Home.

Christchurch, Wellington, Hong Kong and Tokyo. All the cities I have lived in up till now. I still remember Rachael asking me before I left Christchurch for Uni, “How long are you going away for?” I replied, “Well, my degrees will take 5 years, so when you are 12 I will come home to Christchurch again.” In November of 2001 I remember looking through my old bank statements and working out I had been back about once every six weeks. No wonder I have such a huge student loan!

I had even thought of “going home” and transferring to Canterbury Uni in June ’01 but I’m really glad I didn’t. Second Semester was when I made my really close friends at Vic House and at Uni, friends I will love for life. I suppose it was about halfway through 2002 when I realised I was referring to Wellington as “home.” I was in Christchurch for a weekend and realised I just really missed “home” – Wellington. Perhaps it had something to do with Mike being there? So for the next three years, Wellington really was home. I still went to Christchurch for Christmas (actually, two of them were in Nelson) and I still think of Christchurch as home too – can you have two homes? I think the answer is yes! Because now I have three.

My favourite year in Wellington was probably 2004. That will probably offend Mike a little bit since it was the year he was away, but it actually has more to do with living back at Vic House and not having two (or three) jobs on the go at the same time as Uni. I loved having more time to get involved at university and going out with my friends a few nights a week. I discovered Red Tomatoes in Kelburn and made a habit of going on Monday nights for student specials. I still really miss BYO restaurants!

Of course, in November 2004 Mike returned to Wellington and it was pretty good to see him! We moved in together at the beginning of ’05 and those 6 months were a lot of fun too. Pity my most vivid memories of living in Berhampore are the rain and the cold since we left in the middle of winter! We had quite a few warm summer months there too earlier in the year. During the course of those 6 months, we were somehow convinced to add a detour to Hong Kong to our OE itinerary. We still booked our flights all the way through to London and promised we’d be there for Christmas.

And then on June 24, 2005 Mike and I finally left NZ and I FINALLY went on my first overseas trip without my parents! All the way to Hong Kong (it’s 12 hours from Auckland, in case you were wondering). The first few weeks were spent hunting for an apartment and finding a job but we settled in pretty quickly and within a few months I think we knew we wouldn’t be making it to the UK by Christmas.

If Mike and I hadn’t moved to our Tai Kok Tsui apartment (which we’re still renting!), I don’t think Hong Kong would’ve been quite so much like home. We loved having a pool and tennis courts right outside, not to mention having a kitchen bigger than a cupboard and a second bedroom to put all our extra crap in! Funny how we accumulated so much STUFF despite only arriving in Hong Kong with a pack each!

But even though we loved our life we couldn’t turn down the opportunity to experience Tokyo by living and working here. Sure, we could’ve come over for a weekend but a walking tour of Shinjuku, seeing Harajuku and getting up early to visit Tsukiji are only the tip of the iceberg of Life here. Plus, this way I can (try to) learn Japanese!

Who knows whether I’ll ever call Tokyo Home. I could definitely call Hong Kong home again, and when people ask where we’re from I find it really hard to just say “New Zealand” and leave it at that. I won’t be a real Hong Konger till I lose about 20kgs, eat cake for breakfast and use whitening products by choice ... and even then I doubt whether Kiki would consider me a true “Hong Kong People.” But that doesn’t stop me from calling Hong Kong my third Home.

Never Smile at a Crocodile

Who remembers that song?!

It's time for Sarah's random thought for the day. Yes, I have a bit of time on my hands this week.

Anyways, I was doing the washing yesterday (!) and what should I discover all over my clothes when I opened up the washing machine? Wet tissue! Everywhere! Ugh! SO the moral of the story is check all the pockets before you put the washing on. Lucky for me, it wasn't such a big load of washing and I managed to get it all off before I put everything in the dryer. Ah, the trials of being a tai tai hey.

So today I am going to work some more on my Japanese. I am trying out James W. Heisig's book Remembering the Kana. So far it's going OK, I think I am learning them!

Also looking at joining an ikebana class in September. Should help keep me out of trouble!

