Having not been out of Japan at all for six years it was finally time to head back to my homeland for a couple of weeks over the festive season. It was a tough decision to make in many ways as it did mean I would be apart from my wife and dog for longer than ever before. Time doesn’t offer refunds though, so it was the right time to go and spend some time with my parents.

The 23rd December was one hell of an epic and quite brutal day as I left the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre in Tokyo just after 4:30 am and arrived at my parent’s house in Leicestershire (UK) 26 hours later albeit still on the same day thanks to the nine-hour time shift. The next morning I took a quick look around Market Harborough town centre but didn’t quite feel as nostalgic about it all as I did on previous occasions. Maybe that was because I wasn’t showing it off in any way to my wife this time!

The iconic Old Grammar School in Market Harborough town centre

Thanks to jet lag, my Christmas Day was a lot longer than it really needed to be!

Ready in the early morning for a full-packed Christmas Day!!

Overall, it was fairly quiet and the exchange of presents after dinner and an afternoon walk didn’t take too long at all. Still, it took longer than it usually does which is usually about one minute!

Let the present opening ceremony commence!

For some reason I haven’t had Christmas cake for over three decades but it turns out that I do actually really like it!

Boxing Day (December 26th) actually began with quite a sunny morning which was nice for the annual Fernie Hunt Meet. It’s very much a community tradition on the village green in Great Bowden (as well as other places around the county of Leicestershire) where the residents and supporters from across the area mingle over some mulled wine.

The spokesperson at such events do seem to assume that people are present because they support fox hunting but I’m sure the reality is that many are there to just get out and see friends and neighbours. Legal hunting activities are supposedly showcased to the public and the media but presumably there is far more to it than meets the eye.

I wrote about this six years ago and as a fox-lover it should not surprise you that I am definitely not in favour of fox hunting. This rural tradition has actually been banned for around 20 years but one has to wonder what really does happen after they disperse on December 26th. I only go there to see the horses and the dogs!

There are very few people I know back in the town where I grew up but one friend who did return to see his family was Sam so I met up him for the first time in 11 years one morning which included a trip down memory lane to the Wetherspoons pub we used to frequent. We even bumped into an old classmate of ours in there.

My sister’s family came to stay for four nights at the end of the year and their arrival heralded a proper Christmas dinner unlike the more scaled down version we had on the 25th itself.

After Christmas dinner, it was time for a big present exchange and the younger members of the family certainly did well with a huge haul of presents.

These included all manner of Japanese snacks, stationery and unique socks!

As well as being reacquainted with my niece and nephew, the highlight had to be meeting ‘Reggie That Dog’ (to use his YouTube handle!) for the first time.

He certainly knows how to make himself at home and just watching him play with his toys and curl up on the backrest of the sofas was wonderful to see.

People often complain about having their birthday during the festive period, but I actually think my dad is lucky to have his then as he often gets to spend it with family in some guise. We all went out on foot for a pub lunch on his birthday which involved walking out into bordering county Northamptonshire before returning to the historic Market town …

… in the heart of rural England.

Despite my love for burgers, I rarely ever eat them in Japan so it was nice to tuck into the one I ordered at this local pub along with some good old-fashioned chunky British chips!

As a dog lover, it was great that the dog was allowed in too which just does not happen too much in Japan at all. However, dogs seemingly rule the roost in the UK and are able to go inside many pubs, shops, cafes and restaurants.

There wasn’t always too much going on at home with the family but it was really lovely to have them there in and around the other various activities I had going on. Just sitting around and chatting with some games here and there was good fun. My nephew loves playing basketball so we went down to a local park one afternoon to exercise the dog, use the playground apparatus and shoot some hoops!

We also played board games (as well as Hide & Seek) a few times throughout their stay which was nice as it actually got my nephew and niece away from their screens for a while! New Year’s Eve was probably the biggest night for games and we played a couple more then before retiring for the night (and the year!) just short of midnight.

The next morning on January 1st was inevitably one of great hilarity with all the classic lines getting aired such as “I haven’t seen you since last year”, “this is the best X I’ve had all year” and “that was my first Y since last year” etc etc.

My sister’s family departed that evening and things were much quieter after that but the days they were around provided exactly what I had hoped for from a trip back to Britain.

Click here to read ‘Countdown to Christmas 2025 in Tokyo’

Click here to read ‘My Eldest Sister’s Family Came To Japan & Spent Christmas At Our Place’

Click here to read ‘Two “Christmas Days” Back In My Hometown With The Family’

Click here to read ‘On The Fox (Hunt) Trail……In Great Bowden (Leicestershire, UK)’