2nd Posting...

Konnichiwa!

Hurray! I finally found a way to change the language setting on my Blogger to English!! For some reason, every option on the editing page was in Japanese... and I couldn't find "English" anywhere... I was beginning to get a little anxious at all the writing. But as someone once taught me, I starting pushing and playing with all the buttons (ignoring the fear of "breaking it") until I found it. Great tip! ;-)

So here's for the latest episode of Tokyo-life (still in the "settling in" chapter):

Yesterday (Friday) was another busy day at the office, meeting with more people, touring the two floors. My boss left at 1pm, and I had the strange feeling of "that's it, you're on your own now". Did I mention I was the only non-Japanese employee at the office? well, this is kind of not true: there are a few consultants working on special projects, but they will be leaving in 4 days after some testing is over. And, the way I see it, this is a perfect environment to learn Japanese... fast! I went with my coworker to the subway station to purchase my Suica card. The Suica card is phenomenal: it's a card (with a cute little penguin as a mascot) that will serve as your commuter card (you have to pick subway station as your starting / destination points) but also as a prepaid card for other subway transportations. But wait, it gets better: the cash you upload on the card can also be used for paying for items in some stores!! I love Japan!!! (seriously, people who have shopped with me will testify that I am a plastic-money girl and hate carrying cash around, if I even have any). And you can even print out a receipt of the past transactions (incl. store purchases) at machines!

After work, I had dinner at the hotel with the consultants, asking them a few more practical questions about living in Japan. One of them, American, grew up in Japan (in Hokkaido, in the North). So he speaks fluent Japanese. It's kind of freaky and incredibly impressive to see a Westerner speak Japanese with such fluency and ease. I'm soooo jealous.

Anyway, one of the questions I had was about etiquette in restaurants. When I went for shabu-shabu dinner the other day, I had the strange feeling I had gaffed a couple of times. One faux-pas was obvious to me, and relates to the strict sense of punctuality: I was late (I swear it wasn't just my fault, I was also waiting for my boss who had to finish some emails!!) for the elevator-meeting point, and made the CEO wait! (ay ay ay). And then at the restaurant, when they make you take your shoes off before proceeding to the sitting area, I had the feeling that wearing slingback shoes with no stockings/nylons and walking around the floor barefoot was weird. So, the American consultant was polite and said "First of all, you're a foreigner and you get a free pass on everything", meaning if it was indeed a no-no to walk barefoot (by the way, it is), then I get automatic forgiveness. Yay. But my goal is to not even get to that point... lesson learned. The consultant said that a good way of learning what is right of wrong is, first of all, to ask! (or in polite Japanese: "What is the more polite way to do/say XYZ?". They will gladly answer and help you out with anything related to etiquette and politeness. The second way of knowing is looking at their facial expressions. Now I don't know how much exposure you've had to Japanese people, but a lot of their culture revolves around the adjective "subtle". If Westerners are quite easy to read ("WOOOW", "Oh-my-Goood", "NOO way!!"), the Japanese will be a little more discreet. Look out for the quick glance towards the feet, in the case of my barefoot walk of shame, that might have given me a hint. I need to activate the "radar" a little better.

So, after a couple of Asahi (Japanese beer) at the Sunset lounge of the Hotel (which the other consultant described as the "wedding factory" on weekends... and indeed there are weddings galore), and, dare I admit it: pizza and chicken wings (plus my pad-thai) for dinner, I went to bed early to prepare for my Tokyo-tour today (Saturday).

The relocation specialist / tour guide / total-savior-angel lady (Emi) met me at the lobby, and we went on a Tokyo drive in her company car. She is an amazing lady, I think she is half Japanese and American (but she looked all-American to me!), married to a 1/4 Japanese man (the rest of the mix being French, German, American), lived in and out of Japan for about 38 years. So not only is she absolutely, perfectly fluent in Japanese, but she can also read and write (all three alphabets including all Kanjis... extremely impressive). We drove by a few neighborhoods, passed the Imperial palace (which apparently is open only twice a year: Dec. 23 (Emperor's Birthday) and January (New Year's?) ... I hope I get to see it!!), she showed me SO many places and areas and shops, my head is saturated with information that I need to digest and allow to sink in...