Monday's Random Piece of Information

Random bit of information for today: there’s no tooth fairy in Japan!

When I arrived at my job this afternoon T asked me, “what happens when you lose a tooth in New Zealand?”
(HUH?!)
“When your tooth falls out, what do you do with it?”
(OH!) So I explained about the tooth fairy and how you put your tooth under your pillow and the “Tooth Fairy” (AKA Dad) puts money under your pillow.
T asked how much. “Um, well I think I used to get 50 cents?”
Actually, I think when I got 50 cents I was pretty happy!

But then I asked, what about here in Japan? And I learned how when you lose a bottom tooth you throw it on the roof so the old tooth can pull the new one up. And when you lose a top tooth you bury it in the ground – so the old one can push out the new one. Makes sense to me!

By the way, can someone tell me how much the Tooth Fairy leaves kids these days?! I couldn’t answer that question!

More photos online NOW

Have just uploaded a new album on Yahoo! You can link to them from here: Sarah and Mike's photos.

Remember you can check for new albums/photos by clicking on the Photos link on the right. (I might not remember to post every time I create a new album)

Enjoy!

Meguro, Ebisu and Shibuya

Sarah in front of Ebisu Garden Place. Apparently the "experts" describe this area as an architectural disaster. It's all faux-European but in a really Japanesey way. Kinda pretty with all the garden and water features though!

This afternoon Mike and I caught the train to the end of the line in Meguro. There wasn't a lot to see there but it was the easiest way to get to Ebisu from our place. Between Meguro and Ebisu Stations we came across Ebisu Garden Place, which is where you can find the Sapporo Head Office and a whole bunch of cafes and restaurants. You can also find the Yebisu Beer Museum, which is where Mike and I were headed. The Beer Museum is open 10am - 6pm, daily except Mondays. When Monday is a "Horiday, Tuesday is closed." Everything is in Japanese but there is an English brochure which explains most things as you go. We were handed a "taster" (a medium-sized plastic cup, not much smaller than the ones you get at rugby matches) of Sapporo as we headed in the door - a good start!


We made our way through the various exhibits including a gallery of beer ads from 1952 - 2000s, which all seemed to feature beautiful women selling Sapporo. Next we saw the History of Beer Around the World where we learned that even in Ancient Egypt people had to carry home their drunken mates.

Another gem was the Magical Vision Theatre where a "wondrous 3D magic vision cut" told us "the mysteries of the good taste of beer in an interesting manner." Apparently it was the story of the King of Beer's battle with The Evil One. The winner (the one with the best tasting beer) won the heart of the Beer Fairy!

All this lead to the Tasting Room where we bought a ticket (from a vending machine, of course!) and exchanged it for a Beer Set, which included Major Weiss Beer Major Ale, Yebisu Beer and Yebisu Black Beer and Sapporo Beer Crackers. All for ¥400! Now we know why the Museum closes at 6pm - so that the local businessmen can't go and hang out and drink cheap beer after work!

After the Beer Museum we were both feeling a little tipsy so thought we'd better find some lunch. We ended up in a yakitori restaurant in the basement of Ebisu Garden Place. The food was delicious but the atmosphere was spoiled by the smokers who were sitting just down the counter from Mike and I. Very few restaurants are smoke-free in Tokyo!

Our walk from Ebisu to Shibuya was made a little easier by the travelators which took us from Ebisu Garden Place all the way to Ebisu Station. From there we walked to Shibuya through winding, narrow streets passing an unbelievable number of hair salons on the way. By the time we arrived in Shibuya we were feeling a bit sleepy (that early afternoon beer - oops) but we managed to wander around for a couple of hours.

Shibuya was crazy busy. Full of young people wearing crazy outfits (including the foreigners!), huge TV screens on the sides of buildings and Japanese homeboys cruising round in their flashy cars. Completely insane. Shibuya is also the home of the Love Hotel area, although Mike and I opted not to sample those! Love Hotels allow you to rent a room by the hour (or for the day/night) and apparently you can even choose whichever fantasy decor you desire.

