So, I think by accident, I just dodged the NHK man. I heard my buzzer ring, there was a Japanese man on the screen (my door buzzer had a video screen,) he said something about NHK, I said I didn't speak much Japanese, He hung up. Very weird.

Traffic on the main drag in Akihabara (at about 3:00pm) 

So, say you're parked on top... and want to get out... 

This is a Japanese parking garage. It operates like a tie rack, but vertical, with cars. This one has 2 stacks of cars. I doubt there are many Hummers parked in there... 

See the little cars at the bottom? This place is BIG. 

Coolest. Street. Ever. 

There aren't dancers in front of computer stores back home... 

This is a very inside thing, but for you LANheads out there: Look what I found in a game store. You couldn't buy it in Kalamazoo (last time I was there.) But here in Tokyo, Japan... I think this is proof there is a LAN scene here. Now to find it... 

There is a key on my keyboard which I must not touch. Actually there are four of them. More on that later. Today's plan was to sleep late, Catch a train to Akihabara, walk to Ginza, shop a while, then go home. I got as far as step two.

I've gotten used to being shocked and amuzed by many of the things I see on a regular basis. Most things don't really phase me too much any more, but Akihabara was totally different from anything I've ever seen before. I have to say, if I had to pick one place to live and work for the rest of my life right now, I'd say Akihabara without pause.

I got off the train and exited the station through the "electric town" exit. Reading the sign I though "Hmmm, electric town, microwaves and radios, maybe some TVs." And yes, there were those things. I was met at the exit be two flyer-handing-out-poeple who actually say "hello" but I brushed them off with the same force I brush off normal flyer-people without finding out what they were hawking.

I started walking in the area around the station to get a feel for the area. I found a couple video game shops right away. I'd normally be more interested in these stores, but my game system can't play Japanese games (well, one of them can... but I digress.) The next thing I found was a store I had seen on TV. I gathered from the TV spots that it's relitively new. What it turned out to be was a Best Buy on crack. Not just a little crack though, we're talking hollywood bender ammounts here. Imagine a Best Buy floor plan, now multiply by 8, and stack them on top of each other and you get the jist of it. I wandered around inside for a while going from floor to floor. Each floor has a different department (Computers, Periferals, Home Goods, Books, Toys, Golf (!?)) After I decided I'd seen all there was to see, I wandered back past the train station towards what turned out to be the main drag. On the way I spotted a shop labeled "Hobby Shop" and ducked (haha) inside. Inside I found the types os things you find from Japan in comic shops in the States. (An aside, wow, the import toy market has a huuuuuuuuuge markup.) I wasn't too enthused by the selection until I spotted a little door in the back. Behind the door was a set of stairs. Up ther stairs, were 3 more floors of store! I could do some real damage to my budget in on of these stores. As I walked around some more I found many many more "Hobby Shops" around. I call them "Hobby Shops" and not "Toy Stores" because the customers were mostly my age and older (See, I'm not strange... in this country... well except not being Japanese...)

After being totally awestruck by the coolness of the shops I had been in I stopped for lunch. Then I decided to hop of the beaten path and ducked down a side street. Oh... WOW... was THAT a good idea... I first saw a little used computer shop. I ducked in (yes, laugh it up) and browsed there little selection. Departing I wandered around a corner into HEAVEN. There' litterally no other way to discribe it. A quarter mile+, 3 blocks wide, 2+ stories tall. All computer shops. Every imagenable part evermade for any computer could be bought here. There were moniter shops, keyboard shops, CPU ans memory shops. New computer shops and 2nd hand shops. I walked up and down the streets for at least 4 hours. I was completely blown away. There is nothing in the States that even compares to this place. After stopping in pertty much every store to see what they had, I found a second had IBM ThinkPad for $100 in the back of one and it called my name. Which brings me back to 4 keys which must not be touched. It's a Japanese laptop with a Japanese keyboard and Japanese OS. Which means it has "Kana" keys which change the input from "Roman" to Japanese. It's kind of tricky to switch it back...

Even tough I only got half of what I planned to do today done I had a REALLY good time doing it. I definately need to go back to Akihabara at some point. I have my first Kendo practice tomorrow morning so I should rest up (I walked a lot today.)

Ja Mata Ne.

Ah, a three day weekend. Is there anything better? How about a three day weekend followed by a three day work week and another three day weekend? I'm liking this country more and more.

