From Italy to Hokkaido #7
The long march toward Hokkaido begins. A dream amid countless challenges and uncertainties. A post-retirement project? Yes… or maybe not!
Here We Are, On the Eve of Departure for Japan
The date was set: August 4th, 2023 — impossible to forget.
The paperwork was sorted, the visa obtained, the house sold. All that remained was to wait for departure day.
An unexpected goodbye to my job
For thirty years, I had worked as a computer programmer for a large company. I’ll admit, in the final years, the job had become repetitive and uninspiring. Moving to Japan gave me the perfect opportunity to close that chapter and leave my stable job behind.
Had my father still been alive, he probably would’ve thought I was crazy to give up the security of a permanent job for the uncertainty of self-employment. And truthfully, it was a gamble — almost a leap into the void. Maybe not madness, but there was certainly a hint of it in our choice.
My wife and I, together with our daughters, had thought long and hard before making the decision. We postponed it several times. But in the end, when the chance came to buy the old family home in Date, we knew it was time to take the plunge and change our lives.
Sure, we were heading to Japan… but then what?
And this is where the real gamble began: how would we earn enough to live?
At that point, the bed & breakfast idea was still vague, but we were optimistic. We believed we’d figure something out.
That damned back!
Let me go back to my job for a moment. Just as I was about to hand in my resignation, an unexpected opportunity came up: the company, undergoing restructuring, had decided to lay off a number of employees — offering generous severance packages.
What could I say? I put my name forward and got picked. So, just a few months before leaving for Japan, I went to Rome to sign the paperwork and collect the severance.
A stroke of luck, without a doubt.
So, let’s recap: bureaucracy handled, visa in hand, house sold, company farewelled. Ready to leave? Not quite! The surprises weren’t over yet.
After selling the house, my eldest daughter and I moved into a small rental apartment for the last few months before our flight. A nice place, but it was on the second floor and had no elevator.
One day, we had to carry a desk down to the ground floor — awkward, but we managed. No problem… or so it seemed.
A few days later: crack. My back gave out. Acute lower back pain. And there were only ten days left until departure! For the first few days, the pain was so bad I could only move around on all fours. Not very promising.
A full recovery in such a short time seemed unlikely, so we made a decision: my daughter would leave on her own on August 4th, and I would delay my flight until the 14th. A ten-day delay — manageable, all in all.
A bit of bad luck, sure. But I still felt incredibly fortunate for the adventure ahead.
My back slowly improved, the 14th was getting closer, and at last, I began to feel hopeful. I absolutely had to leave on the 14th, because my visa would expire on the 16th. The thought of having to go through all the paperwork again terrified me.
Just a bit of suspense
And then… typhoons.
Summer in Japan is typhoon season — those monstrous storms of wind and rain that hit the country with destructive force. One of them was forecast to arrive on August 15th — the very day I was due to land at Narita.
I was checking the forecast constantly. Worst case, I told myself, the flight would be diverted to another Japanese airport. No big deal.
But no! I had to land specifically at Narita by August 16th: my Residence Card would only be issued upon arrival at immigration in that airport.
Luckily, the typhoon veered west and hit the Kansai region instead. Crisis averted — and fortunately, no damage was reported in the areas it struck.
But that wasn’t the end.
August 12th was the scheduled date to return the car, with a proper transfer of ownership. Everything had been arranged: paperwork signing at the service center in the morning, followed by handing over the car at the dealership.
On August 11th, I found out that the chosen service center was closed for the summer holidays. Panic.
Without that document, I couldn’t return the car — and without the return, there would be no departure.
What followed was a frenzy of emails and phone calls. In the end, we managed to find a last-minute solution. On August 12th, still aching from my back, I returned the car to the dealership.
Okay, this time it’s for real
And so, at last, August 14th arrived. This time, nothing could stop me.
I said goodbye to my mother, took a taxi to the bus station in Padua, then on to Venice Airport, and finally boarded my flight to Tokyo.
At Narita, I received my Residence Card, then took one last hop to Sapporo.
The flight was smooth… too smooth, in fact. At Narita, I was told one of my two suitcases had been left behind in Frankfurt.
Oh well. It eventually arrived, delivered straight to Date.
And so, I finally reached Date on August 15th, 2023 — on Ferragosto.
Now, yes — the real adventure could finally begin.
At Chitose Airport, the whole gang was waiting for me: wife and daughters, presumably happy to see me.
– The End –
Author: Cristiano Suriani