Memoirs of a Gaijin

Final Year - Argh!

2011-10-30T14:36:00.006Z

Well here it is! The big scary final year. I can't believe that I've only got one year left. But more than that, I can't believe how busy I am!

My brother asked me over summer what was more work, A-level or University, and I said that up to third year, I still hadn't worked as hard as I worked for my A-levels. They have now been far surpassed! Final year (fourth year for me because of my year abroad) is so full of work I'm looking back to last year and wishing I had as much free time, even though it didn't feel like it at the time.

The things that are making me so busy are not only the work, which is comprised of a lot of Japanese readings to do for homework, including some really heavy stuff on theories of environmental governance (which is very interesting, but difficult), dissertation research, Japanese speeches, Japanese homework etc., but also the things I have to do outside of studying.

I'm doing a lot of extra-curricular activities this year, not just for my CV, but also because I really want to do them while I still have the chance. I'm School Rep for Non-European Languages, which means I attend meetings at all levels of the Uni (including the University Senate, which is incredible to be a part of) and fight for changes that students want to see. I'm also an Intercultural Ambassador, which involves event planning and management for international events.

Then there's that horribly scary word - jobhunting. While my plan has been to take a year out after Uni to soul-search and discover what I really want to do, a big part of me would like some security, so I'm trawling through the massive amounts of employer information and graduate schemes that are out there.

So, with application deadlines looming, it's a very stressful time, and I'm finding it difficult to decide what I want to do along with everything else I have to do. Maybe it would be better to leave it until next year when I'm free from Uni work. We'll see what happens...

But the advice I want to give to any penultimate year students - start thinking about what you want to do NOW! You won't have time in final year to think through it all properly, so do research as early as possible (going to career talks and your careers centre is really helpful), and try to get summer internships or something similar, and also try to do extra-curricular activities before final year, because the time constraints are tight!

Anyway, that's my busy life at the moment. Thankfully there haven't been any essays yet, but the first one will be set this week, so looking forward to that! But it's reading week next week, so I'll be able to work without interruption, or at least that's the plan!

Third Year Easter Holiday

2011-04-05T20:36:00.003+01:00

This next post is on a much lighter note than the previous one about the March 2011 tsunami. This one is about my life! So probably a much less interesting post...

But basically my life over the last four months since the Christmas break has comprised of essays and deadlines! Third year is definitely a lot more work, and the level of dedication and intelligence required of us is higher. But I'm still enjoying it so that's got to be a good thing!

I had a Modern Japanese History essay about the role of the West in Japan's modernisation process in for last week, and that went okay, I think! This Easter I have a Creative Writing (my elective subject) portfolio to submit for my final piece, and a Critical Approaches to East Asian Studies essay about missionaries. So the topics I'm studying cover a wide range of information, which is good. Variety definitely helps when you're studying a subject in depth.

The problem is that I'm working at Cadbury World again this Easter, so I have very little free time! And two weeks after the essay deadlines I have three final exams, which will be tough.

But after that I'm free for the summer from the end of May! I'm hoping to do a bit of travel before working over the summer holiday. I want to see some places closer to home while I have the free time without commitments, otherwise I might never see them! I still haven't been to Ireland, and it's right next to me! Places I'm hoping to visit include Amsterdam and Greece, but we'll see if those plans come to fruition. It all depends on money I suppose.

Anyway, I suppose I should get back to my Creative Writing piece! Wish me luck...

The March 2011 Tōhoku Tsunami & Earthquake: An Outsider's Perspective

2011-04-05T19:39:00.005+01:00

The 11th March 2011 earthquake disaster occurred at 14:46 off the coast of Sendai. It was the biggest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history, with a magnitude of 8.9. The last big earthquake to hit Japan was the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which did nothing like the damage Japan has seen in the last month.

I found out about it just before I went into a Listening class and, just like everyone else, I had no idea just how enormous the effects of it would be. I followed the news coverage closely, seeing each new video as it was released, and watched the death toll climb.

In the end I couldn't keep it up. I was torn between my interest in the event and the geography behind it (as long-term readers of this blog will know that I'm really interested in) and how sad it made me feel. Usually when I see terrible things on the news I'm quite emotionally unattached, so I was surprised when I realised just how affected I'd been. One video left me literally speechless after watching it. I couldn't imagine how powerful water could be before seeing this. In Britain we're so far removed from natural disasters, except for floods, that it's difficult to think about it.

Everything seemed to be getting so much worse over the days following the disaster; with the initial earthquake, then the devastating tsunami, followed by aftershocks and then the harrowing nuclear meltdown fears. I never thought that the Fukushima plant would meltdown, but of course the news played the worries up as much as it could.

I was in touch with my friends in Japan as soon as possible after I heard about it, and I got replies from all of them fairly quickly. I had a couple of friends who couldn't contact their families in the stricken areas for several days. I could not imagine how awful those days must have been, just waiting for any news about them. They were all fine in the end; it was the lack of communication that led to the lack of contact.

The death toll is difficult to find online, because all of the past articles with old figures are still there, but the last figure I heard was 27,000 people. My mind can't fathom that many people dying in just a few weeks.

Even Tokyo, quite far from the epicentre, will be suffering from planned blackouts into the summer, which will tough. Not least because of the heat and humidity.

It's difficult to find English news articles on it now, which is actually pretty disgusting, that it's dropped out of the public eye so quickly. It certainly hasn't dropped out of the minds of the Japanese people.

Japanese students studying abroad at Leeds have been really great, organising a stall raising money and managing it all day every day (they earned over £3,000 for the Red Cross appeal), and arranging lantern nights with food and drink stalls. It was a fantastic effort on everyone's part.

It's definitely an event that will not be forgotten for decades, and I don't think it should be. People need to be reminded of just how powerful nature is, and the nuclear repercussions will hopefully lead to increased safety procedures worldwide.

Third Year; Semester One

2010-12-21T15:58:00.004Z

It's Christmas! Or, nearly Christmas... It's the Winter Solstice, so I'm sitting here at 4pm watching the sun disappear behind the snowy buildings. And snowy it is! The UK's winters seem to get more severe with each year.

But anyway, the point of this post is to say that I've finished Semester One of my third year back at Leeds. I still have exams and essay deadlines in January when I go back, so there's no rest for the wicked, but teaching has finished until late January when Semester Two officially starts.

The first Semester has gone well overall, with lots of work! It's definitely a step up from first year, which seems like a fluffy carefree dream right now.

It's not even the Japanese side of the course which is causing the stress, although it is hard work of course, it's that coupled with the pressure of exams and essays for other modules. I'm certainly finding it difficult to balance everything.

In terms of Japanese, we have been doing listening, discussion and reading exercises aimed at improving our general Japanese ability and confidence.

The biggest problem that students seem to be facing is the range of abilities that people have come back from Japan with. Some people are finding the grammar etc. too difficult, and others too easy. I myself think it's the right level for me. It's a blend of revision ('review', for American English speakers!) and new things, so I'm finding it useful.

It's great being back at Leeds in general, being able to see my friends around campus is a great feeling, and I love the atmosphere of studying at a British Uni, even if it is freezing!

Well, I better get back to my essay! I'm looking forward to Christmas - I need an excuse to stop for a bit!

Merry Christmas to everyone!! Have a wonderful festive season!

Back to Third Year

2010-10-03T11:09:00.003+01:00

Wow it's been a long time since I updated my blog! The whole summer has disappeared in a flash! I was very busy at Cadbury World while I was in Birmingham, and that was a really good time, as it always is! I earned around £2,000, so that will really help me out this year. But I'm still searching for a part-time job here in Leeds to keep me going.

I've just done my first week of lectures, which went by in a bit of blur. I finished work at Cadbury World last Friday and then came up to Leeds on Saturday morning, then my first lecture was 9am on Monday, so I haven't had a lot of time to adjust.

It has been really lovely to see everyone again. So many people I haven't seen for months, or a year in some cases! It's been quite a week of reunions.

But so far lectures have been good. They've been mostly introductory, telling us what we'll be doing over the next year. The grammar seems to be mainly stuff I studied at ICU last year, so there will be quite a lot of revision this year. Which is good and bad I suppose. I should know those points pretty well by next summer!

I have my first kanji test tomorrow, so I've been working through them over the last few days. There were only two new ones, so the rest were just making sure I could remember how to write and read them.

There's a lot of work on the way, so fingers crossed it all goes well over this semester!

Home In Britain

2010-07-11T12:29:00.005+01:00

I'm back in Britain! It's so strange to be back! But of course it's lovely. I arrived at Heathrow yesterday and my family picked me up. It was such a nice reunion. We went to a restaurant and had a British roast dinner, which was amazing. It was exactly what I'd been craving - oven cooked food! And despite what the world may say, traditional British food is amazing.

Pretty much everything went smoothly for my last day, except for the beginning and the end. I got up at 5am to leave in time for my 6.30am bus from Kichijoji, which is 10 minutes by train. Wynne, Katy and Hime-chan came with me, and Rob got up to wave me off from the guesthouse. But when we got to the station, we found that there was a 55 minute delay on trains going into Tokyo! It said "Accident", but it's common knowledge that that usually means suicide.

So I had to get a taxi to Kichijoji station, and had a quick but sad goodbye to the girls. It really didn't hit me that I was leaving them. It took about 15 minutes to get to Kichijoji, but cost Y3,000 (£20) so I was very unimpressed!

I met Rei, the leader of Soul Run who had come to wave me off, at the station. He waited until my bus was out of sight to stop waving, which was really nice of him. It hit me then how much I'm going to miss everyone.

It took about an hour and 40 minutes to get to Narita Airport, and there I paid the rebooking charge for my flight. It was very easy to do, I just went to the JAL Ticketing Counter and showed them my e-ticket, and then paid the Y15,000 for it. After that I could check straight in at the check-in counter, and that went smoothly as well. Even though I had two pieces of hand baggage, and my suitcase was 3.5kg overweight, the woman who checked me in didn't say anything about it, and just chatted to me about my time in Japan and about ICU. I was really grateful, she must have known I'd have more luggage than the average passenger, having been in Japan for nearly a year. Even though I sent stuff home with my brother when he visited I still had a lot of things to bring back.

Then the flight went fine, until we were coming into land at Heathrow, and were about to touch down when the plane pulled up suddenly and started to circle the airport! They announced that there had been a plane on the runway that hadn't moved yet, so that could have been nasty! But we landed safely 10 minutes later.

Then immigration and baggage claim went very smoothly, and I was reunited with my family at arrivals. It was so nice!

We drove to a nearby pub and had our roast dinner, and then drove back to Birmingham. Everything was exactly as I remember it, and it was a very nice feeling when my house came into view.

It's weird being back, because everything is the same, and everything feels the same. Seeing my local area isn't special now, because I've come and gone so many times it just feels normal. Which is good - I suppose that means I'm growing up!

I haven't really reflected back on my time in Japan yet, I'm too tired! But it's already nostalgic, and I miss my friends and just being in Japan. I have lovely memories of that trip to Japan, and I know that it was one of the best times in my life so far. Let's hope that there are many more in the future!

Ready To Go!

2010-07-09T08:45:00.003+01:00

I'm pretty much all packed and ready now. My suitcase and everything is on my bed, my room is spotless and sparkling (kind of...) and almost empty!

It really hasn't hit home yet that I'm leaving tomorrow, but it definitely will when my alarm goes off at 5am tomorrow morning and I have to get to Narita Airport. Some friends are going to come with me to my bus and wave me off, which I keep telling them there's no need to do, but they're adamant they want to come. I'll take a pack of tissues, just in case.

This is the end of an incredible year and I will never ever forget it. I definitely need some time to reflect on everything and let it all sink in. Maybe the 12 and a half hour plane journey will help!

My next post will be from Britain, so this is goodbye to Japan for the second time. Goodbye and see you again soon!!

One Week Left!

2010-07-03T05:18:00.002+01:00

Oh wow, time is going so quickly! I now have just one week left to do everything I want to do and say goodbye to everyone I want to see!

My schedule is ridiculously full of things I'm doing, but I suppose that's the best way to end a year abroad - not give yourself time to think!

Because I'm so busy I don't think I'll have time to write any posts until I get back home now. I'll fill in the blanks once I'm back, so don't be confused if things appear in an odd order for a while!

For now, I'm going to try to enjoy my last few days in Japan as much as I can. Which means trying not to be sad that I'm leaving, and focussing on the positive. I'm glad I'm sad to be leaving, otherwise it would mean that I hadn't enjoyed my year abroad as much as I have!

Finished!

2010-06-22T03:44:00.003+01:00

I've officially finished ICU now! Even though my final exam for Japanese was on Friday, I still had one essay to do for my Writing Ethnography (民族誌作成, Minzokushi Sakusei) elective class. I went into ICU for the day yesterday and finished that off.

And now, except for going in for my results on the 28th, I don't have any reason to go back to campus. Which is really sad! I definitely will be going back though, hopefully several times before I leave in two and a half weeks.

Even though sometimes I really didn't fancy going in for lessons, and the workload was definitely a big stress, overall my experience at ICU was a great one, and I'm really going to miss my friends and the teachers here.

But, if coming back to Japan after a year has taught me anything, it's that things don't change much, and ICU will still be there for me to visit when I'm in Japan next time. And there's no doubt that there will be a next time, it just depends on money as to when I can manage to come back!

Hello Rainy Season

2010-06-14T08:44:00.005+01:00

Japan's rainy season (梅雨, tsuyu) officially arrived today! It's actually been a long time coming, as I was expecting it at the very beginning of June, but it's taken until the 14th to arrive in Tokyo.

Rainy season in Japan is caused by cold northerly air masses meeting warm air from the south, which creates a stable front across Japan, bringing clouds and rain. The average rainy season in Tokyo lasts from 8th June until 20th July, which seems like a long time for it to rain! But it doesn't rain every day, and I read an information page that said that Tokyo records an average of 12 days of rain in June, and 120 hours of sunshine. But this fluctuates from year to year. Okinawa (沖縄) and the other southern islands get rainy season from the beginning of May until about the 23rd June, so it's much earlier, and then it spreads north from there. But Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido (北海道, Hokkaidou) hardly sees any of the rain because of the northerly latitude. So lucky!

I remember the rainy season two years ago, in 2008, was quite short and not very intense. It arrived earlier than usual, and I recall it only lasted about three weeks. It was actually quite comfortable, keeping the heat down, and the misty drizzle made me very nostalgic of Britain. But it was very humid, and on the days when the temperature rose, it was very sticky and uncomfortable! The humidity seems to average about 95% in rainy season, but there were plenty of days when 100% was recorded.

This year so far the humidity has only started to worsen over the past week or so. Up until then it was gorgeous sun and clear blue skies, but now it's getting to the time when you walk home at night in sandals and shorts and see moisture dancing in car headlights.

The next week's weather forecast is mainly for cloud or light rain, with temperatures hovering around 28C, but today is only 19C, so it's being kind and easing us in slowly. Thursday is going to be a bit of a killer, with predictions of 31C and cloud. That's going to be a very humid day!

It's a shame because from now until I leave rainy season will be in full swing, so my immediate memory of Japan will be cloud and mist! But it might mean Britain is a relief from the rain! (Which I don't think I've ever said before...)

There's more information about the dates tsuyu starts and ends on the Japan Meteorological Agency website.

Soul Run Leaving Party

2010-06-12T03:03:00.003+01:00

Last night was the Soul Run leaving party for all of the one-year students who are leaving over the next few weeks. Soul Run is the traditional Japanese dance that I joined the society for at ICU.

It was at a really cool Hawaiian restaurant in Kichijoji (吉祥寺), and we'd rented the whole place for the evening, so it was quite expensive (Y3,200 per person) but it was definitely worth it. The atmosphere was incredible, with everyone just wanting to celebrate their amazing year in Japan.

But, it was bitter sweet, because we all knew it was the last time we'd all be together, and there were some teary-eyed people by the end of it. It was made much more emotional by Rei, our leader (団長, danchou), because he'd made a presentation for us and showed us on his laptop. It was a slideshow of photos and videos of us over the last year, and the full video of our performance. Apparently he'd spent a month collecting the videos and everything for it, and we were so grateful!

And after that, he called each of us up to him one by one and presented us with a copy of that video and a small board with personal messages from the permanent students to us. They were all so sweet and heartfelt! Definitely something I can treasure.

The whole night was one I will never forget. And I'll never forget the friends I made here.

Leeds Exam Results

2010-06-12T02:39:00.003+01:00

Yesterday morning my results from the Leeds Exam that I took at the beginning of May came through via email.

I was anxious to get these results because if I failed the exam, I would have one more chance to pass in the Summer, and then if I failed that one, then I wouldn't be able to continue my degree at Leeds Uni.

But, thankfully, I passed! We didn't get a breakdown of how we did on each section, but I know that my overall mark was 84%, which I'm really really pleased with.

That mark makes the 12 hours of study a day, and getting ill afterwards, all worth it! (That's not sarcasm, by the way.)

Most people I know passed the exam, with varying marks, although I've heard of a few people who didn't meet the pass mark. So they now have to study over the summer for the re-take, and then will hopefully pass and be able to continue.

I'm so relieved to have passed, so now I can relax about that and enjoy my last month here.

One Month Left

2010-06-10T01:43:00.003+01:00

The countdown has begun! It's officially one month until I go home. Everything is starting to wrap itself up here in Japan, with my final exams and essays next week, and my starting to arrange to see people for the last time before I leave.

As you can imagine, I have very mixed feelings at the moment. I'm really sad to be leaving again, and anxious to make sure I do everything I want to while I still can, but at the same time I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends again, and being at home.

With ICU's last lesssons next week, I'm really looking forward to being able to enjoy myself without the pressure of essays and schoolwork etc, but I've had such an amazing time there I know I'm going to be really upset to leave.

Tomorrow after teaching I have a farewell party in the afternoon on campus, and then the last ever Soul Run get-together in the evening in Kichijoji. It's going to be so sad!

But I know that the people I've met will still be here, or spread across the world in places like California, New York and France (which obviously gives me an excuse to visit!), so it's not a goodbye forever. But it will feel like one, as my adventures in Japan come to an end, again.

But because I remember how it felt to leave two years ago, and I remember how it felt when I came back last summer and saw my old friends and my old house, and everywhere I love in Tokyo, I know that I can come back in the future, and hardly anything will have changed.

Or so I'm telling myself now, so I don't get upset!

For now, I can focus on the amazing month ahead of me, and the memories I have yet to make. It's going to be a good one!

First Month's Pay

2010-05-21T06:41:00.004+01:00

Today I taught English as usual, which was a lot of fun. The girls are all really talkative and energetic, so they make the lessons go by really quickly.

And I got my first pay! It was only Y5,000 for the two lessons I taught in April, but it felt nice to be earning again! I haven't received money I've earned since summer last year working at Cadbury World! I was paid in cash, and the money was in a Japanese envelope, which felt very authentic.

I was shown where to go by a couple of my students, and then we went for lunch in the cafeteria afterwards.

And the nicest part of the day is the weather! It's the first 30C day, and the sky is a beautiful blue, with a cooling breeze. It's not humid yet, so this is perfect weather for me. I love Japanese May! But rainy season will be along soon, and then the comfort will disappear!

