I know it has been a while since 2023 has started, but I’m doing it this year as well. To start off with, I’m very surprised that this year has been this quick and I can’t believe that it is already 2023. For me 2022 was the year that I got to realize more about who I was as a person. I got to understand myself in multiple ways, but for example, I understood my mental strengths and weaknesses, my personality more, and something not on a serious note I got to understand more precisely what I love. Also, for me my mental health suffered very much in the latter half of 2022. I will not get into much detail here, but with my academics, personality, and new lifestyle and city, my mental health took a downward turn. So my goal for 2023 is definitely at least to finish with a better mindset. Mental and physical health should be a priority for everyone. For everyone how was 2022 as a year?
So, let’s start to go through the months. I was still in Japan for the first half of 2022, so my image was very much COVID-19. Also, I went on a trip in December of 2021 to the north of Kyoto so I really didn’t go anywhere in January. February was the same as January.
In March I started a new semester at university, so I was struggling with juggling between my part-time job and studying. I went to see the cherry blossoms with my mother from the latter half of March to early April. Since moving to Kyoto, me and my mother have been taking the advantage of living in Kyoto and the fact that the number of tourists not being as crazy as before COVID-19, and have been taking our time visiting places. So, carrying on from the autumn leaves in 2021, we enjoyed the cherry blossoms in spring. We went to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Hirano Shrine, Nanzenji Shrine, and Keage Incline spread over several days. All of them are very famous for cherry blossoms but especially Keage Incline is somewhere I would recommend. If you want to take a picture without anyone, I recommend you to go early in the morning. However, if you are willing to change the angle of view, it was fine for me to go in the afternoon. (Please see my Instagram for any pictures.)
Also, March was the time that I finished my lessons for the tea ceremony that started back in October 2021. Since I moved to Kyoto I wanted to start something very Japanese style, so I started learning it with my mother. It was something that I would never regret since I got to learn etiquette and some Japanese ethics. Because I already knew that I was going back to Australia in a few months, I decided not to continue it but it is something that I will like to pick up when I’m older.
In April I went back to Tokyo and saw Miyako-Odori in Kyoto. When I went back to Tokyo, I was able to go to Tokyo Disney Sea. I really wanted to go there during their 15th anniversary event and shows, so I was very happy that I was very happy to go. This year Tokyo Disney Land is going to be celebrating its 40th anniversary, so I would like to go, but I don’t know if I will be able to. Also, April was the month I took out my wisdom tooth. I knew that I had to take them out for a while, but I put them away for so long. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, but I was so nervous and got a swollen cheek.
In May my friends from middle and high school came to Kyoto to meet me. I got to experience many things for the first time, we borrowed yukata (a traditional Japanese summer clothing piece) and took a walk around Kiyomizu-temple, went on a hand-pulled rickshaw in Arashiyama, climbed to the top of Inari Mountain behind the famous Fushimi Inari. Especially wearing yukata or kimono with my friends was on my bucket list, so I was very excited about that. Also, I was very happy and considered myself very lucky that I had a friendship that has lasted for a long time since me going abroad tends to take a toll on friendship. Also, my aunt came from Tokyo to visit the family grave. In Shiga we went to a cafe called “Club Harie”, and then went to Heian-Jingu and Kennin Temple in Kyoto.
In June I went on a trip to the Shikoku area of Japan as an early summer vacation with my parents. I was only able to go to the northeast part of Shikoku, so I would love to go to the places that I couldn’t manage to go to this time in the near future. However, I was able to go to the Otsuka Museum of Art and Himeji Castle when I came back to the main island. Also, after a long time I drove on this trip and I was glad that my driving skills hadn’t declined. In addition, my departure to Australia was already decided in July, so I went back to Tokyo for the last time. For this time, I also went to Utsunomiya where my father’s side relatives live. Then I went to Tokyo where my aunt treated me to a Cartier watch as a very early graduation present.
July was the month I departed for Australia, so I did everything I wanted to do in Japan. We went to an Italian restaurant called “Il Ghiottone” for a late birthday celebration for my mom and an early birthday celebration for me. I was able to properly dress up after a long time so I was ecstatic about the opportunity. I also went to Suzumushi Temple where I wanted to go to for a while. This temple is very famous because of the rumor that whatever you wish for will come true. (They haven’t come true yet.) Then, I departed for Australia. I used Jet Star from Narita to Cairns, so I used the 3rd terminal of Narita International Airport. This was my first time using that specific terminal and I was surprised by how it looked.
August is my birth month, and it was actually my first time spending my birthday alone. Even if we didn’t celebrate my birthday on the exact day, I will still be with my parents so being alone was a very weird experience for me. However, they paid me a visit at the end of August to Cairns and we spent summer vacation there. For our family, our annual summer vacation will be a one-week to ten-day overseas trip before COVID happened. So, this trip to Cairns was the annual customs coming back after 3 years. However, for me it was a domestic trip since I was already in Australia, so it was a little bit disappointing in that sense. Although I enjoyed myself very much because I got to do things that felt like I was on a real vacation like riding horses, playing golf, hiking, and relaxing by the poolside. Even though it was winter in Cairns, it was still warm enough to enjoy the pool comfortably.
From September nothing really happened because I was studying and I was alone for most of the time. However, in September, I fell in love with Formula One and more specifically Charles Leclerc a Scuderia Ferrari driver. Now I don’t even remember why I fell in love with it but with the new season just starting I am so excited. In October, I started working in a restaurant. I am so glad that I was able to find this job, which is somewhat related to my future goal and my current studies. So, my goal is to make connections and learn as much as I can here. November was a month that I really have nothing to write about.
In December I went back to Japan for Christmas and New Year’s. I landed in Japan a little bit before Christmas, and it was my first time using Kansai International Airport. Then in just a few days, I went to Utsunomiya and Tokyo to meet my relatives. We didn’t do anything special for Christmas or New Year’s, we just stayed home and enjoyed each other’s company, ate my mom’s food, and maybe drank too much alcohol and watched TV. For Christmas cake this year we bought it from Fauchon Hotel Kyoto and it was so delicious. This trip to Japan has been posted on my Instagram as a reel, so please enjoy that as well.
So this concludes my 2022. There were a lot of dramatic ups and downs mentally in 2022, there are some things that I haven’t written here that I experienced this year. With me working this year and being able to have more money for myself, I would of course love to do some shopping but also invest my money in experiences or trips in 2023. I would love to put up a review of 2023 next year as well, and I would like to see some good changes when I’m writing it. What was your favorite memory of 2022? For me it will probably be my summer vacation in Cairns.