Cheering on the All Blacks the Old Fashioned Way

South Africa 26 - New Zealand 45

The ABs had a great win against the Boks last night but Mike and I didn't get to see it. The game was on at 10pm here in Japan and unfortunately it wasn't on either of the two sports channels we have here in the apartment (unlike the previous weeks' matches).

At first we resigned ourselves to watching the play-by-play commentaries. TV One has one but it was terrible. Every second comment was "and another big hello to Bruce from King Country who is watching this commentary" .... Sorry, but I don't care who else is watching, I just want to know what's going on in the game! We also managed to find the Planet Rugby site which while only updating every minute like TV One's coverage at least only passed comments on the game at hand rather than who was tuning in from the provinces.

But then I had a brainwave - surely with all the radio stations broadcasting online these days we must be able to find true live coverage with a real live commentator? The answer is YES. Hooray for Radio Sport in New Zealand who broadcast live online. We got to hear most of the game, including the crowd reaction, as if we were listening to the radio at home. So just like JK on that Weetbix ad Mike and I were avidly listening and waiting to hear what would happen next.

It was great that we got to hear what was going on, but sounds like it was the wrong game to miss! I think Mike was wishing he had walked to Hobgoblin to watch the game for real. Still, at least we didn't have to sit there watching Grant Fox saying hi to all the Grannies in Foxton and missing out on the action! I think we'll be heading out to Roppongi for the final Tri Nations game if it's not on here though. Even if it does mean staying out past midnight ;)

After a reasonably late start this morning (and delicious BLATs made by moi) Mike and I are heading out to Shibuya via Meguro and Ebisu this afternoon. Might check out the Beer Museum!

My new favourite shop

This week has been pretty different to my first few weeks in Tokyo. I started work on Monday and we’ve moved into our new place. I feel like I’m seeing a whole new city! It’s been great meeting new people and getting advice on different things to do. I know where to go buy myself a bike now and I should be able to get a mobile this weekend too. With a bike I’ll be able to see even more of Tokyo, which I’m really looking forward to.

Yesterday I had my first ¥100 Shop experience. I picked a pretty good one to go to for my first time too! One of the girls from work took me there yesterday afternoon so I even had a tour guide – and help reading Japanese :) We went to the store in Funabashi which has SIX floors. Yip, six. ¥100 stores are kind of like $2 Shops at home. Except the things you can buy are 100 times cooler. It’s not just plastic fantastic and cheap rubbish from China in these stores (Although there’s plenty of it if you’re interested). There’s gardening tools, Hello Kitty, crockery, cutlery, Tupperware (OK, maybe not the real thing but a huge variety), clothing, bags, games, toys, electronics …. We were there for two hours yesterday and there are still things I want to go back and buy.

I’m sure not all the ¥100 stores are as great as the one I went to yesterday. I know they’re not all 6 floors high either. But it was great fun and a good way to fuel that shopping addiction without breaking the bank! It was getting dark when we left and I didn’t get home till nearly 7pm!

Actually, that was partly because I had to take 3 trains to get home from Funabashi and had a 15 minute (underground) walk between Kokkai-gijidomae and Tameike-sanno stations to change trains! Our new place is great for getting to work and going out eating and drinking, but the Namboku Line is really inconvenient as far as Tokyo subway lines go – you have to change trains to go anywhere exciting! I do feel like I am getting used to the trains here though.

And although they don’t have the super-convenient Octopus card here, the system does seem very fair: on Tuesday afternoon I used my new Passnet card (stored value, but you don’t get a discount and it can only be used on Metro trains) to go to Oshiage. But when I got to Nagatacho, where I was sposed to change trains, I realised I had forgotten my instructions on how to get to the school! Not only that, I didn’t even have a phone number to call them and ask for directions once I got there :( No, I haven’t gotten any less absent-minded since I moved to Asia.

