Been sleeping like a rock the past two nights, but I feel like one the morning around 5:30 AM when I inevitably wake up and can’t sleep anymore.
Anway, after the hotel stay (see the cribs video here!), I met two colleagues (Dirk and Alex) at the airport after my first night, both from "Down Under." They also both did Asian Studies in Uni and have lived in Japan before, so I feel like a n00b not being able to navigate as they can. Despite their presence, the train signs were all in English and were relatively navigable solo - Nippori Station might have been frustrating without them though.
We eventually arrived at Shin-Okubo station and waited 30 minutes for a housing agent to show us to the guest house. It has a squatter toilet, low doorways (ouch, Will's head!), heat in bedrooms only, and a nice little garden outside - though its out of season currently. Once we paid our rent (here for 21 days), and the landlord took care of the intermittent power outage in 1/2 of the house (though the internet is still spotty), we grabbed lunch at Matsuya, a noodle bar place.
At Matsuya, one purchases a meal ticket from a vending machine, sits at a bar, places the ticket and waits. You don't even have to talk to anyone! Close your eyes, push a button, pick a meal! Mine was ¥680, picked by Alex. Rice, beef, salad, and soup and my awesome chopstick skills. We went the next day too, where I had a slightly cooked egg to mix in with my rice/beef, in addition to my spicy Korean soup… lets just say I’m glad to the toilet seats are heated here in Japan.
Here's the vending machine
Our second day involved a trip to the local government Ward office to register as an alien – we can’t get a bank account or cell phone without this paperwork. Dirk saved me with his Japanese skills, as we learned of certain details to include in the paperwork in order to be processed correctly. It’s very bureaucratic here.
After the government office, we wandered around Shinjuku. First we went atop the government office building for a view of the city, before going to the shopping district.
It’s a pinball machine! Trucks talk to you when they turn corners, other trucks yell advertisements at you with blaring music. Lights, flash, noise, people, seizure induction, signs – Capitalism at its finest. We havn’t even been many places yet, and NYC lights and glitz has already been put to shame.
Eventually for dinner we hit a 7-11 convenience store for food – I grabbed a new staple I enjoy, an onigiri オニギリ, or rice ball. It has stuff like sour plums, prawn, or veggies in the middle. I grabbed some chips and Japanese wine too. I love all of this guessing-and-checking at stores for what I’ll eat! It’s like I’m a kid in a…Japanese candy store! Thank God I don’t have food allergies…
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