Asakusa

Monday Brad and I decided to check out Asakusa. Asakusa is known for showing the more traditional sides of Japan than other areas. Therefore we saw a Buddhist temple, more people dressed in traditional Japanese clothes including the kimono, and some awesome souvenirs.

The souvenir street

 

Sake sets (apparently sake=alcohol here, I made that mistake when one of Chris's students asked me what I like to drink--it does not mean rice wine.)

Making traditional candy

Entrance to the temple

Pretty pagoda inside the temple

Buddha

Koi pond

Brad in front of the Shibaraku statue

The Rest of the Weekend

Sunday Brad and I decided to check out Harajuku. This is the fashion district of Tokyo including cheaper stores as well as high end boutiques. On Sundays some people will dress up and hang out on a bridge outside the station.

People dressed up on Jingu Bridge

After walking up and down Harajuku we headed across the bridge towards Meiji Shrine. It was crazy after being surrounded by buildings and concrete to suddenly be in a lush, green park after a 10 minute walk. Besides a building peaking over the trees every once in a while, you truly felt like you were in a completely different place. Meiji Shrine was the first shrine that we visited while in Japan so it was interesting to see the differences in the religious culture. Before entering a shrine, people wash their hands and mouths out, there's incense, money throwing, and prayers written down. Obviously its more complex than that but I'm not an expert...

Meiji Shrine

Torii gate found at the entrance to the Shrine

The ritual before entering the shrine

The wall of prayers

A part of Tokyo peaking over the trees

After visiting Meiji Shrine we headed towards Shibuya to meet up with Chris and his girlfriend Yoko. Shibuya is home of the busiest intersection in the world as well as more shopping... 

Brad and I watching the crowd at Starbucks.

Then we went to an area called Akihabara, known for being the technological district, a.k.a  a nerd's paradise. We went into several arcades, found plenty of Star Wars paraphernalia, tried some takoyaki (octopus balls), and headed back to Shibuya for dinner. Guess what we had? Mexican food! yum!

Brad and Chris playing Street Fighter IV

Brad with a Yoda backpack

Oh yeah, and then we went bowling. I would call that a busy day!

Our First Weekend in Tokyo

We had almost no time to recuperate from our interview and day of travel when Chris arrived home ready to hit the town.  We hopped on a train bound for Shibuya, the heart of Tokyo nightlife.  We brought with us a backpack full of clothes and toiletries, knowing we'd be out far later than midnight, the time most of the trains shut down for the night.  Just outside Shibuya Station, near the busiest intersection in the world, we met Chris' girlfriend Yoko and friend Matt.  We wound through the busy side streets of Shibuya, surrounded by buildings bursting with innumerable vibrant signs.  The combination of the darkened sky and the tall, glowing buildings creates the illusion that you are not actually outside, but rather in a cave decorated exclusively in neon.

Shibuya at night

We met another one of Chris' friends at a restaurant and had a quick bite to eat in order to prepare for the evening's main event: karaoke.  I must now make a very important distinction between Japanese karaoke and its sickly US cousin.  In Japan, karaoke is a popular activity enjoyed by many people.  It is a time to lose your inhibitions (alcohol helps), belt out some classic tunes, and build comradery.  We passed countless karaoke joints on the way to our destination.  Did I mention karaoke is big here?  We stopped at a convenience store to purchase drinks and were soon on our way.

Chris and me singing.  A Disney duet, most likely.

We signed up for a two hour session that quickly grew to four hours.  In Japan, parties book small, insulated karaoke rooms that are outfitted with all the equipment one could ever desire.  The night flew by as our group sang everything from Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from Disney's The Lion King.  I'm sure it wasn't the creators original intent, but Disney songs are the best karaoke songs.  The highlight of my night was singing "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast at the top of my lungs, joined by a room full of old and new friends, all of us at that special level of inebriation that renders all of life's problems insignificant.

Left to right: Matt, Jessica, Kathleen, Brad

Before we knew it, it was 4am.  We took a cab back to Matt's place in Meguro and hit the inflatable mattresses.  The next day didn't start 'til after noon (for obvious reasons), but I'll let Kathleen explain it in the next entry.

The Interview

It feels like Brad and I packed about 1 week into 2 days this last weekend. Sorry its taken so long to update!