I'm going to take some work to the park and study in the sun with Katy now. Got to make the most of it!

Last Rent Payment

2010-05-19T04:05:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I went to the headquarters of my guesthouse company in Higashi Koganei (東小金井) to pay my last rent for this year.

I had to pay extra because after next month I'm staying for an extra 17 nights until my flight home on 10th July. They had no problem with me leaving in the middle of the month, and it doesn't cost any extra for the daily extension.

But they are all such lovely people it was quite sad saying goodbye to them. I can't believe I'm already so close to leaving Japan again! I need to make the most of these last 7 weeks.

Japanese Dentists

2010-05-15T08:29:00.004+01:00

In the aftermath of the Leeds exam, I've unfortunately fallen quite ill. It started last Monday (I actually expected to become sick straight after the Leeds exam, once all the stress had disappeared) but it waited three days and then struck me. I got a sore throat first, which was fine. But then my teeth started to hurt.

I suspected it was a wisdom tooth coming through, because the pain was at the back of my mouth where it would come through, and I'd had some pain a few months ago, but it disappeared after a few days. But this time the pain just got worse and worse, until I found it really difficult to eat, drink and sleep.

I had my midterm exam at ICU this Thursday, but I'd barely slept the night before so I don't think I did very well at all. I left early and cycled straight to a dentist in Tama (多摩) that was recommended by two of my friends from Leeds who have had teeth problems. But they were closed on Thursdays! So I found a different one near the station, but they were full on Thursday, so I made an appointment for yesterday (Friday).

I had another near-sleepless night on Thursday night, and then went to teach English, but I don't think I did a great job with such a painful mouth. I did explain what was wrong to my students though - they all know "wisdom tooth" now!

The dentist didn't speak any English, which I was expecting, so I had my electronic dictionary out checking the technical words. She took an X-ray and told me that my wisdom tooth was coming through, and it had caused the gum to become inflamed. She explained what she was going to do, and then injected anaesthetic around the area, and then used a laser to treat the gum. At first I didn't realise she was already using the laser, but then I could smell and taste burning flesh, and that was a pretty clear indication!

Afterwards they gave me two pills for pain, if it did come back. And come back it did! I'm worried that it might have become infected and spread, because my throat is still very painful and my jaw is tender to the touch. But the pills they gave me are rubbish! I took one last night to help me sleep, and I could still feel everything! I actually find British supermarket-bought Paracetamol much more effective. Japanese medicine just isn't strong enough! Plus I'm quite tall so there's more "body" for it to get through before it actually helps me.

If I'm still in pain on Monday I'll go back to the dentist and ask if there's anything else they can do. If it is infected, I don't want it to spread further, because one of my friends had to have root canal surgery here last year, and I really don't want that!

It was quite easy to actually get the appointment, and the treatment was quite cheap (Y1,600), because I have Japanese national health insurance and I just showed them my insurance card (保険証, hokenshou). I didn't have that last time I lived in Japan on a working holiday visa, so I don't know what would happen if I didn't have it.

I really hope it gets better soon. I miss sleep and food!

Leeds Exam

2010-05-15T08:09:00.003+01:00

Last Friday was the dreaded Leeds exam for all the students on their Year Abroad in Japan. I think I nearly killed myself revising for it - every day during the three weeks before the day I spent around 12 hours studying for it.

We were using Kanji in Context, a very well-organised textbook that takes you through the kanji and vocab by using example sentences for each one. We were expected to know 1,003 kanji and the vocab that goes with them. And the idea was that we could work through the textbook throughout our year abroad, and know it inside-out by the time the exam arrived. But with the workload from ICU, I just didn't have the time. The blessing was that there was a lot of overlap between the two syllabuses, and we had our six week holiday and then the Golden Week public holiday in the two months before the Leeds exam, so we had more time to study.

The exam itself was not as hard as I was expecting it to be, but I'm sure that's because I was in the Intermediate class at Leeds last year. The beginners who have only been studying for a year and a half found it quite hellish, and a lot of people I've spoken to are convinced they failed. If people do fail, then they get one more chance to pass in September, and if they fail that one then they can't continue with their degrees. It's so strict! And a lot of people aren't happy at all with the system, as students from other British Universities don't have to do anything on their year abroad except pass their programmes of study in the host University.

The exam was made up of four sections - kanji reading (20%), kanji writing (20%), Japanese to English translation (30%) and an essay (30%). The hardest section for me was the Translation, and the easiest was the kanji reading.

I'm really glad the exam is over. ICU's workload seems so much more bearable without the extra responsibility. And we should get the results at the end of May or the beginning of June. So until then I can live in ignorant bliss, and then deal with the reality of my result when it comes!

My First Day At My New Job

2010-04-23T08:44:00.002+01:00

I just got back from my first day teaching English at Tokyo Woman's Christian University. It was so much fun!

I taught two 90 minute lessons, which is now my usual Friday slot. In the first one I had four students turn up, and we spoke about the change of healthcare in America, and debated the good and bad points. It was a really fun lesson, and the students made the time fly by.

Then I had lunch in the cafeteria, and not only was I the only foreigner there, I was the only male! I got so many stares. Then on the way out of the cafeteria I found a poster advertising my lessons. It felt so weird, almost like celebrity!

Then in the second lesson five students came, and we discussed the students' plans for Golden Week, and then debated whether or not money equates to happiness, which is something I stole from my Japanese lessons at ICU. And at the end of the lesson one of the girls asked to have a photo taken with me! It was so strange... I didn't realise I'd be such a point of interest!

It was a really fun day, and I'm really looking forward to teaching more classes there.

I Have A Job!

2010-04-22T13:05:00.006+01:00

In a very surprising turn of events, a friend of mine from ICU told me about a job position at Tokyo Woman's Christian University (東京女子大学, Toukyou Joshi Daigaku) teaching English to students there.

I went to an interview on Tuesday and they hired me! Everyone there seems really nice, and they made me feel right at home. The University itself is really nice as well, but not as nice as ICU, it has to be said!

So starting tomorrow I'll be teaching two 90 minute lessons every Friday. And it's a short contract, just until the end of their term in mid-June, which works perfectly for me, as I'll be leaving for Britain on 10th July.

I'm really surprised I found a job! I'd resigned myself to not earning any money this year. But I'm very relieved! It will really help my money situation. The pay is quite good, Y2,500 per 90 minute lesson, and I'll be teaching two classes a week, so that's £35 per week more than I would get if I didn't have a job! Plus they pay for my transport. It's in Nishi-Ogikubo (西荻窪), which is just five stops away from my station.

I spent some of this afternoon making lesson plans for tomorrow, but they warned me that as I only went on the schedule on Wednesday it might turn out that no students come. But they did add that I'd be more likely to get students than some of the other teachers from ICU because I'm "an attractive guy". I thought they were joking! But they were completely serious. Uh oh, better try to be as good looking as possible then! But I still get paid if no students turn up, as long as I wait to see if anyone comes during the whole time. So I'll take my textbooks along, and might end up being paid for studying!

I'm a bit nervous, because I've only taught one student at a time before, at Gaba and private teaching in 2008, and if a lot of students turn up then I could be in charge of a class of 10 or 15 students. Scary! Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly...

Also, as a side note, I'm really sorry about the lack of posts about China and my brother's visit recently. The reason is that my Leeds exam is in two weeks (that's the exam I have to pass to continue my degree) so I'm studying around the clock trying to do ICU work as well as cram as much vocab and grammar, and as many kanji as possible, into my brain. I promise I'll catch up after the exam is over and I can finally breathe again!

My Brother's Visit: Airport Chaos!

2010-04-16T12:09:00.005+01:00

This morning Dom and I went to Narita Airport. He had reached the end of his 9 day stay here. It was very sad on the Limousine Bus from Kichijoji, but we knew it was only 12 weeks until I'm back in the UK. I can't believe I have such a short time left in Japan!

It was a very scenic route to the airport. We passed Tokyo Tower...

... and went over Rainbow Bridge.

And then, after getting up at 5am for the 2 hour bus trip, and paying Y3,000 (£20) each to get there, we find all flights to the UK, and most of Western Europe cancelled.

This wasn't the biggest surprise. We knew there was a risk of delays and cancellations because of the news the previous day. But we'd checked online before we left and there wasn't a problem at 6am. Somewhere en route they'd cancelled all the flights!

The cancellations were due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption, which happened two days ago. I knew about it, but didn't quite believe that we'd actually be affected by it so badly.

We were three hours early for the flight, so we started to queue up at the check-in desk and waited until they opened. We were only a few people from the front as we were there so early.

TBS News were interviewing people in the line, but Dom and I weren't asked to say anything, but I think I may have been in the background of one interview.

They opened the desks on time, but we still had to wait for about an hour until we got any information. They were taking people who had been cancelled on yesterday, but were sending anyone who hadn't missed a flight yet away, saying that all the nearby hotels were full and people should return to their previous accommodation. Bit of a tall order! But I suppose their hands were tied.

We were advised to change our bookings online or on the phone, and try to get another flight for when the airports re-open.

As the morning went on, the lines got huge as more and more people found their flights had been cancelled. But every was very well behaved and well-humoured, except for one Japanese woman who kept huffing and puffing next to us in the line. I expected the British people to be causing trouble!

Dom and I had a sandwich in a cafe, and then got on the train and braved the two and a half hour train journey home. We were both exhausted, and were not expecting to have to do that at all! I rang our Mum and let her know what was happening, but then couldn't get through on the phone to Virgin Atlantic's Tokyo office until the evening. I changed Dom's flight to Monday 26th April, which was the earliest available flight. I can't believe it! He's doubled his stay in Japan! And he'll miss some school, but I suppose he has the best excuse there is - stuck on the other side of the world because of a volcanic eruption! I find it so ironic that he came to Japan, one of the most volcanic countries in the world, and then can't go home because of volcanic ash over Britain!

Well, I suppose Dom will get a much better idea of Tokyo life - he's going to be here for a while!

It's now 22nd April, and the airports are all open again, after a week of total closure. What a huge mess! We really are at the mercy of nature... But fingers crossed everything goes smoothly for his flight home on Monday. Adding his visit with my family in 2008, he's now been in Japan for over a month in his life! Madness!

I think we were quite lucky to get a flight as early as the 26th, because I rang back a few days after the initial cancellation and they told me that apart from Dom's secured seat on the 26th, the earliest available flight was the 2nd May! I'm so glad I was persistant in ringing them all day.

It's been lovely having Dom in Japan for so much longer than we first expected, but I think he's quite looking forward to going home. I have to leave him alone for so many hours every day while I go to lessons he must be bored stiff!

Now I just hope that the volcano doesn't decide to let another burst of ash out as a little surprise for Europe again!

My Brother's Visit: Arrival

2010-04-07T09:19:00.004+01:00

This morning I went to Narita Airport to pick up my youngest brother, Dominic. He's come to Japan for a ten-day holiday, to spend some time with me in Tokyo.

I spent the night on the sofa at my old house in Chuo-ku, because it's a lot closer to Narita Airport, and it meant I could get out of Tokyo without hitting any of the morning rush hour trains.

I didn't have a great night's sleep, about four hours, but that was all forgotten once I'd met him and we started chatting. We took the train back to my guesthouse, which takes between 2 and 2 and a half hours. But it seemed to go a lot quicker with him there.

It's so nice to have him here! I get on very well with my brothers, so it's like having a friend stay with me.

He's absolutely exhausted right now, and I'm quite tired, so we'll have an early night, and then we're going to Kamakura to see the big Buddha statue tomorrow with some friends from ICU. And it should be lovely because the cherry blossom is still in full bloom! (And this is the second time in my brother's life that he's seen Japan covered in blossom, because he came in Spring two years ago as well! Not many 15 year olds can say that they've done that, especially coming on their own the second time...)

And of course I can't wait for my 21st birthday on Friday!

Ready for China

2010-03-10T13:20:00.003Z

I just finished packing everything up for my trip to China. I'm so excited!

I'm nervous as well, I really want everything to go smoothly, and a lot of things have to go right tomorrow. But I think it will, my flight is in the evening so there will be plenty of time for me to get across Tokyo by train. I'm taking the cheapest option, using normal commuter trains to get to Narita Airport, which takes just over 2 hours from where I live in West Tokyo, but only costs Y1,530, compared to the much more expensive express trains or buses.

I think I've got everything ready, and I've arranged to meet the friends who I'm staying with in Shanghai at Pu Dong airport, and then we'll go back to their apartment. Once I'm with them I'll feel much more comfortable about everything. That is until I go to Beijing by myself of course! But I'm sure everything will fall into place and plans will come together.

First things first - flight tomorrow!

I will probably blog about the trip when I get back in two weeks, and I'll also catch up on some of the happenings earlier this month, because I've been so busy recently I haven't had a chance to write everything up. It will get done, I promise!

I'm so happy I'm finally going to China!!

New Softbank Phone

2010-03-09T03:37:00.005Z

On Sunday evening I met my friend Kyoko in Kichijoji to upgrade my 2G service phone to a 3G service, because Softbank are discontinuing the 2G service from the beginning of April.

We went into the shop and explained what we wanted (I was counting on Kyoko for translation, because the phone is in her name, as I was under 20 when I bought it in 2008). They showed us two prepaid (Pay-As-You-Go) models that we could get, one that Katy has (about Y4,500), which is a basic phone with a camera, email and of course the ability to call people! The other was more expensive (about Y7,000 excluding the charger) and could access the internet and TV along with other things. But I went for the cheaper one, because I knew I'd never watch TV on my phone.

They were able to keep my phone number, email address, and even my address book on the new phone, which I was very pleased about. And it came with Y6,000 credit already on it, and as I bought it for Y4,500ish, it was better than free!

I'm still figuring it all out, but it's much more stylish than my old one. Although I have noticed that it's slower, probably because of all of the graphics that the old one didn't have.

Hopefully it will serve me well!

Good Day For Japanese

2010-03-04T07:52:00.003Z

Today I met up with a friend I first met at Sakura House two years ago, when she was working there and often visited my building.

She then moved to London, where I met up with her several times whenever I was there. And she's here in Tokyo for a month before going back to London for another year where she's working.

We met in Kichijoji this afternoon, and we greeted each other in Japanese. I didn't think anything of it, because I usually greet Japanese friends in Japanese, and then have to switch to English when I don't understand, but that didn't happen!

I understood virtually everything she said, and anything I didn't understand, she explained in Japanese instead of switching to English. She has really clear Japanese, and spoke slowly so I could catch everything. She's definitely the easiest to understand Japanese friend I have.

And to my surprise, I ended up only speaking a couple of sentences of English the whole afternoon! The first time was by accident, when we were paying the bill for lunch. But all the other times she asked me what the English equivalent was for Japanese sentences she wasn't sure how to translate.

I was so happy! It was the most Japanese I've ever spoken! And it was a great confidence boost, as I am in dire need of speaking practice.

There were times when I wanted to say something, but wasn't quite sure how I'd say it in Japanese, and I usually give up and either just say it in English, or just not say anything at all. But today I forced myself to say more complicated sentences and it turned out that the sentence unfolded as I was saying it! I need to be braver in future!

I did notice that I started a lot of my sentences with the English word "like", and then the rest was in Japanese. So I'll have to try to knock that on the head before it becomes too engrained a habit!

We wandered around Kichijoji, and I tried a Sakura frappuccino in Starbucks, which was very nice, but would be better when the weather's nicer. (Speaking of weather, it's meant to be 21C and sunny tomorrow afternoon, so I'm really looking forward to that! It might call for the first shorts weather of the year, in early March!)

Then we went to Inokashira Park (井の頭公園, Inokashira Kouen) and wandered around for a bit, but then it started to rain, so we headed back to the station.

Hopefully we'll be able to meet up and go to karaoke with some of the other Sakura House people before she goes back to London.

So it was a greatly needed confidence boost this afternoon, I was extremely pleased. And Rob, Matt and I are meeting a Japanese friend who doesn't speak much English for dinner tonight, so I'll try my best to practice more then.

Sentou Public Baths

2010-03-04T03:03:00.002Z

Last night Rob, Matt and I went to a public bath (銭湯, sentou) in Tama (多摩). I'd been with them to an onsen (温泉) hot spring last year, so we'd seen each other completely naked before, which is a weird thought! But we all fancied a soak and a bit of relax so Rob and I cycled to near TUFS and met Matt.

The public baths work just like hot springs, but are much more common, and cheaper. It cost about Y400 for us to go in, and there wasn't a time limit, except for the closing time, which was about 11pm.

You first put your shoes in the small lockers near the reception, and then go through the curtain to the changing rooms, 男 means men and 女 means women.

In the changing rooms you completely undress and put your clothes in a locker. With sentou you often need to bring your own towel, modesty towel (to cover areas you don't want other people to see) and shampoo etc. Onsen usually provide these things.

Then you go through into the main bath area and sit in front of one of the mirrors on a small stool and wash yourself all over. Make sure to wash off all of the soap before getting into the bath. In the bath I went to, there was one large hot bath, with jacuzzi-style areas along one wall, and one ice-cold bath. It's quite dangerous to change your body's temperature so quickly so be careful if you want to try the cold one!

The water temperature is often extremely hot. The one we went to was about 40-50C, and we couldn't stay submerged too long. The Japanese guys seemed more used to it, but we poor Westerners just couldn't manage!

We stayed for just under an hour and then washed again and got dressed. It's so nice on your muscles! Especially when the last time I had a bath was at home in November, it's only showers for me here!

Haircut in Kichijoji

2010-03-04T03:01:00.004Z

Yesterday afternoon I went and had my haircut in Kichijoji. It was a very nice, new salon, and they had English speaking staff. It was interesting trying to explain exactly what I wanted done to my hair, but I find that difficult in English anyway!

If you live near Kichijoji and need a haircut, then I definitely recommend this salon! Especially if you're nervous about trying to explain what you want in Japanese!

They have a Kichijoji (吉祥寺) and a Yoyogi-Uehara (代々木上原) branch.

Collecting My Chinese Visa

2010-03-02T12:58:00.004Z

This morning I went back to the Chinese Embassy in Roppongi to collect my Chinese tourist visa. For directions and other information on applying for Chinese visas in Tokyo, please see my previous post.

You can collect the visa 4 days after applying, or you can pay to collect it after two days, but I didn't do that.

I went up to Window 6, which is the first port of call when you enter, and showed the woman my receipt. She gave me a number and told me to pay Y4,000 at a machine in the corner. The machine looked like one of the machines you can buy meals from in restaurants like Matsuya.

I selected the Y4,000 button and inserted the money, and it gave me a receipt. I took that receipt, the receipt they gave me last week and my number up to one of the other windows, and the woman there gave me my passport, complete with Chinese visa! I was very happy to have it all sorted. This time I was only in the Embassy for ten minutes, including a trip to the toilet!

So now I'm really going to China! Woohoo!

Applying for Chinese Visa in Tokyo

2010-02-25T05:18:00.014Z

Today is the first day of the ICU Spring holiday, so I got up at 9am to go to Roppongi to apply for my Chinese tourist visa at the Chinese Embassy for my holiday.

