There is perhaps no other city in the world with so much to do, so many places to see, and so many people doing it all. Tokyo is a maze of neon lights, clothing outlets, ramen shops, and multi-floor complexes selling everything the human mind can conjure. There are 250 museums catering to every taste. Tree-lined parks offer a chance to escape from the concrete jungle, and skyscrapers can offer dramatic views of the city. Everything is connected by the pulsing veins and arteries of the JR lines, and the Tokyo Metro, quick, efficient and always on time. This is Tokyo, the tokyo that the foriegner sees, the Tokyo that you spend the day planning for, gazing at, and reveling in. When the day is over, however, Tokyo becomes endless square miles of tightly pack residential areas, known not for town or street, but which station lies closest to it. Eveyone can indentify themselves to the station and rail line they frequent.
As for me my day in Tokyo always begins with a short 15-20 minute walk to MY station, Takao-eki. From there I can take the Keio-sen (Keio-line) to Shinjuku or Shibuya for 350￥ or the JR Chuo line to Shinjuku for 550￥. The advantage of the Chuo line is that it takes 40 minutes from Takao to Shinjuku on a Special Rapid train, while Keio takes roughly 1:30.
At the time of this post I have been to Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Akanebanebashi, Asakusa, and Odaiba. I have yet to go to Roppongi, Ueno, The Imperial Grounds, Central Tokyo, Asakasa, Ikeburo, Akihabara and others. I am afraid that attempting to explain and describe each would be an insurmountable task, so I will limit myself to describing a just a few.
The first place I went, with Edz as my only companion, was Shinjuku, or more specifically, Higashi-Shinjuku (East Shinjuku). At the time we just wandered around without a particuolar plan. We entered few shops, and mostly just stared upward at the collosal constructions of glass and steel in whose shadow we walked. For the first visit into the pulsing heart of the largest city in the world it was enough.
Fastforward >>
It is Sunday and Edz and I are heading off for church. We hop on the Keio-sen and travel to Shinjuku, catching the Yamanote line to Shibuya. (We would later discover the Keio-line has a transfer to Shibuya which is the much cheeper option.) Shibuya has the largest cross-walk in Tokyo, which means, and don't quote me on this, it is probably the largest in the world. Here we asked a policeman for directions to the Tokyuu Traness bus service, which has a stop in front of Tokyo Baptist Church. One of the unique aspects of Tokyo is that the buses run on a 'one size fits all' principal. In this case you pay a flat rate of 100-yen and can ride the whole rout for that cost, or just one stop for that cost. This system only works locally in big cities. The church service was enjoyable, and afterward we strolled around Shibuya, although much like the time before we really had no clue as to what to do and where to go.
Fastforward >>
This last week I attended St. Albans with Miyeon-san, and I think I am getting the hang of exploring the city. After church we visited Asakusa, which houses the largest paper lantern in the world at a massive temple complex. Photos to follow shortly. We then enjoyed a river cruise down the Sumida river to Odaiba island in Tokyo bay. At Odaiba we ate italian at Venus Fort, an italian themed shopping center whose high vaulted ceiling changes color in an artifical day-night cycle. We allso rode the islands ferris wheel, gleening a great view of Tokyo at night. A pleasent and enjoyable day.
Visiting Tokyo on Sunday is the best way to see it, attending church in the morning gets me to a centralized location from which I can strike in almost any direction. Perhaps this sunday I will go to Roppongi Hills, or Akihabara, or maybe even go ice skating at the Meiji-ice rink. I can say with some small certainty that Tokyo will hold many adventures in the weeks to come.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Has it really been a month?
It hard to believe but I arrived in Japan so long ago now.
So let me tell you a little about what I have been up to since my arrival.
Classes are difficult, there is no doubt about it. Admittedly I think that for others its a little easier, but because my Japanese is still at such a low level they are much more difficult than they are designed to be. Monday is tolerable, with a very easy reading class first period, followed by a presentation class in Second period. The reading class is easy in that there is very little we have to do, just read along and try to puzzle out the Kanji. I hardly ever understand what its about until near the end of the class. The presentation class is similar in that I rarely know off the bat what its about let alone be able to follow the presentations. In both cases I am learning and each successive class is just a little easier.