So back on the train I hopped, all the way (4 minutes) back to Roppongi-itchome. As you can imagine, I was in a HUGE rush and really worried about being late for this job. My stress levels jumped even higher when the little gates closed on me when I tried to exit the station and the screen told me to “See Station Staff for Assistance.” Argh! What next?! Why do things never work when you’re in a rush?!?! So I went over to the window and gave the guy my Passnet card. He swiped it and handed it back – along with ¥160!!! Turns out since I had entered and tried to leave the same station in such a short amount of time they just wanted to refund my minimum fare.

And I DID manage to make it to my job on time too.

My New Job

Today was also the beginning of my new job. This week is Summer School so my hours are 9am - 12pm, Mon - Fri. Next week is school holidays (again) and then in September the kids go back for the new school year. Summer School is apparently a bit more laid back than regular kindy and I really really enjoyed myself this morning. There were 19 kids and 8 adults directly involved with them the whole time. There were also a couple of others who help out when needed. Amazing! The day started off pretty relaxed - free play with big blocks and beach balls for the first 30 minutes. Basically about half of the assistant teachers were just getting to know the kids and hoping to remember their names. At the end of free play the Clean Up song came on ... nice to know some things really are the same everywhere :)

Next was circle time. We all sat in a circle (fancy that!) and sang Good Morning and read 5 Little Ducks. Since there are two Head Teachers, they seem to do most of the directing the kids stuff and the assistants just sing along and keep the kids attention focussed on the teacher reading the book or whatever. Some of the children are pretty young but they were all really friendly and were dancing and clapping with me by the time we got to singing "A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea." Very very sweet.

The highlight (for me anyway!) was definitely the next part of the morning. The kids were separated into two smaller groups and while one went off for some painting the group I was with got to play in the Nature Room. The Nature Room has 3 glass walls and a lino'd floor. Earlier in the morning one of the head teachers put damp sand over the floor and filled up two troughs with water. When the kids came in we also added seaweed to one of the water troughs. The kids loved it! They even got stuck into a water fight - a change of clothes might be much more necessary here than it was at LHK! Even when the kids swapped activities and the younger kids had a turn they majority of them were happy to squish sand beneath their toes and throw water at one another. Made me want to go and find a real beach this weekend!

Apparently on Wednesday we're going to the pool. The younger kids won't be going but they will be playing in the paddling pool back at the kindergarten. Lucky we're not going to an onsen!

Our New House!

Mike and I moved into our new place yesterday morning which meant we spent most of Saturday packing and taking rests from packing. We did manage to fit in the ABs game though.

The move itself went pretty smoothly, much simpler than we expected! The serviced apartment we were leaving arranged two taxis to pick us (and our luggage) up at 10am and they both arrived, on time, driven by dudes in white gloves and caps. They loaded up all our luggage, drove us there and unloaded the luggage onto trolleys and offered to wheel it inside.

Then the lovely people at Ark Towers took over. They checked us in gave us a huge list of instructions and rules and regulations. Then we were escorted up to our room (luggage to follow) and given a complete rundown on the aircon, TV, phone and washing machine. Pity they didn't explain the Space Loo but I think Mike sussed that one later.

The service just got better when we realised I had forgotten one of our bags (a small one!). I went down to the front desk with the taxi receipt and the staff here called the taxi company for me. They said the taxi company would look for my bag and they would call back in an hour or so. Sure enough, 30 minutes later the front desk rings us and says the driver found my bag and will be dropping it off very soon! Excellent! Didn't even have to go find the driver and retrieve it myself. I love Japan!

As for our apartment, it's really lovely and is a lot more like "home" than the last place. It's pretty exciting having carpet after 13 months of polished wood floors in Hong Kong! It's a bit strange having a warm toilet seat waiting for you every time but luckily the flush is much more obvious. The wash and dry functions are fun for a giggle but I think I stick with regular loo paper, thanks.

