Week 2 revelations

Hey again all! Happy pre-Halloween! Ed won the Brownie point last week, Go Ed! Brownie point total plus one. This week saw a lot of work on my part, studying Japanese, applying for jobs and whatnot. And I was looking forward to a bit of unwinding this weekend with seeing how Shibuya handles Halloween, but LOOK AT THIS NONSENSE!

Now, some of you remember that during my last trip to Japan, my trip to Mt Fuji was interrupted by a category 4 typhoon. You know, I don't know how often Japan experiences category 4 typhoons, but I'm starting to think they're a dime a dozen around here! Whine whine, gripe gripe. Anyway, I figure there will be other party opportunities where I don't have to brave high winds and blasting rain, so I'm just gonna batten down the hatches tonight and chill with some friends I've made in the apartment complex. Boring, but temporarily necessary.

Here's some eye candy of just standard sights on the streets of Tokyo.

The weather's been pretty cruddy lately - October is the rainy season, as the cold fronts move in from out of China. So the grayness you see in these photos is, yeah, pretty indicative. Kind of oppressive, really. I have visited Shinjuku pretty regularly this week, though, so that's been a good time. Shinjuku station is still obscenely full of people. They didn't change that.

Outside Ikebukuro station - I guess if you've seen one glowing, psychadelic electro-canyon, you've kind of seen them all.

Update on the job hunt - no, still haven't been contacted back. I've applied for all the jobs in Japan with American companies that I can find, and even finding a place to apply for jobs on websites of Japanese companies is not often feasible. I figure my odds of finding a job here is pretty slim at this point. However, I've kind of contemplated on my situation this week, and made a discovery. I'm not at all sure that I want to work in Japan anymore. Sad but true. The little things about this country really get to you after a while, and life is really quite a bit more difficult when all is said and done. And that's for a native, that's not even considering how much more work I would need to do to solidify the language, and build up a reputation for myself, which is hard for a foreigner. And the daily conveniences of America are not to be sneezed at. It really is amazing how much you take a clothes dryer for granted until it's gone. And in civilized countries, you only have to MAKE the bed, not disassemble the stupid thing and put all the pieces in a closet every day. Bottom line, being in Japan is fun, but life in Japan is kind of a struggle, especially for a Gaijin. And I compare that with the kind of life I could have in the States after I get a masters degree, and the two really don't compare. So... I guess what I'm saying is that for now I've decided to stop applying for jobs. I've already applied to several, and some of them looked promising - if I actually hear back from one, then I'll do a re-appraisal of my situation. It's also entirely possible that I'm just frustrated from a period of re-acclimitization, and it's all uphill from here, but at the moment, I'm just that. Frustrated. So I'm'a say forget it with the job hunt for a few days, and just go HAVE FUN IN TOKYO! I know, what a crazy idea.

Starting tomorrow. Tonight, weathering the storm.

First week - being a social butterfly

Hey all! So it's been an eventful first week here, just trying to get things in order so far. Haven't done much sightseeing, but thanks to Sakura House, the company I'm renting an apartment from, there have been plenty of social gatherings to go to! It's been an interesting ride coming back on to the culture after three years away and ten months since I looked at the language, but I'm surprised at how much things are coming back after only a week here. I'm feeling more comfortable already. Now, on to the photos! Kind of a sparse batch, but there will be more.

The view from my apartment balcony

Down the street

Party in Ikebukuro two days after I got there - met a lot of good people. Sakura House throws get-togethers very regularly to make their tenants feel more at home, and it's very much appreciated. It's fun meeting some of the locals and people from far-flung areas of the world in one setting. So far, I've met people from Washington state, Missouri, Sweden, Norway, England, Spain (lots of Spaniards for some reason), Italy, Austria, and of course Japan. Lots and lots from Japan.

Same party, fun times

An apartment party on Friday - the company paid for all the drinks, as well as the food at the Pan-Asian restaurant we went out to that evening. Gotta love that Asahi Super Dry, tastes even better when it's free.

At the restaurant

Some of the neighbors - Jordi and Carol, brother and sister from Spain, and Remy from Norway. Backdrop is a little nightclub strip in Shinjuku.

Intimate party at the Sakura Hotel Jimbocho this evening. Paul from England hates having his photo taken for some reason. Maybe it's the soul-stealing thing. The other three are Ayako, Sabina, and Brigitte, the latter two from Austria.

Well, as I say, I haven't been sightseeing much, and I always feel kind of strange taking photos just walking down the street by myself. I promise to conquer that weirdness this next week, though. Lots of environment photos coming!

Just for fun: Here's the layout of the Tokyo Metro subway lines. Exercise - plan a route from Shin-egota to Jimbocho.

Here's a hint: Shin-egota is on the Oedo line, and Jimbocho is on the Shinjuku line. First correct answer gets a brownie point.

Location in Tokyo

Hi all! Just a quick post to let you know where I am. Haven't had much time for going around taking photos - been too busy getting things in order. Hopefully I'll get to that before long. For now, though, here's maps showing where I am to the unititiated. Click on the photos to get more detail.

That should give a good general idea. Google maps lets you zoom in on street level, too, if you want a sneak preview of photos. :-)

Met a couple of the neighbors last night, they seem to be good guys. Andrew from Washington state, and Remy from Norway. Tonight, I'm attending a get-together for Sakura house residents city-wide, should be pretty cool. Making connections!

I hope to post again soon. Good times so far!

Safe arrival!

Well, I made it here alive! Thanks for all your support, everyone who helped get me this far. It has been a chaotic few days, which has certainly NOT been helped by my arrival here so far. Wow, I'd forgotten all the booby traps that this country could lay for the unsuspecting foreigner. On getting in yesterday afternoon, all I wanted to do was to check in at the headquarters, take a shower, and sleep for about 12 hours. All three of those activities have met with tremendous resistance. Finding a place to withdraw additional money from a foreign bank account at 8:00 in the evening was a challenge. So was trying to figure out my gas water heater - that one actually defeated me. Cold shower for Caffery last night. And now, my body's not even letting me sleep. Stupid internal clock. Anyway, though, despite my griping, I'm here and glad to be here! Today, hopefully I can purchase some more things for the house (if Bank of America doesn't decide to freeze my account due to unfamiliar location) and meet some of the neighbors. I'll start when it's not 3:10 in the morning anymore. Resuming attempts to sleep now.