Yes, it’s been planned for 6 months. On February 13th my office will not be in small town of Kohnan-machi anymore but in the much bigger city of Kumagaya.
Actually, my office isn’t moving to the city, it’s more of the city that’s moving to my office. As of 02/13/2007, Kumagaya will officially expand and absorb Kohnan-machi. This happens all the time in Japan, small towns regroup whenever they become too close to become a bigger entity and have more weight in the political system.
Why is it good for me? Well I’ll get to change the address on my business card from 江南町 (the 町 meaning “small shitty town”) to 熊谷市 (the 市 meaning “slightly less shitty city”). It’s still the boondocks of 埼玉県 (Saitama is commonly viewed as the lamest prefecture in Japan), but at least it’s looks a little less like as the dull manufacturing plant in the middle of the rice fields and rusty shacks that it is…