My friend, Don, is moving over to Japan so I am bringing in this cake that I made to work today as part of his going away celebration. If his time there is anything like my time living in Japan it is going to be a life changing experience and I am excited for him. 
I started by making a two layer 8" round yellow cake and icing it with buttercream icing that I had tinted light blue. I then rolled out some green fondant and cut out a map of Japan's four main islands to put on the right side of the cake. I marked where he was moving to with a little icing dot on the map and wrote on the cake in Japanese 「ドンさん、行ってらっしゃい。お元気で」which means "Bon Voyage, Don. Take care." This was my first time piping in Japanese so it's a little messy but I think it turned out okay. Plus I've discovered over time that while I can be a perfectionist about things, no one else cares as long as the cake tastes good.
To finish up the cake I piped a line and some dots for a border around the top and used stars for a border around the bottom. Although I am going to miss having Don in town I am sure that he is going to have a wonderful experience living in Japan and I truly wish him the best of luck.
If you are interested, check out some of my other cake posts here: Cake Decorating Blog Posts