Reliving my first steps in a new land...

The plane seemed to take forever to taxi to its gate. The plane had landed with no drama, the anxiety I had about being 40,000 leagues in the sky was unwarranted as other than 2 or 3 instances of slight turbulence everything went smoothly.  The stewardess explained once again about the required declaration forms and other things that needed to be filled out to present to customs. With sloppy hand writing I filled out a second set of more legible forms as the previous ones was done while the plane was perhaps banking left or right... or at least that is my excuse. The plane must have landed on the far outskirts of Narita airport as trees and metal towers was the only thing initially seen. No other planes or personnel until about 2 or 3 minutes later when we began to enter the delta terminal. 


Once docked the stewardess thanked us for flying and said few other things which I didn't bother to remember.  I was more concerned about taking the nice slippers and extras that come with flying first class. The Business lady who sat in the same section as me wished me luck in my travels as we had exchanged slight pleasantries among the 14 hours in air.  I offered here luck in here business adventures as well and then proceeded to take my bags down from the over head. By this time people was shuffling off at a accelerated pace, as i was a bit hesitant of what was coming next in customs I took my time getting off, went to the bathroom. Walked casually and  just looked around the terminal as I seemed to be the only one on such a leisurely pace.

Eventually I got to a big line where I had to get my finger prints done and present my paperwork which I filled out on the plane.  I presented the paperwork and tried to utter my first Japanese words in Japan.  I don't recall how it went, but i do remember having a slight issue with the finger print machine.  The finger print Machine was a screen with a keyboard like pad at the bottom but instead of keys it had two box shaped buttons where you put your fingers and pressed at the same time.  I have been a good citizen so far so i have never done this before so it took several attempts.  I think once with each fore finger and once with each thumb is required. I wonder know how long they hold onto these prints for.  Thinking back on it now, i think that is where i realized i was no longer in America. I was now operating on a whole new set of rules, which I did not know. After that, they handed me back the forms and I was let through to go towards baggage claim.

Eventually I found my way to the bag check, I had a total of 4 bags. A red book bag which was stuffed to capacity and I had brought on board and placed it in front of me. A small black bag with wheels, which was my paint ball bag which was in over head. At the baggage claim I was to pick up the 2 big bags I had brought which had most of my cloths.  A slightly bigger mid size bag which was also my paint ball bag prior and I had borrowed a huge flowery designed bag from my mom.  Needless to say it was a bit shameful to pull the flower designed bag off and wheel it behind me but I wasn't all that conscious or caring about it.

This point I had to wheel to the agent who would look over my duty form/declaration. Me being me, i some how lost one of the 2 forms that was examined previously at the finger print window.  I am sure to the people around I appeared to be an opened eyed oblivious kid. They would most certainly be right, everything was new and I had literally no idea what i was suppose to be doing. This was only my second flight ever and first time over seas. I had made all the plans and designed the whole trip on my own. Paid for out of my money and little beyond why I wanted to go and what I was there for I knew little anything else.  I stood in front of the agent looking for the second paper, explaining that I had it slightly earlier.  Simply asking if I had any Duty free items he told me to just go on through and be on my way. 

From there it was time to cash in my money, I had brought around 2000 American dollars with me.  The rate at JFK was a insulting 78 yen - 1 dollar exchange rate.  I debated at the time whether to cash in 100 dollars just to be on safe side but I am glad i resisted the Urge. I ended up with 82-yen and while i still lost around 300+ dollars in the exchange, if it was now it would have been worse. I carefully put the small fortune I had in the lumbar pack I brought for the purpose of keeping all my id with me at all time. After that i shuffled along with my luggage to my next stop




To Be continued......

My gaming addiction....

If this was an AA meeting i would explain about my gaming addiction. How when i am feeling down I need to play a little bit.  When im bored, I play a little bit.  When i can't sleep, I play a little bit. Any  excuse really, i find myself in front of the xbox.  Yes its sad I know,  but it is a fun addiction.  Till this day i say it doesn't hurt no body.