First we had an interview in Gyoda City on Saturday morning so we had to get up early to leave by 7 to make our 11am interview. (The trains are convenient, but it still takes awhile.) The first part of the trip was no problem since we had started getting used to how the train stations worked and JR (the main train line) has English signs to help you out. However, the last leg of our journey to Gyoda City was with a different company that didn't have any English anywhere so luckily Brad knows some Japanese and was able to hold a broken English/Japanese conversation with one of the workers to get us where we needed to go. I would like to add that we were dressed up in our suits and nice shoes (flats for me!) and it was freezing and windy out! We tried to navigate our way through the city with the map that the interviewer gave us and ended up standing right outside of where we needed to go asking somebody for help and they had no idea where the school was. (Its actually a night school in a rented house and the sign was hidden by a door.) So we ended up wandering around to either find the school or a pay phone. We finally found a pay phone right about the time I thought I was going to lose my feet due to frost bite.

They took us back to where we were standing about 30 minutes earlier and one of the women conducting the interview said, "Oh, I saw you standing outside a little while ago. I thought you had just finished the interview". I should mention that these are all very nice people but it was definitely one of the most unorganized interviews I have ever been too. It went well though and we have been in contact with the recruiter and have a follow up interview on the 22nd with a board of education. This is a smaller recruiting school so they have to compete for contracts from boards of education with bigger recruiting companies, so they aren't sure how many teachers they need yet.

Brad and I are keeping in touch with them as well as pursuing other job positions as well. We had one Skype interview today, we have one tomorrow, and another interview next week. It seems that now that we have gotten all of our resume's out we're having trouble keeping up with all the emails from potential employers!

We made it back safely, but not before I stopped at a hundred yen store to by some socks for my feet! And I'm not sure if they warmed up until about midnight that night!

K

Quirky Differences

Japan is very similar, yet very different from the US.  One of the first things that Brad and I noticed when we got here is that everyone wears face masks. Yes, those surgical face masks that they ask you to wear at the doctor's office if you're coughing too much. I asked Chris about it and apparently part of the reason they wear it is to keep their faces warm when its cold outside. But then you still see people wearing them when its warmer out and indoors. I can see why people would wear them on the train, if their afraid of germs, but otherwise....I guess I just don't see the appeal. Maybe that will be my next invention...designer face masks instead of the ugly white ones. :)

       Here are some of the face masks available to buy at the store.

Secondly, Japan has awesome vending machines. Pretty much on every street corner (even in the neighborhoods) they have vending machines serving cold and HOT beverages. Yes, you can go out and get a hot bottled coffee down the street in the morning if you want. Mind you it is not Starbucks (they have those here too), but it is delicious and oh so convenient. I hardly ever get a beverage from a vending machine back home because its such a rip off but hey 120 yen for a 6 oz drink--yes please!

That is another thing. The serving sizes are much smaller here. When we go out to a restaurant you are served a glass of tea or water about a third of the size of what you get at a restaurant at home. And since servers only come to the table when you wave them over, they are never refilled. This has definitely been something to get used too. Also, we need to go invest in some handkerchiefs because restaurants typically do not have napkins on hand. This is not good especially when you're trying to get used to using chopsticks on such tricky things as noodles.  Plus, I'm trying to reverse everything my parents taught me about table manners because it is almost considered rude if you don't slurp your noodles. I was surprised how hard this was for me to do considering I had no problem ignoring my Dad's "keep your elbows off the table!" during my childhood. (I love you Dad!)

I'm also excited for my first car ride here. The driver's seat is on the right and they drive on the left side of the road. Brad and I have had an interesting time avoiding running into people at busy times during the day because we're so used to walking on the right when its opposite here.

Everyone here has been so friendly though. Like Brad posted before, we were able to meet some of Chris's students and definitely had a fun experience comparing the different cultures and practicing English and Japanese alike. Brad and I are looking forward to going out and exploring some new places in the upcoming days. We also have a couple interview set up for this weekend and early next week so wish us well! We'll keep you updated!

K

Our Second Day

Our second day began late as we tried to catch up on numerous hours of lost sleep.  We traveled with Chris to the train station close to his school and were treated to our first Japanese convenience store (called conbini in Japan).  We withdrew money at the international ATM and were charged a measly 1% of the withdrawal, a welcome realization.  In America, you are often charged four dollars or more to withdraw money from an ATM that is not owned by your bank, regardless of the amount being withdrawn.  We were charged five dollars to withdraw ¥50,000 (about $500) from the other side of the world.  Crazy.

Kathleen and I explored the neighborhood around Chris’ school while he taught his first class.  An hour later, we all went to a small sushi place close to Chris’ work.

It doesn’t get much fresher than this.

