Night out in Shibuya

Had a rather large one last night. I went out with some people from work- some other instructors and also one of the Japanese staff and her friend.

Shibuya is a crazy place, especially at night. Once you exit the train station, you are greeted by a throng of people and forest of neon and television plastered high rise buildings. It's know as the area where all the young trendy Tokyo'ians hang out-many of them have bleached hair and sport hideous looing fake tan- they appear more orange than tanned...

Just outside the station were some people advertising free hugs. A guy in our group tried to hug one of the guys holding these signs, but the guy shut him down and told him to hug one of the girls. Haha.

We started off at a Gaijin (foreigner) bar called the 300 YEN bar, where we consumed many jugs of beer- which, unfortunately, cost alot more than 300 YEN. Two extremely drunk Japanese guys joined our table, and seemed to drink alot of our beer. They pretty much tagged along the rest of the night, although we couldn't really converse, as their English was as bad as our Japanese. They seemed to laugh alot and one kept giving me shit (i think??) because i was wearing my work shoes. Haha, funny blokes- they would push one of us white fellas into girls that we walked past, and then proceeded to try and chat them up. Seems like a strange courting ritual...

We then went to a club called Atom. I think entry was 3000 YEN but our newly acquired companions did some negotiating and got us in for 2000 YEN, and the ladies with us in for 1000 YEN. The club had three stories. The first two were sort of dance and trance floors i guess and the top floor was R & B/Hip Hop. We stayed on the 3rd level most of the night. Unfortunately they dont allow cameras in so i dont have pictures of the club.

All in all, a good night. Was a bit tired at work today but will definately be heading back for Shibuya nightlife soon.

NOVA

Well, i pretty much have work sussed already. It's not rocket science, and i think it will sart to get repetitive and a little stale after a while, but one of best things about this job is the students. I have already met some interesting people already and most of them are really nice. Students range from high school students and young people who have just entered the work force, to housewives and business men. The other instructors at my branch (Kinshicho) and the Japanese staff are all friendly too.

Working 5-9pm weeknights is pretty good as it gives me time to do things in the morning. I just joined the gym too, so its good to get back into doing weights and staying active. I'm hoping i don't get too bloody skinny because i don't seem to be eating much food. I don't know if its the humidity or because the food is different, but i will be skin and bones in no time... Kinda defeats the purpose of going to the gym.

Japanese Food

I friggin' love Japanese food. Infact i have only had one western meal so far, which was... Ok, i'll admit it, McDonalds....

Food here is pretty cheap. They have these fast food style noodle bars where you can get a feed from as little as 350 Yen (~AU$3.50). I have been visiting these places every night for dinner, it almost works out cheaper than preparing a meal- plus i am lazy... Cooking doesn't seem as enjoyable when you are couped up in a kitchen that barely fits one person.


THERE ARE THREE STEPS FOR ENJOYING A MEAL AT YOUR LOCAL NOODLE BAR

1) Look at the plastic replicate dishes displayed in the window to see what is on offer



2) Place your order- you don't even talk to anyone to do this. You simply select your desired meal from the buttons on the vending machine, put your money in, and it spits out a ticket, which you give to the staff.

3) In less than five minutes you will have yor meal. Pretty bloody good for 700 Yen.

P.S Went out last night to the infamous 'Roppongi' (its where all the foreigners living in Tokyo, and Japanese who want to meet foreigners, go to party). Its pretty crazy but i'm getting a little sick of it. Another area of Tokyo, Shibuya, supposedly also has crazy bars and clubs but less foreigners so might trek there next time.

P.P.S. Also havn't managed to go for a surf yet. It's gonna cost me 3000 Yen in trains fairs everytime i go surfing!! I can't afford that so i need to find someone who surfs and has a car.

More apartment pics

Oh, did i mention my housemates are from Canada and England? They are slightly older than me (31) but both are top blokes. They have lived here 6 years and 1 year respectively, so have given me plenty of tips about living in Japan.

The kitchen is simple but does the job

Our apartment is the in the corner of the Annex building on the top floor- you can see our washing on the balcony.

The view from our balcony. Not terribly scenic- no rice fields or temples to be seen, but suprisingly you never hear the train.

Apartment pics

Not the largest bedroom in the world...

but at least i have room for a futon.

The living room isn't much bigger.

The toilet room is, well...

small.

1st day of work

Had first day of work today. We moved into things pretty quickly...

We started off with some orientation information and then observed a lesson. The rest of the day consisted of us newbies being each paired up with an instructor, sitting in on lessons, and gradually participating more and more... For the last lesson, we were each required to teach the second half of a lesson.

Lessons are 40 minutes long and are designed to get students talking to each other as much as possible. We guide them through the different stages of the lesson (warm up, introducing the lesson theme, listening and speaking activities etc.) and monitor and correct their grammar, intonation, sentence structure etc. After the lesson, you are given 10 minutes to write some feedback in each of the students' files, then have a ten minute break defore the next lesson.

It was a pretty full on day, but i think it's a matter of practice, and after a while, should be able to do it in my sleep. I have to teach a full lesson tomorrow. Only 2 more days of training, then i start proper work on Thursday.