To top it off, fridays are my short days. I don't have a second afternoon class so I leave school about 2:30pm and can take a less crowded train home. Usually I have class til' 4:00 which means I don't get home til' after 5:00.

Backtracking, in addition to my language classes, including conversation class and kanji class, I have "JLSP" class every day. I mentioned it earlier as "Japanese Mind" class. We have a different lecturer every day. I haven't has the monday session yet (due to opening ceremonies this past monday), Tuesday is Japanese film, Wednesday our teacher was sick, Thurday is Japanese traditions and culture, Friday it seems in Japanese literature. To my great joy, the first book/movie combo we're discussing in Rashomon (a Kurasawa film).

Reading a recent comment (I'll reply soon, I promise!) I decided to go check out the local liquor store. I had heard rumors around school that the liquor (and beer) here were quite expensive. I found it to be quite the opposite. The prices on imported liquors were quite comparable to those in the states (a fifth on Smirnoff costs roughly $12.50). Not to say that everything was cheap however, as I found several $50.00 bottles of Sake and a $20.00 bottle of Johnney Walker Black. Much to my dismay however, I could not for the life of me find any rum. The one liquor I was really looking for and the liquor store (and two local grocery stores) didn't have it. I didn't have my dictionary on me so I couldn't ask if they had it in the back. Oh well, I guess it's straight soda for me.

Also, Sparks has updated his blog! Read of his adventures!

Ja Mata Ne.

Some of the students had a cooking party last night which I went to. It was a lot of fun and I got to learn more about some of my fellow students. For example, some of the Finnish guys and the Swedish guy said that people in Northern European countries value silence as a form of communication. For example, in some parts Sweden a short whistling inhale replaces "yes" in conversation. He said when he hangs out with his friends at home they won't say anything for hours except maybe "I think it's time to eat" which is replied to by "ffft." And here I thought I was only going to learn about Japan.

I had my first "MOS Burger" today. MOS Burger is kind of the Japanese equivalent to maybe Wendys (which they have here too.) The burger was really good. It was kind of like sloppy joe on top of a hamburger... Their fries were really good to.

This just into the good news department (the good news department has been so busy recently.) It seems I will be able to take a Kendo class while I'm here. It's not actually through the University, but rather one of the professor's personal group. The gym where they practice is evidently kind of far away from my apartment, but that's not really an issue thanks to the trains. The group meets twice a week, Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. I can't wait. It sounds like it'll be a great learning experience.

Well, one more day til' the weekend. I'd better get to bed.

Ja Mata Ne.

Before I start I would like to thank, you, my readers for your support. It is nice to know that even though I came here by myself, I am not alone.

Alright, as promised, here's a couple of things I've been meaning to talk about, but that didn't really fit in any other posts.

There's a fun game to play with the many vending machines previously mentioned. It's called "find the cheapest one." It's really weird, 2 machines selling the same thing 20 feet from each other can vary in price as much as 50yen (~50cents.)

I wondered about some of the grammar we learned back in the states... we learned a lot about the weather and were told that that's what Japanese people make small talk about. It's true, even I can make small talk with people on the street using a phrase which was VARY weird when I learned it. "mushi-atsui da na~" or "it's hot and humid eh?" No one disagrees.

There are really too many little intricacies of train travel to cover in a simple blog. There are books worth of little things to write about. Some of the more interesting that I haven't talked about would be: When the train gets so full someone gets stuck in the door, the conductor comes by and shoves the half-in half-out person into the train. Also, maybe it's a metro-commuter thing, but people seem to like to sleep on the train. Standing, sitting it doesn't matter. They pop awake at their stop and get off. Perhaps the coolest thing is that everyone queues for the train. They know exactly where the it'll stop and make 2 lines while they wait. When the train arrives, the lines split into a "V" to let people off, then the new passengers get on. It really makes sense.

Everything in Japan is "small" compared to in America with one exception. The doors are smaller, the cups are smaller, the electronics are smaller. The one thing that's not smaller is the food portions. Ther'ye huge! Even the cheap ramen shacks give you a tub of ramen. And, my oh my, if you don't finish your meal... the looks you get. I think that's a custom thing though. Not finishing a meal means you found something wrong with the food, not that you were served enough to feed a medium sized developing nation. Also worth noting is that at most non-fast food restaurants you pay first, get a ticket which you give to a waiter who gives it to the cook who makes your food. Some places have ticket machines where you put in your money, press a button, and it spits out a ticket for your order.

