A trip to Yasukuni shrine

 Wow, already over a month in Japan and I feel like I have only walked around the block once. Everytime I open the door to my house and step outside I am overwhelmed by the fact that I am still in Japan and I still got another eleven months at least here.

I spend many hours studying at school, another three to four hours at home doing homework and it doesn't feel like a chore. Are you supposed to actually enjoy non-play this much? Well, I do and not even once have I felt like it has been too much or I should give up. But spending my time only studying isn't very good now that I have an oppourtunity to experience Japan.

So I decided to borrow one of my housemates' guide book and walk to Yasukuni shrine. At first I planned to just walk and see where I end up but since I have school in the afternoon I thought it better to actually use a map. The road to the shrine wasn't long at all, it took only 20 minutes or so. The streets were unusually empty which made it very easy to keep a good pace.

The original plan was to pass through the nearby park, Kitanomaru park I think it was called, but they were setting up for either renovation or a huge concert, so I let it be. There will be time to go there again.

The weather was incredibly nice and reminded me somewhat of a slightly more humid Los Angeles, a refreshing breeze, a sun barely peaking over the buildings and small white clouds dotting the otherwise clear sky. Against what I normally advise against I didn't bring a water bottle but I didn't feel like I would need it today. A cap to protect my head was more than enough.

As I mentioned the walk to the park was very pleasant and I didn't get caught in any crowds and I could leisurely look at the different stores lined up along the sidewalk. I am still practicing reading kanji which makes it more interesting to see what the next window would be even if it was just a shoe store or a "We heard there would be a demand for aged plastic clocks severely bleached by years in the sun so we sell that alongside with slippers and noodles" kind of store. Sometime I wonder what kind of customers they have and for what reasen they shop there.

When not full of people and cars the Tokyoian streets are actually very wide. Being stuck between nine million people makes you narrow your perspective and keeps your eyes focused much closer to where you are lest you bump into someone and need a hasty "sumimasen" loaded. The people I have met or bumped into this last month have been very polite, smiling and even a few random high fives from young women who apparently have never experienced someone holding a door open for them. Their giggling and quick retreat always makes me smile.

When I arrived at the shrine I first noticed that a lot of mothers clad in black holding the hands of their daughters clad in equally black clothing coming and going to the shrine. I got curious but felt too shy to let them be bothered by a khaki wearing foreigner wanting pictures of them and their kids. I better stick to enjoying the scenery in undisturbed and just let it happen around me. I kind of wished I could be invisible and let the lives around me happen naturally without my foot print piqueing their curiosity. Or something weird like that. You get it.

As I got closer to the main building I saw more and more people, but nowhere near as much as as at the Meiji temple. It felt nice to be at a place of peace and quiet without too many posing people around me. It felt more honest and real. The wannabe hipster in me slightly raised his nose in a "I am special because I prefer another place that is not quite as mainstream Meiji temple.". Another part of me told the hipster he was an idiot and that he should focus on enjoying the now than being proud that his past now is better than other people's present now.

I mentioned wanting to observe without distrubing the surroundings and I think I actually got exactly what I wanted. I walked around the shrine area nad came to a high fence with some very small openings between the planks. I was obviously not supposed to go past this point but I couldn't help at least looking inside. What I saw was something taken directly from an old samurai movie. A very neatly raked stone garden, small bonsai trees complementing its surroundings, black wooden floors and a shrine maiden sweeping the floor with a bamboo brush. She had long black silken hair and wore the red and white clothing very elegantly. At first I didn't see her face, but when she turned around I saw how beautiful she was. I wanted to take a picture but I couldn't move my hands. When she lifted her eyes and looked in my direction I unconsciously skipped back a step so she wouldn't see me. It might seem silly but some things I feel are better not stored as a picture, only as a memory.

Expenses

• Monster Energy drink 200 yen
• Whinnie the Pooh red tea 147 yen

Tried a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo

 One of my housemates, Ruri, is studying Chinese at the moment and decided to put her already great skills in Chinese to use and invited me and Shin, another housemate, out to try real Chinese food. 

The restaurant is located not many stations from where we live and when you see it you won't notice it is a restaurant until you actually enter. The entrance was, just like for many other stores in Tokyo, a simple staircase down to a nicely decorated dining area. The atmosphere was very pleasant with lots of little details in wood on all the tables, chairs and wood carvings on the wall. The owner greeted us heartily and showed us where we would sait and where to place our umbrellas. It was a typhoon right next to Tokyo that day so it was wonderful to get under a roof.

Since we left the house Ruri had over and over advised me not to choose any of the spicier dishes since most Europeans might find them uncomfortably strong. I like spicy food, but thought it would be better to actually listen to her advice and choose between the level one spicy dishes.

