Yasu Highlights

For those of you that don’t know, Yasu was my upstairs neighbour when I lived in rural Japan. However, we never actually spoke to each other  – I didn’t know she existed, and she was too shy to approach me – you know, scary foreigner alert. The day Yasu moved out of our tiny apartment complex, she left a letter on my doorstep:

Ms Anisa
I am Yasuko from upstairs.
I wanted to always talk with you.
But I will move on April 30 to next village.
The new address is Nishiawakura village.
If you don’t mind, could you hang out with me sometime?
I am really bad at English, but I hope we could be good friends.

And the rest is history. During my last six months in Japan, Yasu and I became inseparable. And when I eventually moved to the city, she came to visit me. Recently, Yasu spent 10 days in New Zealand. Here are the highlights:

Here I am stealing S’s car for our upcoming roadies.

Hotel Anisa.


Castle Hill desu.

Akaroa desu.


Yasu hugely appreciated NZ cheese!

This scenery reminded us a little of our old home in Higashiawakura (see below).


Another day, another picnic, Hanmer Springs Desu.
Yasu 2.0 coming soon…