In this new life of comfort and privilege, Adams’ thoughts turned more often to his wife and daughter. It seemed unnatural to be enjoying it alone. He had expected news of his family or friends by the end of 1604, but he had still received nothing. He wondered why and could only assume that it was all taking longer than he thought, depending on the Dutch vessels to and from Japan. He still hoped that he would return home and be reunited with his loved ones in England.

However, Lord Miura Anjin was also adapting well to the life-style of the elite in Japan. He had exchanged his English clothes for the samurai courtly kimono with what Adams described as two great scimitars. Kimono were made of fine fabrics such as silk or satin and were dyed, decorated and embroidered. They had deep sleeves and their hems reached to the ground. They were lined with material of only one colour called katairo. Underneath, the Japanese wore other white garments, or katabira, of thin cotton or fine linen. In cold weather, they could put on two, three or four layers. Foreigners found it extremely hard to put on such large unwieldy garments. It took immense time and patience to master putting on the kimono in the correct way. They had to fold the right-hand side over the body, then wrap the left-hand side over this. A man's kimono is held with a silk, satin or cotton sash, which has to be just tight enough around the belly and be tied in a knot at the hips. As the sash is the main fastener, if it is wrongly or loosely tied, the whole kimono would not hang well or even collapse into an unseemly, embarrassing heap on the floor.

In time, Adams succeeded in dressing in the kimono beautifully, as well as speaking the tremendously complicated Japanese language fluently and writing in calligraphy with a brush. He also adopted the Japanese lunar calendar in his diary. He was trusted to work with Japanese spies or ninja, who often came on board his ships. On one trip, Sukeji reports that Adams recognized several ninja spies in the vessel; they were there to monitor some descendants of the Shogun's former enemies who were suspected of planning to attack the Shogun.