The meals were not in sets so we had to order several different kinds of dishes which made it possible to mix our food as we pleased. By recommandation from both Ruri and Shin I chose the ribs with a secret herb blend which we were not allowed to bring home. I can't remember exactly what the different dishes were and I was still not used to hearing Japanese being spoken that fast. But there was lots! Much more than we could eat.

There is no doggy bag culture in Japan so we couldn't bring home any of the leftovers much to my disappointment. I guess that is well enough, now we have even a greater reason to return.

When the dishes came out I couldn't stop simply smelling the different plates. I was also smart enough to listen when I was warned about the spicier dishes. One of the plates had a chicken soup with vegetables of some kind and it left a burning sensation on both the tongue and lips after each bite, but I couldn't stop eating. I am normally a very fast eater but this time I ate much slower than normal just to properly taste the different dishes for as long as possible.

Since Ruri was studying Chinese we mainly talked about China, its' culture and food comparing it to what we have in Europe and Japan. Real Chinese cuisine will leave an impression on you whether you like it or not.

Expenses

• 2000 yen for the best Chinese food I have eaten so far

A few notable links for the frugal visitor

You may or may not have heard that Tokyo can be quite expensive to live in. This is true, but you know where to look you can save lots of money on your trip if you know where to look. I recently found a few links that can help you on your way:

TokyoCheapo: If you want lots of tips and advice on how to save money, this is a great site. Or if you don't want to save money but just be able to shop more for less I urge you to have a look around on their page.

Khaosan Tokyo: How about free living quarters? They are currently looking for cleaning staff and offer free lodgings for anyone willing to stay for more than 28 days. You get the weekends off so you can explore Tokyo. Not a bad deal.

Tokyo Free Guide: If you easily get lost or want help to find the hot spots around Tokyo, Tokyo Free Guide lets you book a multilingual guide for free.

Quick rundown of prices

• New 120 cm shoelaces from ABC-Mart for sneakers  315 yen
• Teriyaki burger at Lotteria 660 yen
• 2 L water from Mini-Mart 98yen
• 3 month pass JR Line Iidabashi-Okubo 14980 yen (Can also get on and off on all stations between for free)
• Pen holder, paper folder, pencil, 3 erasers, markers all bought at Lawson 525 yen

CoCo Ichi curry restaurant by recommendation by housemate

Curry dishes are very common in Japan and you will find restaurants both small and large serving at least dish of curry. By recommendation of a housemate I tried CoCo Ichi's curry. They had almost only dishes that were served with curry and rice. They also have several levels of spiciness in their curry the maximum being level ten and if you manage to eat an entire plate with their spiciest curry you will receive a certificate and congratulations!

I was not as brave, I remembered the last time I tried chicken vindaloo at an authentic Indian restaurant and had to spend an entire night in the bathroom afterwards and unable to taste food for a week I decided that a low level curry would be enough. 

The restaurant had only about 25 seats so I had to wait for some of the guests to finish but I was given a menu while waiting so I could look over what I wanted. I got an English menu and it looked a bit different from the Japanese menus, I am not sure if they excluded some items, like different levels of spiciness, for foreigners. I didn't really mind, since I was really hungry. I chose a dish with sliced beef and onions and was shortly seated. The waiter was really quick and friendly and the meal showed up not long after.

The curry was definitely not too spicy, but niether was it too mellow. It tasted great and it was once again just enough to make you feel full! This was also my first time eating with a spoon since I came to Japan.

If you like curry or if you think you have an iron stomach go and try their challenge!

Expenses

• Coca-Cola 150 yen
• Beef onion curry 800 yen

A revisit of Yoyogi park

I have been to Japan four times this one included and I have visited Yoyogi park every time. More precisely, everytime I visited the park I thought that the Meiji shrine was all it was, but it seems ithat is only a third or so of the entire area.

I decided to give it another go and try to get out from the normal path and find some of the less common places. I left the house at 12 and got to the entrance of the park in no more than half an hour.

The temperature stayed at a wonderful 31 degrees during the entire trip and even though I was in the land of the rising sun I wished it hadn't risen that high. I stuck to the shadows when possible and hydrated pretty regularly. A 2 liter water bottle costs only 100 yen so you won't get poor when buying water. The tap water seems drinkable, but doesn't taste all that well, especially if you pour hot water directly. My advice is to only brush your teeth in it.

But since I was at the park I decided to visit the Meiji shrine just for old times sake. I didn't take too many photos as there seemed to be a wedding going on and I didn't want to disturb the guests.

When you walk along the path to the Meiji shrine you will see several small paths leading to other parts of the forest areas and a long line of straw wrapped sake barrels on one side and on the oppposite side you will see a long line of western style barrels of what I guess was wine, offerings to the late emperor Meiji and empress Shokan by Japanese brewers from all over the country.

I also found the path to Kiyomasa's well which is known for its great quality and people claim that their luck increased after drinking from it.

