Welcome to part two of my 2024 rewind! It’s recommended to read the first part first, unless you’re some kind of barbarian or something. In this overview, we pick up where we left off, in the Netherlands, in July.

Before I left the Netherlands, I had a meeting with Cynthia about our joint project. Toeps x Structuurjunkie is scheduled to be released in the middle of next year, but it would be pretty hilarious if the planner of all planners ends up being delayed. Well, first, off to Zwolle for a brainstorm session.

Back in Japan, it took some getting used to: the Japanese summer had fully arrived, and the temperature regularly hit 37 degrees. That’s hot, I can tell you.

The great thing about living in Japan is that you can spontaneously meet other Dutch people just because they’re here too. That’s how I met Yvonne, whom I already knew from Instagram, but now also in person. She doesn’t live in Japan, but she’s here quite often. And she reminds me of a sort of… older version of myself? In a positive way, of course!

Yvonne writes too, and like me, she loves thrift shopping. This time, though, we went to a special Starbucks where they use sign language, and afterward, we visited an old shinkansen that’s parked next to some city hall – and you can actually go inside!

In July, I moved my bed from my office to François’ former cat room (now the Toeps room). And not just my bed — while I was at it, I had the movers take a few cabinets and other pieces of furniture as well.

The plan: I was just moving a couple of things things now, and I would fully move later, after my visa extension. For my visa, I need to have a separate office. So, in addition to my purchased apartment, I had rented a unit in the same building. That’s where I was living. In order to cancel that apartment, I had to officially register at François’ place. But I was also extending my visa, and changing addresses in the middle of that process, with all the administrative hassle that comes with it, didn’t seem like the best idea. So, we decided to take it slow — a smart choice anyway — and start with a few pieces of furniture. The rest would follow later that year.

Speaking of that visa: Every year they want a new passport photo for it, so I ventured into a photo booth in the scorching summer heat — dress code: Zoom-chic.

At the end of July and the beginning of August, François was lounging in a French pool with his French friends, while I stayed in Hachioji, continuing to work on the apartment reorganization. On a whim, I decided to have Charlotte come over in September so we could take new photos together — not only to promote my books but also because it would be fun! I figured she could stay in my old apartment, while I would set up a new sleeping arrangement for myself in my office. I moved the tatami mats from upstairs to downstairs and ordered foldable Ikea mattresses.

I got creative in François’ house too; I made cushion covers from an old kimono and a vintage duvet cover.

Unfortunately, in August, I also got my first introduction to Miss Rona. It started with François. He was coughing and sniffling, so I jokingly tossed a COVID test his way. It turned out positive (oh shit!), and that’s when I knew I’d be the next one down a few days later. I spent almost a week completely bedridden, feeling awful. No, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Because I wanted to take photos and videos with Charlotte, I bought a new lens (just a simple 50mm, which I’d had before but gave away with my old camera) and a set of microphones (the Godox WEC Kit2, highly recommend!) that can record with both my camera and my phone. To test out this equipment, I made a video (and took some photos) with Olga in Shinjuku Park.

And then it was time to pick up Charlotte! I took the train to Narita, where we would stay in a hotel for the first night, since we wanted to take photos at the Naritasan temple complex. After that first night, Charlotte stayed at my place until, two days before her departure, we made a mini trip to Fujisan. I wrote about our adventure in this blog, where you can read the full story.

You’ve probably already seen some of our content. For example, I wanted to make a reel that shows the contrast between the image you might have of me on social media and the moments you don’t see. For all the people still saying, “But you don’t look autistic at all.” Charlotte also brought the Italian version of my book, so we made a few short videos where I show all four of the books.

I still have a lot more photos to edit from our shoots, but the ones we took at Sagamiko are so summery, I’d rather wait a bit before posting. Though, of course, I couldn’t wait to share my pedal boat moment.

October started with a weekend of quality time for François and me. We booked a hotel and took the Saphir Odoriko train for a little trip to Atami.

And then all the visitors came. In October, first my family came to Japan, and then Riemer. We had intentionally planned their visits to overlap so that we could all go to Disneyland together.

But even before Riemer arrived in Japan, we decided to officially change our status. Just over nine years ago, we became Facebook official because we had booked a trip to Japan; this trip became a sort of farewell tour. A “yeah, it’s already booked,” but also a “we’ll still be good friends!” We had actually been that for a long time, and it was time to adjust the label. Although, it did feel a bit sad, or something.