There are lots of different types of visa for China, but I needed an L-visa, which is a tourist visa. Not all countries need a visa just to visit, for example Japanese citizens don't need one, but British people do. I was worried about whether I would be able to get a Chinese visa as I was living in Japan, but there was no problem.

To apply for an L-visa, you need:

- a valid passport, valid for six months after the date of application
- completed Application Form with recent passport-style photograph attached (Page One, Page Two, or you can fill it in at the Embassy)
- photocopy of your passport main page and alien registration card (can do it at the Embassy)
- proof of booked return flights
- hotel reservation (although I didn't need one)

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo Consular Section (which handles visa applications) is very inconveniently open only from 9am until 12 noon. Luckily I only live about an hour away from Roppongi so I didn't have to get up too early.

I had copied a map onto paper from a website, but it turned out that the roadside maps were much more helpful, because the map's scale was a bit strange. It looked much closer to Roppongi station than it actually was!

Because I had a bit of difficulty finding the place (I overshot the turning at one point and had to backtrack) I took some photos that will hopefully help anyone going there!

This is the route I took, I marked the roads with red, and the Embassy is the red circle in the bottom left hand corner.

And here's a plain version of the map.

Coming from Roppongi station (there are only subway lines) you either take Exit 1a from the Hibiya line (日比谷線, Hibiya-sen) or Exit 3 from the Toei Oedo line (都営大江戸線, Toei Ooedo-sen). Both exits come out on the same main road, but the Oedo line one is slightly further away from the Embassy.

From either exit, you turn left along the main road with the elevated highway in the centre of it. You follow that road past the Roppongi Hills shopping centre, with its huge glass building. You need to turn left onto TV Asahi Road (TV朝日通り, TV Asahi doori), which is about seven minutes walk from the station. It's a very unimpressive road, which is why I missed it, I didn't think such a normal looking road could have such a grand name, and there were no roadsigns, as is often the case on smaller roads in Japan.

But this is what the road looks like at the turning from the main road. The construction work on the left won't be there forever though, so it might look drastically different in a few weeks!

You follow this road for the rest of the way (it's easy once you're on it). You can see the Roppongi Hills tower for most of the way, but you're heading away from it.

Along the wall there are nice bamboo trees, although this photo was taken looking back towards the main road, so they're actually on the left hand side heading towards the Embassy.

You pass the Grand Hyatt Tokyo on the left, which has this nice water feature outside.

After those landmarks, just keep following the road south.

And after around ten minutes, give or take a few minutes depending on your walking speed, you'll see this building, which houses the Consular Section.

It's opposite this bright green sauna, which you definitely won't miss! Even though I nearly missed the Embassy, because there's just a small sign outside the front door proclaiming what the building is.

I was really worried I'd be late and have to do the whole journey again the next day. But I arrived at 11.40, with 20 minutes to spare.

I had my bag checked and went through a metal detector at the front door, and then was left to my own devices. There were windows along the wall on the first floor (that's Japanese first floor, British ground floor) so I went up to one and said I wanted to apply for an L-visa. I wasn't sure if I should use Japanese or English, because I don't speak any Chinese! But I used English, and the woman directed me to the third floor (again, Japanese third floor). I took the stairs, and entered a hot, crowded and slightly chaotic room.

It was 17C outside, and yet they still had the heating on. Obviously going by the mentality of: "It's February, therefore we need the heating on."

I had no idea what I was meant to do. There was a crowd of people to my left, who seemed to be lining up and waiting for a small window. Then there was this waiting area to the right. That seemed more like what I wanted, but I couldn't find a ticket machine to get a number for it.

I asked a Japanese woman who was waiting (she was holding her passport so I knew she was Japanese) where I could get a ticket, and she told me I had to wait in the long queue and tell the people at the small window what I wanted, and then they would give me a ticket for the windows.

So I joined what I assumed was the back of the line, but it was very hard to tell. There were some tables for people to fill out visa application forms, but thankfully I'd printed one out from a website (here's Page One, and Page Two) and filled it in at home. Much easier!

As I was waiting, I realised that most people were photocopying the main page of their passports and alien registration cards at machines in the corner. I wasn't sure if I needed to, but I decided to do it anyway, to save lining up all over again. The woman in front of me was having a lot of trouble, but I had no difficulty. You put in a Y10 into the smaller machine to the left of the photocopier and then press 'start' (スタート, sutaato). It was very simple. After doing it I just rejoined the line.

It moved quite quickly, and I was standing behind a British guy, so I felt comforted knowing I wasn't alone in this endeavour!

When I got to the window I showed them my application form, passport and photocopy, and told them I wanted to apply for an L-visa. (This time I spoke in Japanese.) They checked the documents and said they were fine, then gave me a ticket number and asked me to take a seat and wait for the main windows.

It calmed down a lot while I was waiting, and they turned the air con on, so it was quite pleasant to sit down and watch some of the kids running round in circles. It was the most interesting thing going on in the room!

They had only one window for visa application, and then five others for other things, but I couldn't read the Chinese characters for what they were doing. I hope my limited knowledge of Japanese kanji gets me through a little bit while in China. China uses simplified characters, whereas Japan usually uses the older more traditional forms. A notable exception is 国 (country, kuni), which is the same in China and Japan, but in Taiwanese the original character, 國, is used. Much more complicated!

I had to wait for ten numbers to be called before mine but I was only waiting for about fifteen minutes.

There were no problems when I went up to the window. The website I used to check what I needed to apply for the visa said that I'd need a hotel reservation, but I'm staying with friends so I didn't have one. The woman didn't say anything about it, so hopefully there won't be a problem when I come to collect and pay for the visa.You can collect the visa 4 days after applying, or you can pay to collect it after two days, but I didn't do that.

She told me that I can pick it up on Tuesday morning with a receipt she gave me. They kept my passport so they could put the visa in it.

So I'll go back to collect the visa on Tuesday, and hopefully there won't be any problems!

Matsumoto

2010-02-22T00:13:00.015Z

Yesterday (Sunday), my friend Wynne and I went to Matsumoto, which is a castle city about two and a half hours north of Tokyo by train.

We went by Azusa express train from Tachikawa, and that left at 9.30am and arrived just before noon. It cost quite a lot (Y5,870 one-way) because you have to pay the express fee on top of the normal ticket. (You can take normal trains all the way as it's all the JR Chuo line, but it takes hours and hours and the price isn't too different in the end.) Wynne and I bought our tickets at a ticket machine on the platform, and you can't buy the express ticket from them, so we had to get an extra one from the conductor once we were on the train.

There were lots of nice sights as we left Tokyo and zoomed north through the Japan Alps. As it's winter, the weather was cold but clear.

When we arrived at Matsumoto, the announcement was very funny, with an extremely elongated "Matsumotooooooooo".

We were quite hungry when we arrived, so our first port of call was lunch. We walked through the town (and it was noticeably colder than Tokyo, with the higher altitude) and found a restaurant that had one of Matsumoto's specialities - kake-soba (掛蕎麦) noodles.

The noodles were delicious, and came in a very warming broth. But the green tea that came with it was the best thing - it was smoothest tea I've ever drunk. And it warmed me right through.

After lunch we wandered through the town towards its main attraction, the famous castle. It's one of Japan's four castles listed as National Treasures. Walking through the town, you could always see the Japan Alps over the buildings, and they were covered in snow, so it was really lovely.

And there it is! Matsumoto Castle! (松本城, Matsumoto-jou.)

You can walk round the side for free, but then you have to pay to go into the grounds and inside the castle itself.

This is my favourite photo that I took of the castle. I was so happy to finally be standing there, as I didn't get a chance to get to Matsumoto the first time I came to Japan.

The entrance fee was only a few hundred yen, but they also had a student discount, so it was even cheaper for us.

The inside of the castle was much like any other interior I'd seen in Japan, but it had nice views of the surroundings and the mountains in the distance.

This was the top room, which you could only get to by traversing a single narrow staircase.

After exploring the castle and its grounds, we went to the nearby museum, which was included in the price of the ticket.

They had a few stands of ornamental dolls because Japan's Doll Festival (雛祭り, Hina Matsuri) is coming up in early March.

They also had a display of wooden phalluses, which were used in traditional festivals in the area.

After the museum, we went to a famous old bookstore in the centre. It was crammed full of old newspapers, magazines and books. I nearly bought an old Japanese magazine from the 50s, but it cost Y3,500 and I was already over my budget, so I decided not to.

After that, Matsumoto doesn't have a lot of attractions, but we wandered around a couple of Shrines and then went to see this clock. Every hour on the hour the clock opens and figures of children playing instruments dance in a circle.

It was very cute, but we ran to catch it, and then realised that it wasn't really worth the hurry, but it's nice if you're in the area on the hour.

We weren't hungry for dinner yet, so we went to see a traditional well a short walk from the city centre. On the way we passed this random penny-farthing bicycle! I never expected to see one of those just randomly on a street in Japan!

I tasted some of the water from the well, and it was delicious. Really clean and clear. I wish I'd brought a bottle to fill up!

For dinner we went to a restaurant that was recommended in the guidebook, Kura, and it served another of Matsumoto's specialities, raw horse meat (馬刺し, basashi).

It opened at 5.30, and we were waiting outside in the cold (as the sun went down the temperature dropped to near zero). It was gone 5.30 when someone inside noticed us and opened the doors.

We knew what we wanted - horse! It was quite expensive, but definitely worth it. It was such gorgeous tender meat. I really enjoyed it.

The basashi was quite small between the two of us, so we also got some sushi and a seafood rice bowl. What a dinner!

We had to finish dinner quite quickly because we wanted to catch the 18.35 train back to Tokyo. But we made it in time, and the sunset seen from inside the station was amazing!

We got back to the guesthouse at about 9.30pm, so it was quite a long day, and we were really tired on the train home. But it was a wonderful day - so nice to finally see Matsumoto Castle!

Pancake Day in Japan

2010-02-18T09:38:00.002Z

Tuesday this week was Shrove Tuesday, so I invited Rob, Katy, Wynne from the guesthouse, and Ella, Matt, Fran and Hattie from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies round to the guesthouse for the evening, for a good old British pancake day.

I was surprised because Wynne didn't know what Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, was. But then we realised that in America it's usually called Mardi Gras. I assume Pancake Day is a British name for it.

Ella was our resident pancake making genius, so she made the mix, which everyone contributed to with different ingredients. Then she, Fran and I made an assembly line, and made enough pancakes for about two per person.

It was a lot of fun, messy fun, with flour everywhere, but I had a really nice time. It was nice to be able to do something British in Japan properly, as usually something is missing, but we had sugar and lemon (which Wynne found really weird, but it's the standard filling in Britain!), and chocolate spread and bananas too.

I made pancakes when I was here in Japan two years ago, but it was much nicer to share them with lots of friends.

Tokyo Station and Tokyo Tower

2010-02-18T09:36:00.007Z

Two Saturdays ago, the day after Dan and I went to Yasukuni Shrine, we went to the area around Tokyo station.

It was a gorgeous winter day, with the typical pure blue sky, so the skyscrapers looked amazing.

The first place on our list was the Imperial Palace, so we walked from the station. I didn't take any photos of the Palace itself, because I've been there close to ten times, but I always like the look of this fountain when I pass it.

After the Imperial Palace, Dan and I walked to the Diet Building (国会議事堂, kokkai-gijidou). I was glad he suggested going there, as I've done the major tourist sites in the area so many times, but had never seen the Diet.

And from there we walked to Tokyo Tower. We considered getting the train, but we had a completely free afternoon and the weather was lovely, so we found our way. It took about an hour.

I'm never been to the top observation deck at 250m, because you have to pay extra to go up from the main observation deck at 150m. So we decided to go the whole way and pay the extra. The view was fantastic, but it was a windy day and the Tower was actually swaying. It made us both feel quite motion-sick, so we didn't stay up there too long. But I'm glad I did go up, because I may not have had the chance again.

Mt Fuji was visible, but some clouds got in the way.

Tokyo Bay was also visible, and I'd never seen it "from the air" before, so that was nice.

After Tokyo Tower we decided to head home because we were both quite tired. But it was probably the best day of showing someone Tokyo I've had, because I got to see new sides of places I'd been countless times.

Yasukuni Shrine & The War Memorial Museum

2010-02-10T01:45:00.007Z

On Friday Dan and I went to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which gained infamy for enshrining the wardead, often war criminals, from the days when Japan tried to build its empire in Asia, and during WWII. There was a lot of negative press when it was brought to light that some of Japan's prime ministers had been visiting the Shrine annually to pay their respects.

We were interested to see what all the fuss was about, and I'd never been there before, which is always a bonus when doing touristy things!

One of the guards tried to stop me taking a photo of the actual Shrine, and that's when I saw the No Photography sign. Oops! But I got this one photo.

From the grounds of the Shrine you can see the Hosei University Ichigaya campus, where a few Leeds students were placed. I actually originally wanted to go to Hosei, because of the central location, but from what I've heard I'm getting a much better education at ICU.

There's a War Memorial Museum (靖国遊就館, Yasukuni Yushukan) in the grounds of the Shrine, just to the right of the main road. Dan and I didn't have any plans for the afternoon, so we decided to wander round the museum. And entry was very cheap for students (Y500), but a normal adult ticket was Y800.

After the moving experience of going around the Hiroshima War Memorial Museum in 2008, I was expecting something equally as good. Unfortunately, I found that a lot of the information was very biased, and a lot of the awful things that happened were glossed over, portrayed as necessary, or just not mentioned.

I was very disappointed with the museum. Even though they had a lot of interesting exhibits, the lack of balance in the information put a downer on the whole experience. I wouldn't recommend going there, unless you fancy going round and picking holes in everything!

Overall, it was an interesting afternoon at Yasukuni, and the Shrine area was very nice, but I wouldn't go to the Museum again.

Japanese Electronic Dictionary

2010-02-10T01:43:00.004Z

The other day I bought an electronic dictionary (電子辞書, denshi jisho) in Akihabara, the discount electronics district of Tokyo.

I've needed one for years, because they are basically essential for Japanese study. But up to now I really haven't had the money for one, but after being told I'll receive the JASSO Scholarship for three months, I decided that now is the time to buy!

I went to the same stall in Akihabara that Katy bought her's from, because it was very cheap (Y14,800, which is a very good deal). I was a bit worried about buying from a stall instead of a shop, but Katy's has been fine, and it comes with a one-year guarantee. Which probably means it will die as soon the year is up, but we'll see.

The one I bought is a CASIO Ex-word Dataplus 4, and it's a 2008 model. You can write kanji into it using the stylus, and look up both Japanese and English. It also reads out words in both languages. It's so incredibly useful! Especially being able to just write in kanji that you don't know how to read, and it tells you the reading and meaning.

There was a choice of either an American English or a British English model, so of course I chose British!

Electronics dictionaries really are invaluable study tools, so if you don't already have one and are serious about studying Japanese, I really recommend buying one!

Setsubun - The Official Start to Spring

2010-02-03T09:21:00.011Z

Today is the Setsubun festival (節分祭り, setsubun matsuri), which is the day when winter officially ends, and spring begins. Personally, I think 3rd February is a bit early to welcome spring, even in Japan! But who am I to argue with the lunar calendar...

Setsubun is known as the 'bean throwing festival', because at temples and shrines up and down Japan, famous/ important people throw little packets of beans into the crowd, and if you catch one then it's good luck. You're also meant to eat the same amount of beans as your age, so 20 in my case.

There's more information about Setsubun here.

Rob, Katy, Melanie, Andrea and I cycled from ICU to the nearby Jindai-ji temple (深大寺), which took about 20 minutes. The surrounding area we went through had a really nice feel to it, and parts of it actually felt a lot like Britain!

We had some time before the actual bean throwing, so we wandered around the grounds and bought some traditional food to snack on.

There's already some blossom coming out, even though it's still pretty cold. It's mainly plum blossom (梅, ume), but there's one cherry tree (桜, sakura) in ICU that's starting to bloom.

There was still some snow left on the roofs of buildings.

After about an hour, we headed up to the stage that was set up by the main temple building.

There wasn't much of a crowd, but it quickly filled up. There were three bean throwing events during the day, and we were at the last one, so lots of people probably went earlier in the day.

The first event was a comedy duo, a rather unfunny one though!

After that, there was a procession behind us, which was quite difficult to see.

Then there was some fantastic traditional drumming on the stage.

After the drumming performances, the famous actors and singers, and important people filed onto stage. Of course we had no idea who any of them were, but some of them seemed to be quite a big deal, judging by the audience's reaction.

Then they all started to throw the bags of beans into the crowd.

Sorry for the quality of this video, I was manhandled by an old woman who fought her way past me to pick up a bag that had fallen to the ground!

I caught two bags myself, and Rob caught about four! So Rob and I gave a bag each to Melanie and Andrea, who hadn't been able to catch any.

It was a lot of fun, and hopefully I'll be lucky after catching two bags! (Although they were giving out bags at the exit to people who hadn't caught any, so everyone gets a bit of the luck!)

That evening Rob and I sat in my room and ate 20 beans each for good luck. They were already roasted, so they were fine to eat as they were. You can also buy them in shops. Roll on Spring!

It's Snowing!

2010-02-01T12:16:00.005Z

Well, it's the first day of February, and it's brought snow to Tokyo!

Winter in Tokyo is very dry, and it gets around three to four days of snow a year, usually in late January and February, so here it is!

I took some photos from my balcony.

I don't think the snow will last long, because it's meant to turn to sleet, and then rain overnight, so it might all melt by the time I get up. That will make the bike ride into Uni much easier, but not nearly as pretty!

I'm Going To China!

2010-01-30T11:10:00.004Z

I just booked my flights to China for the school holiday! I'm so excited about going! I'm planning to stay with some friends who are studying in Shanghai on their year abroad from Leeds Uni.

I'm going to be there for 12 days in March so I plan to go to Shanghai and Beijing. I can't believe I'm actually going to go!!

I need to get a tourist visa to visit China, so I'll go to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo in the next week or so and sort that out.

The flights cost £380, which I thought was a bit expensive, but it looks like that price is about the cheapest it gets.

The only reason I can afford this trip is because I'm receiving the JASSO Scholarship from now until March. The first installment should come into my Japanese bank account on 5th February, and that's Y80,000 for January and an Y80,000 "settling-in" payment, which I get despite the fact that I settled in five months ago!

And it's probably the only opportunity I'll ever have to go to China and not to pay for accommodation, so I have to grab it while I can!

I can't wait!

Spring in January!

2010-01-21T11:30:00.004Z

The last couple of days have been really weird after the consistency of the last month. The cool temperatures of 5C or so have been interrupted by a blast of warm wind, bringing the temperature up to 18C!

It has really felt like Japanese Spring, and some plum blossoms have even started appearing on the ICU campus. The rise in temperature also brought out some insects. A-chan was accosted by the first bee of the year at our Soul Lunch on Tuesday.

The weirdest thing about this warm spell, is that it really, no joke, feels like Summer in Britain. Because the sun is more intense on the more southerly latitude, even if the actual temperature isn't as high as Britain would be in August (although admittedly it's not far off, depressingly), the strength of the sun's rays do make it feel almost exactly the same.

Which is lovely! Because it's like Summer without the crazy Japanese humidity!

