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As the title states I'm still quite stuck on how to name each post so they flow...maybe just number them? or have some species name? Decisions, decisions...

Anyway, it's Tuesday around 16:00 (Japan time), about an hour left at the office. Just working on the good ol' lit review. Finally managed to gather all of the relevant information (even though I feel there is a plethora of information still out there, but I'll update it as I carry on).

It's been a challenging day, trying to come up with a narrative that flows AND contains all of the necessary information AND gives the reader enough information. It'll come together little by little, just need to keep at it every day.

Besides the thesis stuff, it's been interesting to get back into the swing of things in Japan. I'm happy I've been given this experience to work at a research center and not a traditional Japanese company. However, the similarities are abundant, both being Japanese organizations of course. I have quite a few thoughts in regards to that but those will be explored later.

After a week of being here I finally managed to get some kaiten-sushi・回転寿司 (revolving sushi bar) last night, luckily there is one not to far from the office, maybe a 30 min walk or so? Even though eating out has been interesting for the past two weeks I'm excited to start cooking again next week once I move into my temporary apartment...make some good old mash & veg and some sun dried tomato mozzarella cheese sandwiches.

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Dia dhaoibh! Fáilte roimh mo bhlag. Chríochnaigh mé mo chéad seachtain ag obair sa tSeapáin. Bhí sé deacair agus spraoi!

In other words, welcome back to my blog! I just competed my first week and it was grand. I really felt I got caught up on the literature review. I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Yokohama, who has worked extensively in the agricultural economics field, he also worked with Hayami, one of favourite researchers who did some excellent research on “induced innovation” in the agricultural sector.

Bedsides working on the literature review, not much going on besides some exploration of the area as well as my old hometown in Tokyo. I forgot how fast past life is here, faster than NYC I must say. After my experiences Ireland, my thoughts and feelings on Japan have changed forever, but more on that later.

As my research is in alternate wetting and drying in rice paddies, I’m learning quite a lot as this topic is pretty new for me! I’ve always seen rice fields in Japan but never knew what type of system they used, not I know! They use the AWD system and dry to crops after the rice is established.

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Dear all, I finally made it back to Japan a few days ago, Thursday to be precise, and it feels good to be back. I do have to admit I did not miss the heat and humidity of the pre-rainy season here. There is some jet lag hanging over me but I'm sure it will disappear as the days pass.

I've traveled from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south but have only lived in Tokyo and Kyoto. It will be exciting to be in a new town. Tsukuba is a city in the Ibaraki Prefecture, north-east of Toyko and even on arrival the greenery was firstly noticed. The hardest part about Tokyo and other urban areas of Japan is the lack of vegetation...this excerpt seems to sum it up for me..."Coruscant must seem to him a lot like it did to her; crowded, noisy, and entirely lacking in plant life. The gardens were a poor echo of what the two of them were used to, but the smell was close enough, and when one took a breath, one could feel the difference in the air." - Queen's Shadow

Now that things have settled down a wee bit, expect some more posts from me about my time here as well as updates about my research project!