There are so many more food options nearby, including Japanese and International food. Mike and I had Indian curry for lunch yesterday and then went to Aux Bacchanales for ham and cheese salad (me) and sauerkraut "with usual toppings." (Mike. The toppings were pork, sausages, potatoes..) My salad didn't arrive till long after Mike had finished eating though. In fact, I had to ask where it had gone! But then when they brought it out they were very apologetic and asked if I would like a drink on the house. I said, oh no thanks I'm OK with my water ... Next thing you know they're bringing Mike another beer and me a bottle of Perrier!

My most exciting find has been the book store which has a foreign books section, even if it is a bit small. Now you all know my new address, you can feel free to send me any books you don't want any more ... it's certainly hard to find good (cheap) books here!

The home of voluptuous women

Another article from stuff. Read it here.

It's not about women in Tokyo (or Hong Kong!) that's for sure!

But nice to know I won't feel so out of place once I'm back amongst all the farmers' wives at Bally's (?!)

セラ マンデイ

--> "Sera Mandei"

Or in other (English) words --> SARAH MUNDAY!

Yes, I have now been labelled in katakana. I went to the bank today and I think I have opened a bank account with Shinsei Bank. I mean I filled in the forms and gave them my ID stuff (I assume they copied it!) and they told me they will send me my new cash card in "7 - 10 days." So I guess I'll know how successful I was when it arrives. I don't even have an account number to show for it yet but I do have a whole lot of information to read through.

My attempt to deal with banking matters started off really well. I decided to do it all in Ginza as I thought the chances of people being able to help me in English would be slightly higher. As far as Mizuho Bank went that was certainly true. I was shown exactly where to go to cash my "traberrers checks" and it all went very smoothly. I simply filled in a form (of course!), counter-signed the cheques and was asked to take a seat. Lovely. A few minutes later I was presented with my Japanese yen and I was on my way again.

Unfortunately, even finding Shinsei Bank wasn't quite so simple. I had two options - or so I thought. The first was to find their "Bankspot" which is where you can open an account or use their ATMs. But try as I might I couldn't find the place! So next I looked for the "Platinum Center" which was near a different subway exit and on the 6th floor of Sapporo Building. Bingo. Up I went, sweating profusely by this stage as it was Super Hot today and I happened to be out and about in the 1 hour of sunshine amidst the thunderstorms. When I got up to the 6th floor I was very politely told that I needed to go to - you guessed it! - the Bankspot where they "open account only." Still, they gave me a nice colourful map and drew the directions on to help me out. In Japanese.

Turns out I was sposed to be looking near Exit C2, not C7 (my bad). However, it still wasn't that easy to find because the street was really quite small and not right next to the station exit like I originally thought. But I did find it in the end.

I think the staff (two of them) were slightly intimidated by this big white gaijin girl come to talk to them, but they were really nice. English wasn't really their strong point, but admittedly Japanese isn't mine so Big Ups to them! First they kept asking for my "ID card" even though on the website it clearly says you only need a certificate of alien registration (which I had) and your passport. My ID card won't be ready till mid-September and I wasn't going to wait for that so I just kept pointing at the certificate and smiling. I think it worked :) Ok Ok, please wait "sho sho." Excellent.

Next I was lead to a computer terminal and asked to input my details. Easy. Until I tried to click "Next" and it kept saying "First name required" - in kana! Uh oh. I don't know my name in Japanese, I said. So they tried to figure it out for me. Which is how they ended up with Sera Mandei ... I guess that's how my name sounds to them! I think it's my kiwi accent (non-Kiwis will probably by wondering why anyone else is surprised!). I had to explain that that was fine but the English definitely had to read "Sarah Munday." Ok, sorted.

I'm sure I will now find out that セラ　マンデイ　means something really rude or embarrassing ... although I have tried putting it into an online dictionary and it didn't seem to come up with anything too offensive! Anyhoo, according to the girl in the bank this is Very Important as anyone wanting to transfer money to me will need to provide my name in kana! Uh oh. I spose anyone here won't find that too difficult and noone at home is going to be sending me money in Japan (although do feel free to try!)

My to-do list is getting shorter. All I have left to do now is wait till my cash card arrives, wait till I can pick up my gaijin card and then get myself a phone, which I can't do until I have my bank account details so it'll just have to wait I spose.