Kathleen and I returned home and took a much needed nap (I think I’ve finally adjusted to the time difference).  We then walked to the grocery store and searched for familiar products that did not require any preparation.  While I have studied Japanese and am comfortable with two of the three Japanese alphabets, the third and most complex of the alphabets is equally mixed in with the others.  We had no chance of understanding any instructions that did not include pictures.

We returned home and continued to send out resumes to potential employers.  Kathleen and I are both looking for jobs teaching English.  We have made progress and will hopefully be attending our first interviews in the next week.

We then traveled to Chris’ school to eat dinner with three of his students, Yuuta, Noriuki, and Kazue.  We went to a traditional restaurant and were treated to first-rate hospitality.  First we removed our shoes at a designated place so as not to track dirt into the dining area.  Chris’ students ordered us food and beer and we sat for hours discussing everything from simple hobbies to the complex ways we view each other’s country.  Chris’ students were able to practice their English in a very natural way and I was provided some much-needed help with my Japanese. 

Left to right: Noriuki, Yuuta, Chris, Kazue, Kathleen, and Brad

Kathleen and I were not allowed to pay for our meal, as the host-guest relationship is taken very seriously in Japan.  Chris and his students divided the check into four equal parts.  This is the norm in Japan when friends go out to eat and drink; food is ordered in large quantities and shared, and the check is split evenly.  This is a welcome custom as I cannot count the number of times I’ve been left to ensure our entire bill is paid in America only to see we are short a number of dollars because someone failed to add their bill correctly.

We parted ways at our respective stations, and Chris, Kathleen, and I headed home.  At the restaurant we made tentative plans to all go skiing at the end of February.  It is great to know I will see all of these wonderful people again soon.

My jetlag had me hoping for a low-key night at Chris’ apartment, but instead I was treated to one of the best nights of my life.  I’m happy I didn’t sleep through it.

Our First Day

We arrived at Narita International Airport after nearly 20 straight hours of travel.  We had a somewhat frightening experience at customs as the agent grilled us with questions:

Agent:  Where will you be staying?

Us:  With a friend in Akishima.

Agent:  What is the address?

Us:  We do not have his address.

Agent:  Why?

Us:  We never received it from him.  He is picking us up here at the airport.

Agent:  What is his phone number?

Us:  We don’t have his number.

Agent:  Why?

Us:  We don’t have phones that work here.

This continued for a few minutes with additional questions regarding our returning flight (we did not have proof of our outgoing flight within the 90 day limit of a visitor’s visa).  We were then asked to submit electronic fingerprints and photos – our first glimpse at this ultra-organized society.

In retrospect, it was very irresponsible for us to arrive without this information, something we had completely forgotten due to the daunting list of tasks leading up to a trip of this caliber.

Thankfully, we were let in without any delays, and after waiting no more than five minutes, we were greeted by our friend and host Chris Casey and his wonderful girlfriend Yoko.  While I had stayed in touch with Chris via E-mail and video chat, I had not seen him in over a year.  Chris has been our good friend for many years and would have been in the wedding party had he not been abroad at the time.  Chris wore a tan suit to work the day of our wedding, matching the color of the men’s’ suits and acting as an honorary usher on the other side of the world.

Our friend and host Chris with his girlfriend Yoko.  Chris and Yoko are both English teachers at the private English conversation school Aeon.

It was wonderful to see our friend again and receive travel help from his Japanese girlfriend through the complicated Tokyo train system.  Chris lives in Akishima, a suburb on the far west edge of Tokyo.  Narita International Airport is located on the far east edge of the city.  What is normally a two hour commute turned into a tedious stop-and-go as there was an unspecified accident on our train line.  Chris assured us of the situation’s rarity, stating one can usually bet their life on the Tokyo train schedule.  This long ride allowed me to indulge in a very popular activity on Japanese trains: sleeping.

We ended our long day of travel at a neat little restaurant close to Chris’s home.  The restaurant was set up like a buffet, offering the customer unlimited food for a two hour period.  We grabbed a myriad of raw meats and vegetables and brought them back to our fryer-equipped table.  We dunked the food in batter, covered it in breading, and were eating within minutes.  It was an incredible end to a very long day.

Kathleen and me with Chris’ girlfriend Yoko.

We walked back to Chris’ apartment in the snow, something rarely seen in Tokyo.   After a short tour of the apartment, we quickly crashed on a mountain of futons (Japanese futons, very different from their American counterparts), a fitting end to our 30 hour day.