But all good things must come to an end I suppose. Tomorrow is forecast to be 8C again. Although even that is not January-weather! I'll never get used to warm climates...

Reply From Gaba

2010-01-12T13:49:00.007Z

Well, it's only a few hours after my interview at Gaba, and I've just received an email from them.

I didn't get the job!!!!

It was actually a very nice email, but due to the problem with my student ID running out a month before my contract with Gaba would finish, and therefore cancelling my work permit at the end of June, they can't hire me.

Just that one month! And if ICU had let me, I would have applied for the work permit as soon I stepped off the plane! Well, maybe not literally... But there's no way I would have waited until December before applying!

Grghh, how annoying! Bureaucracy wins again!

So I'm back to square one with the job front. I'll have a look at the International Student Office noticeboard at ICU, because they often have job vacancies advertised that fit into students' schedules. And I'll also step up the pace in searching for private students.

I'm really lucky that I'm getting the JASSO Scholarship now. If I had no job and no scholarship, I'd probably have to cry! But my student loan installment just came in and we were told in the JASSO meeting earlier that we should get the first Y80,000 transfer to our Japanese bank accounts at the beginning of February.

I'm really annoyed about losing the job because of something that should have been so easily avoidable, but that's life I suppose. You can't win them all!

Gaba Information Seminar & Interview

2010-01-12T13:36:00.008Z

This evening I went to my first Gaba interview of this year. I decided to re-apply at my old teaching job because they offer such amazing flexibility that it would work perfectly with my constantly-changing University schedule.

The Headquarters had moved from Ebisu to Motoyoyogi, so I took the Chuo line to Shinjuku, and then used the Odakyu Odawara line (which goes to Hakone) to Yoyogi Hachiman station (代々木八幡駅). It was raining quite heavily and it was already dark so I was there in my suit with my umbrella and a piece of paper with the directions written in quickly smudged ink, probably looking very confused.

The directions weren't as clear as they were for the other HQ, so it took me nearly half an hour to get it right. I didn't realise that you had to go under the elevated four-lane road and go up the stairs on the opposite side to the station, but it made sense once I figured that out.

I took the lift to the fourth floor and dialled the number it told me to on the directions on a phone in the main lobby, and let them know I had arrived. It was exactly the same as 2008 - they came out to get us fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of 5.00pm and asked us to fill in personal data sheets. There were only six of us in the conference room, and the woman who rang me last week to offer me the interview was conducting it.

It was exactly the same set-up as last time - there was a 30-minute Powerpoint presentation explaining about the details of the lessons and pay etc. This was followed by us being called up to the 8th floor in pairs for individual interviews, while we completed the post-seminar booklet, which is basically a mini-test.

The presentation made me feel very nostalgic, seeing all the things I used to use nearly every day.

The test was very similar to last time I took it. The first question was very simple, but unfortunately I can't remember what it was!

The second question was the same as in 2008. There was a grammar table, where we had to fill in the past, present, future, and perfect and continuous forms of the verb "to teach". I didn't do very well on the "perfect" bit... Better to look those terms up if you don't know what they mean!

The third was a lesson plan, in which we had to explain how we would tailor a lesson on agreeing and disagreeing to a particular student, whose profile we were given. It was the same fictional student as two years ago, but a different lesson plan.

The next was matching idioms to their meanings, and then writing another idiom and definition.

The last question asked who you would choose to be your foreign language teacher and why. I decided on Stephen Fry, because he would be amazing!

I was in the first pair to be called up to the interview. I wasn't nervous about it once I was in the seminar room, but I had been very nervous during the day.

The interview went fine, and he welcomed me back to Gaba, which I thought was a very good sign. But then it came to looking at my work permit and my student ID validity period. He asked me to read the kanji on my work permit (he wasn't Japanese), and I told him what it said. He said that there might be a problem in that my ICU student ID runs out at the end of June, even though my visa and work permit end in November, as the six-month Gaba contract would last until July.

He said he would have to check with Gaba's administration department, and would then get back to me via email within the next couple of days. I'm not too worried about it, but I really do hope that it's okay and I can work there! I need a job!

Overall, the seminar and interview lasted about an hour and a half, and I was back in the rain by 7pm.

There are blog posts about my experiences with second and third interviews at Gaba further back in my blog. Also Certification (training).

First Snow of Winter

2010-01-12T05:23:00.006Z

It snowed this morning! It was about 11.30am, and I was in the second half of my Japanese lesson. It had been raining for most of the morning, typical as I have my Gaba interview this evening and it hasn't rained for almost a month! I love Winter in Tokyo, because it's blue sky virtually every day. Even Kyushu (the southernmost main island) has seen heavy snowfall this year!

The rain turned to sleet, and then eventually became proper snow! It was so pretty to see it. One girl from Hawaii in my class had never seen snow falling from the sky, so she was really happy to see it. The lesson basically stopped and most of the class gathered around the window to watch it. It wasn't settling because it wasn't cold enough, but it was nice to see. Unfortunately, it turned back to rain before the lesson ended so we didn't get to go out in it. Ahh well, it will snow again before Spring!

The bad thing about the dry Winter in Tokyo is how extremely dry it gets. I got a rash on my legs last time I lived here, and this time I have sore skin on both my hands. Japan is so extreme! Tokyo's Summer is so hot and sticky, and then the Winter is crazily dry!

I was happy to see snow, but my family and friends at home in Britain are pretty fed up of it now. Britain is the middle of a really cold snap. Apparently it's the coldest winter since the 1960s. I'm not sure whether I'm missing out, or if I've escaped it! But I heard that a part of Northern Scotland was colder than Antarctica last week, at -22C, so maybe I did escape.

Here's a photo taken from space of white Britain.

I'm about to leave for my Gaba interview now. Wish me luck!

Japanese Coming-Of-Age Ceremony

2010-01-11T04:18:00.008Z

This morning Rob and I went to our Coming-of-Age Ceremony (成人式, seijin-shiki) in Koganei City. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is a very important step in the lives of Japanese people. It signifies them becoming adults in society. Actually, it's even more important than that, as it translates directly as "becoming people ceremony"! The day is a National Holiday called Seijin no Hi (成人の日) so we didn't have any lessons.

Everyone born in between 2nd April 1989 and 1st April 1990 got a letter about a month and a half before the ceremony. I only just made these dates by one week, so I'm glad I could go. I was very impressed that foreigners got invitations. It really made me feel more integrated into society. Even though Rob and I were the only Westerners there!

Every city or ward in Japan holds a ceremony for the twenty year olds (twenty is the legal adult age in Japan) who are resident in that area.

It's a very important occasion, so Rob and I got up at 9am and changed into our suits, and walked up to the station to catch the bus. We're lucky we live in the centre of Koganei City, Musashi Koganei, so it only took twenty minutes to get to the high school where the Ceremony was held. It was in a large auditorium in Chuo University's High School, which looked like a very prestigious school.

We arrived at about 10.30 for the 11am start. The front gate was already busy with boys in suits and girls in traditional kimono (着物). There were people giving out small cards as we walked in who congratulated us, in both Japanese and English.

Rob and I presented our letters at the front desk, and they gave us a programme of the morning's events. We took our seats and watched the beautifully dressed people file in. As we waited, they were playing a panpipe version of the Titanic theme tune by Celine Dion on repeat. It was so random!

The ceremony started dead on 11am with a traditional dance and music performance.

This was followed by a song, which was possibly the Japanese National Anthem. Either way, Rob and I didn't know it, and lots of other people weren't singing!

Following the song were speeches by important people of Koganei City, like the Mayor. They had a sign language interpreter there too, which I thought was very good.

They even had the mascot of Koganei City there - Kokin-chan!

Towards the end of the ceremony, they played a video by three of FC Tokyo's football players, who wished everyone good luck for the future. They must have been quite famous, because they caused quite a stir when they came on screen, but Rob and I had no idea who they were!

At the end of the ceremony, they did a raffle. Each programme had a number printed in the front, I was number 019, and Rob was 700 and something. We didn't really want to win anything, because we thought we'd have to go on stage in front of everyone and be quite obviously foreign. But it turned out that the winners collected the prizes afterwards. Some of the prizes were really good. They had 15 in total, including digital photo frames, an iPod, cameras, and the one I wanted - a hot spring hotel break!

But, alas, neither Rob or I won anything! It's probably fairer for permanent Japanese residents to win the prizes anyway!

Overall the ceremony lasted just over an hour, which I thought was really short. But it's good that it didn't drag, as we were just watching the stage and had no physical participation in the events.

I thought the atmosphere of a formal Japanese ceremony would be very strict, but, perhaps because it was young people, it felt very relaxed. People were chatting amongst themselves, and some called things out to the people on stage. At one point when the important people were being introduced and were standing and bowing, two boys near the front stood and turned to face the audience, bowing in time with the actual important person!

We filed out and made our way back home.

It may sound a bit strange, but being part of that ceremony was a bit like validation of living in Japan. As a foreigner, you feel left out and alienated from so many aspects of Japanese culture, it was really nice to feel more accepted. And now I really feel more grown up! I'm very glad I was here to experience the Seijin-shiki, and I recommend it if you ever get the chance to be part of one.

Clubbing in Shibuya

2010-01-11T04:16:00.003Z

On Saturday night I went out with some friends to a club in Shibuya, which was my celebration for getting the scholarship and a job interview.

It was my first experience of a club in Shibuya, so I was looking forward to seeing what it was like. We went to one that Wynne knew, Atom, and it was only Y1,000 entry, so we couldn't argue with that price!

Most of the clubs in Shibuya are located away from the main station area, but from Hachiko exit, they're only about ten minutes walk up the hill past the 109 building. The prices range from the cheap (around Y1,000 including two drinks) to the more expensive (around Y3,000).

We arrived Atom at about 11.30pm, because it's cheaper before midnight. There was an ID and bag check on the door, and then a long corridor with lockers for our things. The lockers cost Y300, and you don't get the money back, so be careful to take out everything you need, or you'll be paying again!

At the end of the corridor there were two lifts that went up to the 5th floor (Atom is the 4th to the 6th floor of one building). You pay before going into the main dancefloor on the 5th floor, and it was Y1,000 per person, but for women two drinks were included in that. You get a wristband on the door, so you can leave and come back in, although you should be careful that they don't cut it off if you want to re-enter.

The main 5th floor was psychedelic trance, the 4th (that was made to look like a cave) was para para music, and the smaller 6th floor was hip-hop and R&B.

It wasn't too busy when we went in, and Wynne and Fran even got up on one of the small stages and danced for a while. I tried to take a photo but one of the bouncers stopped me and told me to delete it! Apparently you can't take photos.. Or at least not of girls dancing... Hmm, maybe I do understand the logic.

We didn't like the music on the main floor very much, so we went up to the smaller urban floor. The music was much more dance-able and several of my favourite songs were played, some of which I'd never heard in a club before! It was all American stuff, so there were quite a few that I'd never heard before, but most of it had made it over to the UK.

I hit a wall of tiredness and hunger at about 2.30am, but, as it always is with going out in Tokyo, you're stuck until the first train at about 4.30 or 5am. I pushed through and really enjoyed myself.

We left at about 4am and went to get some food from Yoshinoya, and we all really needed water! There were a lot of people smoking in the club, so my throat was really dry. (I didn't want to buy water in the club, as it was Y500, like all the other drinks.) It was a surprise, because smoking is banned in public places in the UK, so the atmosphere wasn't as comfortable in Japan.

We got one of the first trains back at about 4.50am, and I was tucked up in bed at just gone 6am. Once in a while I can handle! But not every night like some people do...

Japanese Bank Account (Again)

2010-01-07T12:22:00.003Z

The other day I opened a Japanese bank account because I'm jobhunting and I knew there was a possibility I'll get the JASSO Scholarship for three months.

I went back to the bank I had an account with in 2008, Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ. And it was much easier this time!

I still had a bit of difficulty understanding everything, but I had an inkan stamp (印鑑) and I was over 20, so there was no problem there.

They didn't want to give me an account when they realised that I hadn't got a job yet, but I told them that I'd be getting a scholarship so needed an account for that. (I didn't mention that there was only a possibility I'd get it!)

In under an hour, everything was sorted, which was much much quicker than the three hours it took with my limited Japanese two years ago!

I even got Disney characters on my bank book (通帳, tsuuchou) and cash card (キャッシュカード, kyasshu kaado), instead of the boring red ones. They gave me the choice, and of course there was no contest!

So, now I'm all ready for the scholarship and job money. Fingers crossed!

Two Years Ago Today...

2010-01-07T12:21:00.004Z

Today is the two year anniversary of my first arrival in Japan. And it's been an incredible two years.

And, actually, it's been an incredible day today! It's been a bit of a turn-around. After things have been going badly for the past couple of months, particularly money-wise, I got two very good pieces of news!

Firstly, I was in the library at ICU doing some work before I met Rei and A-chan because they were going to help me with some Japanese work. I randomly checked my Leeds University email address and I saw that there was an email from ICU about the three-month JASSO scholarship I'd applied for!

I was really expecting it to be "Dear Mr Davies. We are regret to inform you...", but it was the complete opposite! I'm going to get the Y80,000 for the next three months!! And on top of that, there's an Y80,000 settling-in payment, even though I settled in nearly five months ago! That's over £2,000 in total!

I was so overjoyed that I could get that money! And my next loan installment comes in on 11th January so I'll be fine for money for a while!

And then, Rei, A-chan and I were just chatting after they'd helped me, when I got a phone call. And it was Gaba offering me an interview! They had some follow-up questions, like why did I leave Gaba in 2008, and what kind of visa am I on now, and when does it expire etc.

So I'll go for my interview on Tuesday, and hopefully it will be okay! If I'm successful, the contract signing session is on Friday, and then the three days of Certification (teacher training), which I've done before, are Saturday 16th to Monday. So if I get through, I'll have to miss one day of University, but I think it's worth it for a job!

I'm so happy now! It's been an amazing day, where things have done a complete 180 and I'm feeling much better in myself. I think I need a celebration of some kind, so this weekend will be the perfect time for that!

Job Application

2010-01-07T12:19:00.005Z

Because my dire money situation has been getting me down over the past couple of months, I've been eagerly waiting for a time close enough to when I can pick up my Work Permit from the Tachikawa Immigration Bureau for me to apply for a job.

I decided to apply at my old company, Gaba English conversation school, because they offer amazing flexibility that I really need with my constantly changing University schedule. So I used my old CV on Gaijin Pot.com to apply, after updating it with my past year's experience. Gaijin Pot is a website that allows foreigners to make a CV online and apply for jobs and apartments etc. It's the only way to apply for jobs at Gaba.

When I applied, I didn't actually have my Work Permit, but I can pick it up tomorrow, and Gaba still haven't gotten back to me, so I think I timed it okay.

I really really hope my application is successful, because I am quite far into my student overdraft already. If I didn't have that, I would have to leave Japan and quit University. It's the first time in my life that I've ever been in minus money, and it's a horrible feeling. Every time I buy something, I know I'm spending money I don't really have.

There is a chance I can get the JASSO Scholarship for three months (January to March), which is Y80,000 (£500) a month! ICU sent me an email about it a month ago, but they said that I'd hear back from them by the end of December, once JASSO had screened all of the new applicants. So I don't hold out much hope of getting it now.

So fingers crossed I can get the job!

Back to Lessons

2010-01-07T12:18:00.003Z

Yesterday we started back at ICU after our Winter holiday (冬休み, fuyu yasumi). It was quite ncie to get back into the regular routine of getting up at 8.30 and having breakfast of granola and orange juice while watching NHK's Seikatsu Hot Morning (生活ホットモーニング) programme, and then leaving at 9.30 for 10.10 lessons.

It's a nice little life. It gives me lots of time to study as well as enjoy Japan. So I'm very glad I can be here to enjoy it!

Miraikan

2010-01-07T12:16:00.005Z

The other day I went to the Miraikan Museum (未来館) on Odaiba. The English name is "The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation", but the Japanese just means "future building", which is much simpler.

I went with Rob and his parents, because they were in Japan on holiday, and they invited me along for the day.

They had JR rail passes, which really are the most convenient way to travel around Japan if you're here on holiday. But there are no JR (Japan Rail) lines to Odaiba, so unfortunately they had to pay a bit extra when we arrived at Tokyo Teleport station on the Rinkai line.

Originally we had just intended to wander around Odaiba, because one of the receptionists at Rob's parents' hotel had said that the Miraikan would be closed because it was just after New Year.

But we decided to check for ourselves, and very lucky we did, because it was open!

It was a beautiful day, with the usual winter high pressure making it bright and chilly. We passed the Fuji TV headquarters building on the way.

The museum was a big glass building, and as soon as you walk in you can feel how modern the place is.

It cost Y600 per person, but Rob's parents treated me to the ticket, and later lunch, which was extremely kind of them.

We went into one of the exhibitions (I think there are about 7 floors, each with different exhibitions, and you put your tickets in the barriers to get into each individual area, but you can go in more than once.)

Everything was fascinating. There was everything from space to climate to photography, all with a futuristic spin on it. All the signs were in both Japanese and English, so it was very accessible.

We followed the route around the exhibition, and had a go on a lot of the interactive exhibits.

I liked this globe, which changed from displaying climate and weather, to cloud cover, and population information.

This exhibit was very interesting. The white lines that look like cracks in glass are actually streaks of radiation falling through the air. Normally it's invisible, but there was a special gas inside a glass case that made it visible to the naked eye. There was information about how the different types of radiation show up.

This robot is apparently a prototype for a much bigger one, that is at the moment hypothetical, but will eventually transport people over any terrain.

I'd heard about this Asimo robot before, because my British housemates from 2008 visited this museum and told me about it. He moved really quickly! It was very impressive.

I really recommend the Miraikan if you're in Tokyo for a long holiday, or living here for an extended period of time. It's definitely worth the cheap entry fee, and everything there was so interesting. I'm really glad I went along with them.

We didn't do everything there by a long shot, so if you fancy it, you could spend a whole day there doing and seeing everything you want to!

New Year in Tokyo

2010-01-01T07:47:00.010Z

Happy New Year!

Here I am, in my room in Tokyo, and it's 2010! In a week it will be exactly two years since I first arrived in Japan at the beginning of 2008. And my life is quite different now! A lot changes in two years. But I suppose the years when you first leave home and fly halfway around the world to start a new life for seven months, and then start University, would be a quite life-changing time.

2009 has also been a big year for me, probably not as big as 2008, but it's seen me finish my first year of University in Britain and return to Japan. So I wanted to give the noughties the best send off I could.

I arranged for six of us to go to Kichijoji (吉祥寺), which is probably the biggest centre in Western Tokyo, and is only 10 minutes by train from my guesthouse. I had asked a couple of Japanese friends if there would be Shrines or temples there that had things going on for New Year (お正月, oshougatsu) and they all said that even small places would be doing something.

There was the option to go to Meiji Shrine (明治神宮) in Harajuku, but I knew that it would be ridiculously crowded, being the biggest Shrine in Tokyo. Apparently it's busy on both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, as people go to pray for good fortune in the coming year.

I took the train to Musashi Sakai to meet Matt. The trains were all so quiet! Tokyo as a whole does get quieter around New Year, when lots of people leave the city to visit their families in the countryside.