And did I mention I got to pick the colour of my cash card?! They give you a choice of 32 colours. 5 different pinks! I chose Baby Face. It's brighter than it looks online :) It should match my new black umbrella with pink trim very nicely!

tai tai

tai tai (n)

You might be wondering what on earth a "tai tai" is. Or you might not. But let's assume you are. (If not, stop reading here)

Wikipedia describes a tai tai as the supreme wife of a wealthy Chinese man. Well, I'm not married to a wealthy Chinese businessman. BUT in Hong Kong the term tai tai is also used colloquially as the term for any "wife," and in particular a wife whose husband is rich, therefore absolving her from partaking in paid employment. Wikipedia goes on to say that to qualify as a tai tai "one must have lots of leisure time, lots of money and lots of gossip to exchange."

Therefore, I suppose you might say I'm really a tai tai in training. Since I'm not a wife! Or, to be even more precise, you could even say I'm only a temporary tai tai in training since I will only be a lady of leisure as long as we live in Tokyo (part time "work" playing with kids doesn't really count. It's not paying any bills!). However "temporary tai tai in training in tokyo" wasn't quite as catchy as plain old "tai tai in tokyo"!

So now you know why you're reading "tai tai in tokyo"

For further information on how to be a successful tai tai, you can watch this "how to" movie. I think it's actually aimed at Singapore tai tai, but the idea is the same.

Click here for Linda's Quintessential Guide to Tai Tai-hood

art

What we did on Sunday

So on Sunday Mike and I went to Harajuku. LP says it’s where all the cool young things hang out and strut their stuff on a Sunday afternoon, so we went to see what all the hype was about. Definitely a Very Cool place. We spent a lot of the time taking photos of funny signs and names of shops, I don’t know whether we just didn’t find the crazy looking people or whether LP is written by someone way older and more conservative than me or what. But the people weren’t that out there. Still, it was interesting and we had a great time.

The first thing we did was actually nothing to do with teen fashion however. We went to the Meiji-jingu shrine first up which was rather serene and peaceful and quite different to the temples in China. Far less ornate and less people too. The shady paths on the way from the entrance to the shrine itself were very welcome – even at 9am the sun was beating down and it was HOT.


This meant that we saw lots of people in all sorts of get-ups trying to avoid the sun. The most common method seems to be wearing white gloves which go all the way up to your elbows (or higher). Until now, I’ve really only seen women wearing these gloves, but I guess in Harajuku you get all sorts: here’s an old dude sporting the sexy gloves on Sunday.


Well after the shrine we went straight on down to the good stuff: Takeshita Dori. No joke. That's really the name of the street. The first thing we did was get a burger from STRAIGHT BURGER. Very nice. Not sure whether that was actually the name of the place but that was the most prominent sign in English so that's how it will forever be known to Mike and I. We ate our burgers up on the 2nd floor and people watched for a while before braving the crowds ourselves.


It still wasn't quite lunch time but there were plenty of people around. The later in the afternoon it got, the more interesting people we seemed to find. But what I was really interested in was THE SHOPS. Of course! We had a walking tour courtesy of Frommers which was great for pointing out a few "shops of note." We probably would've found this one on our own, but we I doubt we'd have ventured into Kiddyland without some prompting! We did find a couple of fun things in Kiddyland though. Like a banana protector. Yup, a plastic cover to protect your banana. Actually, I think it would be rather useful!


So that was Takeshita Dori and Omotesando Dori. We were getting really hungry so we went to this French restaurant that specialises in crepes for lunch. When we arrived the waiter told us it'd be about 20-30mins before would could get a table (!) so we bravely said we would sit outside. I'm not sure what was worse - the searing heat or the fact that everyone else queuing for a seat inside was watching us eat (and sweat). Oh yeah, did I mention it was French? The menu was conveniently written in French and Japanese .. but not English. Still, we managed to decipher it enough to order a ham, cheese and tomato crepe each. And ginger beer.