Chalk it up to more ethnocentracism (thinking one's country is better than any other) but I expected to see a lot more American tourists. It's not that I haven't seen any tourist, but they're all German. Also, I expected more Americans at school, but I'm one of 2 (an the other's here from Cambridge.) I'd say 3/4 of the students are German, 1/12 Finnish, 1/12 British, There's a Swedish guy, a Russian girl, and us.

Another broken preconception about Japan: Everyone smokes. Thank goodness this is not the truth, although there are a lot of smokers, there's a ban on smoking outside in public. You can smoke in the McD's, and some other places have smoking rooms (not like in the US, they're actually like little floor to ceiling booths.) There are cigarette vending machines here and there which I assume work on the honor system.

Something I never even thought about before I came: The sunrise/sunset times. This is "the land of the rising sun," but come on! It's bright out at 5am and it's September! Also, if it's going to be light so early it could at least be light late too, but no! It gets dark about 6pm. I don't pay much attention to it, but I think when I left the states it was daylight savings time... I think that explains why this is so weird... No tampering with time every 6 months here.

I haven't been pointed to and called weird yet. Either everyone has seen a 2 meter tall white guy before, or I don't know what, maybe they're just being polite (very Japanese thing to do.) A couple of times I've seen kids with their parents look at me and then look at their parents as if they'll explain who/what I am. A skill Japanese people learn as they get older is to hide their true feelings (so as to not inconvenience anyone else.) But kids who haven't yet learned this are really cute in their blatant curiosity.

Something I noticed in Narita airport was this bumpy strip on the floor. After a while of looking at it I decided it was to help blind people find their way around. Sure enough, every public street, building, train station, has these strips. Even on the train platforms and in the University's main building. It was funny in the airport though, because all the wheeled luggage got tripped up in the strip.

Things I haven't seen a lot of: (okay I don't see many in the states either, but...) Blind people, for all the bumpy strips I've only seen 1 blind person. Deaf people, I've seen one group, which made me realize that sign language is international and, had I known it, I could have conversed. Women in Kimonos, I've seen 2 in the "home alter decoration" part of one of the department stores. Foreigners, as mentioned above even fewer Americans.

I have to say, Tokyo really isn't as expensive as it's chalked up to be. I'm living quite comfortably right now and it's really not that bad. I suppose, of course, if you stay in a western style hotel and eat Western style food all the time it could get quite pricey. And, I'm not saying you can't spend ridiculous amounts of money very simply. But if you go native, and being in Rome, do as the Romans. You can have your deluxe instant ramen bowl and eat it too. (note: plastic instant ramen bowls may not be edible.)

Japanese spiders are very friendly and kind of cute. I really don't like bugs, but I'm told these little fellas are quite harmless. Also, a Japanese friend told me something this morning about "Don't kill a spider in the morning, but it's okay in the evening." I'm not sure I heard her right or if that's what she said. Kinda weird.

Along with the "hide emotion" skill the Japanese have. Another thing I assume they learn in high school is how to disappear from a room like a ninja. It's amazing, you can be talking to some one moment, look away for a split second, an they're gone! Then as you look around to see where they went... Poof! They're back in front of you, with something they want to show you of something. Amazing, I wonder if they teach that as a extra-curricular at this University...

Sorry I didn't get to respond to comments and questions, maybe in my next post though...

The classroom where most of my language classes take place. 

Big update coming. Again, not that there's a lot to write home about, but there are some small things I haven't mentioned yet. I'll also respond to all the questions and comments everyone has posted. Look for it tonight or tomorrow morning (your time.)

Ja Mata Ne.

Not much to report today. It looks like, in general, during the week there won't be too much to report.

I had an awesome bowl of ramen in a shop down the street from the school. Shop made ramen it totally different from the plastic package stuff. For one thing, you get a LOT of soup for not a lot of money.

This afternoon I had my first "Japanese Mind" class. Looks like it'll be pretty cool. The teacher says he's sort of been forced to teach it because he's the vice-dean of the international school. He kind of wandered in lecturing today, but he has some interesting ideas about culture (culture linked to food.) This appears to be the class I read about where we learn about Japanese culture by watching Japanese movies (including some anime.)

