The time has gone quickly and it's hard to believe that I have been here as long as I have. It's now twice the amount of time I have been overseas previously.
No signs of homesickness yet. Japan is a cool place to live. The only thing I can really complain about is the monotony and crowding of the trains.
Instead of catching the express trains, I sometimes just stay on the all-stops to have a seat to sit on, and the timing isn't that much longer anyway.
Today was a very lazy day. It's been raining and neither of us was in the mood to go out. I watched "Superbad" last night until 3:30pm. As my eyes couldn't stay open, I called it a night and watched the rest this morning.
A very funny movie. Destined to be a classic for sure.
Later, we went to Shinjuku. I wanted to buy another bag. My old Contiki bag is starting to get a few holes and I think it needs to be retired before my iPod or something falls out.
I had seen a huge bag for 1050 yen at the Sanpei discount store, which is really, really cheap. Gf thought it was way too big, which it was, but it was cheap!
I laboured over making a decision which one to get. I settled on a nice looking backpack for 1290 yen. It was a little smaller than the other one I had in mind, but it had a few extra compartments I can use.
We crossed the road to Kinokuniya book store and I picked up a map of ALL the train lines in the Greater Tokyo area, surprisingly including little ol' Keikyu Tomioka.
It said 250 yen on the package, but when I paid for it, the cashier gave me 1 yen back. Huh?
I have a copy of Guitar Pro 5 for my Mac. I have used this program on a PC before and it's a great way to learn tabs. One of my goals here is to also become a better guitar player. Er, and maybe learn a little Japanese as well sometime.
Sunday 30 September 2007
4 Months In Japan and a Backpack
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 2 comments
Labels: Shinjuku
Friday 28 September 2007
Kawasaki
Today I was in Kawasaki.
This place is nice and would be a good place to live I think. All the mod cons and a UFO catcher arcade.
I wanted to pay my rent today, so with furikomi kado in hand I walked into the busy UFJ bank and lined up with the other Japanese before the 3pm closing time.
I thought the money transfer card would make it easier, but I still had to know which button was "bank transfer" and what to do after that so I asked for help once more.
This is the last time that I am paying rent here so I'll cross the next bridge when I get to it.
The day went well. I like this school. The staff are nice, and I had a lot of their lollies. I only had two lessons. One that I even volunteered for another teacher.
Also I pretended to be a kid for a kids class as there was only one student, making it difficult for him to play the games alone. It was quite fun.
We were to draw fruit on the whiteboard. Sometimes I would draw a triangle and a circle. The next time I drew a loaf of bread for an apple. That kind of thing.
After work I rushed to catch the next possible train and got home by 10:30pm. I made a risotto curry and veges. Another nice meal, extra strong with two blocks of curry and topped off with Parmesan cheese. Sounds good doesn't it? Mmm..
Jesse wasn't home and didn't arrive until 7am in the morning from partying hard all night. He had two hours sleep before going to work.
It was nice that I had the house all to myself for a while.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: Kawasaki
Thursday 27 September 2007
How To Do Nothing On Your Day Off
I still haven't managed to go to bed early. I mean to go to sleep around midnight, but it's still the usual 2am or 3am crash out.
Today I didn't wake up until 1pm.
I was thinking it was 10am or so. I cleaned around the house. I vacuumed the floor. There must have been so much dirt on the floor, that walking across it in barefeet felt "sandy". Under my bed I found a lot of old teacher's posters and dust from the last tenant.
I forget to mention previously that Derek has finally left the apartment, even after living here for a month without paying, using his deposit money to cover his remaining time here.
I did a wash of my clothes and bedsheets. I think it's been over a week since I did it last and I guess it's as good a time as any to do it. I walked down to the station's bank ATM to try to pay my month's rent, but I couldn't get it to work. Damn Japanese! I'll do it tomorrow in Yokohama or Kami-Ōoka.
I mostly fixed up my virtual machine of XP on my mac. It all seems to be working now. Only the iSight driver for the webcam, but that is not a big issue.
I've been getting stuck into my Ghana and Crunky biscuits. I think UFO catching for food is a better idea than the toys, especially when I'm craving some junk food. It's like I'm hunting, bringing home the wildebeasts for dinner.
