I was happy to get back to work today after an exhausting Sunday. The moving company came to our house to pack our belongings to send to Tashkent. It was a bit stressful, deciding what we are shipping, what we need for the summer and what we will be getting rid of. We have done this exercise before, but it is never easy, especially with 5 people in our household. We lived in Japan for 5 years, so we have accumulated possessions, not as much as most Americans, but we still managed 140 boxes. This included a basketball court, 6 bicycles, book shelves, etc.
The container will go via sea to the port of Vladivostok, Russia. From there it is a long train ride to Tashkent. Kent, the owner of Fukuoka Soko Movers, advised this as the best and safest route to Uzbekistan. It should take 2 to 2 and 1/2 months. It left our house on June 9. I will update this post on the arrival date.

I like things about an empty house. I am valuing each individual item more because of scarcity. When you have one pot and one frying pan and one glass, you notice them more rather than our usual state of overabundance. We still have three weeks in the mostly empty home before we leave Japan.