Alas I am not home, I hath left mine xbox in America and now i am feeling a major itch. Call of duty Black ops comes out soon... i left the same day Halo Reach came out. Every day I see whats going on; i follow along on youtube and websites the best i can. What games I need to buy immediately upon my return and what games I am blessed to have not played. However it's not the same.  The feel of the controller in ones hand. Your thumb on the joystick...index finger on the trigger, the anticipation, then the action.  (On a related note I have heard  Medal of Honor is crap.... despite all the hype they created It seems they should have put more time into developing it.)

There is nothing like sitting in front of a tv and interacting with it. Becoming one with your video game avatar and being heroic.  Nothing like pulling the trigger and tallying up a kill count. Nothing like the challenge of man vs machine, and even man vs man. ahh,  I feel a trip to the game center coming pretty soon.

For those of you out there that can not relate, you can ignore my plight as you are among the lucky ones.   For those who understand,  who have gone out at 12 at night to pick up a game or game system. Who have logged a month or two on a video game, who have scratched and clawed to finish a board on insane or difficult, say a little prayer for my gaming soul.  As this has been a tough stretch, as i continue to fight the cravings I wish mercies and blessing to all those who endure the same.  May God have pity on us all...

Blog update aswell, new posts and etc...

Less than 5 minutes ago posted a new post on my housing and the Japanese 'manison'.

Still have not worked the kinks out of my culture differences post, just not happy with it yet.  However I also am working on 3 other posts as well, one on my American iPhone which i can't get wifi with so i am not sure how i will post it >_<.

Topics range from the feelings I have of going to school with all Chinese,  festivals and few places I have been too lately and one dedicated to my trip to Mt.Fuji and Fuji named theme park today.  Seeing as i don't receive much in the way of feedback as of yet i am not sure which one to put on top priority.  That is something i will try to improve on as I improve this blog in future weeks.

So I hope you will look forward to future posts as i look forward to writing them.

More on dorm and Japanese houseing...

My new dorm is an old hotel that has been remodeled and made into a housing complex called a 'mansion' , explanation to follow. It is 10 floors, 13 rooms each floor.  However floor 1 is the lobby and 2nd floor I believe to be a bar or restaurant (it gets pretty noisy around 10 - 11).  Each room that I have seen has a bunk bed (really?.. a bunk bed?) refrigerator, shelf and desk, 2 plastic containers(for clothing i guess) and a wonderful Japanese air conditioner that also does heat.  The window opens and you can hop through it to a small enclosed balcony, but the bunk bed is sort of in the way so i cant get out of mines.

There is a bathroom with bath and toilet,  but no kitchen. The kitchen is actually a shared kitchen, they took the 01 room of every floor and made it into a kitchen with 3 single electric burners, a janitors style sink and a primitive microwave. Before the kitchen, right by the elevator and emergency exit has a huge hot water heater(great place to put a gas appliance huh?), that works too well. The water that comes out the swivel faucet is down right scalding, it actually heats up the faucet pipe to the point that it is also ...piping hot ( sorry I couldn't think of another phrase  >_< ). The swivel faucet goes form the sink to over the tub, you can also twist a knob to direct the water to a shower head. 

Mansions are equivalent to the American condominium concept.  I assume the college owns my room and all the rooms of the people who are staying here under the schools dorm housing policy.  I pay only 30,000yen  a month the equivalent in a good American economy to 300 dollars.  For this area that is terrific.  I would equal it to living in the Soho area,  not in the middle but just outside walking distance, In a studio for less than 500 per month. 


Normally there is 2 to my sized apartment/room, but it seems that all the westerns like me are in a single room. All the Chinese and Nepalese are shared rooms like I had prior.  Russian girl, me, and a french guy, so I wonder if that is a coincidence.

