Breadcrumbs and thoughts from Japan

After passing through 5 different airports, 9680 killometers travelled, 8 timezones crossed and 30 hours on the way I finally made it to Tokyo, Japan. I flew from Ljubljana to Munich, then from Munich to Doha, from Doha to Osaka and finally from Osaka to Tokyo.

Unfortunately I still don't have internet in the dormitory, but that is soon about to change, as I already made some inquiries and will probably buy WiMAX mobile router and subscribe to their internet service. That is also one part of the reason why I still haven't updated my blog since I came to Japan. The other one being that I was so busy from the day I arrived here, that I just didn't have any time to write down my thoughts.

In Japan you really feel like a foreigner. In the full Airbus A330 there was maybe 10 non-japanese people and all the other ones were Japanese. As we were flying from Doha airport (Qatar) to Tokyo, we stopped at Kansai Airport, which is at the coast near Osaka. People travelling to Osaka took off, and the passengers flying further to Tokyo (me included) needed to leave the plane for a security check at the airport and then board the same plane again.

Incident at the Kansai airport

A Spanish girl, who bought a nice expensive perfume in Doha airport (as I later found out), was in front of me when leaving the plane. When we came to the security check, an officer there searched her bag and told her that she cannot take the perfume with her back to the plane. The perfume was still wrapped and she had receipt from Doha airport, but they wouldn't allow her to bring it back to the plane. She tryed to explain that she bought it at the airport, but of course the officer didn't understand her and just kept repeating »Dame des(u)!« and putting his arms in a cross position. When I decided to move past her and go on (the boarding has already started), she was nearly crying, so I don't know how she resolved the situation. I still don't understand why they wouldn't allow it, but I'm sure there must be an explanation, which was probably written in Kanji at the gate.

Entering Japan at Narita airport

We landed at Narita Airport, which is the main airport in Tokyo. As I came through immigration, as part of landing procedures, I was required to supply my fingerprints and allow them to take a photograph of me. I also needed to give out my Certificate of eligibility and show my cultural activities visa, which is valid for 1 year. I first collected my baggage, then went to baggage delivery company and sent the baggage to the dormitory. This is a very convenient service, as they deliver the baggage for you anywhere in Tokyo for a small fee (it was around 17€), so you don't need to carry it with yourself all the time. And especially because I spent the first night in Asia Center of Japan Hotel, booked and paid for by EU-Japan Centre, which was not where I am living now. So when I arrived at SANYO dormitory the next day, the big suitcase was already waiting for me in my room.

Moving to dormitory

All 3 of us, who will be working at SANYO, are in the same dormitory in Tokyo. It is actually in Saitama, Kasukabe, which is a bit north, out of the city centre. We met with the dorm manager, who speaks no English at all, so it is quite hard to communicate. It helps a lot that I learned a bit of Japanese during the summer, so I can mix the little Japanese I know with English, hands, a lot of nodding, pointing and gesticulating, but it is still pretty challenging.

Everything electronic in the dormitory is made by SANYO. They serve us breakfast and supper in the dormitory, which is very convenient. Well, every day but Sunday. On Sunday, I need to arrange the food by myself. Also, the food is very different from the one I am used to. It can be very good, but it can also be of very strange taste. They have a loot of sea food, which is usually raw. Also, the portions are quite small and the prices are quite high.

Also, when counting floors, they start at 1 and not 0 as we do in Europe. So the ground floor is 1 and the first floor is 2 (it's useful to know that when you are in an elevator).

When something doesn't work just bang it hard

The air conditioning in my room was not working, so I called the dormitory manager. I thought he will try to look at the settings of the air conditioning, but he didn't even bother to look at the remote control (which has a million different options, of course everything in Japanese Kanji). Instead, he grabbed a chair, stepped on it and started to bang really hard on the air conditioning. Of course, he did not solve the problem :). So he decided to move me to another room temporarily, where I will stay until the air conditioning in my room is fixed. And one absolutely needs an air conditioning, as one would die without it. During the day it reaches 35, 36, 37 degrees and there is no breeze so it's unbearable.

Opening ceremony at the EU-Japan centre

There was a nice opening ceremony at the EU-Japan centre on Thursday. We had to dress smart as a lot of important people were also attending, representatives from embassies, companies, former Vulcanus in Japan and Vulcanus in Europe (it's the same program for Japanese students who go to Europe for 1 year) participants, representatives of EU and representatives from Japan. I was a bit disappointed as there was no one from Slovenian Embassy, as there were representatives from Italian, Polish, French, Czech and other embassies, and even representatives from embassies of countries that have no students attending Vulcanus in Japan, like Austria and Bulgaria.

