Cherry Blossom Adventures

I love looking through old photos and my FIL scanned in a couple of other old photos for me when he did the baby photos. Over the weekend I looked through some other old photos of when Shun & I first met (coming up to 5 years) and from when I was on exchange in Japan in 2004/2005 among others including a couple of highschool shots and during my first year of uni- I can not believe how young I look…

I uploaded some to flickr in an album called “Oldies but Goodies” but thought I would reminisce with a couple here.

My brother & I- I was in year 11 so about 16 years old. He would of been 13 or 14 and we are both in our highschool uniforms.

In Australia we have a formal when we are seniors in highscool (age 17)- here is a photo of me and a friend Claire. A formal is like a prom I guess but because I went to an all girls highschool we were allowed to bring our own partner and I took Jake, my highschool boyfriend.

This is Jake & I- I think this is from his formal though because my hair is shorter and looks different from the photo above but I wore the same dress. I went to another formal that year too, with my friend Duck and I wore a different dress that time but at about $300 or more for a dress and all the money it cost for hair and make-up (and sometimes cars!) it was impossible to buy a different dress for each formal (we also have semi-formals the year before so I had another dress then!)

My first year of uni and the months leading up to when I left for Japan to go on exchange (I spent my second year of uni in Japan on exchange but the year didn`t start til March 2004 meaning I had from beginning of November until I left for Japan on holidays from school)- Here is some photos from those shenanigans.

Em & I- lifesaving in the bath!

Good friends of mine: Nic & Duck. A lot of people in the photos leading up until this point I don`t really have any contact with anymore but Nicole & I are still in touch (she lives in the UK but also did a year in Japan teaching a couple of years back) and Duck I met the same week I met my ex boyfriend Jake in highschool and him & I have stayed friends this entire time and we still catch up whenever I am back in Australia. They were both 18 when this shot was taken (now 24)

All in green to support a friend`s netball team called the ribbits (hence the frog in my top!)- I can`t believe how skinny I look in this photo. It was taken a couple of weeks before I left for Japan the first time so I was just 19.

Next lot of photos were taken the year I was on exchange in Japan- I met Shun at the end of my year here but he is not in any of the first ones.

That is James next to me: he was best man at our wedding. We were the Aussies that came on exchange ( me, James, Erik, Rionne, Gen)

Camping in Chichibu: Hiro, aka Mr Gadget (seriously he pulled that raincoat out of a a pouch the size of a 50 cent piece and also had all sorts of random things attached to his belt including a lighter, ashtray, flashlight & swiss army knife)

Mexican feast night

Osaka: Catherine (maid of honor at wedding) was leaving Japan from Osaka to return to UK to finish her studies so we all went to Osaka to see her off. This photo was taken the day after we arrived- since we caught the local train the whole way to Osaka it took us 10 hours and something like 18 changes!!!

Near Tsukiji: Koki took this photo and he is now a photographer but when I first met him he was studying physics at university (he completed degree but never used it)

This is Koki: We were at Warp, a club in Kichijoji where we went to watch a friend DJ Reggae music. Koki introduced me to Shun originally.

Shun & I: About 2 weeks after we met.

When Shun stayed over he used to have to jump off my 2nd floor balcony onto the bike shed to leave because we were not supposed to have guests stay in our dorm rooms- this is him jumping!

This was the weekend before I went home to Australia- taken in the ferris wheel at Odaiba.

I spent a year back in Australia finishing my degree and Shun came to visit twice, and James came up from Melbourne with his gf at the time Megumi and also my friend Hiro came to stay with us for a couple of months while he went to English school. It was both Shun & Hiro`s first time on Australian soil…

Shun & I: Wello Point: Shun`s first day in Australia, ever

My brother & I with what looks like the same hair (although mine was crazy in colour- that is my brother`s natural colour)

September 2006: Shun, me, James & Megumi heading for Coochimudlo Island

Hiro is at the front on the right- BBQs in the park with his friends from English school

A very drunk Hiro & I – Different BBQ

Lastly, Christmas in Australia 2005- Our family Christmas tree

Definitely fun looking back through these photos and reminiscing about what was happening at the time- funny that it seems like I spent A LOT of my time drinking!!! Especially the year I was on exchange. I can not believe how much things have changed since some of these photos were taken- even in the time since I met Shun. I was 19 when we met and he was 23 and now we are married with a bub due any day (can you say “any day” when you are still more than 2 weeks from your due date?)…. Some of the people in the earlier photos I don`t really have much contact with anymore but most of the people I met while on exchange I still see occasionly and the other foreigners I lived with I see whenever they are in Japan or I am in Australia (for those that were from Oz)- but Hiro and I are still good friends as well as Cat & James (Cat was here last night in fact!). I am sure when I look back on photos from now in 4-5 years time I will be thinking the same thing “Oh my how things have changed” – just think, Goma-chan will be in kindergarten by then!

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