Lost Child in Tokyo

Day 13

Friday the 13^th. Well, not really, but kind of. It was my 13^th day in Japan and the last Friday I’d be spending with my sisters, along with being the last Friday before school began. Another nervous morning wondering if I’d make it to my school on time. In the end, I didn’t take any wrong trains and my morning was spent acquainting myself with the other international students and beginning to accept the new reality which was to become my life.

Around noon, my sisters came to my school for a tour, which I didn’t actually administer. Erin knew her way around my campus better than I did, so I let her take the lead. After a brief break to watch some Arashi variety show in the cafeteria, we made our way into the scorching heat yet again to take on Kichijoji.

Upon arrival in Kichijoji, we found our way to a ridiculously cheap Italian restaurant where I (kind of) enjoyed some cheap pasta. Okay, it wasn’t delicious, but it was like less than $5, so how can you complain with that? My stomach was well fed and I was to enjoy an all you can eat dinner of shabu shabu about four hours later so whatevs.

We walked around some shops, but it didn’t take long before the migraine monster struck again. While Rochelle decided to fight it off with her valiant weapon of the powerful nap, I read the disgustingly heavy textbook that I would later regret carrying around in my handbag. The nap worked (somewhat), and we made our way to karaoke after being inspired by the rapping store clerk outside of some shop. As you can see below, he had a sweet stereo system set up and everything to encourage customers to visit the store. In Japan, it’s common practice to pay employees to stand outside the stores and yell things to attract customers. I’ve been told it works, but I have yet to feel the compulsion it is supposed to create.

Ro lay on the bench in the karaoke place we went to and complained as Erin and I serenaded her to some great tunes like the Olympics song and some more Apple Bottom Jeans. Okay, I don’t know the lyrics to the Olympics song, but apparently Erin does. That’s right, Canada represent.

After karaoke, we hit up some more purikura, which was almost becoming a daily habit for us already. Unfortunately, it would be the last time for this trip! Waaah (as Rochelle would say).

Onto Shabu Shabu!! My first time to experience such deliciousness. For those of you who don’t know, it’s like a big boiling pot where you put meat, vegetables [and maybe some noodles or something] in and swish them around with your chopsticks until they reach your desired texture. And if it's all you can eat, you eat till your hearts content. Why can’t Canada have more amazing assortments of food like Japan? If I could bring these delicacies back to Canada, I could make a killing… maybe. But I’ll leave that for someone else to do. With the large amount of Japanese restaurants in Abbotsford, why do none of them compete with what I’m eating in Japan on a daily basis? I don’t understand.

Anyways, back to Kichijoji. We wandered around some shops before making our way to the beautiful Inokashira Park. It was late at night and the cicadas were turned up to full blast, but it was so peaceful! We chatted on a bench before Rochelle decided to run home and tried to lose Erin and I on the way. Why she wanted to become a lost child in the most populated city on Earth is beyond my comprehension. Yes, I know I got lost a few times on this trip, but it wasn’t by intention…

Upon arrival home, Rochelle enjoyed some of the cheap vodka that I bought the other day and serenaded… err… annoyed Erin and I with her renditions of our afternoon karaoke experience. Kracie.

Douchebag Haven

Day 12

So even with instructions on which trains to take and how to get to my school, I still get lost and confused along the way. First of all, I took the first wrong train and went in the wrong direction, then I took another wrong train and ended up lost and confused and had to ask a little old lady for help. In the end, I had to run up the hill and was about five minutes late for my school meeting. Originally, my plan was to deliver me safely about half an hour early… why do these things always happen to me?

After this, I was guided around by my advisor to get health insurance at the city hall, a bank account at a post office, and some delicious, pizza-like buns at a bread shop. In the afternoon, we had a campus tour where my new friend, Jasmine, translated everything for me. Chinese people really do study hard, wow, I’m still amazed. I want to be trilingual too...

My school tour ran a little late, so I had to run down the hill to make my train so as not to be late for our dinner date in Urawa! Another new experience, dinner in a Japanese home! On my train ride, I saw so many cute boys, but unfortunately for me, they were all too young. How do I know that? They were all wearing high school uniforms… *sigh* How will I ever find a boyfriend…? I seriously need a new hobby. Some gross smelly foreign guy kept nudging my arm on the train and had his Indian music turned up waay too high. イライラする.