Mansion's seem to not only be popular but increasing.  I have noticed much construction and building in my travels, a majority of these new buildings are the aforementioned mansion establishment. In this recession it's possible more people would rather rent than buy, which is understandable.  I am not sure on the price range, as all of my friends are more or less just out of college and owning anything is still in the distant future.

In my dorm, there is college students from different colleges not only mine.  There are non students as well, I have passed middle aged men and women in the hall and elevator, so mansions are a one size fit all approach apparently. Thought a 'mansion' it is anything but. Quirky Japanese naming I guess.....

Re-living dorm life....

I personally went to a school in traveling distance from my home. So I was blessed with being able to go home to a cooked meal.... at least when i ordered pizza if felt like dorm living.  In japan I think I have the opportunity  to re-experience sort of a similar experience i would have gotten from dorm life in college if i went out of state. Scratch for your own food, balance your study and direct pressure to party with people from within the dorm. Now because of the exchange rate and expense of the train  my money seems to go fast. Sadly soon i will be  a poor college student until my check next month at least.  I'm not to the point where it's ramen only,  just to the point where is it ethically ok to spend my money on a 700 yen beer at the bar.

I started off living in a 2 person room setting. However it was in a standard size Japanese apartment. Which if anyone knows, it barely enough room for one person let alone two.  It was not bad for the price, included washer, small refrigerator and 1 stove burner. However we are talking about for two people. So while my roommate was a rather nice guy, he was not the cleanest person.  The bathroom seemed to always be wet,  and the place smelled like his home land of Nepal. Having a roommate i always had to be in a polite and maneuverable mood.   I had decided before I moved in when i first saw the dorm that i would try to find my own place. I alerted the proper people within the school that i would not stay more than a month there and more or less was told that for my  visa and short stay it would be difficult to find an apartment on my own.  Having lived and read about the difficulty foreigners have assimilating hear into society, i believe this assessment to be true on the schools part but decided to start looking anyway.   I did get to look at a few apartments but i think it was more or less a wash.

I moved into the shared dorm apartment, was enjoying talking and associating with my roommate who happens to be awesome artist of Hindu inspired art. So after maybe the 3rd night, i was made aware that the school had found other accommodations for me. Much to my sadness and delight.  I had just plotted where all the Chinese girls in my class lived in that particular dorm.  Some of which I had been quite friendly with. But alas i could not pass up a single room and to be honest, it is like the best location in Yokohama.

I now live in Kannai, Kanagawa. It is one station away from Sakuragicho which is where all the cool harbor stuff is in Yokohama and 2 stops from Yokohama station the center of it all. Kannai is where the only clean china town in the world is located. I have good bars and restaurants in the area,  Yokohama stadium is literally across the street. The train is 3 min walk away, just enough space so i don't hear it when I am actually in the dorm and the last kicker is,  the Yokohama red light district known as Akebono-cho  is in the area as well.  So as I walk home from the train in the evening you can sort of pick out of the crowd who is doing what.  So far very pleased.

In blog news,  I have bigger post on cultural differences that I have notice since i have been here.  It's not organized how I like just yet and it requires some tweaking.  I will try to get it done before my trip to Mt. Fuji on Thursday, but I make no promises.  When i get on the train i get such good ideas for it, but by the time i get back home after probably a kanji test or two and trying to understand everything in class, the ideas are usually washed away. I will learn to write stuff down sooner or later.   Till next time..

Pictures will be added later...

Short skirt, Stockings, and High heels.... No Excuses!

I imagine the initial conversation goes like this. "now nami-chan, I will pass down the technique of how to catch the eyes and hearts of men.  From generation to generation, way back from the 1970's when the 'hot pants' and 'thigh high' socks was created,  we discovered if we combine those with loud high heels we can enrapture men in our beauty."   

I don't pretend to know how it came to be like this.  But all you will see is short skirts/hot pants, stockings and high heels in this country.  Age whenever - 30  and it is a bit of a contrast from America. In America its top centered sexuality.  I don't particular care for this as I am not focused on that part of the body (more of white guy thing) but that's the western doctrine. It's bit interesting because there is no variety, its always 2 of the 3 if not all three. And 90% of the time is black stockings. And 100% of the time its a grating audible noise from every, single, stupid, step of the lady in her high heels.

In comparison to western fashion,  it is amazing how i can count on one hand the short sleeve shirts and deep v's  worn by a Japanese women. They will wear nothing waist down, but a fur coat on top, or a see through shirt over like 2 other blouses or something. I don't know what the name of women clothing items. Rather quizzical to me, i know for obvious reasons why there is a compensation for that area, but skin is skin to a man. It's not a plus or minus, and some men actually look for the quality of character rather than looks alone, Shocking but true.

I also don't pretend to not look and enjoy certain specimens.  But as a whole after a month i am rather bored. By far i am not a fan nor do I know a thing about fashion... but the singularity of it all is probably a juxtaposition of the Japanese culture in it self.  Sure a few will venture away, but for the most part all try to find a small variation of the norm. Its a social commentary on its own i believe. I will leave that for a much smarter person then I obviously.

I would love to post pictures here but that would require a sort of clandestine photo escapade and I to be honest am not that perverted.  I do believe I may pick this topic up on another occasion.. possibly.  Till next time.

New surroundings...but what langauge is this?

I sit in a room and the sounds that float around are all foreign to me.  Of Asian origin probably.  However i understand nothing.   'This is bad' I think to myself....What could they be saying? I start to feel a bit distant and alone.  Then a bit of American rage rises to the top and i think why doesn't no one speak English around here.  I am reminded I am in a foreign  land.  Of course I am in a foreign land, But this isn't what i expected. This is a bit different than advertised. New surroundings, a different part of town than the Tokyo I have been exploring for a little less than a month.  Ah, the bell rings, glad that Japanese class will start and everyone can speak a language i at least barely understand.

I sit in a room full of Chinese students.  I being the only western and English speaker. What to do I wonder..As my ears are absorbing (is 'assaulted' too rude?) every Chinese word uttered. My brain scans for any recognizable word, but of course there isn't one. I studied Japanese,  not Chinese so how did this happen i wonder.  "ドうしょうかな？- Wonder what should i do?"    Time to whip out my poor Japanese and introduce myself.  Meet some Chinese people,  which i can do in American - and practically every other country for that matter.  I have a theory on why there is a china town in every country... but in interest to stay on topic i will bring it up another time.

The same routine as always.  Hi, where are you from,  nice to meet you, why Japanese?  The tedium of answering the same question is starting to sink in, but as i see no end in sight, the same answers will have to be given time and again.  As i meet and talk to many of them, i get the feeling I am more or less a novelty than anything.  'Ah, an American, let me try my english', or 'Ah, he must have a gun.'  I lie to you not, I have been asked by many Japanese and now a few Chinese not if,  but how many guns i have.  I answer in a polite way that I do not own, and neither does every American own a gun.  I explain my reasons for being in this part of the world. None of which probably was of interest... hmm maybe i should lie and say I have 2... minimum.

So now that introduction is over.  What do i talk to a Chinese person about, through Japanese mind you. Sure if it was English, boy, the stories and the conversation we would have.  The language barrier really set in then i think. I had never worried about not being able to get my point across till I sat next to a Chinese person in a Japanese class in Yokohama,Kanagawa. Sure my Japanese wasn't the best, but to a native speaker i can at least get the main idea across.
Here my words are hit and miss....as a result my pictionary skills must be improving exponentially.

However i find this to be an interesting part of the adventure.  No body but me would be Surrounded by Chinese people in Japan. Speaking to a Chinese person through Japanese. Learning how to write Japanese Kanji from a person who learned the Japanese meaning a few moments prior. Sort of the quirky nature of my life right now.

One week in I have quite a few Chinese acquaintances; Had some home cooked Chinese food and  I sort of  wonder now,  if i go to china will i meet more Japanese people?

zai jian (good bye in chinese)

A small Good bye...