Tuesdays are my hated days. I have a kanji class in which we learn on the order of 25-30 kanji weekly. It requires massive amounts of memorization, something I am finding I don't have a great skill for. The following period I have an Oral-Communication class, consisting of memorizing more words and kanji. We watch a television program and use a "fill in the blank" model of note-taking. Following that we present in class from out notes and have tests on the subject matter.
Fortunately the Fun day follows, with First Year Japanese with Fukushima sensei. Currently we are going through personality types and vocabulary building, although we often go onto tangents and learn some very interesting things about Japanese slang and informal conversational skills. Following that is an accent/rhythm/speaking class where we come up with short simple poems and speak them into a microphone. The writing process helps with vocabulary building and the speaking works on getting a steady speaking rhythm and pronunciation. Following that I meet with a few friends and Ishikaga sensei for an informal Japanese session, where we work on speaking without our respective country's accent and learn the finner points of Japanese grammar.
Thursdays and Fridays both have just one class each. Thursdays are "Knowing Japan" which is Japanese culture and history, and Fridays are "A world of Music" which is a fun class where we learn about symphonies, composers, instruments, and in my case the associated words.
I've run out of time today, but next time I will share a little of some of the day-trips I have taken since my arrival.
So let me tell you a little about what I have been up to since my arrival.
Classes are difficult, there is no doubt about it. Admittedly I think that for others its a little easier, but because my Japanese is still at such a low level they are much more difficult than they are designed to be. Monday is tolerable, with a very easy reading class first period, followed by a presentation class in Second period. The reading class is easy in that there is very little we have to do, just read along and try to puzzle out the Kanji. I hardly ever understand what its about until near the end of the class. The presentation class is similar in that I rarely know off the bat what its about let alone be able to follow the presentations. In both cases I am learning and each successive class is just a little easier.
Tuesdays are my hated days. I have a kanji class in which we learn on the order of 25-30 kanji weekly. It requires massive amounts of memorization, something I am finding I don't have a great skill for. The following period I have an Oral-Communication class, consisting of memorizing more words and kanji. We watch a television program and use a "fill in the blank" model of note-taking. Following that we present in class from out notes and have tests on the subject matter.
Fortunately the Fun day follows, with First Year Japanese with Fukushima sensei. Currently we are going through personality types and vocabulary building, although we often go onto tangents and learn some very interesting things about Japanese slang and informal conversational skills. Following that is an accent/rhythm/speaking class where we come up with short simple poems and speak them into a microphone. The writing process helps with vocabulary building and the speaking works on getting a steady speaking rhythm and pronunciation. Following that I meet with a few friends and Ishikaga sensei for an informal Japanese session, where we work on speaking without our respective country's accent and learn the finner points of Japanese grammar.
Thursdays and Fridays both have just one class each. Thursdays are "Knowing Japan" which is Japanese culture and history, and Fridays are "A world of Music" which is a fun class where we learn about symphonies, composers, instruments, and in my case the associated words.
I've run out of time today, but next time I will share a little of some of the day-trips I have taken since my arrival.
Monday, October 5, 2009
FFFoF II
First and apology to Ita, who is an Indonesian and NOT a Korean, although I fear I will bear friendly ridicule about that forever.
Now where did I leave off.... ah yes, Shinjuku. I have since returned to shinjuku on several occasions, and I must admit on the second visit to the station the following sunday, I got lost there. I have been in airposts smaller than that station, and it was a miracle that I was ever able to find my platform. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The day after Edz`s and my adventure in Shinjuku we had administrative matters to attend to. Meaning particularly registering at the Hachioji city hall as a resident alien. (cue twilight zone music) Luckily for me, the forms were bilingual for the most part, and I was able to fill them out on the first try. I was not so lucky on the second leg of our journey. We then went to the bank to fill out more forms for the purpose of openning a bank account. Those little pink forms will forever haunt my memories. I filled out three of the same form the first day, and had to return the next to fill it out twice more! This wouldn`t be so bad except my address was 東京都館町八王子市６１７－１拓殖大学八王子留学生寮E３１１ (Tokyo, Hachiouji-city 617-1 Takushoku Hachiouji campus, Exchange Student dormitories, room 311) When you have to fill that out 5 times you have nightmeres about it.
Well me ran out of time to buy cell phones that day, so we returned the day after to finish the business with the bank and buy cell phones. This we did without a native Japanese speaker as only the foriegn students could go, and we bumbled our way through it all. We decided to think on the cell phone plan we wanted to take and, yet again, return the next day.