After a quick snack at Cold Stone Creamery, we made our way to Maya’s home for dinner. Maya had to work late, so we were entertained and fed by her mother. The food was delicious and there was so much to eat! I was really regretting our Cold Stone stop. Little did I know, Maya’s mother would keep feeding us until we left their home some five hours later. After chatting for awhile, we watched television and relaxed. Then when Maya came home for dinner, we joined her yet another meal. I’d like to say that my stomach had never been that full, but since eating is one of my favorite pastimes, I think it may be a lie if I said that.

We enjoyed a great evening of chatting and eating and after taking some pictures together (apparently not with my camera, boo), we were chauffeured to the train station. What a sweet family. What a nice evening. At the train station though, we saw a salaryman curled up on the cement taking a nap... until he was being bothered by the station attendants. He did NOT seem impressed that they were disturbing his sleep. Just another regular Thursday night at a Tokyo train station...

On the ride home, Erin and I suddenly decided that tonight was the night for clubbing. We’d been discussing when to go during our whole trip, but I thought we had already decided against it... However, with a newfound burst of energy (possibly from our second or third helpings of dinner), we decided to hit the town! Rochelle was hesitant due to her sleepiness and usual eight pm bed time, but with a little encouragement, we were on our way. Taking a taxi, we hit up Roppongi, the land of foreigners.

Lex was the place to go if we wanted to do any Johnny hunting, so our options on clubs were limited. Upon arrival, I walked behind some guy who looked exactly like Yamapi did about two years ago. The resemblance was scary… maybe a little too encouraging, because the delusion of meeting Yamapi had already set in. It didn’t take long to become social, but was refused by the snotty European models. What biz-natches! Too bad for them, I made friends with some sweet Japanese girls and inquired with the bouncers if any Johnnys (aka Yamapi) were gonna be around tonight. Unfortunately for me, tonight wouldn’t be so lucky, but after speaking with the guy working the front door, I found out that Erin’s main man had been there three nights before. So close, but still so far away... Some white dudes tried talking to me, but it didn’t take them long to realize that I wasn’t interested. Maybe if I were better at pretending I’m interested, I could score more free drinks… Nah, I’d rather pay for my own drinks than waste my time with douchebags. Instead, I enjoyed the sauna-like atmosphere and sweated to my hearts content. However, at this point, I was already used to the Japanese heat. Yes, even at two in the morning, it is completely possible, if not unavoidable, to sweat like crazy.

Soon enough, we wandered our way back home so I could enjoy a four hour nap before I got up for another day of school and another kracie adventure...

Yes, I only took one picture today.

And yes, it does say "Ass one housing" on that advertisement.

Three White Girls Walk Into A Bar...

Hectic morning, oh my gosh. So we were running kind of late and I had to cart around my bulging suitcase, as I wanted to bring some of my belongings to my new home. And I really didn’t want to be late on my first day of meeting my school advisors, so we high-tailed it through a bunch of train stations to make it on time. In the process, I’m pretty sure I ran over someone’s foot with my suitcase in one of the stations… my bad. I think I mumbled “Sumimasen” after it happened, but considering my panic-stricken state to make our train, I can’t be sure…

In the end, we made the train, and it wasn’t long before Erin and Rochelle said farewell to me for the first time in almost two weeks! They were on their way to Mt. Takao to enjoy an adventure as I tried to mask my fear of what was to come.

Hino Train Station

Upon arrival, there was a lot of Japanese spoken, and the sweat began to pour. Okay, maybe not as heavy as the other day in Odaiba, but it was there! My advisor told me that she’d speak in Japanese and interpret as needed, but I’m pretty sure it was my horrified expression that thwarted that effort because she continued to speak in English after asking me how much Japanese I knew, to which I replied, not a whole lot.

The rest of my morning consisted of meeting all the other girls living in dorm and stumbling over the few Japanese words I knew, which encouraged the English speaking ones to switch to English. How delightful. Thank goodness the majority of them speak English almost perfectly… eventually, I began to feel a little more at ease. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that out of all the students, my Japanese was the worst – how depressing.