I waited for Matt at the ticket gate, as I was there my Mum rang me to wish me a Happy New Year, which was very nice. Matt and I got on the train, which stopped for a while at Mitaka where it waited for a Special Rapid (特快) train to pass. As we were stopped, Rob stepped into our carriage, at the door where we were standing! What a coincidence!

So we carried on together to Kichijoji and met Katy and her friend Nola at the station. We then checked an area map and found a small collection of Shrines and temples about ten minutes walk from the station. Kichijoji was very quiet, but it was only 9pm, so it wasn't going to be very busy yet. I imagined lots of people were going to be watching Kohaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦), a very popular music contest programme broadcast on NHK every New Year's Eve. This time Susan Boyle, a finalist in Britain's Got Talent, which for some reason is very popular in Japan, performed one of her songs live. I saw some of the programme before leaving the house, and it looked like a lot of fun for New Year, but I wanted to do something more traditional.

We followed the festively lit streets to the Shrines.

We found one Shrine that was open to public, but there was no one there! I was expecting a crowd of people eating and keeping warm. (It was the coldest night of the season so far last night, reaching -2C, which is typical!)

We prayed for good luck in the coming year by throwing coins into the box and clapping twice, and then bowing to finish.

We wandered around the Shrine area for a little bit.

I was really worried that the evening was going to be a bust, because there weren't enough people to get a proper celebratory atmosphere going.

But we walked back to the station to meet Kaz, and then got some food and drinks and went to the park. It was very cold, but I think that made the evening feel more authentic, as it hadn't really felt like Christmas as it was still over 5C!

This illumination was outside Kichijoji station.

We stayed in the park for an hour or so, and Katy, Rob and I did Soul Run to keep warm. After getting sufficiently cold, we walked back to the Shrine for midnight. The Shrine we went to was busier, but still very quiet. Kaz asked one of the security guards and he told us that they weren't going to ring the New Year bell there, but they would at the Buddhist temple next door.

We walked round and joined the queue for the temple, and the atmosphere became increasingly energetic.

They opened the gate at 11.45pm and everyone poured in, most people lining up to ring the bell. We did the same.

As people, starting with the monks, began to ring the bell at 11.50pm, some of us left the queue to see it closer up. I was taking this video, when halfway through lots of people cheered. I thought it was because someone important had just rung the bell, but then we realised that it was midnight! It was 2010!

We all cheered too, albeit a couple of seconds late, but it was New Year!

We joined the others in the line and continued to wait for our turn to ring the bell.

It was about 12.30am when we got to the front of the line and all got to ring the bell and pray for good luck in 2010. Unfortunately, half of us didn't know we had to stand on the left side of the hammer that you swing to hit the bell, so we ended up looking like typical foreigners, doing it the wrong way! But never mind, we'll know for next time.

After the temple, we walked around for a bit and found a restaurant where we could eat soba noodles, as is traditional at New Year. We left at about 2am and headed for the station. Over New Year lots of main JR train lines run all through the night so we didn't have to worry about missing the last train.

When we got to the station, we saw that the illumination had changed from 2009 to 2010!

And that was New Year the traditional Japanese way! It was definitely one I'll never forget, saying goodbye to the noughties, and saying hello to the teens with style. Let's hope that 2010 is a successful year!

Maid Cafe in Akihabara

2009-12-28T14:52:00.006Z

Yesterday I met up with Matt, who goes to the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies near ICU, and James, who goes to University in Kobe, both of whom I know from Leeds. James was visiting Tokyo over Christmas and it was nice to see him, as I hadn't met up with him since the end of the Leeds year.

Matt invited me to meet them in Akihabara (秋葉原), which is the discount electronics district, and also centre of sleaze in Tokyo, with a wide variety of dodgy anime and manga-related shops and things in that vein.

We met outside the station and wandered around looking for a suitable place. I didn't really know how to feel about going to a maid cafe. The basic premise is that you pay a set amount per hour to go in (Y500 in our case), and then pay for food and drinks on top of that. But the different thing is that they are brought to you by cute Japanese girls dressed in maid outfits. It sounds very sleazy, particularly from a Western point of view, so I really wasn't sure what to expect, but it's quite a Japanese experience so I wanted to give it a go with an open mind.

We passed lots of maids on the street who were giving out flyers for their respective cafes, but all of us were too embarrassed to actually go up and take one!

But we actually came across one that James went to last time he visited Tokyo on our wanderings, so we went into that one. James said it wasn't at all sleazy, so we trusted his judgement. We were met by a maid at the door, who spoke in an unnaturally high voice as she guided us to our table. I was relieved to see that it wasn't all desperate old men, but there were some couples, and even a married couple with a child there!

It was all super-cute, with plastic furniture and fake Western things dotted around the pink and yellow room. There were about six maids working there, and they all used the same high, cute voices. We took our seats and looked over the menu. They gave us an English menu, which had the most hilarious bad English translations I've ever seen. I wish I'd written some of them down!

A maid came up to us and knelt down by the table, bringing out a "magic lamp", which was a plastic candle in a plastic holder. She showed it to each of us, proclaiming "it's a magic lamp!", before blowing on it, making it light up. We all clapped, and she looked very happy.

We ordered some food and drinks, and then just watched the general life in a maid cafe. It was very amusing when a salaryman ordered a cocktail, and the maid took him up to a mini-stage they had in the corner and called for everyone's attention while she sang and shook the cocktail shaker. No room for embarrassment here!

I wish I could have taken photos inside, but unfortunately they're banned in all maid cafes. I can understand the reasoning behind that.

Our food came, and we went through a very interesting ritual, guided by our maid, to make the food more delicious. It involved making a heart shape with our hands and then chanting something like "Motto oishiku naru! Moe, moe, kyuu!" as we pointed with our "hearts" to the food in front of us. Once we'd done it, the girl clapped and called "Hai! Oishiku natta!" (Yay! It's delicious now!) We obviously did a very good job.

Our hour was quickly up, but we asked if we could have a photo taken with one the maids (the only way you can have a photo). It cost Y500 per print, so we just took the one. Here's the result -

Our maid was definitely the most attractive one in the cafe.

After leaving the cafe, we went to meet some other friends from Kobe who were in Tokyo in Odaiba, which was also a lot of fun.

So now I can say that I have experienced a real Japanese maid cafe! And it definitely wasn't as sleazy as I thought it might be. The emphasis was clearly placed on cuteness, rather than sexiness. It also helps to keep an open mind with these types of things!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T04:07:00.008Z

Well, it's Christmas! This year, I've been anticipating it and slightly dreading it at the same time. I really wasn't sure how I'd feel, with it being my first ever Christmas away from home.

I made sure to make plans for each part of the day, to try to minimise loneliness, which would be awful on Christmas Day! I planned to watch a film with Katy and Dan, who couldn't make it from Kobe in the end due to flu, (Rob is in Kyoto with his parents until New Year), then go to a dinner we were invited to at ICU, and then meet some other friends who came from Kobe in the centre of Tokyo for karaoke or something afterwards.

Things didn't go exactly to plan, but everything turned out okay in the end.

I opened all my cards and presents in the morning after a lie-in (I figured the longer I sleep the less time I have to be alone!) and put them all out on my chest of drawers.

Katy had gone to meet her friend in Akihabara, and they both came back to watch 'About A Boy' with me at about 3pm. We watched that, but didn't quite make it to the end because I'd arranged to Skype with my family at 8am UK time.

I spoke to my family via webcam for an hour, and I watched my brothers sit on my parents' bed and open their presents. They put the laptop in the place I'd usually sit in so it really was like I was there. It was lovely to feel so close to them, despite being on the other side of the world.

The hour flew by and suddenly it was time for me to leave for the dinner at ICU. I felt so lucky that I could speak to them and take part in the family Christmas.

Katy and I left the guesthouse and cycled the twenty minutes or so to ICU. When we got to the teacher's house, everyone else was there, with glasses of wine sitting on the sofa or by the fire. She has a lovely Western-style home inside a traditional Japanese house. It's really interesting to be there.

It was decked out properly for Christmas, with the tree and stockings by the fire. It was so nice!

There were some lovely people there, including people from England, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Japan. Katy and I were the youngest ones there, but it wasn't at all uncomfortable - everyone was very friendly. One of the other teachers (who was from England) brought her two year old son, and he was so sweet! He ended up dragging me into a game where I had to pick him up from one sofa and fly him to the other where his Mum was. Children are so cute!

The food came out at about 7pm, and it was such an amazing spread! It was all Western food, and it was exactly what I'd hoped for. It was all delicious, and we ate so much of it! There was even real mulled wine, which they gave to me and Katy to take home at the end of the night, because, being British, we were so excited to see it!

We had two helpings of the main course, and were stuffed! I really didn't think I could eat anything else, but then all the puddings came out! The Japanese idea of a separate stomach 別腹 (betsubara) was definitely true here!

The meal was absolutely fantastic. Everything was really well made, and the atmosphere made me feel really at home. It was everything I hoped it would be, and more.

I got a ring from Matt, who I was going to meet in Shinjuku after the meal, and he said that people couldn't stay out all night, and were going to head home in a couple of hours. That meant there wasn't really any point in me going to meet them for such a short time, so Katy and I stayed until the very end of the meal. I wasn't at all disappointed, although it would have been lovely to see them, I was having such a nice time I wouldn't have felt right about leaving early.

We helped clear away the dishes and chatted for a bit longer, and then cycled home at about 10:30pm. I spoke to my family again very briefly, as they were just leaving for a park near our house called Lickey Hills, for a Christmas barbecue in the snow.

And that was my first abroad Christmas! It was slightly lonely, but the atmosphere at the meal was so nice I completely forgot about it. I survived it! And next year I'll be at home with my family again!

Next up, New Year - which is much bigger than Christmas in Japan. I'm looking forward to it!

Tokyo Disney Sea

2009-12-24T13:38:00.016Z

On Sunday I went to Tokyo Disney Sea with Rob and several other friends from Leeds. Some of the Japanese people came from Osaka and Fukuoka, and for one it was his first ever trip to Tokyo!

It was the last weekend before Christmas, and Disney Sea is very centred around couples, and as Christmas is a couple's holiday in Japan, it was very very crowded. One of our friends arrived before us, and she texted us saying that we might not be able to get in because there were so many people.

But we decided to try to go anyway. On the way, because it was such a beautifully clear day, we saw Mt Fuji from the train, which was very nice. (Sorry about the awful photo of it though.)

We arrived at Maihama station (舞浜駅) and met our friends, and then went to the monorail stop.

This is the monorail from the front gate to Disney Sea.

And they have Mickey hand holds!

We bought our tickets, and thankfully it wasn't so busy that they didn't let us in, but it was very crowded inside. Because I'm having quite bad money trouble, Rob offered to pay for my ticket, which was extremely kind of him. He's such a nice guy.

All of the Fast Track tickets had been sold already, and it was only 10:30am. So we had to wait for the whole time for every ride we went on. The average wait was about 2 hours, which wasn't too bad considering what it could be.

The first ride we went on was Tower of Terror, which was an experience, considering I hate the stomach-in-your-throat feeling, and it's a free-fall drop ride, but it was still fun.

And here are the Disney characters! There weren't as many as in Tokyo Disney Land, which I've now been to twice, once last year, and then again this year with Soul Run.

We had curry for lunch in the Aladdin-themed area, and then went on a mini-Sinbad ride.

After that, we queued for just under two hours for the Indiana Jones ride, which was very fun.

When we came out of Indiana Jones it was getting dark. When the queues are so long you don't get to go on so many rides!

We went to 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth', which is built inside this man-made volcano. It's so cleverly designed! And when it gets dark, the volcano smokes and ocassionally erupts!

After that ride, it was nearly closing time so we went on one last one, which was Storm Rider, a very good simulator that flies you into the eye of a hurricane. It was very well done.

After that we met up with the others and headed for the main gate.

We left at closing time (10pm) and headed for home. It was a very nice day. I'm so grateful to Rob for paying for my ticket. I need to find someway to repay him!

I think overall I like Tokyo Disney Land more, but if I was going on a date, I'd choose Disney Sea, because it's a very romantic place, with lots of nice areas. But both are great fun to visit - if you're in Tokyo for a while, and can afford the Y5,800, then I recommend them!

Soul Run Christmas Party

2009-12-24T13:37:00.008Z

Last Friday was the Soul Run Christmas party! It was exactly a week until Christmas, but none of us (particularly the exchange students) were feeling very festive. I wasn't feeling it because it wasn't cold enough! It was still 5C at night, which is as high as it goes during the day tops in Britain! It seems like Britain is going through a cold spell at the moment, with temperatures of -6C and lots of snow all over the country. I missed the first White Christmas in absolutely ages!

We went to an all you can drink karaoke place in Shinjuku for the party. It turned out that the place we had booked didn't have enough space for the 20 or so of us, so we had to go to their annex. It was in a seedy-looking building above a host bar, which looked slightly dodgy, but it turned out to be perfectly fine.

It cost Y2,500 per person, and that included all the drinks (but not beer, which required an extra fee, as is pretty common in Japan) and seven dishes of salad, chips (as in French fries), popcorn and things like that. I had one alcoholic drink, and then had oolong tea for the rest of the night. I've realised that I'm not a big drinker, although I do drink alcohol.

We sang lots of Christmas songs at first, me starting the night off with my all-time favourite Christmas song - All I Want For Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey. The Japanese name is, weirdly, 恋人たちのクリスマス, koibitotachi no kurisumasu, which translates as something like 'The Couple's Christmas'.

That was a lot of fun to sing, and I did take a video, but I adamantly refuse to put it on the internet, as that can lead to nothing good!

We then sang a lot of other traditional Christmas songs, both English and Japanese versions, and then changed to Disney, and ended up with the normal pop songs.

This was the night we were exchanging our Secret Santa gifts, so Rei and A-chan got up with the microphones and called out the names of the people who were giving presents. I was the first one to be called, so I went up and gave my present, a small cup and flannel with cute characters on them, to a girl called Nao. Rei asked us to say a message as we handed our presents over so I thanked her for teaching us Soul Run, and wished her a very merry Christmas.

The next person was Rob, and he got up and announced that he had been given me! So I went back up to get my present, and I was really surprised. Rob said that I'd become a really good friend of his over the last few months, and he was glad we were living together. I felt the same way, so I was a bit overcome with emotion. And his gift was so thoughtful! He got me a Japanese Where's Wally book, and a Perfume Portfolio (Perfume is my favourite Japanese pop group), along with a really nicely written letter. I was so overwhelmed by his kindness! I wish I had money so I could give him something as nice back!

We did the rest of the Secret Santas, and everyone was really pleased with their gifts. It was the first time Soul Run had done a Secret Santa, and it worked very well. I definitely want to do it again at some point!

It was a great night. I had brought my Santa hat along, to get into the festive spirit, and something must have worked, because I ended up very seasonal and jolly.

After karaoke, we split in half, and some went home, but I stayed with a group of about eight who went back to Rei's (the leader) house for the night. We took the Seibu Shinjuku line (西部新宿線) from Seibu Shinjuku station, which is about ten minutes' walk from JR Shinjuku station, the main one. The station was very crowded when we arrived, and we walked down the platform and then waited for the train. The train took a long time to arrive, and the platform was getting busier and busier. The train came, and it was nearly empty. But after everyone had got on, it was extremely cramped. We were some of the first to get on, so we were by the door on the opposite side to the platform.

The busy train left Shinjuku and stopped at Takadanobaba (高田馬場) first. Some people got off, but then about twice that amount tried to get on. A-chan was pushed right up against my chest, and she cried out "I can hear your heartbeat!" Not the most romantic setting for that kind of line...

The train stayed at Takadanobaba for a really long time (we think there may have been a suicide further along the line that caused a delay), and that meant that more and more people tried to force themselves on. When the train left, there really was no room to breathe. I had an old man falling asleep on my shoulder, with A-chan pushed against my chest, and Rei holding my bag behind me. It was definitely the most crowded train I've ever been on. Actually, probably the most crowded place I've ever been in. I was lucky to be right by the door, because there was a breeze coming in through the door, and when we stopped at a station I had to get off the train to let other people get off, which meant I got some fresh air. This also meant that I had to be the person who shoved everyone further into the train, and then hold onto the door frame so I didn't get caught in the closing doors. I felt awful, but I'd seen so many people do it before I knew it was a normal occurence. I tried my very best to be okay with it, as I do get claustrophobic, and I was surprised that I was fine, even though there were big gaps in between each stop. I must be getting used to it!

We had a bit of a scare when a very large Japanese man with very bloodshot eyes started staring at Rob, muttering threatening comments. He did it to all of us, but Rob was closest, so he got the full brunt of it. It was the first time we'd ever felt threatened in Japan. The man eventually got off without any trouble, but we were quite worried for a bit. The lovely thing was that several of the other Japanese people said "It's okay now" once he'd gone. We think it must have been racism that fuelled his anger towards us, which is a shame, but it was bound to happen some time.

We put that experience behind us when we got off the train at Rei's stop, which is one stop before Saitama prefecture, so it took just under an hour from Shinjuku. What an awful journey! But at least I can say I've been on one of those trains. I really can't imagine doing that every day though, the life of a salaryman is really not for me.

We had a great night after that. We rolled ourselves up in blankets and chatted for a while, and then watched Aladdin, which was a lot of fun. We went to sleep at about 3am, and slept til 10. Most people left pretty quickly, but Rob and I stayed for a while until mid-afternoon. I love Rei's house, it's really big (four rooms and a bathroom, with a small garden!) and I feel very comfortable there.

All in all, it was a lovely night, and it definitely put me in the Christmas mood!

Work Permit Application

2009-12-24T13:25:00.013Z

Over the last two weeks, during the run-up to Christmas, I have been sorting out everything for my work permit, which I need to get a job in Japan as I'm here on a student visa.

ICU don't let their students who start in September apply for their work permits until November, and even then the process takes a long time. I understand the reasons behind this, as they don't want students to spread themselves too thinly, but my money situation is getting pretty dire, so I could have used a job at least a month ago! But there you go, you can't argue with the rules.

So I gave ICU my information and they made up a letter saying that they give permission for me to apply for a work permit. I then took that to the Immigration Bureau in Tachikawa with some friends, where I went to get my re-entry permit.

I took a number from the ticket machine by the desk as before, and it was twenty numbers away.

I filled out the form, but there were two that looked like the work permit application. The correct one has much more to fill in, with sections for your employer's information, and legal proxies etc. I filled out both of the forms just in case, but I didn't need the other, sparser one. Because I didn't know who my employer would be I left that section blank, and it wasn't a problem. I did have to write how many hours I can work down, and ICU say that I can work 32.5 hours a week based on the fact that I'm taking 9 credits this semester.

They were working much quicker than the last time I went and waited over two hours, and we were all done in under an hour. There was barely time for me to eat my lunch!

I gave them my:

- completed application form

- Alien Card

- letter from University (or other, allowing you to apply for the permit)

- passport.

Katy hadn't brought her passport, and was really annoyed that she had to go back the next day and do the whole process again. And all they need the passport for is to staple a date in there so you know when to return for the actual permit! Oh bureaucracy, how we love you...