Anyway, first came the family. With them, I went to TeamLab, Mt. Takao, Kyoto, and Nara (reel here). From Nara, I headed straight to Osaka to catch an early morning domestic flight to Narita, where Riemer arrived around the same time. Crazy plan, but it worked perfectly.

With Riemer, I also went on a road trip. It had its ups and downs – figuratively, but also literally: on one day, we visited both Mt. Tanigawadake and Doai, the deepest train station in Japan (reel here). I wrote about our trip earlier in this blog.

During my trip with Riemer, I received good news: my *zairyu card* (aka visa) was extended for another year! So, while still on the trip, I sent off the old card, and about a week later, my new card was delivered to my home.

I had planned to take it easy for the whole month of November. I needed to study for the JLPT, the Japanese exam (N3) that I had signed up for just for fun. I also finally canceled my lease, so the apartment on the tenth floor had to be emptied. “Uh, Toeps, that doesn’t sound like taking it easy?” No, I figured that out too.

Handing over an apartment is no fun. First of all, I’m still surprised at how much stuff I managed to accumulate in just two years, but then, those #$%&! clowns on Facebook Marketplace. They suddenly stop replying, don’t show up, ask stupid questions… (“Where is it?” In Hachioji, it’s even in the ad. “Oh, that’s too far…”) Turns out, that’s a worldwide phenomenon. Or at least, a phenomenon in the gaijin groups on Facebook.

On December 1st, I was supposed to take the JLPT. But in the end, I decided not to go to the exam. I knew my level wasn’t high enough yet, and normally I would probably just go for the experience, but that didn’t seem wise this time. I remembered how intense it was the last time (especially the bus ride back, packed with excited students who make you wonder how they manage to speak any Japanese at all, considering their poor cultural integration), and I had something important to do the next day. Well, something fun. Something where I didn’t want to arrive completely exhausted and overstimulated. I was taking the Sunrise Izumo to meet Maan!

Maan stayed for three months in Yunotsu, a small village on the Japanese west coast, as part of an Artist-in-Residence program. The village wants to establish itself as an arts and crafts hotspot, hence the residency.

Yunotsu is about a 40-minute train ride from Izumo, though that train only runs five times a day. On the first day, Maan came to see me in Izumo. She had a small car from the residence, so we went around the local thrift stores. And since we were nearby, we visited Matsue Bird Park (yes, it’s really called that, and no, it’s not Dutch, it’s German).

On the second day, I came to Maan. Well, she had to pick me up from Gotsu, a station a bit further out… the express train didn’t stop in Yunotsu that morning. We visited an onsen (hot spring), enjoyed some delicious fresh Japanese food, and then Maan showed me her house, the village, and the beach.

On the last day, we went souvenir hunting and visited Izumo Taisha, a famous shrine.

I had brought my Instax camera, so that resulted in some fun shots. On the train back home, I edited a reel, which you can watch here.

The final mission for 2024 was assembling a large, new Ikea TV cabinet. I initially ordered a wrong part, so although everything was delivered on Saturday and I could start building the first half, on Sunday we had to rent a car and head to Ikea to exchange the items. Yes, I am very smart.

So, that was 2024. François left for France this morning, where he’ll stay for about three weeks. I immediately reorganized the whole house (no worries, babe, it’s not as bad as it sounds!), and over the next few days, I’ve decided to finally take it easy. _{Probably won’t happen though, lol.}

In March/April 2025, I’ll be in the Netherlands for two weeks. I’ll give a talk for Autism Week, have work meetings, and probably take some photos of people. And Elyse and I will go to a K3 show — I’m already looking forward to it!

This time, I won’t be staying with Riemer, but in hotels and with my brother, and I realize I need to get used to that. Practically speaking, it’s also more complicated; do I carry my suitcase everywhere? And how will I receive the latest prints of my book, or buy/sell things on Vinted…? I still have half a box of Starbucks mugs and tumblers to get rid of, lol. I’m also not quite sure what I can and can’t ask of Riemer now, and that always makes me very clumsy and awkward. Even as I’m writing this, I realize it sounds like I’m some kind of freeloader trying to fill up your garage, but that’s not it. My brain just gets stuck on these things. (Even when I was booking the hotels, I had a hard time, though it’s almost done now, just two days I still need to figure out.)

And then work. What will I be doing next year? “I just want to build websites in peace!” I said to François the other day. Funny, because last summer, I complained about exactly that. How I sat behind my computer all day, and it felt like I could’ve stayed in the Netherlands instead of living in Japan. Looks like it’ll come down to BaLaNcE bEiNg ThE KeY. So what do we want next year? Balance. Lol. Okay, Toeps. Sure.