A warm welcome to Kochi - Stuart Newman

It was 3 years ago that I first landed in Japan and was swept away by a hundred things I didn’t expect. From the ground staff bowing to greet our plane after we landed to the ultra organised train service to the extreme politeness the Japanese have become renowned for, everything was very new and wonderfully exciting.
The intimidation of moving to a country where I couldn’t sound the written language let alone understand it was eased greatly by the patience of the Japanese and their willingness to assist.

There are countless stories of kindness that can be heard from foreigners both travelling to and living in Japan, all humbling and touching in their personal way.
My Japanese studies started slowly though gradually increased and intensified as I moved away from the big city of Tokyo to the more remote countryside of Kochi in Shikoku, where the English speakers were sparser and yet the patience not merely prevailed but increased.
Their efforts to understand and their enthusiasm to converse greatly improved both my motivation and my speaking ability.

The dreaded study of kanji (Chinese characters) also became not only easier but even enjoyable as the methods of their construction and development became clearer.

My time in Japan is continuously dotted with glistening memories of my trials and tribulations, yet the enthusiasm and humbleness that I once experienced is translated just as strongly in correspondence with Japanese friends who are ever present.