One of the most famous streets in Kyoto
254 days to go
Hello everyone!
Sorry for missing out October’s blog, but things have been a little hectic recently!
My September trip to the Kansai region was great and I was lucky enough to get a week of amazing weather.
It was quite a spiritual adventure as I lost count of the number of shrines and temples I visited, but I’m really glad I was able to experience the feeling of ancient Japan.
Kyoto and Nara are absolutely stunning and I loved the vibrant energy of Osaka.
A deer chilling in front of a shrine in Nara (above) and Dotonbori Canal in Osaka (below)
Even if we are still mainly working from home, the workload in the office is growing and we are taking advantage of the additional time to run various tests in the venues and also visit them with all the other departments.
The main topics at the moment are obviously budget cuts, the Covid-19 countermeasures and their impact to all the operations and logistics.
On a very positive note, the JEF (Japanese Equestrian Federation) decided to have the Dressage, Jumping and Para-dressage championships at the Tokyo equestrian venue at Equestrian Park and JRA (Japanese Racing Association – the venue owners) will also a organize a couple of jumping competitions.
Seeing horses again after more than nine months was quite exciting and these competitions are a great opportunity for us to test the venue and also for other departments to familiarise a bit with the disciplines before the Games.
Obviously I could not resist borrowing a horse..
Pretending to have won the 2020 Olympics
After all my complaints about Japanese summer, I’m now very happy that is finally Autumn as it is the best season in Japan: the temperature is perfect, the colors are just amazing and most importantly, it is heated toilet seat season!
Rikugien Garden with lovely autumn colors
As the situation Europe is very bad again, I decided to go back to Italy now instead of waiting until December and I’m leaving Tokyo this Sunday.
Flying on the other side of the world during a global pandemic is not an easy thing to do, and I’m still not sure that my flight will be confirmed, so I’m trying to manage my excitement until I will finally step on Italian soil.
When in Italy I will have to spend two weeks in quarantine and, as my hometown is a Covid-19 red zone, I will not able to leave the house except for urgent matters even after that.
I will stay in Italy until the end of January and I hope the situation will get better at some point, so that I will be able to see my friends before coming back to Japan for the final stretch leading to Tokyo2020+1!
Last 2020 view from the office
Stay safe everyone!
カロラ