Oh, before I go any further: the weather yesterday was a little drizzly, and the rain got heavier and heavier ever since. Emi said "Oh yes there's the typhoon coming", and I thought she was joking. Now don't freak out, the typhoon is not hitting Tokyo, but that peninsula down South, we're just getting the residual rain. But geez, the rain got really heavy and the winds were bending some trees! And apparently tomorrow will be sunny and just lovely. Go figure.

After eating lunch at a little Chinese ramen place (delicious), we went to visit the Nissin (ni-shin) supermarket which had just about everything, local and international. Great wines (at great prices, I was amazed), produce, dairy, fantastic ham & meat. We bumped into 2 or 3 expats Emi had helped move in, one of them a French gentleman who moved here with his wife over 3 years ago and still doesn't speak a word of Japanese! (so you CAN survive here without the language, I guess...).

Then we met with the real estate agent and started visiting apartments. I couldn't wait!

The first apartment was near Shinagawa station (a major train hub which would enable me to catch the express train to Kawasaki and get there in 10 mins vs. 20 mins with the local train). Nice building, pretty "industrial" area. Awesome shoe closet. And walk-in closet.

The second building was also near Shinagawa, but one subway station further ( Tamachi for those who know Tokyo). The building was brand new (March 2007), incredible, incredible lobby (you even have to take a small escalator to access the elevator area. And the elevators have special Up/Down buttons for people who have pets and need to take the elevator alone!!) The apartment had incredible views of the Rainbow bridge, and had lots of amenities and shops nearby.

The third apartment (we had to skip one apartment due to time constraints) in Roppongi was all about location, location, location. I mean really: it was in the Embassy neighborhood, on a street famed for amazing hanami (cherry blossom viewing), with views of the Spanish and Sweedish embassies, the Tokyo tower, and had access to a gym (with pool!! 100 points right there!), you could walk down to the subway under a covered, escalator-serviced stairway. For guests: you could take a bus from the airport to the ANA Inter-Continental or the Okura Hotels which are a block away (i.e. extremely easy access from the airport). My commute would (allegedly) be 10-15 mins longer than living near Shinagawa...

For all the apartments so far, they all had Japanese style bathrooms (with a small bathtub and a shower room, together, and of course the super-electronic-need-a-PhD-to-operate toilet).
All the apartments had a balcony of some sort (wooden floor). All had washing machine/dryer (HURRAYYYY!!). Neat kitchen appliances (fridges missing on the brand new buildings), but I thought the living room/ dining room was either small or the layout was odd, I couldn't visualize a 6 or 8-p. dining table, and a couch/sofa in the same area... (wait, I just remembered... THIS IS TOKYO!!). Then again, a 60m2 apartment was sometimes better laid out than a 100m2... so size doesn't always matter. The weird thing (for me) is the notion that I'll be renting furniture with the apartment...


Now there is a reason why I described those apartments. Some of them had a 2nd bedroom, the Roppongi one did not (location!). I'm going to post pictures of the apartments online and throw a random survey to allow YOU, my friends, to have a say in the choice of the future Hostel-Miki!!

After the apartment tours, Emi was kind enough to allow me a quick pit stop at the Donki (Donquijote) store, probably the tackiest store ever, which was recommended by my friend's wife for picking a Halloween costume. Yes!! tonight is my first Saturday night in Tokyo, and I'm celebrating Halloween!! (If I can walk my way past the typhoon. Seriously it got worse in the time I've been writing this). I bought a little "Miss Pumpkin" outfit (you know, the typical American costumes) with the stockings for... $62? wait I thought that store was supposed to be "cheap"!!! Oh well, I guess it's better than arriving dressed up as a "totally lost expat in Tokyo"! So far I was pleasantly surprised with the cost of living (bento boxes for lunch at $5, bottled drinks at vending machines for $1 or 2...) but Halloween? I should have packed my little French Maid outfit from NY in my hand luggage! (though I would have had to explain to the security officer at the airport why I was traveling with a feather duster... did I mention I got the thorough search treatment as I was leaving Newark? yeah, I did. Somehow the "one-way ticket to Tokyo" must have triggered some alarm in their terrorist-scanning database... ). I digress. And I have to get ready for the dinner and the party. And study the map for directions, because finding your way around Tokyo ain't easy ... (and I'm not being a baby by admitting this...).

So, stay tuned for the next round of Miki's Tokyo adventures!! :-))