As we found out, it is a tradition in Japan to drink at such occasions and we were told to raise glasses and toast after the Japanese representative's speech. In Japanese language, when you toast, you say »Kampai!«. All in all, it was a very, very nice evening and I really enjoyed the conversations I had. I hope to get some photos from people who had their cameras.

Karaoke bar and shibuya crossing

After the opening ceremony we went to a karaoke bar in Shibuya (it is a district of Tokyo). It was a nice place and we got our own room, where we sang songs and drank beer. We paid ¥1800 per person. Then we went to see Shibuya crossing, which is the most famous crossing in all of Tokyo. Especially at night, it is very magnificient and feels like you are in a world metropol. There are tall buildings all around, with massive displays behind glass windows, which show advertisements. When the lights are green, they are green for passengers at all 4 streets of the crossing. All the people move at once to cross it. There are sooo many people, it's hard to describe it. It is said this is the busiest district in Tokyo.

Akihabara, the electric town

Yesterday we went to Akihabara, which is called the Electric town. It is a dictrict of Tokyo, where they sell everything electronic. You can buy anything you want, from mobile phones, computers, laptops, to TV sets, console games, adapters, converters ... They have big stores with many floors, but they also have smaller shops. There are also second-hand shops, where you can buy used equipment, which sometimes comes at a lot smaller price.

Many people are walking though Akihabara streets and there are these girls standing on the corners, shouting something and giving out brochures for different stores. What got my attention is how they were dressed. Some of them looked no older than 13, 14 years and they were dressed almost porn-like, with high heels, strange skirts, pink shirts...

Unfortunately I still don't have a camera or mobile phone, so I can't upload any photos to my blog, but I will soon buy one. Usually, Japanese phones do not work in Europe and vice versa, as they have a completely different telecommunication system. It is not unusually for a mobile phone to have 12 megapixels here, with TV on it and everything.

You are not allowed to smoke while walking

There are a lot of things that are new and strange to me here in Japan. I am here only 5 days so far so I haven't experienced the true Japan yet, but I am starting to acknowledge and accept the different culture that I will be living in for the whole year. For example, you are not allowed to smoke while walking. And in Tokyo, you can only smoke in some areas that are specially marked.

The streets are unimaginably clean

Another thing that got my attention is how clean the city is. This is so very interesting because they have absolutelly no trash bins. I repeat, no trash bins. You can walk for 30 minutes in Tokyo and don't see a single trash bin. I don't know where they throw their trash. It is even more fascinating how they were able to build society that keeps the streets so clean. In my country, there are trash cans and you still see a lot of trash on the streets. If a trash bin is too far away, people just throw the garbage on the street. Not here! They even go to such lengths as to dress the trees in special kind of nets, so that when leaves fall, they get caught up in the net and don't fall on the street.

Japanese cars

Another thing that you notice are the cars. All cars here are of Japanese manufactoring, with a few exceptions of Audi, Mercedes or BMW that I have seen. But absolutely no other European cars like Peugeot, Renault, Fiat, Seat, Opel or some other brand. And even the Japanese ones, like Toyota, Suzuki, Honda are designed and sold specifically for Japanese market, as they have totally different models here than we have in Europe. Half of the cars are square, funny little moving boxes. Hilarious. I need to take some photos of their cars, as this is something you must see. 

Public transport system

They have a unique and very sophisticated transport system of trains and buses. There are different kind of trains, which are divided according to speed with which they can travel. Some trains and tracks are operated by private companies and some are national. But together, they provide one linked service, which is among the best in the world. The trains are fast, frequent, clean and confortable. Trains range from the slowest trains, stopping at all the stations (which are called futsu) to bullet trains (which are called shinkansen), which are the fastest and can reach speeds of up to 300km/h. Some experimental models have gone even significantly faster. The transport is very efficient, but also very expensive. I have just paid around 675 euros for 3 months for the line Kasukabe – Shibuya, which is the line I will take to go from dormitory to school.

On the trains, people are usually very quiet, seated and typing on their mobile phone. It's a real phenomena to me. Practically everybody on the metro is either looking at their mobile phone and typing something or reading manga / book.

The first day I arrived I bought a PASMO card. This is an electronic card, which you use to pay metro, train or even bus. It is very convenient to have just one card, which you touch when entering the station and when leaving the station. The money is deducted from your PASMO at the end station and the cost is automatically calculated according to which route you take.

Japanese people

People are really very polite and dutiful. Most people also are very friendly and want to help you. There were a few occasions though, when the people simply ignored a friend of mine, looked at the floor and ran away. It happens especially if you start to speak in English. But usually, they really try hard to understand what you are trying to say. It helps a lot to be able to speak at least a little Japanese, for example when asking for directions or train schedule, when buying something or eating something. Maybe it is not obvious from what I have written so far, but the majority of people do not speak English and you are really lucky if you find someone who does.