To get there you first have to buy an interesting looking ticket for 500 yen. The shape is like a diamond from a card deck and green flowers printed on it. This lets you get into a little more secluded area with lots of forest around you, small trampled paths and signs pointing to different locations.

One thing you really have to watch out for is the suzume bachi, swallow wasp. It is the size of your thumb and can both bite and sting you. If you get stung once you should be alright, but if you get stung twice there are risks of heart seizures. Luckily, since they are so large they can be heard from a distance, they are easy to avoid.

Another animal that was much more common in that areas was spiders. I don't know how venomous or dangerous they are, but their size and webs were pretty big. The paths around the garden were clear of webs and such so I think the staff makes sure there are no accidents.

A friendlier insect buzzing around was the tonbo, dragonfly. It zipped around the ponds teasing the koi fishes. They were still a bit annoying as they liked to stay in your face.

There was also a renovated model of an old tea house with a view of the south pond, but no one was allowed to enter.

Last time I was here I saw lots of huge Japanese crows and hoped I could take a few photos but they were nowhere to be seen. I thought they would've been good for my blog.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere despite the temperature, but there were so many tourists around the area talking so it didn't feel that calm as I had hoped. But it is definitely worth a visit to have a look if you are passing through.

When I finally reached the well there was a long line of tourists waiting to be the next one to take a photo of the well and drink from it or at least dip their hands in it. The whole spectacle took away the spirit of a magic well, like if people were queueing to get a golden egg from the goose. But hey, it is a tourist spot, it should be expected. I took a quick photo and looked at the poor well being milked for what it's worth.

Expenses

• Ticket to Kiyomasa's well 500 yen

Katsudon time

For those who come to Japan, don't know any Japanese and think they will have to spend their time hopping from burger franchise to burger franchise to get something to eat should know that is not the case. If you ever feel hungry and look around you will most likely find food displays outside Japanese restaurant showing what they have to offer. They have incredibly realistic plastic models on many of their menu items and it is very easy to mistake them for the real thing.

The plastic food model industry in Japan is supposedly huge and I have heard of collectors travelling all over Japan looking for rare models of local cuisine.

I have not seen this in Sweden. I mean, we do have menus outside and sometimes a sun bleached picture show some of the dishes that are served, but even high class restaurants only have piecs of paper telling what they serve. I definitely think it would give the restaurant a certain "pop" if they brought out food models. When dining out I definitely think the eyes eat just as much as the mouth and a flat representation of a meal isn't that fulfilling. 

Most typical Japanese restaurants have a certain look I can't explain, but if you see a food display outside somewhere and a door with short curtains covering the top of the entrance you can be sure you will get a dish served with miso soup, rice or noodles.

When I entered around 7 PM there were only two people eating. If you go out to eat most places will be packed with people around lunch time or after 8 in the evening any day of the week.

Dining in Japan can be pretty cheap so don't worry too much if you go out every day on your visit. There are of course luxury restaurants that are expensive, but then you get what you pay for and much more. Even when it is expensive it will feel like a deal.

As a Swede I have been to many noodle restaurants I have enjoyed my meal every time. Not once have I gotten a meal that has made me think that I won't return, but when a couple of my Japanese housemates took me to a newly opened place they said they hated it.  They didn't explain why but said that after having lived in Tokyo you will start to taste the difference in noodles. It sounds reasonable as some people I know in Sweden wouldn't drink certain varieties of coffee or sodas if they so were force fed.

I am not as picky when it comes to food, I gladly try almost anything at least once. This time I ordered a katsudon set. with cold soup. A katsudon is a bowl of rice with a pork cutlet and if you order the set you also get a choice of hot or cold noodle soup and a small plate of pickled vegetables. My meal consisted of fried katsudon dipped in egg and fried again, cold noodle soup with seaweed, leek and a few ingredients I still haven't figured out what they are.

The dish itself is not unusual at all, it exists all over Japan but in different local variations and sauces. If you don't like pork you can always go for the beef, omelette, eel, shrimp or just fried vegetables. Whatever you like you will definitely feel full afterwards. I have barely finished any of the katsudon sets I have ever eaten. 

Expenses

• Katsudon set 900 yen

A monkey show

 Went for a walk today and met this dapper gentleman. He was entertaining the kids (and me) with handstands, ball balancing, jumping and a little two man show. Today is a dayoff in Japan and the Laqua center was full of people riding the Merry-go-round, riding the roller coaster, shopping, eating all kinds of great food and of course, enjoying some street performers. I got stuck at the kids show simply because, well it's a freaking monkey!

I also discovered that the shopping center didn't have two floors, but six with each floor having stores and an increasing wonderful view over the city. The weather was also a little colder, but not by much. A t-shirt was still enough, but I feel I am getting used to the humidity and temperature in Japan.