3 o’clock came around and the kracie sisters were reunited at Tachikawa Station! Little did I know, that this place would become quite familiar to me in no time. Only a two-minute train ride from my home, Tachikawa has a lot more to offer than Hino.

Hino

We arrived back to our air-conditioned haven and had some snacks and a nap before heading off for a ten year reunion with Rochelle’s long lost friend! Maiko was an exchange student in our hometown and I could hardly remember what she looked like. However, she spotted us immediately from afar (who would’ve guessed, three white girls wandering in a train station), and we made our way to my first izakaya! Maiko brought her English-speaking co-worker friend and he entertained us over dinner with his humor and story-telling. There was some party going on in the middle of the izakaya, so our servers didn't pay much attention to us. I was pretty tempted to just wander out of our booth and mingle among the others, but I think I would've stuck out like a sore thumb... just a little...

Ro and Maiko

After dinner, I enjoyed my first taxi ride in Tokyo! The doors here open and close by themselves (I am assuming the button is controlled by the driver), it was pretty sweet. We made our way back to our hood to Grigio for some drinks and eventually departed, as I had another early morning and had to find my way to Hino on my own… which would prove to be another adventure….

Okonomiyaki

Today was supposed to be a day of accomplishing many things.. but of course, as we got distracted by all the lights and flashy things that Tokyo has to offer, we ended up shopping the whole day in the same areas we’d already been. Let the day begin – back to Shiboots!

NEWS

Some random parade/protest sweeping through the streets..

Note to self, never buy an item in Japan that you’re not 100% sure that you want to keep. Apparently it is super difficult for all stores to accept returns, if they even do! I purchased a pair of shoes from Gap at a different location, and tried to return them, but no can do. So we wandered to Ragtag where Erin sold some of her designer goods. Then we stumbled across Ichiran! The most delicious ramen restaurant in the world!! You sit alone in these little cubicles and there is a little window in the front of your cubicle that the staff lower once they’ve placed the food in front of you (the kitchen is behind your window). You even choose your desired taste preferences by selecting the options from a sheet – thank goodness they had an English version.

After our lunch we wandered to some stores where the sisters bought some more goods. Miu Mui sunglasses, no big deal, Ro is revolutionizing! The only good I purchased all day was an umbrella because an unexpected rain shower decided to grace us with it’s presence. It was like $20, but didn’t end up feeling very sturdy… it is light though, which is why I guess they sell. It appeared to be popular as the other customers ran in from the rain and made a b-line for the umbrella section…

Then, we wandered to Aoyama to shop in style. Hysteric Glamour, Miu Miu, Comme Des Garcons, Prada, Chanel… just to name a few. Ro finally purchased the sweet purse that our trip was partially revolving around. Success! Snotty ladies at Prada, eat your heart out.

After the sisters splurged, they encouraged me to purchase those Chanel sneaks I’d been eyeing… but in the end, can I really justify dropping almost a grand on a pair of sneaks? Umm… maybe if I’m in the right mood, but not today. This tight student budget is really grabbing a hold on my usual shopping tendencies. Instead, I splurged on a crepe in Harajuku and we wandered our way back to the Gap where I had found my shoes to return them. But could I return them? Nope. Man these people are picky. The original receipt isn’t good enough, you need the slip of paper to verify the credit card number used to purchase them! What a pain in the bum.

So we made a quick trip to drop off the millions of bags that Rochelle had acquired and made our way back to Shinjuku where the sisters let me scour the shops for the messenger bag I’ve been looking for. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found, so we met up an hour later to have some okonomiyaki. However, not really knowing what to do, we had to ask for the advice of our server who yammered on about what to do, as we ignored her voice and solely watched to figure out what the heck she was talking about. I mainly expected the other sisters to pay attention, so I focused on the table beside us as they continued to get sloshed.