After "Japanese Mind" I had my first Kanji class. Let's just say this... I should have studied my kanji harder while I was in the states... It'll be okay though, everyone in my class is at about the same level (of learning and practice.)

A theme seems to have developed among my teachers. The phrase "mainichi takusan shukudai ga aru" everyday you will have lots of homework.

On the way home I stopped off in Shinjuku to see if I could find a descent drinking glass. Before you go "Oh my, he's gone native and began to drink heavily" let me explain. My apartment came with some basic kitchen/dining supplies which included one coffee cup. Now, it's a very nice cup, but kind of small (compared to what I'm used to.) So, I went looking for a bigger cup... well, as I feared, I couldn't find one (at a reasonable price/in a reasonable style) I just wanted a tall glass/plastic cup to pour green tea of soda in. I had to settle for a "medium" glass which set me back $5.00. I guess it sort of grocked on my that I've never shopped for table ware before.

Lucky me I don't have to be at class until 1:00pm tomorrow, so I can party-harty tonight. (every language class meets 4 days a week in the morning, once in the afternoon.)

Ja Mata Ne.

After posting this morning’s post I showered, had some breakfast, and headed for the train. The train was a trip (“trip” as in funny, see below.) I stopped at the Starbucks in Ichigaya station (the school stop) and got a (better than before) cup of hot chocolate. The morning’s class (Japanese language) went well. I tracked what was going on which abated my greatest fear (not knowing what the heck was going on.) After a quick lunch I had a chat with one of the other students in my morning class. We commiserated about things in class and things we liked/didn’t like about Tokyo. At 12:45 all the JLSP student gathered in the student lounge and walked together to the main Nihon Daigaku building for the “Opening Ceremony” (that must have been a sight to see, a group of foreigners walking in a pack down the street.) Once inside we were seated in some sort of order in front of a podium. A few teachers as well as some other people filed in and sat up by the podium. The director of the international division (I think) stood up and gave a speech in both Japanese and in English (I followed in Japanese, but the English clarified.) After, the teachers and staff of the international division stood and introduced themselves. Lastly the students were asked to stand, introduce themselves, and that university they were from. After the ceremony I walked back to the Annex building (where classes are held) and sat in the student lounge (and wrote this.)

Some things learned/noted today:
1.) Riding the trains during rush hour is totally different than during non-peak hours on the weekends. It’s not for the feint of heart or the claustrophobic. The closest thing I can compare it to is a mosh pit. The train pulls up to the station and you think “Awe ****, the trains’ full, no one else could possibly get on.” But no! Everyone on the platform piles in! Like sardines piling in a tin. The odd thing though is that once in the train store everyone’s quiet. You’d think several hundred people in a confined space would make some noise but it’s really quite silent.

2.) As noted before, there’s an ordinance against pan-handling, however it doesn’t prohibit giving things away. So, one of the common sights on street corners are people handing out flyers for various things. Most people pass by without taking one (as you might expect an American to pass on something a random person was handing out on the street.) Sometimes people even pass out samples of things, though the only one I’ve seen so far is sponges.

3.) Everyone has an iPod and a Cell phone. Okay, I was going to elaborate on this, but I guess it’s pretty self explanatory. Okay, the homeless don’t… well, not all of them…

Ja Mata Ne.

*I know it may seem I come off a little ethnocentric, but really it’s just the culture shock talking. I’m really a nice guy… really.

Lake in Ueno park. 

Outer shrine gate in Ueno park. There are several shrines in Ueno, this one is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyesu (the first Tokugawa emperor) I think. Not sure though. 

Close up of one of the stone lanterns os the path to the shrine. 

Path to shrine with lanterns. 

OMG CAT! (sorry, inside joke) 

Me, reflected in a big shinny ball at the metropolitan art museum. 

Shinkansen! Bullet train! 

Shinjuku from the top floor of the Timesquare Mall. 

Shinjuku from one of the station exits. Seen here, some deparment stores. 

Rewinding 36 hours: I was about to go to the grocery store...

Actually my trip to the grocery store was fairly un-eventful. The store was pretty much like an American grocery store, but with a bigger meat freezer with more fish and more sushi preparing stuff. Also (cheer!) there's a whole aisle and a half of ramen! I picked up some basics like rice, cooking oil, and some jam for the English muffins I have from my first night. After I got home I had a light dinner, made a phone call*, watched some TV, and went to bed.