I mentioned before that I was staying in a home stay.  The Home-stay is located in Kugahara, Tokyo.  I am about 30 Min's from shibuya and 40 or less from shinjuku roppongi and nearly any other tourist site in Japan.  Very nicely located.  I came early to japan to explore a little and make sure my body was ready for school as i suffer from a medical conditions that with changes in weather or excessive activity makes me physically sick.  So I opted to find a home stay to sort of adjust to the new surroundings.

I was greeted at the train station on my second day in Japan by a gentle, energetic  women in her late 50's early 60's or so.  "Ohaiyo" she said as we introduced our self in Japanese.  Still not secure in the language I went through the motions like I have done much before in America.  We made small talk as we walked the 5 Min's to my new home.  I learned the path i would take, I learned of a few of people who i would live with.  My feelings at this point are hard to describe. Sort of bright eyed and curious. A bit of anxiety for staying in an unknown persons house.

When I came in i was given house slippers to use while i stayed. The first person i met was the person whose room I would be taking as he was packed and leaving.  I said hello and good bye and was guided into the living room where i was offered a futon to take a nap until the room was ready. I happily excepted the offer and took a quick shower and took what i was told to be a 5 hour nap.  I took the two bags i currently had upstairs to a nice size room with TV, big desk, book shelf, closet, futon and big frosted sliding windows.  I loved the windows as they faced the street and i would spend mornings staring out and looking at the people on their way to the train. Especially women with their loud high heals, it became a mourning ritual the first few days as everything was still new.

I met great new people from different lands; Taiwan, German, Denmark, China, France, Italy.  We was not lacking foreigners in that house, that is for certain.  Despite the people it was still quite and i had my own space. Never had to wait for the shower or the bathroom. I was surprised about that.  And it was always clean.  So I think on the whole I was living better than I do at home.

My last night, I spent the early mourning packing , mid day driving to my new place(thanks to the help of my friend) and the family was nice enough to invite me back to the area to go to the local fair/matsuri.  I went and got to see the temple. Ate choco banana and was amazed my the mass of people on such small streets.  I'm sure i will go into more detail about specific events.  But for now I am thankful, and will continue my adventure in Japan till I see Kugahara again, I offer my small Good bye for such big memories.

Name Change

I thought up a slightly more fitting name. Considering Most of my time will be in Japan. Still not 100% happy. But for now I will keep it. I wanted to avoid using Gaijin, but indeed, when you enter japan as non-native.  You are 'Gaijin'.  So i will go with it.

Today I had my first class.  It started out a silly day, I confused my start days.  It was a stupid mistake on my part.  I was told to come 月曜日 (Monday)  but somehow i confused it with Wednesday and only because i was motivated to go to school to buy some books did i arrive by dumb luck on the proper day. 　Real stupidity on my part.  Not a good start. 

My school is in Yokohama, and at the moment I am more in Tokyo area. So school is about an hour away.  So I really was debating whether I should go all the way to Yokohama just to buy a book and come back.  However I had a nagging feeling i should go and get it over with and maybe do some studying(which I should probably do now).

My school is a normal Japanese college but with a foreign student program. So I get to be in a school with normal college students.  Not in the same class.  Close enough I suppose.  I have only met a few people in my own class.  Mostly Chinese, and other than Japanese, all you hear is Chinese spoken in the class. 

At a later date I will move into the college dorm. More on that at later, maybe.

Now i will go to dinner so,  I will end this here. Till next time...

Hooray Hooray Baseball!!

I went to the Tokyo Dome to see the Yomiuri Giants Vs. Yokohama Bay Stars.   First, awesome experience being in Tokyo dome with the Japanese fans.  They cheer throughout the game whether up or down.  Trumpets blare, flags are waved, and songs are sang.  It seemed like the fans had chants for every player, and they all knew exactly when to start, which chants to do at which time.  It was awesome to watch.