The date we were given is 7th January, which is three weeks after we applied for it, but it might not usually take that long. Because New Year is in the middle of the period, it might have extended the time.

Anyway, now I'm eagerly awaiting the 7th, so I can find a job and start earning some money!

Term One Results

2009-12-24T13:24:00.003Z

Back to ICU and normal Japanese life after my trip home! Going home has really helped me to appreciate the life I have here, as I know that home is still there, and most things are the same, but I can have all these fun, new and exciting adventures in Japan while I'm here.

On the first day back to ICU, which was a Thursday, I registered for my Winter Term courses - I took the next level of Japanese (Japanese 6) and an elective module in Psycholinguistics, which is taught by the same teacher as my Linguistics class last semester. I really enjoyed her lectures, and Psycholinguistics has turned out to be just as well taught, so I'm glad I chose it.

I also got my results for the Autumn Term. I got a B in Japanese, and an A in Linguistics. They didn't break everything down for Japanese, but I expected a B, judging from how I did in all the different assessments. Of course I would have loved an A, but that would be at least 90%! My Japanese is not that good!

I will try my best this semester to get an A, but I think another B would be okay!

Back in Japan

2009-12-12T08:57:00.017Z

Who'd have known that twelve days could be so fast, and so amazing!?

It was a crazy blur of seeing family, friends, and as much of my home as I could, but the one word that I can describe it with is "magical". No other word I can think of fits my memories of my surprise trip home as well as magical.

I did so much, there just isn't room to write everything down, but my Mum met me at Heathrow on Thursday 19th, after my twelve-hour flight, which of course I hadn't slept during at all! When I came out into the arrivals lounge, I was ferociously scanning the crowd of people waiting for us to come out for my Mum. I didn't see her, but I heard a cry of "Miles!" and then she came running into view. It was such a lovely welcome back to Britain.

We drove the two hours or so to my hometown of Birmingham, and went straight to my old secondary school, where my brother was doing a small performance at a quiz night there. We participated in the quiz, and didn't do too badly - top 3 I think.. But I have to say, as I'd been awake for 26 hours, I didn't perform as well as I normally would have done! But I went to another pub quiz the following week, which we won money for, so I think it evened out overall.

I slept well, but woke up early, which I did for most of the first week. My body seemed to think 6am was an excellent time to get up! How wrong it was...

On the Friday evening, my Dad drove me down to Wiltshire, where we stayed the night at my Gran and Grandad's house. He was going anyway, to take my Grandad to the rugby in Cardiff the next day, so I was really pleased I could go with him. It was so amazing to see my grandparents. I'm very close to them, so there was no way I would have returned to Britain without going to see them. We had a cup of tea and some biscuits and then went to bed.

On the Saturday I went to see my Gran in her stageshow, which was a collection of West End musical pieces, most of which I knew. It was the first time I'd ever seen her on stage, even though she's always working on a performance. I don't know how she manages it!

We drove back to Birmingham on Saturday evening, and I was so happy I'd had the chance to catch up with them.

Then the Sunday evening has become one of my nicest memories, perhaps ever. We had an early Christmas dinner - turkey with all the trimmings. And we had crackers, candles and Christmas music, and it all felt so authentic. Because I'll be in Japan, away from my family for the first Christmas ever, this year, I was overjoyed to have that opportunity.

After the amazing dinner, we took mincepies and fancy chocolates into the living room, lit a fire in the hearth, and watched a classic Christmas film, The Great Escape.

On the Tuesday, two of my best friends, who I met at Leeds Uni last year, came to Birmingham and stayed the night at my house. It was so nice to see them again! We'd all been geared up to not see each other for over a year, and yet here we were!

We met at the train station, and then went straight to the German Christmas market, which comes to Birmingham every year. Apparently it's the biggest in Europe (except for Germany of course).

I love the German market, because there's such a nice atmosphere, especially when it's cold, which it was! We wandered around the stalls, buying food as we went.

The next day we visited my old workplace, Cadbury World (a visitor attraction devoted to Cadbury chocolate), which is always nice. I saw lots of my old colleagues, and ate a lot of chocolate of course!

That day zoomed by, and suddenly I was saying goodbye to my friends for another nine months or so, but at least we'd had the chance to see each other once in the year!

The rest of the week was spent relaxing and spending time with my family at home. It was a perfect few days.

On the Friday evening, we left for Norfolk. My family and I go to Norfolk every year around my grandmother's birthday, and we go to visit my Mum's side of the family. It just so happened that my trip home coincided with this weekend break, so I could go with them!

I love the cottage we stay in most years - it's so incredibly British!

On the Saturday we went to a beach we often used to visit. It was the first beach I ever went to as a child.

Of course it was freezing cold, but the sky was a beautiful blue, and there were some nice clouds around. We went to a small cafe on the front and had cups of tea and cakes. (I really was getting my fill of British life while I was there!)

On Sunday we went to the annual extended family gathering at a pub called the Eel's Foot Inn and had a roast dinner. It was lovely to see all the faces I didn't think I'd see for such a long time!

Unfortunately, the lunch was at the same time as online check-in for my flight back to Japan the following day opened. So I tried to get onto the BA website from my Dad's laptop using a dongle.

But, as we were in the middle of nowhere, there wasn't a strong enough mobile signal to keep the internet connection. So I had to try to relax (I was very keen to get a good seat, as I'd been spoiled with the ultimate legroom seat by the emergency exit on the flight out) and enjoy the rest of the meal without worrying about it.

I always like going out to the back of the pub and standing by the Broad (lake).

After the dinner, we took a group photo outside the pub, and then went our separate ways. It's a four-hour drive back to Birmingham, so we had plenty of time to get used to the idea that I was leaving the next day!

We stopped at a motorway services and stole some internet from a Little Chef restaurant by parking right outside it. I logged onto my flight information, and was very surprised to see that there were plenty of good seats left. I chose one that was at the front of a section, next to the baby cots. The two seats with baby facilities were empty, so I thought that was a safe bet.

We got home at about 8pm, and I did my final packing, before watching a TV programme with my family. Then we all said goodnight for the last time for another nine months, and went to bed.

I woke up at just gone 7am and got my things together. I said a sad goodbye to my two brothers who were leaving for school and college, and then my Dad.

My Mum drove me back down to Heathrow airport in London and we checked in my baggage, before having a muffin (I miss proper muffins while I'm in Japan!) and a cup of coffee together.

And then it was time. We hugged and said goodbye in front of the security area, and then I waved as I walked past the gate, and I was gone.

It was very sad to say goodbye, but I couldn't believe I was able to go home and see them all. It was... magical.

The flight was fine, and the two baby cot seats next to mine stayed empty, so I had plenty of room, although, despite trying, I couldn't sleep again.

As we flew over Siberia, and turned south towards Japan, the sun started to rise. And it was probably because I was so tired, and perhaps a bit emotional, but the idea of approaching Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, as the sky started to turn purple and crimson, was very romantic.

Coming back into Japan, I had my photo and fingerprints taken, for the third time, and there were no problems with my re-entry permit.

I decided to take the train back to Musashi Koganei, because it was cheaper than the Limousine Bus, and took about the same time - two hours. I took the JR Sobu Line from Narita Airport to Tokyo, speaking to a nice Japanese man who wanted to practise English with me, and then changed to the Chuo line, which took me directly to Musashi Koganei.

I dragged my suitcase down the hill and was finally back in the guesthouse, with a bed! But, it was only 1pm, and not time for sleeping! So I knocked on Rob and Katy's doors and we went for lunch at our favourite restaurant nearby, Tanmen Ramen (タンメンラーメン) and had our beloved Cutlet Curry (かつカレー, katsu karee).

We came back and I had a nap for a couple of hours. Or at least that was the plan, I remember turning off my alarm at 6pm, but the next thing I knew I was waking up at 10pm. Oops! I got up and showered, and then unpacked everything, and went back to bed at 1am. And then I had to get up at 7.30 to go to Disneyland with the people from Soul Run!

And now, looking back at the twelve days I spent at home, it feels just like a dream. A magical dream.

200th Post Spectacular: I'm Home!

2009-11-20T10:17:00.003Z

I'm at home!! I'm sitting in my bed with a cup of tea in my favourite mug that my mum brought to me, listening to Radio 1, amazed that I'm here.

Five days ago I didn't think I'd see my home or family for another ten months, but here I am, just like I've never been in Japan!

I got up at 5am yesterday (it really doesn't feel like it was yesterday...) and had breakfast, put the very last things in my suitcase, and then headed up to the station. It was only 10 minutes or so to Kichijoji, where I was catching the bus to Narita airport. At first I couldn't find where the bus left from, so I asked at a police box and they took me just round the corner and I saw a long line of people waiting for the bus to arrive.

I saw the guy from ICU who I spoke to after getting my re-entry permit earlier in the week in the line and I chatted to him before joining the back. The bus came about five minutes later and it was exactly the same process as the Airport Limousine buses I got from Narita last year, show the man the ticket and tell him which terminal you're going to, get a receipt for the luggage and then get on and find a seat. It was actually an Odakyu bus, but it was doing the Airport service.

It was timetabled to take two hours, but it was more like an hour and a half, which was good. We went through Shinjuku and I saw the skyscaper district from a distance, which was an amazing view, seeing the buildings suddenly shoot up from the low-rise surroundings. Then we headed east to Ginza and I saw my old house from last year from the bridge over Sumida River!

At the airport, it was very easy to get through check-in and customs, and then I had a second breakfast in the same ramen restaurant near my gate that I ate at when I left Japan last August. It was very nostalgic!

My plane boarded at 10.30 and then left early at about 11am. I had checked-in online, so I'd chosen a seat near an emergency exit that didn't have a seat in front of it, so I had loads of legroom!

The flight went okay, and it didn't seem to take long, which was very welcome, as it was a 12 hour and 15 minute flight. I watched Independence Day, which I've seen about 15 times, but I can't resist watching it if I have the opportunity! And then I tried to sleep, but it didn't happen. I can never sleep on planes unless I'm really really tired.

There was a bit of turbulence over Europe, which wasn't very fun, but it only lasted about 25 minutes or so. And then I was back in Britain! I was staring out of the window with wide eyes at the British countryside, and then the Thames River and the Houses of Parliament as we came in to land.

There were no problems at Arrivals, but my baggage did take a while to come out onto the carousel. Apparently there was a security issue which delayed them, and I was praying it wasn't my bag, but thankfully it wasn't!

And then I came out and met my mum. It was wonderful! We had a long hug and then got some coffee and went to the car. I was really tired but it was a lovely drive home to Birmingham through the British countryside. It's so British!

We went straight to my old school for a quiz night where my youngest brother was doing a performance. I don't think I was any help with the answers, but it was fun. It was such a nice reunion with the rest of my family as well. People were staring at the many long hugs going on!

And then we went home and had a bit of dinner. I was so tired I couldn't really take in being in my home again, but it was so nice. So amazing to be back.

And then, after 26 hours of being awake, I could finally rest! And now here I am, in bed at home. Now I think I'll have some of my favourite cereal and watch some TV on our new sofas, before having fish and chips (so British) from our local chip shop for dinner and then going to my gran and grandad's house for the night with my dad.

The dream has begun!

Japanese Re-Entry Permit

2009-11-16T08:40:00.008Z

Because I'm leaving Japan but returning on the same visa, I need a re-entry permit (再入国許可, sainyuukoku kyoka) otherwise the visa would automatically be cancelled when I leave the country and when I come back it would only be on a tourist visa. This is true for student visas and working holiday visas, and probably work visas as well.

In order to get the re-entry permit, I had to go to my closest Regional Immigration Bureau (入国管理局, nyuukoku kanrikyoku), which thankfully wasn't too far away, in Tachikawa (立川). Last year I went to the other one in Tokyo, which was in the middle of nowhere in Shinagawa. Every area in Japan will have one of these Immigration Bureaus, but unfortunately if you live outside of the major cities, you may have to travel quite far to get to one. It's lucky that Tokyo has two!

To apply for a re-entry permit you need:

- an application form (available at the Immigration Bureau)
- passport with your Japanese visa inside
- Alien Card (外国人登録証明書, gaikokujin tourokushoumeisho, or just gaikokujin tourokusho)
- a special stamp (available at convenience stores)
- fee (Y3,000 for single re-entry, or Y6,000 for multiple)

So this morning I spoke to Wynne, an American girl who's in my class at ICU, and also lives in the same guesthouse as I do, because she went through the re-entry permit process a few weeks ago.

I went to my local city office (市役所, shiyakusho) to get a map and then took the train to Tachikawa. Following the instuctions on the map they gave me, I took the bus from stand #12 of the North exit of Tachikawa station bound for (北町, Kita-machi) and went to the 多摩車検場前 (Tama Shakenjou-mae) stop. The automatic announcements for this stop were in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean, so obviously a lot of foreigners go there!

In order to get the re-entry permit you have to buy a special type of stamp from a convenience store. I found this very strange, but never mind, who am I to argue with the Japanese immigration laws! All the nearby shops seemed to sell the stamps, so I just went into one and asked for a 再入国許可のスタンプ (sainyuukoku kyoka no sutampu). I don't know if that was the correct way to ask in Japanese but they understood and asked if I wanted one for Y3,000 or Y6,000. The Y3,000 ones are for a single re-entry, which means you can leave Japan and come back once and continue using the same visa. The Y6,000 is for multiple re-entry, so you can leave and come back as many times as you want. This is the one I went for, because it's the same price as two singles, and I intend to go to China next year, and then if I go anywhere else I can do it without paying any extra money.

After buying the stamp, I asked the shop assistant where the Immigration Bureau was and she pointed me in the right direction. Once I was on that road it was clearly signed and only took about two minutes. It was quite a small building, with a foyer and a room to the right with a waiting area, a desk with three clerks serving people, and some tables with files of forms.

I took a form for re-entry permits and started to fill it in, when I realised that I should have taken a slip of paper from the ticket machine to lessen my waiting time. It took me a while to find the machine, but I knew there must be one because there was a screen with numbers being called. It turned out to be on the main desk, so I took one and I was 128, the number being served was 97. I finished filling out the form and sat down.

Two hours later I was served. I didn't mind the wait, because I know how frustrating bureaucracy can be, so I was patient.

The clerk asked to see my application form, passport, Alien Card and then asked me to affix the stamp to the form and sign it.

He then stuck a label in my passport, stapled a form into it and that was it. A whole two minutes! So it was quite an easy process, it just took a long time. I have to fill in the first section of the form stapled into my passport for when I leave Japan, and then the second section for when I return.

After getting the permit, I then walked back to the bus stop and waited for the bus back to Tachikawa station. Then a guy from Bangladesh started talking to me, because he said he recognised me from ICU! He was a graduate student and he had been in the Immigration Bureau getting a re-entry permit because he was returning home the same day as me! Our flights are 10 minutes apart and he's also getting a Limousine bus from Kichijoji on the same morning as me! We might be on the same bus, but I think I might be on the one before him. It was such a coincidence! Who knows, I might bump into him on Thursday!

When I got back I rang the Limousine bus company and officially reserved my ticket. It was my first phone conversation entirely in Japanese, and it was very scary! But I muddled through and, if I understood everything correctly, I have to go to Musashi Sakai before 2pm tomorrow and pick up the ticket. So I'll combine a trip to Higashi Koganei to pay my next month's rent tomorrow morning with picking it up.

And then on Wednesday I can check-in online in the morning, and then I'll cycle into ICU to use their printers and print my boarding pass. I'll also see if they have sorted out my work permit application so I can pick that up. Then in the afternoon I'll pack, and then get up at 5am on Thursday and fly back home!

It's all incredible! I really can't believe it's happening! I think the next post I write will be from Birmingham, probably when I wake up in my own bed, in my own room, in my own country! Wow, it's going to be amazing...

A Sudden Change in Plans!

2009-11-16T08:39:00.003Z

Well here's a big surprise!

My exams finished on Friday, and that started a two and a half week school holiday. I was really relieved to finally have my exams all out of the way.

Then I was talking to my parents on Skype on Saturday evening and they surprised me by saying that they were going to pay for a flight home for this break! As you can imagine, I was completely overwhelmed! I didn't think I'd be going home for ten months!

But now, the flight is booked and I'm going home on Thursday morning for 12 nights! I can't get my head around it... But I'm so excited! I'll see my family, and my home, and my friends, and I'll be sure to go back to Cadbury World and see people I used to work with. And it coincides with a trip to my grandparents' house in Wiltshire, and also our annual family trip to Norfolk where we meet up with my mum's side of the family.

It will be incredible - I can't wait!

So now I have three days to sort everything out and pack, and then on Thursday morning I'm getting up early and heading off to Narita Airport! How amazing is that!?

Very Busy Two Weeks

2009-11-05T12:51:00.002Z

This post is just a quick apology for the lack of updates over the last week and a half! After the ICU Festival last weekend, which was busy enough with all the Soul Run practices for the performance, I have entered a period of exam after exam after presentation. The end of term is next Friday, and the run-up is full to the brim with tests and various deadlines.

So I'm afraid I don't think I'll have the time to write up the happenings of the last two weeks until my break starts. I'm so looking forward to that two weeks off!

I will catch up soon!

Soul Run Performance & The ICU Festival

2009-11-01T12:49:00.031Z

Halloween weekend (31st Oct-1st Nov) was my University's festival (学際, gakusai), where we performed the heavily-rehearsed Soul Run dance.

Rob, Katy and I cycled in at lunchtime on the Saturday to get ready for the 3pm performance. We met the others at the gym and got changed into our happi (法被), the costumes for the dance. And we got hachimaki (鉢巻) headbands for the first time, and tied them ourselves, with a little bit of difficulty!

We then took all our things from the gym to one of the buildings near the stage, Shin D-kan. I was so nervous! I was terrified I was going to mess up in a really obvious way... We had half an hour to get even more scared, but the time passed quickly, and then we were lining up behind the stage, waiting for the act before us to finish.

I had invited one of my housemates from last year to come and watch, and he saw me waiting and wished me luck before going to join the audience.

Our leader (団長, danchou), a very cool guy called Rei, went out first and introduced us on the microphone to the crowd gathered on Ahoyama (あほ山), the name of one of the hills outside the main building (本館, honkan) in ICU.

He gave the signal for us to file out and take our places. As soon as I stepped out in front of everyone my mouth dried up completely. I was so nervous!

We found out places and took the first position. Rei took his place in front of us, and we all waited for his shout. And then we were off!

There are lots of videos of the performance on YouTube (unfortunately I don't have any). Here's one of them, but if you put "ICU Soul Run" into the search bar it comes up with several of them, including performances from previous years.

The following photos might give you an idea of what the dance was like... I'm the tall white guy closest to the camera in this top one.

I made a couple of timing errors, and one bigger mistake towards the end, but thankfully nobody noticed until Rob pointed it out (thanks Rob, haha), so hopefully it's not too obvious.

But I was so so happy to have accomplished that. We put in so much time and effort into that four minute performance! Towards the end of the seven weeks we were doing 8-10 hours a week after our lessons to try to make it look as smooth as possible.

And I was so pleased we did it! It was a similar feeling to when I finished the Midnight Walk across Tokyo a few weeks before.

And everyone was overjoyed to have done it!