On the way back to the station we flagged the rest of the walking tour and just explored the side streets. That's where we found the really interesting shops: shops full of care bears and popples (remember those?!) and barbie stuff, and another with shelves full of Simpsons toys and stationery (Mike was stoked). As we walked back down Omotesando Dori we passed this store front with a guy outside promoting something (still not entirely sure what). People were LINING UP to go into the "store" and get a bag with a free cereal bar and a credit card application form. Nuts. But true.

Just a wee bit further down the street from there was the entrance to a carparking building. With no less than FOUR attendants directing the traffic and pedestrians. Two for the cars and two for the pedestrians. And we thought it was overkill having one guy in Hong Kong. But there were four. With white gloves on of course.

Anyways, I loved it all. And I'll definitely be going back there with Julia next month! With a lot more spending money!!!

Lazy Munday Afternoon ....

Listening to the hum of the dryer ...

Isn’t it sad that it’s the middle of summer here and I am using the dryer almost every day?! Sadly, it’s one of the realities of apartment life: no outside space to hang your clothes - let alone your lovely white sheets – to dry in the sunshine. Still, at least we have a dryer that works (even if it takes a while) … I don’t know where I would hang all our clothes in here otherwise!

The other “sad” thing is how all my blog entries so far refer to my domestic chores, like the washing or grocery shopping or cooking or cleaning. However, I suppose it’s in keeping with the tai tai theme! I’m hoping that my horizons will be broadened when I start my new job (next Monday!), but until then these posts are going to have a bit of a recurring storyline.

Mike and I did get out and about on the weekend though. We walked from Nihombashi to Ginza on Saturday afternoon, stopping in at Takashimaya on the way. It was my first real look at their food department – WOW! Everything and anything you ever wanted to eat, and a few things you never knew you could eat all in one area … a foodie’s dream! We’d just eaten lunch and therefore managed to restrain ourselves from buying any of the divine looking chocolates, cakes, salmon, sashimi, sushi, Chinese dumplings, cheeses …….. honestly, the list is endless!

We had a brief look around the 4 floors of women’s fashion and the one floor of men’s (which was actually shared with the jewellery and watches) and then headed up to the Living department. I never knew Calvin Klein did linen! But they do. And in Takashimaya they even have half a floor devoted to the sale of gift certificates. There is actually a room (glass fronted, no less) where a row of attentive salespeople wait behind a desk to sell you gift certificates. They are standing, not talking, not whinging about their jobs or that b*tch that gets to fold the cK linens … just standing, politely, waiting for the wonderful customers to come and buy their gift certificates. Lovely.

We took the train home from Ginza and it was a good thing we did - the few raindrops that we felt on the way from the station to our place suddenly turned into thunderstorm complete with forked lightning. We watched the storm from the balcony as it got closer and closer to our block. Then as the lightning hit buildings nearby I kept running inside **eek!** ... it must have been a bad one though coz even Mike was a bit scared of the bolt that we're sure hit our building.

Photos now online

You can look at our photos by clicking on the link to the right (all japan photos).

You can also see our photos from our trip to China in June and some pics from Hong Kong too.

Ok, as you were!

At least Big Macs are cheap!

An article on stuff today says that workers in Tokyo have to work the least to afford a Big Mac. I would just like to say that in my case that is because I haven't eaten a Big Mac (or any other McDonald's) since we've been here.

What a good girl.

Read the article here.

A spot of shopping

Today is Tuesday, house keeping day at the apartment, which was lovely when I arrived home to find fresh linen on the beds, new towels in the sparkling bathroom, clean floors and the toilet paper folded into that oh-so-cute triangle ... the downside however was that I had to make myself scarce for the morning since I didn't want to be hanging around while Housekeeping did their job.

I decided to go to Shinjuku and do Lonely Planet's walking tour. It's sposed to be a couple of K's long and LP reckons it takes a couple of hours! Well, including the time it took on the two trains and finding the right exit perhaps it took two hours but it was more like an hour, really. I finished up by finding a coffee shop and getting myself breakfast without speaking English at all! Japanese 101: All you have to do is point to the nicest looking picture and say, "kore o kudasai"! Easy peasy Japanesey!

