May 25, 2018

Fukuoka, Japan

Touring in Asia is no different to touring in Europe, in the sense that each country is unique and has its own particular customs, cuisine, landscape, architecture and culture. I think this is my tenth visit to Japan in the past 20 years, since I first toured with St John’s College, Cambridge, and I have to admit that it’s my favourite Asian country - barring perhaps Singapore and Hong Kong, which because of their colonial past are in reality quite similar to the UK in some ways. There’s a cleanliness, both in literal and cultural terms, that I really enjoy. The people are polite, and really enjoy their music. All of this makes for an enjoyable stay.Today is a travel day, which in reality means an administration day, and I’m catching up on emails and other tasks both for the KS and for my future career. It’s exciting to see things coming together and genuine choices are coming my way, both for musical and legal opportunities, which I’m finding very heartening! Undoubtedly there’s a lot of work in America, but also in China (as Paul found on leaving the group) so there’s scope for broad horizons - although my first priority is certainly to be at home a lot more with Stephanie and the girls!Returning briefly to the subject of cuisine: Japan does a rather marvellous curry, so that’s where I’m headed right now!