After the performance, we congratulated each other and celebrated back in Shin D, before splitting up to enjoy the rest of the festival without worrying about the dance!

There were lots of stalls selling food and drink made by the students, and everything was organised and arranged by students. It was really amazing, how hard people worked to make everything happen. And it was the nicest atmosphere!

That evening we had an after party (お疲れ様パーティー, otsukaresama paatii) in Kichijoji. We went to an all you can eat and drink place and had a really nice time. Everyone was in the party mood, and framed photos and teddy bears were given to Rei, and three other members who are in their final year at ICU. The staff (幹部, kanbu) all worked incredibly hard towards the performance, and we owe them so much for everything.

It was Halloween night so there were some people out in costumes. As we were deciding who was going to karaoke, and who was going to a club in the centre, two small Japanese children came up trick or treating, and the boy found me hilarious, as I was wearing a Tigger hat with a tail. At least I hope it was the hat that he found so funny...

We went to karaoke and had a really nice evening, knowing that we'd done a good job.

We went back to ICU the next day as well, to see other performances, and soak up more of the fun atmosphere. The weather was lovely on both days, clear skies and around 20-25C. It was the warmest Halloween I'd ever experienced!

The taiko drumming was incredible, and the performers worked really really hard - you could see the amount of effort it took!

Rob and I watched Smooth Steppers, which is ICU's hip hop-style dance club. It has well over 50 members! The dances were all amazing, and I really enjoyed watching them. One of our friends, who's in my Japanese class, and also lives in our guesthouse, was performing, and she did incredibly well.

After Smooth Steppers, the performances were over, and it was time for us to watch the Closing Ceremony. It's usually held outside, but because there was a risk of rain, they held it in the auditorium.

This was where we would find out who won first, second and third prize for the performances. There were 40 performances in total that we could vote for. But I don't think the way the voting was done was very good, because people could only vote for who they wanted to win 5 minutes after the act. Which means that people can't see everything before deciding which was the best.

But, despite that, we had received a text saying that Soul Run was in the top three as the votes stood, without Smooth Steppers being counted, which it had never done before. So lots of us headed to watch, as there was a chance we would be asked to dance again.

The ceremony was very good, with lots of good acts - juggling and dancing, and things like that.

And then it was announced! Soul Run didn't make the top three! We were knocked off by Smooth Steppers in the end. But they did deserve it, they worked really really hard. But Soul Run still came fourth, which is the best they'd ever done! So that was definitely a good achievement.

It was a really nice weekend, and it made me really feel like I was part of the ICU community, and even more a part of Soul Run. I wish Leeds did something similar - I should suggest it!

Performance Tomorrow!

2009-10-30T14:18:00.002Z

Well, the last six weeks have zoomed by and the big Soul Run performance at the ICU Festival is tomorrow!

We're performing at 14.55 on the "Ahoyama stage", and some of our Japanese friends who we met in Leeds last year, and one of my housemates from last year, are coming to watch us.

I'm nowhere near perfect, but I'll do my best and give it my all!

Fingers crossed I don't make any stupid mistakes!

Re-Contracting

2009-10-27T14:03:00.004Z

Today Rob, Katy and I celebrated our two month anniversary of being in Japan by going to the head office of our guesthouse and paying our next month's rent.

But we also had to re-contract, because we have to give a month's notice before our contract with them ends if we want to extend the time we're staying in the guesthouse. We all went for another three months and signed the contracts again.

The months are going by quickly again! Just like last year, it seems like I keep coming back to pay more rent!

Hot Spring in Tokyo

2009-10-25T02:29:00.005Z

Rob, Katy and I were invited to go to Oedo Onsen Monogatari (大江戸温泉物語), which is a public hot spring bath, by two of our friends who were exchange students in Leeds last year, and of course we couldn't resist!

The difference between this onsen and others I'd been to (Hakone and Beppu) is that it has a large area separate to the baths that has been made to look like part of Tokyo, when it was called Edo (江戸) in the aptly named Edo period (江戸時代, edo jidai). It costs Y2,900 for an adult ticket, but when we went they had a discount for November, so it was less than Y2,000.

Oedo Onsen Monogatari is in Odaiba, the man-made island in Tokyo Bay, so it took quite a long time to get there from our guesthouse in Musashi Koganei.

The front was very impressive, and even though it was the evening, there were still a lot of people there, and some coach groups.

We put our shoes in the lockers provided, and then queued for the counter, where we were told what to do. We selected the traditional Japanese robes (yukata) we wanted to wear from another counter. They had eight choices of design for men and eight for women. Rob and I, being tall, went for extra large, and they fitted perfectly.

We then split into men and women and went into our separate changing rooms. We got completely naked for the first time, and put all our clothes into a locker. Wearing our yukata, we went out into the Edo-style town area, where even the ceiling looked like a clear night sky, and met up with the girls.

We had ramen and gyoza at tables in a pretend park, and watched a short performance by men dressed in very traditional clothing.

It felt very strange, wearing nothing but a silky robe, and I was a bit uptight as, although I'd been to onsen before, I'd never been with people I knew.

After dinner, we wandered around the town area and saw what there was.

After looking at the shops and stalls, and generally getting used to being with so many people with only a thin layer of material covering them, we headed through the door to the baths.

We split into girls and boys again, and went into another changing area, where we got two towels, one big and one small. And then it was time to take our friendships to the next level! We put the yukata in another locker with the big towel, and then, covering some choice parts of our anatomies with the small towels, entered the main bathing area. There were quite a lot of men in there, but there was plenty of space for us to bathe.

It was so lovely to be in a bath again! I miss baths in Japan, as usually I can only shower. But my aching muscles (I blame Soul Run) really needed relaxing!

We relaxed quite quickly into the whole "being naked" thing, and enjoyed the experience. We went to the outside bath as well, which was lovely because the water was so hot but the air was so cool. It even spotted rain, which was very nice!

We stayed for about 40 minutes, before we all got a bit too hot, and needed to relax in some normal temperatures for a while. So we got showered and changed back into our yukata, and then met the girls back in the main area. Some of them got ice cream, but it was very expensive so I chose not to indulge that once.

We went to a TV room, that had rows of reclining comfortable chairs and individual TV screens like on an aeroplane. I think we all nearly fell asleep!

We took some purikura (プリクラ) (cute photos that you can draw on and then print out) and then went back to the main area.

We got changed and then went back to the main reception, where we gave back everything we'd borrowed, and collected our shoes from the lockers.

I want to go again now! I think I'll have to save up though... Need to find another way to relieve muscle tension!

Mid-term Results

2009-10-24T07:36:00.004+01:00

I got my results for the writing mid-term exams I did last week back on Wednesday. There were three sections - kanji, grammar, and reading comprehension.

For both the kanji and reading sections I got 47/50, and for grammar I got 41.5/50. So that means I got 90.3% overall, which is just over the boundary for an A!

I never thought I'd get an A! With the grade boundaries being so much higher than in Britain, I'm just not used to aiming so high. But it was a very nice surprise! I was taken aback that the reading comprehension went as well as kanji, as I found it much more difficult than both of the other sections. Looks like I need to work harder on the grammar next time!

I also had a speaking test, but we've only had general feedback back from that, and not individual grades. I don't hold out any high hopes though. Writing is definitely my strong-point.

Tonight I'm going to an onsen (hot spring) on the other side of Tokyo, so I'll write a post about how it goes tomorrow!

Mid-term Exams

2009-10-17T08:11:00.005+01:00

This last week has been quite a busy one, with a lot of tests, and then mid-term exams on Thursday and Friday.

Mid-term exams are a bit of an alien concept to me, as they aren't as common in Britain as in other countries. Last year at Leeds Uni the Beginner class had some mid-term exams, but the Intermediate class only had end of term tests.

The tests were only worth about 18% of the overall grade for this term (all our homework, essays, speaking classes, mini-tests, worksheets and bigger exams count), but every little makes a difference. The one on Thursday consisted of three parts, kanji (Chinese character reading and writing), grammar, and reading comprehension, and then the one yesterday (Friday) was speaking.

I'd had one of the kanji, grammar and reading tests before, for lessons 1 and 2, and then this one was for lessons 3 and 4. On the first test I got a C, which doesn't sound very good in my books, but I got 79%, which is 1% off a B. The grading system is similar to the American one, so 90%+ is an A, 80% is B, 70% is C, 60% is a pass, and anything below 60% is a fail.

So, whereas in Britain 40% is a pass (although not a very good pass), I need to pass at least 60% of the module to continue to Level 6 next term. I was wondering why Britain's grade boundaries are lower, but apparently British exams are harder than American ones, so it balanced out in the end. If it didn't, everyone would be coming to Britain for easy degrees, which they're not!

But anyway, the first test went okay. Just like last time, kanji was the easiest section, and then grammar was okay, and reading comprehension was quite challenging. In the first test on lessons 1 and 2, I only got 2 kanji wrong out of 50, so I doubt I can do that well again!

And then, speaking... Speaking is my downfall. The test only lasted 7 minutes, but we had to read a section that the teacher randomly chose from one of the first four lessons of our textbook, J-501, and then answer questions about what we'd just read. We were tested on our fluency and how natural we sounded with intonation and pauses etc, and then knowledge, understanding and fluency in our answers. Fluency and I don't really mix, so I don't think I did very well at all! But we'll see. We get feedback from the speaking test in the middle of this coming week, and then the other results later on.

I was really tired last night after the test, and then Soul Run practice in the afternoon, but I went to Shibuya with Rob, Katy, and three other people from Leeds who go to Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, which is very near ICU. We had dinner in my favourite cheap restaurant in Shibuya, Kourakuen (幸楽園), and then went to karaoke. We always seem to go to the same restaurant and karaoke place! But they're cheap and we know they're good, so it's not a problem.

We did two hours of karaoke but I burned out about half an hour before the end. We walked back to the station, and then the others decided to stay out all night and go to a club or an izakaya (Japanese-style pub). But I knew I wouldn't last much longer, so I headed home. It seemed to take forever with no one to talk to! But I got back at about midnight and when I got into bed, I spent 12 hours there! I think I must have really needed a long rest.

So I've spent today just doing laundry, cleaning and vacuuming my room and organising my school folders. It's been so nice! Just to not have any plans and be able to relax. I did some food shopping, but because most of my clothes were in the wash I had to go in shorts and a T-shirt. I was worried it would be too cold, but it was just about right. The weather has cooled down now, vending machines are stocking hot drinks as well as cold now. There was a big storm two nights ago, which didn't help the speaking revision, but it was interesting that there was suddenly thunder, hail and rain for just a few minutes, and then it was gone. Quickest storm ever!

Tomorrow I'm going to continue with the relaxing and go and meet one of my Chinese housemates from last year who's studying at University near here. It'll be the first time I've seen him in over a year so I'm really looking forward to that!

Then on Monday it's back to the normal routine of classes. Better start learning the kanji for next week's test!

My First Japanese Club

2009-10-10T11:29:00.010+01:00

Last night I went to a nightclub in Roppongi (六本木) with Rob and another friend from Leeds called Matt. It was a very interesting experience, as it's only in the last year or so I've been to British clubs and bars (age being the issue, in Britain you have to be 18, and in Japan 20).

We went to the British pub we went to a couple of weeks ago in Kichijoji with Katy first, and then we headed off to Roppongi, and she went home as she had a lot of work to do the next day.

We took the Chuo line (中央線) to Shinjuku, where we changed to the Yamanote loop line (山手線), and changed to the Hibiya subway line (地下鉄日比谷線) at Ebisu. It was about 11.30pm and it was the last train (終電, shuuden) from Ebisu to Hiroo, which is only one stop, so we had to walk the last twenty minutes or so to Roppongi. As with any night out in Tokyo, once the last train has finished, you're stranded until the first train (初電, shoden) starts in the morning, which is usually about 4.30 or 5am. So there was no turning back for us! We didn't want to spend £70 on a taxi home!

In Ebisu station we met a couple of loud Australians, who were nice, but in Japan on a kind of party trip, and weren't really our sort of people. So we escaped being roped into going to a club with them by declining their offer of sharing a taxi.

We were looking for a particular club called 3.2.8 (さんにいっぱ) because Rob had been there with the friend he came to Japan with last year. He said it was really foreigner friendly, and it was easy to meet people and practise Japanese.

We rounded the corner onto Roppongi-doori and there it was! We'd passed it briefly on the Midnight Walk we did through Tokyo last weekend, but it was quite far out from the main area of Roppongi, where most foreigners go. It has to be said that Roppongi is not usually the place I would choose to go, due to the type of people it attracts, but I knew that the club didn't look like the kind of place they would go.

It was around midnight by the time we arrived, and I was already a little bit tired, but I knew I'd wake up once we were inside. We paid the Y2,500 (£16) to get in, which included two drinks, which were around Y800 (£5) each. It was expensive but we weren't going to find anywhere cheaper!

We got drinks and then sat down and watched the people. It was quite a bohemian atmosphere, and the people seemed like nice, relaxed types. The sound system was good, and there was a mix of 90s British rock, modern English dance, and Japanese music too, some of the songs I hadn't heard for years and years! But, in the middle of the evening, the music switched to quite low key reggae covers of pop songs from the 90s, which wasn't at all where it should have gone, it was the peak!

The highlight was definitely when the Japanese version of YMCA came on. Everyone was there doing the dance, and singing along with the Japanese lyrics. All I understood was "若い子" (Young man!)

I thought it was such a difference from British clubs to see the DJ smoking! (But he wasn't meant to see me taking this photo...)

The people there were mainly Japanese, and we were brought into a circle of frantically jumping Japanese guys early on, but they left at about 2am. Later on, quite a large group of Westerners came in and took photos of nearly every corner of the club before having a drink. There were also quite a few business men and women there too, some dancing, some just drinking. The average age was about 30 I think. We were definitely the youngest people there!

By 3.30 we were all quite tired, so we stopped dancing and sat at the bar chatting for a while. Just before 4 we decided to go to a family restaurant I'd seen as we walked from the station, Jonathans, and have a bite to eat. We were all falling asleep, but we got one of the first trains at around 5.30am and retraced our steps home.

The first trains are so strange! They're eeriely quite, and everyone on there is falling asleep, either because they'd been out all night, or have to be up early for something. Not what Tokyo trains should be like!

Needless to say, I slept very well when we got back to the guesthouse!

Typhoon Number 18

2009-10-08T07:46:00.010+01:00

The good news is, I survived the typhoon! But, it wasn't the experience it was built up to be. Tokyo didn't get the brunt of the force at all. In fact, this afternoon has been the nicest weather for nearly two weeks! I'm glad that nothing bad happened here, but looking at the news (the only thing on is weather report after weather report) there is quite a lot of devastation along the direct path of the typhoon.

I woke up this morning just before my alarm was set to go off at 8:30. I'm not sure what woke me, but the wind was blowing a gale, and there was a really odd constant shifting in light. I think the sun must have been going in and out of clouds because my room would be really bright one second, and then dark again straight away.

I turned my laptop on and the first thing I did was log onto ICU's website to see if the classes had been cancelled or not. They hadn't! I was really surprised, because there was a hurricane heading past Tokyo! But I got ready and checked the weather forecast and news over breakfast.

Here are the weather maps for this morning:

Just before we left, I heard on the news that several train line services, including the Chuo-line which serves ICU, were suspended. I'd heard that if the Chuo-line was cancelled, ICU would close for the day, but there was still no announcement on the website, so we left. It wasn't raining much, but it was very gloomy and windy.

Generally, the cycle into Uni went okay, but there were a couple of times when sudden gusts of wind blew us off balance.
We got to the campus, and found all the paths covered in leaves and branches that had been blown off the trees.

And when we got to one of the bike parks, look at the destruction!

I went to my classroom, and only about half the class had turned up. It was mostly people who live in dorms either on-campus or nearby, but anyone who needed to take the train hadn't made it in. I saw this uprooted tree from my seat near the window.

The wind interrupted the lesson a few times with its howling, but nothing untoward happened. After the classes, I went to meet Rob for lunch, and was really surprised to find that it was warm and sunny! Except for the occassional blast of wind, it was a really lovely day.

I then went to my Linguistics elective and Rob cycled home to open a bank account. At the start of the lesson, my teacher read out a message she'd received from the University to her phone. It said that lots of students wouldn't be able to make it in because of delays on the trains (one student in the class had been on the Chuo-line for 3 hours trying to get in) and teachers should make the lessons so anyone who couldn't make it could catch up easily. Not an easy request! But we went through the lecture and it was fine. The teacher did a very good job.

Then I cycled home, in the gorgeous sunshine, feeling much better as the clouds had gone!

Now, the typhoon has moved north of Tokyo towards Sendai.

It's predicted to continue to the north-east, leaving Japan's coast this evening. Here's the predicted course:

The Chuo-line re-opened regular service about half an hour ago, and before that it had been running only local trains, at a slower pace than normal. Most train lines in Tokyo are operating normally now.

But while things get back to normal for Tokyo, lots of areas in Japan are still suffering the aftermath of the storm.

Floods, landslides, gale force winds up to 123mph, and torrential rain have caused destruction in South-East Kyushu (九州), central Honshu (本州) and Tohoku (東北). At least two people have been killed, dozens injured, and thousands evacuated from rural areas. Even areas near Tokyo have been severely affected, with widespread flooding in Kanagawa prefecture (神奈川県) to the south, and Saitama (埼玉県) to the north. Tokyo has suffered damage from wind and rain, but was largely safe. There's more information in this news story.

It's still blustery outside now, but the sky is quite calm, and it's obvious the worst of the weather has moved past us. I'll keep watching the news to see if anything else happens, but I imagine the job now is for the government and locals to start clearing up the mess Typhoon Number 18 (or Typhoon Melor) left behind. As I cycled home I saw people sweeping debris and leaves up in the street outside their houses. People here really do know what to do in these situations.

There's still a month or so left of typhoon season, so Japan could be hit again, but it's more likely that South-East Asia will be much worse off. Even this typhoon just gone caused Typhoon Parma to remain virtually stationary near the Philippines, due to the Fujiwara effect. And to continue in a similar vein of natural disasters, a Magnitude 8 earthquake struck near Vanuatu in the South Pacific this morning, causing destruction and tsunami warnings in the area, but areas as far away as Japan won't be affected.

What a day! Despite the lack of roofs being blown off and Tokyo being inundated by five metres of water, it was a good experience to be in the middle of such a powerful force. I'm sure there will be many similar experiences to come! Still waiting for a big earthquake...

Typhoon Number 18 Approaches

2009-10-07T11:26:00.016+01:00

Japan's typhoon season is certainly living up to its name at the moment! The last week has been horrible weather, with wind and rain, and temperatures around 20C, when it was 26C the week before.

Typhoon Number 18 (台風18号), also known as Super Typhoon Melor, is the strongest storm of the year to hit Japan so far and is currently over Kyushu. Its path, unfortunately, follows the exact length of Japan, and is the first typhoon in two years to make landfall. At 3am tomorrow morning it is meant to hit Osaka and the Kansai area, then pass over Nagoya and Tokyo in the morning, and then keep travelling over northern Japan through the afternoon, finally reaching Hokkaido in two days, when it will keep going north-east over the Russian islands.