Well that day was Sunday, and Edz and I decided to go to church that day, using up the morning. We had dicovered that each of us was christian on the trip to Shinjuku, and great relief to meet someone with similar beliefs. We went to Tokyo baptist church, which was the most diverse church I have ever seen, with perhaps 15-18 different nationalities represented. Upon our return we bought cell phones and if you want my number send me an e-mail at karrak48@gmail.com . Just know that international costs are astounding, and call times very limited. (For those of you in the US, EST is 13 hours behind Japan, Mountian time is 15 hours behind, and PST is 16 hours behind.)
Well, I think thats it for today, but check in soon and I`ll post about my first few classes!
Now where did I leave off.... ah yes, Shinjuku. I have since returned to shinjuku on several occasions, and I must admit on the second visit to the station the following sunday, I got lost there. I have been in airposts smaller than that station, and it was a miracle that I was ever able to find my platform. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The day after Edz`s and my adventure in Shinjuku we had administrative matters to attend to. Meaning particularly registering at the Hachioji city hall as a resident alien. (cue twilight zone music) Luckily for me, the forms were bilingual for the most part, and I was able to fill them out on the first try. I was not so lucky on the second leg of our journey. We then went to the bank to fill out more forms for the purpose of openning a bank account. Those little pink forms will forever haunt my memories. I filled out three of the same form the first day, and had to return the next to fill it out twice more! This wouldn`t be so bad except my address was 東京都館町八王子市６１７－１拓殖大学八王子留学生寮E３１１ (Tokyo, Hachiouji-city 617-1 Takushoku Hachiouji campus, Exchange Student dormitories, room 311) When you have to fill that out 5 times you have nightmeres about it.
Well me ran out of time to buy cell phones that day, so we returned the day after to finish the business with the bank and buy cell phones. This we did without a native Japanese speaker as only the foriegn students could go, and we bumbled our way through it all. We decided to think on the cell phone plan we wanted to take and, yet again, return the next day.
Well that day was Sunday, and Edz and I decided to go to church that day, using up the morning. We had dicovered that each of us was christian on the trip to Shinjuku, and great relief to meet someone with similar beliefs. We went to Tokyo baptist church, which was the most diverse church I have ever seen, with perhaps 15-18 different nationalities represented. Upon our return we bought cell phones and if you want my number send me an e-mail at karrak48@gmail.com . Just know that international costs are astounding, and call times very limited. (For those of you in the US, EST is 13 hours behind Japan, Mountian time is 15 hours behind, and PST is 16 hours behind.)
Well, I think thats it for today, but check in soon and I`ll post about my first few classes!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
A Fat Fist Full of Firsts!
Konnichiwa (good day) from Japan!
This is the first post here, coming a full week after arriving in Japan (technically 8 days later, but a week is such a nice concise amount). So what shall I say about the first week? From the very first moments since my arrival, every little event becomes a story on its own. Everyday things which would be mundane in the homeland become adventures of an epic scale.
My Story, however, begins long before setting foot in the Land of the Rising Sun. The year is 1989, and a little baby takes his first breath. He will grow up to be a leader of men and a figure whom everyone wishes to emulate. Unfortunetly this is a story about myself, not that other guy.
My interest in Japan, and I appologize to all who have heard this many times already, began with a videogame. I loved the Legend of Zelda, and still do, and that lead me to draw art concerning this game. Through this I discoved the manga style of art, leading inevitably to manga itself and its animated parter, called Anime. (For those who do not know, manga are Japanese comics featuring overblown emotions and really big eyes.) It was when I got into Anime that I fell in love with Japan itself. I started taking lessons from David-sensei, eventually travelling to Japan for the duration of 10 days while I explored the culture and city.
Then came college. I started taking Japanese, reaching the 202 level. Wallcot-sensei nominated me to go to UMBC`s partner school in Japan, Takushoku university. Over the summer I began to have my doubts, and as some of you may know, I was hesitant and delayed in important communications due to my doubts. Regardless I felt I could not turn back from my course of action, and steeled myself for whatever Japan could throw at me. And thus here I am.
Like I said it has been one week since I arrived, and so much has happened. I left Albuquerque at 6 in the morning (an ungodly hour) and arrived in San Francisco at 7:30 local time. From there I caught my flight to Japan at 1:20 saturday, and arrived in Narita at 4:30 sunday. At the airport I was met by Tomoya-san who helped me to send my bags to Takushoku, and then guide me through Tokyo via the Trains to the University, even changing trains in the dreaded Sinjuku Station, the busyest train station in the world, servicing 3 million people dayly.
