



Ending off, I'll leave you with a brief overview of our initial impressions.....may go into depth on some of them in blogs later on:

• Tokyo is BIG....we were expecting it to be be big but the size of the city is really mind blowing, it never seems to end.
• The Japanese people are extremely helpful & friendly! Not once have we not been able to get assistance or directions and they really do go out of their way to make you feel welcome.
• The transport system works so well....and is very precise. Trains, taxi's, buses.....there is nowhere you cant go and they are always on time.
• The Food is really good. Juiciest fruits & vegetables we have ever had and they have superb restaurants. (We were very worried about the food situation before we came over but it is the one area that has really not been an issue. The only problem is the cost...Its very expensive. (Sue & I had take-out pizza last night and converted it was over R450 for 2!)
• Expat community is very friendly. Sue has already made numerous contacts with other expat wives & families and everyone seems very accommodating
• Summer here is HOT & uncomfortable. Not very pleasant at all! Bring on winter....never thought I would ever say that!
• Children are adored. Sarah is having the time of her life and is so Happy here. In general, children are really adored. we constantly have strangers approaching us wanting to look and see the kids. Sarah & Ronan have both received numerous gifts from total strangers.

Anyway, that's enough for now...we will keep you all updated.

Feel free to post comments or give suggestions. It will be nice to see if the Blog is working!

Cheers!