All we've seen on the news today is reports on its progress. It's actually worrying (as well as exciting for me as a weather enthusiast!) that it is being classed as the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane (the strongest being Category 5). This means that it will bring sustained winds of around 60 metres/second, or 140mph, and a storm surge (when sea level rises locally) of around 5 metres. Precipitation is meant to be between 200mm and 500mm, depending on the area of Japan. Tokyo is only meant to receive 200-250mm as it should have weakened to a Category 3 by then, but Tokyo will be on the strong side of the anti-clockwise spin, so could still receive some damage. Some further information about the typhoon here.

All flights from Kyushu airports have now been cancelled, and lots of delays are being forecast for airports across Japan. The biggest worry, it seems from the news, is that they are comparing the path of this typhoon to others, particularly Super Typhoon Vera in 1959, which killed nearly 5,000 and injured 38,921. It's scary!

I spent the last week following the progress on the news and on weather forecasts, hoping that we'd get tomorrow off from Uni! But now, I'd be really surprised if lessons were on. The likelihood is that overground, and some underground, trains will be cancelled and most businesses won't open. Because of that, and the lack of food in my freezer, I'm about to go up to the supermarket and get some food for tomorrow. It's not like emergency supplies (I'm not that paranoid!) but at the very least it won't be very pleasant to go shopping tomorrow, so I'll get my lunch and dinner in advance.

This is yet another reminder that nature in this part of the world is much more volatile than in Britain. But it makes life much more exciting!

Midnight Walk

2009-10-05T13:41:00.025+01:00

On Friday night I did the craziest thing I've possibly ever done, except for coming to Japan. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it, but I really wanted to try and give it my all.

Rob and I went on an all-night walk through central Tokyo with a group of 51 people from ICU. The route was Odaiba (the man-made island in Tokyo Bay) through the city centre to the ICU campus in the suburbs to the West.

First we met Chihoko and two of her friends in Musashi Sakai (where we saw one of our teachers!) and then went to Odaiba (お台場) by train for dinner.

We ate at a cheap Italian restaurant chain called Sizeriya (サイゼリヤ) and ate lots of energy food!

Then we met up with the rest of the group at about 9.15pm and paid our Y500 towards the breakfast they were providing back at ICU.

We left at 9.45 and started walking towards the bridge to the mainland (well, as mainland as you can get in Japan).

We took a slight detour from the more direct route and went to the bayside, where we could see the centre, including Tokyo Tower, and the bay with Rainbow Bridge. There were even some ships docked up!

We had our first break here, 90 minutes into the walk.

After the twenty minute break we continued up past Tsukishima, where I went for a job interview last winter, towards Tsukiji and Ginza. And we passed the Sumida River, that I used to live on!

We spotted Tokyo Tower again through the buildings.

When we got to Tsukiji (築地), where the famous fish market is, another of Chihoko's friends joined us. It was about midnight at that point.

We walked past Sushi Zanmai, where I ate twice last year! It was such a nostalgic walk! Every turn was another memory!

After Tsukiji, the route led us to Ginza (銀座), an expensive fashionable shopping district in Chuo-ku (中央区), which is the ward I lived in last year!

We walked right past the Kabukiza theatre (歌舞伎座), where I never went to see a traditional Japanese Kabuki play, but I definitely intend to this time!

We then crossed the second busiest pedestrian in the world, Ginza yon-choume (銀座四丁目). The Western-style building is a French department store called Printemps.

Here's a bit of nostalgia for British things!

How cute is this!?

It wouldn't be Japan without the random Shrines dotted around the city.

We then found ourselves right by Tokyo Tower! Well, "found ourselves" makes it sounds like it didn't take a lot of time, but it took over an hour.

We bought some food from a convenience store and sat down in Shiba Park (芝公園), which surrounds Tokyo Tower. It was about 1.30am and just before we sat down for our second break I felt really sick. A wave of tiredness hit me and I had to sit down and recover. I'm really weird and I do feel quite sick when I get tired, but I knew I had to move past it. I ate some onigiri (rice with fish in the middle wrapped in seaweed - they are my staple lunch at the moment) and drank some iced coffee. I realised that, although it was only 20C, it was quite sweaty and hard to breathe. Then I remembered I'd seen the weather forecast earlier that day - it was 98% humidity!

I felt better after eating and getting some caffeine inside me. We headed for Tokyo Tower, stopping at the toilets first.

We passed right past it, and I remembered visiting last year.

Random dog statues beneath it...

Apparently Tokyo Tower is in it's 50th year now!

The next area we walked through was Roppongi, the home of foreigners out for the evening, and many a sleazy bar and club, and non-sleazy ones too of course.

There was a woman dancing to Poker Face by Lady Gaga outside this bar. No regard for the 50 students staring at her in surprise!

The TGI's where I had my birthday dinner with my family last Spring! Awww!!

We passed Roppongi Hills, a huge shopping centre.

The next area we went to was Shibuya (渋谷). I was really desperate for the toilet, so I was really looking forward to the next break! We walked past this train that had closed for the night.

Shibuya was still busy with traffic, even though it was about 3am.

We didn't go to the famous Hachiko exit of Shibuya station, where the world's busiest pedestrian crossing is, but we passed nearby, on the other side of the train station. But of course, because the last train was about 1am, and the first ones start around 5am, the doors were all locked and the metal grates were down.

After the centre of Shibuya, we stopped in a small park, where there was a toilet! I'd never been so relieved to see a bug-infested public toilet!

A few people were wilting, and a couple fell asleep on the ground, but I was on my fifth iced coffee and felt okay. My legs and feet were starting to hurt quite a bit though! Rob and I had done Soul Run practice after Uni so we were tired and aching to begin with!

It was still really fun, despite the tiredness. I was speaking more Japanese than I had done since I arrived, and meeting the new people was nice.

After twenty minutes break, we got up and continued our, now trudging rather than walking, to Shinjuku to the north.

And then we made it! To Shinjuku! The big halfway point! It was about 3.45am and we were all pretty tired, but energised that we'd made it that far.

We sat down outside the station and relaxed for nearly half an hour.

The group leaders explained that the first Chuo line trains were at about 5am, so people could either wait for them to start, or could continue walking at their own pace to ICU. I had been feeling that I couldn't make it past Shinjuku earlier, as I was really tired and we'd already walked about 20km (12.5 miles). But I knew that I wanted to do it all, and have the experience of walking across Tokyo overnight.

Because we went with the Runners' Club, lots of them ran the last half to ICU. I thought that was madness! But one of them said that because running using different muscles to walking, it's actually a relief to run it.

So Rob, Chihoko and her friends, and I all set off at a little past 4am and followed the road out of the city centre, past the Skycraper District, towards the suburbs.

About an hour later the sun started to come up and we started seeing people (people who had slept!!) going to work or school, which I thought was crazy as it was Saturday morning.

It was about 6am, following the same one road to ICU, when we all started to really feel it. I felt sick and sweaty and tired. Some of our group were really flagging and were seriously considering going to the nearest station and giving up. And, honestly, so was I. I felt awful!

We stopped at McDonald's and I had a coffee. Chihoko nearly fell asleep on the table, and the only one of us who seemed to have energy was Rob. And I really think it would have been much more difficult to do it without Rob. He's like a bubbling pot of high spirits.

I thought about it seriously, but probably not that lucidly, and decided that the disappointment in myself if I gave up would be much worse than the physical pain of walking the final 11km (7 miles).

And the others seemed to feel the same. So we set off, not with new-found energy, but with new-found determination.

And it was really difficult. Maybe one of the most difficult things I've ever done! But I realised it was all in the mind. I knew I could do it, and my body would answer to my mind. (I know that sounds really weird, but I think it's the only way I actually managed it.)

We passed this cemetary about 3km along the road after McDonalds.

The cheerful chatter was long gone. There was only the occassional moan of pain or discomfort, or 殺してくれ (please kill me!) After 10 hours walking, we were all just focussed on making our feet move in a forwards direction.

When our guides eventually told us that we only had 3km (1.8 miles) to go, it was literally like music to our ears! We were so close! We continued with new enthusiasm. Which was then drowned by a downpour. I had my umbrella luckily, but Rob just had a thin coat and Chihoko just had a small towel. I shared my umbrella with her and we tried our best.

We were all pretty miserable then. Even Rob looked downcast and in pain. My feet suddenly started to hurt really badly. Just in that last half an hour. It was all I could do to keep them pounding the concrete.

And then, as the rain started to clear, we saw a sign to ICU! We all broke out in huge smiles, and would have ran if that wouldn't have resulted in ambulances being called.

But, curse ICU for being so nice, even once we were on campus, it took over 10 minutes to get to the right building. 10 minutes doesn't sound too long, but after 11 hours, it really is.

Oh, and then the relief! The relief! And the happiness! And the pride! My emotions were all over the place when we walked in and everyone clapped and gave us big bowls of hot soup. I was so happy. It was all worth it, just for that. To be able to say that we'd done it. We'd walked 40km (25 miles) in 11 hours overnight, and seen so much of central Tokyo as we did it. And for me, as a pretty non-sporty, non-physical person, it was a great achievement. I'll be proud of that for the rest of my life.

Rob and I got the train home, and promptly went to bed at about 10am. We woke up at 5pm or so, and went out for a celebratory dinner with Chihoko and her friend in Kichijoji. I couldn't believe we'd done it!

And actually, several days later, I still can't really believe it. But I know I'm happy about it. Really really happy.

They might do it again next year, and Rob's really keen to do it for a second time. I think I'll have to see...

JASSO Scholarships

2009-10-01T11:27:00.004+01:00

The JASSO Scholarship (Japan Student Services Organisation) is a grant (non-repayable) from the Japanese government given to students from foreign countries coming to study in Japan. You can apply for it through Japanese embassies or Universities. It was part of our application process for ICU last year to decide whether we wanted to be considered for it or not. Katy and I both applied for it, but Rob didn't. I think most people from Leeds did apply for it.

We were told it was going to be really difficult to get one, and at best only one person from Leeds per Japanese University would receive the Y80,000/month grant.

I didn't hold out much hope of getting it because my parents generally earn too much for me to be considered for financial support, but I thought there was no harm in trying.

I was refused financial support as I suspected, and Katy got the grant. I was really happy for her because she definitely deserved and needed it more than I did.

A select few of others from Leeds also got the grant and were told earlier this year. But then suddenly, about a month or two months ago, a lot more people started being offered the support out of the blue. It came to the point where about two thirds of everyone studying Japanese at Leeds had the scholarship. And it didn't seem to be based on financial background or academic performance! I was very confused.

But then, about a week ago, JASSO froze all its scholarships, claiming that it didn't have the funds to provide so much support. I thought this was really unfair to the people who worked really hard, and don't have the personal finance to fund their year in Japan by themselves. Katy is now waiting to see if she will receive the full Y80,000 for this month, or if it's been reduced, or even if she won't get it at all.

Some Universities, such as Kansai Gaidai, have been really helpful and have told the students left without JASSO support that they will give them the money from their own funding. Whether this actually happens, we'll have to wait and see.

But I do think it's ridiculous that JASSO made such a huge error. It seems that the best thing to do in this situation is apologise to the people who were told they'd receive it after the original few, and then just fund the people who got it in the first place. But, of course, it's not up to me! Maybe JASSO will find the money from somewhere and be able to keep its promise to all the students, but something tells me that might not happen!

Money Situation

2009-10-01T10:08:00.003+01:00

Two days ago I went through all of my bank accounts and the money that will be coming to me over the next year and made a budget.

I soon as I'd done it I regretted it! The news wasn't good... It looks like I can spend Y9,187 (about £60) every week I'm here and go home with nothing left. Actually, worse than nothing, because that amount includes my student overdraft, so I'd be returning with -£1,250. Not good!

I wanted to spend this year doing everything I could, and enjoying Japan to the full, but with money restrictions I won't be able to. This means I'll definitely have to get a job, and work quite a bit to fund myself! As I might not be able to work before I go back to University next year in the UK I can't afford to go back with less than nothing.

I think one of the reasons I'm going to have trouble is because of the awful exchange rate between the yen and the pound. Last year the pound was worth Y200, and sometimes even Y220, which was great! But since the world plummeted into recession, the rate is now about £1=Y150. It's probably the worst year I could have come to Japan! Because, no matter what Japanese people say, I don't think they're suffering like the West. Their currency is still one of the strongest in the world, like the pound used to be!

It makes living here much more expensive. I used to just divide everything by 200 to get the price in pounds, but now I have to do that, and then add a quarter back on, which is quite depressing!

Ahh well, I'll try to find a job (probably teaching English, maybe privately or at Gaba again if they're hiring) and start earning some yen. Time to tighten the purse strings!

My First Tsunami

2009-09-30T08:30:00.005+01:00

This morning I woke up at 8.30 for my first class, turned on the TV to help switch my brain on, and was confronted with a tsunami warning! That certainly helped me wake up!

The cause was a powerful earthquake (magnitude 8.3) near Samoa that happened during the early hours of this morning. The earthquake triggered tsunamis in various areas of the South Pacific, and the Asia-Pacific region (including China, Japan and South-East Asia) all had tsunami warnings.

On the news it said that the tsunami was likely to hit Japan at around noon, from Okinawa in the south, all the way up the Pacific coast to Hokkaido in the north. However, Tokyo is shielded from tsunamis by Chiba prefecture, which juts out at a convenient angle. The tsunami was only meant to be 50cm high, which would cause moderate damage at worse, so I wasn't at all worried about it.

When it actually hit the Japanese coast, it was more like 10cm, so there was no damage to speak of. I'm not sure about other places in the Asia-Pacific, but the South Pacific islands were devastated by 4.5m high waves and aftershocks. At the moment, over 80 people have been killed and thousands made homeless, mainly in Samoa and American Samoa.

It reminded me that this part of the world is much more volatile than Britain! I haven't felt any earthquakes this time yet, which I'm very surprised about, as there are lots here! There have even been earthquakes in Tokyo prefecture, but so small I didn't feel them. I'm just waiting until the first big one!

So I survived my first tsunami (津波), which is good!

If you're interested, here's the news story I got my information from.

And here's the Japan Meteorological Agency's website, which I use for weather, tsunami, earthquake and volcano information.

Career Option?

2009-09-28T13:56:00.005+01:00

I was struck earlier by a very random thought concerning what I could do with my life. I can't even remember why it popped into my head.

I wondered if I could combine two of my passions - Japanese and geography. If you've read a lot of this blog, or even just a little bit, then you've probably noticed that I love talking about the weather (that's not just because I'm British), and earthquakes, volcanoes etc. I find it all fascinating, especially here in Japan, in the centre of all of these natural disasters.

If it's possible, it would be great for me to work at like a Meteorological Agency (気象庁, kishouchou) or something here. But I suppose I would need a degree in Geography for that, which I might be able to do at a Japanese University after my degree at Leeds.

Of course, all of this depends on whether my Japanese actually gets good enough or not, and whether I decide I want to move away from the UK! It's just in the "idea stage" at the moment, but I'm finding myself leaning more towards the business side of things than the teaching side at the moment. I might go back and forth for quite a long time!

Anyway, getting a bit ahead of myself there... First of all, I need to get the results back from my test this morning, and do my Speaking homework!

One Month In

2009-09-27T02:37:00.003+01:00

How fast did that month go!? It's been quite a blur of registration for a variety of things, getting used to new places, meeting new people, and generally loving being back in Japan.

It doesn't feel at all like I've been here again for a month, but I suppose that was to be expected, with everything I've had to sort out.

I just read over the post I wrote when I'd been here for a month last year, and it's interesting to see the differences between then and now.

Last year I was much more preoccupied with thinking about if I would hit any walls that would make me want to run home, and worried about whether I could make it for the whole time I planned to be in Japan. But the main similarity is how quickly time goes! It will slow down as I settle into more of a routine, but only as I'm living it. I know that when I look back, time will have disappeared as quickly as this first month.

I'm really really enjoying being back in Tokyo, and can't wait to meet more of my friends, and see other places I haven't visited yet. It keeps hitting me in waves how happy I am to be back here.

There are of course stresses, like homesickness, which hits me occassionally, although not badly so I'm not worried about it. This last week has been a bit difficult though, and I've been really tired every day. I remember I went through a phase last year when I was exhausted every day and couldn't operate properly, so it might just be that again. Whether that's being away from home, or being in Japan, I'm not sure. But I am sure I'll get over it soon!

I'm enjoying Japanese life again, even the crowded trains home from Shinjuku, and the steep hill on the way to ICU which I cycle up every morning.

I still find it very hard to speak Japanese, as I'm still terrified of making mistakes (it's stupid, I know) but I'm getting better, and I know it's my biggest obstacle, so I can focus on working past it.

I have a big test tomorrow morning on all the kanji, vocabulary and grammar we've studied so far over the last three weeks so I'm revising for that, although it's difficult because I'm so tired! And then the next month looks to be quite busy with study, and hopefully some fun things too! I want to go somewhere for a weekend, maybe to the Hakone hot springs again, or maybe further afield to a place I haven't seen before like Matsumoto in the mountains. We'll see what happens!

Fumigation!

2009-09-26T04:04:00.002+01:00

After the three weeks of living in this guesthouse, I have noticed that it's quite a haven for bugs and insects of all descriptions.

My room has been okay and hasn't been invaded at all, but Katy and Wynne's rooms on the second floor (first floor for Britain) have been attacked a couple of times. The kitchen is the worst though. It's not very pleasant when you're cooking to see a small beetle or cockroach in the corner. Or, in last night's case - a giant grasshopper on the extractor fan!

But through the night the management have fumigated the kitchen and lounge area, so they were closed from 9pm til 9am this morning. It makes me feel a lot better!

Generally, Japan's insects are big and crazy looking. It's no surprise that Pokemon came from this country when they have jumping spiders, thrashing worms, huge preying mantises and cicadas, and colourful beetles that fly at you like warplanes. It's so different from Britain, and it's quite interesting to see them, but the novelty wears off after a little while, so I'm not sad to see them start to disappear now that autumn is underway!

National Health Insurance

2009-09-24T08:45:00.004+01:00

Last week I received a green envelope containing a letter about my Japanese National Health Insurance (国民健康保険, kokumin kenkou hoken) application. It had a small booklet that looked like a coupon booklet, with perforated sections.

I took it to my local post office to pay it and she explained that you could either pay it monthly, in one Y2,000, and then five Y1,000 installments, or pay the whole Y7,000 at once. I thought it would be better to get it all out of the way so I paid the full amount. She tore out all of the sections and stamped them, and then gave the remainder of the booklet back to me.

So hopefully that's all sorted and I'm insured by the Japanese government!

A couple of days after I paid for it another letter arrived by Registered Mail so I had to sign for it at my door (wrapped in a blanket!) Inside there was a card I had to peel off and put inside a plastic wallet, and I assume I have to carry that around with me. There was also another card made of paper that you can cut off a leaflet, and I'm not completely what it's for, but I've cut it out and will keep it with the other one.

Rob also got this letter, despite not having received the first one, so he hasn't paid for it yet. I assume that he wouldn't be able to receive the discount on medical care though, once they check the details. He's going to go back to the Health Insurance department of the City Hall and ask if there's been a problem.