After much persistance from my brother, I have finally made my presence on Facebook. So far I have only found two classmates from school. It's interesting to see what's happening with people I haven't seen in over ten years. Oh, the years go by so quickly.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 10:24 pm 0 comments
Wednesday 26 September 2007
Don't Fight The Crunky That Be
An early start this morning. Thankfully unlike last week I remembered what day it was and got up in plenty of time to get there.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:24 pm 2 comments
Labels: UFO catchers, Yokohama
Tuesday 25 September 2007
Jimmy Van Hendricks
This is one of the photos that I forgot to put up for the Miyajama post.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:30 pm 0 comments
Monday 24 September 2007
Ban The Bomb
We woke up at 8am, had breakfast and finally left the Green Rich Hotel at 10am.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdg4kRgkwz5xUkxMQwon1yA3LHuW0FrfZ2b_iA-mf7GOzDcG0IMMKcrpwNNdtnfjX8ZTWFitv8qGlvKCIGXaNeD_8ivRE-zXBUo4ZKAw4_jlDgkyq_zmnXybHW0RF0Sd6ROi_ce4kvJeO/s1280/DSC00715.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yY5TXEbFTEjRIVI0jj1I4-Bf3PSvXb9oNoLdrijGPRXPRd42Ib4ljXwOqnkD1Up7wuuE5dl0wrR6bSx4BGQZqW8MqHwD9Enpec2FSRZEbkkmvkxPGSKgVgFHWWNEeEQYQZSxCfg6Ze1x/s1632/DSC00723.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJX1nCPJfnBioJV-cMvaNSVT2Qf_HMmGjfY4ufz7VfxSVIej3oJtvG6IMqrPT7Lnt0qJWVWscooL2u4WP8B2HzGJm8nT0eF2l7aFL7tHna5_jDAqqaDv6F2oV5C0gTD5_c3e0b6IsnaJW/s1632/DSC00730.jpg)
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:30 pm 0 comments
Labels: Hiroshima
Sunday 23 September 2007
Miyajima's Paper-eating Deer
I was meaning to get to bed earlier than midnight, but considering I normally get to bed at 2 or 3am this was pretty good for me. Only thing is, I WOKE UP at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep. I wanted to wake up at 4am in order to get to Haneda Airport at 6am. So, that gave me only 3hrs sleep. Oh no..
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nKgSI9amg87SVJhYprIeQoCU_w60ZTudwYruGzL47_MSahiIJyQZCDr-GFkCqsVAUCJz6c9O8tQFeayDZVoSYs_k-bH5JIji5WRK-lgRGISvMa6mQCFhdbOWDM7zd8OOlyNZ2iY9xvnn/s1280/DSC00633.jpg)
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 8:46 am 0 comments
Labels: Miyajima
Friday 21 September 2007
Kami-Ōoka
I wasn't in Yokohama today, but actually posted to go to Kami-Ōoka.
I had plenty of time, so I got some extra money for my Hiroshima trip, and updated my passbook to show all the money I have been earning and spending so far.
I got to Kami-Ōoka fairly early, so I went to look for the drug store that Jesse said had a big jar of Nescafe for about 400 yen. I found the chemist, but I wasn't sure of the price so I ended up buying it and paying 627 yen.
I managed to arrive home before 10pm. I went to the supermarket to buy a Crunky. It's been a while so I needed my fix. Absent mindedly I actually forgot to give the 100 yen to the cashier. I must have thought I was paying "credit" with my Points Card.
I made a risotto curry for dinner and reinstalled XP on my mac. It is running better and I can use USB finally. Two more sleeps till Hiroshima!
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Thursday 20 September 2007
Real Estate, Planes and Gachapin
Oh it's thursday once more so it's great to have a day off after only two days of working.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Wednesday 19 September 2007
A Close Call
Thinking it was tuesday not wednesday, I had in my mind that I didn't have to get up until midday.
Seeing that it WAS wednesday, I had to BE at work by 10:35am. I received a message at about 9:30am from the gf asking what time she wanted to meet me after work. This actually woke me up.
I had the quickest shower and breakfast and somehow I was able to catch the 10am from Tomioka to get to Yokohama on time.
Thanks gf. You saved my life.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:30 am 1 comments
Tuesday 18 September 2007
The Lonely Road to Shin-sugita
With the "Respect for the Aged" holiday yesterday, today feels like a Monday.
Not a great feeling when I am coming from Tokyo and then going to Fujisawa. At least I don't have my regular kids class today, so not all that bad.
This is the way that I walk from Tomioka to Shin-sugita. As I walk down my hill, I get to the main road and walk through this Tomioka tunnel.
I walk along this lonely road after the tunnel. Not only is this walk really good exercise for me, I find it really helpful for thinking time, contemplating my life and how I ended up here in Japan.
I'm almost there. If you look carefully under the tall apartment in the centre of the picture, you will see the La Vista shopping complex which houses the Suzikiya supermarket, the Club Sega and the nearby JR line Shin-sugita station.
After work I got the usual Calpis, OJ and two packs of Azuki iceblocks. Just the essentials.
Looks like there maybe a problem with moving out. I may end up staying in Tomioka after all. I haven't received any confirmation from the rental company, and someone is getting cold feet about the move.
My plan to move was primarily to save money and to be closer to Tokyo. This also means a much longer commuting time and for what? To bust my ass? Sometimes I should think with my head. The right one.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments