The Best Customer Service Ever

Getting internet was surprisingly easy. The people here are so nice, and even though most of them don't speak English, they're eager to help you.

I got my phone and internet from a huge computer store where they also had representatives from different providers. I kept asking the internet guy the same questions in different ways, to make sure that he understood me correctly. He barely spoke English and I don't speak any Japanese of course, but he still worked with me until 11pm hooking me up (the store closes at 10pm but I got there at 9.45pm). On top of that, I quickly noticed he was very sick, coughing up a storm, but he was determined to do his job.

All the paperwork was in Japanese, and also had to be filled out in Japanese, so he helped me write my address and even my name in Katakana. The funny thing is that Katakana is written as it sounds, not sounded out as it's written, and up until now I had three different people write my name for me (city hall, bank, cell phone, and now internet). This means that there might be four different versions of me in Tokyo right now.

Overall, I was amazed at how quickly everything got set up, despite the language barrier. Best customer service ever.

My Apartment

After two weeks in Japan I finally got my apartment! At a whopping 22sq meters, it's surprisingly liveable - I don't even have to roll up my futon each day (which is really the point of a futon).

The previous owner left lots of stuff, some of it useful, but most of it had to be thrown out to make room for my things. In total, 9 garbage bags off stuff had to go, but garbage pick up is very limited in Japan - everything has to be small and sorted and thrown out on the appropriate day. I got rid of that crappy desk chair, and had to take it apart with a butter knife and split the plastic/fabric and metal parts. I was paranoid I'd get arrested for my shady garbage sorting skills, so I took this one to a dumpster down my street.

You can see the door to my apartment (with coats hanging next to it), with a little entry area for shoes. From there you take a step up to get into the apartment. To the right, behind the fridge/counter, is a little kitchen area with a small sink and one burner.

On the left you can see the open pantry door, and next to that the laundry room door. The folding door is to the bathroom.

Before:

After:
Looking at the apartment from the entry, you can see the futon and a big window (there's a smaller one above the desk). Behind the yellow curtain is the balcony door, and on the right next to the drawers you can again see the entrance to the bathroom.

Before:
After:
With my busy work schedule, I had to spend every waking minute cleaning in order to get the place organized, but it was worth it. Please note the adorable pig humidifier...

News Flash: Vending machine potato chips come in a cup, and look like french fries.

A Whole New World in Omiya

I discovered a whole new world behind Omiya Station, including a train museum.

This bullet train is designed to plow through snow and is used in the very snowy, northern island of Hokkaido.

There's also a massive electronics store. Check out these escalators...

Loads of Japanese buildings have cute characters on them. Each day on my way to work I pass a building with a giant walrus with a baby on its back sticking off the roof. I'm not sure what these are though, or what this building actually is.

First Tokyo Outing

With my first weekend off since the move to Japan, I headed into Tokyo to meet with an old Amsterdam friend (who happens to be Japanese and visiting Japan while I'm here, yay!)

I was very proud that I made it to Tokyo by train all by myself, and found our

meeting spot in Shinjuku. There are a million exits at each station, and I had to

find the East Exit (as opposed to the south east exit, east terrace exit, etc) - so it's not as easy as it sounds.

There are the famous bar alleys in Shinjuku; many American bars from the war years.

We had Japanese curry for lunch in Shinjuku, then took the metro to Harajuku. We visited the famous temple, where I participated in a ceremony: throw in a coin, clap twice, bow once, reflect, bow twice.

We also saw a bride getting her wedding pictures taken. This is a paparazzi shot so it's a little blurry.

More famous than the temple are the Harajuku girls. As a fashion capital of the world, Harajuku showcases some crazy styles. This Harajuku girl is actually a boy (and I'm eating a crepe - very popular street food in Harajuku).

The 100yen shop (dollar store) in Harajuku sells mens panties. Here's proof:

A department store selling traditional Japanese goods.

Amazing donut shop, though the donut turned out to be frozen yogurt. Nothing is as it appears...

Yuka and I finished our day at a restaurant in Roppongi Hills where we had Shabu Shabu - thinly sliced meat dipped and cooked in boiling broth at our table. There is a partition in the pot so we can also cook vegetables. When the meat and veggies are finished, rice and seaweed are added to the broth to make a final, delicious dish.

A typical lunch from a not so typical vending machine...

For lunch, I usually go to the grocery store and pick up a bento box or a roll. Back home I would never buy a ready made meal from a convenience store (too sketchy), but pre-made grocery store food here is fresh and good, and could be compared to that of a foodcourt.

After trying a few bento boxes and sushi sets, I've setlled on these delicious

tuna/mayonnaise rolls and a piece of vegetable tempura. I hope that after training I'll be able to find these elsewhere...

You can also buy some interesting drinks in vending machines, like this bottled liquid jello.

Speaking of vending machines, this one at Omiya Station looks like a giant iPad. As if seeing the actual product wasn't enough, now you can see an image of it first.

If only the Japanese put in half the energy they used in the making of this machine into insulating their houses. The winters aren't that cold, but with paper thin walls it feels like Siberia.

First Days in Japan

I landed in Japan and was whisked away to the training center, which is at the end of one of Tokyo's subway lines in a small suburban town called Omiya. This would, by Canadian standards, be a big city. The houses and gardens are very modern but still Japanese, the streets are narrow and dense.

It doesn't help that I don't speak a word of Japanese, because the multitude of signs creates an impression of a truly hectic metropolis (in reality, it's just one bustling street).

A few awesome things:

• The back doors of taxis close by themselves

• Stores are so packed, it's hard to tell what's an aisle and what's a pile of stuff

• You can buy bottled (hot) coffee from vending machines; the drinks that have red labels are warm

I have already developed a routine with regular trips to the grocery store for lunch and dinner. There's no point in cooking because a sushi set or bento box is cheaper than most food-courts back home. The downtown area is also packed with small (often chain) restaurants with picture menus. I ventured out by myself today, and despite not speaking any Japanese I was still able to order a delicious meal just by pointing. Restaurants here have waiters and you call them by pressing a button at the table, much like on a plane. It's such a simple idea – why did I have to travel this far to see it for the first time? Within minutes they bring you your food and the bill, and you pay at the entrance.

A few nights ago I went out with my colleagues to dinner at one such restaurant, and before our waitress had finished going around the table taking orders, another started bringing out the food. Best service ever. Plus, there's no tipping here, because Japanese people believe you should be giving your all at a job and are getting paid enough to do this. Tipping can be seen as an insult in that you think they're not getting paid enough to do their job.

Last night we went out to a regular restaurant, and even though we were a big group, the smaller group of Japanese kids (they looked young but were actually our age) at the table next to ours was much louder (and drunker). Instead of telling the group to be quiet, the servers just put up walls and boxed us in. Within the hour we had a ready made group of Japanese friends, even though most of us couldn't communicate with them. Once in a while the Japanese guys would just walk by and point at me saying “I rove you” in which they really meant “I love you”. Being white is very easy here. We even headed out to karaoke with them, but I didn't last long in the small, smokey and unventilated room (unfortunately smoking indoors is ok in Japan). They also didn't do much singing – instead they yelled into their microphones at the top of their lungs, and at one point I looked over and one guy had taken off his pants. I guess it was because it was hot in there – or maybe pant dropping is a national past-time.

Tonight was my first day off, so I also checked out the temple that's in the neighborhood. It's like a family attraction, with snack and souvenir vendors at the temple gates, and whole families just enjoying a nice day out. I went with a colleague and we even stumbled into a service. We just stood where we were told and bowed when everyone else did, so we didn't attract too much attention to ourselves.