At the University dormitiories I met Otou-san and Okaa-san, the father and mother of the dorm. Otou-san showed me the basic facilities and my room. The following day I went shopping with an Indonesian by the name of Faresh, who has been a good friend and companion ever since. That night, however, I was left to my own devices, and I had time to rest and reflect. "What am I doing in Japan? Why am I leaving my family for a whole year? Will I be able to survive here? " and so on and so forth. It was a very long and lonely night.
The next day I was again alone for some time, however, that night I went out for sushi (Faresh saved me from myself then) along with Abdol the Egyptian, Edz the Philipeno, and Ita the Korean. We had a great time and it was only 105 yen per plate, a very good bargan. We decided we would go together to Mt Takao the next morning to climb the mountain.
Well... it never happend because Faresh had a headache and I couldn`t get a hold of Abdol, so instead Edz and I went to Shinjuku (that REALLY busy station from earlier) to explore and see Tokyo. There were flashing lights and bright signs and lots of MANGA! I am in the process of re-configuring some of the pictures for facebook, so keep an eye out for them. Regardless it was a very interesting and fun experience.
There is so much more to tell, but it will have to wait for another day.
This is the first post here, coming a full week after arriving in Japan (technically 8 days later, but a week is such a nice concise amount). So what shall I say about the first week? From the very first moments since my arrival, every little event becomes a story on its own. Everyday things which would be mundane in the homeland become adventures of an epic scale.
My Story, however, begins long before setting foot in the Land of the Rising Sun. The year is 1989, and a little baby takes his first breath. He will grow up to be a leader of men and a figure whom everyone wishes to emulate. Unfortunetly this is a story about myself, not that other guy.
My interest in Japan, and I appologize to all who have heard this many times already, began with a videogame. I loved the Legend of Zelda, and still do, and that lead me to draw art concerning this game. Through this I discoved the manga style of art, leading inevitably to manga itself and its animated parter, called Anime. (For those who do not know, manga are Japanese comics featuring overblown emotions and really big eyes.) It was when I got into Anime that I fell in love with Japan itself. I started taking lessons from David-sensei, eventually travelling to Japan for the duration of 10 days while I explored the culture and city.
Then came college. I started taking Japanese, reaching the 202 level. Wallcot-sensei nominated me to go to UMBC`s partner school in Japan, Takushoku university. Over the summer I began to have my doubts, and as some of you may know, I was hesitant and delayed in important communications due to my doubts. Regardless I felt I could not turn back from my course of action, and steeled myself for whatever Japan could throw at me. And thus here I am.
Like I said it has been one week since I arrived, and so much has happened. I left Albuquerque at 6 in the morning (an ungodly hour) and arrived in San Francisco at 7:30 local time. From there I caught my flight to Japan at 1:20 saturday, and arrived in Narita at 4:30 sunday. At the airport I was met by Tomoya-san who helped me to send my bags to Takushoku, and then guide me through Tokyo via the Trains to the University, even changing trains in the dreaded Sinjuku Station, the busyest train station in the world, servicing 3 million people dayly.
At the University dormitiories I met Otou-san and Okaa-san, the father and mother of the dorm. Otou-san showed me the basic facilities and my room. The following day I went shopping with an Indonesian by the name of Faresh, who has been a good friend and companion ever since. That night, however, I was left to my own devices, and I had time to rest and reflect. "What am I doing in Japan? Why am I leaving my family for a whole year? Will I be able to survive here? " and so on and so forth. It was a very long and lonely night.
The next day I was again alone for some time, however, that night I went out for sushi (Faresh saved me from myself then) along with Abdol the Egyptian, Edz the Philipeno, and Ita the Korean. We had a great time and it was only 105 yen per plate, a very good bargan. We decided we would go together to Mt Takao the next morning to climb the mountain.
Well... it never happend because Faresh had a headache and I couldn`t get a hold of Abdol, so instead Edz and I went to Shinjuku (that REALLY busy station from earlier) to explore and see Tokyo. There were flashing lights and bright signs and lots of MANGA! I am in the process of re-configuring some of the pictures for facebook, so keep an eye out for them. Regardless it was a very interesting and fun experience.
There is so much more to tell, but it will have to wait for another day.
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