But on to baseball,  It was an entertaining game including two hr's and a triple play.  5-5-4-3 if i am not mistaken.  Giants Won 7-1 and it was sort of bitter sweet,  seeing as I am moving to Yokohama soon. It sucks to see my future home town team suck.  MVP after game interview - replays

During 5th inning fans brought out the big Banner.

The Tokyo Dome itself is an interesting place.  The concession stand sell Japanese style food as excepted I suppose, Obento, yakitori, taiyaki. Sort of weird seeing people eat obento at a baseball game.  The American in me is a purest There needs to be peanuts and cracker jacks. I don't care if i ever get back! (a weak premise to sing the song i think...Meh!) There are restaurants on the outside of the complex as well as vendors.  The Japanese Hall of Fame is there inside the dome. It is definitely a must see.

For the most important thing, the Beer and Whiskey Girls. If that is not an American idea, i don't know what is.  Pretty girls with kegs on their back walking around serving liquor? Highlight maybe of my trip so far.    I know there is a standard too because not one of them was ugly, unlike the Akihabara  maid cafe waitresses. More on that at a later date.   They wear brightly colored uniforms; shirt, shorts and hats. Some girls wear flowers in their hair. It's such a welcomed experience after seeing beer men all my life.  I wonder how i go back and experience the assault on my eyes of middle aged men with beer guts themselves  screaming 'Budweiser'.  Its a sad thought indeed.

Horrible Name...

I wonder already if blog name is adequate... i will probably change it.  To reflex more of my Japan centered commentary.  I do plan to be very objective about what i see here in japan.  I have not seen nothing outrageous just yet but I haven't been out there that much.  I still need to go to Shinjuku and Shibuya on a weekend to see the outfits.   Also want to buy a nice camera soon.  The camera on my iphone 3g  is crap, so i am not so motivated. 

Just wanted to comment on my un-happiness with the title i have originally chosen.   I'll think a bit more and come up with something better.

Who I am? Who am I?

As I begin to type, I wonder other than family who would care about who i am?  My current situation, and why I have come to this small island and what I search for. I don't plan to get to philosophical or deep but if you allow me i will go into my small story.

Currently  I sit in a home-stay in Kugahara, a suburb not to far out of central Tokyo. Far from my initial life in New York City. Tokyo and New York are not too far apart in ways of tempo and speed.  If you don't stand out you will be ignored. However culture and style  they are universes apart. In New York i felt life slow down, was mostly just following the motions of a boring life that i was not proud of.  Health was failing due to a disease I have had since birth, of which i will probably talk about at a later date.  Over all,  I needed a change of pace.


I had money, and I wanted desperately to escape.  Anywhere really would have done but I had been studying Japanese due to my college major and job aspirations. You see, I am a bit of video game geek.  The industry is just as big in Japan as it is in America. Possibly I could increase job opportunities with fluency under my belt. Thats the rational thought at least...  but i think subconsciously a lot more about japan appealed to me.

I know not what I hope to find in my adventures here. All I know is I want to improve myself. My current self and life is not except-able. So I want to improve myself for the better.  I don't think i could have done that in New York,   so on my own,  by my own effort I will live and I will try my best to succeed in this foreign land. Will there be lows and highs? I suspect, but this will not be a soap opera of woes and evil doing.  I will go step by step and do what i think is best and I hope in the end I will be able to live with what I have done.

Either way here I am, to cut it short.  I will save more details for later.  However the purpose for this, is to express my trials and my  experiences here in the orient.  I say Orient because in November i will go to Korea for a short period also.

I by no means have good English habits,  only by birth alone am I graced with the ability to talk and write. So please excuse the errors, because there will be errors I assure you.  And I will update probably once a week initially.  If by some stroke of luck I reach 100 or so followers, unlikely but stranger things have happened I assume; I will improve to every other day at least. But for not i will simply explore and comment on what I think other people may find interesting.   So, this is the beginning... Welcome to my Madness.