Ok, i'm off to bed. Later

1st day of work tomorrow

Begin orientation and training tomorrow. NOVA has been in the news again and some people are saying it is the last straw for the company and it may be the beginning of their demise. But it is a large corporation so i think it should be ok, at least for a while...

Last few days have mainly been spent organising things i.e VISA, bank account etc. Have had a few walks around the area of the house, trying to familiarise myself with the neighbourhood. Its considered a fairly quiet area, but we still have 3 gyms, fast food retaurants, karaoke bars, 3 supermarkets, and a heap of Japanese traditional bars (Izakaya) and noodle bars.

Did karaoke last night, just here at Gyotoku. We started off the night at an Izakaya (first drinks were at 11pm!) then proceeded to the karaoke venue. We had the room from 12am to 5am, so it was alot of singing! After a few hours we were kinda sick of it, but the Japanese people we were with kept singing right up till close at 5am... Im sure they would have gladly kept going if the place hadn't closed... They love Japanese pop music over here, which is termed J-Pop. Foreign bands that are big over here seem to include Good Charlotte, Green Day, Avril Lavigne (spelling??), Michelle Branch and Kelly Clarkson.

I didn't take my camera last night so no karaoke photos, but im sure it wont be my last karaoke session.

I might trek off to bed

Oyasuminasai (good night)

I'm here!!

It has been a long past 2 days...

On Wednesday, i had to be at Adelaide airport by 5:00 am to fly out at 6:00 (had a few dramas with my luggage- it was overweight and they didn't like the fact that i had a surfboard). I had a couple hours stop over in Sydney, then hopped on the plane. The entertainment crashed about half way throught the flight, so the last 5 hours wasn't very exciting.

I arrived at Narita airport at 8:30pm. Most people who are employed by NOVA travel to Japan on a pre-booked flight and are met at the airport by NOVA staff who take them to their apartment and organise their baggage to be transferred there. I, however, travelled on my own flight (because it was cheaper) so i had to find my own accommodation on my night of arival.

I decided to stay at a hostel at Ueno (i stayed there in September last year). Two hours, and two trains later i arrived at the hostel. It was 11pm by now and i was buggered! It wasn't lack of sleep so much that tired me out, it was the sheer volume of luggage i had... The metro train was ultra crowded, despite the time, so i was a little worried how i would fit on! (Got a few strange looks)


The next day, i had to be at NOVA headquarters by 11:00am, at an area of Tokyo called Shinjuku. Shinjuku is the busiest train station in the world. After a little wandering around, i managed to find the building and picked up my apartment key and also some other documents. In the office, there was a large stuffed toy of the NOVA mascot- a pink rabbit.



I returned to the hostel to pick up my gear and with the aid of a map, found my apartment. It is a 5-10 minute walk from the train station (Gyotoku). There is also a gym, supermaret and park close by- and also those incredibly cheap and tasty noodle bars.


I begin training on Monday at a branch at Tsudanuma and my regular working branch will be Kinshico, which is closer to central Tokyo than my house, and only a few stops away from 'electronic town' Akihabara.


Ok, i have written maybe too much again! Will try to put up some pics of my apartment (which is tiny) soon.


P.S. My terrible grammar and spelling in no way reflects my ablity as an English teacher... Haha.


Ja ne

Change...

Obviously change, coupled with a keen interest in Japan, is my main motivaion for embarking on this trip. However, i hope i dont get too restless being couped up in an aprtment in a big city!

My living conditions are going from this...


to this...

And my working conditions, from this...

to this...

Hmm, interesting...

4 days to go!!

Parting is such sweet sorrow

The registration on my 1982 Toyoto Celica expired today. This car has been very good to me- i bought it after returning from the USA in January 2006, for a measly $600 (which included 3 months rego). It has survived one and a half years of neglect, barring a three month hiatus last year when i treked around Europe. I thought the liklihood of my beloved, now unregistered, car being towed was high if it remained in the exact same position for one year, so i took it up to the family vineyard where it can take a well earned rest and 'be at one with nature'- my humble steed awaits my return...

Well, i now have my VISA

I received my VISA today!! I look like a criminal, but at least i have it...

I have had a pretty bad case of the flu so have been couped up inside, keeping warm next to the fire, for the past week. I dont want to jinx myself but i think i might have finally beaten it... I feel much better today.

9 days to go!!

It's a not a so bad...

Well, at first i was abit dissapointed that the provided housing isn't going to be south of Tokyo, because there are many traditional areas and temples and gardens in South Tokyo (Kamakura is one such area). However, chin up...

I made some posts on a website for foreigner surfers living in Japan, and one guy wrote back saying he lives in Ichikawa and has a car. He told me to message him when i get to Japan and he is keen to hook up for a surf. Apparently there are surfing beaches a little over an hour away. So sounds great if its works out, would be sweet to have someone show me the local breaks... Some of the posts also said that Ichikawa is a pretty nice place to live, which is good to hear, because i was expecting it to just be a mass residential area.

I am even more excited now, cant wait to go surfing in Japan!!

11 days to go!!