*Re phone call: I figured out how to call Sparks (Andy for those of you in the know.) He's doing well it seems. He wishes he could update his blog, but it seems he's been stricken with no internet. However he assures me that this will be resolved soon, or so he hopes.

My sleep schedule is still a little screwy, so I woke up early yesterday (Sunday.) As noted in my last post, I decided to go to Ueno park. After a quick shower and some breakfast I headed for the train. I took the local train to Shinjuku station and, after a few minutes of staring blankly at the train map, figured out which line I needed to take. I used the automated ticket machine (which, like the ATM's in the bank/post office has an "English Menu" button,) got my ticket, and headed for the platform.

The trip from Shinjuku to Ueno stations took about a half an hour, during which time I sort of realized/remembered that I love riding commuter trains... a lot. It's really a lot of fun. You get so see all sorts of people and places, all while sitting down. What could be better? I also realized how well Tokyo's mass transit system functions. I have yet to see a train be late. There are trains that come about every 4 minutes (during "rush hours".) And, pretty much anywhere you want to go, there's a train that'll get you within a couple blocks of there. Really amazing...

Digressing, I got off at Ueno station and figured out which exit to take to get to Ueno park. I my search, I found the main terminal for the Shin-kan-sen (bullet train) which will be important later. After some searching, I found an exit at which I saw green and decided that was probably the one for me.

The first thing you notice about Ueno park is that it's really green. Maybe it's just me coming from a place where I have trees in my front and back... I have a yard! But seeing large green spaces in Tokyo is, well, eye catching. The second thing you notice about Ueno Park is the large number of homeless people. I had heard that Tokyo had a large homeless population, but up to this point I had yet to see any (I had also heard that they congregated in Ueno Park which seems to be true.) It was weird though, due to a city ordinance against it, I wasn't once pan-handled. The ordinance says you need a permit to pan-handle, and the city generally only hands out permits to Buddhist monks (who aren't allowed to work for money due to their religious vows.) I saw a few monks around the park, dressed in traditional attire. I didn't take any pictures though, not wanting to be rude.

After wandering around aimlessly for a while, I came across the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Heading inside I noticed they had an Egyptian exhibit visiting. Upon further inspection it turned out to be artifacts from the Louvre. I decided this was worth seeing and bought a ticket. So, let's check that: I came how many miles around the world in one direction only to see artifacts from the other direction on loan from a totally different part of the world... Right. Anyways, the exhibit was very nice. There were artifacts from the early empires through the late empires. The exhibit tags were in Japanese (of course) and French. I got along with the little knowledge of how to pronounce French and the Ancient Art History class I took to figure out what I was looking at.

Leaving the museum I wandered around the park for a while more. I saw a few things I wand to go back and see (including the Japan Nation Museum) but I decided I was tired and hungry so I headed back to the train station. In the little mall which accompanies most stations I bought lunch. Just some Onigiri (rice balls, these with stuff inside) and some green tea (which is kinda nasty cold, but hey...) After eating I got back on the train and headed the 45 minutes back to Shinjuku.

I got off at Shinjuku and decided to wander around that part of town for a while. I had read that a theater there was playing a new anime movie but I didn't remember the theater's name. Being that there are about 14 movie theaters in Shinjuku alone, I couldn't really ask "hey, where's the theater" even in Japanese. So instead I wandered, ending up back at the big mall where I shopped the day before. Remembering that there was a terrace on the upper floors I headed up to take some pictures. After that I got back on the train towards home.

Back at the home station I stopped in the McD's there, partially because the rice balls weren't very filling, and partially because it was raining hard at that point. After a very delicious burger and the rain stopped I headed out and wandered around town for a while before going home.

Now, it may seem like all I did yesterday was wander, but I find it helps when I want to learn an area, to wander around it and check it out. After all my wandering all day I came home, watched some TV and crashed... Hard. I think I fell asleep about 6:00pm, and I didn't wake up til' 5:00am. Hopefully this will help my internal clock reset to Japan time.

So here I am wide awake at 6:30 in the morning and the sun's up. Guess I'll make breakfast and ready up for school.

Ja Mata Ne.

My, these entries are getting kinda long...