The Korakuen area has loads of different restaurants, there is a particular Korean resturant I want to try sometime. I miss kimchi and bulgogi.

I already finished my homework, but it is kind of meditative to practice writing kanji.

A small lunch

I decided to have a quick lunch as I passed by a 7-11. As I entered I saw something I haven't seen since Taiwan. I found baozi! Or as they are called in Japan, nikuman. It is like a lump of bread with different fillings. In this case it was filled with meat as the niku in the name hints.

For dessert I chose pineapples pieces and three bananas. The beef bread, pineapple and barely one banana was more than enough.

The beef bread was delicious but it seems they don't make them as thick as in Taiwan.

Expenses

• Pineapple pieces 200 yen
• 3 bananas 200 yen
• Nikuman 110 yen

Second class, second teacher

I had my second class today. We met a different teacher who will teach us kanji. He as well is new to KAI Japanese Language School, but he has been a teacher for over twenty years. He was also incredibly energetic and spoke very fast. I had no problems understanding what he said, I actually felt very comfortable being able to listen to him speaking as I was skimming through the textbooks and handouts. It felt like I had progressed pretty far just these few days in Japan.

We also did a second self presentation and I managed to say more than just grunts and whispers drenched in frog croaks. What a difference having a cold and not having a cold does to ones' communication skills.

Another lesson I have learned, smile when you're out walking. Smile a sincere smile. Even if no one seems to look at you they will look when you look away and if they see you smile they will be more relaxed and will dare to sit next to you in the train. I think for many foreigners Japanese people can seem very distant or maybe even too shy to sit next to you, but if you show a friendly smile everything will turn out nice.

Expenses

• Nothing new

Fulfilling a lifelong dream

The reason for this blog is to write about the prices of things in Japan to hopefully remove the myth that Japan is incredibly expensive and to show stuff I find interesting.

Ever since I saw my first anime at age eleven I have felt a strong connection with Japan but it hasn't been until now at almost age 30 that I decided to finally go there. I have had doubts and fears going through my mind, always thinking that I will just fail, it is a waste of time and I must focus on a career based education because "that's what everyone else is doing".

But now, just a couple of weeks shy of my thirtieth birthday I am here, in Tokyo, for at least a year and I don't regret it one bit!

I enrolled at KAI Japanese Language School via Go!Go!Nihon. They also helped me finding a place to stay. I got lots of options what kind of place I want to live in, such a price, distance to school, apartment, shared house or even shared room. I finally settled for a private room with BORDERLESS HOUSE.

If you or anyone you know is interested in either go to Japan, study Japanese or even find a place for a longterm stay without studying, Go!Go!Nihon will gladly help you out. If you have any questions or doubts, just go to their page and send them a message. 

I flew with Cathay Pacific Airways from Copenhagen to Tokyo. Two transfers in London and Hong Kong. The staff was ver friendly, polite and professional. And I even got lots of leg space on all three flights!

I arrived 21 hours later at Haneda Airport tired but otherwise fine. The only setback was that my luggage was left in Hong Kong when I arrived, but that airport staff were all very nice and arranged for it to be sent to my home for the next year. It arrived in less than a day!

I spent the first night at Hotel JAL City Haneda Tokyo since my arrival was later than the moving in time at BORDERLESS HOUSE. Also very nice staff and a great bed to crash in after sitting in an airplane for so long. The room felt really fresh, the AC was already turned on and I even got to wear a night gown! Don't knock it until you've tried it!

I thought that since I am here to study Japanese I might as well get acclimatized to hearing the language every day so I turned on the TV and watched president Obama talk about the government shutdown in the US until I fell asleep ten minutes later.

I woke up already at 8 in the morning despite being incredibly tired, but who can sleep when they are about to embark on a lifelong dream? I unveiled the curtains and even the kind of rainy and grey weather couldn't bring me down. And the fact that I enjoy rain.

I had been in contact with the landlord and staff from BORDERLESS HOUSE and they had arranged for one of them to pick me up at 12 o' clock near Korakuen train station and show me the way to the house. I arrived a little early and was glad that my luggage was left in Hong Kong for the time being, I still felt tired from the jetlag and carrying that around would've just given me a headache. I walked around the station for a while and there is apparently a very small amusement park close to the station. There are a few restaurants, a Moomin Cafe, a roller coaster and even a log ride attraction!

Mizuki, the staff member showed up shortly afterwards and showed me to my room and helped to settle in.
I still haven't taken any pictures of the room, but will as soon as I have cleaned up and put everything in order. Some of the other housemates showed us around the area, where to buy food and how to get to the different train stations.

After slowly realizing that this is where I will stay for the following year I ordered takeout: an appleburger from Firehouse!

Expenses

• Appleburger 1300 yen
• Udon soup 440 yen