Then I went back to the book shop mentioned in the walking tour and found the English books (7th floor). Maybe THATS why the tour takes two hours: I was sposed to stop there on the way! Treated myself to Alex Kerr's "Lost Japan" ... educational books about Japan don't count in the daily budget ;) I also checked out MUJI, but didn't buy anything (!) coz we'll be moving soon and I'm not sure what we need for the new place.

Next stop was Ginza. This time, being by myself, I wandered even more aimlessly and fossicked through a couple of shops selling Beautiful Things .. eg a whole shop selling paper and things made from paper! Fantastic!

Unfortunately it wasn't so pleasant wandering aimlessly in the drizzle and humidity that suddenly appeared today after a week of sunshine. Eventually I went to Hanamasa and bought a few things for this week's dinners and made my way home. Quite proud of myself for navigating the store and its contents when nothing is in English! (with the exception of the imported Italian tomatoes, pasta and beans!)

Finally it was after midday and I made my way back to Nihombashi. I managed to get a seat on the train (yippee!) which was a bit of a bonus since it was pretty packed. Then I realised why "my" seat had been empty: the girl next to me promptly fell asleep ON MY SHOULDER! Next her hand let go of her umbrella (uh oh!) and came to rest on my knee! I squirmed a bit and tried to move over (the other way) ...

Lucky for me her stop was coming up and suddenly at Higashi-Ginza she was wide awake and ready to walk off the train ... I don't understand how they do it! How can you be in such a deep sleep you are groping the person next to you and be aware enough to know the next stop is yours???

Perhaps she wasn't asleep at all but has some strange attraction to Fat White Chicks?

Konnichiwa!

Well, here we are in Tokyo. Mike arrived on July 22 and I followed nearly a week later. We've been set up in a lovely wee apartment in Nihonbashi, it's 1 bedroom with a living/dining area and separate kitchen. After being really worried that the kitchen would consist of a microwave and mini-fridge we were pleasantly surprised to find a 3-burner gas stove top and grill, full sized fridge/freezer, microwave and, of course, a rice cooker. The buttons, naturally, are all in Japanese but we do have a very handy Blue Folder with the necessary instructions in English :)

Despite being happy with the apartment itself, Mike and I are moving on to bigger and better lodgings later this month. The travel time from here to Roppongi-itchome (40 mins, 2 trains) was proving too much for Mike so we requested an apartment closer to Izumi Gardens. Well - WE GOT IT! Our new place will be a whopping 53sqm, 1 bedroom, huge living/dining area and open plan kitchen - with a dishwasher! Bonus! Personally, I am looking forward to the swimming pool and gym. Mike will be less than 5 minutes walk from work and I will be one subway stop away from my own job once I get started on August 21.

We've done a lot of the usual settling in things: wandered around Nihonbashi, mastered the subway (well, we can get from A to B!) and tried sushi from Tsukiji. We visited Higashi Gyoen at the Imperial Palace and enjoyed lying on real grass for the first time in over a year. We've found a supermarket nearby which actually sells a huge variety of western food .. they even have a special Waitrose section just inside the door!

It was kinda weird arriving separately, particularly since Mike was here in March. For me though it's my first time in Japan so I'm spending my days getting used to all these things while Mike deals with settling in at work. I don't start working until August 21 so in the meantime I'm just hanging out, enjoying the sun and reading a lot of books!

My own job is at Hiroo International Kindergarten and I'll be working as a Teaching Assistant. It's much more like "kindergarten" that we're used to from home, particularly compared with kindergarten in Hong Kong. For a start there are two children for every teacher - vs 15:1 at LHK! It's part time so I will have time to do different things in the afternoons (eg Japanese lessons!), which I'm really looking forward to.

My goals for this week are getting my Gaijin card and setting up a bank account. And hopefully getting a new mobile phone too!