Then it was home to my bed where I could worry about the following day's activities which would include going to my new school and getting introduced to the people who would become my roommates for the following year…

Walk-thru McDonald's, North America would be wise to follow suit

The Oven

I don’t think it was even ten in the morning and the tears were already flowing. Having to deal with the massive charge that the Best Buy girl put on my credit card the day before I left Canada still leaves a sour taste in my mouth for her incompetence. Apparently you can’t call collect to Canada, but there must be a cheaper way than spending $10 every time you want to have a ten-minute conversation! Unfortunately, I still haven’t figured that one out. The crap I dealt with from MasterCard has made me realize that after this is all over, I will be swiftly changing my my credit card services to Visa after I cash my airmiles and score a free trip! Vegas… here I come!! But before I start planning my next vacation, let’s focus on the one I’m currently experiencing…

Upon arrival at Odaiba, we [Erin] found our way to the setting of NEWS’ Sakura Girl music video – a beautiful park. The view was great! After enjoying the beautiful scenery in the cool breeze by the sea, we wandered our way back into the scorching heat, which was in actuality, maybe only a block from the cool sea breeze… The sweat began [resumed] to pour as we walked to the Fuji Television building! The gift store was blasting the air conditioning on high and we went through at a slow pace to enjoy it in all it’s glory with beautiful faces everywhere we turned (on merchandise of course, I can’t remember seeing any hotties in person…)

Yamapi was here! Just not at the same time as me... boo.

It's an ant! Oh wait, I mean Rochelle... hehe








Arashi

Fuji Terebi

Nodame Cantabile


I didn't know it then, but my 16 minute memories would be coming...

After that, we walked to the miniature (but still huge) version of the Statute of Liberty. Why is this here? No one seems to know, but it’s a tourist attraction anyhow. Then we found an all-you-can-eat American buffet called The Oven. What a suiting name for the weather we were experiencing. It had a delicious assortment of foods, but their dessert buffet was seriously lacking. I’ve never seen such small portions in my life. I’m pretty sure the bowl of fruit had about two chunks of pineapple in each bowl (like, baby-sized, from a can). Honestly, two.

Say ahh... Sorry sistre, it was too funny to not add!


Onto purikura and some shopping. Only in Japan do they have a store separated into two different locations with a sign at the one location that says “please bring to other location to pay.” Seriously? These people need more security measures.

Then, we walked to a Hong-Kong themed mall where we all took a million pictures and felt like we had stepped into another country. I don’t think I can count how many pictures Rochelle took of herself and the life-sized Jackie Chan cardboard cutout that they had at every corner of the mall.

You must obey Shiriki Utundu





Take 1












Oh sistre, you're so silly.

That guy's shirt says "I'm chicken" What??


Just count, how many errors are on this restaurant sign?
I guess it's a good thing that most of their customers can't read English.



I wanted to take this little be-bi chan home with me.
She kept trying to climb up there but she was too small... cuuuuute!!

More picture taking of the Statue of Liberty and landscape around the Rainbow Bridge. Then, we walked to another mall that was closed but attached to a Toyota showroom that had self-driving cars to take for a ride. Since Erin had enjoyed that experience before, she let Rochelle and I do the honors. It was pretty sweet. Then we went on the 16-minute-memories Ferris Wheel that I made a song for! It was called 16 Minute Memories. And those are the lyrics too! I still know how it goes. I’m sure Rochelle and Erin do too, since I sang it almost the whole time, with small intervals of the apple bottom jean’s song in between. What’s the name of that song again? Ah well, it’s not really important anyways… Who needs to know the whole song!? To know two lines of a song are sufficient to annoy anyone! Which is what I’m apparently good at.

Oh yeah, and how can I forget? I bought a pair of sandals on sale for 190 Yen (approximately $2 Canadian). Half price! Can you believe it? I’m still not sure of the quality, about 2 months later, I’ve only worn them...twice.

I'm driving without hands! Oh wait, I'm not driving at all!!

Weeee

It's a ghost...


16-minute-memories

Akihabara! Why were there so many nerdy white guys wandering around? Oh wait, this is like the manga capital of Tokyo. Next! At Yotobashi Camera, I think I studied straightening irons for about 45 minutes before I decided on the first one my sister suggested (when I began to look). In my journal, I also wrote that we saw a very drunk man somewhere. Where? I can’t remember. The abundance of them on a Friday night is astounding. But wait, this was a Monday. It’s hard to keep track when you’re on vacation…

My man (one of them)